Some positive recent changes
Jun. 26th, 2024 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbrNothing super exciting, just little things.
Cam and I reorganised the kitchen and had a think about how to make cooking easier for both of us.
We threw out/gave away/replaced a few things we never use, and made special spots for lids and small frypans, since we use those a lot and they kept getting lost amongst the bigger pots (which are still otherwise a chaotic mess, because there's only so much organisation we can be bothered with).
I got a cheap but small and light rice cooker, which I have used to make some nice rice things, but also to make very tasty steamed vegetables. I already had a large rice cooker but it was scratched up and heavy so I never actually used it. I went into it a bit on my cooking blog.
Speaking of which: I moved my cooking blog to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
squaremeals! It took me SO LONG to realise communities are the most convenient way to manage dreamwidth sideblogs.
I also got a small cheap food processor, which has been great for grating and making bread dough. It's only got one slice setting, "mostly super thin with a few large lumps", which is not ideal but is still a big step up from attempting to cut things finely myself. It's easy to clean except for after mixing bread dough, since that's basically glue and acts like it.
Finally, we got a draining dish rack with a grating and spout at the bottom to drain extra water back into the sink, because our old one got mouldy. Not only has this one not gotten mouldy but the dishes dry much faster with the extra airflow. No link since it doesn't seem to be for sale any more but we got a random $50 one from Big W.
I switched to taking my morning pills with lunch instead of breakfast and it's been so much easier on my digestive system. I can't believe it took me this long to go from "Anything but very bland food at breakfast sets off my IBS" to "taking pills at breakfast may set off my IBS" but never mind.
Birds seem slightly more enthused about the block of birdseed I put on the windowsill lately, perhaps it's the cooler weather. The cats are generally not observant enough to notice the doves pecking around and peering into the room but I enjoy it and I'm glad the doves aren't being too terrorised while they snack.
It occurred to me I could hang windcatchers on the washing line in front of the bedroom window to have something to look at (our 'garden' is entirely concrete). I already own one, but no spinny thing to hang it from, the internet suggested cheap keyring connectors so I'll start with that but I am not sure how they'll handle outdoor weather longterm. But they were only $4 so I ordered some to get started with anyway. I'm thinking it could be fun to make windcatchers with my boxes of craft supplies from when I was into jewelry making years ago. Some beads and wire would degrade in the sun/rain, but I think some cheap glass beads on fishing wire or thin galvanised wire could work pretty well.
Cam vetoed windchimes next to the bedroom, which is fair haha, even though they could also be fun to make.
EDIT: Ha, another change I forgot until it just bit me in the ass: Earlier showers. Before I got really sick I used to shower first thing every morning after I woke up, but all attempts to stick to that with cfs have failed, and for years I just dragged myself to the shower before bed, feeling miserable about it (I can't skip showers for Unpleasant Skin Reasons). Cam asked me to start showering before 8pm, because Bing can get excited by all the noise etc and start running around excited for an hour or two afterwards. So I set an alarm, and it was annoying, and often I was tired/distracted at 8pm and it dragged out until later, but the overall experience was still better. I decided to try setting the alarm for 1pm, with the expectation it would still often drag out later, with a hard limit of 8pm, which has now shifted after a period of success to a hard limit of dinner time.
And it's so much better! Except for times like right now when it's nearly dinner and I'm hungry but haven't showered. UGH.
Another thing is doing the dishes every day before dinner (which I have also not done today yet >.>) because then I have less to do any individual day and have wiggle room for very bad days, and also means I can budget my energy for the day more accurately and have zero obligations post dinner, which feels great. EXCEPT FOR RIGHT NOW WHICH SUCKS which is why I am procrastinating by updating this post UGH but I better go do it BLECH.
EDIT 2: DONE. *collapses and eats some crackers until I have energy to consider a proper dinner*
Cam and I reorganised the kitchen and had a think about how to make cooking easier for both of us.
We threw out/gave away/replaced a few things we never use, and made special spots for lids and small frypans, since we use those a lot and they kept getting lost amongst the bigger pots (which are still otherwise a chaotic mess, because there's only so much organisation we can be bothered with).
I got a cheap but small and light rice cooker, which I have used to make some nice rice things, but also to make very tasty steamed vegetables. I already had a large rice cooker but it was scratched up and heavy so I never actually used it. I went into it a bit on my cooking blog.
Speaking of which: I moved my cooking blog to
squaremeals! It took me SO LONG to realise communities are the most convenient way to manage dreamwidth sideblogs. I also got a small cheap food processor, which has been great for grating and making bread dough. It's only got one slice setting, "mostly super thin with a few large lumps", which is not ideal but is still a big step up from attempting to cut things finely myself. It's easy to clean except for after mixing bread dough, since that's basically glue and acts like it.
Finally, we got a draining dish rack with a grating and spout at the bottom to drain extra water back into the sink, because our old one got mouldy. Not only has this one not gotten mouldy but the dishes dry much faster with the extra airflow. No link since it doesn't seem to be for sale any more but we got a random $50 one from Big W.
I switched to taking my morning pills with lunch instead of breakfast and it's been so much easier on my digestive system. I can't believe it took me this long to go from "Anything but very bland food at breakfast sets off my IBS" to "taking pills at breakfast may set off my IBS" but never mind.
Birds seem slightly more enthused about the block of birdseed I put on the windowsill lately, perhaps it's the cooler weather. The cats are generally not observant enough to notice the doves pecking around and peering into the room but I enjoy it and I'm glad the doves aren't being too terrorised while they snack.
It occurred to me I could hang windcatchers on the washing line in front of the bedroom window to have something to look at (our 'garden' is entirely concrete). I already own one, but no spinny thing to hang it from, the internet suggested cheap keyring connectors so I'll start with that but I am not sure how they'll handle outdoor weather longterm. But they were only $4 so I ordered some to get started with anyway. I'm thinking it could be fun to make windcatchers with my boxes of craft supplies from when I was into jewelry making years ago. Some beads and wire would degrade in the sun/rain, but I think some cheap glass beads on fishing wire or thin galvanised wire could work pretty well.
Cam vetoed windchimes next to the bedroom, which is fair haha, even though they could also be fun to make.
EDIT: Ha, another change I forgot until it just bit me in the ass: Earlier showers. Before I got really sick I used to shower first thing every morning after I woke up, but all attempts to stick to that with cfs have failed, and for years I just dragged myself to the shower before bed, feeling miserable about it (I can't skip showers for Unpleasant Skin Reasons). Cam asked me to start showering before 8pm, because Bing can get excited by all the noise etc and start running around excited for an hour or two afterwards. So I set an alarm, and it was annoying, and often I was tired/distracted at 8pm and it dragged out until later, but the overall experience was still better. I decided to try setting the alarm for 1pm, with the expectation it would still often drag out later, with a hard limit of 8pm, which has now shifted after a period of success to a hard limit of dinner time.
And it's so much better! Except for times like right now when it's nearly dinner and I'm hungry but haven't showered. UGH.
Another thing is doing the dishes every day before dinner (which I have also not done today yet >.>) because then I have less to do any individual day and have wiggle room for very bad days, and also means I can budget my energy for the day more accurately and have zero obligations post dinner, which feels great. EXCEPT FOR RIGHT NOW WHICH SUCKS which is why I am procrastinating by updating this post UGH but I better go do it BLECH.
EDIT 2: DONE. *collapses and eats some crackers until I have energy to consider a proper dinner*
no subject
Date: 2024-07-01 07:20 pm (UTC)(I also wage war with the unpleasantness of dragging myself through showering vs the unpleasantness of unshowered sensations, so doubly impressed tbh.)
no subject
Date: 2024-07-07 12:44 pm (UTC)Showering regularly is one of those things which most non-disabled people see as entirely unremarkable but gets me admiring envy from a lot of other disabled people haha. I guess that's how I feel about anyone who can drive.
My icon is my preferred mode of transportation :D
Date: 2024-07-11 05:36 am (UTC)Re: My icon is my preferred mode of transportation :D
Date: 2024-07-11 05:44 am (UTC)Yeah US culture is even more car focussed than Australia, but it's still very inconvenient and considered Unusual not to be able to drive as an adult here. My issues are a mixture of innate reaction time/proprioception issues and acquired brain fog, I actually managed to just barely pass my test back before I got so sick, but it was a close thing, and these days I am absolutely not safe to drive. I still have bad dreams about being forced to /o\
Re: My icon is my preferred mode of transportation :D
Date: 2024-07-11 02:20 pm (UTC)Occasionally, someone will be like "maybe if your anxiety improves enough you can learn to drive" and it's like ... I know how to drive, I passed the written exam, it's literally not safe for me or others. I'm anxious in cars because I know I'm missing important things and there's too much to process, but I could have zero anxiety and still be profoundly unsafe on the road!
So my sympathies, definitely!