John Thompson's Easiest Piano book series is very good. For the most part, it introduces one new concept at a time and increases difficulty slowly to maintain motivation. I'm nearly halfway through beginner piano but stuck on playing multiple different quarter notes with each hand. The songs that introduce this skill use notes I have less experience with annoyingly. But I have improved at reading bass clef.
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Lyndsay Barwell
@treehugger@sciences.social
mastodon 4.7.3Works in mental health and is doing a dissertation in chronic fatigue and counselling to get a masters in counselling.
Does aerial silks, trapeze and hoop for fun. And reading to relax.
Living with long covid but hopefully recovering.
Would like to do more board games, travel, gardening, swimming, and cooking.
She/they
55 Followers
66 Following
16 Posts
Joined February 04, 2025
The Politics of Time by Guy Standing was a good book to read just after I'd stopped working (for pay). He talks about the differences between work and labour as well as leisure and recreation, according to the Greeks. He writes a history of how people have spent their time, the problems of work today and ideas for the future. It is packed full of arguments and ideas, criticising the belief everyone should labour for money.
Things I've learned:
Gardening often gives me brain fog the next day, no matter how low key I try to make it.
Walking 5 minutes, doing my aerial class and walking 5 minutes after does not.
Yoga doesn't and actually lowers my heart rate a lot compared to talking except during happy baby.
Cautious swimming seems okay though I haven't tried it much.
The smart watch records my first daily activity as very intense.
I really underestimate how long I am active for.
Replying to
@vlrny@disabled.social
Not really though it would help to know I'd be cared for. In a sense I'm more afraid of becoming more disabled now I have long COVID because I probably felt invincible to some degree before. Its also hard to imagine the reality you describe. Were lucky we do get some care though not without a fight which makes me less disabled. So I focus on the other things I've lost.
Replying to
@Centretowner @kevinbowrin wow, what does a 50% cut to via rail mean for prices? It's already expensive. A 12% cut to CBC? And massive cuts to the climate change department? Why??
Replying to
@petealexharris@mastodon.scot @EF@mastodon.bsd.cafe @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot I have left the labour party though, I just couldn't keep supporting them, especially as someone with long covid after the whole PIP debacle.
Replying to
@juchti not only are ME/CFS and long covid clinics not testing for co-occuring conditions like POTS and still focused on services only from OTs and physios, they are closing long covid *and* ME/CFS clinics in the UK. I know if you can resolve high heart rate, it does make a difference even if there is still fatigue. If you can screen people for symptoms and advise them early it makes a difference. But this all seems to continue to be ignored.
Replying to
@juchti also I have recently found out there are very high rates of fatigue after sepsis, probably similar to SARS, and this is completely unacknowledged on discharge from hospital.
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@petealexharris@mastodon.scot @EF@mastodon.bsd.cafe @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot In the first past the post system, in some areas it wont make sense to vote green and split the vote. Love this video and would love to vote green but will have to decide closer to election time.
Replying to
@juchti I'm intrigued by, "Anatomic issues, particularly in the spine, represent a third contributing factor." I have spinal sclerotic lesions, only discovered because I had concerns about colon cancer and then they were very concerned about blood cancer (I'm fine). I have no idea how common benign sclerotic lesions are or how often they cause other symptoms like pain. I don't have back pain but I started to when I couldn't keep up my weekly physical activity that strengthens me.
Replying to
@juchti that could all be coincidence, sore backs are common. We just don't know enough.
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@kevinbowrin how is the NDP so unpopular right now? Is there any hope for the left? I'm a Canadian living in the UK. People are fed up with labour and either going far right or left to the greens. Two party system is over for the moment. Canada seems to have gone in the opposite direction.
Replying to
@Troggie@beige.party the pain afterwards was not like period pain. Or it was like what women in the top 5 or 10% for period pain experience. I was stuck in bed for hours.
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@petealexharris@mastodon.scot @EF@mastodon.bsd.cafe @LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot I know labour have done a lot of not progressive things but that's as left as Cheshire generally goes. I think polls showed reform at around a third recently. From what I've seen of my labour MP, it could be better but he'd be better than reform.