Argh, enough already!

I'm so tired of this virus already.  Even though I often stay home for weeks at a time I always knew I could go out if I wanted.  Sometimes I would go to a bookstore, thrift stores, or craft store just to get out of the house for a while and now they are all closed.  I guess I can order online from Michael's or Joann's and do the curbside pickup for things they have in stock locally.  It is just not the same.  I love to wander those aisles and find things I didn't know I wanted. 

Alaska is now up to 133 cases of the virus with 3 deaths.  35 of those cases are here in Fairbanks where I live.  I've stayed inside and away from anyone outside of my family for the past 2.5 weeks since I am high risk.  This morning though, my younger son came home from work early because he was sick.  He works as a cashier at a grocery store.  He probably doesn't have the coronavirus but we had to be sure so we had him call the hotline.  They decided he should get tested ASAP so my husband took him through the drive through testing center.  Now we all (4 of us) have to stay home and no one can go to work until the test comes back negative.  I really hope he doesn't have it.  He could just have a cold.  He said he has a lot of head/sinus congestion and wasn't really coughing much but now that it is later I am hearing him coughing more and more.  My house smells like lysol and bleach and I'm afraid to leave my little corner of the house.  My son has orders to stay in his room and call if he needs anything.  We will bring him food and leave it by the door like a prisoner.  Poor guy.

I'm trying to keep myself busy with knitting and reading.  My knitting has an issue now so it is in timeout.  Now I'm reading Mary Higgins Clark's debut suspense novel, Where are the Children?  I figured that was fitting since she passed away on January 31st this year.  I'm about half way and so far it is pretty good.  I'll probably finish it tomorrow sometime. 

I guess she actually wrote one book before this one but it didn't sell well and she decided to switch to suspense.  Aspire to the Heavens was actually her first novel which was a fictionalize account of the life of George Washington.  It was later released under the title Mount Vernon Love Story.  I'm not into love stories so I'll stick with this one for now. 

I hope everyone is staying home and avoiding the coronavirus as much as possible.  This is one time where we can be a bad host.  We can not wear a bra because no one is coming to the door or stay in pajamas as long as we want.  I say that's a blessing to count for sure.
Be safe!
~D

2020

Wow, a new year and the end of a decade.  I've been thinking a lot about all the things that happened in the past decade.  My boys grew up and are now men.  My trusty and furry companion that got me through many painful days passed away and my heart still hurts after 3 years.  I got a new puppy and now he's three and while he's very sweet and cute he just isn't the same.  You can't replace the ones you loved and lost. 

I've been thinking a lot about what the new year will bring but I don't make resolutions.  I make some goals but mostly I just wing it.  I plan to do a lot of reading, knitting, crocheting and stitching. 

This last year I made a goal to read 75 books but I didn't quite make it.  I got to 73.  I was reading furiously on the 31st and ended up falling asleep before finishing the book I was reading.  I did my best.  I made my goal the same for this new year and I am determined to make it this time. 

I'm currently reading Summer Knight by Jim Butcher and it is REALLY good. 

As far as my health stuff goes I have a new doctor that made some changes a few months ago.  She change some of my meds and she referred me to physical therapy.  I've been feeling better after the med changes but for a while there I was quite the mess.  Cymbalta was a hard drug to get off of.  The new drug seems to be working well.  The physical therapy is helping but most of the time I really don't want to do.  I am glad I have been going since I have learned how to do some stretches that help certain areas when I'm in pain there.  So things are okay and seemed to have improved some since I got this new doctor.

Okay, ready or not..... here we go.

Stitching again

I haven´t been able to focus enough to read for some reason.  I have read a lot for almost this entire year and then suddenly I can´t concentrate.  I even tried audio books.  I listened to an audio book in November and it took me so long to get through the book.  I just keep losing track of where I am.  I have been trying to read a book now and I just can´t take it in.  

My husband told me one day in early November that on of his co-workers had a baby and he wanted me to make them a baby blanket.  I asked him what colors and the father said ¨Green Bay Packer colors.¨  I wanted to crochet something so I could get it done faster since the baby was already born.  My husband picked out the pattern. I had a really hard time finding sport weight yarn for it in those dark colors.  I ended up ordering Shine Sport from KnitPicks.com.  I finished it pretty quickly and I´m surprised my brain let me focus on it. It was a pretty easy pattern and all I had to think about was carrying the 2nd color and making sure it didn´t show or look bad.  

Wee Irish Chain

I am trying to get back to writing to my penpals but so far I´ve only sent out a few letters and cards.  I´m trying though.  It will just take me a bit to get around to everyone. My days are short since I have been sleeping so much.

Donna

I´m still here

I finally got over my nasty sinus infection and have restarted my Humira injections and the Methotrexate.  It has been over 2 weeks but so far I haven´t felt any relief from my pain.  I´ve been spending a lot of time in my bed because the pain in my hips and lower back is just too much to move around much.  Sometimes I wake up in pain and can´t get comfortable so I can get back to sleep.  Now my sleeping schedule is getting turned around again.  I´ve been sleeping till 1 pm or so.  We have been having cold weather and snow so that also flares up my pain. 

My husband was very sweet and helped me with my closet. I had a small dresser in my closet because my room is too small to have a dresser outside my closet.  It wasn´t constructed very well and didn´t have that support in the drawers that keeps them straight when you pull them out.  The drawers would get crooked and then stick.  I am so weak because of the pain in my joints that I couldn´t get to my clothes or put them away without a lot of frustrations and pain.  My husband went to Lowes and bought a closet organizer with drawers that glide with ease.  It also has divides on side of my closet in two so I have a long shelf in the middle with a clothes rode above and below.  The long shelf at the top got raised so no way can I reach it now but my seasonal clothes can go up there and my husband can get them down for me when needed. 

I went through my closet (very, very slowly) and pulled out a bunch of things to donate or toss.  Now I have a nice organized closet with a place for everything.  It really feels good.

I´ve been reading a lot whenever I was awake in bed.  I´m finishing up the books on my Halloween reading list now and then I´ll be ready for my next project.  I´m working on Genealogy and I want to learn more about Colonial America.  I´m working on my list for that now and have two books on the way.

I haven´t gotten back to my penpals yet but I haven´t forgotten about anyone.  I just can´t write very well with the pain in my hands.  Typing doesn´t feel so great either so I´ll call this finished.

Take care,
Donna

Super sick

I haven´t posted in a long time and that is because I´ve been super sick and in really bad pain for most of the summer.  I try not to dwell on it but it really gets difficult.  I went to my Rheumatologist in June and I was in horrible pain then.  He got my lab results about a month before that and they showed my liver enzymes were elevated.  He decreased my dose of Methotrexate and after a month they were almost back to normal.  The problem is my pain was higher than ever.  He decided to start me on Humira injections but it took forever to get that going and be able to start taking it.  I hate needles and my husband has to do it for me.  They did start helping but the very same day I noticed a decrease in my pain I got sick.  My whole family got this horrible stomach Flu. It was one of those bugs that just doesn´t want to go away.  I ended up getting sinusitis and then a really bad sinus infection.  The first round of antibiotics didn´t work and it got even worse.  The doctor was really surprised when he looked.  He started me on a different antibiotic for 2 weeks and it is sloooowwwly improving or more like shrinking.  I think the sinusitis is improving faster.  It is nice to be able to breath through my nose again.

Anyway, because I have an infection I have to completely stop taking my immunosuppressant drugs that help with my pain.  Now I am in so much pain I can hardly walk.  I´ve been spending a lot of time in bed and reading when I can.  I can´t wait until this infection is gone and I can start taking my meds again.  I´m really grateful for a friend who recommended lidocane pain patches.  I don´t do the shopping anymore so I didn´t even know they existed.  One of my husband´s coworkers told him about Tiger Balm and he saw they had patches too.  I can only use one lidocane patch at a time so I currently have a lidocane patch on one hip and a tiger Balm patch on the other.  I actually think the Tiger balm patch side feels better.  Thank goodness my shoulders are not hurting so bad today or I´d be covered in patches.

I just keep thinking of that line kids used to write when they signed my yearbooks - Keep on Keeping on.  That is what I´m doing.

Blargh!

Currently reading: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

I have been really out of it for a while.  I have been kind of sickish alternating with very allergicky but the whole time I've been super exhausted. I have been sleeping so much and I'm pretty sure if I looked in the mirror right now I'd see a sloth. I have zero energy. I've even lost my reading mojo. I started to read the next Anne's Attic Mystery book I have and those are really fast to read. I just couldn't do it. I just stared at it and probably drooled. I have no idea what is up with me but my husband is feeling sick too and he said he feels super tired too.... so maybe it is just a bug, which is kinda funny because he calls me "bug." So, I'm a bug with a bug. I wonder if a bug with a bug is still cute.

It is snowing outside but it is sort of warmish, compared to the super cold we were having. I put on my husband's coat and shoes and went out to check the mail. There is so much snow and I noticed the handle of the snow shovel sticking up in a snowbank where it was leaned against the fence and thought that was funny.  I guess it is a good thing there is another shovel around here that the guys can use to excavate this one.  

I've been taking Dayquil and that always makes me sleep more and dream crazy stuff. I usually wake up and think, "What in the world was that all about?" and then try to forget about it but sometimes I just think about stuff while sort of dreaming. Sometimes I wake up wondering about something off the wall, like, "Why don't bananas have seeds?"  Then I google it.  Turns out they used to have really big seeds so they have been bred to not have them. Good to know in case you are ever on Jeopardy.  

This last time I was thinking about The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares. I've read that book a few times but even though I bought the other books in the series I never read them. I started wondering about what happened the next summer while I was deep in REM sleep. When I got up I was thinking I should just finish reading that book I started first but I just can't. I think I read too many of them back to back and I burned myself out on them. 

It took me a while to find the second book but I did and I've already read the first chapter. This poor book has seen better days. I bought it used and it was super cheap because it has seen better days. The spine is cracked in the middle so I'm waiting for it to fall apart in my hands. I hate throwing away books but this one isn't even fit to be donated. Oh well, I will read it one last time and then.... who knows. Maybe I'll ask one of my boys to toss it for me when I'm not looking.  

P.s. Spring, if you can hear me, please hurry up and come. I'm ready for GREEN!

DJ

Sick as a dog but reading

I hate being sick but I don't mind having easy days in bed with a good book. I just finished the third one so far. Now I've been bitten by the Titanic bug again. Maybe it was the recent news that they believe it was actually a fire that sank the ship instead of the ice berg. I was looking at a website I use a lot called paperbackswap.com and a book jumped out at me. It is a mystery book about the Titanic. I tried to resist because my goal this year is to focus on reading books I already have taking up my shelf space. I have so many books already and I really need to make room for the books in boxes in the garage. It was always there though and kept popping up in the corner of forum pages I was on. I finally gave in and ordered it. It's called Something's Alive on the Titanic by Robert Serling. It is on the way to me as we speak.

I also felt pulled to read a book about the Titanic that I have on my shelf but never got around to reading. It is called Ghosts of the Titanic by Charles Pellegrino. This is not a fiction book and looks really interesting. I've also requested A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

I guess it is okay that I've just ordered 3 new (used) books, counting one I didn't mention since it is only 1/12th and I've already read 3 books and put them in my swap box. That means I only have to read and de-home 17 more books this year. I actually hope that number is a lot higher but I'm sure there will be some I'll want to keep.

-D

Meaning of blog name

Currently reading: Medals in the Attic (Annie's Attic Mysteries #2)

I just realized that not everyone will understand the meaning of my blog name so I thought I'd explain. I took medical terminology so I learned a lot about how to break down a word to learn what it means. I have Fibromyalgia and it has really changed the way I live so of course it is going to be mentioned a lot in my blog. If you break down the word Fibro/my/algia the "Fibro" means fibrous tissues like tendons (connective tissue). "My" or myo means muscles and "algia" means pain. So then Fibromyalgia is pain in muscles and connective tissues.

My blog name is a play on that. I enjoy crocheting and knitting and often use those hobbies to distract myself from my pain. Mainly I resort to crochet since I've been doing that since I was a kid and it is something I don't have to think about. It is a great therapy for me.  Thus you have Fiber (yarn) plus Algia (pain) = my life.

I do mention the things I make on this blog but I have another craft blog where I post more craft related posts. That blog is called Creative Aspirations. I know that some people don't like to read my crafty posts because they don't crochet or knit. I haven't posted there for a while because I've been more into reading lately.

This blog has the two tabs at the top to show what I'm currently reading and the books I've read for the year.

Okay, Buddy the beagle is trying to dig a hole in the kitchen floor so I better go let him outside for a while.  I hope everyone is warm!

Welcome to a new year

Currently reading: L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton

I am hopeful for this new year and ready for the blessings it can bring. Every year I choose a word and phase to focus on and this year I've chosen "Move" and "Get up and move!" I print up images to put in places around the house to remind me. This year I really want to focus on pushing myself to move more because I really need to lose weight. It is so hard to exercise when just regular movement hurts but I have to do it or I will keep gaining and not losing. I have been trying to lose weight for years and only managed to hold steady, however, a new drug I started taking causes weight gain and I found myself losing the fight. I started to gain even though I've been careful about what I eat and how much. That medicine is actually working so I am pushing myself to move more and build up muscle that I've lost. I started this week and I feel the muscle soreness plus the extra pain from the Fibromyalgia but it isn't the worst pain I've had. Getting the inflammation under control has helped the worst of the pain and I have more energy and want to clean up. I found myself wanting to do some super early spring cleaning and started yesterday on my kitchen. I'm feeling ambitious but know I have to hold myself back and take breaks so I don't over do it.

I looked back at my reading goal from last year and the books I read and I'm happy to say I did meet my goal. I did play it a bit safe since I know how frustrating it is when I can't focus to read because of bad pain or fibrofog. I set my goal at 24 books with the stipulation that half had to leave the house to make room on my shelves. I actually read 31 although a few of those were children's books or other short books. I am upping the challenge a bit this year by setting my goal at 40 with needing to be books I already have and those books have to go.  I am also choosing to read more historical fiction this year. I have only read a few and I really liked them.  I think it will be good to broaden my reading horizon. I also really want to finish reading the Sue Grafton Alphabet series. I have all but 2 of those. I also want to start over again reading the Blossom Street Series by Debbie Macomber.  That is one of my favorite series and I noticed that there were more books in the series that I never read. I've been acquiring those though Paperbackswap.com and I am anxious to reread my old favorites and see what the other books are like. I'm not big on romance so I hope the newer once don't get too far into that territory.

My little Buddy is getting big and seems to be close to full grown though he still looks like a puppy in the face. I love him so much. He is not at all like my old friend Blue that I lost who was a sweet mellow lady. Buddy is hyper and loves to play. He loves everyone and doesn't bark at everything like Blue did. He is really quite and the only times we've heard him bark or yip are rare, only one bark each time and he seems startled by his own voice. Everyone in the house stops to play with him every day and my youngest son spends the most time with him. Buddy loves him so much and looks for him every day. Yesterday my son wasn't feeling well and slept in late and Buddy actually moped about watching his door or laying by it. He was so happy when he finally came out. It is so sweet to see how much Buddy loves Riley but he loves everyone else too and squeals with joy when anyone comes in the door and loves to see new people too. He's brings us so much joy and that is good since our hearts still hurt missing our old friend Blue. I know I think of her a lot and miss her presence.

Day dreamer, night time reader

Currently Reading: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar children by Ransom Riggs

I'm kind of bouncing back from being sick now and my sleeping schedule is completely turned around. I really hate it when that happens. Now I'm trying to correct it but I keep waking up after 4 or 5 pm. How backwards is that? Well, it is kind of nice to have all of that quiet time to myself to read and knit. No one is asking for things or saying "mom?" but then again I don't get to see the sunshine and the beautiful fall colors outside right now.

Meandering Rib Scarf by Lion Brand Yarn

I've been knitting a scarf for my husband and I'm pretty proud of myself since I'm almost finished now. I initially decided to make this scarf for my husband 2 years ago! I was having so much trouble and getting mixed up in the pattern since it was written in such a confusing way (I think).  It is a free pattern so I guess I shouldn't complain. I've seen patterns that say for row # X repeat row A or something like that but this one really does a lot of repeating like that and gets really confusing. Normally I just use a sticky note to keep track of where I am in a pattern but with this one I get to row 9 and it says "repeat row 6" so I need another sticky note to put at row 6. Then I get to Rows 15 and 16 and it says "Repeat rows 11 and 12".... I go to Row 11 and it says "Rep row 4" and then row 12 says repeat row 3. I finally just took the pattern and copied it into a word processor and whenever it said to repeat another row I just pasted in those directions instead. Then I can just move down the list and not have to jump all over the place. Now I am almost finished and I will be so happy when I can give it to my wonderful husband.

I just started reading a new book that my husband bought me. I just saw the preview for the movie coming out at the end of the month and told my husband I'd like to go see it. Later, when we stopped at the store to pick up a few things he picked up this book for me while I was in the restroom. He was being sneaky. He knows I like to read the books before seeing the movies based on them. I haven't gotten far but so far it is interesting and funny.

Also, while I was headed to the restroom I just happened to run into a girl I went to school with. I know that probably happens a lot to people but not to me. I went to a small private school and did not have a very good experience there. Those kids were really mean and I spent most of my time there alone. It was the same for her but she is older and not in the same class I was. Really, if it were just about anyone else I'd probably duck and hide but I was actually happy to see her and we talked a while and exchanged phone numbers. She has a beautiful daughter of about 7 or 8 I think and she was the sweetest girl! I said something to her mom and she said "That is so sweet!" and she gave me a big hug.

Okay, there is one more thing to mention. I have decided to get back into tatting. I taught myself how to tat with a shuttle using the internet and then I was taking an online class to learn how to needle tat. I enjoy it so I really should have kept up with it. I just started having such bad pain from my fibromyalgia and other problems and I tend to only want to crochet when I feel like that. I have been crocheting since I was a kid so I can do that without much thought. If I am really hurting I'll sometimes just start crocheting a swatch and take it out later. It just gives me something else to focus on and usually my stitches are way too tight when I'm in pain. It gets me through it though. Anyway, I am going to go back to using the shuttles and start learning again and hopefully make some pretty things. I think it will be fun. I just happened to find my 3 ring binder I put together for tatting patterns and learning material. I even put a zippered pencil pouch in there (that clips onto the metal rings) to hold my shuttles and current project. I just hope I haven't forgotten what I learned.

Slow day

Today is a very slow day.  I have been sleeping in later and later since it rained on Monday.  My fibromyalgia always flares up when it rains or when the pressure changes drastically. It rained the entire day and night and it is still wet outside today (Wed).  My back started to hurt last night and I'm not sure if I pulled something or if it is my kidneys. I'm drinking a lot of water just in case and just sitting with my back firmly supported and trying not to move. Because of that I've been doing a lot of reading lately which is something I enjoy.

Right now I am reading a book on Spirituality.  It is called The Unbound Soul by Richard L. Haight. I am really enjoying this book and I know it will be one I will go back to a lot. I've highlighted several passages and bookmarked pages. I believe in God but I have had many bad experiences with churches and pastors etc. Essentially, I lost my faith in people but not in God. It took me a long time to get it into my head that people are fallible and no matter what they preach they can still make mistakes. I have also been intrigued by different religions and how many of them overlap in some beliefs or ideals. I never felt comfortable when a religion/church organization instructs people to go out and convert people to their faith. I really am not completely sure myself which faith/belief system is completely 100% correct. What if I'm the one who is wrong?

I went to get my nails done this one time at a new salon that was having a grand opening. As I talked to the Asian man doing my nails I learned that his girlfriend had recently died of cancer. He was deeply spiritual and I could feel it. When he spoke of her his face glowed. I could literally feel his pain and his love as he spoke. He told me she was there "walking around us." He was so sure of that and he said he could feel her presence. I was thinking to myself, "how could anyone tell this man that his beliefs were wrong?" I certainly wasn't going to. I found myself wanting what he had, even with his grief. He had something powerful that was keeping him going - keeping him living through sadness and difficulty.

Anyway, in this book Richard Haight tells several stories about his spiritual experiences and they truly are amazing. I am usually very skeptical of people with stories like these but that is because they come with palm extended for money. I found myself not finding that usual skepticism bubbling to the surface but faith.  I really think this book is full of promise and the more I read the more hope I have. With any book like this, when I come to parts or stories I'm unsure of, I just set them on a back burner and keep going. I don't put them completely out of mind because I want to keep an open mind. I am marking parts that really draw me so I can go back and study them more and put the ideas into action. I have never tried meditation but I've heard of other people that do. I just never knew how to go about it. This book describes the process of what he calls Observation Meditation. I'm going to work on putting this into practice and see what happens. It can't hurt - and certainly not more than I already do with my fibromyaglia pain.  Who knows, maybe this can help with that.

Richard Haight has recently joined the goodreads.com community as a goodreads author. I was very glad to see that. He also has a website; http://richardhaight.net/

Dear Life,

This is me, trying to get back to you.

I've been so out of it for so long and I'd like to feel normal again, or even just a little bit.  The long Alaskan winter has been hard for me but the sun has been shining more and more.  I've been opening the curtains and watching my plants green up and reach for the sun.

I didn't start any seeds this year.  I was just too tired and fighting some crud that kept coming back. I'll probably buy my plants this year.  I'll take it easy though and not take on too much so I can hopefully keep up with the watering better.

The last few weeks I've been so so tired.  I just have no energy at all.  I've been taking vitamins, especially vitamin D and trying to eat healthy even when I'm too tired to make something.  I need to get back to exercising again.  I stopped when I was sick.  I think I'm going to start doing 10 minutes each day on the stationary bike and then slowly increase so I don't over do it.  I know 10 minutes seems like nothing but it is a mountain when you feel like I do.

I haven't even been reading lately.  I want to but I just can't get into anything.  I even have some new books I got from Paperbackswap.com.  I love that site!  Jared also gave me a book he wants me to read.  He remembered a fantasy book I read that I liked and he is sure I'll like this one too.  It is Inkheart.  So I really should read that one first since he really wants to know what I think of it.

My mother in law sent me an adult coloring book for my birthday and I just started using it.  I got some crayola colored pencils and markers because I didn't want to use up my Prismacolor pencils in coloring books and then have nothing to draw with.  The crayola pencils are nice too.  I found that I enjoy coloring more than I expected and it is making me want to play with different colors.  I am so thinking of drawing some more.  I haven't done any real art is so long.

Oh and I'm crocheting a pretty baby dress for someone cute and it is taking me forever.  I'm close to done though and then I want to make some baby shoes to go with it and add something to make the dress just a little unique.

Okay, time to get up and move around.

D.

Knitting

I go through these phases where I only want to do a certain thing.  I've been into crocheting for a long time and just wasn't interested in doing anything else.  I know how to knit and have a nice set of interchangeable knitting needles but I just couldn't get into it.  Then this last year I couldn't get into anything at all.  I didn't do anything with yarn except start something and then never go back to it.  I guess my thing last year was reading and whenever I was awake that was what I did.  I did pick up cross stitching at the end of the year and I definitely caught the bug but right now I don't really feel like doing that.  All of a sudden I'm interested in knitting again.  I wonder what causes this switching of interests like that.

It has been some years since I've knit anything now and I'm out of practice.  My knitting isn't very even so I'm been practicing a lot just making swatches.  My knitting isn't as even as it used to be.  Of course I want to tackle something difficult right away (because that's how I am).  I want to knit something with two colors.  It is a beautiful afghan made of about 35 blocks.  It's called the Nordic Afghan by (Mr.) Jody Long Knits.  It is beautiful in the red/white theme they made it in but I really want to make it in royal blue and white.  I've been watching youtube videos to learn helpful things and just practicing changing colors and trying to keep the tension even.  It is not so easy.  I did get half of the first block done and it was neat to see how my colors would look but I took it out because it wasn't very even.  I need to practice more and then try it again.

I've decided to try something a little easier to get some practice in.  There is a new pattern out by Lionbrand.com called the Deerfield V-neck Pullover.  I have some yarn I recently bought because I really love it so I'm going to use it to make this pullover.  Instead of the fuzzy yarn they used I'll use Caron's simply soft Party in Silver sparkle.  It isn't fuzzy at all and I think it will be cooler.  It is a light gray and has metallic strands in light pink, blue and gold I think.  Maybe silver too.  It is hard to tell in this light.

I do have a cold though and I've been making extra mistakes but that's okay.  It gives me something to focus on.  I'm still trying to get used to the new drug the doctor put me on and I've been so tired. I'm trying so hard to stay awake right now.  I might be losing the battle but I'll keep fighting as long as I can.

D

Happy 2016!

I just killed all the dust bunnies on this blog and shined it up so I can start posting again.  Okay, I don't kill things, not even dust bunnies.  I just set them free in the wild.

So last year was a bit rough on me even though I had some good things happen as far as my health.  I started seeing a new Rheumatologist in Jan and he's helped me some.  Then just recently I got a new primary doctor and he's already helped me too.  Now if I can just stay awake I might be able to live a little more like normal.  It seems that all drugs that help me make me sleep forever.  Now I'm like a vampire who never sees the daylight.  Hmmm, maybe it would be cool to have a cape.

I'm hoping 2016 will be a better year for me as I get a better balance with the drugs.  I want to be able to get more exercise and lose weight.  Pain makes it so hard to exercise.  I started a program in September I think it was and I lost 8 lbs but I had so much trouble with pain and sleeping so much.  I really want to do better, exercise more, keep eating healthy food and build back some of the muscle that I've lost.

In 2015 I read 44 books.  I'd been having such a hard time focusing that I barely read any books.  In 2014 I only managed to read 5.  On Goodreads.com I set my reading goal for 2015 at 12 books (which is pretty sad but much better than 5)  Then in January 2015 the Rheumatologist I saw in Anchorage put me on a drug called Plaquenil to bring down inflammation.  That helped a lot with my pain but I had to start at a really low dose and slowly build up to the dose I needed because it really made me feel drugged.  I totally understand the meaning of the word psychedelic now.  Anyway, around March I suddenly felt like reading and for a while I didn't do anything else.  I was rarely on the computer or facebook and didn't crochet or knit anything (which is very strange for me).  For Christmas my husband bought me a book light I wanted that is rechargeable.  That is something I put to use that same night and it is the best gift ever.

So this year I set my reading goal at 24.  That is low but I'm hoping to be outside more this summer. I have a new bike and want to use it.

I started a new hobby at the end of the year too.  I started cross stitching.  I was always buying little kits to try but never got far with them.  Sadly, I have a few kits that I started and ended up losing the pattern or other things to them.  When I started pulling out Christmas decorations I found a few ornament kits and actually made them and finished them and even hung them on my tree!  It was not even hard since I read the instructions.  Now I'm addicted.  My husband even bought me a few kits since the ones I had where mostly Christmas kits.  One of my doctors told me I needed to sit in a straight back chair instead of the couch because a muscle in my back was really tight so I started sitting at the kitchen table and cross stitching.  Now my back is fine.  I actually enjoy sitting at the table to work on cross stitching, especially when the sun is shining in the window.

Well, that's enough for now.

Here's too good health in the new year!