Australian Sacrificial Home Keeper

Tuesday 4 February 2020

It's calling my name!

Today is a mild day weather wise. We are sitting on 20C with mild winds and no storm activity. I am sitting here wondering why I have no spoons and am lacking the energy even to have a shower.

Fibromyalgia is a mystery to me. Just as I think I have it worked out, a new or worsened flare springs me unawares, and I find myself unable to think clearly. Even my eyes have trouble focussing today, so pacing myself's not going to work.

There's much to do here as well because I have been in a flare for a few days now. I am even too tired and sore to follow any lists at all. Except Thursdays' List. All one does on Thursdays is rest. I think I will have to treat today as a Thursday. Which is the beauty of Lists: you can exchange days to accommodate how you feel....

There's a few things I must do today:

~~Cook a beef stew in the slow cooker~~
~~Rest~~

The first one is done and the second is a work in progress. I feel no false guilt anymore. It's the only way I can get over this flare. Otherwise tomorrow will be just like today where it's all too much.

For today, rest is my own prescription to get well. Besides, I can hear my bed: it's calling my name!

Monday 3 February 2020

A joyful day

Today has started out to be most joyful. I have been watching the birdlife in our back garden and you can see some of the birds enjoying the bread I have just thrown out to them.

Another happy event was the heavy rain just stopping at the taking of the video. With many bushfires around us still burning-(they can burn slowly for months with all the undergrowth), it is good to know the rain will be helping put some of them out.

Weather is strangely cold for the hottest month of the year. We are sitting on 17C with temperatures set in the middle to high 20's next week.

My fibromyalgia is still flaring with weather changes making for great muscle pain and fatigue. So today I will be following the Monday List

On today's to do list includes:

~~Folding up some of the washing that I didn't get round to on Saturday~~
~~Making a Shepherd's Pie with vegetables for dinner~~
~~Sorting my pills out for next week and recording prescriptions repeats needed~~

All in all, I will be resting as well as working, pacing myself as I go. And you can be sure I will be looking out at the flowers lifting up their heads to the rain as the birds fly into my garden.

Sunday 2 February 2020

What a drenching!

There's nothing nicer than being in bed listening to the rain on a tin roof. Especially if you don't have to go out in it...

Last night and this morning we had heavy rains and more is expected today. Next week we are going to be in the middle 20C's or 68F's. With all the bushfires around us, it is much needed and prayed for.

I took this picture from our back door just after I fed some bread to the birds that frequent our garden. I love the smell of the rain! We are getting some relief from the heat with a top temperature forecast for 21C or 69.8F.

It was my plan to go to church this morning, but with all the storm activity yesterday my fibromyalgia's flaring and I honestly can't make it. Hopefully, next Sunday will be better.

Usually, I listen to the Bible on You Tube and worship and rest at home when I can't go. Which is often, unfortunately.

I will be hanging up the clothes I took out to wear there this morning. Later on I will cook some curried sausages in the slow cooker, which is my favourite way of cooking when I am in a flare.

There are a few dishes in the sink soaking in hot soapy water as per Sylvia's Sunday List. I will attend to them later on after I have had a rest.

It isn't ideal that I am seeking to go back to bed so early in the day, but such is the life of a chronically ill person. I no longer feel any false guilt over it like I did in the early days of finding out what my new normal would be. I can only get through this flare by resting...

So list of to do's today:

~~Hang up clothes~~
~~Set slow cooker going with sausages for dinner~~
~~Rest~~

And last but not least, I will be rejoicing as more rain falls giving our parched land a drenching!

Saturday 1 February 2020

First we have tea

We had a very fitful sleep last night due to the temperatures being so high yesterday. Our reverse cycle air conditioner just doesn't make it up to the front of the house and our bedroom is right at the front, faces east and catches the sun all day. It was like an oven in our room with the temp being 23C all night. Our fan only blew hot air around....

It is supposed to be 30C today with thunder storms later. We always have our Emergency phone app on to advise us on fire activity as we live in the country. Last year Chris's son, who lives near us, had to evacuate his family because of fires and this is something we are prepared for.

In the front guest room we have our important documents, spare medicines and some clothing and our photos on USB disk. They are easy to grab in case we get the evacuation call. With high fire danger today and lightning strikes a possibility, we have our fire plan in place. Yes, it's firmly in place, along with our little white cat, Xena's cat cage. Just in case...

I am currently listening to the Bible on You Tube and it is great for times when I am in a fibromyalgia flare and can't take in what I am reading. This is my preferred method of quiet time on days like today when my fibro is bad and I am lacking sleep and spoons.

So because of lack of spoons and much heat, we plan to stay home today. So far, I have showered, dressed and taken my medications. I have a few things planned for today:

I need to fold and put away three loads of washing.
~~I want to make a lamb stew in the slow cooker for dinner (so as not to heat up the kitchen)~~
I want to resume following FlyLady by jumping in wherever the zone is for today.

I usually use FlyLady and Sylvia Britton's Lists for chronically ill women depending on how I feel each day. I use the List for the day, then I may follow FlyLady's zone for 15mins. Today I am doing 15 minutes of cleaning in Zone 1 in FlyLady.

If I get these three things done today, it will be good. I will just cross off those things I achieve. We will see. But first we have tea. Everything goes better with a cup of tea!

Friday 31 January 2020

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. I am Glenys Robyn Hicks, an Australian Christian wife married to Chris, and a great-grandmother.

I love to encourage Christian women, especially those of us who through distance, illness or disability, find ourselves lonely and longing for some fellowship with like minded women...

With a myriad of health issues ranging from life-threatening to annoying, I write about chronic illness with the authority and empathy that comes from walking that sad path daily.

Why do I call my blog Sacrificial Home Keeper? you ask. Because anyone who manages a home whilst suffering a disability or illness sacrifices her comfort to do so. We often make the effort and overextend ourselves for our loved ones. Managing our home is a sacrifice for us..

A Sacrificial Home Keeper usually through necessity has to spend quite a lot of time at home. Home becomes even more important to us than to those people I call the "normals". People who have good health and energy. So we need to maintain it as well as we are able, according to how many spoons we have each day.

This blog is for me to encourage myself, organise and manage my home and create. You are welcome to follow me and comment if you wish. I will answer each comment as time and spoons permit.

My other blog is Morning Cuppas With Glenys to encourage sick Christian women in their calling

I will be posting pictures of our home in the country, so please do not copy them.

Disclaimer: I have no medical training whatsoever. Please consult your own medical practitioner for your health concerns. This site is non-denominational.