Calling in my spoons!

It is 14C or 57.2 today which is good weather for being busy. I need to devote today to saving my produce and freezing it and cooking. 

I have bought too much fresh produce and I am not getting to use it before it goes limp. In my crisper are 2 bunches of celery, 2 leeks, 3 halves of pumpkins, 3 lettuces and 2 packets of carrots. Even by making some soups, I will still have too much. The veggies are not mouldy or brown but definitely not crisp- they are limp. 

I will freeze lettuces, celery, pumpkins and carrots and the two bags of brown onions expiring there as well. I have been obviously buying up big in the produce to try to stockpile a bit, but it's all going pear shape! 

I really can't afford to waste my money by throwing it out. I have to freshen them up and prolong their life.

I plan to make some  butter tarts, some sultana muffins, some cookie dough that I can freeze to use on the days when fibromyalgia has me snookered. I will be taking out some lamb steaks to thaw for dinner tonight, which will be steak, mashed potato and peas and gravy.

Mostly it will be a kitchen day today, as long as my spoons allow anyway.  I am sitting here calling in my spoons! 

Staying busy

So in the wake of the Corona Virus comes anxiety and uncertainty and I have been finding my adrenaline racing. With listening to too much news, I am inclined to get depressed and so, I am staying busy. Well, as busy as fibromyalgia and spoons allow.

I am finding by keeping busy that my mind slows down and this brings my blood pressure and heart rate down as well. There is less adrenaline pumping through me. And less angina.

My friend, Mrs Sylvia Britton of Christian HomeKeeper is a very gifted writer. She has blessed me so much with writing her Lists for the chronically ill woman. I follow them most days and they have helped me so much for many years now. 

Sylvia graciously allowed me to post her Lists here and on my other blog and I am eternally grateful.

Recently she has written a post which is so very helpful for us concerning coping with isolation and the Corona Virus.  Once again, she has graciously allowed me to share this with you. Thanks again, my friend.

Sylvia's advice is always scriptural and sensible, and I have found a sense of peace since staying busy.

So today I have:

1. Done a load of washing
2. Put it away as well as a load I found in the dryer! :)
3. Cleaned my kitchen
4. Made some Jewish Penicillin 
5. Roasted some chicken drumsticks for dinner
6. Sorted out our medications for the week
7. Watched Episode 7 of The Chosen  very moving... 

Highly recommend watching it.  He is our Hope and I am so grateful to Jesus for His sacrifice, His salvation and His grace to me.

My body is hurting with the fibromyalgia flaring, but I would prefer that to sitting fretting about Rona. 

I really think the answer to anxiety sometimes is staying busy.

Doing it my way!

So thanks to fibromyalgia making my life from day to day so unpredictable, I can't keep to a homemaking cleaning routine.

I simply don't know how each day is going to be until I wake up. It's unpredictable. Only in the morning (which usually is not a good time for me), will I know if I have any spoons (energy) or not. 

A lot of course depends on whether I was able to sleep well or not. Because most of the time I toss and turn and don't get much relief from pain even in sleep, I wake up feeling like I have been hit by a truck.

So in the 51 years of being a housewife, I have learned a trick or two about getting it done. And by getting it done, I don't mean perfectly: I mean good enough to keep us comfortable and healthy.

Perfectionism went out the window 22 years ago when Fibromyalgia joined the 'Ailments Club' along with life time members- Angina, Arthritis, Asthma, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Spinal Canal Stenosis, Diabetes 2, Hole in Heart, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Depression and lastly but by no means least, a torn Meniscus in the left knee. Oh yeah: and Heel Spurs. 

But I digress: I have learned a few tricks along the way for that rare day I just may have some spoons.

Here's a few tricks I have found along the way to help with housework.  You will see it's not very orthodox, but's it's effective and I like doing it my way! 

Staying home for real comfort.

So like most  of the world at the moment, we are staying at home to help stop the spread of the Corona Virus. 

We have accepted that this will be the new normal for at least six months and with acceptance comes a certain amount of peace.

As we talked about earlier, Chris and I are focussing on making our home a cosy nest. We have been getting a lot done that makes us both glad we have this home to nest in.

I have been cooking things I know Chris loves and have joined the local chemist's phone app for ordering our repeat prescriptions without going in. They make them up, then phone us when we can come and pick them up.

As spoons allow, I am doing my cleaning by zone according to FlyLady  However with my fibromyalgia flaring due to changing weather- lots of rain, that hasn't been a regular thing.

By and large I have enjoyed being home. There's a peace knowing we won't be likely to get Rona and also that by staying home, we in turn will not be passing it on should we get it.

I have been playing scripture in the background and changing to worship music at times as well. Whenever I find I am worried about Rona, I start praying. That is such a wonderful tool and brings an immediate sense of peace.

I have a few things I want to do today:

1. Do my dinner dishes as I just didn't have the spoons last night.
2. Bake some scones for afternoon tea
3. Make another veggie intensive chicken chow mein with rice for dinner

That will probably be it for today as I am feeling extremely sore and tired. Just another reason staying at home is real comfort.

Entertaining the young'uns

So with staying in isolation with the CV, we have had time to enjoy the antics of the birds in our yard and our little cat, Xena.

She has been so funny as she claws her way up and down her scratching post complete with stuffed mouse and pink ball. 

The weather has been lovely with mostly warm autumn days and just a little rain. It's been perfect for outside activities like cleaning the outside windows and pressure hosing down the front porch and carport.

We have accepted that we will be isolated for six months or so. We are grateful for our little cottage hidden away in our quiet country township.

We are believing that we will be OK as regards this virus and have been filling our home with worship music and faith building words.

Whilst Chris has been concentrating on the outside of our home, I have been tending to the inside. I actually have been enjoying my homemaking efforts despite not having enough spoons each day to complete everything I would like to do. Still, one has to accept that with fibromyalgia and aging.

I didn't get the cooking done yesterday so it's on my to do list for today.

1. Making some mini quiches to freeze
2. Making cookie dough also to freeze

We are so glad we bought that scratching post for Xena. It's been fun for us to watch her and she's happy that we are entertaining the young'uns.

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 

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

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! 

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.

Not lazy: smart

Anyone with chronic illness that makes you fatigued like fibromyalgia, will know that part of accepting the new normal is planning to do the most you can with the least amount of spoons. That applies to all housework chores and social activities. 

Lately, Chris and I have been ordering our groceries online. This has so many benefits and is worth the $15 delivery fee. It makes ordering the shopping easier by having a list of previous shops to copy from. Wonderful when concentrating is hard when one has brain fog from fibro or medications...

The delivery guy will even bring it into the kitchen and place it on the kitchen bench. It is then just a matter of putting it all away. So much better than handling it at the checkout, loading it into the boot of the car, bringing it all in.

As a Sacrificial Home Keeper, I have streamlined the inside activities, and now I have streamlined the outside activities. 

With paying for delivery, some may say shopping online for groceries is lazy: I say no: it's actually very smart. Designed with the Sacrificial Home Keeper in mind. I am very grateful for it.

Today's list is simple as I am still under the weather:

1. Do dishes
2. Fold clothes in dryer
3. Make our bed
4. Cook lamb stew in slow cooker for dinner

Home at last

When my mother passed away, I was not able to keep a lot of the things she left me. My sister took them on the understanding that if /when I wanted them, they were there to pick up.

As you know, we lived in a fifth wheeler for six months, so I didn't have room for all the things I loved such as Mum's tea pots. When we rented again, I asked for them back.

I have a few household chores to do today, then we are going to clean the fifth wheeler for sale. God willing. I still depends on how many spoons I have today.

Today's to do list looks like this:

1. Do a couple of loads of washing and dry and put away
2. Cook pork chops in the slow cooker for dinner
3. Clean the fiver if enough spoons

I was showing my friend around yesterday, and she noticed Mum's teapots. It was just a small thing, but I felt happy that the teapots that had been promised me since childhood had come home at last.