Peaches and Cream

It has been a busy week and I haven’t done much toward my book because stuff happens.

Peach season is in full swing so I have been canning peaches. There is nothing like opening a jar and finding peaches that taste like . . . peaches! Its work, but just once a year and then I can spend the rest of the year enjoying.

I have been two years trying to find raw milk and was finally contacted by someone who knows a supplier. I’m having some fun with the milk too. Homemade butter IS different and a real treat (thank you KitchenAid).

Apples will be ready in a month. When the weather is cooler I will bring out the sourdough. For those of you who know this big city gal well – stop laughing, I have really started to find these things enjoyable. There’s nothing like pulling homemade pizza dough out of the freezer and topping it with homemade sauce and as much of all the goodies you want. Quick, easy, and the actual work was done months ago.

Doesn’t that sound nice and organized? Those who know me . . . stop laughing!

The other happening this this week was that my refrigerator went out and it took all day to find a new one, empty the old one, move furniture around to make room for the delivery, and restock the new one. Then there was the food that had to be thrown away. Stress time!

With fibromyalgia, over doing and overstressing are never good and after a couple of days my body hit a wall, but now I’m better and ready to annoy everyone with my blog.

Autumn is around the corner and I will be taking breaks from the book then, too, because its my favorite time of the year and I will be using the time to sit and watch the leaves turn. Since its also my most creative time of year, the book won’t be far away.

Have a great day!

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Why IS The Book Taking So Long?

I have read many non-fiction books. Some have been expertly written and documented treatises with excellent and useful information. Others I’ve read weren’t so great. I’ve also read many self-help books, some helpful, others not so much.  Although I have my own opinions and ideas on what works, because of the nature of the Fibromyalgia beast, I realized from all my reading that what we really need are well-documented facts, easy on the opinions. What I didn’t know was that meeting this criteria would be a tall order, reaching for the moon tall.

When I first started my research I didn’t realize that I’d be entering the worlds of academia, medicine, biology, chemistry, psychology, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, some of the alternative sciences and even engineering. My degree is in legal studies, not biological science, and I have had to learn things I previously would have thought to be way beyond my comprehension. Instead, the wonder of it all has become my passion.

Because thousands of other people through the centuries have spent years, decades and even lifetimes finding answers  to questions that most of us have never asked, I guess I can take just a few years out of my life to read the answers these seekers came up with and write one little book, a mere hyphen in time and dot in the book of life.

Two things I learned and developed a passion for during my college studies were research and investigation. Researching legal and political philosophies to manipulate outcomes, however, is nothing like the business of the human body and its humanity. Our bodies are tangible entities encasing unseen worlds that, regardless of some of the claims of the scientific community, can defy definition, logic and comprehension. What is most fascinating to me is that the body, like all things in the Universe, is made up of invisible energies that,  through communication with both similar and polar activity, become the tangible things we see, hear, feel, smell and touch, as well as intangible things like thought, emotion and spirit.

Over time I have developed a respectful fascination that has kept me motivated through piles of research studies, master and doctoral dissertations, medical journals, statistics, legal documents, books and hours long videos. I have read, re-read and read things one more time to ensure clarity. I have looked up crazy words, stumbled through chemical reactions and drawn pictures and diagrams for myself. I have had to consider everything from pharmaceuticals, neurology, rheumatology,  gastroenterology, psychology, endocrinology, physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture,  and everything in between. I have read the works of Swedish, German, Danish, Canadian, Indian, Chinese and South American researchers whenever I could find them in English. Finding answers has become a global  journey for me.

Why is writing my book taking so long to write? I don’t want to miss a single thing that could explain our symptoms, ease our pain, bring balance back into our lives and relieve our minds of the stigma so many feel because of the diagnosis. Its that important.

Are You Done Yet?

Many of you know I’ve been researching for a book on Fibromyalgia for about 1-1/2 years now and several have asked how I’m progressing. V-e-r-y S-l-o-w-l-y!

When I started the research, though I thought I knew where I was going, I learned that I did not. Instead, my research has been directing me through the wonderful world of the human body, giving me a new respect for this vessel that encases our beings. I have discovered that I not only want to find answers to an elusive illness, but now I also want to take others on this journey of discovering the secret wonders of this organism that is far kinder and more flexible in its response to the way we treat it than we probably deserve.

I started my current project with a book I had previously written about 12 years ago and decided that I should review and edit it before I published it. Upon review, I began to realize that what I had written was merely a clone of so many other books that I have read on Fibromyalgia which rendered my effort void of probative value or purpose. At that point, I pulled out my old research to refresh my (aging) memory and discovered there was so much new information that I needed to start from scratch; I had to erase all my preconceived notions and become curious and inquisitive, to unlearn and then relearn all aspects of the dilemma I am seeking to resolve. So far, this is what I have learned: AMAZING!!!

Because I still have a lot to learn and a constantly changing timeline, a friend recommended that I start a blog about my process so that all who are interested can see how I am progressing. I appreciate everyone’s support and intend to give my project the full attention it needs in order to help others with Fibromyalgia regain their bodies and the fullness of life by offering them concrete answers – no matter how long it takes (she said impatiently).

Thanks for supporting me,

Jerry