Catching up

My latest hat

This post is a bit of everything, as I come to terms with the end of April, which feels like it only started a moment ago! I knew it was going to be a busy month but the speed with which it passed surpassed all previous efforts! I seem to get to May each year in a stunned state, with the first part of the year keeping me on my toes.

So, now that life is due to quieten down for a little while, I can bring you up to date.

First, a creative update: I am still keeping up with my art journalling projects and have even - wait for it - done some scrapbooking this past week! (Is that the sound of sighs of relief I can hear?) My reorganised art room is working as I had hoped and I can focus on both messy projects and dry ones. Here's hoping I can get all caught up with scrapbooking over the winter. Unless my hands get too busy with yarn projects ... so far I have a new crocheted hat and am more than half-way through knitting myself a skirt. If you want to follow along with my yarn projects, head over to my Ravelry page.

The major threat to creating right now is reading, which is good - I am quickly catching up to my target for this year's Goodreads challenge, which had fallen behind. However, my recent reading has been paperless - I am working my way through Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series and have been using both audio and ebook versions of the books. When I couldn't get the second book in the series on CD from the library, I turned to Audible.com and filled the gap. And when I can't get the book I need from them, I am downloading the digital version from Amazon. Turns out my wonderful new Samsung Galaxy tablet easily accommodates the formats of ebooks that I use - Kobo and Kindle - and I am using that rather than my Kobo reader. Because it has backlighting, which the ereader doesn't, I can grab it from my bedside and read in the wee, small hours when I am awake. And it is a convenient way to listen to the audio books - especially until I have the cash to install my car stereo with bluetooth into my new car, which doesn't have that option or take a USB. Sigh - firstworldproblems.

And obviously, my paid/unpaid work with ABA has kept me busy, with a big expo, branch conference and the annual baby boom. At last week's conference, I received my 20 year certificate and badge, for my work as a breastfeeding counsellor - a certificate I had printed and laminated and a badge I had ordered, as part of my paid work ;) Kind of sums up my dual roles, really :)

Now that the weather has turned cooler - and hopefully we have seen the last of the warm, humid weather we had even just a week ago - I am starting my yearly battle with fibromyalgia pain in response to the cold. As I have also been having mild, but persistent MS symptoms, looking after my health is a big priority. I had a routine visit with my neurologist a few weeks ago and a routine MRI a week ago and will hear the results in the next day or so. I stress ROUTINE as people do worry - my MS won't get better but also isn't likely to get worse. It has been with me almost 17 years and will be with me until I fall off the twig, but it does flare up now and then and does need to have an eye kept on it. All I can do is stay as healthy as I can and I am keeping up with my twice-weekly aqua aerobics classes, plus weekly yoga and a busy cycle of visits with my "pit crew" - chiropractor, myotherapist, physio, naturopath, doctor and hairdresser ... yes, she keeps my hair in glorious purple to give all the others something to comment on other than my tattoo :)

So - there you are! Nothing more to add other than looking forward to this weekend away with my daughters as Melissa and I add Kaitlyn to our annual trip to Daylesford and Clunes - where we stock up on books to cram into our overwhelmed bookcases at the Booktown festival. Because life is short and you can never have too many books! Then in a few weeks, we will be at the Million Paws Walk and then a couple after that, the MS Walk. Because, you know, things quieten down at this time of year ;)