Posted on by Cathy

So what am I going to do….

It was a beautiful sunny day last Friday so B and I had coffee outside a local cafe and ‘caught up’ with things we hadn’t spoken about on the phone. It always amazes me that we can talk on the phone quite frequently and still find things to discuss in person 😊

‘So what am I going to do’ I asked her.
‘It’s been a b*gger of a week’ I said!
Just one of those weeks when it seemed as though the whole world was out to get me……one tiny piece at a time.

The internet has been playing up – it’s been so slow it’s obviously playing somewhere but definitely not in our house. The ISP says they don’t know what the problem is, maybe changing to the NBN might help except The Golfer is still holding out on that one.

The ironing board wouldn’t stay up so I had to resort to doing a few necessary bits Mother in Law style on the kitchen bench.
The Golfers mother always ironed on the table – using a thick blanket, the sheets she’d laundered that week with a very large piece of towelling on the top. Back then she ironed everything – including my F in Laws white cotton Y fronts!


We couldn’t remember the last time we’d had so much summer rain – the promised La Niña has been making itself known with flooding in states north of Victoria….the rivers are certainly running up there. In Melbourne we’ve had lots of wet days – some very humid – along with some rather nice ones (hot even) but not enough to say it’s the way summer usually is. The BOM is suggesting it’s reached its peak but it’s still going to be wet for the rest of the season over here in the east of Australia. With nearly 6 weeks of summer gone I suppose all we can hope for is a lovely sunny dry Autumn come March.

And that’s the reason for the white fly I discovered on one of the Fuchsias ☹️
As I’m not a pesticide user it means treating with diluted dishwashing liquid.
Which meant another trip to the big green barn for a new spray bottle.

And then there was the embarrassment (annoyance more like) of discovering after sewing two ‘side seams’ I’d actually sewn a sleeve to the back of a little cardigan…..something I don’t ever remember doing before. I did wonder why there were more rows of green above the last white stripe but thought …..maybe I’d miscounted the rows and knit a couple more than needed. Rustle around in the bag for the next piece and out popped the front and not the expected sleeve. Grrr!

‘Come on B help me out here’ was my plea.
‘My usual relaxation isn’t working……the lie down, tense and release each part of the body, quieten the mind and then breathe one. The one from old yoga days. I need something else.’

I’ll have to admit I have never practiced meditation but B has suggested something called ‘loving kindness meditation’. She ‘thinks’ a lot of my irritability/stress is to do with my sister’s illness and basically by quietly sending/reinforcing loving thoughts to her and myself things should in time get better.

And now here…as I’m enjoying an early cup of tea…..is where I have a question for you.
Have any of you had experience with this practice?
is it as simple a process as she suggested or is it difficult to accomplish?
I can see lots of reading and y/tube watching coming up as I consider it but look, any recommendations from you are welcome. Help me out readers please

Joining Corinne for this weeks  Monday Musings – sharing thoughts with others. 
Joining Denyse for the latest edition of Life this Week.
Joining Esme at her Senior Salon

25 Replies to “So what am I going to do….”

  1. Gosh! White flies are a nuisance here in Hawaii too. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with such frustration. I’m afraid we are having those kinds of days all over. And no, I haven’t tried meditation very much. I’ve tried, but I can’t quiet my thoughts.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Kay, we seem to have seasons where garden pests are more prolific than others. I haven’t noticed much green fly (aphids) on the roses this year but black spot is rife.
      I’m sure things will work out for me soon – just having a rough patch.

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  2. On the bright side all that rain should mean no fires this year. Meditation we can’t help with. F practised transcendental meditation thru uni (can still remember her mantra) reckoned it probably worked to destress but you need at least 20 minutes twice a day and working life doesn’t exactly flex around prescribed meditation times. Give it a go – what’s the worst thing that could happen? At least you might stop worrying about worrying, and get the right bits stitched together. xxx F and Mr T

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  3. I’ve never been drawn to meditation. That’s is until now. Recently I e been thinking it could be beneficial to improving my sleep. Looking forwRd to reading your experiences of it #lifethisweek

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Our summer should have been here for over a month now…a few hot days and for the last week we have had rain! I’m not sorry as it keeps the pasture green for the sheep but it is decidedly odd.

    No time for meditation…go to sit down quiety and i have a bevy of anxious paws on my knees wanting to know what is wrong!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I wish I was the kind of person who could talk to someone on the phone, then still have things to say over coffee afterwards. I’m afraid I’m more of the “scrambling for things to say” person at the best of times. I purposely space the time between haircuts and colours a month longer than they should be because I hate sitting there with nothing to say and it being so awkward.

    Meanwhile, I can’t believe I was never smart enough to iron on my kitchen table! When I lived in Perth and couldn’t see the point of investing in an ironing board, I’d just iron my work clothes on my bed.

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  6. If your sister is still quite ill there is no way that you can be truly at peace. I think the best we can do in times like that is just what you are already doing: tea, friendship and knitting.

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  7. It’s very hard to relax when something so awful is happening.
    I have used singing as a strange form of meditation in the past, just singing round the house or whatever. The brain doesn’t have time to think bad thoughts while it’s remembering words and tunes.
    I see the resemblance between a sleeve and a front, my mistakes are usually less retrievable!

    Have a good week, Cathy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Singing is brilliant, and even better if you sing with other people (which is a dilemma in covid times). There’s lots of science on the benefits of singing.

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  8. Hi Cathy, I love the term ‘loving kindness meditation’. I think the most difficult part of meditation of any kind is feeling that we have to clear our mind completely. Thoughts will drift in, we are human, but the skill of letting them go brings you closer to focusing on just being in the moment. It takes practice but is so worthwhile. You’ve had a tough time in Melbourne (I’m on the Gold Coast) so it is no wonder you are feeling that life is ‘out to get you’. Take care and lovely to connect with you through #lifethisweek

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  9. I made a similar mistake years ago. I carried on from the front and back neck to knit the two sleeves. When I picked up to knit the collar the mistake was obvious. It was a lot of ripping. We used to call it frogging. What does the frog say? Ripitripitripit.
    We talk occasionally of sending healing thoughts. I believe we can think of someone, visualize them, perhaps, and think of kind things to say, as to a friend. Perhaps this is what your friend suggests.

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  10. I’ve never tried that kind of meditation but I have used guided recordings or sounds / music. I’m not great at relaxing and have a very busy mind so I like meditations that make me listen and focus. I’m not good at visualisation so have tried a few different ones over time.

    I know what you mean about all of those things going wrong and piling up into something bigger. I’ve experienced that often, but just recently. Everything felt like it was going wrong. Just small things but NOTHING felt like it was going right. I just wanted one ‘win’.

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  11. I’ve been doing a type of meditation – where you get comfortable, I usually lie on the bed – take a couple of deep breaths – in/slowly and out/slowly – then just lie still – when thoughts creep in, usher them off some place else, sometimes set a small goal like the idea of the “kindness thought” or think of some place almost imaginary.

    Like a forest with a cabin – then I’m inside after tramping through snow and I’ve got the fire going…I’m going to have a cup of something hot, that I warmed on my stove. Kick back and read that book or sit there are watch the logs in my firebox flicker or…

    You could use an “place” where you and your sister are having a grand time, possibly somewhere someone is serving you your favourite food/drink – soft hammocks or sitting in a hot tub and having fun.

    Don’t force yourself to do anything – rather just enjoy that peace and quiet you’ve given yourself permission to do…

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  12. Please don’t get me started on NBN!!! Grrrrrrr!

    I think swearing helps!! It helps me, anyway! There is a fun new series on Netflix called “The History of Swearing”…it might help you, Cathy! Stuff the meditation! 🙂

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  13. Meditation to me always sounds like screaming at me to be more boring, so it’s not something for me. I think those weeks of “small” things going wrong wear us down a lot more than we feel “allowed” to acknowledge.

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  14. That fuchsia looks … well I suppose like a lot of us are feeling. I have tried meditating – it just makes me want to scream. The same way way as days or weeks where all those small things goes against me makes me want to scream, cry or call for an adult to help me out (I’m the adult here for crissake!). I call it “to be pecked to death by ducks” to make myself laugh at it.
    My last try is “active meditation” I go for a stroll, meanwhile saying the Rosary – one decade for each person I love, or know who needs love and prayer.
    If you’re not into rosaries or indeed prayers, you could find another set text to recite while holding one person at a time in your thoughts.

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  16. At first I scanned the photos and thought you were ironing towels. What a strange custom I thought. Glad I read the post. I have heard of using dish-washing liquid to kill plant bugs and I also heard of using it to spray into trees to kill bag worms. I don’t have a sprayer big enough to get it into the trees and the bag worms have been horrible this year.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Your post reminds me that I have loads of ironing to catch up on. In India, we have the luxury of getting our ironing outsourced fairly cheaply. But with the pandemic, I’m reluctant to have our clothes handled by others. So here’s me adding another chore and trying to keep all the balls in the air!
    About the loving kindness meditation – I’d recommend it. It’s very simple to do. The trick with meditation is not to try too hard. Just be!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. I had to smile when you described your ironing. My mother ironed everything too! It was my job to do the ironing in the summers when I was off school. We even ironed sheets, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, and underwear! Good luck with your meditation. I am looking into lovingkindness meditation too.

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  20. Ironing is such a delightful chore for me. I am the one who will arrive to a business conference hotel room and spend my first hour unpacking and ironing all of my outfits for the days ahead. Think it probably comes from my military days!

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  21. Hi Cathy, I can relate to the feelings you write about and yes, loving kindness meditation made a huge difference to me. It took time and patience and it feels a bit strange at first but it does help. I actually teach mindfulness and one of the best teachers for loving kindness is Dr. Kristen Neff. If you want a definition then check out her website: https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/ and her guided meditations are great and very accessible and I often use them for workshop practice: https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#guided-meditations. Have a look at the exercises as well because if you’re new to the idea of being kind to yourself then it might also take a bit of personal work. I hope that helps but please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Take care! #MondayMusings

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  22. I remember Mum ironing like that and I have too on occasion when too lazy to get out the ironing board.

    I learned about 5-6 years ago more about Loving Kindness Meditation and used it a great deal to help reduce some of my worries and fears (the ones that you can do nothing about because they involve other people) and I believe it helped me.

    The commenter above me mentions Kristen Neff’s work and I have done a couple of her courses and completed a mindfulness workbook with her.

    I could add more, but I do not want to overwhelm you! On my blog however, I have posts about health and mindfulness as a category and you could look them up.

    My most recent post about Calm Days and Calm Nights indicates just how much I had to learn (and still do!)

    Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week the optional prompt is Back To. 3/51 #LifeThisWeek 18 Jan. I hope to see you there. Denyse.

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  23. I’m completely with you on doing things like sewing the sleeves on the wrong way. Little things seem to get to me at the moment. I think it’s all the change to our lives and my everyday things that I do have all been made so complicated now. We definitely needed that rain here in Sydney but now it’s time to stop. We either get none or too much. I don’t think I have the patience for meditation so I’ll be no help there. 🙂

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