>I was just watching Madmen, a great show, when they had a Clorox commercial. At one point it said, ….your mother, your grandmother, they all did laundry. A couple of men, too.
Is it just me, or is there a certain innuendo there? Maybe I’ve been reading too much Torchwood fan fiction. *Hangs head in shame* LOL
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I have sixty-six feeds in my Google Reader. Between that, email, and reading Torchwood fan fiction, I am spending my life in this chair, at this desk, with this computer. I am quite enjoying myself, since my real life is sooooooo not filled with anything at all (thank you, illness)but really….am I just hiding in my cyberworld? Do I care? Am I happy? I am. I really am. Crazy can be fun.
>Fire scares me. In Colorado, I once saw a woman being taken into the ambulance after her house burned. She looked like she had a really deep suntan. She died. When I lived in NH, there was the horrific Malden Mills fire in Methuen, Mass. I remember the story about one man that was written long afterwards. It still haunts me. Then there was the Station Fire in Pawtucket, RI. I cannot imagine. Fire. It scares me.
But fire is beautiful, as well. The post was instpired by this video:
but I had already saved some pictures of fire that are beautiful.
Fire. It scares me and it’s beautiful.
>It seems I am going to be a Neilsen household for a week in November. Fun. I get to comment as well as record which shows I watch and boy am I gonna tell them to quit with the pop-ups and the huge logos when I’m trying to watch a show. Also, I would rather have longer but fewer commercial breaks. Watching some shows is like reading a chapter of a really good mystery and then having to read two chapters of Herbert Hoover’s biography before you can move on to the next chapter. Think they’ll listen? Yeah, me neither.
Still having pretty good days. Don’t know why, but I’m liking it. I even had my homemaker buy some winter squash and cabbage, which I am planning but not counting on having enough energy to prepare. I want to make stuffed cabbage as soon as ground turkey goes on sale, and I love winter squash. There is so much you can do with it. Cutting it is hard, though, so I have to be having a really good day, or microwave it a bit first, which I’ve never actually tried.
My homemaker is really nice. She’s fun to spend time with. She is young, with young children, and it is amazing how uninformed she is about things. She had no idea diet soda is bad for you, why you should never eat ground beef, what an acorn squash was. And that’s only the food-related things. I really like her. She asks a lot of questions and really wants to know things. Did I mention she’s fun? She is. *smile*
It’s getting colder by the day. The Neilsen guy was very friendly on the phone this morning. He said it was 90 in Florida, where he lives, and has been every day for awhile, and he is seriously considering moving back to Buffalo, NY, where he’s from. I’ve been to Buffalo, in the winter. Brrrr! I told him Massachusetts is very nice. LOL He said it didn’t used to be so hot all the time in Florida, you could have the windows open and fresh air, but now it’s a/c all the time. Unless there’s an ice age, I am never going to Florida. So!
Oh, if you want to know why you should never eat ground beef, here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html
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I actually cooked on Wednesday and Thursday, and Wednesday I had enough energy left to wash up the dishes afterwards. I’ve also been tidying up some here and there. Finally got the kitchen counter cleared of the big tray with meds and vitamins, a couple of vases, and some other stuff that was taking up room. Table is still a disaster, but I am sorting some papers on it, so too bad.
It’s about 3am and it’s gorgeous. Warm with a soft rain falling. My kind of night. I’m up way too late again, but that seems to be the case all the time lately. My natural sleep cycle seems to be several hours later than normal. Can’t blame it on the fibro, I’ve always been that way. I am not a morning person.
Been reading some Torchwood fan-fiction. The only other ff I’ve read is some Firefly. There are some good writers out there.
I saw that Pres Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize. Like everyone else, even though I’m a fan of his, I had to ask ‘huh???’. But I guess they gave it because the tone of this administration is more about finding ways to solve problems, rather than ‘let’s just bomb the hell out of everybody’. I wish people would give him a chance to do his work, instead of just being critical and questioning everything. Where were all the naysayers and criticizers when we were being conned into going to war?
God, I hate politics. Or maybe just politicians. And right-wing nuts who spend their time fomenting hatred and unrest. Aren’t those supposed to be wrong? But what do I know? I prefer to just sit back and watch Craig Ferguson, who is in my opinion the funniest man on the planet. And hooray for Al Franken, too. A smart man on the correct side of the divide that is so relentlessly spread by the elephant party and their minions. /rant
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The London Eye
A post from http://www.fightingfatigue.org/?p=7801 with a video of answers to that question. If you were completely well, what would you do? Needs thinking on.
I would get my apartment organized, decluttered, clean. I would get a dog. I would volunteer for things I feel passionate about. I would buy a car, renew my license, and go places again. I would visit friends without them having to come and get me and bring me home again. I would walk everywhere possible. I like walking, I just can’t anymore. Oh, the possibilities! I couldn’t go back to my old job, it’s been eleven years. I’d definitely have more fun. I’d love to go check out The Providence Zen Center. I only live a few miles away, and I’ve never been. I’d take a cruise. I’d go to Europe. I’d go to Cardiff, to see where Torchwood is set. Of course, some of these would depend on me winning the lottery first, or somehow falling into money. But most of all, I wouldn’t just sit here. It would be good. So, readers. What would YOU do?
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I am. Much better today. Slept well, feel pretty good. It’s a gorgeous fall day, too. Sunshine, breezy, comfortable. I have showered, but I need to get dressed so I can go down and get my mail. Last time I got it was last Monday, over a week ago. I’m sure the mailman is not happy with me.
I found this program on tv the other day about a food challenge in Canada. It was to only eat items produced within one hundred miles of where you live, for one hundred days. Not so simple as you might think. No sugar or coffee or salt or pepper or any spices. A long list of things we take for granted. It really got me thinking about how we live. My first thought was what if it was winter? I live in New England, and there isn’t a lot in season in winter. You’d have to live more like our ancestors, learning how to preserve food. How would you do that? Canning, root cellars. No brining, because no salt. I think this would be really hard for anyone, but for someone with a chronic illness, the work involved would make it impossible. How fortunate we are to live in a time where food is easily available in pretty much ready-to-eat forms year round. I could not survive otherwise, since I live by myself and cannot afford a private chef.
That’s something I’ve learned since becoming ill. Not to take so much for granted, because I can’t. You have to be healthy to grow your own food, prepare your own food, raise your own animals, all the things people had to do not that long ago. Illness makes you count your blessings. I know some people spend their time bemoaning the fact that they can’t be their pre-illness selves, and trying to find something to fix them. I do that, too, sometimes. But I prefer to learn the lessons of illness. Appreciating what I can do, what is available to help me survive with illness, friends who are willing to help out with the really hard stuff. I think I have a wonderful life, even though it isn’t the life I thought it would be, or the life I used to have. It is still a good life, with friends and fun and lots to be grateful for. Like Jack and Ianto. *smile*
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Too late. Someone twittered the crazy post. I’m going to put it back, I guess. As soon as I figure out how. Just remember, much better now. Thanks. *smile*
Well, I would have put it back, but I saved it on Evernote, and Evernote has let me down. It’s not there. I was pretty much just feeling really down, and relating it to my obsession with Torchwood. Depression grabs me sometimes, but after a few days, it lets go again. Torchwood made me sad because I was relating to Ianto and I felt he was never really sure he was loved or that he mattered, and I’ve had that in my life. Then I described my feelings about my life since my husband left, even before I got sick. It’s like I’ve fallen through the Rift, and I’m drifting around in this limbo without knowing where I am, where I’ve been, where I’m going, how to get home. But my home, and the life that I had then, no longer exist, so there’s nothing to get back to. Like this is not my real life, and I am just in that limbo waiting. For what, I don’t know. For my life to somehow come back. I feel like nothing I say or think or feel or do, or how I feel with being ill, matters. Nothing has any meaning because I have fallen through the Rift and this is not my life. It’s not as crazy-sounding as it was when I originally posted it, cause I was feeling really, really sad and it definitely came through in the post. I miss Ianto, even though he was never real. Have I mentioned that I’m crazy? *smile*
Gee, people, if you’re going to twitter me, couldn’t you leave a little comment here, as well. Did you twitter because I was fascinating? Because I sound like an idiot? Because I talk about Torchwood? I’d like to know. Sometimes I think I might as well write on iDaily Diary on my laptop, which isn’t connected to the internet. Complain, complain, complain. That’s all I seem to be doing. But I really am better. I’d just really like to hear from someone out there. Oh, well.
>So taking down the crazy post. If you happened to read it, just pretend you didn’t. Thanks. *smile*
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I had a visitor from Russia. How cool is that? Wish they had left a comment, but I don’t read or speak Russian, so unless they knew English, it wouldn’t matter anyway. I wonder what life is like in Russia, how people there manage with chronic illness, what their health-care system is like, what they eat for breakfast, do they have the same drek on tv that we do. I can think of a jillion questions. Or a lot, anyway.
Had a pretty good day after a so-so weekend of poor sleep and just vegging. Went out with a friend and did a little shopping, then watched some Torchwood fanvids and played a game on here. It was a gorgeous day which changed to a rainy evening. I like rain. There’s just something so….wet…..about it. LOL Really, it’s just a kind of comforting bit of weather, maybe because it was so dry when I was growing up in Colorado. It’s late, and I’m off to bed. Homemaker tomorrow. Have to be up on time.
>I love my blog, I really do. It’s cute, and it’s changeable, and I can add lots of extras. But the links aren’t clickable, sometimes I can’t reply to comments, and I hardly get any comments anyway. Whether that’s because I am not a great blogger or because it doesn’t let people comment, I don’t know. I am again seriously considering moving it, but if anyone reads this who ISN’T one of my children, I’d appreciate a comment. Or email me at excentric97 AT operamail.com. I really need to make the decision to move it or not, and could use your help, readers.
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I love Autumn. I do. Day before yesterday was a perfect Autumn day. Clear, cool, blue sky, beautiful. Just perfect.
Update on the fibro life…..after the good day I had last week, I had not-good days up until Tuesday, the perfect Autumn day. I had a very good day Tuesday, then not so much yesterday, and a pretty good day today. I don’t know what makes the difference.
Saturday, even though I wasn’t feeling great, I managed to get it together enough to go to a friend’s house and do some pc fixing and cleaning and just making things less annoying. I got a great free dinner for my trouble, cooked by my friend, who is a great cook, and I didn’t even have to clean up after. Her hubbies helped with that. Which was good, because by then I was totally exhausted. But her pc is working much better, and I got AOL to stop hijacking everything. I hate AOL. I’m sorry, but I do. I am so glad I never got sucked in to downloading it. She spent more time getting it out of her way than using the computer for things she wanted to do.
Hoping to get my Torchwood Season One DVD’s tomorrow. I already have seasons two and three. I plan to watch them one after the other on one of my ‘can’t do anything so may as well watch tv’ days. There are a lot of those with fibro/chronic fatigue, believe me. And tv…..the actual broadcast tv, is really terrible. It’s a lot like AOL…..many, many interruptions so you can’t watch the show you want to watch. Commercials have grown exponentially the past several years, making the whole tv experience one big annoyance. And they wonder why they are losing viewers. Between commercials and those horrible screen-covering popups and logos, why even bother.
Speaking of Torchwood, if they do happen to make a season four, I’m not sure I will watch it. It seems Russell Davies is killing off people just so he can get Jack and Gwen together. I’m expecting Rhys to die if there is a season four. When you watch them without a week between eps, you really get to see what a peach Gwen really is. She lies continually to Rhys and Andy, she uses Andy whenever possible to get what she wants. She is really not a very nice person, I think. And I’m still really, really angry about Ianto. So there!
>In spite of not sleeping well because of leg pain and restless legs acting up, I was up at 9am. but the best part is that I ate well all day. Started with coffee, then oatmeal. Lunch was a Kashi frozen lasagna-type thing, then I had fage with a bit of maple syrup for snack, scrambled eggs with cheese for dinner, and now I’m having some whole grain toast. Oh, and I had a root beer float after lunch. I don’t usually eat this much in a day, but what I do eat is not as healthy, so I am pleased.
Tonight I watched ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, an impossible-to-believe movie in which any normal person would have been dead after the first half hour, but hey, it’s Bruce. I only watched it cause it has Justin Long, who I like. He used to be on Ed, and I remember thinking he was going to be a big deal. He held his own with Mr. Willis, I thought. He was great in ‘Galaxy Quest’, too, even though his role wasn’t that big. I love that movie and watch whenever it’s on. Even with commercials.
Tomorrow is tech support day. I’m going to my friend Tess’s house to work on her pc. That will be fun. We do tend to get hysterical with laughter a lot.
Hoping for a good night with actual sleeping going on. I’ll let you know.
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A few trees are beginning to turn, the weather has gotten much nicer….cooler and less humid. I am feeling much better, too. Every day without sugar-free ice cream has me feeling better than the day before. Very interesting. The picture is the John Greenleaf Whittier house near Haverhill, MASS. It’s by J. Woodhull Adams. I’ve been by the actual house hundreds of times, since it wasn’t that far from where I lived in New Hampshire. It really does look just like that. The main road goes up on the near side of the house, and there is a smaller road that goes by the front.
I just found out I lost another homemaker, due to agency not providing her enough hours. Her sister is taking over for her. This is one of the most difficult parts of being ill, the constant changing of the homemaker. Some are great, some okay, some not so good, and it’s the good ones who seem to last the shortest amount of time. It’s a crap job anyway, doing other people’s laundry, cleaning other people’s bathrooms, grocery shopping which is not fun even when you’re doing it for your own family. They really aren’t paid very well, either, so it’s amazing anyone even chooses the job in the first place. I think it’s a ‘not enough skills or education for a better job’ kind of thing. But it would be nice to have the same person, if she’s a good cleaner, all the time. Starting over with someone new is hard, especially because of the nature of what they do for me. “Here’s my dirty laundry, new person. Deal with it.” I really hate that. You know how they say, “Be careful what you wish for?” I always wished someone else would clean the toilet, my least favorite job. Well, now someone does, but I am in pain and too fatigued to function and my brain doesn’t work well and my life has gotten more and more insulated and my world has shrunken…….but someone else cleans the toilet. A fair trade-off? I don’t think so. So that wishing thing is really a catch-22 kind of deal. A dirty trick the cosmos plays on you. Oh, well.
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Remember this? It is gone, gone, gone. I told the a/c guy that once it was fixed, I wouldn’t need it, and was I ever right. It is gray, raining, and 64 degrees. Sweater, blanket, warmer jammies, hot coffee. Root beer floats? No way. It’s interesting how everything is relative, isn’t it? In winter, 64 degrees would be a heat wave. In August, it’s freezing weather. It’s been a really unusual summer. I’m wondering what the winter is going to be like. I’ll let you know, readers.
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I have become obsessed with Torchwood, Jack and Ianto, specifically. This is not a new thing. Herein I list my obsessions over the years. First was Lister. Dave Lister, from Red Dwarf. “They’re dead Dave. They’re all dead Dave. Dave, they are all dead. They. are. all. dead. Dave” I love that stuff.
Then there was Johnny Depp in Benny and Joon, my all-time favorite movie.
Next was Crichton, (Ben Browder) from Farscape, the best scifi show ever.
Next was Second Ray (Callum Keith Rennie) from Due South. Love that show. Bought the DVDs.
Wait, there’s more.
I kind of like Wash (Alan Tudyk), from Firefly. DD#1 likes Adam Baldwin, cause she knows him personally. Jealousy alert!
Then there’s this guy, Bae Yong Joon (no relation to Joon of Benny and..)from the Korean soap opera, Winter Sonata. I used to get the Asian channel, and the music from this sucked me right in. Bought the DVDs used off of Amazon.
Okay, who else? 
Right. Next is the late great Heath Ledger from Brokeback Mountain. Again with the music sucking me in from the trailer. Stupid boy to be dead. Made me angry.
Can’t forget the Second ever Ninja Warrior champ, Makoto Nagano. I like Ninja Warrior. Those guys are crazy.
Next to last, a couple quick shout-outs to an oldie but a goodie, Clark Johnson from Homicide–Life on The Streets. One of the best non-scifi tv shows ever.
AND
Another to Richard Armitage, the gorgeous soft-spoken actor from Robin Hood and The Vicar of Dibley, the funniest show ever on tv.
And finally———–Jack and Ianto (John Barrowman and Gareth David Lloyd), courtesy of Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin-off. I refrained from posting any R-rated, so my DDs won’t feel quite as much need to put me away somewhere. But I could. Oh yes I could.
That’s our gorgeous men ration for today. Got any of your own? We have comments here, you know. Feel free to point out any I may have let get past me. Obsessing. It’s a good thing.
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The lovely, lovely air-condition repairman came today and fixed the darn thing. It needed a new part. The old one was thirty years old, he said. It is an old building I live in. Anyway, all is now cool and much, much dryer. All of us…..me, the super, and the repair man agreed that we do not like humidity and will never move to Florida, like so many people we know do. LOL
Had a good day so far. Had to move the bed so make easier access to the a/c system in the closet, so kind of rearranged the bedroom, and my homemaker helped me cover the mattress and do some other things in there. I also had to take stuff out of the closet and then put it back after a/c guy left. Not fun when you are trying to work in soup. The putting back was in much more comfortable circumstances, though.
I found another translate gadget, so added it. Tried to get an ’email me’ gadget, but it didn’t work. It’s supposed to scramble your email so spambots can’t grab it, but no. Oh, well.
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Just came across this great translation tool which is in the sidebar. I got the picture from here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdid/
I love gadgets and gizmos and playing around with things. This one is pretty neat, because not only does it give non-English speakers a chance to read your blog, it could also help you learn another language by seeing what you wrote in that language. Pretty good, I think.
Another sticky day, and I woke up to find that my a/c had a glitch and is not working. Of course it is Saturday, so I can’t really call the super til Monday. If they send out a repairman on the weekend, I can imagine the cost, and the more costs, the more rent will go up, me thinks. The windows are still closed and I have a fan on, so it is bearable. Besides, Bill is going by soon and will maybe clear this weather pattern right out of here. I hope.
Happy Translating, everyone.
Which reminds me of a ‘DUH!’ moment. Awhile back, I was all excited that I had a visitor from Finland. Next day I remembered I had commented on this blog:
http://moonlit-puutarha.blogspot.com/
which is Finland based. I assume he was checking my blog. This gardener posts lovely, lovely pictures, so check it out.
>and Sticky. Too hot and sticky to do much of anything except emulate the cat in the picture. But yesterday I went to Whole Foods with a friend. Haven’t been in a long time. Got some really lovely fruit….figs, apricots, plums, and more. Just one or two of each. Also got an heirloom tomato, which was tasty but not spectacular. Today I made caprese salad….tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil from my Aerogarden, extra virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, s&p. MMMMM. Very nice.
Lots of pain still, but I am managing. I’ve also been bitten in several unrelated places by I have no idea what. I don’t think it’s mosquito, and I haven’t seen anything flying, crawling, hopping or otherwise. It’s always something, right?
Watching a bio of the late, really great Janis Joplin. What is it that the great ones are usually so troubled? We,(me), the great untalented, seem to get through life reasonably well. Creativity takes something from you, or maybe is caused by a lack, or a glitch in the brain. Whatever. She was one hell of a singer, and I was sad when she died. I had all her albums, too. Unfortunately, when husband moved out, he took all the records with him. I have replaced some with cd’s though, over time. I like music of all kinds, with the notable exceptions of most jazz and all country-western. I like western music, just not when it has country attached. LOL
Time for some water, people. Be sure to keep hydrated in the heat, especially if you are ill.
>I updated my blog roll. Yes, I know there are not a lot of fibro/cfs blogs listed, but I am interested in more than my illness, and I hope you are, too. Blogs on any and every subject are out there, and especially if you have mobility issues, you can be connected and entertained and educated and laugh, laugh, laugh, just with your internet connection. It’s a good thing, and yes, I know I stole that from Martha, but I’ll bet she doesn’t really care.
strangely peculiar 