Spring Fever

This has been a really weird spring weather-wise. Snow in the spring on my mountain isn’t that unusual, and heavy snow amounts even. But usually it is warmer. I’m beginning to feel like a yo-yo going back and forth with nearly summer temperatures and then returning to freezing winter the following day.

It might be that I’m getting older, but this past winter was really challenging for me in the health area. I’ve had persistant colds, stomach flu and just over-all sinus unpleasantness. Things got really interesting 2 weeks ago right before I left on my trip to visit Jan.

I have ridiculously sensitive skin and often deal with hives on my face and shoulders. A common trigger for these is accidentally ingesting gluten. Gluten is used in more foods that you would initially realize, of particular note are candies and chocolates.

I had consumed too many Easter chocolates after Spring break and at the end of April I had a bout of hives on the right-side of my face. Fortunately it cleared up after a week. Then the Wednesday before I left for Jan’s I started getting another break-out. But this time it was more severe.

My first Saturday at Jan’s I was a mess with it. Itchy and very uncomfortable. That patch finally began to heal up and a new patch appeared on my forehead and along the left-side of my face. Nearly my whole face looked swollen and red, not attractive and not comfortable either. The Sunday before I was to fly back home to Colorado more hives began to appear on my shoulders.

Early in my visit with Jan I began to suspect that I was experiencing Shingles. There wasn’t much I could do while in New Jersey so I spent my first full day back home on the phone getting a doctor’s appointment. After looking at the newest crop of sores on me the doctor told me this wasn’t Shingles. Unfortunately it appears to be a bit of a mystery as to what it is. I’m not showing any of the symptoms associated with the usual culprits.

My doctor prescribed a short course of steroids and recommended taking over-the-counter antihistamines to help with the itch. I’m also sticking with my routine of cold compresses on the affected areas and being hyper-vigilant about what I eat. Fingers crossed that I’ll be all healed up in a week or so.

Meanwhile this has really cut into my crochet and design schedule. Not to mention it was the reason I didn’t have any photos of me from my recent trip, I didn’t want to scare all my loyal readers.

I’ll leave you today with some more photos from my Longwood Garden trip.

The massive conservatory there is filled with beautiful flowers and everywhere I looked was something to intrigue the eye. I really loved the “childrens” area that had whimsical ironwork thru-out. This dragon railing looked almost alive.