To give in or not to give in...

          Some of you suggested  that my melancholy could be due to SAD (seasonal affective disorder).  I thought I'd heard of this but googled it just the same. It says that SAD is a mood disorder that is characterized by depression and occurs at the same time each year... usually Fall or  Winter.

Apparently it's common... more so in areas where there is no sun.

But Texas has lots of sun!

However, I read that it could also be caused by the body producing less serotonin (for whatever reason)  or  possibly seasonal changes causing a drop in the production of melatonin.

Who knows the reason? - but the symptoms seem pretty obvious: oversleeping, no interest in activities, tiredness, easily agitated, social withdrawal... 

Yes to all of the above!

Maybe the back pain and shingles added to the change of seasons upped my anxiety level and brought this on???

All I know is that  I don't like it! It's not me!!

So what do I do?

Give in to it - stay home and lay low for awhile? Or get more active, start some new projects (maybe a new quilt for someone? more cheeky chickens?)

My instinct says not to give in to it... although I want to. Almost called in and dropped my pottery classes. May still do that.

Thursday: Decided to make myself go to class... and also to go with the girls to lunch (which I hardly ever do - since I don't eat lunch just drink my thermos of hot tea). But I did all this and found that I DID feel a bit better for it.

However, my agitation was just below the surface as when I couldn't get the top off of something at the studio, I had the urge to throw it across the room... (didn't though).

All in all, pushing through it turned out to be a good call.

Put my glazed turtle vase into the kiln. Also working on some little sea turtles to add to bowls, etc. 

So... life goes on.  Thanks to all of you who commented. I hadn't thought of SAD - and whether it is or isn't, it did get me to do something about how I felt.

Hugs,
Rian

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...

OK... October is here. It is still hot in Texas. My back is better. However, now I have Shingles! Sorry about this beginning, but I had to get that off my chest. 

Thankful that it's a mild case (just 2 spots on my left upper arm and a low grade fever) - probably due to the fact that I did get the original Shingles vaccine 5 years ago. The rashes don't itch, but they do hurt. However, it's not the rash itself that hurts, it's deep inside my arm?? 

Anyhow, I'm on these huge anti-viral horse-pills 3X a day... and anyone who knows me knows I don't like/take pills (if I can get away without them). Not only do I tend to get reactions to medications, but I also have trouble swallowing anything bigger than a Tylenol caplet. My family physician knows this. I asked him if I could possibly get by without taking the anti-viral, and he told me that if I didn't, the Shingles would probably go chronic and I really really didn't want that. Well, that scared me, so I promised to take them. 

The Pharmacist was a very sweet woman who commiserated with me on their size and showed me how to break them in half. It is a 3X a day ordeal! I use buttermilk to help them go down... and usually it takes a few tries. But I haven't choked to death yet. DH says 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger..."  Maybe. I tell myself it's one of the prices we pay to get to this age. At least I've had no bad reaction. They do make me a little sleepy.

OK... enough of that.

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I've come across a few things on Pinterest lately that I may want to share.  Some move me. Some are inspiring. Some just make me laugh. And I really need to laugh these days... 

This one made me laugh...

and this next one also...

Well, that's it. Happy TGIF! Oh, have any of you ever seen this?

Peach Coke?

My grandson brought these home for me this week. He knows I am a Coke Person in the Coke vs Pepsi world. I had never seen Peach Coke before (I like Classic), but these were pretty good.

Hugs,
Rian   😏