Dr Martens For Life

As a huge fan of Dr Martens, I would not have believed they could improve this much! Having bought a pair of for life boots a while ago, I was immediately impressed at their softness. They needed no braking in at all-high praise indeed from someone with feet as sensitive as mine. However they got truly tested last weekend. I went to one of the CIAA Qigong weekends and wore them all the time. The soles were comfy and warm, when all the well people were complaining of cold feet, and the soft leather hugged and supported my ankles while being flexible enough far any exercises-Now my only question is when to get a black pair!

My new favourite knife

I just bought one of these non stick knives on a whim, whilst buying my fathers christmas present. It was pretty cheap, about £6 I think, but bright green and zingy. Since then it has been in use nearly every day. For those of us with weakened hands through chronic pain, anything that helps every day activities such as cooking is very welcome. I cant believe the difference it has made to some of my food preparations. Cutting vegetables seems to only take half the effort. It doesn't work on everything - especially very sticky things like glace cherries, but then nothing does, and for that amount of money this has to go down as one of my best buys of the year.

Pacing - the only way to survive Christmas with fibromyalgia

Just a little reminder to all that pacing is the only way to get through the next few days. Come the start of January, you wont regret having done frozen peas instead of sprouts, or having handed over presents in bags not neatly wrapped, but you will regret it if you spent the day in bed as you overdid it trying to prepare!

I managed to do too much tidying yesterday, getting carried away, and as a result didn't wake up until lunchtime, so now have to truly prioritise or suffer tomorrow. I want to eat christmas pudding, so thats next on the list, and maybe wrapping, but thats it for me. I have sent out to Waitrose entertaining for ready prepared vegtables, and a christmas cake. The local butcher Sumblers has prepared the meats, and amazon has provided almost all the presents - the others were from a couple of shops near work, or other web shopping sites. However looking back on this. it probably worked out at about the same costs as preparing early gave me web discounts enough to cover the extra in food ordering, so I think next year I will get amazon to gift wrap everything too!

Happy holidays everyone, and don't panic about the small stuff - just remember its your time that counts, not your perfection.

Stressless sofas

Need a new sofa? old one just too hard/soft? Well I was in this situation recently - I wasn't very happy that the old one hadn't lasted even 6 years, but it gave us the chance to look for something more supportive that I could get out of more easily. High back to stop those draughts round the neck, and a recliner were high on the list. I checked out several shops, and much of them were the same except for 2 shops. The main issue was that the recliners were almost all manual - they open out quickly enough, but I don't have the leg or arm strength to close them again, meaning I get stuck and make things worse by having to clamber out if I am on my own and the door goes.

The winners were DFS who now do an electric reclining range, and they had 3 very comfy ones, and Stressless. My husband initially said he refused to pay that much for a sofa, but thankfully they were on sale so stressless it was. I preferred their more robust build and the lumber support that drops away as you lean back. Its been a week now, and its so comfortable that I have easily managed to take a couple of afternoon naps on it and wake up without being in agony - so a big thumbs up for Stressless!

Chopping Food

OK, so not everything makes life easier. My husband recently broke our "Alligator" onion chopper, so we wanted to get a new one. We thought we would try one of these. Sadly it is probably the hardest thing to use and worse than actually chopping by hand! The thing cant cope with half or even quarter onions, and even if you cut it into eighths, you still have to push it down so many times your wrist gets sore. Unlike the Alligator which did need a push, but thanks to the design you could even use your elbow and just lean on it. We cant send the round one back, but will still be throwing it in the bin, as its just no use at all.

Dreamland electric throw

OK, so I don't actually have one of these, but its definitely going onto my Christmas wish list. I do get so cold in the winter, but don't want to either waste too much fuel or parboil my dog, so I usually start bringing in the fleeces and throws about this time of year. I used to have a dreamland electric duvet when living in a flat with no central heating. This was so good that it replaced my previous mound of bedding - by mound I mean 2 x 13.5 tog duvets and a smaller 10 tog one on top for good measure. I also use their heat pad and cushion regularly to ease those aches and pains, so the thought of a nice cosy, washable electric throw has got me really excited. If I don't get one, I will be buying one in January for sure!

Update: I did get one for my birthday, and its been a resounding success, especially in this cold spell we are having. The dog loves it too - he came in from a freezing rainy walk yesterday evening, and poked it in its pile with his ears down, looking at me, until I put it on my lap for him to warm up on top of. Yes, this is probably aginst the safety warnings, but he's only small and gets off if he starts to get too warm.

Heat Tech Clothing

Whats the one thing you need with fibromyalgia? - lots of layers

Whats the one thing you don't need? - too much bulk or weight!

I am loving the new heat tech clothes from Uniqlo - cheap, cosy and colorful, what more do you need on a bleak day like today.