Today is Day 24 of the Art Apple A Day Retrospective – for information on the project click here.
Day Twenty Four – October 24, 2010
Looking back 10 years ago today…
It was the beginning of Halloween Week! I started off with this mummified green apple. Green apple instead of red because I thought red might be a bit morbid but in the comments of the original post you will see my husband Doug saw this apple a bit differently and of course… that’s all I see now. I may need to revisit the Day 24 Mummy Apple!
To see my original twenty fourth post ~ Halloween Week Announcement ~ from 10 years ago click here or on the image above.
And the story will continue tomorrow…
Shifting to today in 2020 my husband and I had an extremely productive day! We were getting things closed up and organized for the long Maine winter ahead along with doing the usual weekend chores like laundry, watering the plants, changing the sheets, taking the recycling to the transfer station things like that. It was a very busy day even though my Google Fit only says 3000 steps I was on my feet all day. And so I’m now laying in bed with my laptop and my heating pad is on my back! An hour like this and I’ll be feeling ready to make our yummy Saturday dinner and dance around the kitchen. In the past I didn’t “recover” so quickly after a big chores day. Now I know I can go to the point of pain and as long as I haven’t been straining my body in an unusual manner (like my post last week about leaning over to paint) then I can rest for a bit and be ok (not great but ok) for the rest of the day. It is because of the vast array of things I do to contribute to my health and disease management.
I’m trying to add all the things I have to share about how I manage with A.S. here on these virtual pages but it will take time. But ~ that’s the goal ~ to share these things throughout the story of the apples and then index the site so that people can access those tips and bits of life experience in as easy a manner as possible.
So for today I want you to know about two trusty items that I keep in my lifeboat. The term lifeboat was something my Rheumatologist in Colorado discussed and it is something I take to heart and I always keep it stocked and ready to go. After straining and flaring my body last week in my studio I had to pull out my SI Belt and my neck brace. I hadn’t needed them in months and months but I knew right where they were!
Here is a link to the SI belt I use. (some product links are affiliate links)
When my body/spine/SI needs extra support I strap this thingy on low across my hips. The tag does directly over your SI joint (right above the crack in your tush.) Magic! I use it a lot for yard work and gardening especially raking leaves or things that require a lot of bending or twisting.
The neck brace I use when I do a puzzle or have a lot of studio work leaning over a table to paint or draw. I often paint flat even on canvas and my neck is fragile so giving it a bit of support really helps.
Neither of these two items are things to become reliant on because we need to be able to be as strong as possible but used occasionally they are powerful tools in the lifeboat!
Please let me know if there is a topic you’ve especially interested in me covering and I will make sure to add the information at a time that seems appropriate. xO