No Zzzzzzzzs

                                                 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Today is gloomy and cool.  Currently foggy and a misty rain falling, not expected to clear today and not getting very warm.  A good day to stay curled up in the house with a book, knitting or spinning and a cup of tea.  I go through spells of not being able to sleep well at night.  I don't know if it is age related, seasonal or situational.  I have long ago switched to decaf coffee, only one cup in the morning, decaf or herbal tea, except iced tea when I'm out and have no control over their brew (but even then I usually choose water).  I do like chocolate and try not to indulge in the evenings.  Sometimes, I know it is situational, when my brain won't turn off and I worry or ponder the problem.  Earlier this week it was the chicks overcrowding that didn't let me doze off until 4 a.m.  Also concerning is the knee strain that hubby got out walking Ranger about 7 weeks ago.  That sent him to the GP a week or two later and he was diagnosed with a meniscus tear, given a steroid shot on the opposite side of the knee and told to see and orthopedic specialist if it didn't improve in a couple of weeks.  It didn't improve and he saw the ortho a couple of weeks ago and was told that the Xrays didn't show a tear, he thought it was inflammation, gave him another steroid shot under the kneecap on the side of the pain, Celebrex for the inflammation and told to call back in a couple of weeks if it wasn't better.  It isn't, so now he is scheduled for an MRI.  He is down because he can't do anything physical that he enjoys, even walking is painful.  I am worried about him.
     Sunday night my sleeplessness was situational, fretting over the overcrowding in the chicken coop and worrying about how to solve it, buying another coop not an option.  Craig's listing the extra birds, not the desirable outcome as son wants some chicken in his freezer.  In spite of that night's lack of sleep, I worked all afternoon building the temporary shelter and run for those birds.  I did sleep somewhat better Monday night.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon doing garden labor, hand weeding the grape bed finally, doing a bit of planting, building a trellis for the peas that are starting to come up and hardening off the veggie starts from in the house.  I was tired so we went out to eat.  I ate light, but had a chocolate milkshake for dessert.  Not a good move and again last night I had a hard time falling asleep and my sleep was restless and broken.
     It is good that it is too miserable to work outside today, I just lack the energy.  I will just put the veggie starts out in the gloom and drizzle to harden off and try not to nap the day away, so perhaps I will be able to sleep tonight.  I don't want to resort to sleep drugs, though I have been known to take a Benadryl occasionally when I have a string of restless nights.