Tuesday 4 March 2014

It's a beautiful day....

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

It's the beginning of March and Spring feels like its in the air...even if it is only for a short time, more rain forecast this week...but no matter, today makes it all worth while!

Hope you've all been keeping well and busy (can't believe my last post was also about Spring...last year's!) 


 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

I've been kinda sat on a plateau for the last year, not really moving mentally, physically I started swimming (after 18 years of not dipping a toe in the water), thinking the exercise would help shift some weight and tone up the body...I started with 20 lengths of the pool in an hour twice a week, gradually pushing myself to increase the lengths...I achieved 60 lengths in an hour 3 times a week and felt very pleased with myself. My doctor was quite impressed with me too! I felt physically better, along with changing eating habits I thought I may have cracked getting healthier ....it didn't last very long as this time last year I had to stop swimming due to hip pain, I was diagnosed with Bursitus (a fluid filled sack surrounding muscle/bone which become inflamed due to repetitive movement...it's quite common in athletes), firstly in one hip and then over a few weeks in the other.  I couldn't take anti-inflammatory medication as I had a suspected stomach ulcer...the only thing was to stop the exercise and pop pain killers to help with the pain...it didn't help, so on the advice of the doctor I had a steroid injection straight into the Bursa, which should have relieved the pressure and got me back to "normal", sadly it didn't, it made it worse!  Bursitus usually, with rest and anti-inflammatory meds, dissipates within a few weeks....I am coming up to a year on from my diagnoses and the pain is worse than ever, restricting my movement considerably, I have pain when I sit, sleep, stand, walk, some days it's worse than others...on those days I could cry with the pain. One suggestion (on the web) is to aid my mobility with a walking stick...I haven't gone that far, yet! I've heard all kinds of jokes from my teens about using a stick at my age...haha!  So now the doctor has referred me to see a physio, my first appointment was before Christmas, which I had to walk to as the car had broken down, the walk knocked me out for days.  I have held off on making the second appointment until I have four wheels again. Looking forward to the day when I am pain free and back in the pool, even if it is at a slower pace...I really miss the swimming!

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

At the beginning of 2013 I taught myself how to crochet via YouTube.  It all started when a friend of mum's couldn't complete a scarf she was making for mum, so while they were away that weekend (Nov 2012) I finished it, and somehow managed to get the "knitting" bug....by the end December 2012 I had knitted 72 scarves for her friends and family! It hasn't quite stopped, albeit at a more sedentary pace, I liked the idea of Crochet but had never, ever, attempted it.  So off to YouTube I went and clicked away until I found a decent, easy to follow tutorial on different Crochet stitches and I was away...more scarves, baby blankets, lap blankets, bobble hats, cowls...the reason I like it so much is it gives my brain chance to calm down...to not feel like it's containing spaghetti junction, or headless chickens, it actually feels like, for those moments I am stitching, that the routes/pathways, whatever you want to call them, are unfurling from their tangle and setting down clear pathways from A to B, and for a split second in life I feel kinda like the old me, with a grip on something. I'm still in my little disconnected world but somehow it's calmer and feels manageable. Its sad when I stop stitching that my mind springs back into a heap of chaos and the grip on reality is gone.

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

The other constant in my life (besides family) is Instagram...due to the depression and all that it brings with it, almost everything I post is from within my four walls or garden, it's another tool that helps me with my daily trials.  I LOVE seeing what others post and how it relates to them and their lives, the virtual community that has built up around me and my followers/those I follow is amazing!  I've also noticed it's a great help to those who are in need, mentally/physically, to sound off and receive great support back in an instant...I truly believe it can be a life saver for some.

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

The weather has been fabulous today, it's quite uplifting to see the sun shine for a long period in a day after having so much grey skies and rain...this has been a really bad Winter for floods and destructive winds, so seeing things in bud in the garden is really quite exciting...

 Image Copyright: hello gorgeous design

 I'm gonna sign off now, as my brain hurts! Too much concentration on what I want to say, gotta push myself to do it (apologies for any spelling mistakes...another brain issue!).

Let me know what you've been up to over the last year...I'm sure some of you have some exciting news to share that I've missed :o)

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx