Yay! I’ve finished the heels. Once I get to the heel, I stick with one pair until the last stitch.
Found on Facebook. Truth. I’m not even aiming for good. I’m aiming for fun. Music.
My newest project is making copies of some of my favorite pieces from an ancient book so that I can tape them together to avoid page turning. I’m horrid at the turns. Just not fast or coordinated to do that anymore.
The beach is finished!!! Now I need to straighten, seal, and send.
My other projects are holding their own. Not much progress. I can announce that yesterday I managed my 5 miles in 30 minutes on my stationary bike. Today, though, I just managed 15 minutes. My body is still not up to par.
Peace. I know. Who thinks of COVID as peaceful? But 2020 gave us a moment of peace. Many embraced this time as a time to grow, introspect. Many learned new skills or strengthened their talents. It all fit into my favorite part of the movie, Groundhog’s Day. What if we were given time to get better? Time to embrace our passions? We had that time and many of us were surprised at what we could do.
The thing is, I’d been thinking that way since ‘fibromyalgia’ took over my life. That’s what the doctor labeled the pain I went through. The pain left no energy and was all inclusive of my life. Yet at times it would disappear. That diagnosis was over 15 years ago.
But it was during that COVID year that I needed a tooth removed. The dentist gave me a round of antibiotics before he’d do the extraction.
On extraction day, I accidentally broke my baby toe. So immediately after having the tooth pulled, I went to Urgent Care. My mask was full of blood. I looked like a sated vampire.
That doctor looked me over. Yep, the toe was broken but outside of a crazy boot, there wasn’t much more to do. But with my temp he decided to put me on another round of antibiotics.
A weird thing happened. Even though my toe hurt, I didn’t hurt all over like I would have before that second round. Any hurt used to became body wide. Like every nerve was feeling the same pain as the stubbed toe. But suddenly the ‘fibro’ had disappeared. I don’t think it was ever that. But maybe a low grade infection had been in me for YEARS maybe decades.
So now I wasn’t working. I was living in a fear that the pain would return. But it didn’t. I was free to pursue my passions and curiosities. All languages, knitting, crocheting, loom-knitting, diamond painting, etc. etc. I was given Groundhog’s Day and pain relief.
That’s why I keep track of all my fun. The bits and pieces of my peace.
In lieu of Finishing Friday I offer this stream:
Haven’t done much in these. I need about two inches before the heel starts.
About the same for my watermelon socks.
See that wad of yarn vomit? Yeah. That’s how much I had to tink back. I was well into the heel when I noticed a big mistake. Hopefully, I can get back the lost bits soon. Once I start the heel, I pretty much stay with the one pair. See, once the heel is done, there’s only a couple inches of ankle bits. Then I finish each sock on it’s own set of needles. It makes the castoff easier that way.I don’t know if I shared but this ponytail holder finished with the beginning of my case of COVID. These little projects were about all the productivity I got done during the fever parts.
My latest ponytail holder.
Somehow I managed to keep at least one lesson a day in Duolingo. And I cheated here on the blog with the slightest post of a funny daily here.
Music and diamond painting had to stop until I started having energy again. I think that was about Wednesday.
Just a piece of sky left to do.
Piano and ukulele started then but I just picked up the violin yesterday. I just barely played Twinkle and that was enough.
Same with the stationary bike. Wednesday I did 12 minutes or around a mile. By Friday I got up to 15 minutes or 2 and a half miles. So energy is returning slowly.
With health I can regain my passions piece by piece. And that gives me peace.
Let me apologize. I know I’ve been phoning it in all week. I’m much better now. Temps are near normal. Coughing is minimal. I even have had a moment or two of energy. But they are seldom.
I love getting calls from my family and friends but this week my son got off the phone in a couple of minutes. My hoarse voice and constant coughing made conversation impossible. Still, it was nice to hear from him.
Tomorrow will be my week. Friday was Chris’s week. The other guys are Tuesday and Wednesday. It’ll be nice to not sound like a kennel. But better out than in, right?😂
I look forward to being back to normal. Whatever that is.
I have about six books to review, but my energy seems to want only a blanket and garbage rerunning TV. But thought I’d check in. My numbers here should be the same as Duolingo:
But one lesson there and I’m exhausted.
On the plus side, my husband is up and seems to have energy. So I look forward to that!
Per Linda: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “a repeated story.” Include in your post a story you’ve repeated again and again or a story you’ve heard again and again. Or write about the phenomenon itself. Have fun!
What did you do all day? Why are you so late to the blog?
Well, it’s the same ole story. Yesterday I found a mistake a few rows back and today I’ve been Tinking back. I still haven’t reached the boo-boo. And I find the number of stitches on each needle is so different I’m going to have to get creative to get the number to match. Or tink even farther. Ugh!
When I was a young adult, my grandmothers had Alzheimer’s. Yeah. Both maternal and paternal. So when you all wonder why I work so hard at languages and learning new things and puzzling things like Sudoku, that is a fight I’m on. I’ve not been diagnosed, but at 74 I’m being as vigilant as I can.
And yes, I do repeat stories. I have since I was a child. Most people do. Maybe they don’t realize it. Or maybe they are trying to work something out in this retelling. I remember my grandmothers would tell a story once again and folks would criticize them. But I listened and saw they changed the story a bit each retelling. Sometimes I learned something new about them or others. Sometimes it just was their story. A thing that made them. How I’d love to hear them repeat one of their old tales to me again.
Think about how kids love hearing a book read to them for the umpteenth time. They’re working the story out. The rhythms, the rhymes, how it all works.
I have learned to reread or rewatch things as each time I pick up just a bit more. Not only the story but about writing, directing, acting. Or maybe more about how people differ in their relationships.
Old stories are still packed with nuggets we can learn from. Whether we are telling them or an audience member.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “chicken or egg.” Use the “which came first” conundrum in your post, whether about the chicken and the egg or about a real-life situation that fits the question. Or just talk about chickens and eggs! Enjoy!
Found on Facebook just yesterday by our personal astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Like he knew the prompt for SoCS.
There are so many times in life that you wonder what came first the pain or the fear. Sometimes the very thing you fear brings the pain you most dread. Worried about stepping on glass you bump your head. Ya know what I mean? The thing you were alerted to had you blind to something you never thought of.
We’ve just finished bingeing Cesar Milan’s show on Disney. I’m trying to train myself to get ready for my new fur baby when the time comes. Cesar sees many people who have been traumatized by dog bites. And those animals were traumatized by past people. Now the new pet and parent have to overcome their fears and learn to trust each other.
The lesson is to control yourself in the moment. Be present. Trust you’ll know what to do.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “sum.” Use the letters “sum” in a word in your post or use the word “sum.” Enjoy!
Summer used to be my favorite season. To sum it up: swimming. I would be in the water 24/7 if I could. From the time of my first lesson, I think I was 11 or 12, I knew my inner spirit was a mermaid.
I challenged myself to swim from one end of the pool to the other in one breath.
Though I took the diving challenges, low board or high, I hated the time it took me out of the water. Although overcoming my fear of heights was tough, once mastered, I gave it up to be in the pool.
In seventh grade I was able to take lifesaving and be a part of a swim team. I didn’t get to finish the course. Nor did I get to continue the competitions. I suffered a severe case of swimmer’s ear that put me to bed the rest of the summer. It wasn’t the earache that caused the most pain. I cried daily for what I was missing. I’ve since learned how to keep my ears dry between swims.
Summer also meant camp and camping. Every year my folks took the family on 3-week vacations. To save money it was always camping. Our favorite system was to go to Sequoia, Yosemite, and Bass Lake. Swimming in the lakes made me happy.
As a teen, Sunshine Superman played as we had many trips to the beach.
I found I loved the beach as much as the pool. Salt water. Sand. Bodysurfing. It became my favorite spot. But laps are too long in the ocean! And swimming under water wasn’t as much fun.
Living in the small community with no pools has been hard. Beaches are too far away. It is Lake County but we’ve yet to see the lakes. And they seem more for fishing than swimming. The one I plan to investigate this summer is actually a reservoir. But we’re told there are leeches. Ugh!
Another sad issue with summer now is the fires. Breathing becomes an issue.
But this summer is starting with the possibility of a really fun road trip. And maybe a swim? Our fears are fires and or snow. I know! But tonight we have to drip. A freeze. June!!!
But I plan on challenging summer this year. Please bring water and fresh air!
I don’t talk much about Duolingo and my 10 languages. Maybe you think it’s a bad idea to do all of them. But both of my grandmothers died from Alzheimer’s. I want to learn as much as I can while it all still works. Still, some days I work on every one. Some days I might barely make it through one little lesson. I’ve managed to stay at the Obsidian level. For me, the great take away is I feel more and more confident — until I feel I suck. I would say more positive times than negative. And I love the feeling of growing, getting better. Hearing words on TV or while reading that I understand just thrills me. I must admit Navajo and Hebrew are the hardest of all ten. I keep starting over. I think I need books or tutorials on these.
The other tidbit is the achy muscles from < 5 miles and < 30 minutes on the stationary bike. Before I hop on the bike I do 20 pushups on the door, 10-15 floor/ceiling touches, and side to side bends. That doesn’t make me sore. But my son and I have started our afternoon walks of two miles. The energy is there to do these. But my legs are protesting quietly. Again, I’m amazed at how little things can build to make a body or mind, or habit grow. Why did it take me so long to understand that?
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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