Sunshine and Shadows

We've had a few days of lovely sunshine lately. In spite of that I've haven't been at the top of my game. Pictures of what I've sewn are still in the camera and I don't have the energy to download and tweak them. I do, however, have pictures of a couple of quilts my friend C~ created recently. This first one was made of orphan blocks and bits. I believe it all began with the giant turtle at the top of the quilt.


She found a couple of other turtle blocks; they have 3D heads and feet. There's a house block and a little triangular chicken. Lots of fun things for a child to enjoy. :- )

She also left this small crazy quilt with me to bind.


I found the perfect fabric to use for the binding too. It's a stripey print with oranges and purples in it. The binding is on, the quilt is ready to be returned to C~, but I don't believe I have a shot of the finished product. Gotta do that before she comes to collect it! She gave me some scraps from this quilt; they will be fun to play with when I'm feeling more the thing. Which brings me to the shadows part of this post. Feel free to exit stage right (or left, depending on your preference) at this point.

I get so frustrated when my body shuts down like this. I ran into the slightest bit of fragrance and now I'm barely functioning. It nearly always begins with a burning sensation in my sinuses. That turns into an intense headache that no ordinary analgesic will tame. Many hours later I'm lethargic and slightly-to-moderately depressed. I know that the depression is a direct result of chemical exposure, not merely sadness or discouragement - although there are elements of both of those emotions present. I've paid close attention over the years since I was made aware of the potential effects of chemicals on sensitive systems. I now suspect that the depression I suffered for years before the MCS diagnosis was actually chemically induced a lot of the time. There were other challenges in my life of course, everyone has them, but I bet they would not have been the mountains they were had I not been suffering from serious chemical exposures on a daily basis.

My intention is not to be a downer but rather to try to educate anyone who may be reading this post on the prevalence and the powerful effects of the miasma of chemicals in our environment. The simplest, most innocent products can contain toxic elements. Rarely will you find any ingredients listed on a label. Consumers have no way to protect themselves or their families in most cases, short of just not buying the products (which is pretty much what I've had to resort to). It's totally a case of "let the buyer beware" but in this busy world who has the time to do the research? Who even wants to? I sure don't. And I wouldn't if I weren't forced into it. Just know that the lotion you slather on your skin, the shampoo you use in your hair, the perfume you put on your body, the cleaning agents and fragrances you use in your home all have toxic ingredients. Your body absorbs them and over time they build up. Some of them cause cancer. If you're lucky your liver and other organs are able to process them appropriately. My liver can't even process the low levels of these toxins so I have to be extra careful. And I suffer whenever I'm not able to adequately protect myself.

Hopefully what I'm experiencing now will have passed by the end of this day and I'll have my energy and enthusiasm back tomorrow. There is much in my world to rejoice over and I want to share those things with you more than I want to share my misery. Again, my only goal in sharing my misery is to enlighten and educate to the best of my limited abilities. If you've hung in with me this far I thank you and I hope you benefit somehow from my experiences.