Twelfth Night

Hello...... So we made it to 12th Night I hope you are all keeping warm and dry with all the terrible weather both here in the UK and the awful conditions in the US and Canada

The decorations have come down today, I've been itching for them to come down for a while now so we can really start the new year at last.

I love this time of year with all it's plans and ideas, that fresh start effect, that new year seems to bring. I'm even loving  how much bigger and brighter the lounge looks with the tree and decorations packed away.

I've been making plans and to do's for the year ahead, I made a list the other day of hopes and ideas  for the year and I had nearly a whole side of A4, so I thought I share a few of them here. My makes list has 15 items on it already and about half are WIP's...

The first one I need to get made is some seaside bunting, my final make for the local craft club exhibition, I made a start on it over the weekend. Cutting out some pennants and sewing on some seaside motifs, plus adding a bit of hand stitched detail.

I really need to get on with it though as the exhibition starts on the 8th of February eek

I was very fortunate to get quite a selection of colouring books for Christmas, perfect low energy creativity when I stuck in bed feeling too poorly to manage any crafting. 

 I received one very special colouring book, that I had a part in last year.  I'm a member of a Facebook Group for creative people who also suffer from Chronic illness. It really is a wonderful group and I have found so much support and friendship there from such a lovely super talented bunch of people. 

One of the many spins off projects from this group was a colouring book, another thing we did was a selfless portraits project where we all created a portrait of another member. There was also a calender for the keen photographers.

So I was so excited when the postman delivered my copy of the colouring book

and what did I find, but the first picture to colour was me !!! not my drawing but a portrait of me that was made for the portrait project, 'a colour you're own Clare' (which the artist created knowing my love of colouring)

Here's one of my drawing that is in the book. So I look forward to doing lots of colouring this year, as well as my lovely 'Secret Garden' colouring book and this I also have two Mandela colouring books to add to the mix.

Another quite urgent thing in the planning stages at the moment is I'm going to attempt to make a smaller version of my Springtime wreath for a charity auction, the deadline for that is the middle of February too, (eek do not panic Clare !!) but it would be lovely to be able to submit a mini wreath if I can get it done in time.

Another hope for this year is get my paints and art supplies out a bit more, I really enjoyed painting my Alice in Wonderland watercolours last year, so I've got a new sketch book to start and I'm looking forward to that, when my energy levels improve a bit.

I'm also planning on making at least one granny square a week, for my first every blanket.

Another thing that would be wonderful is to get back to playing the mandolin and guitar again and maybe record a few of my songs. If only my health would improve a bit.

So there are so many plans afoot but so little energy, but I'm staying positive and getting organised I've even set up a crafting draw in the bedside cabinet so I can easily get to my supplies, while stuck in bed.

Truth be told 2013 was a pretty awful year for me health wise, as my health has been slowly declining one relapse after another for the past few years.

 I don't really say a lot of detail about my illness on here, as quite frankly it's boring and depressing and I want my blog to be a Happy place, but I have plans afoot here too.  Yep I'm going to get started when I've finally shaken off this lurgy that I've been struggling with since the 6th December, yep that's a month now !! you see that's the problem with ME/Lyme disease a simple cold to most people is nuisance and nothing more but to someone who is ill like me it's a bit of a nightmare.

 For example, this lurgy I have at the moment, well, I got the cold a month ago, it started off normally sore throat etc but then a few days in it kinda got stuck, then my body produced it's version of a immune response, (but not the right one!!) as my GP said. Nope my bodies response to a cold was to cause several of my joints to become swollen hot and inflamed, arthritis style on top of all my other symptoms worsening. Yep at the moment my body is stuck in Inflammation overload mode but at least as of last weekend my cold has finally broken and I'm starting to get some proper cold like symptoms. 

So what I would say to you is, if you know someone with a ME or others conditions that effect the immune system please don't go near them if you have a cold, as it can make them very ill and put them in relapse for months.

So on a more positive note. I'm planning to try and see if a antinflammatory diet might help improve things.  I'm already back to eating a my usual organic wholefood food diet after the excesses of Christmas and taking herbal and traditional medicines to try and fight this.

You see getting stuck between a ME and Lyme Disease diagnosis in the UK  ( also sadly in lots of other places around the world is a tricky business) with little help or knowledge to be offered from the NHS. I really do feel all alone in this.

 My health is falling apart and nobody seems to be able or willing to help.  At the moment I'm waiting to see a Immunologist, he works for the NHS but due to local funding, I'm having to self fund to see him, I'm hoping he's going to be able to help, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up to much, based on the reaction from other consultants I've seen in the past. Who seem so frightened by the word Lyme Disease. One even once said to me, after I'd  travelled to London in Ambulance  as I was so ill, 'We don't do Lyme's here' I kid you not  I wish I could say that and it would all go away.

 So this year that's the plan I'm going to try all I can to get better. 

Well sorry that got a bit serious and depressing at the end, rest assured my normal happy crafty posts will be back next time. If you want to read a bit more you can find the post I wrote for ME awareness day 'here'

Linking up with Chrissie's Stitching Sundays and & stitches

Happt Crafty

Clare xx