Creative Unblockage---A Little Help From My Friends

As a creative sort, I use up a whole lot of energy on whatever task I'm creating at the moment, and writing a blog post has been sitting on the back burner. I think I need a turntable, or a lazy-susan. It would be sectioned off and labeled "Writing", "Crocheting", "Papercrafting", "Learning a New Craft". I would turn it to the next section and work on that project, then turn again. Unfortunately, it would have a very big section labeled "Maintaining an Etsy Store."

I probably need a whole turntable just for my Etsy store. I used to label days of the week with different activities, such as photography day, listing day, crocheting day, but there weren't enough days in the week. Part of the reason is because I'm so slow.

With the mental and physical fatigue of fibromyalgia, things that used to take me a short time, now take forever. I've read articles about time management that say to spend one hour a day on the internet. That was supposed to include updating Facebook and Twitter, as well as answering emails and blogging. An hour a day gets me answering my email, to give you an idea of how slow I am.

Fibromyalgia Network Closing---Sad News

On a sad note, Kristin Thorson, editor and publisher for 25 years of the remarkable Fibromyalgia Network News, is having increased health problems, prompting her to close the Network.
For more information on the closure of the Network, visit the website by clicking on this link, fmnetnews closing

A stitch in time...

...saved my mind.

(This is the post I wrote which was published by the Susan, the Crochet Addict back in September)


There is no way I could have known when I picked up my crochet hooks after years of not touching them, that I would become a different person. Several years prior, I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The pain and fatigue that I lived with had robbed me of vitality to the point that my employer "suggested" I take a leave of absence. That was a wake up call to a new life.

Soon after returning to work, on a scaled down level, I met a woman that knitted. She inspired me to crochet a few stitches. And of course, I was hooked.

She took me shopping for yarn after I found a pattern for a simple cardigan, and was I ever surprised at the glorious selection of colors and styles. And this was just at Michaels; we hadn't even been to a yarn store yet! We started attending groups together, like Stitch and Bitch, and I began honing my rudimentary skills learned at my grandmother's knee.

The School of Hard Knocks

July 10--What is the hardest challenge you have been faced with?



After reading some of the other blog posts on this topic, I am humbled by what people are willing to share. There are definitely awful challenges that I have faced that I am reluctant to put out here for people to read. I don't want to be judged for what I've done or what I've gone through. What it boils down to is that I grew up in the school of hard knocks. But I met each challenge, though sometimes reluctantly, and moved on.

Getting through some poor health issues was going to be the one challenge that tried me the most, but in retrospect, perhaps my father being killed in a plane crash when I was pregnant with my son was much more acutely painful. This issue with the fibromyalgia and nerve damage has had a longer impact on my life and continues to try me daily.

Nurture or Guilt

What's the Word June 8--intermittent

I feel swell. I got my lab test done that has taken me eight weeks to get scheduled. Then I made it to the first official meeting of the Duke City Hookers. It has taken a lot of soul searching on my part to come to this point with the crochet group. 

You see, I have fibromyalgia, and getting things done takes supreme effort. I already organize the Albuquerque FibroFriends Community, a fibromyalgia meetup, the ABQ Cribbage Meetup, and attend several knitting/crochet groups on an intermittent basis. Now, I'm also trying to sell my crochet designs on Etsy, run a Facebook page and this blog. What was I thinking of by starting a new group?