On dreaming

The curtains are up, dear peoples. We are still basking in the glow of having successfully visited IKEA and bought pretty much only what we intended. A remarkable feat I know. You can find out how we did it here. The curtains are sheer. They create a lovely diffused light in the rooms. This means that the flattened cardboard box has still to be deployed of an evening in our bedroom to block out the over-exuberant street lighting. Needs must, and all that. And needs really do must, as I’ve been learning from Professor Matthew Walker’s fascinating and somewhat sobering book Why we sleep. It’s certainly an eye-opener. A good solid eight hours’ sleep will make you look younger, slimmer, be more creative, cleverer, less likely to become anxious or depressed, and more likely to avoid nasty things like cancer, stroke, diabetes and dementia. Too little sleep does exactly the reverse. Pay no heed, dear peoples, to those misguided folks who chirrup that they’ll sleep when they are dead. As they are more likely to be dead sooner than they think. A lot sooner. 

The Boyfriend, of course, is a superb sleeper. As is the Cat. Me, I’m more so, so. So good sleep hygiene is essential for me. And an excellent reason to invest in linen bedding for its fabulous thermoregulatory properties. See, really there’s nothing that linen isn’t perfect for. Now you can even get your linen duvet cover at IKEA… along with cinnamon rolls. Or if you are feeling flush, you could splash out on a colourful cocoon from Society of Wanderers. Oh, a person can dream…

“Colour! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.” – Paul Gauguin

Do guard those precious eight hours. Let no one cheat you of your dreams. To sleep well is to live well. Ooh, I’m feeling quite evangelical about this…

Talking of recharging (yes, there’s a theme here), I was intrigued to read how they are converting sewage into green energy in Oregon; replenishing ground water in California; and how nuclear fusion may be a step closer to reality. How marvellous would that be? Other food for thought includes this fascinating article on how we have lost the connection between our senses and our food.  Just prod and sniff, dear peoples, prod and sniff. And how about this, a stylish reimagining of the grass skirt, bringing a whole new meaning to grow your own…

Here they are, my favourite restorations/projects of the moment… Claude Cartier’s fantastically colourful apartment in Bordeaux and this striking cliff top house on the Costa Brava by Marià Castelló Arquitectura.

I leave you with this… a tactile mediation on the art of pot-making. So soothing…

A bientôt