>I tend to forget that I need recovery days. It was cold, wet and slippery earlier, but I really wanted to go out, even if just to stand on the sidewalk outside the door for a bit. But I was just too tired. I had a nap instead. I will do better. I just have to remember pacing and recovery. Pacing and recovery. Two very important aspects of fibro/chronic fatigue.

I got a really interesting book at the library yesterday: Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin. She is an autistic woman who works with cattle for the government, and she talks about how both animals and autistic people think visually instead of with words. It is a good insight into how brains can work differently but still work efficiently and cleverly. She works with cattle, so that’s her focus, but she touches on dogs and cats and how you can interpret their behaviour by understanding what they see. I think it’s also very illuminating into how the autistic mind works. So if you know someone who is autistic, this book is a valuable resource, in my opinion.

I was really happy to have a book when I went to bed last night. I have always been a reader, and always had a book to read before I went to sleep, until I got really sick. Even when I was still able to work, I would read several books a week. I’ve missed books, even though I’ve had some here and there over the years. I’ve read my own books many times, as well. I love books. I love the feel of the book in my hands, the smell, turning the pages, the whole reading experience of books. I read online, too, but it is a completely different experience. I much prefer books. Real, printed word, bound pages, nicely covered books.

I don’t have nearly as many books as I used to have. For a time, when I was really sick and very isolated, I thought my life was over and I was just waiting to die. I started divesting myself of things, and began with books. I gave away all of my Agatha Christies, my Rex Stouts, my Robert B. Parkers, among others. I kept only my non-fiction, and not all of that. I was in the library one day and saw a book on the shelf. “I have that book” says I to myself. Picked it up, opened it, and saw it WAS my book. I had given it to the library a few years earlier. I used to keep lists of what I’ve read and what I wanted to read, favorite authors, books I’d read or hear about. Who knows, I may still have them stashed away somewhere.

I just bought a copy of “The Magic Apple Tree”, a favorite book I used to read seasonally. I’d get my copy from the library. Saw it mentioned on a blog, and just had to order it from Amazon. It was only a few dollars, but so much enjoyment packed into those pages. Books are my friends.

Here’s hoping that tomorrow I will have enough energy to go out. If I don’t walk, I will ellipse. I will.