>I keep having problems with this blog. It won’t let me add things, or change the background. I may wind up moving it. Meanwhile, here’s a few things I’ve found today:
About Chronic Fatigue
http://chronicallyme.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/test-me-when-im-crashing/
Have you forgotten the fires in Australia?
http://www.greenwordsgrowing.com/2009/02/flames-made-ghost-of-everything.html
Do your part. It’s easy. Just click.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3
>I lost my latest homemaker due to agency reshuffling of staff, and I am seriously considering going it alone for awhile. I worked out a schedule of what absolutely needs doing with rest time in between things, and spread out over the week. Case worker is supposed to come tomorrow, but since we are due to have a major snowstorm, it may not happen.
Had a good day yesterday. Was invited to a friend’s for dinner and conversation, and then I slept most of today. Right now I am cooking a pork loin in the crockpot with apple cider. Hope it turns out well.
I’m thinking about adding things that might be interesting to someone besides myself to this blog. Maybe links to articles, or other blogs, or whatever.
>The sleep thing is acting up again. I didn’t sleep well most of last week, then Thursday slept very late and since I had to be up and dressed by noon Friday, it was easier to just stay up all night. Last night, I went to bed about 2am and slept til 5pm. This is the sometimes pattern. Up all one night, sleep way too many hours next night. I’m having a lot of pain again, too. I think it’s the result of moving things around and going out a couple of times, so maybe it will get better again.
I am kind of discouraged by all the negative reporting and comment about Obama. He’s only been in for a month, I think people could hold off calling him a failed president just a tad longer. It also irks me that the people who stood by and let us get into this mess are now criticizing him for trying to fix it. Partisanship lives, to the detriment of all of us. It’s too bad.
Days are longer and brighter now, but it’s still pretty chilly, and I think we’re in for some more snow today. Everyone keeps saying it’s been such a long winter, but it’s only February, and winter is as long or short as it ever was. It snows in winter. It’s cold in winter. That’s what winter is. Get over it. Besides, I like snow. So there.
Gertrude the Timid has gotten a lot more playful lately. She loves the fish on a pole that I dangle for her to bat. Where Simon would play for ten minutes or so, she can play with that for an hour or more, depending on how long it takes for my arm to fall off. I can type with one hand and dangle with the other, so computing and playtime coincide well. She is a good cat, but I still miss my Simon. One thing she does that seems weird to me is she’ll look directly into my eyes for quite a long period. Usually I’m the one who looks away first, because I’ve read that animals don’t like you to look into their eyes, but I’m not sure that’s the case. At least not with her.
I like my new homemaker. She is funny and seems to do a good job cleaning, even doing a little extra that isn’t on her job description. I hope it works out. Sometimes they start out well and then gradually start slacking off over time.
I’ve forgotten how many eps are left of Galactica. I want it to be over, so I know the outcome, but I don’t want it not to be on anymore. It’s such a good show.
I’ve read books like that. I can’t wait to finish so I know what happens, but then when I’m done, I wish there was more of it to read.
I’ve been up since 5 yesterday evening, and now it’s nearly 7am and I think I could go to sleep but then I’d sleep all day again and be up all night again. I wish I could get in sync with Mother Nature. I don’t think people are meant to be nocturnal animals. *smile*
>It is a warm summer day. You lie on the cool grass, the earthy scent of the just-watered lawn next door drifting past on the soft breeze. There is shade nearby; a beautiful, wide, drooping canopy, but you lie in the sunlight, watching the white puffy clouds changing shape as they make their way across the blue sky. Every now and then a bird flies overhead, or you catch the sound of one twittering in the trees. You breathe slowly and deeply, inhaling summer. Butterflies flit around in their cheery up-down helter skelter sort of way. As you lie there, you watch your thoughts come, and you watch them go. You recognize that you are not your thoughts. You are at peace with yourself. You are happy. Life is good.
I wrote this in my head during yesterday’s twenty-minute lie down.
>I finished re-arranging the living room yesterday afternoon. Even after being awake almost all night, I am actually functioning so far this morning, too. Still having blog issues, but what else is new?
>Been having some blog issues recently, but I’m hoping all is sorted out.
I’ve been having some pain and lots of fatigue for the past week. I’ve been well enough to do some cooking, but not much else. I’ve made easy lasagna and sausage cornbread. Ate all the cornbread over two days, but have five meals of lasagna in the freezer. I’m also making pesto every time my herbs have grown enough.
I’m trying to do something in the living room that will make it look like a living room and not a conglomeration of stuff and more stuff. I can only work one day in a row and then have several recovery days, so it is very slow going. I wanted to get it done before the new homemaker comes on Friday, but it’s not looking good.
I got some extra-strength Excedrin without caffeine, since I have all these sleep problems, but it does not seem to work nearly as well for the pain. Everything is a trade-off with illness. Less pain=less sleep, more sleep=more pain. Is this fair? I think not.
Cannot wait for Fridays anymore. I want to know what happens in Galactica. What great writing in this show. It is so dark and intense and riveting. I am so not an ‘amazing runway idol Kardashian funniest video’ watcher, so anything that has some real intelligence behind it is gold. Oh, and I bought a nine dollar antenna to see what I get without cable. Haven’t hooked it up yet, though. Maybe there will be some channels out there I am not familiar with, and that actually have something I’d want to watch. We’ll see.
>
I’ve been up since 7am yesterday. It’s 8:30 am now. Was very tired and ready for sleep at 11 last night, but once in bed I was wide awake. I hate when that happens, and it happens a lot. I wish someone would come up with a cure for at least the sleep issues that accompany fibro/cfs. Anyway, I am expecting to be quite foggy today, and will probably fall asleep in time to miss Galactica. Fortunately, it’s replayed in the On Demand free section. Or I can watch it online, I think, but it’s more comfortable to watch from the recliner than from the desk chair. Gertrude thinks so, too, cause she sits on my lap when I’m in the recliner, but not when I’m using the desk chair. Off to have my coffee. Caffeine….it’s a good thing. Before I forget, here’s the White House blog site, if anyone is interested.
>Been trying to reply to a comment on here, but it won’t show up. ???
Today the sun is shining. Yes! After snow, rain, sleet, whatever, yesterday, it is cold and slippery out, but the sun is shining. Hooray.
I am trying to do some rearranging in the kitchen today, but of course get sidetracked playing on here, and my brain is kind of foggy so having trouble deciding where to put what. But I’ll get it done. Maybe not today, but………
>
It’s not too cold to snow, apparently, since we had quite a bit. Trees and power lines are coated. Very pretty.
I’m still mulling over Friday’s Battlestar Galactica. So many happenings that were completely unexpected. This show is so intense and well-written and riveting, I hate that there are only nine more episodes. I am onto the third disc of the first season from Netflix, so I get to see it all over again. Lovely.
I’ve gone through my recipe box and made a list of things I’d like to cook while I’m still well enough to do it. I planned an entire meals’ menu for next week, which would serve four, but I’ll be eating it for awhile. Or maybe freeze some of it. The lasagna I froze a few weeks ago is great. Pop it out of the container into a bowl, put a saucer on top, and nuke it for a few minutes. Dinner is served. There are still three servings in the freezer.
I’m still sleeping odd hours, but not really caring, since I don’t have any activities for awhile that require me to be up and presentable by a certain hour. Very relaxing not to feel pressured. Finding lots to read on the web, and since I like reading, I’m enjoying myself. There is so much info about so many things. Things I would never even know existed without my computer. I don’t feel isolated at all. Kind of nice. That’s it for now.
>
Definitely cold out there. I walked to the post office and then stood outside for a bit, so I was outside for about ten minutes all together. It was icy in a couple of spots, and I was nervous about falling, but did okay. I wore my special shoes whose brand I cannot think of at the moment, but they have bumps on the bottoms to help when it’s slippery. Youngest DD gave them to me. They’re very comfortable, too.
Today I am going to fold and put away the laundry, and make something with ground turkey. Not sure what yet. I also have some papers to sort, but I get on here and time just goes by. It’s more fun on here. Off to get some coffee and warm up the innards.
>
It’s 12 degrees outside at 8:22am. Yes, I’m up this early, only because I’ve been up all night. I am about to go outside. Yes, I am crazy, but I need to get some daylight, and I took an SAD test which said the optimum time for me to get some daylight begins at 8:15am for me. I’m already late. Be back later, if I don’t freeze in place on the sidewalk.
>
Gertrude is sleeping in her chair and making strangely peculiar noises. Not exactly snoring, but sort of. Hard to explain. I need to get a picture of her in that chair, since she has given up her box and blanket and claimed the chair as her own.
I went outside again today, briefly. Again with the briefly. But I got some fresh air, even if I didn’t walk anywhere. It’s icy out. Going to get really, really cold in the next day or so, too. Standing outside the front door on the sidewalk is about all I can hope for.
Part of the computer is frozen AGAIN, so I will have to do a hard shutdown later. Most of what I need is working, though, so I can still use it. I am enjoying all this alone time. I go to bed when I’m tired, and get up when I get up. 3pm today. Every night I seem to stay up later. I like night. No one bothers me. Not that anyone bothers me during the day either, but the possibility is there.
Got another book to read when I do go to bed. Fiction, this time. I like to read. Yes, I do. I am happy to be feeling pretty well lately, too. Happy is good. So say we all. GALACTICA starts Friday. Wooo Hooo!
>
Okay, that’s so not me, but it is cold and sunny today. After many days of not sleeping at night and getting up in the afternoon, today I actually made it up at 1pm. So I went outside…….briefly. But I got some daylight, and that’s the goal.
Since I’ve been alone so much lately, I have really been having fun on my computer. I’ve found a lot of new sites with lots to read. Have I mentioned?…I have over 7,000 bookmarks. Oh, do I need to weed them out. But there’s a lot of good stuff in there I’ve saved to reread, or to help when there’s a problem with this machine. I really love my computer.
>
I pledge to purchase items with less packaging whenever possible in 2009. What’s your green pledge?
http://weheartworld.com/green-living/pledge-to-be-green/
>
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.
>
Well, I did it. I went out. Twice! Snow is coming in very soon, so I kind of had to go to the post office again to pick up a package the mailman didn’t deliver yesterday. My ibuprofen had not kicked in yet and walking was very painful and swervy. LOL Brought the package home, rested and stretched a bit, then back out. I ordered a book from the library this morning, so I wanted to walk up and get it while the sidewalks are still negotiable. So I did. Stopped across the street on the way back for a bottle of wine and some English Muffins, then home. The picture is pretty much what I looked like on the way back from the library. Only I do NOT carry a purse. Ever. Well, almost never. If it doesn’t fit in my pockets, it doesn’t go out with me. I was very tired and still in pain, though not as bad as earlier. But I did it. I went out—–twice. I am proud of me. Tomorrow I will probably be hobbling around here holding onto walls, but today….I went out twice. This is big for me, ever since I had that really bad year a while back. I got really de-conditioned and now I have to try and re-condition me. Let’s hope.
Been finding some really good recipes on other blogs and on Tastespotting. Too bad I don’t cook much. Some of the recipes are even healthy. I keep finding more blogs on all sorts of subjects. I should add them to my blog roll here, I guess. At least they are something to read when I don’t have a book. I learn a lot, find a lot of interesting and/or helpful information, and some good ideas for the pc, or for life in general. I do wish I could write as well as some (most) of the bloggers I read, and had things to say that were even half as interesting.
Whatever the failings of computers, and the web, and the internet, it is a connection to a world most of us would never have even been aware of. People from all over the world blog. Any subject you can imagine has a site somewhere. You can find anything and everything to buy, you can even sell your own stuff. I love my computer. It is my window on the world.
>
Hi. My name is Jean, and I’m a webaholic. It’s true. Since there’s no good way of getting out of the house lately, and there is so very, very little that is watchable on the telly, I have been spending more time each day on my little desktop. I am now at the point where I turn it on when I get up, eat my meals in front of it, and stay up way later than normal because I can’t convince myself to turn it off. I’ve read all my books several times each, and there’s not a lot else going on. So here I am. Now, where’s the coffee and donuts?
>
I’m not making any. Getting through life one day at a time is working quite well. So no, “I’m doing this next year”, or “I’m changing this”. I’m just being. In the snow. Well, the snow is outside, and I am inside, but it’s snowing and I love snow. When I say it’s snowing, I mean it is coming down like gangbusters. Like this: 
only moreso.
I am having issues with my modem the past few days. Whenever the phone rings, the modem glitches and I start losing my phone and internet connections. Tv still works fine, however, which is only to be expected, since there’s nothing on tv I want to watch. I have to keep rebooting the modem with a pin. “There’s always something” Gilda Radner.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year, and that 2009 is the best year ever until 2010 and beyond, all of which will be even better. It’s snowing.
>
It was a good day. We had a nice dinner of prime rib, broccoli with hollandaise, and popovers. Canolis for dessert. I had a lovely chat with my friend Peter, who lives in Colorado. After dinner we played Trivial Pursuit and watched It’s a Wonderful Life. All in all, a happy Christmas day. Hope everyone else had a happy day as well.
>
I was right about the snow. It’s almost completely gone. It’s a beautiful, sunny but cold day. I’m getting ready to go to my friend’s house. I made shortbread to take with me. I know it’s silly, but I’m feeling a twinge of guilt at leaving Gertrude alone on Christmas. She doesn’t know it’s Christmas, so what’s that about? I need to get out more. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. Merry Christmas!
strangely peculiar 