Bye Bye Carpet Sharks & Doctor Doctor Give Me The News

Well, yesterday we finally had to give up the three ferrets. With my disability it is just too hard for me to clean their cages regularly, and it is difficult to let them run around as much as I should. There is a better cage out there that would be a lot easier for me to clean, but the first part of the cage costs $300.00 and is not big enough for 3 ferrets. Adding the second story to make it big enough is another $250.00 and I just can't afford $550.00 right now. I felt like I was torturing the poor babies because of these things so I found someone who loves ferrets (she has 7 already and they have their own room in her house) and gave them to her. My three are very accepting of new ferrets, very playful and they are quite bonded to each other. I am sure they will greatly enjoy having 7 more family members to play with and cause trouble with. Having their own room to run around in will definitely give them all the exercise they need on a daily basis, so I am sure they will be quite happy. I, however, am very sad at no longer having my fuzzies. I love the ferrets. They are so cute and so much fun! I just felt it was unfair of me to keep them in an environment that can no longer provide them with everything they need to stay healthy just because I love them. I feel that if I really love them, then I need to let them go to someone who can provide them everything they need to be happy, so that is what I did.

I miss them though.

Today was a pain clinic doctor visit day. I got the typical *poke* "Does this hurt?" *poke somehwere else* "Does this hurt?", repeat at least 10 more times. Sometimes I wonder if the doctor keeps doing this because she expects a miracle of some sorts; that somehow I'll come in and be totally cured. I wish, but no such luck. With 2 bad disks, lots of nerve damage and a permanent compound fracture of the left sacroiliac joint that is held together by a stainless steel plate and 6" screw, I know that I will never be pain free again in my life. You'd think the doctor would know that also, specially after 7 years and the necessity to do invasive radio frequency procedures to keep my pain level in control, but nope, apparently they don't know this. (Yes I realize they have to make sure, and check for changes and such...but I still can't help but think "Umm Duh! Yes it still hurts..same as for the last 12 years!" when they poke me. I use humor and sarcasism to keep myself from getting depressed over the whole thing, sometimes that works better than others.) Add to the monthly poking a large storm system moving through the area today with severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings and the result is a higher pain level than normal.

I always thought the "well my back hurts so it is going to rain" thing was just an old wive's tail, but its not. My back and pelvis are really good at letting me know that it is going to rain, or when a different front moves through (high pressure or low pressure), and when the temperatures make their seasonal shifts. It took me a little while to realize that the fluctuations in my pain level were in fact a result of weather changes. My husband is the one who figured it out and when he pointed it out to me, my initial response was "No way!". But since he mentioned it, I started keeping a pain journal and sure enough, on the days it rained or a front moved through that changed the air pressure, my pain levels went up. As well as during those couple of weeks when Florida's panhandle has temperature fluctuations as the seasons change. I couldn't deny the relationship between the weather and my pain because nothing else had changed on thsoe days. My routine was the same, I did not do anything that I was not supposed to (such as lift heavy objects). So now I am offically old.

Needlework news:

I found a bunch of free patterns online for thread crochet and downloaded the ones I like. I am eager to start the one that is called Easter Egg Coaster but of course, I can't get the silly thing to print. Something is wrong with my in home network so I can't send files to the printer. So I will save the files I want printed to a cd-rom and give that to my husband and ask him to print them for me. I'm hoping to make a start on the coaster tonight.

I also joined the posting board for Ellen Maurer-Stroh, EMS Cross Stitch Forum, because I really like her designs and the board is where she posts her freebies. I've downloaded a few of her animal baby freebies and I'm looking forward to stitching them.

I did not get any stitching time so far today because after the doctor's visit I was in a lot of pain so I layed down and fell asleep. I am hoping to get some time in tonight before I go to bed.

Well, time to go play World Of Warcraft with the hubby for a little while.