From time to time, every few months or so, I suffer from insomnia. I try not to panic when this happens, I guess because I'm afraid I'll turn it into something more serious than it really is. It usually passes after a night or two, but it makes the following days uncomfortable because I do not function well without sleep. Napping is not really an option during these times because it seems to lead to more problems sleeping at night, and, well, there really isn't a lot of time to nap during most days anyway.So this week I didn't get much done except put one foot in front of the other and plod on. Luckily the spell was broken on Friday night; today I woke up feeling just wonderful.
My husband and I ran some errands this morning together. We stopped by the post office to pick up a package from Amazon.com that I ordered last week. The Annotated Pride and Prejudice is one I ordered just on the strength of the book review. I love Jane Austen, but I know that I miss a lot of references she makes, not to mention the historical background of what she writes about. This book has the text on the left hand page, and the annotation on the right side, saving the flipping back and forth to the end notes. It looks pretty good.
The two Margery Allingham's are Albert Campion mysteries, just reissued. I've read them before--I am a huge fan of the so-called golden age of British mysteries. Give me the dark and brooding manor house, the weekend shooting party, Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick, and I'm in heaven.
Our next stop was my in-law's house where I got this picture of an azalea bush in her front yard. It seems to be late in blooming, but it was absolutely beautiful. After seeing that all was well there, we headed out for the main objective: food!Once a month or so we travel over to the big city to visit our favorite deli and our favorite grocery store, Wild Oats. It might be fortunate that our little town doesn't have either of these places, otherwise we'd be seriously in debt. Wild Oats is the only place around here that still carries wild caught salmon. This time of year it has been frozen, but it is still delicious. My husband cooks it on the grill with just a sprinkling of herbs and a little lemon juice.
Wild Oats also carries Greek style yoghurt and kefir. Greek style yoghurt is a thicker, creamier, and much richer than regular yoghurt (it has the fat grams to prove it, too) and is a real treat with fresh berries.
Kefir is a yoghurt-like product that I have grown to love. When we visited Sweden last summer, our hosts served what they called "sour milk" each morning for breakfast with their cereal. It was like yoghurt, but thicker and the taste is a little tarter. The only similar thing that I could find around here is kefir. It contains cultures like yoghurt, just different ones, I imagine. The flavored kinds taste like a smoothie.
The deli is a fun place to visit. They have a lot of prepared salads, about 20 varieties of olives, all kinds of cheeses, fresh bread, and they make their own pasta and humus. You never know what you'll find there, but it's fun to poke around and see what they have. We usually split up here, me with the shopping basket on my arm, and my husband dropping things in from time to time until the basket is too heavy to carry any more.
So tonight we had a great dinner of grilled salmon, brown rice, cucumber salad, grilled red and yellow peppers, steamed broccoli, and strawberries with Greek yoghurt. A lovely finish for a not-so-great week.
10 comments:
I too occasionally get bouts of insomnia like that Diana - it's vile the following day(s) trying to function in a fog - I do so empathise with you. The breakfast 'yoghurt' sounds delish! The scandinavians and northern europeans do really lovely different breakfasts. I always enjoy visiting German friends for the same reason.
I, too, suffer from insomnia also from time to time. I have a CD player and playing restful music helps to some extent.
I think insomnia is quite common. I too suffer from time to time, but I do not stress myself. I get plenty of rest during the night and that is the important thing - Good rest. Good books helps as well. I see you have found some.
I've just noticed you put a link to my blog on your sidebar....thank you so much!
I blame springtime insomnia on the increased hours of daylight.
I'm envious of your new books - I don't know Allingham and i just have the old penguin versions of Austen - hope your new treasures help you while away some happy hours, whatever the time of day.
I am going to have to check out those mysteries. I love those classic British mysteries. Though somewhat different, have you ever read Ngaio Marsh? Quite a number of her Chief Inspector Alleyn mysteries are set among the British gentry.
I just watched Pride and prejudice last night. the version with Keira Knightly. now i want to watch two other versions and compare the three. THEN I want to reread the book, which I read in HS and absolutely loved.... When i visited my German friends a few summers ago they served a dessert made of assorted berries stirred into quark, a sort of sour cream-yoghurty thing---delicious!hope you have a better week....
Mmmmm - I recently rediscovered kefir. Back in my teen years in the 70's I was feeling groovy and enjoyed kefir very much. Then I kind of just forgot about it. Recently came across it in a very nice local market and have been enjoying it regularly since *s*
I have never had Kefir - it does sound good. We have a store here - Capers - that was bought by the Wild Oats company about 5 years ago. It is a very good little store. I really like to shop at Whole foods though. Such a selection of great foods. But also very expensive. But you can shop for items on sale there. I will look out for Kefir and give it a try.
Sorry about the sleeplessness! I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I think I will check out that annotated version on Amazon.. sounds great!
Two things in this post I know very well: insomnia and Jane Austen. She is one of my favourite writers and I have read everything she wrote. But I think pride and prejudice is her jewel in the crown.
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