Sticking plasters for stress

The thermometer said it was marginally less cold today but it felt colder. There was quite a wind and less sun and it was raining by evening. I slept very badly - I kept coughing and suspect that I was actually not warm enough in bed, as I felt sore all over the way you do when you're trying to keep the body heat in. I'm also wondering just how far stress effects go once it's all over, as both of us still feel completely washed out in a way we didn't when I was going in swimming a week ago...

We'd have come home today had we gone on the cruise. We felt very aware of what a short cruise it actually was, and the fact that we still feel rotten underlines the fact that we'd have wasted a lot of cruise time feeling like this. As it was, I took the morning easy, making a brown loaf for lunch and writing the intercessions for Sunday, the designated intercessor having taken herself off - on holiday? Grr. In the afternoon we walked up to church for Himself to run over the odd thing on the organ; we met a friend on the way and after Himself had gone on and left me chatting she chummed me up the hill to the foot of the church driveway. 

The photo was taken at the top of the curving drive as the trees open onto the car park in front of the church. The leaves on the azelea to the left are just beginning to turn russet, the birds are singing in the trees, and the sound of the organ reaching a triumphant cadence is bursting forth from the church. The whole lovely familiarity of it was balm to the soul.

We were out for apèros this evening before dinner - happily a curry Himself had made earlier and frozen. Our oldest friends here, with whom we spent our first post-lockdown socialising day in their garden, had asked us along with the proviso that we might not be in the garden ... and in fact we were inside the sun room with the door closed and the heating on as dusk fell and the rain began. There are friends with whom one is so easy, so relaxed, that time simply flies - and that's how we were. I felt more myself than I have all week - though I have to admit that my head was quite swimmy when we rose to come home! (What was that spritz made with, Jim?)

And now it's past 1am and I suspect even blipper Sally will be in bed. I'm off!