Third time might be the charm for my adventures with gabapentin. After a comedy of errors and the annoyance of slow responses from my doctor's office that took over two weeks, I finally got a prescription for 100 mg of gabepentin. I am taking one a day and experiencing a good amount of pain relief… Continue reading Gabapentin, Take Three with a Side of Hopelessness
After talking about it for the last three or four months, my husband and I finally decided to buy a food dehydrator. We used to have one that we never used and eventually got rid of. Probably during our last move about eight years ago. But this time around, we are committed to a much… Continue reading Food Dehydration, Take One, and a Request for Jerky Recipes
I finished the paintings for the major arcana of my tarot deck and did various amounts of digital editing to them. They are all now a standard size and labeled and copyrighted. Today I began the first draft of the card descriptions. As of yet, I have no name for the set, but maybe it… Continue reading Highlights from My Major Arcana Cards
It's been another rough week. When my stomach and back issues both flare at the same time, I have a lot of trouble dealing, which in turn flares my depression. This was the first time I've had serious suicidal thoughts in about six weeks. Today is a bit better of a day. I took some… Continue reading Random Musings on Chronic Pain, Acute Flare-ups, and Quality of Life
I've been painting every day. It has been therapeutic despite that some cards have been testing the limits of my artistic abilities. The Hermit card took me three tries, but I'm decently happy with it. I now have fourteen cards painted: Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Heirophant, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune,… Continue reading Painting the Tarot: Fool to Death
A lovely piece on self sabotage and self care.
Skin Picking Disorder, also called Excoriation Disorder or Dermatillomania, goes beyond just popping a zit or scratching at the mosquito bite. It means the sufferer compulsively removes perceived imperfections from their skin to the point of causing tissue damage, often creating infections and permanent scars. It affects approximately one in twenty people. This disroder is… Continue reading The Scars I Carry from Skin Picking
I decided I would paint (and in some cases use mixed media) my own tarot deck as a positive project to give me a creative outlet. Painting isn't my forte, but I enjoy it. My plan is to scan and digitally alter all the paintings to make uniform-sized cards. Here are the first four cards… Continue reading Making My Own Tarot Deck
Last week I took a Hydrogen Breath Test. This test measures the hydrogen in your breath over a course of several hours as you digest a glucose substrate. If you have enough anaerobic bacteria in you small intestine (which shouldn't be there), they will release hydrogen and methane when they digest the glucose. Basically, you… Continue reading Hydrogen Breath Test
Yesterday, I posted about chronic pain and shared my obvious anger with Jeff Sessions and a good many doctors. After I wrote the post, I got my weekly Dharma Quote from Shambala Publications. Here's what it said: "It is with animate beings that we most often get angry. If we analyze these animate causes that… Continue reading Anger and Jeff Sessions
Suicidal Tulip 