Managing Pain

Spring has finally come to western Newfoundland! The snow has melted around town and is slowly leaving the forest and mountains. With any luck, I can actually walk my favorite brookside path today. The other morning, I bundled up and sat outside with my coffee, and I had some new visitors from a nearby house. (One must now be more careful where one walks!)

For the past two weeks, I've been dealing with debilitating arthritis pain in my right hand, arm and shoulder. (It seems as if now that I've retired, my body thinks it should break down and point out all my ailments immediately! Scheesch!) My doctor just yesterday prescribed Tylenol 3 (which I will take sparingly) and sent me for an x-ray on my hand so we can be sure that it is arthritis and perhaps determine what kind. 

In the meantime, I'll keep to my own pain routine: I'm still trying to eat an anti-inflammatory diet at least 80% of the time, and I'm a huge proponent of cannabis which is, thank goodness, legal in Canada. With my sensitivity to prescription drugs, it is the only thing I've found that will alleviate most of the pain and has no side effects.  Finding CBD only (no psychoactive effects) is difficult here; I do have CBD gummies and I use an infused cream. But CBD alone has not as effective as weed with THC. Moderation in everything has always been one of my personal tenets! But aging is a new adventure that I find I must take on a daily basis: some days will be better than others, I guess, and I must adjust accordingly.  

Any suggestions you might have on dealing with arthritis pain would be more than welcome.

• Drinking green tea? 
• Applying an onion poltice? 
• Dancing (not naked) round my fire pot at midnight?

 I'll try it all! In the meantime, the sun is coming out ...... and I can hear the forest calling. 

Namaste y'all!

Happy Easter

 When I lived in areas where I could get into the woods in winter, on Ash Wednesday, I would cut a branch of an alder tree, sit it in a jug of water, and by Easter weekend, the leaves would be budding, bringing joy and live-greenery into my home. Alas, the snow is much too deep here to venture into the forest, so I simply picked up a tree branch that I found while walking. No greenery, but still a good prop for my homemade Easter decorations. I only have a couple left that were made by my children (20+ years old); but my Asian students enjoyed the craft, and it makes me so happy to have those mementos.

 

After the month long muscle tension followed by a head cold, I decided to adopt an anti-inflamatory diet. And after a few weeks, my morning head felt clearer and my arthritis eased up a little. But I'm a realist, so I'm looking to eat clean MOST of the time. I mean, a girl needs a good latte and a piece of carrot cake every now and then, right? So last week, I took myself to Deer Lake for a leisurely breakfast followed by thrifting and a visit to my favorite Dollarama Store. I was pleased with my 2 new-to-me polka-dot t-shirts and an Old Navy  maxi-dress that I found. But my favorite find of the day were these freeze-dried strawberries; 80 calories a bag at $1.25 Cdn each. 

(These are not the whole bag)

Initially I bought 3 bags as I didn't know if they'd be any good. But the next day I went for groceries in the city and went to both  Dollaramas where I bought as many as I could without being an inconsiderate shopper; it was difficult, but I left plenty for others. Those stores also had bags of apples and a strawberry/banana combo. 

They are delicious! Crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a deep strawberry flavor. I often accompany these with a few pieces of 75% dark chocolate. Yummy!

Easter will be spent at my daughter's, and we're doing ham and scalloped potatoes this year. I'm responsible for a nice green salad. And with any luck, someone else will bring a dessert worthy of my tossing my anti-inflamatory notions out the window again that day.

I hope your Easter is one of peace for you and some good food.

Namaste!