Struggling to get more fit

Had a remarkably better day today than the snow storm day was yesterday. I had my tooth repaired - a piece of it had gone missing, now it is whole again - and I started motioning again, because my asthma specialist said that I could. I had the thermal mask on and yet I coughed after having walked for just a short while. I had taken the attack medicine in beforehand, yet after having walked half of the distance, walking started to succeed without immense shortness of breath and an incredible stiffness in legs (since there was not enough oxygen). Still it was by no means normal walking. I don't know how long it will take but I really have to concentrate in my efforts to get more fit now. I don't even know if it is possible, and to which degree, but I must do my best. Both asthma and fibromyalgia make it difficult and they even work together to add on each other's harmful effects, but I still have to try to overcome this really bad and weak physical state.

I have been able to cut my edible cortizone in half, finally! That is really good news - it is a very harmful medicine which anyway has been necessary to maintain breathing and to treat the lungs while the infection has been as worst. My doctor told me to take calcium supplements in order to prevent possible damage to bones. My bones have been scanned and they have been in excellent condition; they should rather stay that way too.

Otherwise there is tons of new snow everywhere but the country just keeps going. Workers have been ploughing snow all through yesterday, last night and today, and you could ask, "What snow storm?" Everything is cleaned, roads are open, no school days or working days were canceled, we have electricity, shops are open... my respect to those who have made all this possible!

Today was a sunny day, really a lot of light when it was reflecting from the white snow all over!

At home, my husband and my older daughter did the shoveling of the snow. How wonderful to have such family members!

Daytime walking

Nowadays it is already dark when I get home from work. I have for long already wanted to take it as a habit to go for a walk every day by noon. It is light then, and I can get fresh air and sunshine and get in a better condition and get evergy for the rest of the day. After I had my asthma control and heard that everything was fine except of an excess of mucus, I could start moving again. So far I have managed going out each and every day. Sometimes it has been difficult to slip out of the door due to customers coming in (lol) but I have gone when I have got their issues solved. Also today: it was raining and storming heavily in the morning but it stopped raining till my lunch hour. And when I got out, even the sun showed a glimpse of itself through the clouds. I did not get wet at all, and I could have a nice walk and enjoy feeling worth it. Sometimes it feels very painful but I do it anyway. Sometimes I am not sure if I can make it back but so far I have always been able to. It always makes me stiff but I persistently hope that it will get easier when I get used to it. I hope and pray that I will stay healthy so I can go on with it.

The morning storm is coming back, I can feel it. It is squeezing my shoulders and causing severe pain in arms and hands and fingers. I hope I can keep my ability to think and work though, it is about important things these days anyway.

It was a dark and stormy night

August 17th, 2007

It was a dark and stormy night...

.... like you start the worst novel in the world, according to some professional association. But so it was. I have started to paint windows this summer, once it was fine weather- but since we have tens of windows, and they are old-fashioned, wooden ones in our old house - and we want to restore them, as well as the house - it takes a lot of time and I did not have that time then, to finish the project. Then it has been raining, or we have been away from home - always something. Now that I am finally on holiday, I would have time but the weather has been so rainy and also so humid for long already that all the wooden frames of the windows have been absorbing humidity from the air and cannot be painted right now. So while enjoying the romantic atmosphere of the stormy and dark nights we are hoping for dry weather to get at least the south-facing windows painted this summer. If only they'd dry some first!

The other day, India celebrated her 60th anniversary. I have always been interested in India - first because at school I had a pen pal there - it was a habit that time. I still know this person and we keep in touch. And now also our daughters mail to each other, which especially delights us both. Our friendship has been going on for more than 30 years. It would be nice to meet in reality sometimes too. Maybe when our children get a bit older we can travel so far! - When studying, one summer I had no job and no money either but did not want to bother my family with that and lived with a very narrow budget. Then I saw an announcement in a newspaper - Indian Kathakali Dance Theatre would perform in a near-by town. Had the feeling that I must see it, once it comes so near. I had just enough money for the bus ticket so off I went - and it was really worth it. I then made the other of my two final research works in the university about the Indian Kathakali Dance Theatre. So inspired I was!

I wonder how often it is so that our interest towards something - culture, hobby, habit, faith, country, whatever - arises from people we meet. Yesterday I met someone, from a foreign country, and he asked me if I spoke his native language. (Worldwide, it is not spoken much outside his country). I said I was sorry I did not, but then I think a devil went into me and I asked whether he spoke my native tongue (we are a smaller nation, true..). So quess what he answered? "Of course not." Perhaps he meant that practically no foreigner can speak our language (worldwide, it is true again, but I am astonished by how many actually can anyway). So maybe it is better to stay polite about not knowing some language than take it for granted. Or suppose others take it for granted.

Read an article about Bible translators. Had never come to think about it but there was an interesting point. A translator said that when you translate a novel you have your freedom, to a certain extend. But when you translate the Bible, you have to be exact. You cannot write "a little bit that way". And that means you have to know both languages really well - and also the world of the Bible. And not enough with that: even though you know tha languages, you can still make fatal mistakes if you don't know the culture.

There is a delicious description about these misunderstandings in Barbara Kingsolver's novel "The Poisonwood Bible", which tells about an American missionary worker family in Congo before WW2. It is fictionary but really good. After having read that, I had to start studying the history of colonialism in Central Africa. Had before studied just India and knew some (very little) about North Africa. Will try to list some books if I succeed, after having finished this.

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