Blessed day today!

When we started our new chapter of life by stopping living in our fifth wheeler and renting again, we had to start off  again just like newlyweds.  We had either sold or given away our furniture and most of our extraneous possessions. We had nothing to move into the house.

Eventually we managed to get new furniture and Chris gave me carte blanche to pick out the furniture and decor. It was fun and we have mostly got all we want.  However, the house still needs some pictures etc and is a work in progress.

One of my favourite areas is our diningroom/passageway display of family photos. We have Arkiane's Prince of Peace front and centre with our wedding photos and our children's wedding photos. Directly under Him is my 7 branch menorrah, a gift to me from Chris to acknowledge my Jewish heritage and because Christianity is based on Judaism, and of course, Jesus was a Jew. I see it and it reminds me to pray for Israel.

Today is Sunday and I am talking to you and preparing to go to Church. We have a little church within walking distance. It is alongside the little Catholic church. This church I go to is a Co-operative church which caters for 3 different denominations. This morning we will be taking Communion with an Anglican minister presiding. Last time it was with a Church of Christ pastor. 

I truly am comfortable in any church that proclaims Jesus Is LORD! I feel that's how it should be! 

So today, I am following Sunday's List.  I will be making chicken chow mein for dinner. No extra chores are needed. It's a day of rest. I hope you are well enough to go to church today: if not, I pray you will still  have a blessed day today! 

Another day in Paradise!

This morning I came into the loungeroom to find our cat Xena propped in front of the back door eyeing off the birds feeding in the bird feeder. She looked at me as if to say "I was just watching!" But she spoilt it all by immediately prancing around saying, "Out!"  yes, she talks...

As any cat owner will tell you, when you live with a cat 24/7 they get to imitate words and Xena knows, bed, food, out! She tells us "Out!" when she wants to be let out, she knows who Dad is and she even calls me "Mum!".... with the same inflection my own children used years ago! lol

My fibromyalgia flare is lessening and I have a few extra things I want to achieve today apart from following Sylvia's Saturday List. 

1. Go through our clothes and fold/hang them as per Marie Kondo
2. Cook a Shepherd's Pie with peas as side dish for tea

First, though, I am going to get dressed then fling all the windows open. Today the air quality from nearby fires yesterday has improved with rain overnight. I do love fresh air.

If I can achieve all these things, I will be happy. Not that I can stay sad in this place. No matter what comes my way, it's a nurturing place and every day is another day in Paradise! 

It has to be enough!

Since moving here, there is always something to see in our backyard. It's like a screen saver: it's always changing.

This morning I found some rosellas enjoying the seed Chris put out for them. They were later joined by some King Parrots: green headed girls with red and two shades of green in their feathers, with the boys red headed with the same two shades of green feathers. 

We were woken up with a kookaburra laughing outside our front garden and he was later joined by some magpies warbling. If you love birds, you would love our place! 

I am in need of a nana nap this afternoon to tide me over till tea time. We saw a new doctor recently and we needed to get our blood tests done today. We fasted for these ones and in spite of my drinking heaps of water,  the phlebotomist couldn't get any blood- in three tries, nothing.

So Chris had to drive me to another clinic 20 minutes away and she got it first go. I was praying and sweating as my veins are very tricky. They wimp off at the first sign of a needle.

My spoons are all gone so very little is on my to list:

1. Rest
2. Cook chops, veg and mashed potato for tea

It's not much of an effort, but it's all I can do today. It has to be enough! 

Cat fur and tickling whiskers!

The sun is sinking under the nearby hills, leaving pink streaks in the sky. I have drawn the drapes and lit the lamps. 

My dishes from dinner are drying in the drainer. Xena has been fed and is indoors sitting with her Dad, Chris. 

The weather is slightly cool and we have put our fire on low which gives a cosy effect. I love my home, my husband and my cat... and of course, my God. 

Not only has He  blessed us with a lovely home to live in, but He graciously gave me a few surprise spoons (energy) this afternoon.  I managed to do what was on my list, plus I finished off putting all my clean washing away.

We live a simple life, but it is one of contentment and joy. I am believing for a good sleep tonight. I have already taken my medications and I can retire any time after an hour. I must remain upright and awake for an hour after taking them or my sleep is fitful and sore. I know that if I lay down soon after taking them that I can either have GERD or aspirate some acid and develop pneumonia. I have had pneumonia three times. I don't know why my sleep is fitful and my muscles sore if I don't wait an hour, but I am sick of trying to work it out: It is what it is.

Soon I will join Chris in the lounge room and no doubt Xena will jump up onto my lap for a cuddle and cat nap. As soon as she hears me say I am going to B.E.D. she springs off my lap and nearly trips me up to get there before me.  I have to spell B.E.D. because she knows the word- yes she does. She's a smart girlie! 

As I lay thanking God for the good in each day before I sleep, I can be sure of one thing: my little feline mate will be under the covers, pressed up against my back. She is always purring at night and I have no doubt that she too is grateful for the ending day. And for a Mum who overlooks cat fur and her tickling cat whiskers! 

What I wouldn't give for a good sleep

Last night was a fizzer regarding sleeping. No matter how I positioned myself, sleep eluded me most of the night. I have woken up this morning so sore and tired that I don't know what to do with myself.

From twenty odd years of suffering from fibromyalgia, I know that today is going to be a wipe out. So I will be pacing myself and only doing the bare minimum of chores.

Yesterday I felt like this, but we had waited a week to see a new doctor and we had to go see him. He was good and seems to know his stuff. We have a few baseline blood tests to get done before we see him again next week.

We are into cooler weather with a top of 28C predicted. I have washed two loads of clothes and am too tired to hang it out. Sometimes you have to compromise when you have chronic illness. Sometimes you win, most time it does! 

I shopped online for groceries yesterday: the Woolworths delivery man is due soon... I am saving my few spoons to put the shopping away and mark it off the shopping list as received...

Things on my to do list today:

1. Put the food away
2. Cook my homemade pasta sauce in the slow cooker for spaghetti bolognaise tonight
3. Rest

That will have to do for today as I am having trouble keeping awake. What I wouldn't give for a good sleep! 

Scarce as hens' teeth!

It is quite cold here today: 8C! By midday we should be hitting 24C which is quite pleasant. I have the reverse cycle air con set on 22C which is quite comfortable.  Xena our little white cat got up, used her tray, had some kibbles and went back to bed. Before I came out to the study, she was seen nestled next to Chris under the doona. So when she does that, you know it's cold!

My plans for today are

1. Catch up on last night's dishes
2. Do some washing
3. Go to the doctor and chemist
4. Do some grocery shopping
5. Cook sausages, veg and mashed sweet potato and potato

Fibromyalgia has me aching everywhere but there's no time to go to bed.  Today we are going to see a new doctor here. We only know his name but haven't seen him yet. Our little township has a drought on doctors with the average wait a week.  With all of our many illnesses, we are praying that this guy knows his stuff. But even so, beggars can't be choosers: doctors in the country are scarce as hens' teeth!

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:

1. Cook a beef stew in the slow cooker
2. 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! 

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:

1. Folding up some of the washing that I didn't get round to on Saturday
2. Making a Shepherd's Pie with vegetables for dinner
3. 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.

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:

1. Hang up clothes
2. Set slow cooker going with sausages for dinner
3. Rest

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

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:

1. I need to fold and put away three loads of washing.
2. I want to make a lamb stew in the slow cooker for dinner (so as not to heat up the kitchen)
3. 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!