Independence Days - sort of

So, no posts on Independence Days for the last couple of weeks. Mostly because, well, I haven't been doing much in that arena. I've made some bread and some soap. I've tended to the garden daily - weeding, de-aphiding, adding mulch, then weeding, de-aphiding, and adding more mulch. I bought some blackberry bushes this weekend (tired, root-bound-looking plants from Lowe's for 75% off = $5.75/plant!) but I haven't got them in the ground yet. I've been researching creative ways to use chard, because we're about to have a bunch of it. I want to share some of it, but when I say "would you like some chard?" I am met with a glassy-eyed stare. So, I think I will borrow a trick from the lovely ladies who run the co-op and give recipes with veggies I share. One of their recipes is, after all, what kicked off my own love affair with Swiss chard and is the reason that I am about to be blessed with copious quantities of it. I will share recipes here later. I have been sewing and mending and knitting. But, I have NOT been writing things down. Shame. On. Me.


What I have been doing a LOT of is Kids-kids-kids. School's out. We were finally able to finalize the adoption of our youngest on 5/29. And we have been out of the state the last two weekends for BMX races. Yowza.


Oh, and last, but certainly not least - I have been withdrawing from Effexor XR. Double yowza. Google "Effexor withdrawal" or "brain shivers" and you will see what I mean. I am fortunate to be experiencing *relatively* mild symptoms. Which is to say that as I am sitting here typing at my kitchen table, it feels more like I am sitting on a boat in rough seas, but I am not completely incapacitated or bed-bound.

I am not a doctor. I do not play a doctor on TV. I cannot give you medical advice. I cannot tell you what medicine you should or shouldn't take. But I can give you some practical advice. Before you decide to take a medication, do your own research. Figure out if you can live with the risks and side effects associated with said medication. That must be balanced, of course, with the risks and symptoms of whatever condition you are treating. Also remember that "natural" treatments can have risks and side effects as well and you should make yourself aware of those as well.


For me, I have struggled with depression since at least my adolesence. I was first prescribed medication - Zoloft - to treat it when I was nineteen. I have lived with the *knowledge* that I will likely be on and off of anti-depressant medication for the rest of my life. So, about three years ago when it was time for another "on" period, I did not question my prescription of Effexor XR. When my doc told me not to go off of it suddenly, that I would have to taper down over a couple of weeks, I did not question that, either. But I can tell you now that I wish I had. I cannot say for sure that I will never take an anti-depressant again, but I can say for sure that it won't be Effexor. I am going to research alternative treatments, preferably nutritional treatments, now so that I will be better prepared to respond if/when the depression returns and hopefully be able to avoid pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical companies make money when people take medicine, not when they are treated and able to avoid medicine. That may just be the way of capitalism, but it certainly puts them and me working at cross-purposes.

Anyway, off the soapbox. A few of our neighbors got together and organized a block party for this weekend, so I am excited about that. Shamefully, we don't know many of our neighbors and this will be a great opportunity to change that. Community is a very important thing - and becoming more and more important every day. I am a doomer, after all. So, building community ties is a great, and hopefully fun, way to enhance our preparedness.

I'll try to get back on the Independence Days wagon full swing in the next few days.
Brooke