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A Day to Recharge

June 6th, 2011

As an introvert, being around a lot of people wears me out both physically and emotionally. One of the reasons I really enjoy gardening is because it’s a great way for me to get some quiet time alone to recharge. After a busy week last week with lots of trips out and about, I was sorely in need of some quiet time. Mr Chiots was heading out for the day to cheer on some friends that were running a race, so luckily I had a day to myself. I thought about working in the garden, but I had been doing a lot of that all week and needed a bit of a rest day out of the sun.

I checked We Took to the Woods out of the library a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to find any measurable amount of time to sit down and get through more than 10 pages at once. I decided to make the most of my day by spending it sitting on the front porch in my little folding chair finishing up the book. There’s nothing like a good book and a few hours of uninterrupted reading to restore the soul. Now I’m ready to take on the week!

What’s your favorite way to recharge?

13 Comments to “A Day to Recharge”
  1. KimH on June 6, 2011 at 5:16 am

    I agree with you totally.. more introverted than not.. and gardening really helps me to relax and unwind..
    Yesterday I spent most of the day doing not much of anything..
    I sat on my deck with my eyes closed for about 5-10 minutes, several times. I finished a book I have been trying to finish for a while, The Search For Bridie Murphey, and I actually sat in front of the tv for about 15 minutes watching a documentary regarding Vikings That is sooo unusual for me, but I actually enjoyed it. :D
    I did pot up a few tomato plants that were hanging around and did a little bit of weeding in my tiny plot.. but it wasn’t too much.. nice & relaxing.

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  2. kristin @ going country on June 6, 2011 at 6:22 am

    Same. I like gardening (obviously, or I wouldn’t do so crazy much of it), but it can get to feel like straight work after awhile. but if I have a good book I’ve been wanting to read and get to sit down with it for even an hour–which happens less and less these days–it feels like the equivalent of a spa vacation or something.

    Apparently, I have low standards.

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  3. Jaye Whitney on June 6, 2011 at 7:18 am

    I’m with you! I love people/activities, but they wear me out emotionally and I always have to decompress afterwards and reading is what I enjoy the most.

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  4. goatpod2 on June 6, 2011 at 7:45 am

    Relaxing at the computer, watching TV, or reading sometimes.

    Amy

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  5. Carol on June 6, 2011 at 8:12 am

    A little spot of knitting. Something about the repetitive motion and the tactile experience of the fiber and needles is very soothing for me.

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  6. Barefeet In The Kitchen on June 6, 2011 at 9:00 am

    I love to lose myself in a good book.

    Reply to Barefeet In The Kitchen's comment

  7. Kelly on June 6, 2011 at 9:03 am

    Also an introvert, any of my hobbies, done alone, recharge me. Gardening and knitting are top of my list. When I’m super stressed and needing to escape entirely I turn to books, but they don’t recharge as much as help me forget for a while. The stress is still there when I put the book down. Knitting and gardening – in their productiveness – help lessen the stress since *some*thing is getting done.

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  8. MAYBELLINE on June 6, 2011 at 9:13 am

    Nap time.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  9. Candie on June 6, 2011 at 9:32 am

    I Love to read but I also like to have a day to clean with no one else around LOL. Its hard to get stuff done with my son underfoot to I like to have a day when I can clean with the music blasting!

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  10. deedee on June 6, 2011 at 9:56 am

    reading is how i survive my crazy life!

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  11. Gabe on June 6, 2011 at 10:00 am

    Hear, hear! I don’t talk to other people if I don’t have to (okay, not quite that extreme, but close), and I love being outside with the wind and the birds, and maybe the dog. And I’m a big reader, so nothing beats sitting on the porch in the summer with a good book and a glass of lemonade… I wish I had more time for it.

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  12. Valerie on June 6, 2011 at 11:08 am

    I am an extroverted introvert. I really don’t like big crowds either, but somehow I find myself running a booth at a farmers market or (like this last weekend) doing a presentation for Organic Valley for a hundred kids.

    I spent yesterday recharging by reading sustainable earth and the magazine Eating Well. Then I watched several episodes of Grey’s Anatomy while eating coconut ice cream (chocolate and hazelnut) before I went to bed early. It wasn’t really a recharge as my husband worked and I had all 4 of my kids and did 6 loads of laundry start to finish… but I feel emotionally recharged. If that makes sense. I take the types of recharge I can get. ;)

    Blessings,

    Val

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  13. Sandy on June 14, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    I agree with you. I am one who enjoys my own company. When the honeyman says to me have you even started your van lately and my reply is ummmm yes a week and half ago :O). He just laughs and goes and starts it so it can run. I love being at home. I love my garden and our farm animals. Its where I am happy. I thought what you said about being around a lot of people wearing you out physically and emotionally summed it up well. Oh sure once in a while a trip to the big city to the fabric store is fun, once ever few months does me on that as well :O). Others find it odd I can be home so much, they say what do you do? Um I garden, I can and dehydrate, I sew, I take care of of the goats and chickens, I exercise, I’m a runner. I am never at a loss for something to do. :O). Apparently for some unless you are out and about you have no life? I find that as odd as they do me :O)…..

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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