So, I got up this morning, a hard job when the a/c was as low as it would go and I was so warm and comfortable under the quilts. After the usual morning ablutions, I rested an hour or so, made my morning waffle, poured some of my home made plum syrup over it, and had a great breakfast. I then got my sourdough starter out of the fridge and fed it, then rested again for a couple of hours.
Why so much rest? I have MS. It is a hard disease to explain to people. They see me sitting or lying down after a few minutes of working and immediately tag me as lazy. I have tried explaining that MS causes fatigue, bone tiring fatigue, the kind that makes you want to just lie down and never get up again, but very few people understand this. MS also comes with killer headaches. Headaches that make you pray for a quick and merciful death. But unless you experience these headaches yourself, you don’t understand what they are like. Just imagine living with a severe migraine every day of your life. More people can relate to a migraine.
I still do things though. I have canned some watermelon syrup, squash relish, apricot marmalade, and plum syrup so far this summer, and am planning on doing a lot more. I have also made my own dandruff shampoo bars, because–I am a walking snow storm and am hoping they will help. To date I have been using the first bar for a week and there is a definite improvement, so I am hopeful that it will soon be gone forever. If not I will make more shampoo bars. I also make my own regular soap bars, my own hand and body lotion, laundry detergent and softener, shower disks that open my sinuses, and have plans to make lip balm, deodorant, and cleaners for the home. I really want to go green, and stop having to use the expensive stuff from the grocery. With MS there isn’t a lot of money to go around each month.
When I am resting, I am also working. I finger knit ruffled scarves that will be donated to different charities in the area, and have started quilting again. I gave that up at one time because of the time and money involved, but now I have fabric scraps around, and what better way to use them than by making a scrap quilt? I also make greeting cards for my friends and family, depending on the occasion, and have started scrapbooking again, so I am not sitting around doing nothing when I rest. And I catch up on my reading also. I am a born bookworm, and I’ll probably die with a book in my hands.
We’ve had thunderstorms all afternoon. The electricity was out for a few minutes. Just long enough to make all of the electrical thingys have to be reset, a job I just love to do. It’s hard to set the clock when you can’t really see the time on your watch that well. Okay, so I need new glasses, or maybe a magnifying glass. Maybe I should try the bottoms of coke bottles and see if they will work.
Right now my sourdough bread is mixed and proofing (rising) in a large bowl in the kitchen, and tomorrow morning I will knead it a bit (the reason I really love this bread) and put it in the loaf pans to rise a second time before baking, and have fresh hot bread for supper. And soon I won’t be able to fit through the apartment door, but at least I’ll be full of good bread and butter, and really happy about it all.
I’m hoping some of the local farmers will come by the building this week and bring more squash so I can make more relish. The first batch was made with great difficulty and is not much good, probably will have to throw away. My food processor decided to break down that day, my blender decided it didn’t want to chop up the squash, my salad shooter refused to shoot, and I was left with my mini food processor, which only held half of a squash at a time. Not one of my better days, and the relish was waaaay too sweet. But now, I have a new food processor, and I want to make a new batch of relish. Oh yeah, I told my older son about the food processor breaking down while doing the squash. His answer? “I don’t blame it.” He’s not exactly a squash lover. To tell the truth, I’m not either, except in this relish. That is great with beans and cornbread. And of course, I always add a few extra hot peppers to the relish, and the cornbread it Mexican cornbread with extra hot peppers in it too. Sometimes I’m really a red hot mamma.
Well, that’s my life for today, such as it is. I would enjoy reading any comments anyone has. Love the company.
Angie
Angie's Place 
Do you eat anything with color in it??? : ) I love squash… MS, I can’t say I know about the headaches or the fatigue… but I know I hate headaches, even little ones caused by allergies.. I
don’t see how you do it, Angie. But you do. Not bad for a woman : ) Try stuffing that bread with some vegetables… and meat… ummmm. Keep up the good work. Dale
Very funny Dale. I love fresh veggies of all colors, especially green which is my favorite color. And don’t forget, you’re dealing with a KY woman, a place where we have beautiful horses and fast women–oops, it should be the other way around. With MS you just eventually learn to deal, and finding out there was a name to go with the headaches and fatigue was a big relief after the first shock. Now I know that all my life I could have been a ballerina instead of a clumsy, bumbling person. As for meat, I’ll eat most kinds, but not those 4 legged beasts that go “moo”, unless they are ground into hamburger. I really prefer fish though, eggs, beans and cornbread (a southern staple, as long as it’s Mexican cornbread). Thanx for the encouragement. And hey, I’ve found my blogsite!!!! How’s that for an accomplishment? Angie