Get Better Sleep

Inspirational song: Dog and Butterfly (Heart)

I just watched a two hour recorded livestream from a young man I think is really interesting. His channel is No Lab Coat Required, and he does a great job of explaining scientific topics (generally medical) in plain English. He has been working on a multi-part series on the biological processes of gaining weight. The one I watched focused entirely on quantity and quality of sleep. Every year or so, I come back around to this topic, swearing to myself I will get better sleep, knowing if I actually did it there would be a cascade of benefits. Within a month, I'm staying up late again, watching videos or something equally unimportant, forgetting all my resolutions. I will try to hold on to this nugget of information a little longer, though. He said studies on circadian rhythm show that the sleep between 10 pm and 2 am is the "money sleep," where the most good is done. The stuff closer to dawn is REM, but this other is deep and more restorative. So on that note, I am telling myself to blog early (it's currently almost 9), and then take a relaxing bath and go to bed. How many days do you suppose I can keep that cycle up? Will I last a whole week?

The Mr had to take Beinn to the vet this morning, for his goopy ear. We got the diagnosis and treatment we expected, yeast infection and twice a day Otomax. They suggested when he cleans Beinn's ear, he use a combo of apple cider vinegar and witch hazel. That was a new one to me. I haven't seen witch hazel since I was a kid, I think. I bought some and mixed up the solution. The smell zapped me back to the linen closet in my grandmother's bathroom, and that was a wild memory. Beinn and the Mr are up on the mountain now. Big tough livestock guardian dog apparently was afraid of mountain thunderstorms, and needed to hide inside the cabin. What a silly boy.

I had a brief out with my daughter and Avery this afternoon. We needed a few craft supplies, and I needed a chance to kiss a soft baby head. All things acquired as needed.

It was unpleasantly hot while we were out, or at least it was to me. It was easily 15 degrees cooler than last weekend. But the temperatures plummeted when the storms rolled through here. We had massive gusty winds and blessedly small hail for a good half hour. Knocked our power out for a second, but that was the worst of it, for all we can tell. Housemate 1 and I stood out front and watched for a while, hoping that the hail would do no damage to our cars. I think we escaped.