Packing imaginary clothes

Posted on July 1, 2016 by thepogblog

Something weird has happened.  I know, it’s unusual for me…

On holiday at the end of most days we had a half hour session of Yoga Nidra.  This isn’t about moving and stretching it’s….well, some see it as an opportunity to have a lovely relaxing sleep (if lying in a room with other people, all under blankets with eye pillows on is your idea of relaxing).  If you are more of a yogi it’s more of a meditation that isn’t actually meditation.  Maybe a Wikipedia definition is needed here:

oga nidra (Sanskrit: योग निद्रा) or yogic sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, like the “going-to-sleep” stage. It is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of (audio) instructions. This state of consciousness (yoga nidra) is different to meditation in which concentration on a single focus is required. In yoga nidra the practitioner remains in a state of light pratyahara with four of his senses internalised, that is, withdrawn, and only the hearing still connects to the instructions. The yogic goal of both paths, deep relaxation (yoga nidra) and meditation are the same, a state called samadhi.

I’m not terribly good at it.  I tend to fall asleep as the instructor reads in a very calming way.  Except one time on holiday when I got all caught up in the instructions we were given.  We had to walk up a mountain, noticing the trees.  The day before I’d been cycling at the bottom of the mountains through the olive groves so I pictured myself there, bathed in warm sunlight…  We walked further up, noticing different things until we…reached the snow.  Argh.  I was in shorts and t-shirt in my imagining and trainers are not the right footwear for snow.  I mentally got changed, got colder (well, there was snow around), and got a bit lost in the instructions….

The weird bit though is this:  Back at my yoga class at home this week we had a stand in teacher.  We don’t usually do yoga Nidra, but we did this time.  Now, there must be a lot of scripts to read for these sessions – they have teh same structure but the detail certainly changed each time on holiday.  So this time when we were told to walk up a mountain I thought I’d be safe to imagine myself back in Greece, working my way through those olive groves again, but…  we hit snow.  Again.  What are the chances?  The teacher was using an identical script to the one that got me in a tizz last time.  And I got in a tizz again.  Mental wellies, hat, scarf and coat were added to my attire, but all I could concentrate on was the chances of two different teachers in two different countries using the same script in the same week and me managing to be inappropriately dressed on both occasions.  It’s safe to say that I didn’t get to that state of deep relaxation.

So should you ever do a spot of yoga Nidra, learn from this.  Pack yourself a big mental bag so you can add a few layers as required :o)

And in other news, despite the English weather which hasn’t realised it’s supposed to be summer yet, I have a few strawberries in my garden. :o)

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A slightly more accurate portrayal of my holiday

Posted on June 28, 2016 by thepogblog

So yesterday I told you about my holiday.  Lots of people were kind enough to read my ramblings and quite a few were very lovely and chose to follow my blog as a result.  I had some comments on Facebook too…and then I realised:  I may have made myself sound quite a lot fitter and more capable than I actually was.  I thought I should set the record straight as while I loved almost every minute of my 29 hours of stuff, I was really pretty terrible at most of it.

Paddle boarding:  I managed to stand up….eventually.  But I then spent the rest of the hour with my toes curled into claws, gripping the board and promptly gave myself cramp in both calves.  It was suggested that I kneel down to give my legs a rest but I literally couldn’t move them.

Yoga on a paddle board:  Something weird happened and I did manage to move around on the board a bit.  There was a particularly un-yoga-ish moment though, when the instructor told me to move from plank to standing by ‘jumping’ my feet together to the center of the board.  I told her exactly what I thought of that and instead opted for an impersonation of a very elderly version of myself and I inched my legs very, very slowly into the required position…  In fact most of my yoga / wobbling was done in slow motion.

Body Sculpt:  I sweated so much I should have looked like a sultana by the time I finished.  Seriously, there was a puddle of water around me.  It also took four days to be able to stretch my calves without squeaking.

Cycling:  I thought I’d be ok at this – I used to cycle a lot.  Just not up mountains in heatwaves.  And it turns out I also forgot which way to move the gears.  One of the lovely ladies had to come back and rescue me when they realised I was missing.  I couldn’t get the chain into the right place on the big wheely thing.  I even took the chain off to move it manually (covering a fair percentage of me in grease and oil) but it slipped back.  Because – as the lovely lady pointed out –  I had the lever in the wrong place and was attempting to scale a mountain in the hardest gear.  I never recovered and the rest of the group had to wait for me at each turn off…

So I hope I’ve removed any thoughts that I came back from this holiday coordinated and fitter.

There were three things I did excel at though:

  1. Befriending the local wildlife:

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2) Having toenail issues.  I felt my toenails were too naked compared to all the pretty ones around me so I went and bought some nail varnish, forgetting the fact that this is always a disaster.  Ten minutes later I dropped a sunbed on my toe, one class involving trainers later the varnish had melted and attracted large quantities of sock fluff.  (I apologise for this photo is, like me, you also hate feet, but it has to be seen to be believed.)

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3) Sweating.  Look at my hair.  The poor person who had that helmet after me…

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There are some things I am good at.  Just not the things I may have implied last night.  But I hope that is ok with you :o)

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Third time lucky!

Posted on June 27, 2016 by thepogblog

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You’re not going to believe this: I am back from a holiday, all by myself, and it went ok! There were no giant cockroach infestations. There were no typhoons. There was absolutely no scuba diving. I have finally managed a single independent woman holiday that I enjoyed!

There was a small disaster when I got more excited than any adult should when it comes to fried cheese, and managed to rip one of the stitches out of my gums, and I was nearly sick with the pain, but that’s not too bad for me.  I even made a friend out of the waiter who didn’t feel washing my mouth out with salt would be very effective, so he sent me home with half a bottle of ouzo. I can confirm that this makes it much easier to sleep through pain :o)

We were given a timetable when we arrived and it turns out I did 23 of the classes on offer.

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In the last week I have yoga-ed (lots)’ body sculpted (just the once as it almost killed me), done hydrofit, a sailing taster, paddle boarded, cycled:

We started at the beach behind me and at this point we weren't half way in to the 20k ride...

We started at the beach behind me and at this point we weren’t half way in to the 20k ride…

The temple on our bike ride most of the way up a mountain (well, it felt like it was)

The temple on our bike ride most of the way up a mountain (well, it felt like it was)

snorkelled (very proud of this as it was a bit close to scuba diving for my brain and almost resulted in a panic attack), done meditation on a  beautiful beach:

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imageand had a walk learning all about herbs, treating illnesses with them and their links to Greek mythology from the most amazing man (I now have a dream to live in the Greek mountains with him and be his apprentice).

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I even did yoga ON a paddle board ON the sea.  Not being all that great at yoga or paddle boarding, this was a bit of a risk, but doing salute to the sun – even a wobbly version –  on the water is pretty special surrounded by mountains and water.

I met some really lovely people and heard fascinating stories.  I discovered that doing downward dog in a pair shorts is not a good thing (I had NO idea I had so much cellulite on my thighs or that my knees are so baggy) but when it’s that hot, there isn’t much of a choice.  I also discovered that not only am I brave enough to have dinner on my own, I actually enjoy it. That was a bit of a revelation.

I wasn't entirely on my own...

I wasn’t entirely on my own…

So this was third time lucky. I did nearly 29 hours of activities in six days, I got some sun and….I could really do with another holiday :o)

It turned out Norman made the most of being home alone.  I was left this by my sister who kindly cleared up most of the problem:

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And this by the girl who came in to feed Norman:

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And one last thing…. There was no donkey behind my room, but there were a lot of frogs with megaphones who kept me awake every night. As soon as they started their shouting, I woke up, regardless of the amount of medicinal ouzo drunk or painkillers taken.  It suggests I am a light sleeper, but apparently I managed to sleep through….an earthquake :o/

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Posted in Cycling, exercise, fitness, Good for you, holiday, Pog Life, Pog Pictures, yoga | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One final attempt…

Posted on June 17, 2016 by thepogblog

If you’ve been hanging around with me here for a year or so you might remember my holiday last year to an island in the Philippines.  The holiday of a lifetime.  The one where I was going to lie in the sun in paradise for ten days.  The one where actually, three typhoons hit and it rained solidly for 8.5 days – something they’d never experienced before.  In desperation not have a complete wash out (ha ha), and despite being pretty much terrified of the sea and going underwater, I came home a qualified scuba diver (and also discovered that you can have a panic attack the involves throwing up 12 meters under water).  That was my second single, independent woman’s holiday.

The first had been a few years before that and involved a cockroach infestation, a lot of ham and cheese.  And rain.

This year is the last time I try this single independent woman holiday lark.  But I’m hopeful.  My mum found a yoga holiday in Greece, but actually it is a lot more than that – they do all sorts of different classes (and I do like a class…)  They have two bases:  One up a mountain, in the quiet and perfect for a Pog.  So I am not going to that one….(No, I don’t really know why either now).  I’m going to the busier base by the sea, although I have been promised that it’s not too busy and my room looks out onto…a donkey.

And after the last week, surely nothing else can go wrong?  (After a slightly disastrous dentist trip last Friday, on Monday a surgeon did do some magic, but it involved drilling away a bit of my jaw, some stitches and a lot of pain.  It still hurts :o(  )  So surely all the Pog chaos must be over, ready for me to go and do yoga-ing and fit-balling and maybe even a bit of paddle boarding? (I just need to find some goggles and a nose clip for the latter, just in case).  We’ll find out soon enough – I leave in a little over 24 hours.

(Watch the weather in Greece.  If they have their first typhoon in the next week I think it’s safe to blame it on me)  :o)

It’s all about perspective anyway.  A few weeks back I saw this statue of a man, all sad and hunched over:

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And yesterday I stood somewhere slightly different and saw it differently:

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It was a man throwing his arms out and holding his face to the sun.  I plan on doing the latter very, very soon :o)

And just because I want to add the photo somewhere, these were the source of my pain.  The bigger one had already had both sides drilled off to make it smaller to get it out.  :o/

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hurtiness, pottery and furballs of various sizes

Posted on June 12, 2016 by thepogblog

I don’t have a great track record with going to the dentist.  I’ve punched one (accidentally), turned the air blue on many occasions  and cried a lot.  Friday things went to a whole new level though, where as a result of a wisdom tooth that wasn’t interested in coming out, I was the cause of five patients having their appointments cancelled, lots of crying, a close call on throwing up and a fair bit of hyperventilating. One wisdom tooth came out in about 10 minutes.  Part of the other one is still in there, possibly tangled in quite an important nerve, and will be attacked by a surgeon on Monday evening (any happy teeth thoughts you have would be much appreciated in this direction…).  It was also the first time a dentist has texted me on a Saturday night to see how I am and tell me I am a ‘brave soldier’ :o)

But anyway, being in quite a lot of pain since then, I couldn’t do my running or a huge amount of rushing around, but that was good in some ways as I got to go to a pottery studio with Sister 1 and Little Pea, see some lovely stuff and try to make something myself :

My effort

My effort

Sister 1's effort

Sister 1’s effort

And I had time to Visit a friend who has a gorgeous new little fluff ball in her life.  Look at this little guy:

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And to see his tinyness a bit better:

That is a normal size cup f tea and a teeny 8 week old fluff ball

That is a normal size cup of tea and a teeny 8 week old fluff ball

And after all that excitement, I curled up on my sofa with Nurse Norman:

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Fingers crossed the surgeon can do magic on Monday and this hurtiness stops very soon. On the upside, it turns out that this really could be the ultimate unfatness plan! :o)

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A fraudulent runner

Posted on June 7, 2016 by thepogblog

Today two friends congratulated me on my running (apparently they had only just seen a Facebook status about my first timed 5k run the weekend before last) and I felt like a bit of a fraud.  You see, I don’t think this thing that I am doing is actually running.  I’m pretty sure I could walk 5 k faster than my attempt to run / stopping to breathe / slow walk to recover / attempt to run / stopping to breathe / slow walk to recover kind of efforts.  Even when I have every intention to ‘do it properly’ it all goes a bit wrong.

Like Sunday.  Summer happened and there was a good chance it was going to be a one day wonder so I thought I’d give my legs some fresh air as it might be their only chance.  Yes, they are practically transparent lumps of lard, but I go out early on a Sunday and never see anyone through the fields and up to the church so I wouldn’t be scaring anyone.  I found a pair of shorts hiding right at the back of a drawer and wondered why they were hidden – they’re a decent make intended for exercise.  Half way down the road I realised why.  I’d worn them once for cycling too, and the same thing had happened….  They clearly felt that they were not designed to be a pair of sensible length shorts.  No, they had designs on being hot pants.  Actually, they managed to roll so far up my legs that they just looked like pants.  And under my long, baggy top you couldn’t even see them.  But never mind.  Nobody would see me.

Nobody that is except for the man feeding the horses, the man walking his dog, the vicar who had turned up at church almost two hours early and  the builder who had decided to make an early start.  All of them fancied a chat – or at least an exchange of words – it turned out.  And each time I made a very concerted effort to pull down the legs of the shorts so it was clear I’d not just forgotten to finish dressing.

Today I left the shorts languishing back in the drawer and resolved to ‘do it properly’ once again.  Only I’ve wanted to see what was in a field off my route for a while now, so I thought I’d have a look.  And take a picture for the blog.  And generally wonder at the loveliness of Bumpkinsville in the morning.

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Look! There’s even a pretty bridge over the stream (It didn’t look Pog proof though)

I then decided to go off my path a little more and ended up with dew soaked grass up to my knees.  Then I just got to wonder at the amount of water one pair of running socks and trainers can actually contain.  I had my own little paddling pools accompanying me the rest of the way around my route.

So I am a fraud – this isn’t running really.  But it is fun.  And while it stays fun, I’ll keep on making the most of it.  And one day I might actually get around to doing it properly – but until then, don’t waste any time being impressed. :o)

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Little Pea and me find bugs

Posted on June 5, 2016 by thepogblog

Yesterday was a very, very overdue Little Pea and me day. In fact, it was only half a day as we both had afternoon plans, but we did squeeze in quite a lot.

It was grey and foggy to start, so we got creative and turned a boring old box:

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Into what I think you will agree is a rather impressive Treasure Box:

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And then we went on an adventure to find treasures to put in it. Unfortunately most were alive so we couldn’t actually bring them back, and it turns out little pea can spot a bug about a mile off.

We found a mutant snail:

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And his friend:

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A teeny bug on a blade of grass:

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Ducks and all sorts of beasties in the pond:

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A slug on the ground:

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And ants on the big log:

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We even found foot prints on this path which Little Pea felt belonged to ‘probably a tiger or an effluent’:

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We did climbing through stiles:

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And a bit of running:

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And all we bought home to put in the treasure box was a dirty old rock.   Little Pea seemed quite happy with that though:

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And a happy Little Pea is a happy Auntie Pog :o)

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Professional Pog tried. Professional Pog failed.

Posted on June 3, 2016 by thepogblog

Hooray!  I have done my first week – well, four days –  in my new job and they’ve not said they’re getting rid of me yet.  All other aspects haven’t gone quite to plan though.

You know I was going shopping for work clothes last Friday?  Well, it was a nice day, and being nearly June all the clothes I bought were summer clothes.  On Tuesday, most of the South East of Engand was drenched, me included.  I started smart:

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But arrived at work with a waterline on my lovely new trousers around each calf and I didn’t warm up again until Wednesday evening (and that was only because I went for a run wearing far too many layers just so I could get warm).  As well as my waterline I realised mid morning that my fly was undone and I still had a label attached to the inside of my left leg.

Day 2, I didn’t bother with my nice new clothes.  I put on jeans and my (literally) sparkly new trainers:

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I did change into some boots that double as stilts when I got to the office and looked very much like a man in drag for most of the day as I can only walk in them for 10 minutes in any 24 hour period.  I did attempt professionalism though and decided to introduce myself to someone sitting near me I’d not yet spoken to.  I introduced myself with a handshake, my name and my job title (which includes the words ‘Senior’, ‘Communications’ and ‘Specialist’).  He told me his name which was definitely not English.  I asked where he was from.  He said Norway.  I asked if there were any other Norwayish people on our floor.  He looked at me strangely.  I realised my error and asked if there was a better word than ‘Norwayish’.  He said (not smiling) ‘Norwegian’.  I wished I’d not told him my job title and hobbled away.

Later on my desk had to be raised as clearly its previous owner was a hobbit and I couldn’t get my knees under.  As I so rarely wear heels I took them off so the height could be set right.  I then got asked to join a meeting in the seating area in the middle of the office and rushed over.  And half way through the meeting realised the only thing on my feet were my penguin socks.

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So much for that professional image I was going for.

Thank goodness it’s Friday.  Happy weekend, people :o)

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cat post and lovely friends

Posted on May 29, 2016 by thepogblog

Yesterday morning, Norman received some post. Some of his furball friends had been very generous, and, it has to be said, very impressive when it came to writing, wrapping and using parcel tape. I don’t think my words can add much to these pictures, so here you are:

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I LOVE the picture on this card and the idea that it is Pog Towers

I LOVE the picture on this card and the idea that it is Pog Towers

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Norman loved all the gifts

Norman loved all the gifts…

Almost as much as the actual box...

…almost as much as the actual box…

This was all organised by a friend I’ve not seen in a few years but always says and does the most thoughtful things at exactly the right moment. Although when I sent a message to her and the furballs thanking them for such kindness, her response was simply ‘I wondered what Joey was doing with that pen.’  I am so lucky to have friends that make me smiley :o)

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The end of one chapter; the start of a new one

Posted on May 27, 2016 by thepogblog

A little over 18 months ago I started a new job.  2 months into the role the entire team I had joined  had quit; I tried not to take it personally.  It took 6 weeks to get anyone to speak to me in the office; I did take that pretty personally (but found a combination of playing secret baker and cornering people while they made coffee eventually got people being a bit more vocal).  It’s been a bit of a tough one, but yesterday was my last day.

I bought breakfast for the team:

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I packed up my (rather ‘lived in’) desk into a crate:

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And I was given beautiful flowers:

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On Tuesday I start a new role.  It’s a bigger sort of a job and I’m already waking up throughout the night convinced that the new team will realise in a matter of days that they have made a mistake hiring me.  My tongue and mouth are covered in ulcers (which always happens at the far end of ‘stressed’).  And I have a half day to go shopping for big girl clothes so I at least attempt to look like I am ready for the role (an activity that uaually reduces me to a petulant 5 year old).

The good news is that I’ll be in an office I’ve worked in before, so I know I wont have to spend six weeks in silence.  Please could you just keep my fingers crossed that the team I’m joining don’t decide to leave en masse before the summer? :o)

 

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