Solstices, fairies and medical mutterings (FD)

Last year I had a big celebration for the Summer Solstice, and I was going to go one better this year by celebrating Fairy Day too.  But that's not how it worked out.  No.  As it turns out all I ended up doing was baking and decorating a cake and leaving a cherry offering for the fairies (they were really sweet cherries, and I'm told fairies like sweet things, so I figured they'd enjoy some).

So, what happened to change my plans? Or, more to the point - since it's the truth of the matter - what happened to stop me making any plans?

To put it simply: illness.

I've been feeling unwell for a while, but my old doctor is taking forever to get my notes to my new doctor (and will only accept a kick up the backside from me if I show up in person at the surgery; not an option since it's in Wales and I'm in England).  Because of this my new doctor wont see me or treat me for anything, leaving me with a trip to Accident And Emergency as the only option to get treatment.

I accepted I needed to go 2 weeks ago, but it was the week where funds are low and so are our cupboard contents, which would have been an issue if they kept me in hospital, since Kelly couldn't go shopping if I couldn't be home with Kero.  We had been doing our shopping online, but Kelly likes the outing so we hadn't booked any, and the slots were all already filled for the day our money came in by the time we agreed it was necessary for me to be seen.  Because of this I refused to go to A&E until I knew Kelly and the dogs would have food.  This meant it was last Monday (a week ago yesterday) when I finally went to A&E.

To cut a long story short: after establishing my heart and lungs were perfectly fine they began battling to get blood from me to check my iron level (which I was sure was the issue).  When - eventually - they managed to persuade a vein to work it was in my wrist, and they put a canula (sp?) in it to make sure they could get access again if they needed more blood.  Eventually they discovered I was right; my iron level was 8.1 (it should be between 12 and 14, or so I'm told).  This was worrying since I'm taking enough iron supplements to give me 133% of my RDA of iron (an inaccurate term, since "percent" means "out of a hundred" but it's the case in this situation) and this on top of whatever's in my food each day.  My blood pressure was good though at 124 over 80.  I almost ended up staying in hospital, but they let me out after all (I was at the hospital from about 1:00pm to just before 9:00pm, despite having been seen almost immediately when I got there).  I went home with pills to take and a sore wrist from the canula.  I couldn't use my hand properly for most of last week, and couldn't do anything about it since energy work is impossible when you have no energy to work with.

Anyway, the doctors are now trying to figure out the cause of my iron supplements not being effective enough, which is good because my old doctors kept just insisting it was because of my weight, so it's nice to have doctors who want to listen to me about the fact I'd love to get the weight off but with how I'm feeling it's all I can do to do simple daily tasks.

So that's both why I didn't do anything to celebrate the Summer Solstice or Fairy Day, and why I'm so behind on reading everyone's blogs (and haven't been on the forums I follow in over a week).

I have no idea what to call this post (FD)

It's another beautiful day; sunny and warm, but with a slight breeze that stops it from feeling hot. It's been lovely like this all weekend! When I was walking Kero on Friday, I thought what a shame it was I didn't have a way to wash the laundry at home and take advantage of the beautiful drying weather. Thing is, we don't have a washing machine, and quite frankly, I don't know how we'd get one in the gap they've left for one without breaking the cupboards under the sink, and can see how they broke them taking the machine out. So we've been using the laundry place that's a couple of streets away whenever we've needed stuff washed. Anyway, Saturday morning I said to myself, "they managed to do laundry fine without machines in the past, so I can now." And I washed a load of stuff by hand. I stripped the beds, put fresh bedding on them, and washed the bedding that was on them (including the extra blankets that are now put away since the warmer weather is here). Then I started on the towels. I even made it to starting on actual clothing, though I haven't managed to get much of that done; the blankets take up so much space on our small line that I could only do a couple at a time, then it was taking ages for each one to dry. Anyway, I'm taking a break today, because I need one, but tomorrow I'll get the rest of the clothes washed. And if it's too wet to put them on the line, then I'll stick them on the airer in front of the heater (that was part of why I did the bedding first; socks and t-shirts and things fit on the airer much easier than blankets and sheets, and more of them fit on there too). My wrist held up pretty well; I expected it to be seriously painful, but apart from the odd twinge I've not really felt anything. Guess I did well with my energy work! :) But, by yesterday evening I was exhausted. Thankfully I had one of my rare very good sleeps; I slept 12 hours! OK, so I woke up about a gazillion times during the night. But none of them was for longer than 5 minutes. Man did I need that sleep! Anyway, other than things like dishes, and all those other boring day to day things that nobody likes doing but almost everyone needs to do, I haven't really done much other than working on some knitting while listening to audiobooks or watching movies. Reviews for the books and movies will come soon. Oh, and I made some more cookies.

Medical Mutterings and Postman Prat

My other dentist appointment (on March 15th) wasn't as bad as the other one.

Where the tooth wasn't as far back I didn't end up with my mouth all cut up, so I wasn't in as much pain when the injection wore off. Although, there was some pain, but it was in the "I can ignore this" range, so I just pretended it didn't exist, and it got the message and went away after a couple of days.

There was a fair bit of pain at first when she was sorting my tooth; the area wasn't numb enough when she started drilling. She'd told me to raise my hand if I felt pain, and I did so so sharply I actually pulled her hand - drill and all, luckily - out of my mouth (though I'm not sure if I meant to do so or not).

And what did she say?

"Oh, did that hurt?"

Well, duh! *Rolling eyes*

Never mind, it's over with now until September (unless something bugs me enough so I decide I can't ignore it, and am forced to make an appointment in the meantime).

***

I hurt my wrist the other day, and feel like an idiot for how I did it.

You know how when you know something will hurt, you don't want to do it to yourself as a rule? Like when you need to pull off a plaster, or put something on a cut that you know will sting it. Well, I was doing the second one, and in trying to fight the urge to pull my hand away, I twisted my wrist funny or something, and actually hurt my wrist doing so. I'm not entirely sure how it happened. I just know I was fighting the urge to pull my hand away, and then there was a sharp pain in my wrist.

It wasn't so much the pain that bugged me - though it definitely wasn't comfortable; I think I lightly sprained it or something. It was more the fact it happened; I hurt my wrist trying to fight the urge to pull my hand away when I was putting something on a sore that I knew was going to sting it. So, in trying not to hurt myself, I hurt myself worse than I would have done otherwise.

Go ahead and laugh; I did!

It's mostly OK now; I've been doing some energy work on it, and as long as I don't lift anything heavy with that hand, or put my full weight on it to push myself up if I'm on the floor, then it's fine now. I still can't believe how it happened though...

***

We have 4 post people (not counting the "special delivery" people). And I'm not trying to be politically correct there, it's just that 3 are postmen, the other is a woman.

Anyway, I like three of them. The woman is lovely; she's always got a smile for everyone and a cheerful "hello"... Regardless of the time of day or weather. Two of the men are great too; not as cheerful as the woman, but nice enough. Those three are helpful with me too; making sure I have the mail in my hand properly, helping me get the dogs in if they slip out, etc. Life would be perfect if it was just those three.

But it isn't.

The fourth postman I've nicknamed "Postman Prat" because he is a total prat. He shoves things through the letterbox even when they aren't going to fit; bending things sometimes in the process (he hasn't done any real damage to anything, but it's still annoying; especially since some of my items have braille on them). He waves things about at me getting annoyed because I'm failing to grab hold of them, etc. And he's afraid of dogs. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no issues with people being afraid of dogs; I'm a bit nervous of large dogs myself (yes, even Willow). But my issue is the way he acts about it. He jumps about screaming "get the mutt away," and "call off the stupid animal," and "help, they're both getting me," and so on. I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't for the fact that half the time the dogs aren't near him. I know this for a fact, because he manages to get out of the gate, and anyone who knows my Kero can tell you that if you open the gate you're not getting out of it without him unless you have a head start, and even then you better move quickly or you're not going to make it. Also, when Willow is behind me still inside, there's no way they can both be getting him when he's a couple of feet in front of me by the gate. She's big, but not that big; just saying! Plus, though I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure he kicked Kero at one point.

But, I decided to play along and got a babygate to put in the entrance to the porch area, thus stopping the dogs getting near the door unless I allow them through said gate. The first gate didn't work out. We got one that screws to the wall, thinking it would be stronger (also, they give you a wider gap to walk through), but we couldn't get the screws to hold; we tried long ones, short ones, wall plugs, no wall plugs... It wasn't having it. So we filled in the holes and got a pressure fit one instead. We had to get an extension for it, and could do with another; it only just fits, and it would be stronger with another proper extension so the bits you twist don't have to be fully extended... The gate tends to be weaker when those bits are fully extended. But for now it's there at least. So, let's see if Postman Prat becomes less of one once he realizes the dogs can't get at him.

If not, I'll be calling to complain about him, because I'm losing my patience with his attitude. He knows I can't see, and it feels as though he delights in taunting me.

Healing energy (FD)

This week's "Pagan Blog Prompt" is the following:

"How do you deal with illness?
Does being sick hinder your magic work?
Do you employ magic to make yourself healthy again?
What about others? Do you work magic to heal other people?"

Last week it was:

"The weather is warming up and the time for planting is close. While some gardeners focus on edibles (veggies and fruits), a lot of Pagans grow herbs for kitchen use as well as magical use.

Do you use herbs in your practice? Do you grow them or purchase them from someone else?

What are your favorite herbs to work with?"

I didn't end up joining in last week. For one thing I had several posts I wanted to get posted (still do, actually), for another thing, last week's prompt didn't really inspire a post. But this week's did. I only mention last week's because what I'm about to post about is connected to it. Read on and you'll see what I mean.

I haven't learned as much as I'd have liked to have by now about herbal medicine, but I know a little, and I use what I know when it's called for.

Mainly though I use the properties of lavender and camomile. And the reason I use those most is because the main time I need the help of herbs seems to be for relaxation (either for myself or others). I have also used lavender to make a rather tasty lavender syrrup, but that was just for my enjoyment; and I did enjoy it!

Anyway, the other things I use a lot are peppermint and cherry; peppermint is great for sickness and menstral cramps, and a cherry and cinnamon tea usually helps with a cough.

I'd love to say I grow them myself, but I don't. I buy them. If I want fresh I'll get it from one of the local shops (the fruit and veg shop does a beautiful bunch of mint). But for dry I get it from an internet supplier.

I try not to use "modern" medicine if I can avoid it. For serious things I obviously can't, but for headaches and coughs and colds I will only use over-the-counter medicine if it's really bad, and - for myself - only "children's" stuff.

Anyway, I also do energy work when needed, though what I do will depend on who it's for.

If it's for myself, it's more a sort of meditation thing; partly because it's easier to do it that way on myself, and partly because if it is me who needs it then the chances are my energy is pretty low and that's all I can manage. Although, if it's a cut, or other kind of injury, rather than an illness, then I do a sort of mental ritual that involves visualizing energy flowing from my hands to the injured area.

If it's for someone who I can be with - someone I can have my hands on or near - then I employ the same technique I use for cuts and injuries on myself. I also offer my advice on herbal remedies when I can, though I leave it up to the person to decide if they plan on taking my advice (they often don't, but that's their choice).

I have two methods I use for long-distance healing/energy work. The first - the one I use most - involves me using the same method I use if someone is able to be near me, though I obviously have to also visualize the energy reaching them. The other one is one I don't use often, because it requires a little more preparation, and because it seems to drain me more. It involves me lighting a candle (and often also some incense), then visualizing the energy flowing through me... From the tips of my toes right up to the top of my head... Then flowing out in to the world, where it travels to the person, enveloping them in its warmth. Then I let the candle, which is usually a tealight candle or other small candle, burn down to nothing. When I use this method I like to have a focus object; something that belongs to the person, something that was given to me by the person, or something that reminds me of the person. I use the object to help to focus every particle of my energy on that person, and keep it focused on them; handling the object from time to time as the candle burns down (to keep the person foremost in my mind while it finishes burning). I think that's why it drains me so much to use this particular healing ritual. The last time I used it was a few months ago, when I syncronized the start of it with the start of the energy work of a friend to heal another friend who was seriously ill in hospital at the time. And, yes, the friend knew we were doing it.

So when I tell you I'm sending positive thoughts, you now know what I'm doing; I'm doing the first of the two long-distance healing rituals.

This post is just to say... Sorry! (FD)

Sorry! I spent most of yesterday either outside - enjoying the beautiful weather we've had most of the time; right up until late this afternoon when we had a storm... Not that I mind storms - or preparing or cooking food (made more bread for one thing), then I spent a large chunk of yesterday evening doing a healing ritual for someone who I felt could use a little extra healing energy, and today just got away from me, so I haven't had a chance to get to your blogs. I would have come and checked them this afternoon, but my new rehabilitation officer was here (and, if you're wondering; she's really nice) and by the time she left it was time to sort dinner. Anyway... Sorry; I'll catch up on your blogs tomorrow, right now I have a couple of craft projects I really need to work on (one of which needs to be done before the weekend, and the rest of which need to be done before the end of November). I'll tell you more about anything that needs to be elaborated on another time, and will post what I was going to post today tomorrow instead. For now, sorry!