Unfortunately last weekend I was taken poorly with a seizure which effectively grounded me for the week. I had an early morning attack and then later the same day had a second seizure. (which is also my system's Modus Operandi)! Fortunately I did not bite my tongue on either occasion which is also a rarity. Both of them were not as bad as what they usually are but the simple fact that it has happened means I am back to square one again on keeping clear for as long as I possibly can. It is six years since my last seizure so not too shabby. Have gone as long as 10 years in the past; and then sustained what are termed by the medics as break-through attacks. Something that my system seems to do and which will be an ongoing feature of keeping myself as clear as I can.
G has been looking after me and I have slept an awful lot which is quite a normal occurrence as my body aches from top to bottom with my body having gone into spasm mode during the "Short Circuit" of the actual fit itself. I had felt off after getting up early and was able to warn G that I was not well before going out and had got myself laid down on the bed. That also is a rarity but it does mean that I did not hurt myself as much as I would ordinarily do for which I am grateful - particularly the non-tongue biting bit as boy does that hurt afterwards. For me the actual seizure is not what causes the problem - I am not aware of what is going on. However, I do pay for it afterwards and it is always the recovery that takes some time, patience and care.
New regimes with regular things have been enforced since the attack - and my medication routine has also been changed up. Medication is being taken with meals where I can i.e. breakfast and tea time especially now I have to drop one of the Hydroxychloroquine each day and take an Atorvastatin instead. I had literally pushed myself too far in trying to get the house sorted for the electrical inspection we had lots of work and very little sleep. It is the lack of sleep that does the most damage for me.
For the past week I have rested up and do not intend to make the same mistake again. We are going to get more in a routine with everything and hopefully that will be the last seizure I have. I am realistic you cannot always stop these things, but I can look after myself better than I have been doing of late. That is the lesson for me I believe here. There is always a reason for something happening and something to learn from. Needless to say I have spent the week resting.
Today is the first day that I have really done anything. I cooked Sunday dinner, something we have not had for quite a few weekends. We had a rolled Loin of Pork; I made Pork Dripping (have two jars of the good stuff) so opportunities for roast potatoes and other roasted vegetables in the next couple of weeks or so as a result of a little effort.
It was delicious and went down very nicely indeed.
The Pork dripping once set will be stored in the fridge.
I have also harvested tomatoes. Very pleased with these. Here is hoping there is a load more to come at the end of the day. They smelled wonderful.
I am hoping to get out into the garden this week and recover it - has been sadly neglected since I have been poorly. So hoping to put that right.
Just prior to me being poorly I had bought a load of cucumbers in. Fortunately, I had not prepared them and so today I have prepped them up (brined them) in readiness for washing and then finishing off tomorrow. I make these for G and he uses them like sweeties although there is no sugar in there.
I will make a couple of more batches of these yet, simply because G can eat them and they do not appear to do him very much harm and he has to have something to snack on. Tomorrow (during the day) Monday I plan on doing some work in the garden. I also I have two bunches of beetroot to cook, in readiness for pickling, which I will also carry out tomorrow. I am hoping to get a couple of more bunches later on during the week and do the same again. I will need to get some more white vinegar though. We use a lot of Beetroot throughout the year, I do wish to get quite a bit of this squirrelled away. G is a big one for pickles etc. and I primarily make them for him. During the winter months in particular every so often I buy in mixed salad leaves and either serve beetroot on top of it or pickled red cabbage. It gives a striking contrast to the salad and somehow cheers it up a bit for the cooler months. Another one is to add warmed buttery mixed mushrooms cooked whole in butter in a frying pan and then served as a hot dressing on top of a salad. Particularly tasty with steak and a side salad. Another good one is sliced tomatoes and onions layered up in a bowl, sprinkled with white wine vinegar and black pepper and then chilled. Really brings the flavour out. Also a Waldorf salad is good for the winter months as is homemade Coleslaw.
Later in the day, I will then soak mustard seed in ale to make a smooth grain and a rough grain mustard as I am now out of this altogether. It is good to use when cooking sausages and also with ham.
I also need to make a couple of batches of Rosemary salt from some of the Rosemary in my Garden. I have Cornish Sea Salt as my base.
I also intend to make some Thyme and Orange Sea Salt. Tuesday, I have a load of cooking apples which need to be turned into apple sauce. I am out of this and intend to do a couple of more batches of this at least. It all helps at the end of the day and it is good to be able to access something that can be used as a sauce but equally also be used in cakes, pastries and puddings. A very practical item to have available on the Pantry shelf. It also gives you a little food security and the choice to make things at will by keeping a good supply of good basic food items available on your shelf. I tell you what is particularly nice, that is hot cooked apples served with a good cold vanilla ice cream. It is really delicious. I will also keep the apple peels will freeze them and then make some Compost Jelly later in the week, probably when I make the Lemon Curd. Might as well get something from nothing. Wednesday - I will make Lemon Sugar and Lemon Cordial to start using up some of the Lemons I have to hand. Lemon Sugar is good for pancakes, decorating cakes i.e. Lemon Drizzle cake, in cakes Thursday - I intend to make a couple of batches of Lemon curd. This is good for using in puddings, i.e. Lemon Meringue Pie, on toast, in pastries of different types and in cakes. I will make some now and then before Christmas so I have fresh for the Christmas baking. Yes it is the time of year when my thoughts go to putting up as much food as I can for the winter months. Anything is better than nothing and lots of fruits can be put up simply by water bathing and providing fruit for puddings is always a bonus. Think apple pie, apple sponge (Eve's Pudding as I know it), apple turnovers. And finally, on Friday, I intend to use up some dried Apricots that I have and make some dried Apricot jam. I also have enough dried Apricots to make and start off some Apricot wine and Apricot Chutney. None of the ingredients are wasted. Initially the Apricots are used to make the wine and then the remnants are turned into Apricot chutney. I do intend to take things carefully. This is the outline plan for this week. I aim to work on the garden in tranches and try and get it sorted out. I think it will help with my healing. If it starts to affect me in any way I will regroup and re-schedule the work. This is what I hope to do this week and I have split it up into days in order that I can easily achieve these items and get them out of the way with. They are only the beginning of a long line of preserves that I hope to make. Saturday, I intend to make some Jumbleberry jam from frozen fruit that I have available to me in the freezer. This week I want to work through the fruits I do have in there working them a preserve a day. I have the following to choose from: Mixed Forest Fruits, Cranberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cherries, and Plums. It is time for stripping the freezer out and re-stocking it so everything needs using up and then re-stocking again for the winter months and to start to put food away for celebrating Christmas. There is therefore a lot to be going on with, and it is time for me to focus on the preserving where I can. We will see where we go from here, these are just plans for the first week, need to be doing a little bit each day moving forward. Thank you for all the good wishes in my absence. Very much appreciated. Take care. Catch you soon. Pattypan xx
Patty. I'm not surprised you've been poorly. You have been working so hard nonstop for months now, long days with no down time at all.
ReplyDeleteIf you were still at work, you wouldn't be expected to work and complete as many tasks as you have been doing. So time to start being kind to yourself and stop trying to do everything.
When I feel overwhelmed I write some lists headed House, Garden, Decorating Etc. Then, each day I try to complete 1 or 2 of the tasks on any of the lists.(It's pleasing to see them being slowly crossed off those lists) Dependent on how I feel, how much time I have, and what I want to do. The other thing we work to here, is 'the power of an hour' if I set a timer, get my head down, it's amazing just what I can achieve in an hour. I think it's because I'm focused and know that I can sit and have a nice cup of tea at the end of that hour.
I've just completed decorating the whole house by working to 'the power of 2 hours' . Most days I only got one wall done with a mist coat and would be back the next day, to do the same wall with the 1st top coat of paint . But I've done it - it took me 7 months to do the whole house that way.
Anyway those are the things that help me, I hope you can find them useful. Find some coping mechanisms, that suit you but above all else take care of you and be kind to yourself too.
Take care CraftyNan xxxxx