Hopefully while you are reading this I am sleeping…
The Box Of Old Books
Among the boxes I unpacked yesterday was a portal to the past. Let me tell you about it…
3 Questions To Ask Your Doctor If You Suffer from Chronic Illness, including Chronic Fatigue, undiagnosed illness and Long COVID
Because doctors can’t name the illness, everyone—the patient’s family, friends, health insurance, and in many cases the patient—comes to think of the patient as not really sick and not really suffering. What the patient comes to require in these circumstances, in the absence of help, are facts—tests and studies that show that they might […]
Off To The Doctor Again
There are only two sorts of doctors: those who practice with their brains, and those who practice with their tongues. —William Osler Hey, Lovelies. I’m off to the city with Ben to see my favourite physician, get some test results, and the next steps in my journey. I’m also in the thick of doing testing, […]
What It Felt Like Coming Home
Sometimes, all you need is the relief of coming home…
That Unsettled Feeling
An unsettled person will constantly rant about inconsequential things. ― Charmaine J Forde Hey, Lovelies. I have a full day of medical appointments today. Test results, action plans, and who knows what else awaits? I’d love to say that I’m calm, but I’m unsettled, and I will be until the day is done and I […]
Milestones
My path has not been determined. I shall have more experiences and pass many more milestones. ~ Agnetha Faltskog Hey, Lovelies. It’s been a pretty crappy 14 months healthwise, between late stage Lyme, a misbehaving heart, an intractable UTI superbug and a myxedema crisis – but I am delighted to say that I am […]
Peaks and Troughs
Life is just a series of peaks and troughs, and you don’t know whether you’re in a trough until you’re climbing out, or on a peak until you’re coming down. And that’s it you know, you never know what’s round the corner. But it’s all good. ~ Ricky Gervais Hey, Lovelies. In chronic illness, […]
Touching The Wall
Sometimes it is the meaning we give something that makes it special. For me, it was touching the wall. A symbolic victory, a sign of progress, a reason to celebrate…
My Secret Garden
My secret garden is hidden from the world, and it’s right at my door.
The Soul-Sucking Reality Of Chronic Illness
Having a chronic illness, Molly thought, was like being invaded. Her grandmother back in Michigan used to tell about the day one of their cows got loose and wandered into the parlor, and the awful time they had getting her out. That was exactly what Molly’s arthritis was like: as if some big old […]
The Slow Climb Back
I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive. ~ Frida Kahlo Hey, Lovelies. I have missed you. Also, I have missed myself. These past two weeks have been hard. (Don’t know what happened? Go here.) It has taken time to get my new medication right, and we’re […]
Well, That Was Unexpected…
She looked as if she were about to burst into tears, but she was wonderful at catching the ball of her own mood in mid-air. ~ Rebecca West Hey, Lovelies. Well, this has certainly been the year. As you know, I live with a complex bucketful of dodgy genes, autoimmune diseases, chronic infections, post-viral […]
What The Doctors Said, What The Nurses Said
It would not be possible to praise nurses too highly. ~ Stephen Ambrose Hey, Lovelies. I’m staying home today. I’m not planning on going ANYWHERE. And if you’re squeamish or have issues with bodily emissions stop reading now, or go straight to the bottom of the page… As most of you know I am […]
Answering your questions about my wellbeing
Am I okay? Thanks for asking. Here’s my answer…
Well, that sucks…
Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. Emory Austin Hey, Lovelies. Let’s put in a disclaimer first – if you are expecting love, light and unicorns in this post, move along, cos I have the crankies! To be honest, I am not really inclined to write a blog. Or to […]
A Possible Option For The Vax Or Non-Vax Issue In Daily Life
We are not short of answers; we are short of the right questions. Sukant Ratnakar Hey, Lovelies. I am immunocompromised. So are several members of my family. So are many members of my community. I also have several major health problems (all caused by genetics and post-viral issues). For me, and many of the people […]
What I’ll Be Doing When Australia Begins To Open Up Again
You cannot control the behavior of others, but you can always choose how you respond to it. Roy T. Bennett Hey, Lovelies. I live in Queensland – a state of Australia that has had few COVID cases, and which has maintained strict border closures since the pandemic began. We’ve had a relative amount of freedom […]
Why I wear my hair like this right now…
The old woman was a witch shadow – hair like matted spiderwebs, hooded ’round darkness of features, eyes like glittering jewels. Frank Herbert Hey, Lovelies. So, I want to talk about hair. Ah, I’m sharing another of my great secrets now. You can tell a lot about my state of wellness by how I wear […]
Managing My Unrealistic Expectations
A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect. Jonathan Lockwood Huie Hey, Lovelies. So, here I am, back at my desk. (For those of you not sure what this is about read this.) Not back at work. Not yet. Just back at my desk for a short visit, to write an update for […]
When My Husband Asked Me If I Really Needed To Bring My Handbag…
She reaches down into her bulging tote bag and pulls out a small plastic box with a hinged lid. It contains a round pill box with a threaded lid from which she tips out a vitamin pill, a fish-oil pill, and the enzyme tablet that lets her stomach digest milk. Inside the hinged plastic box […]
Loving My Heart And Letting It Rest
Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S. Lewis Hey, Lovelies. I’m still in the mop up from my first Pfizer Vaccine. Slowly, most of my symptoms are abating. I’m fatigued, […]
My Own Pfizer Post-Vax Journey – Part 1
Laughter is the only medicine without side effects. Shannon L. Alder Hey, Lovelies. I promised I’d keep you posted on how I travelled after my first Pfizer vaccination. I live with chronic illness, heart problems, thyroid issues, autoimmune stuff and late-stage lyme disease. Plus a bunch of genetic things. So, I was a little concerned […]
Brrrrr – that feels AMAZING!
If we always choose comfort we never learn the deepest CAPABILITIES of our mind or body. Wim Hof Hey, Lovelies. Yesterday we did something quite mad. And it was so good we’re gonna do it again today. Ben and I jumped into our freezing cold pool (it’s winter here but even in Summer our pool […]
I’m Still Too Angry To Talk About It
When people are hurting, what they really need is someone who is fully there for them – not someone who is condescending or officious. The only way for you to be there for them is by facing your fear or anger, whatever feelings cause you to shut down. Pema Chodron Hey, Lovelies. I reached out […]
The Awful Noises In The Night
Some night sounds outside my window remain strange & mysterious. Perhaps they are the sounds of the trees themselves, stretching their limbs in the dark, shifting a little, flexing their fingers, whispering to one another. Ruskin Bond Hey, Lovelies. I had the crappiest night the other night. I was riddled with pain, and no matter […]
True Love In The Shape Of A Star Trek Toy
It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it’s not for the timid. Q – Star Trek Hey, Lovelies.I’ll be honest. It’s been a little rough here on the health front. Nothing catastrophic, but I’m experiencing some old Lyme symptoms that haven’t shown themselves for a […]
The Newsletter That Really P*ssed Me Off!
Don’t underestimate me, and don’t devalue me, just because I live with limitations. Nicole Cody Hey, Lovelies. I received a newsletter in my inbox yesterday, that really p*ssed me off. It was written by a friend who has a huge following in the entrepreneur and wellness industry, and it began with a photo of athletic, […]
The Old Photo
What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce. Karl Lagerfeld Hey, Lovelies! A dear old school friend (Thanks, Genevieve!) sent me a photograph via Messenger last night. It was a picture of me, taken at a friend’s eighteenth birthday party. I laughed so hard. It was […]
How To Live With Pain…
“I DON’T CARE!” Harry yelled at them, snatching up a lunascope and throwing it into the fireplace. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH, I’VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON’T CARE ANYMORE!”“You do care,” said Dumbledore. He had not flinched or made a single move to stop Harry demolishing his office. His […]
It’s Not Normal To Be Happy All The Time
“Emotions, in my experience, aren’t covered by single words. I don’t believe in “sadness,” “joy,” or “regret.” Maybe the best proof that the language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling. I’d like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic train-car constructions like, say, “the happiness that attends disaster.” Or: “the disappointment of […]
Dear Immuno-Compromised People, A Message To You In These Unsettling Times
“Precaution is better than a cure.” Edward Coke Hey, Lovelies.Like myself, I know that many readers of my blog, and within our community, are immuno-compromised. Maybe you have an illness like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme, Hashimoto’s, Arthritis, Epstein Barr, Asthma or Diabetes. Maybe you have a genetic issue, like cystic fibrosis. Maybe you’re older or […]
A little note from us…
“Three things in life – your health, your mission, and the people you love. That’s it.” ~ Naval Ravikant Hi Lovelies! It is with great sadness that Nicole and her team have made the decision to cancel the Fairy Solstice High Tea Party on 22nd June. With Nicole’s health being precarious at this time, the […]
I’m Not Ashamed
When I was first diagnosed with neurological incontinence (which comes and goes in me – I last had an attack a few years ago!) I looked everywhere for information and found almost none. It’s something no-one talks about.
Gumboot Adventure and a Lyme Update
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you […]
How To Be Strong
“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” ~ Masaru Emoto Someone asked me yesterday how I came to be so strong. […]
You can still matter, make art, make a difference – even if you’re sick, broken or dying.
“She made broken look beautifuland strong look invincible.She walked with the Universeon her shoulders and made itlook like a pair of wings.” ~ Ariana Dancu Lovelies, I have something important to tell you and I need you to hear it and take the truth of it right down inside you so that it can illuminate those […]
The Fairy and the Bandicoot
“Sensitive people care when the world doesn’t because we understand waiting to be rescued and no one shows up. We have rescued ourselves, so many times that we have become self taught in the art of compassion for those forgotten.” ~ Shannon L. Alder I planned to sleep in a little this morning. After my four […]
The Sweet Smell of Night
“Pleasure is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers. She loves the sun and the wind and the night sky. She carries a silver bowl full of liquid moonlight. She has a cat named Midnight with stars on his paws. Many people mistrust Pleasure, and even more misunderstand her. For a long time I could […]
Are You The One In Four? A Letter To A Judgemental Friend
“I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.” ~ Daphne Du Maurier *Long read ahead. Go grab a cuppa. Someone, a friend (or maybe not), send me a […]
A Nicole Update and A Little Lesson In Surrender
“After all, the true seeing is within.” ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch Did you know that the energies of November are great for all forms of metaphysical work, for clarifying our Life Path and for honouring a life-calling by owning our capacity to share knowledge? It’s also a month for honouring our connection to the natural world, and to […]
Wishing for Good Veins
“I have druggie veins. After so much intubation they are scarred and flat and tired and difficult to handle. It’s an odd thing to confess but the truth is all I notice is people’s hands and their veins these days. I have as much vein envy as any junkie. Oh, I think. Look how fat and juicy that […]
A Week Of Wonders
“Well, I always know what I want. And when you know what you want–you go toward it. Sometimes you go very fast, and sometimes only an inch a year. Perhaps you feel happier when you go fast. I don’t know. I’ve forgotten the difference long ago, because it really doesn’t matter, so long as you […]
An ordinary night of magic!
“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt We’re in the city right now, and last night something quite wonderful happened. Our neighbour joined Ben and I and we walked a few blocks down […]
That 2am Place – A Lesson In Mindfulness for Insomniacs
“It was that sort of sleep in which you wake every hour and think to yourself that you have not been sleeping at all; you can remember dreams that are like reflections, daytime thinking slightly warped.” ~ Kim Stanley Robinson I’m still in the grip of this flu. Not only that, I’m stuck in the city […]
Three In a Row!
“The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.” ~ W.C. Fields This morning I’m celebrating a minor miracle at my house. For the past three nights I have gone to bed, fallen asleep and then woken in the morning. It’s been years (at least fifteen!) since I’ve had an uninterrupted night’s sleep, […]
Sorry You Missed Me Yesterday…
“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” ~ Gever Tulley I was intending to blog yesterday, and then I couldn’t. Early on Monday morning I was strapped into a heart monitor and holder for twenty-four hours, and while I was wired I had to stay […]
The restorative power of deep rest
“It’s in the morning, for most of us. It’s that time, those few seconds when we’re coming out of sleep but we’re not really awake yet. For those few seconds we’re something more primitive than what we are about to become. We have just slept the sleep of our most distant ancestors, and something of […]
How to Check In with Yourself Each Morning
“Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.” ~ Glen Cook After yesterday’s post where I talked about the importance of self-care and of knowing and honouring your priorities in life this year I had a flood of messages from people asking me how to actually do […]
Demon Banishing And Custard Buns In Hong Kong!
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” ~ Anonymous I’m in Hong Kong right now, for the first part of the surprise holiday Ben bought me for my ‘Congratulations on turning fifty and thank you for not dying’ present. We’re having a fantastic time. Every day is crammed with […]
Why We Vaccinate
“In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the small-pox, taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition […]
Crying Over Sushi
“There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask “What if I fall?” Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” ~ Erin Hanson Yesterday was quite a remarkable day for me. In the morning I drove to the other side of town for a meeting with an illustrator […]
It’s crowded here right now…
“Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription.” ~ Val Saintsbury While I’m busy on bed rest just now I’m being very well looked after. Harry and Rufous take turns to stay with me during the day. Except for nap time, when we all bunk in together. There’s no chance of me […]
Superbugs: My First Real Taste of Fear
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will […]
Blogging Gone Bad – Why I am taking a break for a few days…
“I find that the best way to cope with life’s difficulties is to surrender to what is. Don’t fight it. Flow with it.” ~ Nicole Cody Hi Lovelies I’m pecking out these words left handed from my deluxe overnight accommodation in Byron hospital. Yes, I am still running my retreat. Except at night where I […]
Science-ing Our Way Back to Health!
“Molecular biology has shown that even the simplest of all living systems on the earth today, bacterial cells, are exceedingly complex objects. Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 gms, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up […]
Choosing Your Perspective
“If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” ~ Henry Miller I have never been much good at arranging flowers. I’ve never had the eye for it. That is, until I found […]
Grace In Plain Sight
“Un-winged and naked, sorrow surrenders its crown to a throne called grace.” ~ Aberjhani You may have noticed that I’ve been uncommonly quiet here on my blog this past few weeks. Those of you who’ve known me for a while will also know that if I’m ever quiet it is always for good reason. […]
Nic’s Latest Update: Life as a #Lymewarrior
“O snail Climb Mount Fuji But slowly, slowly!” ~ Kobayashi Issa “Bran thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’ ‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.” ~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones Ah, Lovelies, I’d hoped to be bringing you […]
A Little Nicole Update
“People who want a cure, provided they can have it without pain, are like those who favour progress, provided they can have it without change.” ~ Anthony de Mello So, here I am, still in hospital. There have been a few little bumps in the road, including a massive resurgence of lyme symptoms and […]
The Very Valid ‘Not Coping’ Style of Coping
“It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools – friendships, prayer, conscience, […]
Accidental Angels
“A magpie can be happy or sad: sometimes so happy that he sits on a high, high gum tree and rolls the sunrise around in his throat like beads of pink sunlight; and sometimes so sad that you would expect the tears to drip off his beak. This magpie was like that.” ~ Colin Thiele […]
What Happens When Someone Believes In You
“You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” ~ Richelle E. Goodrich Memoir is a funny thing for taking you walking into places you would rather not remember. I was thinking, last night, of […]
An Amazingly Ordinary Fabulous Day!
“Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people […]
Changing Your Perspective Changes Everything
“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” ~ Shannon L. Alder I met with a new doctor yesterday. It was a trial of sorts. I wanted to see if they would become my Lyme Recovery Plan A, or whether […]
Doctor, Doctor…
“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation — either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. When do you accept your current circumstances, […]
Nurse Bert Reports
“To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful or perfect. You just have to care.” ~ Mandy Hale I’m not letting her out of my sight. Nicole, that is. Because she’s still really sick. I’m making her rest. I’m following her if she needs to get […]
Packing My Suitcase…
“Wandering is the activity of the child, the passion of the genius; it is the discovery of the self, the discovery of the outside world, and the learning of how the self is both “at one with” and “separate from” the outside world. These discoveries are as fundamental to the soul as “learning to survive” […]
Choosing Your Emotional State
“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.” ~ Walter […]
The Best Spagyric Tincture Deal You’ll See All Year!
“A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.” ~ Hippocrates Those of you who follow my blog know that one of the factors that has been instrumental in my healing journey with Lyme has been to take the Mare Maia herbal spagyric tinctures that have been so carefully and […]
A Little Lyme Recovery Update
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” ~ Winston S. Churchill […]
Does Planning Your Future Press All The Wrong Buttons In You?
“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” ~ Salvador Dalí “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ~ […]
My Unscheduled Five-Star Holiday!
“Whenever I pull an oracle card for myself, it always seems to have one message… Rest!” ~ Nicole Cody Hello Lovelies, I’m having a little enforced rest in this lovely five-star resort (some would call it a hospital!) due to my naughty misbehaving heart. Thank you, Lyme Disease. Even on the way out of […]
Lovely Herbal Tincture Combos to Help You Heal
“A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.” ~ Hippocrates My friends Paul Hardacre and Marissa Newell of Mare Maia, who make the spagyric herbal tinctures that have been so beneficial in my own journey back towards health, have just created some very good value packs with three tinctures […]
Looking Back at Me
“We look back on our life as a thing of broken pieces, because our mistakes and failures are always the first to strike us, and outweigh in our imagination what we have accomplished and attained.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections It’s odd, this process of writing about yourself. Seldom do we […]
‘Second Chance’ Spagyrics Sale
“Because this is what I believe – that second chances are stronger than secrets. You can let secrets go. But a second chance? You don’t let that pass you by.” ~ Daisy Whitney, When You Were Here A few weeks ago I posted about some powerful natural medicine that has helped me in my […]
Two Steps Back
Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give in. Don’t ever stop trying. Don’t ever sell out. And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off. But never, ever, ever give up. ~ Richelle E. […]
The Joy Of Ordinary
“And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving […]
A Lovely Spagyric Tincture Offer For My Readers
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” ~ John Muir, The Mountains of California One of […]
The Slow Climb Back
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” ~ Winston S. Churchill […]
Dancing Out Of the Lymelight
“Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits.” ~ Robert Brault I’m off to see my Lyme Doctor today, and I’m hoping for a good report. In the last few months I’ve noticed real and sustained change. I have more energy. People […]
Turmeric and Ginger Tea Recipe
“In Ireland, you go to someone’s house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you’re really just fine. She asks if you’re sure. You say of course you’re sure, really, you don’t need a thing. Except they pronounce it ting. You don’t need a ting. Well, she […]
Where’s Your Focus?
“Very occasionally, if you pay really close attention, life doesn’t suck.” ~ Joss Whedon On Friday I posted about a beautiful ordinary day, and how much I had enjoyed such simple things as a trip to the farmers’ markets, clean sheets on the line, sunshine and crisp ripe apples. After that post I received two emails, extracts of […]
We Need To Talk Wee
“Shame is a soul eating emotion.” ~ C.G. Jung “We learn humility through accepting humiliations cheerfully.” ~ Mother Teresa A few years ago I wrote a blog post about vomiting in public places. It was quite controversial. Many people thought that talking about vomit was something one shouldn’t do in polite company. Nice girls […]
One of those nights…
“She used to tell me that a full moon was when mysterious things happen and wishes come true.” ~ Shannon A. Thompson Tonight will welcome May’s full moon. I love a full moon. Unfortunately so does lyme disease. Many lyme sufferers find an acute ramping up of their symptoms in the day or two before a full moon. […]
Breathing Yourself To Sleep
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Do you ever have trouble getting to sleep, or falling back to sleep if you wake up during the night? One of the great issues that many lyme sufferers (like me) experience is insomnia, which […]
A Me Update
“Solar Eclipse Each morning I wake invisible. I make a needle from a porcupine quill, sew feet to legs, lift spine onto my thighs. I put on my rib and collarbone. I pin an ear to my head, hear the waxwing’s yellow cry. I open my mouth for purple berries, stick on periwinkle eyes. I […]
Feeling So Very Grown Up!
“I feel wonderful and sad. It’s the gin.” ~ Stephen Beresford, The Last of the Haussmans I know. It’s a picture of a drink. But it’s not just any drink. That drink is a personal victory. Let me explain…. For the next few days I’m attending an essential oils conference on the Gold Coast. […]
Saturday Night Lights
“There is no night life in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not night life. That is delaying the day. Night life is when you get up with a hangover in the morning. Night life is when everybody says what the hell and you do not remember who paid […]
A Slow Start is Better Than No Start
“Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” ~ Robin S. Sharma It’s fair to say that, thanks to Lyme Disease, I’ve experienced chronic ill-health for a long time. Over thirty years, in fact. And certainly in the past six or seven years, as I have battled with cardiomyopathy, congestive […]
On Overcoming Obstacles
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” ~ Calvin Coolidge I have always wanted to […]
Lyme Eyes, Magic Eyes
“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” ~ Meister Eckhart, Sermons of Meister Eckhart If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know: a) that I have Lyme disease b) that […]
Poems, Prayers and Promises
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver I saw a new lyme doctor yesterday. Why a new doctor? It goes like this: The first doctor I saw diagnosed me but wouldn’t treat me because ‘lyme was contentious and he was trying to […]
Pomegranate, Kale and Sweet Potato Salad Recipe
“Fun fact #1 about pomegranates: Pomegranates are awesome. Fun fact #2: Pomegranates are like little explosions of awesome in your mouth. Fun fact #3: A lot of people think you’re not supposed to eat the seeds of a pomegranate – but that’s not true, people who tell you that are liars, and they don’t know […]
Talking to Dragons
“Always speak politely to an enraged dragon.” ~ Steven Brust, Jhereg It’s after 3am. An odd time to be posting a blog. Still. I’m wide awake. I might as well stay up now so that I can do my morning meditate soon, as is my daily practice. It’s been one of those nights. The […]
My Day’s Best Medicine
“Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.” ~ George Gordon Byron There is one thing Lyme has taught me that is well worth sharing. Some of the best medicine isn’t prescribed by a doctor. Here’s some of my favourite medicine. The smell of pine trees and sunshine. Posies of sweet little flowers from […]
Lit up like a Lyme Green Christmas Tree
“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” ~ William W. Purkey Well, you know by now that when I’m quiet there’s a good reason. This time? My doctor recommended a new combination of Lyme drugs. Result? […]
My Early Christmas Present
“I wandered everywhere, through cities and countries wide. And everywhere I went, the world was on my side.” ~ Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy Monday was my day off. A day to rest, sandwiched between two days of psychic work on either side. I am in Brisbane right now, and the plan was that Ben […]
I should be grumpy this morning…
“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher I should be grumpy this morning. Really, really grumpy. I have now completed my third drug-free week from my lyme treatment, letting my liver have a break. At first I was so grateful to not have to […]