Author Archives: Autumn

Hearthcraft Book Update

Total word count, hearthcraft book: 23,001
New words today: 1,168

Close to the original magic number of 1,200, although far from the 1,600 I’m now using as my daily goal, and even further from the 2K I was secretly hoping to hit today to really get me going again. I’m very fortunate that the boy’s caregiver can take him an extra day every two weeks, giving me three days in a row to work twice a month.

Still: over 23K. That’s good, that’s good. There’s a world of difference between being one-third done at 20K, and half-done at 30K.

It’s been ages since I’ve had to teach anyone about wards. Gah. All my words on the subject are mysteriously AWOL and I’m left kind of waving my hand in the air at the monitor, saying, “You know, it’s like, well, that.” The fibro-fog I’ve been working in doesn’t help. An article I was reading on fibro today politely called it ‘impaired concentration/comprehension’, which is a very nice way of saying ‘I’m out of it and can’t keep track of a thought for more than a moment or two’. I’m told it takes about a week to get used to the medication that I begin taking tonight. I’m really, really hoping my brain sharpens up after that period of adjustment and I’m back to where I need to be.

The Day So Far

I have been geeking out over a scan of a hand-marked Vaughan-Williams score used by Stokowski, scribbled upon with red-pencilled notes after discussion with the composer. And I thought I marked my music up!

I think I may be one of the only people I know who isn’t sick of winter yet. Not that I want it to hang around; it just seems that others have reached the fed-up point much sooner than I have. Although looking at past history, I’m due for that ‘c’est assez!’ moment any day now.

I picked up my first month of medication this morning and laughed very hard at the $7.99 price tag. And to think we were worried! Since I got home I have been working on rituals and such (and rhapsodising over the Vaughan-Williams score, of course). I’m going to get up and stretch, then move into the hearthcraft book and pray that I connect with whatever it is I end up writing about today.

I am still very much enjoying buying gifts for people. I can’t do it for everyone, of course, otherwise I’d very quickly be in the ‘zounds where will we get the money to eat’ position again. But there are couple of people who have had positive impact on my state of mind and spirit this past year, and perfect things for them have been popping up in my path. I’ve also ordered some books on fibro for myself. I might as well learn as much as I can about it, as we may be living together for quite some time.

I’ve even eaten lunch already. Two meals before ten-thirty! And when this loaf of bread has finished baking, I will have yet another meal of fresh bread and roast beef and cheese!

This is what a pretty darn good day looks like. Except…

How am I supposed to work under such conditions?

Hearthcraft Book Update

Less than a thousand words today. I wish I could settle into this. I haven’t found my stride yet and I spend too much time trying to figure out what and how to do something.

But: Mailbox joy in the form of payment for my test evaluation for that ongoing freelance gig, much sooner than expected. Hurrah! I’ll watch the exchange rates this week and see if I can make an extra dollar or two on it. It’s the principle of the thing.

Le News

I had my follow-up with the doctor this morning. As a not-quite-aside, I am thankful that today’s weather with rain/snow/60 to 90 kph winds is indeed today’s weather and not yesterday’s, because I can just imagine how impossible it would have been to get the boy home from across town in this. The cold is biting, the additional gusts on top of the steady high-level wind are aggressive and dangerous, and rain on top of flash-frozen ice is No Fun. Anyway, I made it to the doctor’s office in one piece although late, which was fine because she was running late too.

My blood test results (and there were pages and pages to go through) were all lovely and normal. My calcium and magnesium were a touch below what she wanted them to be, but my multivitamin is covering that. The rheumatoid and other arthritis indicators all came back negative, so the diagnosis has settled on fibromyalgia. I have a prescription for a minute dose of medication to take daily, another appointment in three weeks to see how it’s going, and permission to slow down and stop thinking of myself as somehow failing at what I’m trying to keep up with. The optimistic view, which we are taking, is that six months to a year should help the body recover some sort of equilibrium, and then we will re-evaluate and either taper off the meds to see what happens, or keep on with them.

So there you have it. Thanks, everyone, for your good thoughts and wishes that have been coming my way; I truly appreciate them.

My Morning, By Me

Today’s excitement: having my car key snap off in the trunk lock as I prepared to load the car with a shopping trip’s worth of stuff.

Yes! So exciting! Liam and I called friends who used to have an extra copy of our car key, but they were not home. We called HRH to apprise him of the necessity of picking the car up on his way home from work, and then my phone died a messy death (it can’t hold a charge worth beans, but I am not complaining because it was second-hand, inexpensive, and has served me well for almost a whole year). Then we liberated the emergency umbrella stroller that languishes in the back of the car, covered the major purchases with the car blanket, made sure the immediate necessities and little things were in pockets or bags, locked up the car, and took the bus home.

Naturally, the freezing rain began halfway across the parking lot.

Luckily, Liam thought the whole thing a grand adventure, partially fuelled by my animated “Want to do something really cool? Let’s take the bus home!” pitch. And then we stopped in at a gas station on our fifteen-minute trek to a bus stop to buy a granola bar as a treat, and he was thrilled about that too. (It was an excuse to break the five dollar bill in my wallet to have sufficient change for the bus). He had been very well-behaved during our department store experience, walking next to me and holding my hand; I was very impressed. He’s on the verge of being too big for the seats in shopping carts, so learning how to walk while we shop is a good thing. His good mood made things easier to handle. So did the not-crowded bus. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a bus that empty on that route.

There is irony involved in all this, too. We went out to buy a new microwave, as the one we have been using by the grace of Tal for the past two years mysteriously ceased functioning last night. (Don’t worry, Tal, if/when you require a microwave oven again, we will replace it for you.) I was punching in a time when the lights went out and that was that — no crackles or sparks or warnings of slow death. I am mystified. It is currently in the garage while it thinks about the error of its ways (let’s call it a time out for appliances). We don’t use the microwave for anything other than reheating tea, warming up milk or leftovers, or defrosting meat that’s being stubborn, so the one we got is tiny and only 700 watts. And the irony of having gone out to buy the new microwave is that we cannot use it, as it’s sitting covered by the blanket in the back of the locked car of a parking lot at the other end of town. I discovered this when I went to warm up Liam’s pasta and veggies for lunch.

I also need a new car key, and HRH will need to get the snapped-cleanly-level-with-the-lock key out. Issues for tomorrow.

But the day is not a wreck (not that it was in any danger of being one, it wasn’t as huge a disaster as it could have been… I could have accidentally locked the passenger side car doors after buckling Liam in and then snapped the key), because the copy of the Druid Plant Oracle that I ordered from the UK arrived while Liam was eating lunch. It will not be available in North America until August. I win.

Also, when Liam watches the opening credits to the Muppet Show, he sings the final “SHOOOOOOOOW!” along with the cast, hilariously off-key.

That is all.