The Brighton Jotter

"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." – Mary Oliver

Around here …

The weather this week has been summery. I guess this is our last bout of warm weather before colder weather sets in. I’ve even been able to eat my post-run breakfasts outside.

We finished two 1500-piece puzzles.

I had a couple of migraines earlier this week which is about a month after my last cluster. I have stopped having periods because of my Mirena but clearly my cycle is in a regular patch again. March and April I got a cluster of migraines around the 20th. I also got a single migraine midcycle which sometimes happens. I started tracking the migraines again in March so we’ll see how it goes. I’m wondering when this will end—I’m too old to still be dealing with this.

Some good things:

  • G bringing a yummy pastry home for me after his run
  • The kids all over for family dinner on Monday
  • Frozen berries—so convenient for breakfast, plus I don’t need to worry about them going mushy
  • A trip to the Osteo who freed up my back and neck
  • My parents safely returned from a fantastic trip to Japan
  • A lift newly installed at my parents place. Should make things easier for them, especially as time goes on.
  • My indoor plants

How’s have things been where you are?

Comments

16 responses to “Around here …”

  1. Nicole MacPherson Avatar
    Nicole MacPherson

    Ohhhhh my friend. I’m sorry about your migraines. I am battling massive perimenopausal symptoms right now (and have for the past *counts* twelve days). I don’t get migraines but I have had this racing heart rate and elevated RHR and it feels really unsettling.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      There is such a wide range of symptoms that can be very off-putting.

      Reply
  2. Catrina Avatar
    Catrina

    I bet the house was the first thing that got finished in that second puzzle! It looks lovely!

    That sounds rough with the migraines. Tracking them properly is a good move. Do you usually end up needing to lie in a dark room when they hit?
    I used to work with a colleague (in his 20s) who had migraines. He was very sharp and doing well in his bank role, but the migraines became so severe that he eventually had to quit. It was quite scary to see how disruptive they can be.

    A lift for your parents sounds like a great solution!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      I did the house and H did a lot of the rest. She started on the bottom section. I get vestibular migraines that have vertigo with or without a headache. I don’t need a dark room, but I do need to lie or sit very still if the vertigo is bad. I have a better vertigo medication now, which helps. Generally, if I can get in with the vertigo medication and some aspirin or Voltaren before the migraine gets a strong hold, I can still function, which I did manage to do this week. I also sometimes get a migraine that begins with vision disturbance, but that is only after intense exercise. I used to only get them every three to four months, but they have become more frequent with perimenopause.

      Reply
  3. Jenny Avatar
    Jenny

    I’m envious of your weather- I wish we were moving into our cooler period. Instead, it’s getting hotter and hotter here, and we’re in for a LONG hot summer.
    Sorry about those migraines. I’m very lucky that I don’t get them, but I know it’s awful. I like your list of good things! There are always good things- we just have to remember to focus on them.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      I know people move out of Melbourne because of the winters (although it is nothing compared with a lot of places in the Northern Hemisphere) but I couldn’t live in a tropical climate—too humid. You are right that there are always good things.

      Reply
  4. Kel me about it Avatar
    Kel me about it

    So sorry to hear about the migraine, I hope you’re feeling better!

    Those jigsaw puzzles are amazing, that’s tempting me to go get one and leave it on a table for us to do pieces of every now and then.

    I’m up in Queensland so I don’t know if I’m allowed to truly say we get “cold” here, but anything under 20 and I’m putting on a hoody. We actually got to low teens for the morning temps so it feels chilly to me already.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      We are lucky we have a big table, so the puzzle can sit on the end, and we can still fit the six of us, if needed, on the other end. We also have a board, so we can move it to the bedroom if people are over.

      We have been spending about a month in Noosa during winter the last few years, and we need warm clothes when we are there, but not my scarf or gloves.

      Reply
  5. ernie Avatar
    ernie

    The puzzles are so pretty. Sorry about your migraines. Glad you’re enjoying another week of warm weather before the cold.

    Things here are good – busy. The 3 girls are all on track teams at their 3 different schools. Um, track meets are LONG. Ask me how I know this? The fact that none of them are at the same events is brutal, but it’s a short season. I’m super excited because I finished the photo book project I’ve been working on for over a year. It’s for a fam that I sat for for 5 years. There was no due date as it’s just a gift I wanted to give them. A non priority will always be ignored until I was like FINISHING THIS NOW! It’s 82 pages long with a funny rhyme about their days here.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      Photo books are a lot of work, yay for finishing it up. I need to finish my eldest’s primary school album, LOL.

      Reply
  6. J Avatar
    J

    Ugh, migraines are brutal and can be so debilitating. My friend gets them and I was horrified when she told me how much work she has to miss because of them. I’m glad yours are mostly managed. I get occasional ocular migraines, which start with vision issues, and if I don’t nip them in the bud, turn into nausea. I don’t have headache though, and thankfully not vestibular.

    You have some good things there on your list. Good things around here are that our townhome complex is getting a facelift, in the form of new siding. Our building (two units per building, we share a wall with our neighbors) is finally done and I was able to put my yard back together. I had all of my plants smashed in one little area, and yesterday I went through and found a couple that were done for, a couple that I didn’t want anymore (which I rehomed on our local Facebook Buy Nothing group), and put everything else back where it belongs. Then today I gave the windows a good scrubbing. They really needed it after all of that dust, the house looks brighter now!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      I’m lucky I only work casual hours at home, so if I get a migraine, it doesn’t usually impact too much. I can imagine your house looks fantastic with the new siding, clean windows and your plants spruced up and back in position.

      Reply
  7. K @ TS Avatar
    K @ TS

    Sorry to hear about your migraines; I saw your comment on Nicole’s post about HRT and I hope that it helps. I look forward to hearing if it does or not. I have been having some possible symptoms of peri but of course it could be something else but it sure would be nice to put a label on them and be able to fix them!

    That lift is a good idea! My parents bought a one level house closer to the doctors a few years ago; it is strange to think about that being an issue but I am so glad they are getting on top of it now while there is still time.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      I’ve been on HRT for over a year now, and it has helped with fatigue and sleep, but not so much the migraines, although when I got a Mirena, that reduced the migraines, so that is good.

      Reply
  8. Lisa's Yarns Avatar
    Lisa’s Yarns

    I’m sorry to hear about the migraines. Those are so debilitating. 🙁

    It’s still kind of cold here in Minnesota. I should be warming up soon but the weather just can’t get its act together. I’m so tired of being cold!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Avatar
      Melissa

      I am too much of a wimp to live somewhere where it gets really cold.

      Reply

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