#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 15 Warmth

New fireplace insert

Seven years ago we decided to add an insert to our then non-functioning fireplace.
I insisted, over my husband's objections, that we get a wood-burning insert. I love the smell of a wood fire, the atmosphere it creates, even the popping and crackling of burning wood.
We liked out wood burning insert, though it never really looked quite right. We have a super small firebox, built for burning coal, and it was difficult to find an insert that would fit.
We did and it was great - we could warm up the downstairs and keep the thermostat set low - usually no higher than 65 degrees during the day.
But.
And this is a big but.
A wood burning insert is a pain.
Being city folk, we had to buy our wood already cut and dried. The cost of a load had gone up to $300 for a cord (that didn't ever quite measure true). So I started checking Craigslist for free wood ads and my husband would take the seats out of the mini van and load her up.
We got some good wood that way, but usually it wasn't the best for burning and it still needed to be cut and stacked to dry.
Hauling wood in daily was a hassle, too. It was hard for everyone in the family with EDS to carry a load, which left only my husband and occasionally my oldest son, who could carry in wood without injury.
Then there was the ash scooping and disposal, the inevitable bits of wood and bark and ash that found their way to the floor and carpet, and the noise. The fan rattled no matter what we did and was so loud that it could make conversation and TV watching difficult.
We had to have the chimney cleaned twice yearly at about $200 a pop as well.
I finally cried "uncle" and admitted my mistake.
I've been focusing on simplifying our lives and the wood insert was just too much added work, mostly for my husband, who works long weeks and travels constantly. He needed a break and we needed to switch to gas.
The insert we have now is gorgeous and looks like it was made for this house.
No more messing with matches and fire starters; simply press a button on the remote.
I am so glad we were able to make the switch.
Today, my new fireplace makes me really happy!

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 13 - Reprieve

Snow Day

I've been really busy lately.
Busy for me is not "busy" for a typical person.
I'm still a stay-at-home unschooling mom, though after this spring I'm going to have to give myself a different, more accurate job description.
Maybe cat-herder or basset wrangler... or (gasp) homemaker.

Anyway, my "busy" involved volunteering, driving my daughter to and from her various classes at three different locations (high school, urban campus and ankeny campus of community college), attending a lecture at Iowa State, viewing an art show, plus all the regular cooking, etc.

The amount of activation energy required to do all this sometimes seems unattainable, thanks to my Ehlers Danlos with co-morbid fibromyalgia.
I love that word co-morbid, it adds a note of gravitas to any diagnosis, don't you think?

Anyway, I've been able to keep going, enjoying what I've been doing, and managing enough down-time to regroup for the next day's assault.
So far.
Oh, but I was kind of dreading today.
I had activities scheduled for the morning and again in the evening and knew it would be frustratingly difficult to find the oomph to push myself through.
And then came the snow.
Yes, we got 10-12 glorious inches of city-stopping, activity canceling snow!

What a relief to know that today I could just hibernate under my quilt with books, cats, and knitting, and save up enough energy for tomorrow.

#100HappyDays - Day 3

Today my best friend is my pillow

Ah, nap time.
That glorious time of the afternoon when I manage to stumble up the stairs and fall like the dead into my bed.
Perhaps a more accurate description of this interlude would be "rest time," as sleep isn't really required.
My body melds with the mattress, craving surcease from the relentless strain of having to work so dang hard just to hold itself together.
Thus is one of the many realities of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome; extreme fatigue.
Fatigue has a different quality than sleepiness; it overtakes my whole being, making each step a long slog through deep, wet, mouldering mud.
Fatigue becomes my master and is not to be disobeyed.
The ridiculously warm weather of the past several days - highs near 50 in Iowa in January! - afforded a great opportunity to start walking outside again. But walking is very much harder on my body than the recumbent exercise bike, and every time I resume my outdoor treks after a hiatus, fatigue mocks my optimism, adding its own malevolent prostration to my elevated pain and flaring fibromyalgia.
The only thing I can do at times like this is rest; not necessarily sleep, just cease most activities and lie down as often as I can.
It's easy to feel kind of down when this happens. I hate the extra burden this puts on my family. I hate that I can't take my dogs to the park. Cook supper. Do much of anything.
That's the thing with EDS; you have to take the good days and make the most of them, while keeping a keen eye on saving enough of yourself back to be able to function the next day.

So, in the spirit of focusing more on the positive, today I am embracing my nap time. I love my pretty pillows and the way I become a cat-magnet whenever I lie down in bed, often accumulating 3 or 4 of our resident felines around and top of me.
Yes, today I am cranking up the electric blanket, grabbing a good book, and communing with my best friend - my pillow.