Tag Archives: M.S.

Easter Monday

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I think most countries get today off – or at the least the christian ones! So I’m going to pretend it’s a long weekend today and chill out – and yes it is very chilly here still! 

But Easter Sunday turned out really pretty, with the typical spring weather. Sunny, rainy, windy, calm – all within the space of five minutes!
My brunch turned out really well although the hot cross buns didn’t fluff up as much as I thought they would, but they were yummy! The quiche were good though I almost had a calamity with liquid quantity but the overall results were great and everyone enjoyed them, along with the mimosas and enough chocolate to fulfill that craving for the next year.
Pam, Susan and Dan and Bill showed up around 11:30 and as it was still and clear, we decided to go out on the boat while it was that way, so we all bundled up and went out around Squamish harbor. About 15 minutes into the ride, we noticed big, ominous clouds heading our way and although we are supposedly Pacific northwesterners, (well, Dan is) we decided we’d beat it home! So short of a few drops, we tied up at the dock in time, and warmed up with more coffee before quiche!

And on another note, I canceled my tv subscription and now just have netflix! But I bought a Roku so can stream movies to the television and also play Pandora through it! How cool is that? Sure beats having all the junk on tv and if I want to see what is happening in the world, I can look online. But now I can really control what I see :)   Most of the show I like I can order through netflix anyway so it saves me a lot of money each month.

Still waiting for new pages from the developers, so feel like I am in a holding pattern at the moment so am spending time on Kangen and I am going to have a meeting here at the house on 16th, which Jim will do. So it’s not like I have nothing to do. 

My health is really good, and I plan on having the tests I have been putting off, next week and I know they will be all good. And I start yoga again tomorrow – Yay! I am really looking forward to that.

This is all wicked stuff :)

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Well! They say keeping your mind active keeps you young! I think I am 20 again :) Maybe my mind, the rest? Well, we won’t talk about that. 
Working with the wicked_pr guys is really interesting. It is SO good to get a different take on the site, getting more eyes on it. I’ve mentioned before that I have felt like I am working in a vacuum, with very little feedback, and I know from writing and editing, after you have looked at something, whether it’s text, images or a web site, after a while, you become so familiar with it, that you don’t see what is actually there and glaring mistakes or missed opportunities get by you. So all the suggestions and input is wonderful.
Now I am working through the doc Charles did and distilling it down to make sure I understand what it is that we are going to do and have both Charles and Brian go over it. Then I will work with the group in India who will make the changes. 
It’s all good stuff!
I love yoga! But I had no idea how stiff I am! I’ve never been a limber person. I think that all my swimming in those early years lengthened my muscles but did nothing for flexibility, so I am really having to work at some of the poses! Or should I say, contortions! But pretty soon I will know the basic poses and be able to do them correctly so will feel more comfortable doing them at home without hurting myself. 
It’s also really good to get the hell out of here those two days. As beautiful as it is here, it is so far off the beaten track, I might as well be living on an island. So yesterday was fun, as Mardelle from Chicago was in town and Susan and I met her at Undertown, a very cool cafe in Port Townsend. It literally is under the town, under one of the old streets of Port Townsend and it also serves as an art gallery, with frequently changing exhibits. The seating is wild too, everything is different, as if they got the furniture from the thrift store! But it fits with the old brick walls, exposed electrical and utility fittings. Oh, and they have great coffee too.
Dr. Jadin got back to me about the meds and I have to have more tests to find out if I need to continue with the treatment. I hope I don’t! But will set up with the local clinic where I can order the tests myself and then email the results to her in South Africa. It will be very cool if I can just handle this all through diet and exercise. Just means I have to be even more diligent about it, forcing myself out every day to walk my 3.5 miles, but I draw the line at walking in the rain! That’s another reason I must get good at the yoga poses, then on rainy days I can still get the exercise I need.
Philosophers Notes are awesome! I am really enjoying them and getting so much out of them. Especially reading as many as I am to catch up, it really immerses me in a positive mind set, there’s no room to get depressed or anxious about anything. Very cool. This Einstein quote really sums up what the notes are all about: 
“The problems we face today cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them.”  Albert Einstein
Your thoughts become things, so choose the good ones.

Saturday morning and it’s dark outside

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It’s Saturday morning, still dark out, but not freezing. This has been the warmest January on record so far and there is no sign that that is going to change. If this was a normal winter, I could live here year round. But we all know it’s just El Nino doing her thing and we will most likely be slammed next year. The opposite is true for California where they are experiencing more cold than we are.
It’s been a quiet week, with time for contemplation and yoga, both a real treat for me. And still plenty of time to complete work that needs to be done on the site, and to prepare for work on the dockside project. The wicked-pr guys are starting on the nut project next week in earnest. I made some changes to the site that they recommended and after talking to Annie briefly, have created more signage for the shipping boxes and bags. Still tweaking things on the programmer side and they will be onboard to make changes when Brian and Charles (wicked guys) make their recommendations. Both Brian and Charles are about Ryan’s age, which for me is so much fun, as I so enjoy working with young people. Their ideas and energy are wonderful energizers for me. Sometimes I actually wish I worked in an office environment with youngsters like them – then think, hmmm maybe not. I would lose my sense of freedom – maybe part-time? Something to ponder.
Because, getting up way early for me seems to work, that way I can get lots of computer work taken care of, take time in the middle of the day for things like yoga and then pick up again in the later afternoon. It takes some planning out, but works. On yoga days, I plan my errands around the class, seeing as it’s not just a matter of popping round the corner for my class. It’s a 40 minute drive to get there so it’s a big chunk out of the day, so I make it worth while by going to the bank, the grocery store etc. You get the picture. So I figure I will be gone for four hours, but then I don’t have to deal with icy roads and darkness if I were to run errands after a traditional working day.
I love working for myself!
All the stuff for taxes for last year is almost completely gathered together – this will be a first to get them filed by April 15! And I can’t see why I will have to pay anything at all – in fact, I think the government might even owe me. That would certainly be a bonus.
It’s time to think about starting my veges and building the raised boxes. I watched and helped Chris last time, so I know how to do it. They are not going to be so big this time, as it is only me here. And I hope I can find some recycled lumber to use. Freecycle might work – a wanted post usually gets me what I need. I will most likely make two 4×4 18″ high beds. And get the organic soil from Roger Short’s farm, as I know how he makes the soil and that it really is organic. Then when the time is right, plant out the starts from the sun room and pretty soon will be eating fresh mesclun and then all the other wonderful stuff.

The M.S seems to be under control, haven’t had any bouts of headaches or tiredness. The only weird thing is I get hives (urticaria)!  I don’t seem to be allergic to anything, they just happen out of the blue so have taken to carrying antihistamine pills around with me, and pop one when I feel and itch coming on! They disappear as fast as the show up. Very weird. Debbie is making an appointment for me with Dr. Jadin so hopefully I will be able to understand her with her strong French accent. It’s difficult enough in person, long distance phone might be a challenge, but I need to do it so I can continue the treatment.

A Great Auntie – Again!

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Isabella Sally O’Connor was born this morning in Australia – making me a great aunt for – I think – the eighth time! The Jewitt family expands :) We are a fairly prolific family! Cathy, Lofty and babe doing well. And I am sure Grandpa Mick is just bursting with pride! Congratulations!
Thanks, Julie-Ann for posting this!
The New Year is starting out on a positive note so I will do my darnedest to keep that going though this year and beyond. The New Years Eve party at Scott’s was a lot of fun, met some really cool people and came away from it with a new project! Well, one that has been on the back burner for a while but now apparently the funding is there to bring it forward. Dockside will go digital! And I will take the project forward like I have for mymixednuts. It will be another challenge as we will put the mag online as a flip page magazine, so yesterday I was trying out software to make that happen! It is actually not difficult at all, just time consuming. Then the rest of the site will be pretty basic with some ecommerce attached. And I will work with my Indian buddies who have built the nut site.
It is definitely January around here – gray, cold, wet and windy. But! the irises are already up although it seems a bit early, but that’s ok by me. Pretty soon I can think about planting vege seeds. First I have to build some planter boxes as I am not growing anything in the ground again as the house is going on the market soon and I want to be able to take my garden with me wherever I go – wherever that may be!
I started another round of antibiotics yesterday and have had a reaction to them. Yesterday my face felt really itchy and got blotchy – today it is puffy and my lips are all swollen – think Meg Ryan in First Wives Club! I know Dr Jadin is out of town so have emailed Di, her nurse to find out if I should continue on with them.

One of those days

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Yesterday was what I call “One of those days.” It’s where I feel like all the blood drained out of me and just can’t get out of my own way. So I spent the day reading a Nora Roberts book, and periodically checking email. Basically, an NRV (no redeeming value) day.
But I did go to Port Townsend for the Kangen Water Christmas get together and that was fun. I got re-inspired about the water. I know how much it has done for me and how, when I don’t drink it, or enough of it, I don’t feel so hot. Maybe that has been part of my problem the last couple of weeks. Besides the stress of getting the site up and running, dealing with the glitches etc., I have been too busy to drink enough.
So from now on, I am making sure I drink my full quota every day.
Christmas is just two days away, it’s amazing how fast the time is flying by. And it feels like I have simply been going a day at a time. It feels like that besides working on the site and getting it productive, I don’t have any future plans. This past year has been about surviving the turmoil and upheaval, emotionally, financially and physically.
So now it is time to make new plans and plot a direction. What to do, where to go, and when.
The house will go on the market in the spring (which will be much better this coming year) and then as soon as it sells,  it is a matter of relocating somewhere, because I am NOT spending another winter in this miserable weather. I can move at a moment’s notice, seeing as I super simplified everything last summer, when I was prepared to leave, but the house didn’t sell. “They” say there is a reason for everything, and I can only believe that it didn’t sell so I could get this biz going from this location. Moving it will be easy – load up a moving van with all the nuts etc and drive it to a new warehouse. Simple!
Susan and Dan have taken me under their wings for Christmas so that is going to be fun. They are as close to having family here as I can get. I will miss seeing the boys and spending time with them, but soon I will be able to take a trip down to see them.  And I will miss having a summer Christmas with a braai and party in the garden with my South African crew. So will draw on past memories and relive those times.
Happy holidays and a prosperous New Year to everyone.

Winter Solstice

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Up here in the cold, dark north, this is a major turning point. We know that from today on, days will slowly get longer, the dark won’t be so dark, the sun will change its arc in the sky. We still have long, cold rainy days ahead, but in less than two months, we can start planting seeds for spring and summer veges. We can start looking at seed catalogs and remember the wonderful sunny summer days and plentiful harvests. And days that start at 3:30 am and end after 10 pm. Heaven!
But for now, it is still hunker down time, and I am so grateful that I am soooo busy I don’t have time to look outside and see the sleet and rain. But I do enjoy the sound of the rain on the metal roof at night, when I go to bed. I imagine myself in the tropics, in a little house with a red tin roof, beside the sea. I can see myself there, so I know it will happen.
The business is up and running. We missed the Christmas rush – and though it would have been wonderful to get all the orders, I am glad we were late launching so that we have been able to work through some of the glitches of a launch. The site is working well now although there is a lot of fine-tuning to do. Hopefully we will have a PR company come on board at the beginning of the year to assist with that. I sure have learned a lot – it’s the nut university :)
I found that the stress of the last couple of weeks took quite a toll on my health – I looked like death warmed over for a few days. But now that things have slowed down and working better, I am doing better. But it is just a reminder that I have to really be cognizant of what I am doing and put my health ahead of everything – and everyone – else. Time to be selfish!

Nutso

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These are crazy times!


Just when I think I am almost “there,” I realize I am not even close! Well, that’s not exactly true, but it seems the more I get done the more there is to do.


The pix is of the garage with the majority of the stuff delivered – packing materials, ribbons, nuts, fruit!


But I am not complaining! Overall this is fun, but it can be frustrating and tiring and tough without a second pair of hands or another brain to tap into.


But the site is coming along – we are SO close; minor programming glitches, tweaks to the design. The backend, or CMS (content management system) is enormous and pre-populated with emails that all need reworking as I think/know that they could not possibly have been written by someone who speaks English as a first language, if you know what I mean. Same thing on the site – every word has to be checked. But really, these guys are amazing – what they have done just blows me away! Yes, it’s taken longer than anticipated but it is being done right, and not just being thrown together. So next week, I know we will be live and then I better have the garage/workroom sorted out, because I know I am going to be slammed with orders.


Yesterday I suffered my first major glitch – I ordered 5-gallon buckets to store stuff in but the lids are wrong – they have to be pried off and fortunately, I only put one on to try out. But prying it off, I  seriously damaged my finger when the screwdriver I was using slipped and slammed my nail so hard I almost passed out! Got ice on it right away, sat on the floor in the kitchen and finally managed to get to the chair and lie down until I could stand without being lightheaded. Nasty! Two aleve didn’t do much either to relieve the pain. But this morning, it just aches, is a lovely black and I know I will lose the nail eventually :( So will order different lids tomorrow – ones that come off easily! 




The little tabletop photo setup will work well – I tried it out yesterday, before I slammed myself! But first I have to make some of the mixes to photograph! And then create the gift baskets and take pix of those as well. And there is still some content to be created but can’t find where I change it in the cms so will have to wait for my Indian fellows to come back to work tonight (they are 13.5 hours ahead of me) to tell me where to find it! 


On another round of antibiotics – the first days, I had a bit of reaction – itchy, blotchy face but then it went away and I haven’t had any other side effects. Today is the last day of this round. I have to call Dr. Jadin in South Africa this month and check in. It’s been six months now – it feels like yesterday when I found out what ails me. I am fortunate that most of the time I am just fine and have very few of “those” days and when I do, I just kick back and veg at home. But I expect I will be doing the regimen for the next year, at least. And I will go to South Africa for the next round of test and MRI’s – medical tourism as I sure as hell can’t afford it here. The MRI alone here is more than the cost of the plane fare, time over there and all the tests and doctor visits there. So when I find out from the doc when I need to be tested again, I will be figuring out a way to get home.