How to –
Have a Budget Pamper
Spa Day
By Zoe Ainsworth-Grigg
Published by Zoe
Ainsworth- Grigg
Copyright 2013 Zoe
Ainsworth- Grigg
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by Zoe Ainsworth-Grigg at
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Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author
We all need some space for ourselves from time to time. Indulge
in a day of pampering with these ideas. Set aside your day, it is possible if
we lead a busy life to get people to look after the children or take a day off
from work and really set aside this time and enter it into your diary, make
arrangements for cover and decide that this will be your day come what may.
The key is preparation and I have prepared a shopping list.
Items required
Lemon, avocado, two low calorie meals of your choice, 1 egg,
green tea, 5 litre bottle of water, fruit and nut mixture ( not peanuts).
Detox bath soak available on line from Holland and Barratt
no postage. This leaves the skin soft
and silky and will also detox internally without stringent diet.
Body scrub and body cream, face pack.
Items for manicure and pedicure
Hair colour (optional)
( It is often possible to get samples from the beauty
counters and this is an ideal time to try new products out.)
Programme for your
day
Start with a drink of lemon juice and hot water.
Go back to bed and snooze.
When you are ready to get up- dress casually.
Begin with this meditation
Om Mani Padme Hum
Each of
the six syllables will close the womb door to its corresponding world.
Recite
this prayer for the liberation of all beings everywhere. Repeat the phrase over
and over out loud or in your mind, if you have an incense candle, light this
too.
A literal translation is “The heart of the lotus flower”. The Lotus
flower being the symbol for Eternity, God, or Spirituality depending on which
tradition you belong.
Breakfast
Scrambled egg and avocado (egg for protein and avocado for essential
fats)
Keeping busy will stop you from thinking about food.
You may
want to start a project
Take an hour to write
down things you would really like to do, if you had the time:
Sort out photographs,
Start a family blog,
Plan a holiday,
Revamp your wardrobe and send all those unwanted clothes to eBay.- make
a list.
DRINK AS MUCH WATER AS YOU CAN THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
Take a
walk
Now is the time to have a brisk walk around the block, before lunch,
blow away the urgency of actually doing anything.
Lunch
Prepare
and eat one of your ready meals and finish with green tea.( Green tea detoxes
and rehydrates.)
Afternoon
Prepare for your afternoon by sorting out the things for your manicure
and pedicure.
Run your detox bath as deep and as hot as you can manage, adding the
detox soak. Before getting into your soak bath do a body scrub to remove any
dry skin.
If you are going to do a hair colour, now is the time to put it on your
hair, and keep it on while you soak.
Set a timer for 40 minutes and just soak. Add music from any source.
After your bath, dry your hair and put on body cream Then when fully
absorbed wrap yourself in a blanket
and read this short story.
Short
Story
The Autumn Tree
The Nissan four by four stood in
the garage. Hilary was scared of driving it.
So far she had only used the car for supermarket runs and shopping
trips. It had been bought with her husbands retirement lump sum. She and Gerald had worked in the Foreign
Office Gerald in the Diplomatic Corp. Gerald tired of the foreign heat that he
endured, wanted to spend retirement in the West Country, exploring little known
villages and walking on Exmoor. They had married secretly after a long affair
lasting for years in between Gerald’s assignments and Hilary faithfully
carrying out administration in the F.O.
Now after they had found a
converted barn which contained many of the features they had wanted including
the view across to the Quantocks, Hilary was alone. Gerald had developed
prostate cancer. It was diagnosed too
late and after a short spell in a hospice Gerald had died leaving Hilary
bereft. They had no children and no
family to speak of. Loneliness engulfed her daily. Gerald was her best friend,
her lover and for a short while her husband.
Before Gerald got ill, she had
taken a course in the village, in using stained glass as an art material. It was just one of those adult education
courses but she had met people and after a year, she had become quite
proficient at making quirky jewellery.
She went down to the kitchen in her slippers and dressing gown. She saw no reason to hurry. Today she was going to Glastonbury to see if
she could sell some of her work. She had
so much of it, what did craftspeople do with all the things they made, she
wondered?
She was going to try to drive the
beast in the garage. At some point she was going to have to tame her fears.
She looked up Post Codes for the
places she was visiting. Cupping a cup
of coffee in her hands, the autumn day outside her window was promising
sunshine. The sycamore tree in the field
was turning its large flat leaves to gold and red plates, some of which would
end up on her drive. She didn’t mind it was a glorious tree. It brought to mind
a poem she once liked by Anne Rubin,
I
want to grow old like an Autumn Tree
Blazing
with Radiance, a flame-like finale.
Deep
chestnut hair dye will crown my grey head
I’ll
paint my nails russet and my lips cherry red.
I’ll
have gowns in orange, my skin ancient bronze
My
shawls will have fringes, like gold bracken fronds.
I
won’t wear purple, or age gracefully
I
want to greet Winter, like an Autumn tree.
She didn’t have an orange dress but
she had a favourite red one, a woollen wrap around which she always wore with
chunky jewellery, When she got ready she
used her own jewellery this time . She
had a black poncho and black boots. She
was tall and slim and looked very stylish, her hair was cut in a flattering
bob, and she was lucky she had not turned grey yet.
Well, I will celebrate sixty in
style, she thought. I’ll make a day of
it and go to Glastonbury via Muchelney.
There was a little café there that she loved which often had live music
and served good coffee. After coffee, she went to the church. The angels always made her smile.They were painted
in the sixteenth century and were bare breasted. It was extraordinary. But the church itself was special. She didn’t really have a traditional Anglican
Christian faith. She believed in
honesty, good endeavour and her personal code meant that she tried to respect
everyone. Nevertheless she sat for a moment in one of the pews and something
made her say a silent prayer for Gerald.
She also liked the pottery tin
Mulcheney. She liked the fact that the artefacts are made by hand.Pots somehow
keep the imprint of strong hands moulding and encouraging the clay to make
something perfectly cylindrical. The colours too were earthy and natural. One never saw those colours in machine made
products. Unfortunately, she was a
creature of habit and she liked to drink from porcelain. She preferred,
porcelain mugs for coffee and porcelain tea cups for tea. Tea did not taste
right from anything else than a porcelain teacup.
Reaching the pottery she had a
surprise, at the rear was an art exhibition and they were honouring
Matisse. She couldn’t believe it, there
were actually some Matisse original paper cuts in the exhibition. She was in
awe. In this tiny Somerset town she was
standing in front of an original from a French impressionist painter and one
whose work she loved. Admittedly it was
a paper cut done towards the end of his life when he was almost bed ridden but
even so! She had to have one. £400 did
not seem unreasonable for an original. The canvas, duly wrapped and put into
the car she couldn’t believe her luck.
Was this going to be a lucky day?
Onwards and forwards she set the
Sat Nav for the restaurant in Glastonbury where she would have lunch. She knew
Glastonbury well, She and Gerald used to like to climb the Tor. But she was
going to take things slowly. She parked
well and ate lunch in a vegetarian restaurant as she ate very little meat apart
from chicken. Glastonbury is a funny place for the initiated. The fashions were
fantastic. All kinds of glorious clothes
ere worn the men had dreadlocks or long
hair. The women wore felt hats or ethnic
clothes and hats. There were all kinds
of prints from African to Asian to Chinese. She felt =t quite ordinary in her
attire.
After lunch she tried a few of the shops but
either the manager was out or they had regular suppliers. This was an arty place she was bringing coals
to Newcastle.The last place she thought of was the Abbey shop. She asked for the Manager. The manager was a pleasant woman about her
age called Monica. Monica looked at the jewellery and looked at Hilary’s face.
I’m sorry, I can’t talk now, Can
you come back between five and five thirty, I will have space to see you
then. Why don’t you look in the Abbey
grounds?
That sounded like a good idea. She
had seen an art shop as she passed the high street shops and she went back and
purchased a sketchbook and some pencils. She then made her way to The Abbey
grounds paying her fee in the little kiosk. She was transfixed by the beauty of
the ruins. Gerald would have loved this.
She took out her sketch book, she then transposed some of the shapes and the
patterns of the building that would make good jewellery designs. She walked though the grounds finding herself
calmer and reflective. The ruins of the Abbey sent shadows with the afternoon
sun and they had a kind of majesty. The pinnacles seemed to point outward to
the sky and out into the Universe. The crypt almost intact had a sense of
santicty. She went to the herbalist
garden and looked at all the old remedies. The she sat by the man made pond and
realised she could see the Tor from there.
She took out her mobile and took a few photographs.
She looked at all the beautiful
trees changing colour wearing their autumn colours. Trees live for hundred’s of
years. Their roots go deep into the earth.
What were her roots of her being now? She felt in touch with the earth
in that place in a spiritual way. She thought of her ancestors going back to
medieval times. The roots of my being ,
she thought, are gnarled like an old oak tree. Branches of my being have fallen
off; I have been pruned by experience. My being has unconscious leaves open to
the sun and buffeting by the wind. And
my purpose, my purpose is to go on growing personal character strength before I
die. She felt a part of the divine process, to be a still , silent testament to
nature and ultimately to just be.
Like a tree there is a beginning
and ending but also a purpose, any tree breathes the planet. Even in death wood
is part of the ecosystem, so every life resonates with others. However, simple or
quiet, our lives can speak.
At about five she made her way back
to the shop. Monica was waiting. She looked at Hilary’s jewellery. She could see that it was well made and had a
certain flair. Being stained glass she
thought it might fit in.
I think I can use these. Look I’m bushed. I have been on my feet all day and it has
been busy. Do you fancy the pub across
the road for a bite to eat and a glass of wine? We can talk prices and I can
look more closely. They went across to
the Crown. It was a comfortable if very
old pub. Hilary noticed a poster as they
went in. “The Blue Rats “ Rhythm and
Blues cover Band. She noticed the date
it was tonight. She looked closely at the faces, The one at the back must be
fifty or sixty. He had a designer beard
and a very expensive hair cut. Perhaps she could stay for the first set.
Monica was a nice woman to do
business with, they agreed commission fees and sale or return and the promise
that if she did make some pieces based on her sketches that day she was to
bring them in. They had a lot in common.
Monica was widowed too. Monica talked
about her late husband a bank manager and Hilary told her about Gerald and
their sometimes exciting sometimes dull life in the Foreign Office. Somehow it
was easier to talk to a stranger who was a kindred spirit, rather than kindly
neighbours who didn’t really know how to comfort her.
It was eight thirty before the band
had finally set up and started, half an hour late, Monica stayed with her until
the start and then took her leave Hilary
understood that Monica was very tired. Hilary was tired too but how often did
she get this opportunity? Not often. She
collected a soft drink before Monica went, and when she needed to drive back, one glass of wine
would have dissipated through her system.
Towards the end of the set, the man she had spotted at the back of the
group came to the front and sang a solo. “Lady in Red”. It was impossible not
to associate Princess Diana with that particular song. But the way he sang it
was all his own. She knew he was
directing it at her. Her red dress. She
blushed despite herself. Then she was
embarrassed and annoyed. She wasn’t some young band groupie. For heavens sake!
She collected her things and made a hasty departure.
She got lost going out of
Glastonbury towards Taunton. The sun was a pale yellow globe just slowly going
down beyond the horizon. She looked over
the fields, she loved the levels, the slight mist and the clouds all merged and
it was impossible to say where the land and the sky separated. She pulled into a gateway to a field. Was she
on the right road? She pulled out the map from under the passenger seat. It had been quite a day, perhaps she could
recline the seat and just rest for a minute.
She was first aware that she was
very cold. Slowly she was rising out of a cold blue lake but it was misty,
surfaced. It was misty. She looked out, it wasn’t mist, and it was
fog. There was someone walking towards the car, quickly she locked the doors. A
tall figure, square, purposeful, sort of angry, emerged out of the mist. She
scrabbled for her mobile phone, it was dead. A face , a face at her drivers
window. Very, very close. The Face. It had a designer beard, but a beanie was
pulled over his head. It was vaguely
familiar. Will he go by , she was crossing her fingures. Her heart leapt, there
was knock on her driver’s window.
You cant stop here, there’ll be a
tractor along in a minute.
Sorry, she tried to switch on the
engine. She flooded the engine.
She opened the drivers window.
Look, leave it a minute , it will
start Ok I’m sure. Then come up to the farm you look as though you could do
with a cup of tea. It’s about a hundred
yards on your left.
The voice, she recognised that
voice it was the man in the band. Farm,
what farm? She was so confused, she did
as he said. She was flustered.
She drove into the farm driveway
and then into the courtyard. He was
waiting for her.
Come on, let’s get you sorted.
He led the way into a little
converted cottage. The green AGA held a
metal teapot and the square table in the homely kitchen seemed inviting.
The bathroom’s down there if you
want it.
She returned, after she had combed
her hair and found a wet wipe in her bag for her face.
Sorry I don’t know what happened; I
just thought I would close my eyes for a second.
No harm done. You were at the gig
in Glastonbury weren’t you. I recognise
you. Did you enjoy it. He was cooking
eggs.
Very much.
Here. You look as though some scrambled eggs might
suit. I’m retired myself. My son manages
the farm but he might have been rather cross if he had found you blocking the
field.
Look you might like to come along
with a friend to another of our gigs. This is my card with the website.
She looked at his face again, the
designer beard the expensive hair cut and now the kind eyes. Was there a Mrs
Kind Eyes? Looking around the untidy kitchen she thought not.
She got out her handbag, Here’s my website, I sell jewellery.
YOU must have lots of women throw
themselves at you or knickers or something? He smiled.
I try not to encourage it,
honestly.
On the road again, she
chuckled. Is sixty the new forty? Can life really begin again?
She arrived home with a comforting
wheel crunch on the driveway gravel. She had tamed the beast. She looked at her
front doorway. I’ll put some tubs there with daffodils perhaps. And with a lift in her heart, she thought
hopefully of Spring.
The End.
Relax now and try to snooze.
Mid Afternoon - Time to energise.
Before the manicure and pedicure
have another cup of green tea, now is the time to multi task and put on a face
mask while you do a manicure and pedicure
You know how you like to do this.
Late meal
It time for your second low calorie
ready meal. Hopefully there is not too
much washing up.
Finally
Catch up on iPlayer all the things
you missed ( more green tea) and retire to bed.
GOODNIGHT!
Zoe Ainsworth –Grigg, is retired from a Government
Department. She has a background in the Humanities and she holds a Diploma in
Psychology from Birkbeck University. She
is an agnostic Quaker. She now raises funds on a voluntary basis for www.purplefieldproductions.org.
Find more of her books at www.zoeainsworthgriggbooks.com
