Tuesday 26 August 2014

Over Halfway Through Summer Break

Well most of my recent posts have all been a bit escapist, either about M.E. awareness or a general way of seeing what living with M.E. is like. Anything but my life. So this time I thought I'd bring you up to date on my life, how things are going, what's been happening etc.

As I'm now over halfway through my summer break from university, (where did the time go?!), I'd hoped I'd be seeing improvements on how I was back at the beginning of my break. And I have seen improvements, not as big as I would like but they are improvements all the same, for that I'm thankful. I've not escaped the bugs that have been doing the rounds this summer, and am currently still recovering from a stomach bug I had last week. You'd be surprised at how long it can take me to recover from something so simple. But despite the bugs, a tooth abscess and some disturbed nights I am seeing small improvements in my health. As always it's proving to be quite a yo-yo but I'm getting there. Lots of rest, time spent in bed or on a makeshift bed on the sofa have been key. Yet I've still managed to do things and enjoy myself.

I've got myself a nice study area sorted for October when I start my next university module. Well I say sorted...it's still a bit of a work in progress but we're getting there. All I need is to be well enough to sit at the desk there and study. At the moment it seems perfectly possible and I'm managing short periods sitting there working away on my computer. Fingers crossed it lasts.

My vegetable patch has been quite successful this year and still is being successful. I've finally managed to grow some decent carrots! Along with lettuces, peas, tomatoes and leeks. We're working on almost tripling the size of the vegetable patch in the garden so hopefully next year will be even more successful. (This does mean I need to find willing family and friends to volunteer and do the hard work of digging it over though!)

I baked a cake!! Nothing fancy, just a triple layered sponge cake. That absolutely exhausted me though so I had to have help the following day making some butter icing and sandwiching the three sponges together. But I baked a cake. I haven't attempted that in about a year, maybe longer. It seems so ordinary to most people but for me that is a big thing. I love baking but I do find it tires me out a lot, I've had to pretty much give it a miss since relapsing last year. This cake represents an improvement; the fact I had to have help with the butter icing is irrelevant. I attempted to bake the cake, which meant I felt I had the energy to do so. In hindsight a simpler cake would have been a better option but now I know I hope I can begin to delve back into the world of baking. A world I enjoy so much.

I spent a lovely evening sitting in the garden with a fire going listening to the V Festival that was happening at Hylands Park this weekend just gone. I've always thought it's something I'd love to actually go to but of course this M.E. malarky gets in the way! So since I'm fortunate enough to live close enough to hear a lot of it in the garden and even my bedroom I figure I'll make the most of it. Amazingly I fell asleep before the end of the Sunday performances though!!

There's been a few other things happening but I think I've covered the main bits of enjoyment and importance. I dreamed things would improve more than they have so far this summer but I'm thankful for the improvements I have made. Yes I may still need my wheelchair to get out and about but I am managing to walk around the house and garden mostly unaided (furniture can be a very useful thing at times though!) My energy levels are still low and deplete very easily, however I haven't and won't let that stop me enjoying myself and getting on with things. My summer break may not be going quite as I planned, but I'm determined I'm going to make the most of it!

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