Fall Photos 2011

Yesterday, I spent some time outside, playing with my camera, during what will probably be the last nice weekend of this year. 

October in Bartlett, IL is when leaves turn glorious colors and fall off the trees en masse.

Click here to enjoy my photos of Fall in Native Suburbia 2011! 

Mallory, My Fibroduck

This is Mallory. :)  Mallory is going to help spread awareness for Fibromyalgia by posing for photos in various locations.  I take her picture and upload to Fibroduck's website, where everyone in the world can see her.

Her spots represent the invisible illness of Fibromyalgia, so you can tell she's not a "normal" ducky.  She's still trying to live a fun and fruitful life, even though she's different, just like I am.  Although sometimes it may seem strange to see a ducky in certain places, it's representative of how strange it may feel for us fibromites to be in this world - kind of like a duck out of water.  Even though you can't see how strange it feels, we feel it.  We compensate however we can and try to make the most of each situation.

I bought my ducky in a 3-pack from a local Party City store for under $3 and customized her with dots myself, but if you like you can order a free* ducky from Jamie Goodwin, the creator of Fibroduck.  (*Due to the expense of running the charitable website, she is now asking for just the cost of postage.)

Please visit Fibroduck online and view some of the photos uploaded there.  Download a poster and join in the fun by taking your own photos and uploading them to share with others.  It's a fun way to do something that helps fibromyalgia awareness, which in turn helps fibromyalgia patients like myself get better, more effective treatments and helps reduce confusion and misunderstanding of this chronic, incurable condition.

P.S.  I have two extra duckies I would be happy to give away to two lucky readers of my blog who are interested in joining up with Fibroduck.  If you'd like your own fibroduck, please let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me check the profile page from my blog's "About Me" page).  I will send a ducky to each of the first two people who are interested.  (Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you.) 

Beercation 2009 - Photos!

The Fibro Frog strikes again!

I'm so sorry, dear readers.  I recently realized that I'd neglected to share the link to all the photos Don and I took on our Beercation (beer + vacation = beercation) during the very end of 2009.  I see that I posted a little something about it, but the photos were not uploaded at the time.

Well, without further ado, here are all the photos, with my captions added. 

Beercation 2009 Photos

I hope you enjoy them.  As always, feel free to comment, either on the photo pages themselves (via Picasa Web by Google) or here, at The Table.

I Will Have Better Days

I've been inspired by my own recent flare to create this very meaningful reminder that "I will have better days."  It's a photo of a very teeny, tiny monarch caterpillar that I took in my yard one day, as he munched on the leaf of one of my common milkweed plants.

This little critter was so small, (roughly this small: ====,) I could barely see its characteristic stripes.  Luckily, I was out looking for monarch caterpillars that day, looking under milkweed leaves all over the yard.  It was slightly breezy, which made for quite the challenge to photograph my little friend using my tripod and macro lens, as the plant swayed in and out of focus.

This photo is the result my hard work and determined effort, so it's a very personal reminder for me.  However, any of my fibromite friends, or anyone dealing with any chronic illness or difficulties, may find having this little reminder around helpful.

Just think: Each butterfly starts out as a teeny, tiny caterpillar that munched, hid, and survived until it was time to fly!

I'm going to make sure I order one of these and keep it in plain sight, so I won't lose hope during my next fibroflare.

Wee, but Hopeful

My husband and are native gardeners. We joined this environmental cause almost serendipitously: to avoid the mowing maintenance of caring for the bland lawn.

At any rate, our entire yard, front and back, is a garden with hundreds of plant species, all native to the area. We enjoy taking photos for our website and for our own personal enjoyment.

The other day, I wandered around with the macro lens on the camera and found a dozen or so tiny snails living in and around our rain garden/pond. I was thrilled! I snapped a few shots with my unsteady hands. After sifting through all the stinkers, this is the one I am calling a keeper.

This tiny little snail is perched on the leaf of a blue flag iris (Iris virginica), facing the sky. Although he was only about a half-inch long, he was probably a foot above the water level. He may be small, but he is unstoppable! I want to be him. The snail will serve as my inspiration throughout my lifelong battle with Fibromyalgia. Hm, I should name him... or her. Since the snail is going to represent me, I'll assume it's a female. Her name shall be...Samantha. Samantha the snail, show me the way!