Fairy Wand

One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry for people with chronic illness decided we should have a fairy wand swap. The idea was to make something fun and sort of whimsical to cheer each other up and maybe have to take to doctor's appointments and hit people with.

Every one who participated got assigned a random recipient and we had some basic information about likes, dislikes, allergies, etc.

My recipient is a fan of ribbon and feathers and pink, blue, and teal.

I started with a wooden dowel cut down to size and made a marbled polymer clay handle. The handle was sealed with Mod Podge and polyurethan sealant. I painted glitter Mod Podge onto the rest of the wand and sealed it as well.

I found the rose on top in the $1 section of Michael's crafts - it was supposed to be a sort of bath poof thing. I cut off the hanging loop and glued it to the end of the wand.

I drilled a hole near the end of the wand and ran some beaded cords and various types of ribbon through, along with the pink maribou feather boa thing.

Then I made the grip decoration. I dyed some white feathers with food coloring to get the blues and teals and made some bows with more ribbon. And I made a little polymer clay brooch sort of thing and stamped it with some meaningful initials.

Amazingly, I had this done well before the due date and managed to send it off.

The recipient seems to really like it. I had a blast making it. I definitely went for the nearly ridiculous level of silly fun with it.

Sudan gold miners vie with archaeologists for desert riches

Sudan gold miners vie with archaeologists for desert riches

We actually had a Sudani guy pan for gold with some soil samples from one of our sites.
Interesting that the gold rush is going on. I understand the concern for archaeological sites, but most of the guys who served as archaeological workmen probably realize that there usually isn't much left in the way of gold in most of the cemeteries - they were typically robbed in antiquity.
Competent excavators were finding the different colored in-fill after removing the tomb superstructures that showed exactly where ancient people were tunneling to grab valuables - usually they went right for the head/neck, sometimes near the pelvis for belts or girdles.

James Hance - Relentlessly Cheerful Art

James Hance - Relentlessly Cheerful Art

Some fabulous stuff here and the prints seem very reasonably priced. We have a few bare walls that need decorating...

First Day

I had my first day of work today after being out of work for about 2 years.  It was only about 5 1/2 hours, but I feel like a zombie. Probably the combo of lots of information to take in and having to pay attention for that long at a stretch.  And I'm tired lately anyway - I think doing my PT exercises 3 times a day is a bit too much for me.
Everyone was very nice, though, and it was good to have a fairly thorough run-through of the basics of the job.  I am fairly confident I can manage even an 8 hour shift, especially if I have a day or more of down-time in between.
I'll do a bit more training later in the week and talk about schedules, etc.  I'll be subbing for people much of the time, so I may not have a super-consistent schedule. 
Tomorrow is physical and brain therapy day.  Wooo.

And it seems the heat-wave has finally broken so I should be able to get some chores done and spend some time crafting without worrying about heat-stroke or stuff melting or felting.



Also, we established within the first hour that I'm not allowed to hit or clothesline people with my cane.  The fact that the response to that question was laughter is a very good sign.  :P

Trepanation

Image via WikipediaI think I understand why people used to use it as a solution for migraine.  I'm finding the idea rather appealing myself, right now.
For unknown reasons, my migraine frequency and severity has shot up this summer.  After flipping through my calendar I realized I've had a migraine every day this week and over the weekend.  A few of them have been ones that lasted more than a day.  Others hit later in the day or afternoon after several hours of blissful normality.

This is not cool.  Worse, I'm not getting good response to my usual abortive med - Excedrin.  This is a bit complicated by the fact that I've had more arthritis pain lately for which I usually take naproxen which hangs around in the body for 8-12 hours during which you're not supposed to take another NSAID.  Suck.
I've been using an ice pack.  I've been using my Neti Pot.  I've been lying down, doing gentle stretches, trying to relax.  I've been trying to have pain-med free days so as not to trigger rebound headaches or medication overuse headaches.
I'm in the second month of trying butterbur extract as a preventative (obviously with no result).  Unfortunately, the very hot, humid summer we're having along with lots of allergens are probably what's causing the problem and those aren't exactly triggers I can avoid without moving (which would be fine except for that whole we need jobs and a place to live thing).





This is bad enough as it is, but is now a really major problem as I've gotten a part-time job that starts next week.  (Yay!)  I can't really get to, let alone do said job at times when drilling a hole in my head to let the pain/demons/cerebrospinal fluid out seems like a good idea.

Nor does this ancient Egyptian remedy of tying a clay crocodile stuffed with herbs to my head seem all that appealing.  Well, actually pressure plus heat or cold does help sometimes, but I suspect if there isn't already something in the dress code about that there would be after I showed up with one.  (Though having rules made/added as a direct result of my actions is usually entertaining.)

In the past, I was on nortriptyline, one of the tricyclic antidepressants, for depression and discovered happily that it also prevented migraines.  Unfortunately I also gained a lot of weight in a short amount of time and had some weird blood pressure issues and a few other less worrisome but mildly annoying side effects, so I switched to Cymbalta.  So today I emailed my neuro and begged for help, suggesting maybe a low dose of the nortriptyline would help prevent migraine and not interact overmuch with the Cymbalta or be as likely to cause side effects.  She got back to me and agreed to phone in an Rx.   I'll check with my psychiatrist tomorrow to be sure they have no objection and hopefully my clever plan will succeed.  It may take 1-3 weeks to really notice a difference, but that's fine.  Hopefully the combo won't tip me into serotonin syndrome or cause any other nasty problems.  At this point, the risk is worth it, especially since I know what to look for.

Failing that, I may well try to start a fashion for clay crocodiles as hipster head-wear.

Either way - job!  Should be fairly low-stress, no one I met during my interviews seemed sociopathic, the job is done when I leave and I'll be bringing in some money to help pay down some debt and other stuff.  I can do other stuff like knit while I'm there so long as it doesn't distract me too much (so, stockinette in the round) and I'm hoping I'll still have the energy to keep slowly plugging away at getting some crafts ready for sale.

Post-Exertional Malaise in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Post-Exertional Malaise: Perception and Reality
Very interesting synthesis of some recent finding regarding fatigue, specifically "post-exertional malaise" in CFS. "Post-exterional malaise" refers to extended fatigue and general craptastic feeling after exertion - exercise, work, whatever - that lasts longer than would otherwise be considered normal. It's a very common issue for people with CFS.
The article notes that there are now some ways of actually quantifying and objectively identifying differences in PEM among patients with CFS vs. normal control groups.
There also seems to be a connection between aerobic exercise and PEM for people with CFS, which is not so much the case for people with other conditions with a large fatigue component, like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and MS.

I have a tendency to avoid aerobic activity because it's in the category of exercises that "suck; a lot" for me. I tend to have more physical discomfort and feel generally shittier after things that I consider highly "aerobic" (what I think is "aerobic" and what actually is may be different things). So, things like the Obstacle Course, Step Aerobics, Running, etc., in Wii Fit Plus or in "actual: practice tend to make me miserable. Actually, in general, anything that significantly elevates my heart rate and breathing tends to make me miserable and tire me out a lot faster. I thought that just meant I was a wuss. :P
Interesting.
Yoga, stretching, walking, range of motion stuff I can do for longer and tend to feel less discomfort during and after.
I may need to try paying attention to this more. It may be that I'm out of shape or it may be CFS-related.

Twitch

Image via Wikipedia

I woke up today with full-body tremors and Elvis-Pelvis has returned.  I've been bowing or having my lower back arch forward on and off the past hour.
Fun times.
I don't know if I over-did it yesterday or if something else is going on or what.  Joys of Functional Movement Disorder - no one can tell you why you have it, why you have symptoms, when you'll have symptoms, or really what to do about it.

Now to decide whether to deal, drink some valerian tea, or take a Klonopin.  The later two options are likely to lead to varying degrees of space-cadet-ness.  Doing nothing will just make me sore and grouchy.

On top of this, my right elbow is a mess of itchy rash and I have eczema on my palms.  Awesome.

Ferrets Have a Record-Breaking Breeding Season at the National Zoo

Ferrets Have a Record-Breaking Breeding Season at the National Zoo

Oh yeah, baby! We'll soon be taking over the world!

Thanks to SamuraiKnitter for the tip.

Happi amigurumi kokeshi

Happi amigurumi kokeshi
Originally uploaded by dustymom

I haven't featured an amigurumi in a while, but Happi caught my eye. She's part of a beautiful series of dolls with some really lovely detailing with beads and embroidery.

Be sure to check out dustymom's Etsy shop for her amigurumi.

NAMI Walks

Wow!  Less than 24 hours and I've already hit my fund raising goal of $100.  Big thank you and kisses to my sponsors!

I had kept the goal low because I know money is tight for a lot of people right now - I was expecting $5 here and there, but some lovely friends have been wonderfully generous!

You can still sponsor or join the team!  We still have 47 days to go.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago Walk

Tom and I and some friends will be walking in the National Alliance on Mental Illness walk in Chicago on September 19. This is an important cause for me in particular for a lot of reasons.
One is that regular therapy over the past few years has probably been one of the most, if not the most useful treatment I've received in terms of learning to cope with becoming disabled, having chronic health conditions, dealing with the unknown and unexpected, etc., etc. I'm deeply appreciative of all the professionals who have helped me and continue to help me.

Another is that I am all too aware of the stigma associated with mental illness. I understand it to a certain degree but I don't like it. I like it even less now that if affects me personally. I want to walk to show solidarity with others who have or have had mental illnesses of any kind.

A third is that the state of mental health care, particularly access to mental health care is in many ways absolutely pitiful. Public funding has been cut in many circumstances. Some of the people who most desperately need help and support whether it be crisis intervention or long term care often have little or no access to the help they need. I have been remarkably lucky in that our health insurance covers mental health care at all and that our coverage recently removed the yearly cap on office visits. Others are not so lucky.


Here is the link to my personal walker page: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks10/GCH/shovelingferret
And here's the link for our team page: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks10/GCH/jamesgang

Any support, whether it be moral support, sponsorship in any amount, or joining our team if you're in the Chicago area will be immensely appreciated, not only by me but by all the other people your donation will help.

I'm hoping to figure out a way to stick a permanent link/gauge over on my sidebar as well...

Evolution of the Alphabet

The Oriental Institute Museum has a regular series of special exhibits.  At the moment, the show is Pioneer to the Past about the trip of the OI's founder, James Henry Breasted through Egypt and the Middle East visiting various significant sites, many of which the OI at the time had projects exploring.

Coming this fall will be Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East.
Should be pretty cool.

My husband has been working on various behind-the-scenes stuff for the show, one of which is this awesome, awesome video showing the evolution of signs from Egyptian hieroglyphs to our own alphabet.  The link goes to the OI's Facebook page, which you should be able to view even if you aren't a member of Facebook.  There are some other sneak-peaks of the upcoming show there too.

It's both an excellent explanatory tool, but I'm also very impressed with the video in general.  Very awesome. 

I know many of you are interested in the origins of writing, etc., so I thought you'd especially enjoy this.  Even if you can't make it to Chicago for the show, I do encourage you to check out the OI Facebook presence and the website for all kinds of fun photos and videos and other snippets of info.

Motivation - I needs some

Image via Wikipedia

I mentioned I felt like I was spinning my wheels health-wise a few days ago.  I feel like I'm spinning my wheels in general lately too.
Lots of plans and ideas, but no action on them.
I think this is partly a matter of fear - of failure, of wasted time and money experimenting (because my perfectionist self insists that "failed" experiments are wastes), of wearing myself out.
It's also an issue of TOO MUCH STUFF running around my brain.
I want to start selling crafts online. 
Do I go with Etsy or Artfire.  Or both?

I have ideas about branding and packaging and photography style and theme (an overall archaeological theme).  Do I do that stuff now or wait until I actually have an inventory of stuff to actually, you know, sell?  Also, I am intimidated by Inkscape and Scribus, etc.  I have a start on part of my planned logo, but I still have Inkscape-fear.

What about bookkeeping?  Will I go nuts with that?  I already have some excellent spreadsheet setups, but, but, numbers are the debil!

Oh, and what do I actually sell?  The overall theme here is archaeological/Egyptological inspired stuff (I'm being vague out of an additional fear that someone will steal my ideas!!!eleventy!)  :Looks around shiftily:
- Amigurumi patterns (that I need to actually make and write and layout and test and make look purty)
- Jewelry (that I need to actually make to be sure it isn't hideous because at the moment all the designs exist solely in my head and run around and mock me when I'm trying to sleep).  And do I stick with all polymer clay (with the exception of findings) or do mixed media pieces?  There's a learning curve here as well  - I haven't done much jewelry.  How much experimenting (and therefore time and money spent) am I going to need to do?
- Fascinators and hair bobbles (that won't necessarily fit with the rest of the theme, but are easy and fast and fun to make)
- Hand printed textiles?

Photography:
My hands shake.  I suck at photography.  The light is bad.  I hate fiddling with stuff.  I do have awesome ideas for settings and composition though.  And a tripod.  And a husband who is a photography hobbyist.

So, in general, I look at all of the above, get overwhelmed, twitch a little and then go back to aimlessly surfing the internet and reading about nuclear weapons or UFO accounts or mid-19th Century European royalty and politics instead of doing anything productive.  I read various blog posts from various awesome people in the crafty world talking about a lot of the stuff (the crafting, not the UFOs) above, but I still do *nothing.*
It's a little bit like the classic paper-writing conundrum of getting so caught up in research that you never actually write anything.  Or getting so caught up in collecting sources you don't so much read them as acquire them.

So - how do I kick myself in the ass/brain?  And how do I do it in a way that doesn't wear me out physically or mentally?

National Geographic Channel to produce comedy set in ancient Egypt

National Geographic Channel to produce comedy set in ancient Egypt

I...what?

Anyway, Tony Robinson (Baldric from Blackadder) is involved but mostly, I'm just really confused.

Review of Little Bodice Ripper on the Prairie

I finished it late last night.  Blah.
There wasn't a great deal of information that isn't already available (obviously that probably wasn't the case in the late 1970s).  Pretty much re-summarizes the events of the books while adding in a few tidbits of outside information from contemporary newspapers or diaries.  Still not as interesting as one might hope.
Zochert seems to take for granted how Laura must have felt in certain circumstances, which I found annoying.  And my lord did he hammer home the "holy crap their lives were harsh!" in the first years after Laura and Almanzo were married.  But not by actual description or relation of events, just by saying "OMG it was soooo hard" over and over again.
There is very little at all about Rose.  Next to nothing about life after the books in general, really. 

Definitely no bodice ripping.

Totally Metal

I was looking through Ancient Egyptian Jewelry and stumbled on a photo of the mummy of Katebet (BM EA 6665).  Her mask and pectoral cover include her hands (made of wood).  Some of the fingers are broken off.  If you go take a look at her photo on the British Museum website  you can see that she is totally (almost) rocking some devil-horns.

This makes perfect sense, as she was a Chantress of Amun.  I bet she got crazy with the sistrum and was all dunn nuh nuh nuh nuh dunnnnuhnuh, Amun is the best!  Woo!

Tom has suggested she be renamed "Metal-amun" so start your letter-writing campaign to the British Museum now.  I'm sure they love getting crazy emails from random people - I know I did when I worked for a museum.  They may even have a Greatest Hits file.

Medieval News: Ground Mouse and Cheese Mold: Looking for Medical Miracles in Medieval Manuscripts

Medieval News: Ground Mouse and Cheese Mold: Looking for Medical Miracles in Medieval Manuscripts

Link to an interesting article in Der Spiegel (in English, I'm not that nuts) about examining medieval texts containing medical information and looking into the efficacy of various treatments.

I've always found folk medicine and herbal remedies interesting, especially when combined with a healthy dose of scientific research and basic caution. Nifty.

Update on the Nana

I just got off the phone with my Nana.  She sounds really good, so I am much relieved.  Apparently she was having trouble swallowing anything without a whole lot of pain.  Her doctor was right on top of things though and even gave her his cell phone number (yay, good doctors!) and she's improved a great deal.
She said she's still being careful taking small bites and chewing a lot, but she is able to eat.  Yay!

She's been drinking Boost, which is one of those nutrition beverages like Ensure.  Only one a day - half in the morning and half in the afternoon.  I told her to be sure not to hit it too hard or anything, which made her laugh.  :P  I think I may tell Mom to take her the tackiest shot glass she can buy in the Vegas airport.

So, good news for the hard-core 87 year old!  Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone!

Spinning My Wheels

What little reliable information I can find about Functional Movement Disorders says that, while improvement may occur over time, there will be highs and lows in that overall trend toward improvement.
I'm not sure if the last week or so has been a low or a plateau or what, but it hasn't been pleasant.

I've been dealing with a constant sore throat and general feeling of mank for a month or more. I often describe my general overall sense of health as feeling as though I'm just coming down with or just getting over a cold or flu. This has been a touch worse, but something I can generally cope with.  I'm guessing it's more related to allergies and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome than FMD.  I have noticed that the general feeling of flu-ish-ness gets worse if I over do it physically. 

The past week or so, though, has seen what seem to me anyway, like setbacks or stuckedness with my movement issues.  I've been far more tremory.  A certain level of tremor in my hands is "normal" for me and has been since about 2007, but this has been body-wide.  Wii Fit Plus exercises have been more challenging and I haven't been doing as well at them - that, at least, is a more objective measure than my overall sense - the scores are there to see.  And I can't seem to push past 12 or 13 minutes without trouble.

I've had or been getting over or coming down with a migraine what seems like almost constantly all summer.

I've been under a bit of stress - I suppose the job interview last week might have contributed a bit.  My pelvic movements have been the worst they've been since May starting Wednesday evening.  I'd barely had *any* major involuntary movement in my pelvis/lower torso since May, actually.  It's deeply frustrating.  It's also uncomfortable. 

I've been in more pain in general lately and had more brain-fog days.

I've been sleeping 12-14 hours a day and still feeling exhausted.  And my sleep schedule is shot to hell.

It would be easy, at this point, to say "screw it" and give up, but obviously that's not what I'm going to do.  I do my Wii Fit every day.  I try to get out and walk (though the heat wave made that hard).  My new therapist has arrived and settled in and I had my first appointment with her last week.  My formal physical therapy is coming up in August.  I try to be as active as my brain and body allow in any given day.  It's very rare I spend a day in bed.

It's just deeply frustrating and a little frightening.  I'm trying, I really am and I do feel better, but not well.  And the very nature of FMD or psychogenic disorders or whatever you want to call them suggests that the ability to heal resides directly with me.  Which makes it very easy to feel guilty about not being better.  To wonder if I really want to be better.  Is my brain playing tricks on me?  Am I playing tricks on myself?  Despite all the evidence that I am reasonably insightful am I missing some huge part of the picture.  Am I, in fact, seeing some benefit to being sick that I just refuse to acknowledge?  Something powerful enough to keep me disabled? 
Or is that a bunch of bull-shit?
And on top of that - does it matter?

Good Thoughts, Please

I debated about posting about this, wondering if it was too personal and then reminded myself that I post about rashes and medical tests and symptoms all the damn time, so, really, I'm probably in the clear.  Not to mention, we're all about some random up in here.

My much beloved Nana, who is also my only living grandparent, is apparently not doing very well.  Something is going on with her swallowing and she dropped quite a bit of weight recently.  She did go to the doctor and was treated in office with success and is now home.  (All this is via my parents, who also didn't get a ton of details - you know how it can be.)  I tried calling this evening, but no answer so I'll try again later tonight or tomorrow.  My Mom was already planning a visit for next weekend, so that will also get us some more information.

My Nana is a remarkably tough lady and in her mid-80s and we share a first name along with a few other characteristics - most of them involving smallness and feistiness and stubbornness and an abiding fondness for my husband (seriously, she has some major love for the Tom) and feeding pasta to Oreo. She's the child of Irish immigrants who married the child of Italian immigrants (that went over well) and learned Italian and a whole new style of cooking to do so.  She went to every Big Band show and swing dance she could during WWII.  She kept her house in an intimidating level of cleanliness and orderliness and worked as a dealer in a casino and raised three kids all at the same time.  She is hilarious.  She still smokes (extra longs, because they're more ladylike) and has no intention of quitting (sigh).  She only recently quit driving, which is probably good for all concerned, because she scared the crap out of me driving me around when I was a kid  (seriously, I think her driving is what kept me from freaking out in cabs in Egypt and Sudan).  Her house is still frighteningly clean and orderly.  I'd appreciate it if people would keep her in their thoughts if they're so inclined. 
I'm not sure if I/we can make it out to visit any time soon, but I'm investigating ways and means.

Nana at our wedding in 2003, rocking some pink jewelry