Slow Start

For the second time this week, I've had a sleepless night.

Usually I sleep well, and so it makes me wonder what's going on. I'm just about to quote something I wrote on my blog the last time this happened, to-wit:

I'm suspicious that it had to do with the darkness of the day yesterday. This is a problem in the Pacific Northwest and other areas where daytime darkness occurs frequently. Here's a quote from a factsheet on Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine:

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders all involve a problem in the timing of when a person sleeps and is awake. The human body has a master circadian clock in a control center of the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This internal clock regulates the timing of such body rhythms as temperature and hormone levels. The primary circadian rhythm that this body clock controls is the sleep-wake cycle. The circadian clock functions in a cycle that lasts a little longer than 24 hours. The circadian clock is “set” primarily by visual cues of light and darkness that are communicated along a pathway from the eyes to the SCN. This keeps the clock synchronized to the 24-hour day.

I haven't had a sleepless night in a while, although it used to happen frequently. I don't really have any other explanation for it. Since I spent the entire day inside yesterday, and a good portion of it in my basement sewing room, it serves as a wake-up call (pun intended) to me that I need to get outside a little bit each day, even if it is only to sit in the dry breezeway watching the rain. Natural light matters.

I had a little chuckle about this because it's exactly what's going on now. Our weather is sucking, and so indeed, I spent the entire day inside yesterday, a good portion of it in my basement sewing room. It makes sense, doesn't it? I had a good mind to get out for a walk this morning, but now it's raining cats and dogs, and there's no way I'm going out. For these occasions, however, I have a light box. Not the kind you use for transferring embroidery designs, but the kind you use if you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. This morning, I got it out of the closet and used it. Hopefully, it will help.

So all of that to say that I'm dragging today. While I was awake last night, I stitched the 2nd block for Lisa's retirement quilt. Here's the original block:

Here it is rendered in fabric and floss. The color choices were Lisa's Mom's:

So, I still have some hope of getting some sewing done today, but I need to get going on it. I chose the fabrics for my January and February blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and that's next on the list.
Nothing intelligent is coming out of this brain today, and so I'll go try not to sew through my finger. That would be intelligent, wouldn't it?
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