August Favourites

I’ve never been one to shy away from copying a good idea.  Several of the people I follow online record or publish monthly ‘Favourites’ or ‘Added Value’ lists and being essentially nosey,  I love this glimpse into their lives:  what they’ve been reading, buying, learning, even eating!

So here is my August Favourites list – I hope you enjoy it and even find some inspiration. These ‘recommendations’ are purely personal and not sponsored in any way. 

Reading

I’m loving  “Aging Beautifully” by Margaret Manning, a gorgeous, illustrated book based on her cards of the same name.  The subtitle says it all :  “A celebration of your vibrant, authentic and timeless self”.   Turn to any page and you’ll find support or inspiration in a quick, one-page read alongside a beautiful illustration.  I keep the paperback by my bed for evening or morning encouragement and I have the Kindle version on my phone for traveling.  You can find ‘Aging Beautifully’ on Amazon.  

I’ve been binge reading the psychological suspense novels of Lisa Jewell – too many to list here, but for me they are the epitome of unputdownable.  Thoroughly recommended.

Apps

As you may know, I’ve not been watching TV for the month of August (and actually half of July too) but my screen time elsewhere has gone up.  I don’t know if a meditation app counts as screen time (my eyes are closed) but I recently went for a paid subscription to Insight Timer.  Much of their content is free and I’ve used it for years but they have 10-part courses that I enjoy and find useful, and for these you have to subscribe.  I’ve loved ‘Mindfulness and Compassion in Challenging Times’, and ‘Methods for Living with Pain and Illness’ , both by Vidyamala Burch and am currently listening to ‘Speaking and Living your Deeper Truth’ by Vanessa Loder.  Well worth trying the Insight Timer App for free, then explore the paid content.

Strands: a new game in the Wordle family from the New York Times.  I’ve added it to my daily dose of Wordle and Connections.  I consider it brain training.

The Headway app condenses best-selling non-fiction books into bite size summaries which you can either listen to or read on your screen.  I’ve been listening to summaries of books I always meant to read, such as “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. It’s a useful and educational alternative to scrolling social media. 

Summer food

I don’t like complicated cooking any time of year, but in summer it’s all about meal assembly.  To that end I have been making versions of Greek salad, which sometimes just means any selection of salad vegetables and olives; the olives are a must, preferably Kalamata.  If I feel fancy I’ll put a couple of slices of frozen garlic bread in the air fryer. On a sunny evening I can close my eyes and be transported to an Ionian island.

Shopping

I love the way other women can casually throw a denim jacket over a summer dress for a more chic and sassy look than you get with a cardigan. I’ve wanted such a jacket forever, but have had to admit they don’t really suit me, until I found one in fuchsia pink rather than faded blue! What a revelation – it must be the colour rather than the style.  Now I have to go shopping for those dresses to go with it…

I volunteer once a week in a local charity shop and I consider it my duty to visit all the others in the neighbourhood (and there are plenty) to see what they’re offering and at what price. This could be a whole article in itself, but just to choose two of my finds, I picked up for £1 a cute resin brooch with a fuchsia pink flower embedded in it, which looks perfect on the collar of the above-mentioned jacket.

Also reduced to £1 was a small wooden sign stating “All Visitors must be Approved by The Cat”, which essentially means I will never have any visitors, as @threepawsfelix fears them all.

Over all,  August has been a good month – it’s a family birthday month (including mine) so there have been celebrations, bunting and cake.  I have enjoyed having visitors (we ignored the cat approval sign) and also a weekend away with friends.  I’ll report separately on what I’ve learnt, gained and lost by giving up TV for the month – and it's more than I thought.

On the down side, a veritable army of slugs has used my garden as their local food bank and treated all my new plants as donations.  I’ve had to stop regular swimming due to a rotator cuff injury.  But, that’s life! 

 I hope you’ve had a great month and here’s to a sparkling September!