August Update

 

There were a number of goals set for this month, and I'm managed to finish some projects. Various Christmas Tree covers for Terry's Chocolate Oranges have been knitted. A hat has been made for the Beloved, and two dog snoods. A customer brought in a quilt that needed to be bound. It had been meant for a grandchild, but it's now for that's baby's baby

The rest of the goals... yeah, they missed the target. 

Clean Floor!

 

The kitchen floor has been swept and mopped. It's looking a great deal cleaner. My chairside table has also been cleared.

Cycling has happened.

So far this month, we have had chicken stir fry, and sausage, bacon and beans for dinner.

No craft projects have been completed, but I'm working on it.

Hello August

 

There's a few goals for August:

1. exercise 20 times this month

2. spend 15 minutes a day cleaning, tidying and putting away

3. eat well (don't eat crap)

4. finish three projects

Put It Where You Can See It

 

I so want to have things neatly put away. Everything in its place and a place for everything. But, if I put my big white horsepills away I forget to take them. These horsepills are magnesium tablets, and without them there's problems with cramps and migraines. It's best I don't forget to take them.  

The tub of Mg pills was assigned a space on the shelf under the table by my chair. Sadly visibility tops tidy. They now sit in full view, on top of the table. Even when they are in full view, sometimes I forget to take them. I am getting better at it thought. And each time I take them I give a little pat on the back, "Well done. Another little bout of self-care."

Dyslexia and Shame

 

There are certain colour combinations, and also fonts that make reading very difficult for me. For a long time, it left me feeling stupid, and un-educated, a failure for not being able to read. Yes, I know it's crazy, but there are times when emotions don't correlate with knowledge.

This evening, I was looking at an image on facebook, and mentioned I couldn't read it. There was a busy image, with white text, blurring out into a black cloud. If I had taken some time, I could have worked it out, a cryptographical challenge, definitely not reading.

I asked what the text said, and mentioned I was dyslexic and couldn't read the font. The guy who posted it typed it out for me. The whole experience was great. I didn't feel like an idiot. This is a big step for me. I couldn't read it, and that wasn't because I was thick, but because the colours, and shapes made it too hard for me. It was all so matter of fact, and no shame was needed.  Shame!  That's the word. In the past, I have felt shame for not being able to read certain things. Looking back, I can't remember a single instance when someone has tried to shame me for being dyslexic, but I have, had, taken it upon myself to be ashamed when my poor little brain couldn't decipher text.

Here's hoping I don't try to shame myself again. I am a clever, educated person, a person with dyslexia. These things make me who I am. I am me.

Honey Hill Farm

 

The last two days, I've left the writing and cycling tasks until just before bed, but I've managed to do them1

A Facebook reminded me that it was exactly one year ago I found out the name of my main character, and that she is a lesbian. I was a tad surprised, but she's the one who'd know! Since then her forename has changed, but her sexual orientation hasn't. 

This evening I have been writing about Sophie Quayle, and her journey back to the Isle of Man.

Seven Day Challenge

In the past, I've tried all sorts of grand schemes to increase my productivity, and 'reach my potential'. And each time, I've crashed and burned. A year is far too long. Fairly often, I can manage a month, but a week. I can do a week, with just a little stretch!

I'm going to plan a few things, a lot of things, no! Two things, well, three, that I'm going to do for the next week. (I'd do something similar for work too.)

1. ride my bike - my back really, really like it when I cycle

2. eat healthy foods  - my guts really, really like it

3. write/research - I've been thinking/planning this book for far too long. I need to progress it.

ADHD

 

I'm now as sure as I can be, without having an official diagnosis, that I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But's a really crap name. My attention is often just fine, thank you very much. I don't often daydream. But hyperfocus is something I can do, and I perform well under pressure.

Now to work out ways to turn this to my advantage, and make it less of a disorder, and more of a superpower!

This Week's Menu

S: vegetarian lasagna
M: chicken stir fry
T: fresh pasta with pesto
W: burgers in brioche buns
T: risotto
F: salmon en croute
S: chicken in cider

ICNU?

A friend is working on her PhD in psychology. She has ADHD, and posts very interesting little snippets. 

 It's a common misconception that ADHA simply means hyper and/or being unable to focus, when a more accurate way to describe it would be not as an attention deficit, but as an executive function deficit.

... how this actually affects people is 'ICNU': Interest, Challenge, Novelty and Urgency. If something doesn't meet one of those four categories, someone with ADHD just isn't goig to be able to do it.

Let's use doing the dishes as an example.

Is it interesting? Not even slightly.

Challenging? Not really.

Novel? Nah.

Urgent? Not yet.

But once the person actually needs clean dishes, then it gets dones, because now it meets one of those four criteria. In that sense, putting things off until the very last second is essentially a coping mechanism for ADHA, rather than a symptom.

In the last year or two, I've thought about whether I might have Attention Deficient Disorder. After Mel's post resonated so strongly with me, I took three different tests, and they all said I might have a moderate level of ADHA. These were just internet tests, not conducted by a phycologist, but I was shocked. Then a whole string of things slotted into place. 

Over the years I've developed coping mechanisms, and avoidance techniques. Some are good, others well, quite awful. I'm going to look into better coping mechanisms, and learn how to better fit into a world that doesn't quite fit.

The first thing I have learned is I need to make unpleasant, undoable tasks fall into one of the four categories, Interest, Challenge, Novelty, and Urgent. One thing I have been trying to do recently is split tasks into much smaller chunks, and set mini-deadlines. This move them into 'Urgent'. 

Salmon and Edamame Bean Salad

 

This recipe is based on a recipe from The Fast 800 Recipe Book.

Ingredients (serves 2):

25g brown rice

75g edamame beans

2 salmon fillets (cooked)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 large handfuls of spinach or mixed salad leaves

handful of sugar snap peas

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

2 spring onions, finely slices

4 radished, trimmed and sliced

1 Tsp vinegarette dressing

Method:

Place the ingredients into a bowl, and drizzle the vinegarette over the top.

Notes:

Yesterday, I cooked extra portions of Sesame Salmon with Broccoli and Tomatoes, and used the salmon in this dish. There was a little broccol and some tomatoes left over. The broccoli was chopped into bite-sized chunks. These were also added to the salad.

I was about to say this was the first time I've had edamame beans, and comment on how similar they are to soya beans. Then I paused, had a quick Google, and read they are immature soya beans. What ever you call then, they are tasty.

Sesame Salmon with Broccoli and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

2 salmon fillets

6 spring onions, each cut into 3 pieces

12 cherry tomatoes

200g tender stem broccoli

2Tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp sesame seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Drizzle the olive oil on a large baking sheet, and place the salmon, spring onions and cherries onto the it. Cook for 8 minutes.

Add the broccoli to a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Then drain.

Add the broccoli to the baking sheet. Drizzle the soy sauce, and sesame oil over the fish. Scatter the sesame seeds. Bake for another 3 minutes.

Notes:

We didn't have sesame oil, therefore olive oil was substituted.

We had a tub of rice noodles to use up. The Beloved and the Offspring had noodles with their salmon.

Everyone said they would happily have this meal again.

This Week's Menu

 

Lunches:
S: smoked bacon salad
M: feta and melon salad
T: salmon and edamame bean salad
W: chicken salad
T: tuna salad
F: stilton and cranberry salad
S: (no idea yet!)

Dinners:
S: roast chicken with cauliflower cheese, and veggies
M: sesame salmon with broccoli and tomatoes
T: pecorino chicken
W: cheesy bacon butternut squash
T: hot chicken salad
F: stir fry cod with hoisin sauce
S: chicken breasts with lemon and garlic

And Breathe

 

My head is a great deal better today. I can think again!  There's still a little 'thickness', and a bit of pain at the head/spine area, I'm feeling good.  I've been looking at foods high in magnesium and realised I don't eat many of them. 

In addition to my horse-pills, I'll be increasing my intake of Mg-rich foods. My breakfast of  granola and natural yogurt can be enhanced by tossing in some roasted cashews and pumpkin seeds. Instead of a couple of clementines mid-afternoon, I'll have a banana.  Salmon will be  a more frequent item on the menu, as will spinach. These changes, along with supplements should hopefully start to rectify the problem.

This morning I learned one of the other symptoms of magnesium deficiency is high blood pressure. An increase in Mg may well help my BP to be A OK once more. 

Crash!

 

I forgot to take my horse-pill until I was almost asleep last night. My body would not co-operate, and would not rise from my partial slumber to trundle down the stairs to get the magnesium. This was a big, big, BIG mistake.

Today I am suffering. It's migraine time, and I can function at a superficial level. I won't be making that mistake again!

Tulips, Snowdrops and Bluebells

 

Whilst out walking Ava, I saw the most wonderful display of white tulips. I have decided to have white tulips, snowdrop and bluebells in my garden next year. It will be lovely to have a little patch of white and green, then followed by a riot of summer colour.

One place to buy white bluebells is at Farmer Gracy.

Even Happier

 

Wheeeee!  No headaches what so ever! I'm delighted!

Happy!

 

I am happy!  

The migraine has gone, but there is still a bit of low frequency throbbing from the tension headache. I'm feeling happy, and sunny, and so much better.

At work, I was speaking to a colleague who is a former nurse. I'd mentioned how much better I was feeling. I didn't think the magnesium tablet could have kicked in already, but that the placebo effect was wonderful. She explained magnesium can be processed very quickly, and she would expect the benefits to be from the Mg, and not placebo. Surprised and delighted, was I.

Head and Finger

A muscle at the base of middle finger decided it didn't like its normal position and spasmed. It took a fair bit of massage to get it back into its proper place. Then in the afternoon, a migraine started, and the finger decided to go its own way again. I'd been having tension headaches off and on last week.

Muscle spasms can be caused by a lack of magnesium. Coeliacs can have problems getting a proper about of essential minerals because of crappy gut absorption doodahs.

I started thinking, 'Perhaps I need some magnesium.' Then a stray memory waved at me from a distance - migraines and tension headaches can also have something to do with magnesium.

I've taken a huge horse-pill of magnesium. Hopefully it might make things a little better.

Covid and Luftwaffe to Blame

 

There have been delays to the new ferry terminal. As can be expected, when there are delays, there are also price increases. Covid is certainly a very understandable reason for delays. I was a little perplexed by the Luftwaffe also being to blame. After digging a little deeper, a few unexploded World War II bombs were found. Yup, a bomb or two can definitely cause delays.