Notes and links from Tue 7 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/07/notes-and-links-from-tue.html

When I sat down this evening and opened this document I was surprised to see I hadn't got any links ready for today's post. None whatsoever. I'd sorted out the reflective cover for the bay window, which hangs nicely now and is doing the job, and had my psychotherapy session, which was a bit more intense that usual but didn't leave me wiped out. Then I watched some soccer (Egypt wuz robbed), placed a supermarket order and did a bit of tidying up in the kitchen. Nothing out of the ordinary but definitely no sitting on my laptop reading articles and making notes.

So, no links today. Plenty of tabs open with interesting articles ready to go but that's not where my head is at right now.

Notes and links from Tue 7 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/07/notes-and-links-from-tue.html

Notes and links from Mon 6 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/06/notes-and-links-from-mon.html

Mostly recovering and pottering today but did need to do some prep for the heatwave. I’d planned out how to hang the big silver shade over the front window with the minimum of effort (because effort is in scarce supply these days) and with Fiona’s help I got both screws into the brickwork with ease. Then we hung the sheet and I pulled it tight, only for it to tear where I’d put the eyelet in. Unfortunately, as it’s the skin of an indoor hydroponics tent, it’s not particularly tough material, so I’m going to have to try something else. I reckon I know what to do though. Will see if it works tomorrow.

Notes and links from Sun 5 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/05/notes-and-links-from-sun.html

Woke up grumpy as fuck today and quickly realised I wasn’t going to be much use or fun to be around so went back to bed. Feeling a bit better this evening after a decent stretch of box breathing and a good nap.
In hindsight this week was a lot and my planning wasn’t sufficient. A lot in this case being “going to a quiet cafe for half an hour” and then a couple of days later “writing something long-ish for my blog” outside of my usual slow, paced pottering. I’m not beating myself up because it will take me a long time to get this right, if I get it right at all. I shall remain optimistic, even when my optimism might lead me astray.

Notes and links from Sat 4 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/04/notes-and-links-from-sat.html

Slept for a good 12 hours last night and into the afternoon, so I must have been wiped out. Reckon it was the writing what done it, on top of fallout from Wednesday. It’s a clear sign that while I might be managing the pacing and avoiding the booms and busts, my actual capacity has not changed too much over the last year. I still can’t do fuckall of note compared to my pre-CFS self. What I can do is squeeze out moments of clarity where I can be relatively normal, make the most of them, and then not crash too badly afterwards. Or something like that.

Notes and links from Friday 3 July: https://notes.peteashton.com/2026/07/03/notes-and-links-from-friday.html

Mostly in the garden today finishing the Big Read piece below, responding to a trenchant review of the book about the Weather Underground, the inspiration for that Leonardo DiCaprio movie you enjoyed recently. I think its length, and that I’ve been working on it for days, is a clear sign I need to get back to proper long-form writing on a dedicated blog. Hope you enjoy it. It could probably do with a couple more drafts and maybe I’ll come back to it once I’ve read the book it’s about, but these are supposed to be off-the-cuff notes, so here you go.
In other news I hung the shiny panel of hydroponic tent out of the front bedroom window and it kinda worked. Needs tweaking so it blocks more light, and I don’t have any way to secure it in the wind. Thankfully heatwaves days tend to be pretty still.