My own healing retreat

As I've been finding it harder and harder to stay on the straight and narrow of creating optimum health in my body I've devised a plan to get on track once more. I'm calling it my healing retreat. I'm using the word retreat, although I have no intention of retreating from the world and my life. It's just a word that reminds me that I'm doing this for me. The family do not have to follow, and it is important enough to me that I give it this description. You can spend a fortune going away on a retreat, but I intend to save the money for something else, but treat this as seriously as I would if I had relocated and paid for it. The biggest difference I think is that if I went to a spa there would be someone else devising a timetable, a menu plan, and cooking the meals and cleaning up, and I would have company and someone else to motivate me. I've taken the more frugal route, but unlike being a hermit or a monk that goes alone into the mountains, I will be still in my home environment.So I'm going to be kind to myself.

• Day 1 Sunday
• Essiac tea
• checked water level and seeds in sprouter. (It uses a lot of water !!)
• Feed birds
• Anti-parasitic tea (pukka tea - revitalise ( cinnamon, cardamom and ginger ) and cloves in a tea pot. Using a pretty cup and saucer )
• Porridge - oats, linseeds,pumpkin and sunflower seeds,apricot kernels, pear.
• Arimidex
• Vitamin C
• Enzymes
• lunch of vegetable burger and salad
• supper of boiled brown basmati rice and vegetables, and a few prawns.
• Vitamin C throughout the day.
• My husband and I went for a walk around the Ripley Castle gardens and dear park. It was a beautiful sunny day, very warm and clear, and the park wasn't busy at all. The Hyacinths smelled wonderful. We walked round the vegetable garden, but there wasn't much to see yet. It was just a really lovely peaceful day.
• Day 2 Monday
• Essiac tea
• check seed sprouter
• Porridge as before
• Arimidex
• Juice of carrot, spinach and beetroot ( 1 Ltr )
• lunch of hummus, salad, olive and sweet chilli jam on brown bread. ( Possibly the best sandwich in the world !)
• supper of boiled brown basmati rice and vegetables and salad.
• I spent the day at Harlow Carr, gardening. It was a fantastic day, spent in the polytunnel. I LOVE the polytunnel, and could live in there !! We planted seeds, divided plants and potted on seedlings. I don't know what it is about this propagation, but I really get something out of it. Perhaps it's the nurturing element, or the godlike ability to create life, or just my awe at the life force contained within the plants. Whatever it is, it feeds my soul. My friend Jenny was incredibly generous and brought in some seeds for me that she had spare. I'd expressed a desire to plant a cutting garden - so that I can have flowers for the house all year- and Jenny really came up trumps. She went on a Sarah Raven course last year and has enthused about it and she's infected me with the bug ! I'm devoting Wednesday in my own garden to sowing more seeds ! I have a book on gardening by the moon and Wednesday ( Today as I write this ) is a good day to plant flowers.
• Day 3 Tuesday
• Essiac
• check seed sprouter
• Arimidex
• Vitamin C
• 1 Banana
• lunch of a salad sandwich ( lettuce, tomato, and cucumber in brown bread ) and vegetable tempura ( a sinful treat !!! from the Kings Head hotel at Richmond )
• supper of Mexican bean pate from Waitrose and salad.
• I spent the day mooching around the charity shops in Richmond. The car had to go in for a service and I usually just go down to the town to wait for it. (I use the Richmond garage because it's a Subaru and there aren't that many garages to choose from. And Paul is always nice to me there !) It's a pleasant day out. I have tea and sit in a comfy armchair or couch at The Kings Head and drink tea, and sometimes eavesdrop on others conversations, or just read a book or journal. There's no rushing and it's just a nice place to wait for the car. Yesterday I looked around the charity shops first. Fatal !!! I bought 3 books. ....3 !!! ...How did that happen ? One was on baking bread !! Baking bread ?!?! I'm trying to give up bread !!! Oh well, the body's willing but the mind is week it seems and not the other way around. The other two books were great finds. ( I would think that wouldn't I. I just love books !) One was The RHS book on Propagating Plants, a sumptuous book that has all you could need and more on how to create more plants. The second book was by Gay Search and is called The Healing Garden. Gardening for the mind, body and soul. Isn't that a title to mull over ? I had a little read of it over lunch and it seems an interesting book. I just have to find time to read them now !
• Day 4 Wednesday
• Today's only just begun. I've had tea, arimidex, and checked the sprouter, and I've blogged. Now I'm off to juice, make breakfast, and then I'm into the garden to feed my soul and hopefully get a bit of fresh air and sunshine. Will update in a few days time.