Thank You

Very much indeed.

Good things versus bad things

It's ME/CFIDS Awareness Week ( actually I'm late, it was last week) and it made me think that it was about time I came out of the ME closet and confess to being one of the many people who have the condition.

So, I wrote a long and rambly post outlining the whys and wherefores that led me to develop ME (never trust the Varicella - Zoster virus ) and what rotten things had happened as a result. I wrote about losing the ability to enjoy reading books, being unable to work, having limited or no concentration span, about needing to use a walking stick on dizzy days. I wrote about being let down by a body and mind I can no longer rely on to do what it's told and about the exhaustion that is so great that there are days when the effort of just existing seems too much like hard work.

I thought about it for the week and decided that it really wasn't what I wanted to write about. The blog is my way of celebrating the good stuff and although I have a truly frustrating and limiting illness, the very presence of that set of limits allows me to slow down and take stock of what is in my life and I'm grateful for that. That doesn't make me Pollyanna believe me, there are tears, extreme grumpiness and a tendency to gloom when things are tough. The good stuff, however, is jolly good indeed.

So, in the spirit of the Mog blog, I offer you this week's activities. Some rhubarb donated by Sandy and Anne transformed into Rhubard and Ginger Jam, a hank of yarn hand-dyed and a mouse overseeing a shelf of ribbons. Like I said, the good stuff is good.

Back to normal.

After the glitz and glamour of the past wee while, things have gone back to what passes as normal in Mog Towers. A horrid cold and general feeling of post wedding flatness has caused an outbreak of domesticity and comfort food.

A trip to the Arbroath Charity shops unearthed a strange machine which has come to be known as the cookie pooper. The results are small but very tasty indeed and they may be the cutest biscuits I've ever made.

There has been dyeing and knitting too - a stripey pair of socks, the shades of spring sunlight in the garden and in progress, a Baktus scarf made from onion dyed handspun Blue Faced Leicester. The colour is less vibrant than usual on account of the mordant being copper rather than the usual alum but I am enjoying the subtle shifts of colour.