The gentle art of getting on

As you know, this Corona Virus has got us isolating at home. We have been getting a lot done around the house as our focus has been on homemaking.

With being together 24/7 it sometimes happens that we get on each others' nerves. I think it comes from an underlying anxiety about what's going to happen and being stir-crazy.

Whatever, it is a lesson in self-control, patience, kindness and loving one another inspite of the circumstances. Because we still do love one another.

Close quarters like this last week has shown both of us that we are not as nimble and not as fit as we were twenty years ago. But it has also shown us that we are mighty grateful for each other in spite of transient tensions.

Ladders are now not  climbed easily, wherein tempers can be frayed easily. Like I said, it's a lesson in all the above things. 

Spending time with each other in this trial is a double edged sword: we are grateful for each other as we are, but are afraid of life without each other. We are realising how vulnerable we really are. 

Like it or not, we are in this together and are facing life as one. Which is why the lesson will be quickly learned: the gentle art of getting on. 

Enjoying my time in the kitchen

So we have a lovely large kitchen which is a novelty for me. There's so much storage space and lots of drawers and  bench space. I love it.

It's just as well I am enjoying my kitchen because I have been doing a lot of cooking from scratch here. With the Corona Virus, and not wanting to shop too often, I am trying to rotate and use the oldest vegetables and canned stuff first.

Being at home all day, I have endeavoured to make Chris things he enjoys eating. There's nothing like the smell of a cake cooking or a soup simmering. It's important to me that I cook nourishing meals no matter whether we are isolated at home or not. 

I have some things that I haven't completed from the previous days, and hopefully my spoons will be sufficient to get the jobs done. On my to do list still are:

1. Fold clothes from yesterday and put them away
2. Mop the vinyl areas
3. Cook a shepherd's pie with mashed potato and peas for dinner

I already have cleaned the toilet and done a load of washing and sorted out our weeks' worth of medication. I also have made some pumpkin soup just to keep on the stove.

By keeping a blog like this, I can see areas that I have to still do or have fallen down on. Oh yes: and to remind myself on bluer days how much I am enjoying my time in the kitchen! lol 

Tomorrow is today

So I have put off some things from yesterday that I didn't get done.  The plan was to do it today, but unfortunately my spoons once again dictated my ability to do them. Tomorrow is today and I simply can't function.

I have had a bath and that was enough to wipe me out of spoons. I have microwaved some party pies for lunch, opened the windows up and made a cup of tea.

After lunch, I will be going back to bed for a while. After that, I will be cooking chow mein for tea. I have taken the mince out to thaw but that's it. 

Once it would worry me, but twenty plus years of living with fibromyalgia has taught me never to plan too far ahead. Until I actually wake up in the morning, I simply don't know how or even if I will be able to cope with the day.

I have found if I just accept that this is the nature of the beast aka fibromyalgia, and go with it that I can avoid false guilt and depression.

So it all will get done when I get to it, even if tomorrow is today! 

You have to do your bit

One day seems the same as another!  We have a sunny day and a big back garden. The birds are getting cheeky and are coming to the back door calling for more food. 

I just have some clothes to fold and put away left over from yesterday's chore list. Then I will make some salad sandwiches and we will eat them outside in the sunshine. 

I am determined to find as much joy in each day as I can. I guess I will have to stop reading all the Corona Virus stuff online. That will definitely help....

The warmer weather is helping with my fibromyalgia a bit. I have managed a few more chores because of the extra spoons.

This is on my to do list for the day:

1. Spot vacuum 
2. Quick mop the vinyl areas
3. Cook a lasagna with salad for dinner

I managed to dust the bedrooms. I will finish dusting tomorrow because I still need to pace myself. It's funny to stay home on a Saturday morning... but you have to do your bit...

All things work for good...

So we are staying at home with the Corona Virus spreading fast. But today we had to go to see our Doctor P to get some repeat scripts. He said that from now on we can just ring the clinic and he will fax our scripts to our chemist. We are glad for one less reason not to have to go out.

Our BP was pretty good: 138/74 for me... and Chris's, strangely was exactly the same. The doctor laughed and asked if we even synchronised our BP! I said to Chris isn't that romantic, and Dr P laughed again and agreed that it was!  We are always together and we never tire of each other!

Apart from today, we have been home and it hasn't been all that bad. I have been getting some things done around the house like decluttering and Chris has been putting some pictures up for me in our room and the guest room.

I am making sure we are eating proper meals but I do have some snack foods in the back of the pantry for comfort eating. Chris loves to munch on almonds whilst watching TV and I love eating muesli bars.

My fibromyalgia is dictating my life a bit, ensuring that I have a nana nap in the afternoons. With no social commitments, it's pretty easy to go to bed when I feel the need. And I don't feel guilty.

Staying at home because one has to with the Corona Virus like a spectre haunting our peace, is not ideal, but if we do what we are told, I am sure it will burn itself out soon.

We are refusing to give in to anxious thoughts and are trying to keep ourselves busy. Well, as busy as I can be with limited spoons.

My to do list today is to follow Thursday's List which is basically a rest day as I had the doctor's appointment today.  I am feeling tired now. 

I will be spending time watching You Tube and Netflix with Chris and trying to keep myself busy in the home. We can use this time at home for good if we think it through. All things work for good...

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Waiting for my first wind

So today's a day where I sit waiting for my first wind. Not even a breeze! I have another flare of my fibromyalgia and I am so tired breathing is an effort!

I have been pacing myself to get the essentials done today. Mostly catching up on dishes and a couple of loads of washing.

The weather is fantastic and it would be wonderful to dry the clothes outside, but alas, my spoons dictated that I chuck them in the dryer.

This is my to do list for today:

1. Washing 
2. Folding and putting away the clothes
3. Finishing washing the dishes.
4. Cook curried sausages with mashed potato and veggies for tea

Needing to take a bath but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I am dreaming of bed while waiting for my first wind.

Things are getting done

So we are staying home and doing some jobs around the house that I have been wanting to get done for a while now.

My sister gave me this picture of the seaside with ladies in crinoline dresses enjoying the beach. It is really pretty in real life and looks wonderful with my pale blue curtains and pink and mint green minkie blankets and blue doona cover. I hope it's not too girly for poor Chris. I will post a pic of the complete room later.

I am very weary today but have determined to follow Wednesday's List regardless. I really want to keep up with my housework, so I will be pacing myself. 

Although today is Thursday, I have followed that list yesterday as I had a doctors' appointment and was really tired after that.

On today's list of to do's:

1. Do a load of washing and put it away
2. Hang some pictures in the lounge room
3. Change our sheets
4. Cook some chicken kievs for dinner
5. Wash the dinner dishes from last night.

I trust you are all keeping well and staying at home where possible. It's not all bad and perhaps like us, you are finding that things are getting done..

Stay safe. Stay vigilant. Stay home.

Yesterday I received a message which I couldn't share as it was an audio message. It resonated as true to me and is worth passing on. It was written by a nurse who is working with Corona Virus patients. 

She states that China has found out some more facts about the CV from autopsies and this is how it works. Once in your mouth, it hangs around for a few days before infecting your bronchial tubes and lungs. It forms very thick phlegm which impedes breathing.

Before it gets to that stage, if one starts to get a sore throat, she recommends immediately gargling with salt, lemon or vinegar in water. It doesn't do too well in heat, so she recommends drinking hot drinks: soups, tea, coffee and warm water. By doing this, initally the virus will be transferred to the stomach where the gastric juices will destroy the virus. Obviously, washing hands, refraining from smoking and social distancing will all help us avoid getting the virus in the first place.

These steps seem commonsense to me and certainly can't hurt to try.... Stay safe. Stay vigilant. Stay home.

Better days are coming!

So today I stayed home as we are self-isolating. It's not too bad being home when you have plenty of food in the pantry and fridge. Not to mention extra medications on hand. I love my home.

We have had some beautiful autumn days and I intend to spend quite a bit of time outdoors in our back yard the next few days.

The last few days have been spent in the kitchen but now I have soups in the freezer and so on, I can relax and wait out this Corona Virus.

As spoons permit, I will be doing some decluttering and Marie Kondo minimalising and folding of stuff from the move from the fifth wheeler. I also want to gradually deep clean our home. I will find plenty to stop me from going stir crazy during this trial.

Xena has been totally spoilt with all her choices of cat food that we have got her. I think she actually has more stored food than us at the moment.

We are trying to keep optimistic about life and are clinging to God's promises. Especially the hope of His soon return for His Bride, the Church.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Saviour but would like to, please click here

Meanwhile, let's prepare our nests for possible lockdown, keeping in mind that this will eventually pass if we follow instructions and assist our health professionals. 

Remember that better days are coming! 

Jewish Penicillin

The last few days I have been busy making sure we have enough food and medications for a possible lockdown for two weeks. It's not coming yet here in Australia, but I want to be prepared if it does. I know we are all sick of hearing about the Corona Virus, but it's no good treating it like it isn't a real issue. 

I have been making good use of my slow cooker lately, making and freezing soups to help extend the life of the poultry and meat that I have bought. In particular I have made a large batch of "Jewish Penicillin". It is so nice and also it is very nourishing if someone is under the weather. It just made sense to me to prepare some.

Whilst I believe in a healing God, I also believe in being sensible in heeding the advice of our goverment health department. I want to do whatever it takes to protect my family. That is not lacking in faith, in fact, we are called to be good stewards of our belongings and caring of our family.

I did not panic buy like so many did over the last few weeks. I did however, grab some extra things like bottled water, cans of milk powder (all the long life UHT milk was gone), canned goods and meat. A few frozen dinners as a standby were added to the mix. I also got some extra hand soaps and washing powder. Plus some tissues as all the toilet paper was gone..

As Chris and I are on quite a lot of medications, I got extra scripts made up in case we can't get them later on. I was not the only one: the average wait was two hours! I also bought some paracetamol tablets at the chemist as they also were sold out at the supermarket. By the way, don't use ibruprofen or aspirin if you think you have the C Virus... it makes it worse apparently.

My spoons are few and my efforts certainly made me what I class a Sacrificial Home Keeper! Nothing like trying to keep on top of things with a hefty dose of Fibromyalgia and angina!

I need to eat something that will give me a boost: I'm off to heat up a bowl of my Jewish Penicillin! 

Overcoming the Fear Virus

So I have been anxious about the Corona Virus. I won't lie and say I haven't. But I forgot something very important. Read about what and how I overcame my fear that I blogged about his morning.

I have had a few day's rest from the computer as I am sick of doom and gloom and I rested my body to get over the fibromyalgia flare.

Today, I feeling a  bit better and I have a few things to do:

1. Make three slow cooker soups: pea and ham, chicken broth and pumpkin
2. Do a load of washing
3. Cook chicken kiev, mashed sweet and ordinary potato and peas
4. Dust furniture

I think that will just about see my spoons out today...

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

I have relapsed with another flare of fibromyalgia accompanied by angina. The angina is present in my sleep and wakes me up. That is in the few hours of sound sleep that fibro gives me.

I have done nothing today except make Chris dinner. The rest of the time I have been sleeping. Depression has called on me making me feel over this.

And I am so over chronic illness. Not that declaring this achieves anything. I am going back to bed in hope of finding a few hours of comfort when I sleep. 

So goodnight to you all. I am hoping for a better tomorrow for you and for myself! 

Weighing up the spoons!

I am overjoyed to wake with some spoons today! I have been in this fibromyalgia flare so long that I have forgotten what energy feels like. 

To cope with the residual muscle pain, I have taken a couple of paracetamol with my other tablets this morning. 

I am sitting trying to work out how to utilise my spoons skilfully. I know if I overdo it, I will be back in a flare tomorrow. There's much I would like to do, but I think I will keep it simple to avoid a rebound flareup.

On my to do list today:

1. Follow Wednesday's List
2. Get a few groceries and go to the post office
3. Cook some devilled sausages with vegetables and mashed potato for dinner
4. Have a bath in the evening if I have enough spoons left

If I can get most of this done, I will be happy. It's all about balance and weighing up the spoons!

Nothing like country life!

So this morning I came out to see this from our back window. We love it here and this window is like a screen saver. It is always changing! Chris grabbed my phone and took a video to show you.

It is lovely outside today. The weather is forecast to be 23C and is perfect autumn weather.  I have to go out to the chemist for some refills of our medications and I can see a sit out in the sun in my future.

My fibromyalgia flare is a bit better today, but I am still going to pace myself because if I don't, I know I will be in a flare again tomorrow.

So today I am following Tuesday's List and making a Shepherd's Pie with peas for dinner. Shepherd's Pie is one of Chris's favourite meals.

Oh, and when I get home, if I don't need a nana nap, I will be sitting in the garden seat taking in this lovely view!  We are grateful that God gave us this place to live in. There's nothing like country life!

It's just the nature of the beast!

I wish I could tell you that my fibromyalgia flare is over, but I can't. This morning I woke with so much pain that I took my bath in the morning instead of at night, hoping it would unkink all my sore muscles. It didn't.

As I lay in the bath I planned my day and prayed for the energy to do it. If determination was the only way to get through, it would be a breeze! But alas, determination does not equate to spoons (energy), and at the end of the day it can actually lead to false guilt if I can't achieve what I wanted to.

In chronic illness, I find that whilst it is good to make plans, it is unlikely that all will be accomplished. Like me knowing that my diabetes is out of control (11.6) and I simply must accept that I cannot take much sugar in any form, I must accept that I can only do so much. Or so little. 

So, it's no good flogging myself like a dead horse. It is what it is. What gets done, gets done. What doesn't, doesn't. 

So today, I am just following Monday's List. And preparing a curried sausages in the slow cooker for dinner. 

If I get everything done or not, I will have to learn to be content. Chronic illness is tough, but I will have to accept it: it's just the nature of the beast.

It's not rocket science

Yesterday I wrote a post in my other blog about practising good hygiene like the Jewish people do. 

I really believed most people washed their hands and cleaned their homes on a regular basis. However,  with the shortage on hand cleaners and anti-bacterial soaps in supermarkets, it would seem that no one much has this stuff on hand like you would expect in a home where good hygiene was practised daily.

Simple measures like outlined in yesterday's post, sneezing or coughing into your elbow and avoiding large crowds will go far in not catching or bringing illness to your home.

I always have the antibacterial spray Glen 20 at home. I regularly spray it near Xena's litter tray and around the toilet floor, especially behind and on the seat. Sometimes I spray it on door handles too and I wipe my computer mouse and mobile or cell phone with antibacterial cloths in sachets.

People are panicking about catching the Corona Virus, but are lining up en masse at Cosco's to purchase toilet paper. This to my mind enhances the chance of catching something like the ordinary Flu that really has killed more people worldwide than the Corona Virus.

We are likely to stay well with simple hygiene measures. It is not rocket science.

Today's to do list is:

1. Clean my kitchen
2. Do some washing
3. Vacuum the middles of the floors
4. Feather dust
5. Cook a lamb stew for dinner in the slow cooker

Are there any spoons out there?

So it's morning and with it comes the stiffness, the muscle pain and tiredness that belies the fact that I actually slept for nine hours. It sure doesn't feel like I slept at all.

I have to go to the chemist this morning as I am out of blood pressure tablets. As I have been home all week, mostly in bed, I will enjoy being out of the house a bit. But I know I will be glad when I get back home as well. Fibromyalgia makes you like that.

Accepting that I will be exhausted by just going to the chemist seems laughable to people who are not ill: but to us Sacrificial Home Keepers, it's a reality and part of our new normal. So I will take this necessary trip out today with gladness that I am getting out of the house but with the knowledge that I will probably need to go to bed for a bit afterwards.

Before I go to the chemist, which is a twenty minute drive from home, I will be cooking the evening meal in my slow cooker so that it is one less thing to worry about when I need to rest later on.

So once again, my to do list will be very simple:

1. Follow Saturday's List
2. Cook some sweet curry sausages with rice in the slow cooker
3. Go to chemist
4. Fill our tablet dispenser for the week

We will have to see if I can get it all done. If not, this picture will be of me searching for any spoons out there! 

Alas, I have no children to help!

So today is another dreary day of fibromyalgia, pain and chronic fatigue. I honestly don't know when this fibro flare is going to end or if this is how my life is going to be forever!

I didn't do the dishes last night! Looking back, I know that was a huge mistake. This morning I was faced with icky slimey water that was steaming hot in a previous lifetime, but now has cooled down making my stick of dishwashing soap a gooey mess.

Overnight the dishes seemed to have multiplied while I slept, with more teacups Chris used during the night (for he is a night owl), and more now with breakfast and lunch dishes.

I look at them, sigh and promise myself I will do them. And I will. After a nana nap.

Nana naps sometimes help me and are becoming a necessary fact of life for me. They used to be voluntary, but now they are mandatory. If I don't give in to my chronic fatigue and take a nap, my body wilts and my eyes have trouble focussing. I literally go cross eyed trying. I have heard this happens often for the poor Fibromite in a bad flare.

So today's list is again a simple one:

1. Rest
2. Dishes
3. Cook tea which will be fish, chips and salad.

I sure hope I feel better after my nap: those dishes aren't going to do themselves and alas, I have no children to help! 

No need to panic

So there have been a few cases of Corona Virus here in Australia. People have panicked and supermarket shelves here are running low on bottled water and toilet paper. Knives have been  pulled on people over a dispute on toilet paper. There have been stampedes. 

There is no need to panic. For starters, one- we have a very good health care system that can cope with helping anyone who succumbs to the virus and secondly, according to statistics, we have more of a chance of catching the common flu as we do of contracting and then dying of the Corona Virus.

I think the news is to blame, exaggerating and fear-mongering. It is no wonder there's panic in the ranks.  We won't be stock piling. But we will be following normal precautions by avoiding large crowds, airports and even shopping centres. We will shop online. And we will wash our hands frequently. It's just basic hygiene really.

With how I am feeling at the moment, with the fibro flare not over and constantly tired, staying home and shopping online will be the norm for us anyway. But in all honesty, we are not panicking.

My list of to do's today is basic:

1. Follow Thursday's List  
2. Do a 15 minute stint on FlyLady's Zone
3. Cook a stew in the slow cooker for dinner

More tea, Dear?

So whilst writing this post, I bought in some water and a cup of tea to take my morning medications. I was interrupted by a knock at the door which was the Woolworths delivery man with my online grocery delivery.

When I came back, I was horrified to see my little cat, Xena drinking happily from my tea cup! Knowing that the tea had already been spoilt for me, I stood back and let her finish drinking. Luckily, my phone was on my computer desk and I was able to take a picture of her lapping my tea.

She's a lover of Vegemite too. I found her a few weeks ago licking a plate that was stacked by the sink ready to be washed. She was really enjoying the saltiness of my Vegemite from my leftover breakfast toast. I guess she's a true Australian then! We love our Vegemite from the first tentative suck on a piece of toast our mothers offered us as babies. 

My sugars this morning were 10.1 which is better than 18.6 plus Ketones last night. I am avoiding sugar like the plague! I think I went wrong with eating a pear before going to bed last night...

I have a few things on my to do list today:

1. Make our bed
2. Clean my kitchen
3. Dust
4. Make another cup of tea to replace Xena's...
5. Cook a Shepherd's Pie for dinner tonight:  not necessarily in that order :)

I think from now on I will have to make a cup of tea and pour it into Xena's drinking bowl with a piece of toast and Vegemite in her feed bowl. After all, in her mind she's not a cat: she's a human child who is very loved and spoilt. "More tea, Dear?"

Grateful for my servants

So today has seen a slight improvement in my sugars. They were 9.5 this morning which is a lot better than 11.6 yesterday. I have been very careful of sugars in what I ate and the results are pleasing.

Also I have less pain and I think the fibromyalgia flare may be abating. So today I have added a few things to my to do list- things that will be a lick and promise only: I have had to give up on my perfectionism.

1. Do a couple of loads of washing
2. Cook some minestrone soup in the slow cooker
3. Change our bed
4. Vacuum and sweep an area of the house
5. Order online groceries for tomorrow
6. Cook curried sausages with rice for dinner

I am determined to do at least some of these things today and I have enlisted the help of some of my servants. 

Top of the list is my Dyson stick vacuum because it's not heavy, does a great job of picking up Xena's white fur and does not hurt my back.

Second favourite servant of mine is my dryer which saves me a lot of spoons in hanging the washing out then bringing it back in.

Having said that, I am also grateful for my slow cooker, my front load washer, my microwave and my toaster. I don't know how people managed in the past without these. I am grateful for my servants. 

Not even on my worst day

So today is another day of pain, lethargy and lack of motivation. As soon as I finish this post, I am going to have a nana nap.

I once would have fought going back to bed, but these days I know I have to pace myself and rest or this fibromyalgia flare won't abate.

In accepting my fibromyalgia, I have had to cast my perfectionism aside and just concentrate on basic essentials like meals.

I refuse to give in to false guilt and that has been reinforced by my realising that as soon as I am able, my housework will be done. Besides, it will never ever get to look like these houses in the slideshow that I blogged about today- not even on my worst day. 

Today's to do list is:

1. Rest
2. Cook some devilled sausages, mash and veggies for dinner
3. Do the dishes

This is the least I can do to make sure that our home never looks like one of those.

A busy day

So yesterday our little township had its annual Festival. All along the strip of parkland outside our home, food tents, stalls selling all manner of things apart from homegrown produce and beauty products, lead happy customers to them.

The weather was perfect for the Festival and the townsfolk enjoyed rock bands, concerts and school bands until the evening. Horses pulled carts of people around the parkland borders. It was fun.

Chris and I had intended to go yesterday, but my fibromyalgia flare which seems never ending put me in bed. There was no way I could have even walked there inspite of it being just across the road. So whilst all this was taking place, I was sleeping the exhausted sleep of the flaring fibromite.

Chris took a short video from our front garden to show me some of the fun. I hated missing out.

Today's weather is 29C which is lovely. I got up, did breakfast, took my medications and fed Xena and that has wiped out my spoons for the day.

My sugars were 11.4 this morning and I feel quite off. My eyes are blurry and my toes are burning and stinging. I am getting quite worried. My diabetes is out of control.

I have brought the minced steak out of the freezer and will be doing some spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.  That's it. Nothing much going on today, yet my body feels like it's been a busy day.