Rest your bits

It’s Wednesday, which is not saying much.  There’s another fire, this one up in Sam’s Valley, where we considered living once, back when gas was cheap and we thought we were a cis het couple healthy enough to farm.  These days we’re leaning toward restoring a cottage in a liberal college town that practically radiates rainbows.  And by restoring I mean paying college kids to do it for us.  Also paying other people to farm for us, also known as shopping at the local co-op.  We tried a CSA and got waaaay more eggplant than we knew what to do with, among other things, so co-op.  Also less fire danger.

Taking a couple of days off to rest your uterus does wonders for your knitting output BTW.  Also for your Netflix queue.  Pictures sooner or later, likely when I can afford pillow forms.

Day 42 of the apocalypse.  Another fire does not help.

I survived

Comic by Sarah Anderson.  Used without permission and not for profit
I think she would understand

I’m going to spare all the gory details and just leave links.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilation_and_curettage

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteroscopy

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/uterine-fibroids/symptoms-causes/syc-20354288

Two fibroids, actually.  But in the land of decent health care, (aka anywhere not my hometown) I got to keep my uterus.  So, you know, better if still sore.

That’s been it for the past few days.  Anxiety over this and then getting it done.  Broken by an awesome D&D game.

Day 40 of the apocalypse and counting.  Although it was pretty mild today.

Now I get to knit for the next two days.  Yay for planning.

To eat your vegetables...

So I have had digestion problems my whole life.  As far back I as can remember bathroom time has been long, frequent and quality.  And it has always driven me entirely batshit.  Yes, it affected my college life, yes it affected my career, and yes it affected my life as a housewife.  But after embarrassing myself in y favorite restaurant I decided to give the old elimination diet a go, to see what it was.

Turns out, it's a vegetable.

Yes, I tried gluten and lactose and soy and corn and sugar.  Nothing fixed it until I went completely off fiber for a few weeks.  No fresh fruits, no vegetables.  Not I'm easing it back in to see if it's one particular family of vegetables or if it's just the straight up quantity.  Women are supposed to have a minimum of 25 grams a day, but I seem to function just fine on 15.

Anyway, list to try to keep track of it.  Anything in red is a well-tried no.  Anything in green is fine.  Anything in blue is fine in small amounts.  Anything struck out I don't eat anyway.

Things I can eat Rice Pasta and noodles Oatmeal Fresh white breads such as French or sourdough Rice cereals Flour tortillas Quinoa Corn meal Potatoes Carrots Yams Sweet potatoes Beets Mushrooms  Applesauce  Whole wheat flour  Whole wheat bread   Nuts Popcorn Berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc.) Grapes and raisins Cherries Peaches, nectarines, apricots, and pears Melons Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes Spinach Whole peas, snow peas, snap peas, pea pods Green beans Kernel corn Celery  Onions, shallots, leeks, scallions, garlic Tomatoes Red meat Poultry Seafood Milk Cheese Eggs Sausage Butter Olive oil  Solid chocolate Olives Nuts and nut butters Croissants, pastries, biscuits, scones, and doughnuts Pie crust Potato chips Corn chips and nachos	Things I still have to try Barley Turnips Rutabagas Parsnips Squash and pumpkins Chestnuts Avocados Bananas Wheat bran Whole grains Whole grain breads Whole grain cereals Granola Muesli Seeds Beans and lentils Apples Rhubarb Kale Mesclun Collards Arugula Lettuce Bell peppers Eggplant Cabbage Bok choy Brussels sprouts Broccoli Cauliflower Cucumbers Sprouts (alfalfa, sunflower, radish, etc.) Fresh herbs
Things I can eat in small amounts Dates French fries  Onion rings Fried chicken Corn dogs Anything battered and deep-fried Mayonnaise Salad dressings Tartar sauce Things I can't eat Whole wheat cereal Pineapple Shellfish Prunes	Things I don't eat anyway Soy Mangoes Papayas Shortening Margarine Cool Whip Shredded coconut Solid carob

The limited fats is more about my lack of a gallbladder. And no, I don't know why Kitty's whole wheat molasses bread is fine but shredded wheat is not.  As for the rest, testing continues. I'll keep this list updated.

Oh. Riiiight....

Day 35, the Apocalypse continues...

So apparently "taking a break from the emotional work" means "taking a break from everything for four months".  In my defense I've been sick, my wife has been sick, she finished a tough semester, she found religion again, a friend lost a job, money has been tight...

And the weather.  Dear Bast the weather.

That's forest fire smoke.  It's been like that for weeks.  That green sign is 1/4 mile from the camera. The second overpass is 1 mile.

This summer has been the summer of suck.

On the plus side I have some knitting done, pictures in the next few days, I started reading again and I started writing again.  I'm sorting out my diet issues and slowly sorting out my health issues.  Slowly being the key word there.

Maybe by the fall my shit will be together.

Anyway, check the sidebar for updates and whatnot.  And I'll start trying to keep up again.

Emotional Work

Emotional work

Emotion work is understood as the art of trying to change in degree or quality an emotion or feeling.

Emotion work may be defined as the management of one's own feelings, or work done in an effort to maintain a relationship; there is dispute as to whether emotion work is only work done regulating one’s own emotion, or extends to performing the emotional work for others.

And let me tell you, it is fucking exhausting.

And not just the housewife version.  While that is still tiring, it's improving around here.  No, I mean the straight up kind.

Tomorrow I'm....no, I'm not.  I'm doing more of it.  In fact I'm booked for it right through the week-end.

Next week I'm scheduling a day off from everyone's emotions. Likely Monday. I'm going to sit my backside in front of Netflix and PBS with my knitting and just....not for a day.

That is all.

Trying something new

If you haven't noticed I tend to get very verbose for a few posts every so often, and then forget about this blog for a few months at a time.  I feel kind of bad about that.  Also because it means I blow my accountability out of the water.  So, you know, trying shorter posts more often.  Seeing what happens.

Lately I've been gaming too much, eating wrong, not sticking to my pattern, all the off things that I know make me unhappy.  Lesson learned today, stick with what works.  Which means tomorrow getting up and following my Order of Operations to the letter. Because while friends are important, faffing about with them on the internet before you get your life going is a good way to have a bad day.

And in the New Year...

So I've decided my thing this year is going to be finishing what I started.  In other words:

I'm going to finish all UFO's before starting anything new (-ish.  I'm making hats for my MIL who is having medical issues.  But given that her medical issues started back in December I figure it counts for having started before, right?). I'm going to finish my stories before posting new ones.  I'm going to finish the ongoing organizing project in the house.  I'm going to finish my book list.  I'm even going to pay off any outstanding medical bills that refuse to go away on their own.

 

I've decided I'm sick and tired of shit hanging over me.  I want to get it done and move on.  Now is the time, this is the year.  Hell, if I can manage it I'm even going to lose that remaining 100 lbs I need to get rid of.  That one might be a stretch, but you know what they say.

 

 (Les Brown said that.  Former politician, married to Gladys Knight.  Good quote there.)

I started a Bullet Journal for the year.  So far it's doing wonders for keeping me on track, but since today is Kitty's first full day back at work since her surgery it's kind of soon to tell if this will keep up.  I will, of course, keep you all posted.

In the remainder of this month I plan to:

• Read 4 books
• Read 4 magazines
• Knit 3 hats
• Finish one story
• Workout every day
• Pay off two bills
• Lose 6 lbs

(I say remainder because I'm already behind.  Stop laughing.)

The way to do that is to:

1.  Stick to a schedule
2.  Keep the daily to-dos reasonable
3.  Not game that much
4.  Stay the hell off the internet

As you might guess that last one's a killer.  But so far so good.

Wish me luck.