Building

I have this yen to build things. I want to make a loose-brick stoop for our front door. Right now it's just a warped piece of plywood with a rectangular foot-scraper on it. Not very inviting. Definitely unattractive. So I've looked it up online and it looks like I can do it. I just need to finish enough "real" work so I don't feel guilty pursuing this bent. My next project will be to finish hanging pictures. Then do a little painting. Then ...

I'm really enjoying this hands-on thing. I even got a bunch of tools from Alan (Eric's stepdad). He gave me a drill (with bits!), a sander, a hacksaw, a level, and -- gosh! -- I don't even remember. I'm Ms. Fix-It-Build-It!

Touch is an underrated sense, I think. There's something about working with one's hands that is very soothing. I was thinking about it last night in regard to the ferrets. I was petting Koosh (well, I was petting him, he was sort of wriggling), and I thought how important it must be for him to be touched if he allows it. Certainly he has the choice; he's quite strong. But he seems to need me to hold him and scratch his neck. It really is appropriate, then, to ask: "Have you hugged your ferret today?" --Mary

The Rheumatologist

The verdict is: fibromyalgia. Better, I think, than arthritis. After all, fibromyalgia is not a destructive disease -- heck, it isn't even a disease, it's a syndrome. My bloodwork didn't even show a hint of an arthritic condition. That's good. I know I'll probably get a bunch of e-mails from people telling me their treatment suggestions for fibromyalgia. I appreciate input. My first line of therapy is going to be exercise. My sister (a physical therapist) said stretching, yoga, and swimming are good therapies. I'm also going to use heat, since that seems to help on the joints that are particularly painful. I'm also going to look into acupuncture. My sister-in-law Rebecca did acupuncture on me back in November and it really helped. I'll just have to see if I can find someone here on Long Island that I like (Rebecca and Mark are in Massachusetts). Then there's my Aunt Helen's hot tub ("Hi, Hel! Guess who's coming to visit!" LOL). I want to avoid medications completely if I can. Though I did notice that Tylenol helped a bit when the pain was really bad.

So that's the story.

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The Weather

It's been getting a little warmer up/out here in New York. The 50s. It's nice to open the windows. The ferrets seem to really like the fresh air, too. They're getting more energetic. There's nothing like dancing ferrets.

Now I'm going back to work. --Mary

another big gap in blog entries

So here I am again. There's a war going on, I still have joint pain, the magazine is still not finished, and I have a cold. On the upside, I met

a giant ferret.

His name is Fuzzle. Fuzzle the Ferret. This is me with Fuzzle:

This is also me with Fuzzle:

There's going to be a feature on Fuzzle the Ferret in the next issue of Modern Ferret.

Sick

I have a cold and my joints hurt. The likely diagnosis is fibromyalgia. I'll know more tomorrow after I see the rheumatologist again. It's nice to have ferrets to hug when you're feeling kind of crummy. -- Mary