“How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table…
Let me sit here for ever with bare things,
this coffee cup, this knife, this fork, things in themselves,
myself being myself.”
Virginia Woolf
I love my Bear and our farm, my friends and loved ones, but for my own well-being I regularly need time alone.
I try to take myself out for coffee or breakfast once a week. Just me, my coffee cup, journal, pen, and a really good book. Or two.
Last week I was delighted to find that one of my favorite Warwick cafes – Lorraine’s – moved out to my tiny hometown of Allora!! It is such a lovely space with petite gold armchairs covered in scroll work that reminds me of my wood-burning. The owners don’t mind one bit if I snuggle into a chair and remain there for hours at a time. And I love them for that.
I’m especially grateful that they let me mess around with their menu to get a rather lovely gluten-free breakfast to go with my butterscotch latte (swoon!): creamy scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and fresh avocado.
There’s something rather wonderful about sipping and eating delicious things that makes time alone especially lovely.
I continue to read through “Women Who Run With The Wolves”, taking time to focus on just one thought or question and write my way through it to peace or healing or understanding. Books are so powerful, aren’t they?
“But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction,
encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways…
It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another which is a precursor to empathy,
and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being.”
John Connolly
Yes, reading, writing, resting, time to think through things, they all do much, much good.
What is your favorite way to recharge your spirits?
My refreshment comes exactly like that- quiet alone time with a cuppa, book and journal. I love how you phrased it ‘taking myself out to coffee or breakfast’. And those chairs are lovely!!
It helps me to think of it in terms of taking myself somewhere, @breannemosher:disqus 🙂 Somehow it feels like something extra special then, that I’m treating myself. 🙂 I’m so glad you like the chairs too. When you come to visit, us four girls will go there and each have our own chair. 🙂
There is something to be said about quiet, solitude and a warm cup of your favorite beverage. 🙂
You are right, @538f30e41cee4f0e6765dfd2bd111d2e:disqus 🙂 It does our souls much good. 🙂
In the season I have a favourite beach I love to drive to. I always have my beach chair and what I call my “brach books” in the car. I sit, read and rejuvenate.
I love that, @disqus_2LQ5qLN5aY:disqus What a lovely, beautiful thing tradition. 🙂
Amen. I need this even more now that I have a little one. I love that you do this “unplugged”. I often bring my computer, which probably isn’t nearly as refreshing as a pen and paper or a book. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad it was what you needed today, @monet_anecdotesandapples_com:disqus xo Yes, I need unplugged time, desperately. 🙂 It restores me and gives me strength to press on with my own voice and plans and dreams. 🙂
Any day without deadlines is refreshing for me. That cafe looks divine.
That sounds downright blissful, @ken_powell:disqus I hope to be able to take a holiday just like that next year. 🙂
It’s funny, isn’t it. To many people, your life on the farm (or my days in retirement) sound like one long holiday. However, we are often busier than bees in our daily lives and still dream of the next holiday. Grace & Peace
You are so right, @ken_powell:disqus 🙂 I’ve never worked harder in my life since moving to my “idyllic” farm. 🙂 Bear and I were talking yesterday how we never, ever get a break unless we purposely plan for it. 🙂 We’re learning to plan better. 🙂
time alone is so important – I try and have an hour to myself every day during the week if possible 🙂
That is wonderful, @tandysinclair:disqus I have found that such practices contribute SO much to my peace and well-being. 🙂
Krista, you’ve reminded me how much I love time on my own too!I so rarely do something as simple as going to a cafe on my own, but I think I’m going to start having a weekly coffee date with myself. Thank you x
Janie x
I’m so glad you’re going to care for yourself this way too, @0ffd67cb46ced44d17550366333e91a1:disqus ! Wishing you many, many happy hours. 🙂
I definitely need a serious amount of me time also, and breakfast is really the perfect time for it.
I love going out for breakfast too, @joanneeatswellwithothers:disqus 🙂 There’s hardly anyone about and the day feels new and fresh and lovely. 🙂
I love these seaside deco buildings, so cool. The food looks fabulous too, what a lovely place to have dinner. GG
Isn’t it a lovely building, @glamorousglutton:disqus ? 🙂 I feel happy just walking in the doors. 🙂
Funny, I am reading your
lovely post in a little coffee
house a few miles from my
home. If I had no other
obligations except to myself,
I would read all day…..books,
mags, blogs, you name it.
And write. Of course!
I also find walking to be such
nourishing soul food. A must,
even in the bitter temps we
experience here in Minnesota,
USA, during the bleak winter
months. A must.
Happy new week, sweet friend!
How serendipitous, @77d007ffd52761a0ec89f80eba6d82b3:disqus ! 🙂 That makes me smile. 🙂 Walks are essential for my well-being too. How I love them. 🙂
Oh yes! Needing one of those moments very much now! The book, the tea, the comfy sofa. Yours is a great “room of one’s own” practice.
http://mlleparadis.blogspot.com
I hope you are able to take a moment for yourself very soon, @9d73767d10227efff04c7307e331304c:disqus 🙂 You deserve it!
Ah yes, sitting here quietly enjoying a macchiato at my sunny kitchen table as I read the newspapers, blogs and catch up with emails. My man is still asleep and this is my quiet time. We all need this! Great post, Krista xox
That is such a beautiful picture, @lizposmyk:disqus 🙂 I’m so glad you make these sorts of moments for yourself too. XO
This looks and sounds so wonderful! I recharge by being in nature. Works every time. I have heard about the book you mention, and you have just enticed me to find out more about it. Also, now I have a insurmountable craving for eggs… 🙂 I would love to meet you in person one day Krista, you are so cool! I’m so happy we connected!
“recharge by being in nature” – me too!!! It never fails to ground and nourish me. 🙂 I would love to meet you too, @disqus_KhB24eQY43:disqus ! One day it WILL happen. 🙂
I do cherish my alone time, and will often work away in my studio, or sit by the fire with a book, or my knitting. I am much better company for having spent some time by myself.
Oh @tracyaltieri:disqus , you speak truth. 🙂 I too am MUCH better company after time to restore myself. 🙂
One thing I don’t do is give myself any me time at all. One day that will bite me in the ass, I just know it. I’ll try harder and that breakfast and cafe would suit me just fine.
You spend so much time loving on and spoiling others, dear @OrgasmicChef:disqus XO I hope you are able to take those cherished moments for you very soon. 🙂
Quiet time with a walk and a camera…..
That is bliss, @838717fe2469060163c90df57502b240:disqus 🙂 I feel restful after reading your words. 🙂
This is such a fabulous way to recharge Krista. I commend you to make the conscious decision to go out once a week and do this. Such a great idea! My favourite way is to take time for myself and be on my own, but I never do it regularly enough. Now you’ve motivated me! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that, @119c2cee80d4ff8a6f3916096ddfc8dd:disqus !! :_) You have so many lovely spots around you, I can’t wait to see which ones you choose for your alone time. 🙂
I love to do what you did to. It’s always a treat to have time to just be and to read and to think.
It is such a treat, @taniamykitchenstoriescomau:disqus 🙂 I feel spoiled every single time. 🙂
That looks just lovely Krista. My favourite way to recharge my spirits is to read 🙂
A long hot bath – or a long walk on my own! Like you, I need time alone and I get pretty cranky when I don’t have enough 😉