What's your bag? Day 4

Since I'm at home all the time, my bag/purse is the space in & around my purse on my bed. I'm not specifically bed-bound, but since having anything-like the arms of chairs-touch me causes pain, the most comfortable place is in bed sitting up. That way I have a stack on pillows behind me if I do need really soft support & pillows under my knees for when I am sleeping-& they double as a make-shift tabletop, iPad holder, place setting, etc. I am addicted to lip balm, such as Burt's Bees, the Merry Hempsters, or just good old Chap Stick. A friend of mine sent me my newest obsession a year or so ago, & it now serves as my all purpose balm. It's called Smith's Rosebud Salve-it comes in an adorable tin & I use it countless times daily as hand lotion, lip balm, as a skin softening agent, the uses go on. People with fibromyalgia often have a broken pain center...for example my brain can take a fan blowing on me as a painful stimulus-or a smell like cleaning solution as an assault. This Rosebud stuff has a very slight floral fragrance but so light it doesn't set off the pain alarm in my head. Any kind of extrasensory influence can easily transform as pain, & so certain things just make life easier. At the top of my list is noise canceling earbuds/phones. When I'm in a waiting room everything hurts, so having my iPod & earphones are crucial. Even just here our backyard touches 4 other yards, so lawn mowers, weed eaters (the devil's handiwork that is!), & other lawn care things drive me nuts, so often if it gets to a certain point I put the earbuds in & tune out anything but the music to refocus. In my bag medicine goes without saying, & I keep a nasal/allergy/sinus spray since those systems work overtime fairly often. Hair clips & ponytail holders are a must, as well as tissues & a mirror. I don't wear makeup (sadly) anymore, but I tend to always need a mirror for bunny fur in my eyes. Chai bunny's mark is never far away :)

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Fevered dreams & little surprises

After a week of fever, swollen glands everywhere-one even hardening into a small marble under my arm-I woke up this morning after having feverish stress dreams panicked & stuck. After starts like that it's nice to find some little surprises & discoveries. My love of detective mysteries was delighted to find that netflix has 'Cracker' & 'Durham County' on streaming. The forst stars the fantastic Robbie Coltrain set in the UK, the second a strange, twisted, nightmarishly fantastic Canadian series that has moments of last year's 'American Horror Story' from FX running through it.

I stubbornly want to decorate my little house like I used to be able to, & a few days ago got out & shelved about 50 of my vinyl record collection, of course overdoing it in the process. A guy I used to work with gave me all of his record collection-& it's a really, really good one. I got it about 7-8 years ago but never really was able to see all of the records-& putting them up found loads of the Rolling Stones, the Beatles (with posters from them still perfect in the sleeve), the Who, Led Zepplin, & Neil Young-& the wonderful Johnny Cash. My friend & I used to play the side with I Walk the Line over & over again. Swoon.

I found a giant hedgehog, or a Czech 'Jezek' from a class of a dear Czech business I taught & loved. Chai bunny is in love & took to him, licking his furry nose immediately.

Dad brought in my grandmother's old mirror, & even though it isn't up & might not be for months-it's ok. Just having it around thrills me.

Mom found my bedspread/blanket I used in Indonesia, with all it's holes, faded stripes, & soft love clean & ready to have as an extra blanket on my bed.

Last but certainly not least, dad was mowing & found & brought this adorable turtle for me to see. It stuck his head out & started walking, not at all shy. Of course I'm now leaving little bits of veggies & leftover Chai bunny food outside for it, hoping he will become friendly & we can have a proper turtle/tortoise & the hare/nut head bunny fable happen in the apartment! Chai bunny had made a path around the sofa, under the bed & beside the boxes where she zooms around-last night I heard her skid off the carpet & onto the concrete floor as the sound of little paws & nails went across concrete...so she's practicing! All we need now is Mr. Turtle to return! Finally, & with fever I had to go numerous times & stand in my front door & let the hurricane rain soak my face. Having my own front door to open in private behind the house & fence of my family is great. I can stand in just a gown & no one can see my moon face happily letting rain run down my neck & back, for Chai bunny to investigate after.

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This morning...#HAWMC WEGO day 12

Today we are to start with the given sentence & just free write. 'This morning I looked in the mirror' & immediately looked away. It's funny. I've been documenting my illnesses for almost 5 years now, & most of the pics are self portraits. I don't mind looking at them...even though they are me they aren't. They're the subject of documenting fibromyalgia & how it looks, acts, is. Taking pics & opening myself up to something so vulnerable is a project-a coping mechanism, just like blogging & a pic a day is-it might seem vain but it's a far cry from that. I used to photograph my overseas living, travels, & when I became housebound I had to turn the camera on myself to face what I was becoming. It was a way to learn to live with this new, foreign me in a distant way. Taking it as a project kept it from becoming too personal at first. I was looking at a disease. I hate seeing myself. I hate looking into a mirror. There are days I purposely don't look in a mirror for days, yet I see myself in photo manipulating pics daily. I'm sure it will continue to stay that way, though I know it's not totally healthy. Just trying to make it minute to hour to day to week to month is hard enough.

 

 

Eyes: guide to the soul & all that

My eyes, more green than hazel, say many things. I often really hope that my messages are getting read, but when the loud woman is the waiting room doesn't turn off her annoying ring tone, I assume my msg didn't quite get her.


Lately, my eyes are just saying 'nature, if you don't send some freaking rain my way to get this yellow s!#t out of my radius, I'm going to quit recycling' as they pour allergy tears. Ugh.







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