Friday, February 2, 2018

Stir-Crazy


I'm tired this morning after a strangely unsatisfying night's sleep. I'm usually a pretty good sleeper, but last night I woke up at 2 a.m. or so and couldn't get back to sleep for a couple of hours. I wasn't worried, or in pain, or anything like that -- in fact, I was just bored.

I eventually got up and cleaned the kitchen windowsill, which I know sounds insane, but if you're going to be awake you may as well make the most of it. I'd put all the little tchotchkes on the windowsill through the dishwasher, because we had a light load last night -- so since it was empty I wiped down the windowsill itself with cleanser. I probably would have vacuumed if Dave weren't asleep himself.

Isn't this fascinating? This is my life. I really need to take a trip or something.

In all seriousness, I'm thinking about what to do for Spring Break in April. If we can get dog care sorted out, we might go somewhere for a few nights. Budapest? Malta? And then we've got summer -- Dave will be in the states at a conference for part of the time, but we ought to get something planned then, too. I haven't traveled internationally since Luxembourg, last March. (I'm not counting Florida, because that's going home -- that's different from a vacation.) With Dave's illness we haven't really had the opportunity, but he's feeling better these days, and I am ready to get out and see the world.

I had to stop at Homebase last night and buy another flowerpot -- fortunately not one so large I had to carry it home on my head. This one is for our rosemary, which has outgrown its current pot, which got broken anyway in one of our recent windstorms. We're going to do a general garden tidy-up this weekend and (a bit optimistically, since it's only the beginning of February) get ready for spring.

(Photo: A monument to the Emancipation of Slaves, from 1835, near Parliament.)

13 comments:

Shooting Parrots said...

I suspect we all get a little stir crazy in January. Too many long nights and depressing weather.

That is an interesting photo of the monument. The coloured tiles (?) on the top look unusual for Victorian gothic. Do you know if they are original or something added later?

Yorkshire Pudding said...

It is a terrible shame that "The Emancipation of Slaves" involved giving slave owners and slave traders huge amounts of compensation money. Some of that ill-gotten wealth has seeped through the decades into the treasure chests of some modern day movers and shakers. The legacy of slavery is still with us.

crafty cat corner said...

Nothing is worse than not being able to sleep, I've had plenty of it in the past. We now do not go to bed until about 1 o'clock in the morning and so I sleep really well. Of course you can't do that but maybe going to bed a tad later might help.
Briony
x

Ms. Moon said...

"I really need to take a trip or something."
Oh, how I can relate.

ellen abbott said...

oh, I love that monument. I tried to get some clean up done in the yard yesterday but the wind was strong and constant and after a while it's just battering. I'm usually awake for several hours every night, somewhere between 2 and 5. like you, not worried or overthinking or anything, just...awake.

Anonymous said...

You remind me that I really should be more creative when I am awake for hours in the night. It never occurred to me to clean the windowsill! That monument is quite beautiful.

The Bug said...

I love that monument! It's lovely.

You know, when I can't sleep I play games on my iPad. Never even OCCURRED to me to be productive. Ha! Of course, my goal with the games is to lull myself back to sleep...

Allison said...

We went to Budapest in 2014, we just loved it. Hopefully it has not been over run by tour buses. The buildings are stupendous. There is so much history there. Just walking around is a treat. We stayed at the Art Hotel across the river from the Parliament building which was incredibly beautiful at dawn and at night. If you click through to my blog and search on Budapest you can read the trip reports.

Catalyst said...

I should have liked to see you walking the streets of London with a huge flowerpot atop your head. Now THAT would be a picture! :^D

jenny_o said...

It blows me away that so many English bloggers are talking of gardening preparation so soon. We'd need to take a strong shovel to the snow (ice) banks and a space heater to the ground to be able to dig! I always thought our two climates were similar but blogging has shown me it isn't so :)

Sharon said...

I think I had a very similar night last night. I woke up at 2:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. Unfortunately I didn't do anything constructive with my time awake. A trip sounds wonderful right about now.

37paddington said...

I often wake up at 3 or 4 am and can’t go back to sleep so I read on my phone or my kindle and then just before daybreak I drift off again. It never occurred to me to get up and clean!

Linda Sue said...

bored...on LONDON??? That can not be! Please come here and I will show you what boredom truly is, we have it mastered, we are so good at it that half of the population sleeps through the long dark rain filled days, dreamworld being the most excitement of which we are capable. Lethargy is contagious. The BIG DARK DAMP! An adventure does sound appealing- I am sure you guys will come up with something wonderful.