Monday, April 11, 2011

A letter to Winter

Dear Winter,
You worried me this year. Summer came, and she stayed. Autumn decided a holiday was best, and never showed up. I began to worry that I would not see you this year. That maybe you too would not bother, and allow Madam Summer to continue her relentless reign over my country. I missed rain even more than I ever believed I would, having not seen it within this country for nearly six months, and longed for it constantly. I also missed the cold. I don't know if you remember, Winter, how I love your cold nights, sitting in the dark in the middle of a phenominal storm, hearing you tear the trees around outside. I've missed that, these last years living in the tame city. But I would have missed the cold and rain more. I've learned to live with them as friends, unlike the heat and sweat of Summer; we could never get along.

But then, just when I had given up all hope, you returned. You saw my front yard, and you dropped in to say hello. And you have stayed, for three whole days so far! You timed your arrival perfectly, calling at my door only a couple of hours after I had planted some roses, and you watered them for me all night; Winter, if that is your apology for your long absence, I accept. It was beautiful. My garden, which has suffered all summer, was in dire need of your tender touch. The ivy was dying, and the roses were wilting. Thank you for showing up in time for them.

And these last few days, they have been beautiful! Waking up to the sound of rain on my garden, drinking Caro outside while watching you gently lay your rain upon my garden...amazing. You also encourage me to be more healthy. You allow me to make wonderful soups full of whatever-I-found-in-the-fridge, and stews made of everything else, and I have discovered that, despite being vegetarian, my veggie intake has trippled in the last couple of days.

I just have one question. If summer gets to stay around for nearly six months, taking up autumn's time, why can't you come earlier, take summer's time and stay around for six months too??

Because I Can

Friday, April 8, 2011

Yet another week.

OK, so yet another week, yet another set of experiences.
I DID get my fence replaced this week, which was awesome. Note to anyone out there though, 5 star fencing is NOT a good company to use for fencing if you want honesty, actual work, and for them to get the job done without having to be pestered for two months straight. Thankfully they actually got the job done in time to prevent my dog from busting the fence down in her erratic eagerness to be outside the yard; some days she doesn't give a rats, bot others she's more than willing to dig her way single paw'd to China for a chance at freedom. Luckily that's been curbed now, and about time too. I was having trouble convincing her that while Jack Russels may appear to be tasty snacks they would, in fact, give her large amounts of indigestion.

My cat's have come almost to terms with having a dog. By this I mean life in this house has become terrifying. The other day I was hanging my washing when a cat boleted onto my lap, rapidly planned its next geurilla warfare tactic, then attacked the dog from my lap. I took a palm full of cat claws and an elbow full of dog teeth before flinging the cat over the fence and booting the dog. THEY both suffered minimal damages with the cat loosing a claw and the dog having a claw embeded in her eyebrow...coincidence? :P Since then the cat's have been attempting to make things up to me; this morning I caught them chasing packets of "Do Not Eat" round my house with merry enjoyment; guess who got the day outside?

The neighbourhood pets have, sadly, not come to terms quite as well as my own. The other day I was walking my monster, erm, dog, and a lovely old man with his jack russel stopped nearby; the Jack russel decided open warfare would be awesome and so I spent 5 minutes wrapped around a fence post holding my dog off while the old man told me how hard it must be for me, walking such a big, uncontrollable dog...I'm still uncertain as to wether he was purposefully standing there, keeping his dog near mine just for the giggles. As for the rabbits across the street...well, she hasn't caught them yet, so they're still fine, right?

There are some advantages about her though. I can walk around my neighbourhood at any hour of thge day or night without worrying now; Who'll attack a 5ft2 girl with a huge angry looking dog? I mean really, even the socially inept drop outs who stumble home slurring abuse think twice at the sight of her! The down side is that I know she's a wonderful, sweet hearted little docile critter at heart who, after catching anything would mourn its loss for weeks in the most adorably sad manner...so that reduces my comfort levels of her protection to a very basic nil. Oh well.

Because I Can

Monday, April 4, 2011

Diet Week One

Well, last week I went into this rather stranger little place near Fremantle called Remede Wellness Centre. I went in feeling more confident than I have in a while, and came out feeling...worried. I had been led to believe that the people at this place have a professional medical outlook on life, and the people they treat, and discovered instead that they are all about 'negative waves of energy' and similar amusing anecdotes, none of which are really going to help me. However, On the off chance that they have any ability to help me, or to diagnose my problem, I agreed to go onto an extremely healthy diet for them in exchange for them getting a hair sample analysed so we can figure out what, if anything, I have too much or too little of. It's honestly not that much different to my current diet, however there are a few key differences, one of which is that for the duration of my time on this diet they ask me to not have margerine, butter or cows milk, and to either completely eliminate black tea from my diet, or limit myself to two weak cups a day. They also ask that I have no fried foods at all, eat only brown wholemeal bread and rice, and cut out red meat in favour of fish. So, here's my impression on this new diet so far:

Tea: I hate not being able to mainstream this. I am the sort of person who will go through between 3 and 5 cups of tea on a normal day, however in a stressed day I may get as high as 8 or 9 cups. Now, I am not drinking more than one cup a day, and am suplimenting with some dreadful tasting organic green tea. My mood has the ability to become foul when I am in the process of drinking this stuff, and I am yet to find a suitable substitute.

Organic: When I was discussing diet with the clinic, they asked that I move to a completely organic diet. Now, I don't really see the benefits with this. I would be paying 3 times the price for my weekly shop no matter where I buy it, and I cannot see how the veggies are any better; I know all the arguments for organic veggies, but I cannot see how buying from a farmers market is anything but 'unanounced organic' and hey, I'm in refusal to up my grocery bill. They also want me drinking goats milk which I am allergic to. They do not want me drinking cows milk, and so far no reason has been given.

Diet: I already had a very healthy diet. I ate a ton of vegetables as my husband is vegetarian, and I rarely ever ate red meat, prefering chicken on the occasions that I did eat meat. I don't eat much at all in the way of sweet things, and I don't drink any coffee, or an excess amount of alcohol. SO really, all this diet has served to do is highlight how healthy my diet was, and to cut out all the good things in it. That couple of squares of chocolate every week. The tea I love. The drink or 3 on a saturday night. White rice. Cheese. Milk. A porterhouse steak every now and then. All gone. And I honestly cannot see how it is meant to have any effect on my fertility, cutting out a major source of iron (red meat), calcium (cows milk and cheese), Zinc (red meat) and a carbohydrate source (white rice). In fact, the more work I put into looking into this diet, the more ludicrous it seems.

My Doubts: Look, I'm all for getting help here. But when you look me straight in the eyes and say I should be very careful about my diet as no matter what I eat, or even what air I breathe, there are tiny chemicals that I will take in that will mimic other hormones and cause a 'huge hormonal imbalance', my main response is to laugh so hard I cry and cannot breathe. Sure, those chemicals exist, but not in anywhere near the numbers you're trying to scare me into thinking, and they do not have the effects you doomsday'd me about. The sad thing is I have more facts with a tiny bit of research than the clinic did.
Also, telling me that egg cells are 'made of and surrounded by zinc, therefore you need LOTS of zinc!' is a bad idea. I know I need lots of zinc, the menstrual cycle uses a lot of it, and zinc is imperative to fertility in both genders, however egg cells are not made of, nor are they surrounded by, Zinc. Check your facts. And if you cannot tell me WHY living next to high voltage power lines is ''very bad for your fertility!'' then I will: It isn't. Sure, in 20 years or so I may develop Leukemia, if I choose to live here that long, but a) thats not even a hard fact, and b) the power lines actually ARE proven to have no effect on my fertility. So suck it.

HOW is cutting out some major suppliers of dietary needs going to help my diet? How does cutting out an iron source and my main calcium source *help* my fertility in any way? ANd on top of all this, I fail to see how organic only food will help me any more than my already healthy vegetarian lifestyle was. However, considering the views of the doctors in this city, I guess I'm helpless to do anything about this yet as I need the help, and these people, while I have money, are willing to help me. Ah, how cynical am I...

Because I Can