CHRISTMAS EVE VISITORS Family and friends are celebrating these holidays together at Chico Hot Springs. I haven’t been there since childhood and would like to visit again. I’m not going this time.  A quarter of a century ago, I was diagnosed with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.) It cost me my job, my career, most of my friends, and all of my social life. I have never been bed bound for more than a day or two at a time, but I have been housebound for much of these two and a half decades.  ME/CFS is at least partly an immune system disorder, and seems to be ..read more

  For Dig iDare #311. Some assistance/ inspiration from Turning Straw Into Gold. After a hard crash, over a week of no poems, no haiku, no pages, this DigiDare seemed a good place to begin again.    [Click the image to see credits & larger sizes at flickr.]   ..read more

I have been advised over these not-well years to keep a symptom diary, but have never managed to do it. I found it depressing. But I think I've found a system that will work for me: Tangible Plans™ {Starter Kit & Workshop}. The Starter Kit & Workshop comes with the following:  *Letter Size and Junque Journal* Size Templates *Over 500 pre-made pieces divided into Sector folders *Attatchers and Word Art scaled perfect size for this project *All Sectors to build your own Templates if desired *1 Tutorial on how to build your pages and 1 tutorial with binding ideas I use Ta ..read more

Looking for something else, I found this photo-set that I made long ago at flickr. I'd forgotten how often I made art journal pages about my illness, and my attempts to cope with it. Perhaps it will speak to someone else:     (This isn't working as a slide show, not sure why. Will research and try to fix it. The one at Watermark is working ..read more