New outdoor chair
Last October, as I was contemplating the impact weather has on my energy levels, blogger VP, over at Veg Plotting, suggested having somewhere close to the house to sit where I could look at the garden even when I couldn't work in it. That got Kevin and I thinking. The one we had in the conservatory I didn't find comfortable and as a consequence didn't use it. So we moved our comfy Poang chair out of the lounge and into the conservatory. It worked (thanks VP). I do use the chair frequently and I do enjoy the garden and the visiting birds and insect wildlife even when I don't have energy to put trowel to soil.
It then occurred to me that I need a really comfortable and weather proof chair to sit outside in the warmer weather as well. Something that I could rest in when the weather was good but my ME too bad for me to do any gardening. Also a chair for me to rest in when I was gardening and taking the frequent micro-breaks I needed in order to pace myself.
Taking a break during the potato planting task
Whilst we had a couple of chairs for sitting on when eating outside, they weren't that comfortable for a proper relax and I found I wasn't using them. Having learnt the importance of having the right chair in the conservatory, I decided it was worth investing in a good chair for outside too. Off to Ikea we went (I know, Ikea, but it's what we can afford) to peruse their many gardening chairs. I was all ready to choose a nice wooden chair, when I saw the one in the photo at the top of this post.
I actually tried it out of curiosity, as I didn't think it was that attractive nor did I think it would be that comfortable. Thank goodness for curiosity! It might not look it, but it's incredibly comfortable. And it has about 5 different settings which are easy to adjust whilst you are sitting, or, as you can see in the potato break photo above, lying in it.
And because it's so comfortable, I've found it encourages me to take the breaks I need to whilst gardening. I mean, who can resist a lie down in a comfy chair in the sun?! And in a very practical sense, the comfy chair means I am gardening in a more ME-friendly manner, pacing my gardening tasks and rest.
It cannot be underestimated, the importance of having the right chair. Now, I suppose I better finish planting those potatoes.
I'll finish planting the potatoes, soon...
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I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. And if you blog about gardening with ME/a chronic illness, do link to this post in your blog and leave a comment below with a link to your post, so we can all find each other.
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