Health Update

I've reached a point where I feel like I have a handle on the IBS, or whatever. I have been able to poop fairly consistently, and it has been many weeks since I last had constipation. I credit this to several factors. 

One, I've been consciously trying to tell my body how I want it to function. I've been trying to be an ally with my body, rather than ignoring it or punishing it. I want my body to function well, and so I've asked my body to help with that project. 

Two, I've been on a diet. My husband had hit a plateau with weight loss, and my incessant suggestions of calorie counting as a solution finally got through - with one condition! I had to join him in the experiment and do calorie counting too. While I had already tried to simplify my diet, I now have to keep a consistent food diary in order to count my calories. We have also both eliminated a lot of junk food from our diets. No more fast food at all, and a big reduction in processed foods. I also try to avoid any food product that includes "natural flavors" or "artificial flavors" on the ingredients list, because how can I know what I'm reacting to if I don't even know the actual ingredients? 

Three, I've been drinking tea with mucilaginous ingredients daily. I really think that it's helping to keep my bowels flowing smoothly. The intestines are, after all, mucous membranes. And my constipation seemed to have a big component of dry-out down there, so instead of drinking a throat tea when my throat hurts, I drink them daily. 

Four, I've been practicing Chi-Running. Chi-Running recruits a lot more of my abdominal muscles than regular running does, at least for me. A twisting motion is encouraged, which seems to provide a bit of encouragement to my digestion. And as I've been working on Chi-Running, I can feel that I'm working stored tension out of my shoulders. Tension and stress are supposed to exacerbate IBS, so anything that reduces those things in my life should be helpful. 

I had a thought the other day during my long run that I have stored tension in my body. It's as if some stress or tension was too much for my mind to deal with, and so I shoved that stress, that tension, directly into my body, specifically my left shoulder. It got to be a habit, and led to incredibly painful headaches whenever those muscles got challenged in other ways, like an intense shoulder workout at CrossFit. With that awareness, I'm trying to both stop storing that tension and to release what I had stored before. 

I'm trying to be more analytical about the sensations my body gives me, rather than emotionally reacting to pain as if it were danger. I've been told over and over that the signal I'm getting doesn't mean danger so I'm going to treat it more like data. Analyze what may have caused it, record the what/when and possible whys and look back to see whether it repeats. Maybe I should have tried this approach long ago, but it's hard to get out of your head when you're in pain. 

Critter Christmas Continues

A few years back, we had upstairs neighbors who appreciated that we fed birds on our stoop. They actually showed us their appreciation in a unique way. One day, we found a gift of a block of birdseed at our doorstep. It was from the upstairs; they wanted us to put it out so they could contribute to the bird gathering that they so enjoyed from their balcony. 

It was that gift that inspired Ambrose to buy another of those blocks this year as a kind of Christmas gift for our little critter friends. He remembered that the squirrels had been the ones to really start getting at that original block, but once they dug it down enough, the ducks would start getting chunks off as well. All great fun to watch, and something that I'd missed out on, since I didn't work from home at that time. Heck, I wouldn't have imagined back then that working at home would be a regular thing. 

The critters are definitely loving their gift. 

First, the squirrels.

Ambrose flipped the block to expose the moist parts near the bottom.

And the ducks got into the action.

But it isn't always monopolized by ducks and squirrels.

The ducks know the bottom is softer.

But some of them like the view from up top.

Book Progress

I've got the pictures and captions all done. Ambrose was very kind to review them quickly, and he did catch a few typos. Also, we had to research some pronoun usage, because our brains wanted to say "a picture of Ambrose and I" but since 'I' is following 'of' it really should be "a picture of Ambrose and me." Easier to realize once you try one at a time (of Ambrose = good, of me = good, of I = nope). 

I had reached out to Bill regarding the finish of two the pictures, because he knows more people who know botany than I do. It actually took him a while, and several sources, but he totally came through, identifying a Syringa that flummoxed others because it was past the peak of its bloom, and a Mountain Hollyhock. I was able to identify a couple other flowers by myself, but it was great to get that assist. 

I've got the headers next on my list, but I'm going to skip them in favor of getting the bulk of the large print manuscript ready to go. That way I can send it to Bill for approval while I work on the headers. Since Bill was on the trip, I plan to request that he review the manuscript with veto power for any part he would prefer I not include. If he wants to check for typos too, I won't say no. 

I'm not going as quickly on this book as I would have liked, but it will get there. And I think I'll be able to move faster on the next one. I better, because it's going to be backpacking season again before I know it. One thing that will help is the Christmas present from my husband, a Surface Book 3. I'm even writing this blog on it, and even though the keyboard isn't ergonomic butterfly style like the one I use at work, I'm finding it very easy to type on. Plus, I get to sit on the couch. Bonus. 

Have Some Ducks

I've been under the weather for over a week now. I'm grinding away at the book production, but it's all fits and starts as this illness eases up and then gets worse again. So, here are some recent pictures of my porch ducks. I am enjoying the snow at least :) 

12/25/21

12/29/21

1/5/22