You may have caught up to speed on where my life is at presently. Whether this be through my Instagram account, my Facebook account or here. I try to share the information around as evenly and consistently as possible, although, finding time and effort to write here has been harder of late and so many may be starting to feel neglected. This is my fault and I want you to know what is occurring in my life and how Lupus is affecting me so you can best understand and there are no gaps.

Loneliness

Firstly let us cover my depressed state, brought about by sheer loneliness. I want to first clarify I live with a fellow, Bow, which I have mentioned time to time. He is a sociable, polite easy to get along with guy that went to the same boarding school I did at the same time as my brother. Our familys know each other through country connections, and he is a friendly, reliable and trustworthy person. As a housemate you couldn’t wish for anyone better and so don’t mistake my feelings of isolation are in regards to my living situation. I am also close to some family members, both in geography and relationship. I have solid bonds with my close friends, all of whom I consider family and know are as reliable, generous and caring as they come. If there is any lack for communication it would likely be my fault as sometimes I just fail to keep in touch given I am weary and trying to recall tasks or completing daily necessities.

Loneliness is inevitable when it takes so much time to do things such as clean, feed and organise yourself as well as get about and fulfil a job or study. Maintaining relationships takes more time than most days allow for, making and establishing bonds is so much more taxing than sustaining regular connections and so you become lonely. The need for companionship is a human trait. But that does not mean our companion needs to be a human. In fact, establishing a relationship with an animal is easier and sometimes more satisfying as we do not need to pass through the hurdles mankind puts before us. They (we) are selective, choosy, judgmental, rude. You know recently I undertook the exercise of considering adopting a housemate of the bestial nature to fulfil my yearning for company. Along came Turvy. She is a Dwarf Lop Rabbit, a child of a grey and a honey coloured Dwarf Lop Rabbits. She is shy but caring, curious but cautious, cheeky but well-mannered. I had never been near a rabbit before her adoption so I am now learning about the life of a rabbit.

Learning

As well as learning about what it means to care for a Rabbit I have taken up some other engagements but let us follow the organic path, how they all fell into each other. The diet of a rabbit, I found, can be much aligned with my diet. Most of the food Turvy can eat is what I can eat. Of course there are pre-made foods, pellets and such, which she also has, but the fresh vegetables are great as I can chill them and they provide water as well as nourishment. It is how we have bonded. Turvy has wood shavings and straw in her hutch. This is where she sleeps and completes her ‘ablutions’, don’t worry she runs in her room each day too for exercise. The used bedding is great for the garden as she is not a carnivore. But I went one step further. I have bought worms and investigated the process of a worm farm. I have learned about the life of worms and worm farming. Scraps that cannot go to the rabbit, or come from the rabbit, now go in the farm. The worm ‘pee’ and compost from this goes on the garden.

I have let my tomato bush go by the wayside. The rest of the tomatoes are being cut off at full ripeness and drop to the soil for next year’s harvest. I am learning about the life of tomatoes, eggplants and spring onions. Did I say spring onions? Yes, we had so many at Christmas I thought I would try an experiment, the whole ‘reusing-the-roots-to-grow-new-plants’. As you can see, it has been a success so far, my Cos Lettuce is taking longer with the heat and time of year. I want to try leeks next, learn about the life of leeks, you know.

Healthy Eating and Living

All of this life knowledge of growing vegetables, fruit and herbs (I have Perennial Basil, Thyme, Parsley, Chives and Oregano) is clearly related to my diet. Or more to be specific, my trouble with diet and my recent weight issues. By having an exciting role in my garden and what is growing in it I am excited once more about playing with the flavours of my food. You can imagine the flavour combinations I am coming up with! Many people on my social media ages were cautioning me against the amount of tomatoes I eat and I must very clearly assure them all that. Yes tomatoes are a night shade, and yes they do invoke rheumatic pains but I eat them very minimally. I was overwhelmed by the concern and greatly appreciate all the people who are as focused on maintaining a healthy awareness of the influence of food on our body. I haven’t been able to eat tomato for a decade, except the occasional slice and I admit I only grew these to see if I could have a garden of food. Never did I expect to be as successful as I was and most of my produce was given away or frozen.

Back to me. Between limiting the amount of unnatural, natural and added sugars and excluding processed food or food with preservatives and additives I came back to my original diet and eating habits. I cannot say I am perfect in this, why would I want to? I cannot say the transition is/was easy or that I am fully there, but it was never meant to be quick or easy. The changes I am trying to make are permanent or long-term and so they need to be thoroughly considered and well-managed. The weather is too hot for me to go walking a lot, even at night. This will change, so I am not worried here either.

For now just be assured that I am getting back on track with my life and making some new changes and firming up my life for a strong future.