Freezing Weather!

Today, we returned to work after the Christmas break to find our pipes frozen. We truly didn't think about it when we left on Thursday evening. We need to leave a trickle of water going in the taps over the weekends. This cold weather and this old building don't mix too well.

At home, it's been so cold that I don't want to do much, save wrap up in a quilt and sleep. I have projects to do, chores I could do, and so on, but I just want to sit by the space heater, wrap up in a quilt and sleep! I'm sure part of it is my sinus infection and being sick, and that takes energy, but the rest I'm not so sure...

I can't seem to stay warm after dark in my house. I have 2 space heaters - one in the living room, and one in my bedroom. My furnace is going all the time, and I just changed the filters. I do that every month, anyway, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to do it again. My cats want to be on top of me. When I'm up and about, they want to be next to the heater, but the rest of the time, they want to be on top of me, where it's warm.

It's so cold in my office, that my feet are freezing, even in heavy wool socks and shoes. I don't want to go into the kitchen or bathrooms where there is no carpet, because the cold comes right up with the damp through the concrete foundation and flooring.

In summer, the place stays kind of cool, but I have to screen out the sun. In winter, I don't know what else to do. I want the sun coming in, but after dark, it's like the cold just seeps in from every crevice.

I have triple-layered drapes in my bedroom. One layer is thermal, and they wrap around to the sides (all 3 layers). That room is either the coldest or hottest in the house at night. If the door is open, it's the hottest room - about 5 degrees above the thermostat setting. If the door is closed, it's about 5 degrees below the thermostat setting. Before you ask, yes, the vents are open for the heating ducts - for the bathroom and the bedroom, which are a suite.

Last winter, I noticed that the bedroom was cooler, which I generally like for sleeping, but this freezing weather has made it very unpleasant. I'm currently running the space heater for about 30 minutes before bedtime to warm up the room. I have to wear sleeping socks to bed or my feet freeze during the night. I've added another blanket to the bed, and had to make a fold in the sheets and blankets for my feet so I don't feel confined.

The cats? They sleep in the living room next to the heater or on top of me. They are cold, too, and they have long hair!

It will be nice when the weather warms up a bit. This weekend the weather service is predicting 60 degree days, but you never know.

Illness that Doesn't Floor You....

A week ago, I went to the doc's office and got antibiotics for a sinus infection. I knew it was a sinus infection for a week, as it was only on one side, and never moved.

Well, that's changed. After a week on antibiotics, it's moved to the ear on the opposite side. My tongue is involved, and my throat hurts to swallow - not like the burning I'd experienced earlier, but the swelling hurts in my ear when I swallow.

And this switch happened almost overnight.

Of course, the doc's office is closed today, so it means that the same antibiotic I was taking and just finished, cannot be re-prescribed - the bug will have immunity to it.

Antibiotics are held more closely than any other drug, save Class II narcotics. While I agree that they are often over-prescribed, when a body is using them already, there should be a kind of openness about them for refills. Bugs get immune to them because folks run out of the meds before the bugs are dead. Particularly staph infections, of which this is one.

I'll follow up with MMS and see if that helps, but this particular bug is going around my circle and laying folks low for months on end. Stop playing with our lives!!!

The FDA - Food and Drug Administration...

The FDA does not have authority, and I do not wish it to have authority, over my health care decisions, supplement use, or health standards of care.

If the FDA wants to regulate the supplement and alternative medicine industries, I suggest they start with what they are worst at, and try to improve - quality control.

Assure the public that drugs coming from the pharmaceutical companies are safe! Ensure that regulations, trial periods, and testing is thorough.

For supplements, assure us that the products are pure, and that the label states the accurate strength of the supplement. Tell us about any other components in the packaging or product that may affect our health. Some people have allergies to the simplest things, and this kind of disclosure would be helpful.

This kind of regulation is all to the good. But being the gatekeeper for supplements, telling practitioners how to use them, and otherwise keeping them from the public, is not part of their job.

If over-zealous regulation ever becomes part of the FDAs job, big-pharma will usurp control, and do away with all vitamins and supplements unless the odd person can somehow grow the source and extract the elements in their garage. This leads to further contamination and the strength of the supplement cannot be assured.

And only big-pharma will produce vitamins for mass distribution - using unclean and mercury- or arsenic-conataminated sources. Big-pharma does not care about our health. Big-pharma cares about making a profit.

I am only discussing this small issue today. The FDA is broken and misguided. But this segment can be repaired easily.

Physical Symptoms of Emotional Issues....

I feel like I'm getting another cold. I had the fever last night, but I don't really have that today. I took a lot of Zinc and Vitamin C, and some MMS last night. I still have the congestion in my face, so I'll use the Neti Pot to get that cleared out before I go to work today.

It's all a symptom of my emotions, you know. I'm mourning. I'll feel better, but I have to go through this stage of loss so that I can clean the house and remove all traces of my former roommate.

I began in the bathroom last night. I have to dump trash, but I got the toilet and sink. I used some of the shelves I'd put in the room in my room, and made my life a little better as a result. I'm still trying to get the blanket dry that I washed last night, and there are 2 more to go.

It will all come around and be wonderful in a few days. I just have to pick at bits of it every day. Flylady says to do things in 15-minute increments. I can do that - even with my emotional state showing up in physical symptoms.

Start where you are....

Respect!

I am a Christian. However, I'm also a Sabbath-Keeper. In many ways, I identify with the Adventist church, but in others, I do not. Of all the sabbath-keeping churches, the Adventists are the only ones I found that contain and spread the Grace of Jesus Christ.

So, I was invited and went to a Women's Tea at a local Christian church that a friend attends regularly. She invited me last year, but I got sick and could not attend. At our table, there was a woman, M, who asked a lot of invasive questions about how I met my friend, that I did not wish to answer. My friend answered them, and this bothered me. The woman had no business asking such personal questions.

She then went on to ask about my beliefs, which I shared, and my business, which I shared. She wanted to argue with me about the Sabbath, and tried to quote me chapter and verse, which I turned against her. The Bible is very clear on this for me, and I won't be swayed.

So, she turned to the other topic, my business. She wanted to know how much I charge, and I told her that the information was on the website, and gave her my card.

Mind you, this was ON the Sabbath, so money is not a topic I cared to discuss. I don't shop, answer e-mail, or practice any business on the Sabbath. I will worship, rest and honor my God in the best way I can, including going to a church I don't normally attend with a friend for breakfast and worship.

M pressed me again about my pricing later, and I said it was Saturday, and I again referred her to the website. She said "Oh, I get the JOKE" and totally pissed me off. She did apologize later, but this kind of closed-minded thinking and dissonance in the Christian system is rampant. Nobody can agree on anything, and everyone is convinced they are right. Even me.

If she should contact me to build a website for her, I will price the work very high, to encourage her to find someone else. A person who does not respect my privacy or beliefs, is not the kind of person I want to have as a client.