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Since my last post, I’ve been keeping busy working on my Mandala Madness by Helen Shrimpton. My mind has a tendency to wander when I’m stressed, and aside from my 4 hour round trip commute which always makes me want to pull out my hair, nothing has been more stressful this week than just generally being me.

I started on Helen Shrimpton ’s famous Mandala Madness the other day. After a successful day gardening I managed to get bitten by a critter (whom I think I have correctly identified as a Horsefly) and hobbling around has now become the new painful norm. A has been away so everyday as soon as I make it through the front door, I plonk myself down on the sofa and start crocheting like a mad woman to take my mind off the pain and grotesque-ness of my hideously swollen ankle.

Luckily, as I had intended to tidy the yarn from the living room, before my ankle became incapacitated I had dragged down one of the large vacuum bags that A had so carefully packed my yarn into a few weeks before. Although I never made it to the tidying part, starting the Mandala has meant that I should be able to stash-bust all the Paintbox yarns I’ve been hoarding- and this seems like just the right occasion. I’ve burned through around 3 balls of Simply Aran already…

To add to my discomfort, my Ehlers-Danlos has flared again and I’m now suffering with something even new to me- my little toe joints are now poking out at bizarre angles and every step I take I feel like I’m walking on glass. This is a new symptom to explore with my GP when I get a chance! It’s not a dislocation, but definitely still unpleasant.

Either way, I finished a blouse for A’s mum who we’ll be seeing at the weekend, and not being so mobile has meant the house has stayed relatively clean and I’ve been able to crochet with less guilt.

Guess you’ve always got to find the silver linings, right?