Monday, 1 April 2024

Wishing you all a Happy Easter

Happy Monday everyone both near and far and Happy Easter for this past weekend, it is only because of His sacrifice that we have hope and life.  For those in South Africa we have just had two long weekends in a row so looking at another short week.   It is also school holidays here so our little Village is very full with holiday homes and B & B's mostly rented out.  The weather has also been absolutely perfect (for me hehe) for the last 2 weeks, yesterday excluded.  Cooler, misty and  a bit drizzly, pure heaven after the intense heat, the humidity is still quite high.  Saying this just reminded me of years ago when my kids were at school, school holidays were staggered with the different Provinces.  Good old yesteryear.

Well March wasn't quite what I expected or planned but it too has come to an end.  It started with me having the Bone Calcium Infusion  and for the third time in a row my reaction was the severest to date. I will not be having it again and would rather take magnesium daily than subject my body to this again.  It started with the usual increased pain and flu like symptoms but also pushed me into a Fibro Flare, the likes of which I have never experienced.  One of the disturbing Fibro symptoms is something called Fibro Fog where one feels as if thinking is like trying to walk through quicksand.  I got to a point where I was making JB a new dress for her birthday and, after all the measuring and drawing up of the pattern, I cut the bodice out, pinned it together and it was too tight.  That absolutely floored me.  No matter how I tried to re-measure, re-draw the pattern nothing  worked.  Eventually after many tears of frustration I called my seamstress neighbour who came over the following Monday and bam in 10 minutes we had it right.  I had looked at it and thought that I could put a small panel in under the arms, but that thought flew right through my brain and out the other side. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Then I picked up a jersey pattern i wanted to knit .... oh my goodness 3 days and 4 patterns later I could actually harness my brain into getting the pattern right. I was seeing the abbreviations and mentally transposing them. Instead of decreasing I was making a hole. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ At the time, no matter how hard I looked I could not see the fault. Grrrr. During this same period I forgot to order my chronic meds from the pharmacy who only deliver on Fridays and Tuesdays. So, from the Friday to Tuesday I was without one particular pill, which worsened everything even more.  When I eventually went and saw my GP he was horrified.  I was told that under NO circumstances do I ever miss one of those doses.  He did a full neurological test and work up on me and assured me that I am not going crazy or mentally insane but that it was a three fold problem.  The drip, Fibro and the missing pill.  I was so relieved to be declared "normal".  I thank God for an empathetic and thorough Dr.  He made some temporary adjustments to my meds to get me back on track,  and told me to just be kind to myself.  I have to thank JB for all her  care and understanding and for never getting irritable or annoyed with me.   Two weeks later on her birthday I was still struggling, but thankfully apart from occasional balance issues I am back to my normal self. 

For her birthday Poppet and BabyBear had organised a full day of activity in the City. We went together with BabyBear's mom, who was visiting, to a Clay Painting Cafe, where we each chose an item and then got to paint said item, as well as having a stunning brunch. I was a mess with just trying to decide on what to paint and then when I did, in my opinion, in looked like a kindergarten piece. Oh Dear !!! Poppet stepped in and added a flourish to my dish.  All the others were absolutely spectacular and I will look at mine with pride considering everything I was going through at the time. From there we went back to the apartment to get dressed smartly before going to The Silo Hotel at the Waterfront for High Tea.  What an incredible afternoon with the most incredible food, laughter, love and good girl time.  All in all it was a wonderful birthday celebration for an amazing young woman.

During this time BigBear was in the USA and even got to go to New York.  I haven't seen him since his return so am waiting to see all the photos and hear all the stories.    Princess is doing well just extremely tired.  She is working during their vacation as well as trying to catch up on Varsity work, but, she is thoroughly enjoying her chosen subjects and getting really good marks.  Well done my precious Princess.   Big Guy is also well and working very hard, he too is having quite a few extra DJ gigs which he loves doing. Poppet is extremely busy with her Paddle Group and starts her new job in 8 days which she is really looking forward to.   Miss Muffet has had some health challenges but has and is dealing with them like a real trooper, you go girl, you've got this.  All in all the family is well, busy and happy.

Hubby is as usual busy with his watches and clocks as well as enjoying his new hobby of Radio Controlled Sailing.  I think he is still adjusting and getting to know the boat and its foibles as well as dealing with the ever changing wind down here.

Two weeks ago our local pet charity gifted me with an original Wardrobe  Steamer Trunk filled with various rolls of ribbons.  Wow.. I was so excited. It needs a lot of work on it and I seriously considered taking it on but upon reflection and prayer I came to the decision that it is quite a bit more than I have in me at this time.  I gifted a number of rolls of sequins to someone whom I know blings jackets and bags etc.  Kept the ribbons and yesterday managed to sell the trunk and donated that money back into the charity.  So, all round a happy, good decision.

Business has picked up a lot and I am working hard just to keep up at the moment.  I continue to get some really odd things to fix or alter - ie three dolls that were chewed  by a dog.  There is hope for 2 of the dolls but I fear the third is history.  I have to remake the soft, cloth bodies completely - eeeeek.

Folks thanks for reading through this long monthly "digest" .  If you know of someone with a Chronic / Autoimmune Disease like Fibromyalgie, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis etc, please be patient with them.  They may look perfectly normal on the outside, but you have no idea what it takes to look like that and the feeling of sheer panic / terror at not even being able to think clearly.

I wish you all a wonderful week, stay safe and well please. Ciao Ciao. 

Birthday celebrations.





Original Wardrobe Steamer Trunk. Zeepha inspecting.





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