Anyone who has been following me for the past few years is aware of the long, tedious, and side effect filled journey that has been my tale. I have tried the leading medical treatments and hospitals, I have tried some outlandish theories, I have found some successes, and I have given up.

After years of ups and downs and pain I am finally at a point where my peaks and valleys have largely grown closer together until I am at, if not a constant state of wellness, at least a relatively manageable and stable level of pain. I have also dispensed with the side effects that usually come with the treatments and trial periods, so I am better able to reliably guess my limits.

I am dialing it in.

Is it time to try more? If I am achieving balance in this current state is it time to push myself a little? To see if I can eek out a closer to normal existence? Do I dare?

This weekend was PirateFest in Northglenn and as usual I overdid it preparing for and dealing with the event. In addition to creating a slew of last minute items last week I also reinvented my displays. I did manage to rest some leading up to Friday but not a lot.

Friday early afternoon I grabbed Oliver and we headed up to Northglenn to set up. He was amazingly helpful, especially for a 10-yr old. I am certain I wouldn’t have faired as well without him. He helped me set up the tent, the tables, the chairs, the decorations, the displays, and even the items. During the Pirate Ball he even ran for food and drink and minded the store while I used the restroom. By the end of the evening he was up to speed on using the credit card reader and counting back change.

Sales went well. I completely sold out of chokers, which tells me next year I will need more of them. My ‘mermaid tear’ pendants sold well too.

A goodly number of people bought my charm necklaces and some bought my higher end silver items. It was a good feeling to see those pieces find homes.

As usual I learned a few things:

1. Never, ever, use a red camping shade tent in high wind for a jewelry show. To begin with you will have a red cast to all your pieces – see above photo. Secondly, you will see said tent break as the wind whips all the things around. It’s far better to just buy the commercial tent.
2. No matter how careful I am I will always overdo it during a show. Ouch.
3. Electrolytes do help with the headache. Not so much with the swelling and stiffness of fibro.
4. My back won’t actually snap in half when I force it to move after an entire day on my feet.

I have been pretty good about resting today. I did some hydrotherapy on the advice of my massage therapist. Using epsom salt and peppermint I scrubbed all the sore spots vigorously under warm water and then rinsed with cool. It seemed to loosen me up enough to take a short walk with the dog, which in turn loosened me up even more. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that movement itself, as much as the initial bits hurt, ends up making me feel better.

Next week I have Denver Handmade Market, which means I will need to get more things finished this week and then spend three days in a booth hawking my wares.

Let’s hope I can save up enough spoons for it!