After a season of illness, fatigue and fear, I came back in full force tackling home improvement challenges. Well, maybe not full force, but I tried.
First, was the porch. The paint job was worn and peeling. I figured painting was the least exhausting and demanding of all my projects so the first to be tackled. I initially thought I'd do one color, no design, and no effort until I realized I didn't have enough of one color. A pattern usually doesn't show every spot of dirt or muddy footprint so I opted for a simple checkerboard. It was anything BUT simple! The precision was exasperating. But it's done. Does the pattern camouflage every footprint and speck of dirt? No. It shows every spec of dirt, every footprint. I should have done something wild, but I didn't think I would have the energy. I like that it looks like FUDGE!!
Next was the annual fence repair. The constant issues with this fence are relentless and never-ending. Every year parts of it fall down, break or need to be replaced. This year two posts broke and I replaced almost twenty boards. This was a challenge because supplies are difficult to find. Home Depot was constantly out of everything. I had to make several trips. Then I had a moment of doubt. Do I have enough energy to be able to dismantle twenty feet of fencing AND dig out the cement plug AND put it all back together.
I received some quotes at the beginning of the summer that were outrageous. Then at the last minute feeling like the summer was almost over, I ended up hiring gardeners who claimed to also do things like porch construction and fence building to just replace the two posts. They quoted almost as much as the construction workers, and it was still an ENORMOUS amount of money. When did prices get so high? I said, "No." They tried to tell me it would take them all day. I should NOT have hired them. I hate liars. I know perfectly well how long it takes. They came down and I agreed only because I had to get it done and didn't trust my energy level. I had second thoughts. Once I dismantled the fence myself, I figured I already did most of the work.
If my phone hadn't died, I would have called them back and cancelled. They arrived on time, but did the cheapest, quickest job possible. It took two hours. Granted it would have taken me all day, but two hours would be normal. As long as I am able, never again will I hire someone! Then I stained all the boards and reconstructed the fence leaving it very tall to save myself some work. It's not a fence...it's a wall. It celebrates the distain I have for my neighbors and made me wish I would have replaced all the boards on that side so they were all six feet high! I love the extra privacy. By doing most of the work I saved myself nearly $1,000.
Next, the deck is rotting. Unfortunately, it also had a hornet's nest under it and before I even started the project I got stung. I poisoned the nasty little beasts and waited. I replaced seventeen rotting boards along with steps and handrails.
Whoever constructed the original deck used the wrong kind of screws and they were rusty and disintegrating. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get the screws out of the wood and it was a challenge forcing me to hacksaw, hammer or break the boards to dislodge them., but I did it. I saved myself hundreds of dollars in labor. Supplies were still scarce and expensive. Next year I'll replace another dozen boards and I'll have nearly a whole new deck!
Summer now seems like a dream. I know it happened, but I must have been in a fog after the hell that was the coronavirus spring. Or it just went too fast. With all the isolation time, I spent most of it in my garden.
Last fall in an attempt to downsize and eliminate so much of the work and weeding, I ripped out a lot of beds, covered the bare dirt with cardboard, and spent the winter tromping on it to flatten it all out so weeds wouldn't grow. It was a lot of work, but I had confidence this would in the long run make my life less exhausting and more enjoyable. A friend of mine not too long ago exclaimed, "Don't you love strolling in your garden?!" I looked at her in disbelief, "When? When would I have time to stroll when there is always too much work to maintain it?" I made a point to let her know her husband tends to do all the "work" for her.
Then this spring I removed the cardboard, dug up what weeds attempted to grow and covered everything with bark. THREE LOADS of bark! But I love it:
It's such a clean look and it worked! I spent very little time this summer pulling weeds! Hooray!
I did add one plant last year that didn't do much, but I was told it would bloom the following year. Asparagus:
And it did once it grew to eight feet tall!
The bees went absolutely crazy. I don't have photos of them, but during midday I'd see up to five bumbles on one blossom. It was a spectacular plant.
The apple tree went crazy with apples. All the organic spraying I did all winter really helped. Beautiful apples, but then they started dropping about fifty every night. I fed them to the deer and gave them to a friend who has pigs.
The Italian prune tree also went crazy. I gave lots of plums away to friends and sold them to strangers. I counted 1740 plums, not counting the ones the family of seven raccoons ate every night.
Then there is the fig tree! I've never had figs. Last year I transplanted the fig tree out of its pot and into a garden outside my fence that gets sun all day long. The tree is loaded, but it's October and they are still green. I don't know anything about figs so I'm not sure when they ripen. We'll see.
I also grew basil on my deck, and onions, beets and spinach in my raised planter.
The summer war started and ended with a hornet's nest. I check the eaves of my house and outbuildings all the time in the spring for the start of nests, knock them down, and feel safe. Not for one minute did I ever expect hornets to make a nest UNDER my deck!
One day while I was walking over the deck on the way into the house and wearing sandals I felt a pinch on my foot. I rubbed my foot not sure what that was and continued. I came out the door the second time and a hornet stung me on top of my foot. OMG! The pain was so intense. I had something in my hand and swung at him, he dodged, and came back for another attack. I ran in the house fast. After treating the sting to the best of my ability, I watched from the safety of my glass door and sure enough, baby hornets crawling on the deck just outside the front door and disappearing between the planks. I had not noticed them before. At dusk I peeked under the deck and there was the nest about sixteen inches in height. Holy mackerel! It must have been there for a while but I never noticed. I got some spray. It didn't work. I went through two cans and even after I poisoned the nest, knocked it down, hornets still hung out on the deck. So I began watching for them and when they appeared, sprayed them directly with the spray. There was one hornet that I'm sure was the leader, relentless and mean.
The deck needed repairs so it was important to get rid of them. Even as I started working on the deck two months later, one hornet buzzed too close, but after being swatted left never to return. So scary.
My sting swelled and turned bright red. The pain was intense like an electric shock and lasted for days. After a few days I called the doctor to find out if I should be concerned. They suggested I outline the swelling with a pen and watch to make sure it doesn't grow. People die from these stings. In another twenty four hours the swelling went down. Nasty bugs!
My fall project is cleaning out the daisy garden. I'm going to make it a pink garden. It's the last one to be redone for downsizing!
I reconnected with an old friend a few years ago and when we decided to meet and reminisce about old times, I immediately warned her about my sensitivity to chemicals especially scented products. While so many people will respond with doubt and sarcasm making disclosure uncomfortable, she was eager to accommodate my requests to be fragrance-free and non-toxic. Or so I thought.
We planned our first outing over a weekend since she lived three hours away. I invited her to arrive on Friday and stay the night. I figured this way if she failed at understanding my instructions and was willing to detoxify herself in my shower, that might work. She cancelled Friday because she felt "frumpy".
Oh, god, here we go! It all came rushing back. This is the friend who cancels at the last minute on a whim. She decided she would arrive Saturday morning. Hmmm...this is a risk, but I complied. I was eager to add an old friend back into my life so I took the chance. She showed up reeking of laundry detergent and I was sick all day.
Over the next few years she eagerly asked for fragrance-free advice, and I, with high hopes, gave it. I bought her $50.00 worth of soaps, detergents and other unscented, non-toxic supplies as encouragement. I had a feeling this would be a waste of money because if there is one thing I've learned, if people aren't fragrance-free, they won't get it. It's often beyond their comprehension.
We tried a few more outings and each time she stunk to high heaven for a variety of reasons: new detergent, new hair shampoo, new automobile air fresheners, and each time when I mentioned the need to stand away from her she looked at me like a deer in headlights. She just doesn't have the brain function to be fragrance-free. I learned with experience to avoid her. I ignore her constant requests for recreation and her empty promises of chemical sensitivity empathy.
During the pandemic she started sewing facial masks. I applauded and encouraged her efforts. She offered to send me one. OK! Masks are not easy to come by so I was excited to get one. She informed me she'd sew it then hang it outside for a few hours. I've heard from so many to "hang things outside". Do people really think airborne virus germs will just go away with a good airing out? I'm not sure the reasoning.
She sent three masks. I was excited. They were all sealed in plastic bags. As soon as I opened one I could smell the stench of laundry soap. REALLY? I put them outside on my porch. Even the plastic bags were smelly. I tried to wash a plastic bag. Nope. The stink stuck. I took one of the masks and tried washing it. I tried five times. Still stinks.
You can't imagine how disappointed I was. Not only that she went all the trouble during a stay-at-home lockdown to mail them to me, but she still doesn't get it. I didn't want to confront her in light of her generosity, but I did ask if I could donate one to my nurse friend who didn't have a mask and she was happy to comply. I donated all three.
Eventually the subject came up when she was commissioned to make masks for a senior care center. I suggested she not wash them in fragranced laundry detergent. She responded with, "But I didn't use any detergent when I washed yours!" But she washed them in a washing machine contaminated by her toxic laundry detergent. If that stink was just residue, she's using some really toxic detergent these days. I tried patiently explaining and her response was, "Well, it's really too bad, but some people just can't comply."
So how do I tell this so-called friend, who claims she cares about me, misses me, and still after that conversation constantly asks, "How are you doing?" or "Can we Facetime?" that she is one of my poisoners? She and those like her who wear toxic stink contaminate the air that should be shared and affect where I can go and how I exist? How do I tell her she's not a friend at all, but that she's one who makes me miserable and is trying to kill me?
Anyway fellow MCSers, beware of handmade, toxic facial masks! They might be made with fabrics that have been treated with chemicals or washed in toxic laundry detergent!
I found some patterns online.
This one is my favorite. It has one piece that you cut six times so no multiple pieces to figure how to fit together. It has a little pocket for a coffee filter. The video instructions are fast and easy:
One is called the Olson and it's the one hospitals are requesting if people want to make and donate. It has a pocket for a fancy hospital filter that the hospital will add, but I think the average person can use a coffee filter or other. The video is a little wordy and long so I skipped through the babble to get the instructions. You can find the pattern pieces online with scanty instruction. I'm not much of a seamstress otherwise so I needed really clear, visual guidance:
If you sew your own, you are able to choose non-toxic fabric that doesn't stink. I used used, cotton sheets. Organic would be optimal, but I wasn't willing to cut apart my very expensive organic cotton sheets just to make a mask. A study showed tightly woven cotton sheets up to 200 count are nearly as good for protection as N95 masks. Cotton is more comfortable than synthetic fabrics especially during the warmer summer months. I also added a stitched pocket across the top and used wide twist ties for the nose fitting part. I like the simplicity of elastic loops over the ears that wouldn't get tangled in my hair, but they proved to be painful and uncomfortable and then kept falling off when my ears got tired. I also tried elastic over the head and ties over the head, both fine, but tangled in the hair.
I only had white sheets so they look like face diapers! I like it that so many are now wearing masks so I don't feel like a social misfit when I do wear one. I can now walk into most smelly stores and feel somewhat protected!
I miss Obama so much! This video of him endorsing Joe Biden reminds me we actually had a president who was articulate, compassionate, professional, mature and presidential. Gone are those days! This video brought tears to my eyes:
VOTE NOVEMBER 2020 and RESTORE DECENCY and DEMOCRACY
Hopefully in the next seven months Presidunce Dump won't end up killing us with his bad behavior, bad advice, zero knowledge, and neverending poor job performance! Have you ever heard of a president who plays politics with the lives of people by preferring red states over blue states, uses important pandemic briefings to promote himself and insult reporters, or announces people should be injected with disinfectant??? What an atrocity! GO BIDEN!
November 16, 2001 was the last time I was sick. It was a nasty cold or flu or virus or whatever. I remember the date exactly because it was the opening of the first Harry Potter film and friends came in from out of state to see it with me.
In addition to being miserable, I was working at the school that poisoned me and not understanding why the building's toxic air fresheners and the staff's overuse of perfumes used to cover up the stench of mold were making me sick. Six months later I was diagnosed with MCS.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, MCS made my immune system go crazy. It's constantly protecting me from outside influences. I haven't caught a cold, flu, virus, sore throat, cough or anything that involves the spread of germs for the last nineteen years. With all the negative experiences associated with MCS, this is the one true benefit.
Over time I have waited, almost hoped, to get sick as I thought that might be a sign my body is relaxing and healing. If I got sick maybe that would mean I'm less reactive to toxic chemicals and my life would resume? A few years ago a rather nasty flu spread through the community. Everyone was sick. The grocery checkers were sneezing and coughing all over customers. My throat got a little scratchy and then it all went away. I was grateful not to be sick but a little disappointed MCS was still controlling my body.
Here comes the coronavirus! First, it's a respiratory virus. That's not good. My lungs are the first thing to be compromised when faced with a chemical or allergen. They just shut down. I wondered, Would this virus kill me or will my hyper immune system annihilate it before it attacks my lungs? What about my other risk factors? It started with unexplained nausea and a raging headache followed by a dry cough and some congestion. By the third day my lungs felt heavy and ripping painfully to shreds. This worried me as it's the lung infection that kills people. I don't want to die! I don't know if I had a fever since I didn't have a thermometer and I did read to keep warm so I increased the temperature of my house and found myself sweating profusely with wet, cold clammy skin especially at night. I kept double checking my breathing. OK, I can still breathe. I worried any moment that would stop.
The testing protocols for my area are a joke. One must be approved for a doctor's appointment based on a symptoms check interview, make an appointment with the doctor, get tested for everything under the sun EXCEPT the coronavirus, and then if all those tests are negative, the patient is given permission to get the coronavirus test. Although the government is patting themselves on the back for providing the test free, it's not free here. We pay. We pay for the appointment, the tests, and the coronavirus test. The state department of health care's hotline is a recorded message, "Currently coronavirus testing is limited." My nurse friend was tested in her community. It's been a week and a half and she still doesn't have results. I don't understand how the entitled who don't even have symptoms are being tested so easily and frequently. This virus will annihilate low-income people who can't afford proper care let alone testing.
It would be nice to know whether or not what I had was the coronavirus, but then what? We are told to go home and hope for the best. Suppose you don't have a home and are living on the streets in cold weather? What is the point of the test other than to contribute to statistics and the doctor's income? I think eventually statistics might give people answers and guidance because right now we have nothing. We don't even have tests that are accurate.
The problem with assuming you have the coronavirus makes people complacent and negligent in their self-isolation. My friend announced now that she has it, once she recovers she can visit others who are sick and help them because she's immuned. Well, at the time she didn't know her test would prove negative. I've also heard some people are testing negative only to test again positive once they are dying in the hospital OR false positives where the test are showing you have it but you don't. You can't trust the information. They are doing the best they can but it's too early.
Needless to say, I stayed locked in my house. I didn't have the energy to leave for anywhere let alone a doctor's office. I stayed in bed most of the time unless I got up to eat soup, drink tea or hot water, and take Tylenol. I kept a clove of fresh garlic in my mouth. Garlic is a natural anti-biotic. This worked great to alleviate respiratory tract discomfort in lieu of sugar-free cough drops (which I did not have), but the juice does burn the insides of your mouth. My plan was if breathing became difficult, I'd head to the hospital in the neighboring county. Maybe. I'm not fond of hospitals, let alone health care. Other than that I'd just hunker down and hope for the best. I chanted a lot of gratitudes. I figured universal assistance or just positive thinking couldn't hurt.
I wish I had these on day one instead of making do with garlic!
They do, however, have aspartame, but they feel so good
I really don't care!
Day four my lungs were still heavy and in pain, but I could still breathe. The pain in my back right behind my lungs started. It felt like I pulled a muscle. Every now and then I'd feel sharp pains in my TEETH. (Yes, this goes down as the weirdest symptom!) Cough, sweating, weakness and I still didn't have the energy to get out of bed.
Day five a little better. I had hope.
Day six the lung pain went away with a few twinges now and again, but lungs still felt heavy. Hooray! But the coughing got worse and my back started itching. I thought this was a good sign as itching is a sign it might be healing and better coughing means the lungs are loosening up. Pneumonia happens when infection lingers and has no way to expel itself.
Day seven I awoke to a slight cough and able to move around with just a little weakness. Feeling too confident and hopeful, I thought it best to decrease the heat in my house so it wouldn't feel like a tropical sauna. Not a good idea. This beast loves cold. My cough returned worse than ever and by the afternoon my lungs were screaming in pain. Fearful this was the end, I thought I'd relapsed until I crawled back into bed, jacked the heat up to 79 degrees...and it nearly all went away. I spent the night clearing my throat of phlegm due to something draining.
The eighth day the cough was minor, lungs just slightly congested, some weakness, and the heat in my house raged like a sauna. I wasn't going to make the mistake of cooling the house again.
Day nine sleeping was hell. If the room was too hot I wanted to rip my skin off, but too cold and the symptoms would come back. Lung congestion lingered with random pricks of pain and I'm clearing my throat constantly with some coughing. Body ache returned intermittently.
Ten and eleven days and all symptoms still present but very minor just enough to let me know it's not over. Every couple hours weakness would hit and I'd crawl back to my dark, overheated bedroom and nap. My appetite returned with a vengeance.
Day twelve and thirteen: some coughing with cold air making me cough more, hungry, and craving sugar. I feel pretty good. Did I say hungry? Damn I'm hungry!
Day fourteen...I'm feeling really good, energetic, and nearly all symptoms have disappeared so I decide to get stuff done. I'm out of water so I drive to the artesian well which is about 20 minutes away and load up. It's out in the woods. No one is ever there. I'm still feeling great so I decide to garden, then clean my house, do my laundry - all the things I've been neglecting for two weeks. And I drank some milk. By afternoon I was miserable. The headache returned with a vengeance, coughing, congestion, body ache, and then the lung pain. I spent the next 24 hours in bed praying this relapse wouldn't kill me.
Days fifteen through seventeen I was absolutely miserable with lung and back pain, coughing, headache, body ache, and general weakness and misery. The beast won't let go. I started doing deep breathing exercises based on an article I read.
Day eighteen lung pain is gone, but still feels congested, and my back is itching like crazy. This is healing and it gives me hope. Was it the Tylenol I started taking regularly? The breathing exercises? Dried apricots? (They are supposed to be good for lungs.) Gratitudes. With hand motions? Aspartame-laced cough drops? Who knows...
Days nineteen and twenty I was miserable. My lungs hurt so bad I once again wondered if I would die and asked friends to do things for me if that happens. (Yeah, I'm very organized that way.)
This on-again off-again cycle is actually called "post-viral inflammation". It's how one's immune system fights it. I read it can last for days or weeks. I think a lower room temperature (or my body temperature) might acerbate this fluctuation. Many people have complained about the second week when they seem to be on the mend and then it all goes down hill fast then cycles between good and bad. Yep.
Right about this time at night I start waking with anxiety, worried and in need of writing something down. I find myself up and in the middle of my office unable to remember what I desperately needed to record. Journalist Chris Cuomo gave daily updates on his viral experience and discussed his psychological symptoms like depression and anxiety. A doctor told him it was from being isolated inside. Maybe for Cuomo who is not as isolated on a daily basis as I am. I know I went through a near-death PTSD of sorts hollering at friends to stay inside. Cuomo was also talking about hating his job and plans to quit it. Whatever this psychological side effect I'm experiencing it clearly isn't as strong as his, yet, but I'm glad he's reported on it or I might not have even connected it OR remembered it. By the next morning I've forgotten the anxiety, so I started keeping pen and paper next to my bed. What I write is funny, mostly about symptoms, pain, and discomfort I'm feeling in the night. I'm also dreaming bizarre dreams. I keep telling my friends it's like a chemical exposure symptom. I wondered if it was the aspartame-laced cough drops, but I stopped those and the anxiety didn't stop. Could it be some chemical reaction in my body caused by the virus? They are saying it now can have long-term effects on organs - heart, lungs, brain. Too much we don't know.
Around the same time I developed a rash on my right front calf. Strange. Just little red dots all over. I didn't connect it until reports started about the rashes covid patients are getting. The information that this affects blood circulation and some are requiring limb amputation is not comforting.
Day twenty one a little better. Day twenty two through thirty three I feel really good! I have minor night time symptoms, some mornings I awake with some coughing and lung congestion, and during the day my lungs might feel heavy from time to time and I sneeze on occasion. Some days better than others, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm fully functioning during the day.
Too pretty to be deadly... so painted coronavirus-themed rocks!
My community implemented a mobile testing site and on day 18 I was tested. The county health department was allocated 100 tests for 22,000 people so they were very particular, interrogating candidates, and selecting only the most obviously sick. It was like a won the lottery! Unfortunately, the results were...negative. What? Wait! That can't be right. "MY LUNGS ARE KILLING ME!" I yelled at the messenger. Maybe my viral load was too low? Day eighteen was a good day in the cycle. Was the test inaccurate? The test giver incompetent? The lab tech stupid? Our local hospital processed the tests and I know they are useless. I don't know, but there is no way with exact symptoms, minus the loss of taste and smell, that I didn't have it. I've heard this is actually common and people nearly dead will test negative and be sent home from the hospital. I don't have any confidence in the system. We've tested hundreds of people so far, all with symptoms that match and have found ZERO positive cases. It worries me I don't know for absolute certain but there isn't much anyone knows so I'm not alone.
Still, I'm trusting my instincts. I don't get sick and this was anything but a normal cold or flu. It was hell lasting far too long and bringing most of my life to a full, stressful stop.
Where did I get it? I have a bad habit of touching my face and my lips. This is risky, but it's a habit I wasn't even thinking about until after the fact. I did read too late that if you rub onions on your hands it will remind you to keep your hands away from your face. Good tip. Too late for me, but good.
But exactly WHERE did I get it? People have been obsessed with being able to track down exactly who gave it to them, when and where. I know I'd feel more confident if I knew where I got it. There is something unsettling with not knowing. Was it there? Was it then? Many are seeing this need to know how people got it as blaming the victim and there have been cases where people are demanding to know who was the one infected. This is just fear which can make people act stupid. I know I'm not comfortable telling people or even getting tested. Will I be the community's scapegoat, our very own Typhoid Mary? In the next few weeks so many are going to be infected trying to find the origin or place blame will be a joke.
I hope it was the virus because I survived it. Dr. Datis Kharazzian said in his latest podcast on the coronavirus a strong immune system is the key and good white cell blood counts or an overactive immune system will be helpful for recovery. I'm hoping there will be antibody testing like they've started in Germany. Am I still contagious even after 72 hours? Maybe not, although I recently read the virus lives long in your fecal matter and phlegm even after testing negative. Am I now immuned and resistant to a round two? Experts think I am, but their guesswork doesn't give me confidence. No one knows a damn thing and it's best to be cautious moving forward. I plan to wear a mask every time I leave my house...forever.
Oh, so heavenly!
BE PREPARED FOR ILLNESS:
Have sugar-free COUGH DROPS on hand. These will help with the respiratory discomfort. Seriously. They are priceless!
I've read TYLENOL is great for the fever and headache. I didn't take Tylenol often because I don't like drugs, and it didn't seem to work at all for the headaches and body aches. I personally think one needs to not cover up symptoms unless it gets too bad. This is how you monitor yourself. A fever is the body's way of healing. HOWEVER, it's been suggested this is how to fight the infection. By not doing anything, it's allowed to stew and fester. Ibuprofen is NOT recommended due to its increase in ACE2 receptors. I also read people should NOT be taking Vitamin A and D, Echinacea, Elderberry, Lara Arabinogalactan and high doses of Vitamin C for the same reason. And of course, there are people saying these holistic supplements help with coronavirus...I say better safe than sorry. Dr. Datis Kharazzian, my idol, also briefly cautioned about supplements with the coronavirus. If you've read any of my posts on supplementation, it's all experimentation anyway. There are too many unknowns right now to be mixing it up, the supplement industry is dying to make money off this, and people are in a panic response.
SOUP! TEA! HOT WATER. ANYTHING HOT and HYDRATING will help keep you nutritionally sustained and be a comfort on your respiratory tract. I could not tolerate eating or drinking anything cold or even room temperature.
My giant soup cup filled with homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup
Lots of REST and SLEEP to boost your immune system.
BREATHING EXERCISES. First, sleep on your side or stomach for better breathing. Do these breathing exercises to avoid getting pneumonia:
When you can get out of bed, do! MOVE AROUND. When you start cycling from bad to good to bad, get outside. Be as active without overdoing it. Fight this thing with health.
NO SUGAR of any kind which compromises your immune system.
NO DAIRY. Lungs don't like dairy. I think one of my relapses was caused from partaking in dairy.
And when the beast shows itself, don't hesitate to raise the temperature in your home and burn it out. I found HEAT between 75 and 79 degrees worked to alleviate symptoms by raising one's body temperature. Pretend you are staycationing in the tropics...in your bed.
SPECIAL THANKS TO FRIENDS: So many of my friends have offered help and support as they emailed me everyday to check on my progress knowing I was home alone. One drove three hours to deliver my groceries to me when I couldn't leave the house. One mailed me tasty, tasty treats. One offered to mail me anything I needed...from CANADA! One gave me her private Amazon account with all the passwords and said, "Order whatever you want!" (Good gracious!) Another wrote a letter to me every day even with shoulder pain that made that difficult. I asked her not to, but she did anyway in hopes of taking my mind of things and giving me something to look forward to. Unfortunately after receiving two letters with one smelling like perfume we decided she should just attach it to email. Not quite the same, but since MCS precautions are so much like viral safety, we concluded getting mail touched by stinky or contaminated strangers is probably not a good idea anyway! I so appreciate their love, support and kindness.
Be safe. Stay healthy. Good luck.
P.S. They are anticipating it may return in the fall when temperatures decrease as it did during the 1918 flu epidemic. Be prepared.
This was my mainstay for coronavirus survival. The chicken broth is heavenly on the respiratory discomfort. Dark chicken meat is good for one's heart. Vegetables are high in nutrients. A bit of potato or rice for carbohydrates.
All organic, fresh ingredients for one large pot of soup:
4 T olive oil or butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
6 cups water
8 chicken legs
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup beans, cleaned and chopped
1/2 potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup red pepper
These are veggies I am compatible with as so many I am sensitive to. Add your own favorites.
Saute onion, celery and garlic in pan for a very short time. Add water, chicken legs and seasonings. On medium heat simmer/boil for about 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken legs. Cool. Remove meat from bones, place back in pan. Add broccoli, beans, pepper and potato. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Add peas just to unthaw them as if you boil them they turn ugly and mushy. (I try not to cook the vegetables too long as they lose their nutrient value with too much heat and get mushy.) Remove from heat. Cool. Place in 16 ounce recycled yogurt containers. Freeze. Makes about a gallon or 4 frozen containers.
I made a giant pot for 9 containers and as needed it, thawed, added another container of chicken broth. Sometimes I would add cooked white rice for more carbohydrates. Unthaw and simmer for 15 minutes. I got about three bowls for each 16 ounce container.
I made a second batch and predicting I'd be really tired of it at two weeks froze the vegetables separate from the chicken, onion, celery, garlic, spices so I could use them in other recipes. Sans veggies it wasn't as tasty. The vegetables add a lot of flavor especially as they sit in the freezer together. Still healthy and good, but not as yummy.
So here we are in the middle of a pandemic as the coronavirus spreads to every corner of the world. Schools and libraries are closed. Grocery stores are out of supplies. The Olympics postponed. The last primaries cancelled. The streets and roads are empty of traffic and people. Some will get sick and survive; some will get sick, get worse, and die. It's survival of the fittest. Or the smartest. Or the most informed.
I usually use this illustration to represent perfumed pollution.
Today it's the coronavirus!
As someone who is chemically sensitive, self-containment is my existence. I'm constantly isolated in my home, avoiding public recreation as much as possible, shopping during low volume times, and running for my life in the opposite direction from any toxic person, place or thing. This isolation can be soul-sucking and unbearable, but most of the time it's normal and natural. I often resent the extra effort and energy all this paranoia demands in order to keep myself from being exposed and suffering from mild to debilitating symptoms.
My friends keep telling me how safe I am from virus contamination since I'm already a practitioner of self-containment. I appreciate their encouragement, but truthfully after years of personal isolation and no one else giving a shit, I really like it that everyone else is now, finally, in a similar situation. Instead of being alone, I feel a sense of solidarity now that others are experiencing the discomfort of my everyday life experience. I love it. Welcome to my world!
Friends say, "I have gloves for you if you need them!" I say, No! I have boxes of gloves. I use them for every day protection! I've had friends ask me if I need a mask. I say, No! I use masks all the time for every day tasks!This is my normal life. Come on in! Join the fun! Now if a virus wasn't rampaging across the globe causing suffering and death, I wouldn't have a problem with this new/old lifestyle.
We can't seem to get good information on the coronavirus. One day they tell us we have to wear masks and the stores are sold out. The next day they tell us don't bother - they don't work. Then they tell us if we are sick we should wear them if we are out in public. But, sick or not, we shouldn't be out in public. Besides masks don't work. Right?
Oh no! Dogs are dying from coronavirus. Oh look! Dogs can't get coronavirus after all. Well, maybe, the CDC says stay away from your pets if you get sick because they really have no idea. At least they are honest about it. Dogs should be getting it. Like humans, they have overpopulated the earth and nature needs to balance.
If you drink bleach, it will keep you from getting coronavirus. Thanks Presidunce Dump for being so knowledgeable! Actually this is partially correct because you'll be too dead to get infected. The really bad information coming from the White House is appalling and irresponsible.
If you sneeze once, it's the coronavirus, but if you sneeze multiple times it's not. Now they are saying sneezing isn't a symptom. Presidunce Dump just sent me a postcard on guidelines and he says if I cough or sneeze to do it in my elbow so someone thinks it's a symptom!
One day all the hand sanitizers are sold out, but the following day they say proper hand washing is better. Yesterday vinegar worked as a hand sanitizer; today it doesn't. I see everyone attempting home-made hand sanitizers with alcohol....but the strength should be at least 60%, ah no, 70%...hmmm...90%. And if they put a dab of another ingredient it will absolutely still sanitize ...maybe ...possibly ...because that dab will reduce it to 70%... Or 60%. Exactly. They know this for sure. Yeah, right. Even now, the CDC says 70% and my state's website says 60%.
Some believe this isn't any worse than the flu; others say it is worse than a flu. Some say it is a flu; others say don't make the mistake of thinking it's the flu. Some say we have it under control; others say this is only the beginning. Some say this is biological warfare; others think this is just natural selection and evolution to balance the overpopulation of humans. I haven't yet heard any religious theories. Yet. Maybe this is like Noah's Arc and we are all screwed? UPDATE: The religious are linking this to Jesus's second coming. Does that mean those who die get to go to heaven, or is it the ones who live? No one is clear on that point.
Bottom line, not one fucking person knows what the hell is going on. Am I worried? Only about all the people pretending to know what is going on and giving everyone either, 1) false hope or 2) a panic attack. The best advice I've received so far is from Girl Alive over in Malaysia who told me weeks ago, "GO STOCK UP ON FOOD AND SUPPLIES NOW!" She was convinced our grocery shelves would be sold out like they are in Malaysia. She was right. Our county is totally out of toilet paper right now!
Am I worried? I'm so confused I can't decide. I fall in a middle ground. Maybe? I think.... Some days I feel confident I might actually live to see summer. Then I read the psychic Sylvia Browne predicted this years ago and it's supposed to wipe out most of the population. It's hard to know what to feel when no one has any idea who is susceptible and who isn't. Why are so many recovering and why are too many dying? There must be some link.
First, I am of a certain age that makes me vulnerable, but in past medical tests I have been diagnosed as biologically twenty years younger than I actually am. I blame that on a whole lot of healthy living. I have never smoked cigarettes, no recreational drugs, avoided pharmaceuticals, and rarely drank alcohol of any kind. I have exercised in some form or another all my life. My diet for the last ten years has been outstandingly healthy and for the last lifetime has been relatively, comparatively good. I know eating sugar depletes one's nutritional resources and compromises one's immune system. I don't eat sugar. Eating all kinds of junk should kill even the healthiest of person let alone someone infected by the virus. I don't eat junk food. Will my healthy lifestyle keep me safe or make me vulnerable?
I also have an autoimmune disease. One of the symptoms of Hashimoto's is pericardial effusion...my heart is water logged. Every now and then I am reminded of this with chest and lung pains. My thyroid is susceptible to attacks from my body. Will the virus attack my weakest organs making me more vulnerable?
I have allergies to pollen: trees, grass, hay. This can feel nearly as uncomfortable as virus symptoms. The coronavirus is a respiratory illness that starts and ends in the lungs. A chemical exposure can stop my lungs from working in a heartbeat. Will this make me more vulnerable?
I am also chemically sensitive. Surprise! I'm not going to be dipping my hands in cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting, immune-weakening hand sanitizers nor wipe down my grocery cart with these toxins posted at every building entrance. I'm not going to wash every surface in my house with bleach or alcohol. Will this make me more vulnerable or has my avoidance of chemicals helped strengthen my immune system? FYI: I am using vinegar to sanitize my hands. I wash my hands a lot anyway. I've been adding hydrogen peroxide to hot soapy water when I wash surfaces, but only because it makes me feel better not because I think it works. It dilutes the strength too much, I think. I can't breathe around alcohol. This may be my undoing, but there isn't anything I can do.
Last, but not least, I am chemically sensitive. I hold the hope of the one benefit I have been blessed with for being chemically sensitive: my immune system is hyperactive. I have not gotten sick with anything in the last nineteen years. No colds, flus, viruses, earaches, or sore throats. There have been times I've been surrounded by sickos suffering from the latest illness, coughing, sneezing, puffy eyes telling me to stay away. I have never gotten sick. My white blood count is good. My immune system works and works well. Will this spare me?
I have no idea...time will tell.
The Women's March was exactly two weeks ago. I didn't catch anything then or I'd be showing symptoms by now. Relatives from the local virus vortex dropped in for a visit before everyone started panicking. That was three weeks ago. Hmmm...I feel fine.
We'll see. Until then I'm just going to continue being my chemically sensitive self-containment self and laugh at the people panicking around me as I sit in my house surrounded by lots of toilet paper!*
*Note: No, I'm not a toilet paper hoarder. I bought mine last fall when I cancelled my membership to Costco. Who would have guessed it would come in handy...
Hmmm...the Women's March. Sorry to say the momentum is waning and infrastructure is crumbling. Now it is reasonable to assume and anticipate the number of protests would diminish due to utter exhaustion or disinterest because Trump's bad behavior has become so prevalent and normalized. The first year of his presidency there were protests practically every week. Last year I think there were three.
However, women's issues persist. Sexism and patriarchy continue. The president is still a rapist so I am very disappointed the Women's March has become challenging. I live in one of the most liberal states in the country. This shouldn't be happening, but it is human nature. We get tired of fighting all the time.
The first indication of falter was the town where I normally go for all protests including the nationally-promoted Women's March decided not to have it this year. Their public announcement stated this decision was due to how time-consuming and expensive it had become. Granted, they hold an hour's worth of rallies featuring speakers I doubt are free, they provide a shopping mall of non-profit booths and food options at the end of the march, supply toilets, buy licenses to block streets, police escort, and I'm sure cleaning up after nasty women who might not be very clean is a hellish job for a small group of people. I still wondered how hard can it be with free advertising to gather a group of people together and just walk without all the extras? Later I heard the organization's infighting had gotten out of control. So the march for this small-ish town dwindled from 10,000 the first year to zero this year.
So we planned to travel a distance to the nearest city to participate in their march. We always considered how fun it might be to go to one of the huge marches. I immediately noticed something was wrong - no one seemed to know what time it started. One newspaper said one time, another website said another, and even the Facebook page couldn't get it right. I finally begged someone for information stating we were driving three hours to get there. If we get the time wrong we might miss the whole thing! After that was worked out, two days before the march it's cancelled! Someone was worried about weather. Really? Our winters are so mild, but if the east coast can march why can't we? People were not happy and some of them voiced their complains with photos of New York marchers marching in a snow storm.
I ended up driving alone in the opposite direction for an hour to a very small town holding a march. My protest buddy was unable to attend or rather, more than likely didn't want to drive two hours for a tiny march in a tiny town. I was determined not to miss it not knowing if other options would present themselves. It was a small, but enthusiastic group of people with no social boundaries. Ready for the weather, I had my pink women's umbrella. (No photos - I forgot my camera.) Then it started raining. No, pouring! Without warning, several people squeezed under my umbrella with me without even asking. WHOA! If I wasn't chemically sensitive I probably wouldn't have cared, but for someone with huge personal space boundaries I found it outrageously presumptive. I wanted to scream If you want to use my umbrella then you shouldfucking buy it! I didn't.
I remained calm and persisted. The march started and I left the freeloaders behind. We marched with traffic which seems to indicate poor planning. People complained no one could see our signs if the cars were coming up behind us. My breaking point was the woman with the incredibly large dog she let shit on the sidewalk, didn't clean it up, and protesters marched right through it. No one could see it before stepping in it! Although I appreciate they even had a march, I couldn't wait to leave. I did appreciate the simplicity of the day without an organized rally and devoid of commercialized non-profit booths.
Disappointed in our state's options for women's marches, we planned to go to another big city in a neighboring state for theirs. They didn't even bother to have it on the actual day of the national Women's March. Isn't this supposed to be about solidarity? Instead it was held on March 1st or closer to International Women's Day. I took my voting-themed umbrellas:
The day started cloudy and overcast, but by the time of the march it was gloriously sunny! We wore our pussy hats and the protest umbrellas garnered attention and photo ops. There definitely was a different feel to this group. The protest signs were more defiant. People didn't seem as friendly. We must be in the city. Then we started hearing about their group's infighting. It seems African American women were offended that white women were organizing it. Transsexuals were offended by pussy hats and the previous year's it was announced pussy hats were no longer going to be allowed. Oops. I took the stance if anyone messes with my pussy hat they'll get their eyes scratched out and probably hit over the head with my umbrella. We were on edge which is probably not good in a big protest group. Now I know why this city has so many riots...
But no one announced any bans on pussy hats and although the protesters were mostly hat-less, there were quite a few with pink ears on their heads. Probably out of towners like ourselves. There was a protest llama...now that's different!
We hid painted rocks all over:
No one bought any of my umbrellas, but I did see another umbrella - a white umbrella with felt pen lettering nearly the exact same quotes I use. The artists probably thought I would never show up this far away. Just after I spotted her, she disappeared...hmmmm...I would have loved to have talked to her or at least taken a photo of her umbrella. They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but some view it as theft or plagiarism in fear of copyright laws. Heck, I stole the quotes I put on my umbrella so I can hardly criticize someone for being inspired by my umbrella idea! I had always looked forward to seeing other umbrellas that might have been clearly inspired by mine. I rarely do. I regret not chasing after her to congratulate her, but she disappeared quickly and I never saw her again.
It was a good day. The march through downtown was well-organized with a lot of police escort. Hopefully after November we won't have to have anymore OR maybe after November everyone will regain their motivation and stop fighting among each other. We all seem to be complaining too much. We are all so tired! Welcome to Trumpism.
I think I finally found a good doctor! I'm hesitant to say anything in case he was just on his best behavior for the first appointment or I jinks it by by expressing my shock and joy.
This is the doctor I've been trying to see for years and just recently subjected myself to his new nurse practitioner or the orange-coned oxymoron. Because I "established care" with her, I can see him! What a game they play! But I went along with it and very apprehensively, made an appointment to see him. I was ready to be disappointed, expecting the worst yet hoping for a good outcome. Or at least a tolerable experience.
He was friendly, considerate, patient, incredibly knowledgeable, and a really, really, really good listener. He did not stink! He asked good questions, had wonderful insight, and then when I asked him about prices instead of telling me it wasn't his job to know prices like the oxymoron did, he actually knew prices! Then he looked at my chart which you'd think would be a given for any health care provider. He asked if I had recent labs. I actually brought copies of my recent labs to the oxymoron appointment, but she never even bothered to ask even with my "thyroid problems" marked on my intake paperwork. What an idiot! The doctor didn't push any procedures or drugs, but asked about them and was very respectful when I said, "Nope, can't do that." or "No way in hell will I ever do that again!" I have heard from others he opposes pharmaceuticals and will opt for any other kind of treatment first.
Wow! Pinch me I must be dreaming!
And unlike the oxymoron's nurse, the doctor's nurse didn't stink! She was also friendly and wonderful.
Scentsy is an air freshener product line featuring scented candles, oils, diffusers and other items of questionable toxic stink. Unlike ScentAir who's mission is to poison people in public spaces, Scentsy's goal is to poison everyone's private space. Their catch is preying on the unemployed and poverty-stricken by getting the unenlightened and mentally ill to host parties and/or sell their products at fairs and festivals for some extra pocket money. It's become very popular and just the presence of one booth contaminates the whole area making these recreational opportunities impossible for anyone with MCS. This was my experience all last summer. Every where I went there were Scentsy salespeople looking cheap and haggard trying to get me to give them money.
So...I paint rocks and now belong to about a dozen rock groups. Many months ago I painted a Harry Potter-themed rock for a new Harry Potter-themed rock trading post. I spent a long time on the rock and I admit, I chose a relatively unusual subject: Winky, the drunken elf. I can't remember what book she is from - maybe number 5?
When I got to the trading post, there were very few rocks and a whole lot of painted shells that looked like they were done by five year olds. Oh, how sweet! OK, call me a rock snob, but I'm not trading a rock I spent four hours painting for a shell that had been fingerpainted. Yes, I am working on my New Year's resolution to be more generous, but it's a work in progress. I was warned by others and I have found first hand some trading posts are created by parents with children so they can get free "toys" for their kids. This is fine if you want to spend hours and hours painting rocks and give them away. I'm not Santa Claus. I'm not interested. So I held on to Winky thinking at some point an opportunity would present itself and she would find a good home.
Not too long ago a young woman posted on one of the rock groups that she was a Harry Potter fan who once owned a Harry Potter-themed rock. When she would have a panic attack she would hold the rock and it made her feel calm. For some very odd reason she kept the rock outside (?) and someone recently stole it. She was heartbroken. She begged the group for a Harry Potter rock so she could use it for therapy.
Her story was an incredibly long tear-jerker, three times as long as my very short synopsis, on and on about how sad she was. Everyone sent their condolences and wished her well with lots of gushing sympathy. I was skeptical. Her story was excessively heart-wrenching, felt manipulative, and keeping a rock one cherishes outside doesn't even make sense. But I thought Winky would be perfect for her and if she really needs such a rock to get her through the day, she might be the perfect recipient.
I posted a comment on her post without giving too much information. Sent it. Then I thought maybe I should check to see who she is and find out if her story might have some glimmer of truth or if she's a scam artist scamming for free art. It's amazing the information you can find out about a person on Facebook.
I don't know if she's a scam artist, but she is a Scentsy salesperson! Oops. That screams stupid, but the thought of my Winky in a smelly house made me sick to my stomach. Just looking at the Scentsy website makes me nauseous. Needless to say, I was really disappointed. OK, maybe even angry at a society that allows toxic stink to pollute the environment. I considered, Oh, just give it to her! But then I imagined having to meet her and smell the toxic stench rising from her clothes. I couldn't. I have principles even if those principles make me in to a raving bitch at times. Smelling Scentsy products inflames my brain and makes me really irritable anyway. It wouldn't surprise me if Scentsy is the cause of her panic attacks.
I deleted my comment to her. Stinky people and people who promote and spread stink will never get anything from me if I can help it. I'll hold onto Winky for the next opportunity for generosity.
