The Seated View

Building reference areas over at HealthCentral: "Work is important, especially when you have a chronic disease. Your rheumatoid arthritis may change how you live your life, adding an impressive list of medications to your daily "diet," making everything from getting dressed to making coffee more complicated and require compromises in your social activities, your sleep schedule and your sex life , but going to work is a welcome dose of normal. It pays the bills, sure, but also reminds you that underneath it all, you're still the same person. So, we keep going out there, until we absolutely can't." The rest of the psot is here .

Forty years ago, when AB and I became best friends we also adopted each other's families on her side, that meant her dad Johs, mom Ebba and younger sister KL (who I may have mentioned we harassed mercilessly - forgot the link, sorry). They became a sort of second family to me, an extended safety net of people who felt like home. M y family and they both lived in an area with tiny, one-story rowhouses and I was ever fascinated by their version on another street, because it had two stories on the back, being built on a hill. They had a bathtub where we had a shower, although the tub was the type you sit in, a tiny enclosed chair of sorts squeezed into the end of an equally tiny bathroom. Their house was arraigned slightly differently than ours and Ebba and Johs had redecorated, putting up a wall where previously none was to allow for AB and KL to have their own rooms, which left their parents with a rather small room to themselves and very little privacy and even as a child, I was a...

Starting off with a few items filed under the category of "things that make you go huh" . I was watching Bones the other day - and wasn't this weeks episode awesome? - and at the end of every commercial break, we get The Warning: "this episode may content graphic forensic content, viewer discretion advised." Right. The shows is called Bones… main character is a forensic anthropologist… ya think on the graphic forensic content? ? A nd while we're on things that happen on my television screen. I've also recently watched The Great Escape and it reminded me of something that confused me for years. The RAF side cap which is a fantastic uniform accessory, making the whole thing seem very heroic and jaunty and very, very British, except …. so it's perched askew right above the ear on the side of the head (example here ). How on earth did it stay on??? (as an aside, you can buy them here and a selling point is the “itchy scratchy fabric!”) I checked out...

A couple of months ago, there was a bit of a thing when someone said that the concern about nuts and nut-free zones was showing all signs of flirting with mass hysteria. Dr. Nicholas Christakis, who himself allergic to nuts, was quoted as saying that the efforts of schools to declare themselves completely nut-free, including banning nuts and peanut butter from the school, as well as homemade goods and foods without detailed ingredient labels were a "gross overreaction to the magnitude of the threat". Comparatively, the 150 people who die of food allergies and 2000 hospitalized patients due to food allergies every year in the US are a tiny amount compared to say, brain injuries acquired while playing sports, car accidents, etc. And it's possible that we're not all as allergic as we think - just recently, I read an article (I forget where exactly) about how children who’d been diagnosed through allergy tests with e.g., six food allergies requiring a diet free of such ...

I've been a Lost fan since the first episode, compelled and captured by the action, the ensemble cast, the interlacing stories only partially explained in flashbacks, the struggle between the rational and faith represented in Jack Shepard and John Locke (and since Jack has always irritated the crap out of me, Locke won by default. He is also sexier than Jack, who to me at least, has the sex appeal of a wrung-out dishrag) and although I've more than occasionally wished for it is a bit more lighting of the night scenes because I can't see what's going on, even that just added to the charm. I've loved that they're not afraid to kill people (although I wasn't a fan of Nikki and Paolo’s demise - it seemed unnecessarily mean and cruel), I’ve loved the mysterious plane, Jacob's cabin, Ben, Juliet and the Others, Sawyer wandering around without a shirt, all bad boy in need of a good woman to love him and the Smoke Monster. Let's not forget the Smoke Monste...

This is the second Family Day long weekend (it was invented last year) and we did just that. Spent time with family. Although based on the photos, you'd think there were no adults there. For Morgan, one of the highlights of lunch at mormor's (Danish for grandma) is french stick with butter. Liam liked sitting in a big chair Scott finally let me take his picture Hanging out at the balcony door A long weekend. In the middle of February. Ahhhh....

When my fibromyalgia first appeared in a noticeable way about five years ago, I thought I was losing my mind. Weird words started showing up in my documents, words completely unrelated to what I was writing and I had no idea how they got there. I had typed tiger and what showed up was filing cabinet . It was terrifying. Aside from the pain, which was unlike pain I'd ever experienced before, the mental aspects of fibromyalgia changed who I was. I used to be pretty smart - is it okay to say that or does it make me sound like a conceited arse? - and now my concentration isn't that great. I used to have a memory like a steel trap and now it's like a steel sieve . My mind used to be nimble and now it feels more like molasses in January. I once asked my doctor how we'd know if I ever got Alzheimer's and was only half-joking. She claimed she’d notice. I choose to believe her. Someone told me that fibromyalgia makes your pain receptors overreact for everything and that...

This week, I'm having a bit of a rant about compromises over at HealthCentral: "Splints for your wrists A cane to lean on Orthopedic shoes that have room for swollen ankles and aching toes Loose clothes that’s easier to put on When you first get diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, no one tells you this disease may require equipment that’ll make you stand out in a crowd and not the kind of standing out that happens when you're wearing a pair of really sexy shoes. They don’t tell you this equipment looks like it belongs in a hospital and there is no handy list of shops with fashionable clothes for people who have trouble with buttons." The rest of the posts is here .

The hair continues to provide moments too good not to share. First there was the Badness , then the improvement and now... I could pad this, could write a lot of words leading up to what this post is really about, but too many words would take away from the sublime ridiculousness of the moment. And besides, my shoulder still has loud and decided opinions about what I do and what I shouldn't do (spending time at the computer remains high on the latter list), so here goes. I went to the market on Friday, as I do most Fridays, to get my weekend grocery shopping done away from the hordes that invade the place on Saturdays. Among other things, I stopped by the butcher for my weekly dose of kielbasa. As I'm paying, the following exchange takes place (butcher staff identified by initial only to protect her anonymity) R : I like your hair. Me (happily, because I really like it, too): thanks! R: you look pretty now! Me: ………?

Yesterday, AlisonH came home after a harrowing experience leading to a hospital stay. A little lighter (I wonder how much a colon weighs?), but much healthier. And alive. Let's not forget alive. Welcome home, my friend. It's a good day.

After a couple months of doing really, really well, to the point where taking painkillers made me stoned because they didn't have any pain to deal with (and hence, I had a lovely, yet very freaky period of time in which I took hardly any – freaky because they’re as much part of my daily 'diet' as breakfast), I aggravated the injury/permanent state of affairs in my right shoulder a few weeks ago and have been reducing my activity level somewhat to allow it to heal. Which it hasn't, instead getting more and more pissy with me. So I tried to accommodate it. A week ago, I put a ban on typing (which in actuality meant a 70% decrease in typing), increased the painkillers drastically and kept going at a reduced pace. Which means I didn’t work in the evening. Much, anyway. I had a vague sense that I probably ought to take a week off to heal, but I had things to do. ( Stop rolling your eyes and doing that sighing thing. I can hear you, you know!) N ot surprisingly, this made...

Today is the Feast of St. Brigid (as well as Imbloc and Groundhog Day) and that means it's time for the annual poetry celebration . The first year, I posted Pablo Neruda , the second I sort of forgot - although I'll argue that this picture is a visual poem, a paean to sunshine in the depths of winter - and last year, it was Thomas Traherne . This year, I've decided to post one of my own. Worthwhile Endeavors first appeared in Borderlines . W orthwhile Endeavors I don't work well, not for pay anyway I cannot work (for pay) I lost my ability to work (for pay) years ago a disability can do that mess with your ability to do things What use am I if I cannot work (for pay)? in this world, what use are any of us if there’s no employment to go to ? You don't work (for pay)? What happened to your spine, your get-up-and-go, your work ethic, your independence, your stamina What is your excuse, your justificatio...

I t all started with the shower curtain. W hen I moved into my own apartment (after years and years of waiting for one with attendant care attached to become available), AB sent me a fantastic shower curtain with a frog on it. Charming, whimsical, doesn’t matter what you call it, it makes me smile in the morning and considering how very unawake I am upon first becoming vertical, you’d know how much of a miracle that is Over the years, that first frog has been followed by others, as if it’s been sending out notices to its friends and family. The whole family hasn’t invaded, it's not as if there is a mad collecting thing going on (because a one bedroom apartment covered in frogs would be a little… creepy), not just any frog will do, but every couple of years, I'll find a one that wants to come home with me. Sometimes, it surprises me how many uses there can be for a frog. One perched upon a stick to add pizzazz for your plants? Who’d have thunk (and yes, that other thing is ...

My latest HealthCentral post is up: "A common piece of advice to those who have just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is to "find a good rheumatologist," but what makes a specialist "good"? Do they give frequent flyer points at every appointment that you can redeem for gift certificates to the store of your choice? Do they wave magic wands that reduce your symptoms? If you're new to the medical world and already feeling overwhelmed by your diagnosis, it can be hard to know what to look for in a doctor. Here are a few suggestions:" You can read the rest here .

On Friday, I read an article in the Toronto Star about Beyoncé's new single called "Single Ladies". The article pronounced it "a shout-out to sisterhood," "a strong song of female empowerment" and claims that it has "a powerful feminist message". Naturally, this made me want to check it out, especially since just the night before, Michele had called me up foaming at the mouth with irritation about the song's chorus.   S o I went on YouTube, watched the video , then watched it again trying to decipher the words, then found the lyrics and that's when I got a little foamy myself. First of all, I can see how this could lead to a new dance craze because that song is insanely catchy. Insanely. After listening to it twice, it was in my head and it hasn't left since and it makes you want to move. I get that. It's a very fun song until you listen to the words.   Please join me in picking it apart, won't you?   S tory...

No, I'm not obsessed with that building . At all.

Winter, L ast year, I asked nicely . I've even asked nicely this year. In December, when you showed a remarkable degree of commitment to your image of being cold and snowy, I rolled with it, asking only that you keep it to a dull roar in the week before Christmas so I could get all my errands done. Not only did you not respect my wishes at all, you pummeled the greater Toronto area with so much snow that the media started calling it Snowmageddon. Yes, I know the media tends to exaggerate, but in this case, they didn't and you sent snowstorm after snowstorm after snowstorm our way, to such a point that I couldn't get out at all, but despite your efforts to ruin Christmas, we had a very nice one, anyway. It should be said, though, that I appreciate you giving us rain instead of snow on Christmas Eve, but it was crumbs, honey. Crumbs. I n the new year, you've gotten even more enthusiastic to such a point that I can't remember the last time I was warm. Like really war...