Fibromyalgia Support Group
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Morning everyone. I barely slept last night despite being insanely tired, I couldn't seem to calm my mind down enough. And I still have a lot of pain, especially in my hands and arms. And it seems like everything on the news yesterday was just death and destruction. Notre Dame partially collapsed after a fire, and even if they rebuild it, it'll never be the same as the building from the 12th century. The guy who threw a child over a balcony at the mall of America did it because women rejected him (yes, really). I'm already feeling depressed enough so screw all that. Gonna try not to focus on it today. The weather has improved since yesterday (our morning walk included a thunderstorm) and the boys did really well last night. Nox fed off my stress this weekend and went after Noah a couple times. I'm learning that he will really feed off the energy of others (myself and the other cats) and I think he gets nervous and reacts poorly. And I think we only have one surgery today so I shouldn't have to rush to get home and walk Miki. On to things that aren't depressing, infuriating, etc...
It's finally spring, and one thing that means around here is when I walk Miki in the mornings, we're basically serenaded by birds the entire time. I love it. Even though I have no idea what most of them are. And from a biological standpoint, birds are freaking weird creatures. They're warm blooded and can be kept as pets that people bond with, so they usually assume that birds are more closely related to mammals than they are. The reality is they evolved from reptiles. They still have oval shaped, nucleated red blood cells that look very similar to a reptiles' under a microscope (mammals do not have a nucleus in their blood cells-ours are kind of disc shaped). Here's a few more tidbits about birds:
The chicken is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Yes, really.
Birds are social creatures and most of the species kept as pets do better with a companion.
The smallest bird egg belongs to the hummingbird and is about the size of a pea. The largest is an ostrich egg, which is about the size of a cantaloupe.
Birds' eyes take up about 50% of their heads, compared to 5% for humans
Penguins are the only birds who walk upright (meaning the position of their bodies in relation to their legs-if you picture a duck standing next to a penguin you'll see the difference in body position despite both of them standing on 2 legs). Penguins are also the only birds who can swim but not fly.
Owls can turn their heads almost 360 degrees but can't rotate their eyes.
Male birds tend to have more spectacular feathers (in terms of length/shape and color), and more elaborate songs and dances to attract mates.
Geese were the first birds domesticated by humans.
Some species of birds eat twice their body weight every day. They require more food in proportion to their size than most mammals.
Crows have the largest brains relative to body size of any bird
Chickens have over 200 distinct sounds they use to communicate.
The deadliest bird to humans is a large, flightless bird called a cassowary. They have a 4 inch claw on their legs (kind of like a velociraptor) that can kill even a large mammal with one kick, and can run up to 30 mph. If that sounds familiar, it's because a 75 year old Florida man was killed by a cassowary he owned last week.
On an unrelated note, apparently the Florida man challenge is a thing. You type "Florida man" into Google andsee what you get. I tried it and this was the result: "Florida Man Nabbed for Speeding, Tells Cops 'This car is a Ferrari and it goes really fast'". Because I guess men in Florida do enough weird shit to go viral? Or maybe because it's weird enough there that it makes the news? I swear weirder stuff happens in Maine (and other places too, I'm sure, I've just seen it in Maine) but it's probably so normal there that the news doesn't even bother.
And now, since I can't go back to bed, I need to get ready for work. I really hope it's slow today. This picture is from a few days ago but I think it's cute. Even though Alli is pretty much always judging me. She's a tortie and can't help it.
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Well, our drought isn't broken but our gutter is. Got two big storms rigth after each other and, wait for it, a tornado warning.Now, I was already running for my go-bag when I heard thunder. The air felt wrong. The sky was getting a color to the west. Been there, lived that, time to hide.No funnel touched down but the radar indicated rotation, and boy was it visible from the ground. Different...
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89FNo energy, just going to do whatever. Sandra, It's hard to move at a certain time in life. You've been in your home forever, at least you'll be able to travel to the beach and enjoy. Oh, we did hear Boris Johnson's tenure ended due to a series of ethics scandals, accusations of dishonesty and a final collapse of government support that forced his recognation. What he didn't do like the...
lol, miki, that's a tortie all right. Dixie is the same. Even if she's lovey-dovey she's judgey.
Yep. Birds. Creepy, really. But I think Trex was way smarter than a chicken on average. Dumbest dang birds I know, except maybe domesticated turkeys.
first post-operation surgical appointment today. hopefully no more itchy stitches!
pain woke me so often I don't know if it counts as sleep, ugh
sweet tuesday to all
Leo, hope your appointment goes well!
We're putting in no maintenance soffets, gables, and fascia on our house. We had one estimate yesterday, will have one today, and another tomorrow. These meetings take big chunks or time out of the day. I'm going to try to get to the gym tomorrow. We'll see how that turns out.
I'm stiff and achy from sitting so long yesterday. I should know better and get up to move around, but I lose all track of time. I didn't realize we had been sitting for almost four hours until I came into the house to get water. Hopefully it's not as long today or tomorrow.
Good wishes and hopes for a good day to everyone!
Miki, I was just talking about this week with my mom. Historically, the 3rd week in April (give or take a few days) has brought on such horrific events. Yesterday, when I had the tv on (rarely do I do that during the day), I heard the "Breaking News" alert come on and I was bracing myself for more destruction/death. I was floored that the Notre Dame cathedral was up in flames. But given historically this week usually takes multiple lives, I was in a way relieved.
I pay attention to this because it's always the week of my B-day, which is why I have downplayed my b-day for years and years now. How can you celebrate knowing thousands of people have died? It's too sobering.
I also dreamed of birds last night. I had eagles in my back yard by the pond and I was feeding them from my hands, like I do geese and ducks.
Hope today is good to you!....and then I read you hurt your back? Oh you poor thing. Ice....lots of ice, then heat later.
Leo, you have got to read the story about Mike the Chicken today! He lived with his head cut off. But died later of something else, I don't want to spoil it here...interesting read.
Speaking of Chickens, I will try to upload the photo of the farm eggs I bought for Easter. They are so gorgeous, browns, tans, peach, pale (really pale) green, cream colored and white. I'm not dying eggs this year and these are just so pretty!
Chickens may be dumb creatures, but they sure are tasty!!!
Pained, I bet it will be so nice to have your house looking all spiffy again. We had cedar shakes on our old house. Now we have maintenance free siding. Just had gutters installed and I'm a happy girl! Next on my list to buy...powerwasher, LOL.
Hope you can make it over to the gym today.
I have just a few more moments left and then I'm running Tank to the vet to get his nails trimmed. And Sargie has training tonight.
The carpets look wonderful and I can start placing furniture back later today. I need to remind myself to take the piggie out of the freezer to thaw in time for Sunday. I'm starting to toy with the idea of smoking some on the grill. I need to dig around on the interwebs to see what others have tried and failed at.
Hope everyone has a good day, I'll try to sneak back on later.
Miki - That fire at Notre Dame is just a horrible thing. There was also a fire at a very famous mosque in Jerusalem burning at the very same time. I just kept thinking it seems like the end of the civilized world or something like that. I don't watch the news anymore. I just can't take it. I read several news feeds during the day and that is enough. Alli is really cute. I have a calico that always gives me "the look." Did you call for help - are you OK??? I hope that your day is reasonable and that you can get some honest to God rest tonight.
Leo - I hope that your appointment goes well. Pain seems to be going around today. My brother texted me that he has costochondritis this morning. Apparently he gets it once in awhile but didn't really know how to treat it. He does now lol. Get some rest when you get home! Hugs!
Hi Aspie! Nice to see you today!
PainedOne - I hate having to wait around for estimates. I usually have my partner deal with that because he is a killer negotiator when it comes to pricing. I hope that your day is decent.
Wonder - My carpets look great too lol. I had a specific area that I wanted to do and then got kind of carried away. I did a quick clean of the guest room and a couple of other areas. That thing works really well and it is so easy to use. I particularly like the drying time. It sounds like another busy day for you as usual. I hope that you can carve out a second of me time somewhere along the way.
Time for me to hit the shower. I have to run out to Staples for more sheet protectors and a couple of other odds and ends. Hoping to pretty much finish my genealogy stuff today before the house falls down around my ears. I've only been doing hit and miss cleaning for several days now. Pretty soon I will need to shave the furniture to get the dust off... Shout out to Bear, Ida, Maynard, Twin, Milily, Blue and Autumn. I will check back later!
Miki, ouch re your back! I hope the meds have helped and your day isn't too bad on you. Thanks for the interesting bird info... I look forward to getting our own chickens soon so we can have daily fresh eggs. I am lovin these pictures you post :). Better to be judged by a cat than a human, right?
A burst of hard rain "exploded" on the tin roof last night and gave me a heart attack, startled me out of my sleep. My neck is sore like a kink in it and I'm dealing with a raging IBS flare for a few days now -each day seems worse than the last day.
The results of the vertigo test says I have an inner ear weakness in my R ear. Does anyone know what that means? The doc says it's the reason for my imbalances and vertigo so he is sending me back to PT, but this time for inner ear balancing therapy (whatever he called it).
The letter explaining the short sale we drew up a few days ago was rejected by the bank..... so now we're looking to yet another bank. My husband is extremely frustrated and stressed out now. The last loan officer wanted a construction loan and that of course was halted by the water issue.
back in a bit
Pained, sitting around that long is ouchie! With my online classes I have to remember to get up every hour and walk around the house (if I don't have chores). Good luck with the estimates! This whole buying process has been nothing but a bunch of giant estimates... and the new bank wants an appraisal done on the land. My husband said he's sick of it and sick of looking at documents lol.
Wonder, that is so awesome about the eagles. We don't have them here.... the coolest bird we have is the Hawaiian owl up on the mountain... and a few endangered birds around the marsh areas. I like the idea of the colorful farm eggs for Easter. No fuss! Here in Maui everyone sells eggs out of their backyard because we have such a high population of chickens lol. I would have thrown in some quail eggs with that too, they're so cute and little with their freckled shells. If you feel daring, you can usually find them at an Asian grocer.
Fantod, I can't handle the news either, too gruesome and too much stress. I saw the fire for a few minutes and had to turn it off. Good luck with the errands. Thanks for the shoutout!
Waves at Twins, Ida, Autumn, Milily, and Bear.
I'm sorry I can't respond to everyone today, I am at work and trying with everything I can to make it through the day. I went back to the gym for the first time in a year (been walking/running at home but not much strength training) and am not doing too well. My brain has been so foggy all day, I feel like I'm half the person I normally am. With incidents like my flare up and now this I am wondering how much longer I am going to be useful to the working world. The pain is one thing but when the fog hits I am instantly depressed. To not be able to understand what people are telling me or my work when normally I learn quicker than the average person is horrible. I've never really been the prettiest girl or thinnest or any of those things, my brain is all i've had and days like this make me so sad. Phil and I can't afford for me to go on disability or anything like that yet, I have to be able to work. I just don't know what to do with myself anymore.... Anyway, back to work. Mugs of hot chocolate to all.