Well, if my summer was marred by poor mental health, my autumn has thus far been marred by poor physical health. Very much hoping to be doing better soon...
At the moment it feels like life is all tasks. But long time readers of the visual diary will know that my life is always all tasks... Is this the life I have built for myself!? Is this everyone's life?! The trouble is, the only tasks that feel optional are usually the fun ones (like visual diary!)
A bad drawing of my park in the setting sun. I tried the grass about four different ways and couldn't get it right, so I gave up. I like the sky though. The main thing that made me draw this was I loved the way the dandelion seedheads were glowing in the setting sun.
I was really smug about getting the COVID and flu vaccines for free, that was until they DESTROYED ME. (And we all know the worst feeling is just wanting to sleep but being haunted by the duolingo owl)
After being wiped out for a day and a half, I still wasn't feeling great, but forced myself out to go see the model food exhibition at Japan House with my partner, and we loved it.
But I still felt like shit! None of the other vaccines knocked me out this long! Miserable!
No rest when you've got a dog though. (I've walked Charlie across the Yorkshire moors in the pouring rain while sicker than this, I can cope)
I was really excited to embrace red lipstick this year but after a few weeks I just can't decide if I like it. Also the maintenance is extremely tedious. Hm.
I save a LOT of recipes on instagram so I've been making a point of actually going back and cooking some of them. This one was quite a lot of work but as a (former) filet-o-fish fan I loved it.
I also adore lovingly drawing delicious food, so here is a passionate tribute to the absolute best lunch you can get in London for under a tenner (possibly for any money) —the cauliflower and tofu bowl from Pochi in Borough market. I could eat this every single day.
Still feeling like shit?! Getting increasingly anxious because my main symptoms were/are severe fatigue and all over body aches/stiffness. Like, every time I stand up from being sat down for a while at the moment it takes a few steps for my legs to be able to fully straighten. I feel like I've suddenly aged about 20 years overnight?! And all since I got that bloody covid vaccine? (Don't get me wrong, you should still get vaccinated if you can! But it has not treated me well and I am a bit frightened about whether this is going to be forever now)
Had a nice outing round Croydon with my former colleague honor to see some art (and think about trams)
Yes I went to see the play about the guy who designed the tube map, yes I loved it (thanks to Vicky for inviting me!)
The park is her buffet. (Having previously had very stable guts she has had terrible poops twice this month!)
On my good-packed-lunch game
I walk SO MUCH around just one park with Jessie, and I'm such a people watcher, that I feel like I know every single person who goes there regularly. The sad thing is, because Jessie is such a dickhead we have to keep our distance from everyone, which is a shame, as most of the other dog walkers seem to have a cute little gang that I wish I was part of :(
Until this week now I REALLY am sick, I had been persisting with the couch to 5k, I got to the point where I could run for 25 mins without stopping. But while all of my progress thus far (including getting up to the 25 minute marker) had felt easy, suddenly my entire body is protesting with every stride. Is it the running that's causing my all over body aches, or do I have unrelated all over body aches which are making my running horrible?! I hope I feel able to pick it up again soon because I was quite enjoying it until it became nothing but suffering
Luckily the aches and pains have (mostly) not stopped my persistent stomping — a nice 8 miles or so round the outer edges of Heathrow with pal Jay, continuing the London Loop.
Love 2 think about festive imagery in October (no really I actually kinda do)
My partner has been getting really excited about cooking Indian food, I for one am not complaining.
Therapy is in bougie Crystal Palace which means I spend a lot of my walk there thinking about weird other lives I could live based on the high street shops (pottery club, pole dancing studio, milliner, exotic animals)
CAUTIONARY TALE!!! I started noticing my coats had a lot of what I thought was dust or dandruff on them, so ignored it for a while, until I realised the dust was ALIVE. I automatically assumed moth larvae, so duly ordered some parasitic wasps. But... I don't think they ARE moth larvae?! Because after cleaning all my coats and tidying the entire area, I traced them to their source — I carry a rucksack with me whenever I walk the dog that has a few essentials in (water, poo bags, pepper spray, keys, bit of money etc). I'd also stashed some treats in the bottom of the bag in case of a goodie emergency — I'd thought they were shelf stable but they'd actually totally rotted and were covered in horrible mould from which all the little guys were emanating (I drew larvae here but actually they're more like TINY white beetles). I then made the crucial mistake of putting the mouldy bag in the bin and not immediately emptying the bin. Within 24h every surface of my bin was CRAWLING with THOUSANDS of the bugs, I swear it was like something out of a horror movie. After a bit more research I established that they're more likely to be mould mites which means that unlike moth larvae, they seem to die after just a 30-40 degree wash (moth larvae need 60 degrees or freezing). I took all my coats outside and waited until they were bug free for a couple of days before returning them to the house. I took the bin in the garden and repeatedly bleached it day after day until the mites stopped emerging. In theory this is dealt with BUT my wheelie bin is perhaps forever doomed (because I then put the infected trash in there like an idiot, when I should clearly have like, incinerated it or something)
Anyway, tl;dr, mould mites are gross and bad, don't be remiss like me, if you find them, deal with them right away
Had to come home from work early due to intense fatigue, aches and sharp sore throat. But then it didn't really materialise into a fully fledged cold?! I hate this!!
She patiently waits
BATTLE CONTINUES
Maybe if I could sleep for a couple of extra hours every night my problems would be solved?!
My partner's friend Arpit unexpectedly invited us to their huge diwali dinner, perhaps because of their current aforementioned interest in making Indian food. It was INCREDIBLE and I bought home an entire tupperware of idli for lunch the next day.
At Quaker church on Sunday someone talked very articulately about freedom vs responsibility and how the two play out and intersect in a life well lived. He said it more articulately than I can, but I tried to diagram it...
Got some great spooky eyes nails for halloween
Having spent most of the month feeling a bit ill, I am now FULLY ILL!!! (With terrible sore throat, snot, classic cold, negative covid tests) Hoping this gets it out of my system because frankly I have a lot to do. Ugh. Onwards to a maybe feel-better November?!
