Running into kismet.

I continue to recover from this last cold. The flax seed tea does work for quelling the cough remarkably well, I've bought another bottle of the Umcka Cold and Flu mixture which William is taking also. Yes, the cold finally got him, poor fellow. But except for a little coughing and a little pressure in my upper chest I'm nearly well.

I felt well enough yesterday to go for a little run. I used to run in my mid-twenties and loved it but after participating in a race (which I finished and wasn't dead last) I stopped running. I'm still not sure why, exactly, but regardless, I'm attempting to add running to my life again. I tried to do so about fifteen years ago but was too ill with candida to do more than realize that something was wrong. I spent a number of years getting past the candida and began running again last summer. I was doing really well with it, too, feeling light and happy and energetic- and then in September I stubbed a toe on my right foot. It didn't hurt particularly in the actual stubbing but the second I put my foot down there was pain, oh, WOW, was there pain!

I was completely lame on that foot for about two weeks, couldn't walk or drive, couldn't even wear a shoe for several days. I didn't see a doctor at the time of the injury as I've had foot injuries before and the only thing the doctors said was how they couldn't do anything for it and the best thing for a foot injury was rest and elevation. I added epsom salts hot water soaks to this good advice and gradually, very gradually, my toe got better.

Then around Christmas time I realized the sole of my foot was beginning to ache- just a little and not all the time. I massaged it and rested it more but really, life goes on and I had to drive and walk and I was sick of sitting so much. The ache wasn't consistent and it was hard to pinpoint... but finally it got bad enough that I could point to two areas of pain, right before the ball of my foot and some at the heel.

At about the same time my sister mentioned how she was getting over plantar fasciitis. My ears perked up and I asked her for her symptoms and, by golly, mine were just about the same as hers.

This made me VERY unhappy. I've known several people with plantar fasciitis and it's not easily dealt with, not to mention very painful. There's nothing like waking up with sore feet before you've even gotten out of bed to make a person grouchy and depressed. My pain wasn't very bad but I really didn't want it to get worse or become chronic.

I spoke with my sister a few days later and she'd gotten tremendous relief from a local massage therapist by working not just on her feet, but also on her calves and shins. I started doing a little massage every night while watching TV with my Mom and William and the pain began to ease up some but I wasn't making much progress and my left foot was also starting to twinge at me now and then.

Then, I got a newsletter from ChiRunning and I immediately went to look through their articles and sure enough, there was a post on plantar fasciitis. I looked at the illustration and read about what was going on with my feet and my symptoms were exactly what they described. I followed their suggestions of deep massage on the foot and lower leg and added in a lot of achilles stretches, too. I immediately began to feel relief and yesterday I woke up with no pain at all which was why I felt up to trying a little running.

Today I'm sore in my thighs, calves and ankles and my right foot is a tiny bit tender but otherwise, no major problems to report. I only walked today as I don't want to push too hard. I will walk another day before trying to run again and you can bet I'll be paying strict attention to how my feet and legs feel! I really don't want to mess up my feet or any other part of my body be being too enthusiastic.

The neat thing is (and this is quite "kismet" if you ask me) I'm going to Oregon tomorrow to house sit for friends. I'll be taking care of four horses, a dog and a cat- and a 14 year old track star. All who know her assure me is a modest, intelligent, kind girl. I do hope she'll be up for talking to me about running.

Rebirth.

Easter- the time of focus on rebirth, the relenting of death to allow the return of life, a time of fitful rain and sudden sun, unsettled wind and abrupt calm, chilling shade and gilding light...

In every day there is this miracle, the chance to re-birth your self into a new state of being. Every morning is a new beginning springing from the shade/death/sleep of night into the light/life/waking of a fresh day.

Sleep, and be glad! The earth cradles you, gravity stills you and allows you effortless rest. The moon and the stars swing overhead, their illumination made subtle by distance and time but still acting on your own subtle energies, encouraging dreams and inward turning thoughts.

Wake, and be glad! The earth supports you, gravity orients you and teaches the beauty of balance. The sun, even from behind the darkest clouds, draws you up with its radiance and steadily encourages growth and change.

The Universe is waiting for you! Wake from the sanctuary of sleep, wake to this gift. Accept it with an open, grateful heart and all is yours.

Namaste.

Feeling lots better, thank you!

The sore throat is gone though the cough lingers on. BUT, and this is neat, instead of hours of agonizing, muscle torquing, ear splitting hacking it has diminished to a quiet, "productive" *coff* which is actually not bad at all. Pretty amazing. One thing that seems to have really helped is from this site: http://www.earthclinic.com/index.html I was just scrolling down the opening page after copying the link for someone and ran across the words "asthmatic coughing" and saw a recommendation for flax seed tea as a remedy. Well, I like flax seed tea just fine anyway and have been meaning to add more flax to my diet so I took some ground flax seed, added very hot water, let it steep for a while and then drank it all down. And what a lovely quiet night I had, as did my Mom since I made her some, too. I had some more today and again, little coughing except for the occasional *coff.* Very neat!

Now I don't know for sure if that's what eased my cough but I'm happy to try it again as it's harmless, in fact very good for me in a number of ways. Flax is well known for its high omega 3 oils and stomach soothing properties, among other good things, along side of which I've never heard anything bad about flax, have you? That's not a rhetorical question- if you have heard something bad about flax, please let me know. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's perfectly safe. I know someone who is terribly allergic to stevia, for example.

It's getting late so in my quest to get my health seriously back on track I'm heading off for bed at the reasonable hour of 11 pm as opposed to the usual midnight, 1 am or even later. I've been aiming for this the last few nights and while I've missed the actual minute by a few here and there, over-all I've done pretty well- and I like it, so, good night!

So I guess the best way to get started is to start here and now.

I have a sore throat. What do I do for that? I gargle with salt water, take Cold Snap (a Chinese herbal: http://ohco.com/index.php), vitamin D3 drops, vitamin C (Ester-C Calcium Ascorbate), Nature's Way Sambucus Immune Lozenges... the list can go on a while longer but I think you already get the idea.

The last time I had a cold, one that really "got" me I mean, was long ago enough now that I don't honestly remember. I know I've had other bugs since that last cold whenever it was but by recognizing symptoms early enough and being really proactive none of them have bothered me much until this one. This cold snuck in under the radar because of St. Patrick's day.

William, Tania, Mike and I played a 12 hour day at F. X. McRory's pub in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington. We had a couple of warm up gigs at the same place (about 3 hours each) and a coffee house concert with two days off to recover before St. Pat's. I was pleasantly surprised at the end of that long, noisy and very fun day to find that I wasn't exhausted. I was tired and ready to go home but I wasn't exhausted. Neat! I was very pleased, fell into bed and woke the next morning still tired.

I was expecting to be tired. I mean, we rarely play 12 hour gigs and in the past when we did this as a yearly event I would be just hammered afterward, wrung out, stupid with fatigue, ears ringing, etc. This time I was just... tired. So I rested, drank lots of herbal tea and just generally took it easy. I figured a day of rest and I'd be back on top of things. Another good night's rest and I woke up still tired.

Okay. I had some things to do, I got them done but didn't push, just gently pedaled through the day, drank lots of herbal teas, slept well and woke up...

Yep, tired. Dang.

Well, I had a date with a dear friend involving her horses, sharing Reiki with her and maybe even doing some EFT (Emotional Freeing Technique) with her so I made an effort, took a couple of aspirin and had a wonderful day. Got home, drank herbal teas, fell into bed and woke up...

Not feeling so great. Still tired. Double dang.

Well, we had a birthday party to go to and I really didn't miss it. I did some EFT and drank a little mild green tea and felt better so off we went to the party. By the time we walked in the door I knew I was sick. I warned people away from me and managed to have a nice time for a while but I just couldn't take the noise and the, well, everything, so I went out to the car and lay down in the back seat for a while wishing I had my usual collection of preventives with me.

I rested for an hour or so but realizing I just wasn't going to get any better and that I was actively getting worse, I went and found William and my Mom and we went home. Here's how sick I was feeling- I asked one of them to drive.

If I had caught the symptoms early enough I might have averted this cold. I also might not have been able to stop it. Maybe my body needed the lesson this virus had for me. Regardless, I spent three days in bed feeling pretty miserable. I'm much better now but last night I felt a spot in my throat get sore and it's still sore now.

I'm going to bed.

PS Just in case you think this blog is going to be a collection of "gee, I was sick" stories, no it's not. I have a plan...

A Fresh Start.

Okay, here we go again! This time the focus of the blog will be...

Things That Work For Me and Some Other Stuff.

How's that?