Eclipse!

My Sweetie and I took an eclipse road trip and it was AMAZING! We make a great team with superb catering* and really enjoyed having two solid days together. The drive down was mostly easy peasy if long, with a nice break to visit a friend in Centralia, WA. We stayed in Corvallis, OR, in the backyard of someone from my online knitting group.

Sunset Aug 20th, just south of Portland

The six of us hung out in the back yard Monday morning watching the eclipse and playing with shadows. As the eclipse progressed it gradually got cooler, the light got strange and dim but still directly overhead, and it was unlike anything else. Totality was incredible and unique and felt too short. As the eclipse ended it seemed like early morning as the light and temperature increased. And then it was a normal summer day. 

After the eclipse we poked around Corvallis a little, napped in a hammock, fed ganache to our hostess' daughter, then packed up and headed home. It was perfect. My body cooperated pretty well and I felt like I had a break from being sick for a day.**

Sweetie and I stare at the sun just before totality.

You can't see anything through eclipse glasses so be extra impressed by this selfie.

What my phone saw during totality

Leafy shadows acting as cameras obscura

Afterward I got a little silly with a nibbled leaf-turned-pinhole camera.

Driving home was not as fun. I navigated us on side roads to avoid the awful I-5 traffic until north of Vancouver. Then it was a long slow slog for 130 miles until past Tacoma. It was fully nighttime so Sweetie napped in the back seat while I drove much of that. I'd brought a quilt and pillow and made a nest for him. My self care techniques are appreciated by healthy people too :)

I'd cleverly placed the stereo aux cable out of driver's reach so couldn't connect my phone for driving music. Instead I played "how long until the Subaru notices its headlights aren't on?" (40mi). And quietly sang whatever song came into my head. And talked to traffic and other drivers. And cruised through the radio stations a few times. Finally I pulled out my phone and played music with it sitting in my lap. You know you've found your match when he thinks all the above are adorable.

We got back to Seattle at 2:30am and quickly fell into our respective beds. Yesterday I had a rest day. And now we're firmly back to normal life, albeit with a reminder of how magical and surprising life can be.


* Black bean burritos with chili-lime-cilantro brown rice, banh mi with spicy sausage and homemade pickled vegetables, strawberries, plums, lychee, cold brew coffee, and dark chocolate ganache.

** YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

Rheumatology update

Awesome Rheumy is back and I had an extremely positive appointment with her in July! She had some questions for my hematologist before prescribing new meds. So I waited, and waited, and got tired of waiting and ran around kicking butts into gear, then waited more. Did you know it's almost impossible for two specialists to actually talk to each other?

In late July I was once again hit with the dizzy stick plus some other neuro symptoms. Poor memory is among them so I don't have a symptom list. AR was told and squeezed me in for a visit two days later. At that appt she prescribed Imuran/azathioprine, an immunosuppressant also used after kidney transplants to prevent rejection. Hallelujah!

I officially have systemic lupus now, which should ease treatment hurdles in future. SLE carries much more weight than Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease. The azathioprine is treating me very well so far, no increase in nausea, and I've titrated up to the full dose.

My emotions have been all over the place since June but finally seem to have leveled off. It feels great to have a doc who has the ability and desire to diagnose and treat me. She believes we can achieve remission, that it's a matter of time and finding the right meds. And my neurological issues will resolve as the level of inflammation in my body is reduced. 😁

Let's get probiotic; or I am Summer's microbiome

Last month I took a free uBiome gut microbiome test and learned that I had basically zero probiotic bacteria. So I've started eating yogurt. The new fancy Greek yogurts are quite tasty, not at all like the runny gritty yogurt of my youth. I like to buy unflavored versions and add unsweetened apricot preserves* and granola.

The first crop: Smári, Noosa and Fage

Smari was up first. It had an aggressive yogurty tang and no sweetness at all. It would pair nicely with sweet jam but I added honey. I'll keep this in mind for days when my tongue craves lactic acid.

Second was Noosa. Noosa is tangy and rich but not too sweet, and great for breakfast or lunch. I loved its thick texture and honey sweetness. It has a high fat content which stops it from being my daily choice.

Fage didn't impress me. It was very thick, tangy, and unsweetened, yet lacked the mouth feel of full fat yogurt. It mixed well with apricot and granola but I wouldn't eat it alone. I'll consider trying the 2% fat version, in part because Fage is easy to find.

And last came Ellenos. I was powerless to resist: sweet, creamy, not heavy, and there's a passion fruit flavor. Ellenos is delicious but with no yogurt tang it's like eating dessert. I tried eating it for breakfast and confused my brain and stomach no end. 

Welcome to the Cult of Ellenos

Conclusion: I'll keep looking for a daily yogurt. Now that I know yogurt and I get along I'll try brands available in large tubs. I've learned to keep an eye on the fat and sugar content. And I know the difference in flavor between different yogurt-making traditions.

Ellenos will remain my dessert or afternoon snack yogurt.

* I have a couple jars left from 2012's batch, back in healthier days.

One more thing x 10²³

I saw my PCP yesterday for a physical. She noticed a heart murmur, one that definitely wasn't there during a cardiac workup in 2014. So it's back to radiology for another echocardiogram which at least is a cool and painless test. I'm super glad to be seeing Awesome Rheumy in 9 days (yep, I'm counting) rather than continuing to free fall without a rheumatologist or treatment.

I spent much of the last two days emotionally confused. Heart damage is not good, even a just a little bit. But this feels like a solidly Real Symptom that may help with an SLE diagnosis. And that would lead to greater treatment options, including clinical trials if I run out of new meds to try. Evidence that my borked immune system is winning is still tough to handle. But chronic illness has honed my ability to quickly adapt and accept, and that I have!

Sunday was a gorgeous hot day, the kind we rarely get and even more rarely can truly enjoy. My mom and I went to Mt Rainier and gawked at the views. I totally crashed on the way back and slept in the back seat. But seizing the day was worth it!

Knitting update: Morvarch is done!

In April I finished Morvarch, the great green cabled shawl started on Jan 1st. I am so happy with it! I've worn it a couple times, my mom wore it once, and it luxuriates atop a bookcase in between airings. I greatly enjoyed knitting the cables but the stockinette seemed endless.

I don't have the energy for real photo shoots so I'll just have to hope these pictures do it justice :)

Morvarch's length matches my wingspan: perfect!

Just the cables, ma'am.
With bonus butt in my new favorite jeans.

This accurately captures its actual color