Aaaand Relax
I missed posting on National Relaxation Day! I started drawing a picture about relaxing but then I had to make dinner (a roast) have a drink (red wine) and watch a film (How to Catch a Thief) and after all that it was too late.
So I got up early this morning and made some tea, put on one of my favourite background films - Julia and Julia - and finished making a picture.
I am normally so busy that relaxing is tricky. I run from the car to work to the supermarket to the gym to dinner, to my desk back to work but sometimes I have these weeks where I can fold all my happy relaxation things into a melting pot of loveliness and calm.
These are the top 10 things I do to relax:
1) Sit with a cup of tea in a clean house. Clean is the word, it has to be clean and tidy and possibly sunny, or at least cosy and softly lit. And my tea of choice is posh fancy tea from a little shop on the Shambles in York. There is a space in my apartment, out the back on the fire escape, that gets the best sunlight on a morning. To sit there with tea and a muffin and my diary or a book is just great. Just great. I will miss this space when we move!
2) Watch an old film with a blanket. I have 2 small boxes of some of the best films in the world. And I love them all (well mostly all - 'How to Catch a Thief' was not the best film) especially Rear Window, I could watch that film on repeat. I love Christmas mainly because I get to pull out all the old Christmas films like 'White Christmas' and 'Christmas in Connecticut' and 'Meet Me in St Louis'. Love. Love. Love.
3) Speaking of Christmas, one of my favourite things to do is decorate the tree, but that is seasonally appropriate relaxation.
4) Bake - this has to be done in a specific way. I need a film on in the background, something like 'The Seven Year Itch', I need to follow a recipe, I am no natural baker, and the rest of the apartment needs to be clean.
5) Cook - this also has to be done in a specific way to achieve complete relaxation. I need to play music, I have a range of kitchen playlists, lots of Ella Fitzgerald. I like a glass of wine and I don't really need a recipe, I like to experiment and guess which drives Erik up the wall even though he usually loves what arrives at the table.
6) I like to practise yoga, either at the studio or in my house, although I always try harder at the studio, something to do with group mentality I suppose. I like to have music on and it has to be warm. Which in Abu Dhabi was super easy but here in York it's not so easy.
7) Walk on the walls. York is surrounded by old city walls and it's lovely and peaceful to climb up in the places that aren't so tourist busy and wander along. It's also a great place to take photos of buildings. There is a little rooftop some way along the wall with a little glass roof and garden and chair and sometimes there is a lady there, just sitting, having a cup of tea and a cigarette and I think that she is probably very relaxed in that space, just watching the city.
8) Sorting. I am quite a messy person. I collect things but I'm also quite good at clearing out and de-cluttering (maybe because we move so often) so I quite like a cup of tea, maybe some cake, and an afternoon sorting out the wardrobe or the kitchen cupboards. A bit weird but very relaxing.
9) Drawing. I love drawing buildings and people. I am not so accomplished when drawing animals. I also quite like drawing food. I often have a huge list of ideas and projects and some commissions to do when I have time and when not working at my day job. I like to sit at the dining table and look through my sketchbook and art books of the people I admire and test out ideas. Sometimes I use inks and acrylic. Sometimes I use collage and sometimes I colour using the computer. I find all of them relaxing.
10) Saturday morning breakfast. Even if I'm super busy, even if the weekend work is piled high, we always try to make a special breakfast to start the weekend. Erik makes a pot and orange juice. I make bagels with tofu or 'sausage'. Erik makes pancakes. Sometimes we make hot chocolate when it's cold and we sit and listen to music and chat and relax. Then we start the day.
So in summary:
cook, eat, draw, stretch, think, drift into old films.
I hope you relaxed yesterday or that you plan on relaxing this weekend. :)
So I got up early this morning and made some tea, put on one of my favourite background films - Julia and Julia - and finished making a picture.
I am normally so busy that relaxing is tricky. I run from the car to work to the supermarket to the gym to dinner, to my desk back to work but sometimes I have these weeks where I can fold all my happy relaxation things into a melting pot of loveliness and calm.
These are the top 10 things I do to relax:
1) Sit with a cup of tea in a clean house. Clean is the word, it has to be clean and tidy and possibly sunny, or at least cosy and softly lit. And my tea of choice is posh fancy tea from a little shop on the Shambles in York. There is a space in my apartment, out the back on the fire escape, that gets the best sunlight on a morning. To sit there with tea and a muffin and my diary or a book is just great. Just great. I will miss this space when we move!
2) Watch an old film with a blanket. I have 2 small boxes of some of the best films in the world. And I love them all (well mostly all - 'How to Catch a Thief' was not the best film) especially Rear Window, I could watch that film on repeat. I love Christmas mainly because I get to pull out all the old Christmas films like 'White Christmas' and 'Christmas in Connecticut' and 'Meet Me in St Louis'. Love. Love. Love.
3) Speaking of Christmas, one of my favourite things to do is decorate the tree, but that is seasonally appropriate relaxation.
4) Bake - this has to be done in a specific way. I need a film on in the background, something like 'The Seven Year Itch', I need to follow a recipe, I am no natural baker, and the rest of the apartment needs to be clean.
5) Cook - this also has to be done in a specific way to achieve complete relaxation. I need to play music, I have a range of kitchen playlists, lots of Ella Fitzgerald. I like a glass of wine and I don't really need a recipe, I like to experiment and guess which drives Erik up the wall even though he usually loves what arrives at the table.
6) I like to practise yoga, either at the studio or in my house, although I always try harder at the studio, something to do with group mentality I suppose. I like to have music on and it has to be warm. Which in Abu Dhabi was super easy but here in York it's not so easy.
7) Walk on the walls. York is surrounded by old city walls and it's lovely and peaceful to climb up in the places that aren't so tourist busy and wander along. It's also a great place to take photos of buildings. There is a little rooftop some way along the wall with a little glass roof and garden and chair and sometimes there is a lady there, just sitting, having a cup of tea and a cigarette and I think that she is probably very relaxed in that space, just watching the city.
8) Sorting. I am quite a messy person. I collect things but I'm also quite good at clearing out and de-cluttering (maybe because we move so often) so I quite like a cup of tea, maybe some cake, and an afternoon sorting out the wardrobe or the kitchen cupboards. A bit weird but very relaxing.
9) Drawing. I love drawing buildings and people. I am not so accomplished when drawing animals. I also quite like drawing food. I often have a huge list of ideas and projects and some commissions to do when I have time and when not working at my day job. I like to sit at the dining table and look through my sketchbook and art books of the people I admire and test out ideas. Sometimes I use inks and acrylic. Sometimes I use collage and sometimes I colour using the computer. I find all of them relaxing.
10) Saturday morning breakfast. Even if I'm super busy, even if the weekend work is piled high, we always try to make a special breakfast to start the weekend. Erik makes a pot and orange juice. I make bagels with tofu or 'sausage'. Erik makes pancakes. Sometimes we make hot chocolate when it's cold and we sit and listen to music and chat and relax. Then we start the day.
So in summary:
cook, eat, draw, stretch, think, drift into old films.
I hope you relaxed yesterday or that you plan on relaxing this weekend. :)
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