It’s in the middle of the night, but I am awake again and I’ll just have to accept it, even though Eduard was just trying to talk me into going back to bed. There is no sense in me trying, because I am wide awake. I went to bed at a decent time last night, even though I wanted to stay up and watch some TV and I didn’t feel sleepy. So, I went to bed under protest, but I knew it was the right thing to do and I did fall asleep quickly due to my knock out pill, but now I know, of course, that I have not had enough sleep yet, and I’ll have to catch up on it later today. I tell you, me and sleep, that’s something else, Often, I am not getting enough and then, sooner or later, it catches up with me and I have to catch up with it like I did this past weekend, when I sort of burned out.
My theory is, that on Wednesday, and probably some days leading up to that, I was slightly hypo-manic and it took most of Thursday and Friday to come down from that, causing me to feel so exhausted over the weekend. I have discussed this with Eduard and he is now keeping an eye on me and helping me stick to the rules that we have agreed on, such as getting to bed on time, and having enough restful days. It is just that, when I wake up in the middle of the night like this, I can’t get back to sleep, and there is no sense in me staying in bed, because I’ll just lay there wide awake thinking about getting up and wanting to have a cup of coffee.
Anyway, I went on the scales just now and I weigh 96.9 kilos, so that is nice. I am below 97. Now I have lost 28.5 kilos and I think that is pretty darn good, considering I caved in and actually had a slice of bread with peanut butter last night and it tasted ever so good, although it was very filling. But I did I share it with the dog. It’s been forever since I ate bread, because I really can’t chew it well into small enough pieces, but it sort of went down okay and I cut it into very small pieces. I think it would be easier to chew if I made toast, it being crunchier, but I didn’t feel like getting out the toaster. I got itchy ears from the peanut butter and my head itched, but it was worth it. Now I just can’t eat it for a long time or I will react to it more strongly. That’s the way it goes. At least it’s not like eating corn, which really makes me react.
Yesterday evening, I asked Eduard what kind of cheese he had, because my cheese was all gone. He said he had goat cheese and he cut me a piece and gave it to me. I very merrily started chewing on it, but after a second or so, the flavor of it really hit home and I thought, man, it really tastes like goat! So, I spit it out, much to Eduard’s surprise. He is going to buy some cumin cheese today. We both like that one. Yuck, goat cheese!
We had such a nice day yesterday. I went back to bed with Eduard after I walked the dog and we hung out there together surrounded by the animals. Like I said, we have very little privacy, but we’re used to that by now. Whenever Eduard and I get intimate, the dog sits beside the bed and sort of softly moans, as if he wants to say, you guys are having all the fun and I’m not having any. We try to distract him with a denta stick and that works and he really is a good dog. When we finally got up, Eduard made breakfast and boiled an egg for me, soft boiled, just the way I like it, with the yellow not quite runny anymore. After that, we changed the bed and I did a load of laundry while we waited for the rain to stop, because we wanted to go into town.
It finally stopped raining and we hopped onto our bikes. I must say that this was a lot less painful to me than it was the very first time I got on my bike again. And I feel more sure of myself in the traffic. I had to get used to that a bit again too. It wasn’t that busy on the roads, probably because the weather was not all that great. We parked our bikes by the old bridge and walked to the basilica. There were quite a few tourists in town, even though the shops were closed. Of course, all the restaurants and cafés were open and they were doing good business, especially on the covered terraces. I lit three tall candles in the Mary chapel and proceeded to pray, but I was very distracted by people coming and going, mostly tourists for whom it was a novelty to come and burn a candle, and I found it difficult to concentrate on my prayer. Anyway, I did my best and then joined Eduard again who was waiting outside.
We leisurely walked through town and window shopped a bit and just generally admired the architecture of the buildings and the squares and the little streets of which we never get tired. We finally made it to our café. This is only the second time that we have been there, but we have decided that this is our café, since it is halfway on our trip through town. It is the café by the Dominican church that has been turned into a bookstore. We sat outside and watched the world go by. We ordered coffee and one piece of cake with strawberry and lemon bavarois and I had three bites of that and Eduard had the rest. It was very delicious and those three bites were just perfect. I also ate the cookie that came with the coffee. I have decided that I am always allowed to eat the cookie that comes with the coffee at a café. It is found food after all. Gefundenes Fressen, as the Germans say. We heard a lot of German and American spoken in town yesterday. Usually you can pick out the Americans by the way they are dressed, but not always. They tend to wear sport shoes, which Europeans don’t as a rule. If you want to know more about that, you can ask me.
While we were sitting there, having our coffee, I said to Eduard, I have to go to the other church on the big square because I have to pray again. I said, the first prayer wasn’t a good one, because of all the tourists, I couldn’t concentrate. Eduard was understanding about this and we walked to the church on the big square, and this time I didn’t go in the not so atmospheric side chapel, but into the church itself, which is very beautiful and awe inspiring. In the gallery, there are several places were you can light candles and kneel and pray and I did and this time it was good. I lit two candles for two more people, so that covers everybody I love, but I have to tell you, I prayed in pain, because my knees really hurt when I knelt, so the prayer was an effort and I wonder if I get extra points for that. Never mind, I felt like I connected with my Higher Power and that was the most important thing.
There was an Art Manifestation downtown. That meant that private owners, businesses and other organizations had allowed one or more artists to set up exhibitions in their buildings that the public could visit for free. All you needed was a map to guide you along the tour of them. Eduard and I didn’t have the time to do the tour, but we saw some of the exhibits. One of them was interesting. It was a private house, a very small old house, that had been completely restored, where three artists were exhibited. The house itself was fascin
ating as it was completely restored as it had been many years ago, with a tiny kitchen with a sink made of stone slabs and wooden counter tops. In the basement there was a well that dated back to the dark ages and had belonged to a cloister. The rooms were small and the stairs were narrow and steep. All the art had to do with hand printed objects and hand bound books and handmade prints. They were fascinating and small and there were magnifying glasses to help you see them. Small objects in a small house.
Then we walked back through the town and checked out another church on the market square, which also had a little side chapel, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as the other Mary chapel in the basilica, but I suppose it would do in an emergency. The church itself was locked up and there was a sign on the door saying that it was protected by a security firm, so I guess they have had a problem with vandalism and theft. But it is good to know where all the places of prayer are. There is one more church downtown I want to go into. It is right smack next to the church on the big square, but of a later date, but I really should go into it and see what is there. It is a Gothic style church, so it dates back to the Middle Ages. Oh wait, I think that may be a protestant church, so I may not be able to burn candles there. Mmm, I’ll just have to go over and see. Anyway, it is built of red stone, so I will call it the red church on the square as opposed to the sandstone church on the square.
Eduard said to me, I don’t know what you believe, but if you feel that this works for you, I am all for it and I will give you all the support in it that I can. I said to him, I know that God is everywhere, but in a church I feel that I am closer to him and I can concentrate better and be in the right frame of mind for a prayer. Lighting the candles also helps as a deed of symbolism. It lights up the prayer and symbolizes the people I pray for.
We walked through the new shopping area that has been built where the old city hall used to be. There are nice shops there already and the new city hall is there above the shops. It is a large area facing the river. It will be nice there in the summertime. Nice and cool when downtown is hot. We walked across the bridge and stopped and watched the water move by beneath us. There were different kinds of birds in the water, for which I don’t have a translation in English. Well, there were the obvious kinds of ducks, of course. Eduard knows his water birds better than I do.
Oh yes, by the bridge, there is a little tourist shop and Eduard and I bought two little teaspoons there. One with the weapon of Maastricht on it and one with the basilica on it. They are for us to use when we drink tea, so we will be able to tell which tea glass belongs to whom. Pretty smart, eh?
The dog was so happy when we got home! We had left him alone for about three hours, to him that was a long time! My knee hurt, so Eduard took him for a walk and I made a fresh pot of decaf. When we were in the small house upstairs, going down the stairs again, I couldn’t bend my knee without it hurting and I sort of hobbled down the stairs. Then I still had to ride the bike home, so that was a bit of a pain.
We really enjoyed the afternoon, even though we had not done anything really special. It was just nice walking around and having a coffee, watching the people. The small house was very interesting. Next weekend I would like to go to the photography exhibit at the new library and then there is always the museum to go to, we haven’t been there for a while. And we can go to see a film for free, of course. The activities have to take place during the day, because I can’t do anything at night with my bedtime being so early and Eduard gone so much in the evening. And when the weather is nice, we can always go for a bike ride. We had planned on going to a junk market this weekend in Belgium, but with the weather being the way it was, we didn’t want to take a chance. We did hear that there was good stuff there. We stopped at the film house in the afternoon and someone there had been to the junk market. I guess it is similar to a flea market or a swap meat. Whatever you want to call it.
It is starting to get light out now and the birds are singing. I have taken my time writing this and it has made the night pass quickly. I’ll have to try and take a nap later this morning on the sofa, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. As it is, I have had about 5 hours of sleep. That’s not too bad, I have had worse in the past. It’s a good thing that there is a spellcheck on this thing, because I do make typing mistakes. Some words that I use, it doesn’t recognize, such as café. Or bavarois. That’s a sort of thick creme made with eggs.
Okay, now I am going to read the news. I am sufficiently awake and alert enough to do that.
Oh, by the way, not that I forgot, but I heard from Nick and she had a wonderful weekend in Oregon with Mark and they are definitely a couple with a future together and we are all very happy about that. It’s a very wonderful thing for that to happen and now, of course, we can’t wait to meet him. Although I have heard so much about him, that I feel that I know him already.
Ciao people, have a wonderful day…
P.S. I just went to the website of the red church and it is definitely a protestant church, so no open doors and no candles. They do have an evening prayer in English on the last Sunday of the month, however. That might be interesting, although I can’t quite figure out what form of Protestantism this is. Lutheran or Dutch reformed or whatever? It’s a shame that the Protestant churches are less open to the public than the Catholic churches are. And they have less ritual, while people nowadays have such a longing for that.
Another Bright Day! 