Meet Morrigan

Morrigan is my little black cat. I have had her since she was a tiny kitten who could sit in the palm of my hand (and if you could see my hands you would realise just how small that is.) She is also my health indicator and carer.

Two different types of crash.

My conditions often cause what is referred to as a crash - a flair up of symptoms that leave me incapable of doing much.
Over time I have come to realise that I have two different types of crash. The most common is where I have pushed myself too much and not had time to pace myself. I usually know when these are coming and have the chance to make sure I am alone. Feeling your body shut down bit by bit is not much fun but it is the price I have to pay if I go out anywhere. It is my bodies way of giving me a kick and saying enough is enough. These crashes last anything between a day and five, though if I have let myself run down over time it may be longer. They are as much a part of my life as sleeping and waking.

The other crash however is one I never see coming. It hits out of the blue and lays me out for at least a week. The pain involved is horrendous, like my body between my waist and mid thigh’s are burning constantly. The rest hurts in all the usual places but it is barely noticeable against the burning. I shake and tremble, feel nauseous, loose my appetite and can barely stand. I feel incapable of anything but staying in bed and trying to sleep through it as best I can. These crashes are a nightmare, they take away my ability to cope with anything especially thoughts of the future. I am literally reduced to a shameful wreck.

The sixth sense of the cat.

Morrigan however always sees these crashes coming. She starts to cling to me everywhere I go, rarely leaving the house. After a few days of decline I end up in bed and she stays with me pretty much the whole time. If she isn’t laid on me she is pushed up close to my side, only leaving to go out and catch a mouse or bird and bring it back to me with a yowl.
I used to find it annoying, especially when my body was so painful I couldn’t bear even her slight weight on me. Now I realise what she is doing and I am truly grateful. - I would much prefer that she didn’t try to feed me though.


I judge my recovery by the way she is around me. When she finally decides she can lay elsewhere in the room I know I have got through it and can relax. She stays a little clingy for a few more days and then she is back to her usual rogue self.

I hear lots of stories of pets that can identify illness in their owners, I would love to hear about yours.

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'Don't be daft. You can't do that!'

                                                          
I have the kind of nature that doesn't like to accept limitations. Once I decide I want to do something there is no dissuading me.
If I want to cut my own hair - I cut it.
If the house needs re-decorating - I do it.
If I want to use something and its broken - I take it apart to find out why.
Whilst my hair may not have the perfect cut, my painting not perfect and the vacuum left sitting in pieces next to the dustbin. I will still have given it my best shot, sometimes I even manage to do a good job.

When I was younger I had assumed that everyone was like this but over the years I have been forced to accept that this is not the case. Countless times I suffer people telling me ‘You cant do that.’ It only serves to make me more determined to give whatever ‘it’ is a go. I may take more time to look into whatever it is, or wait for the time no one is around to laugh at my possible failure but unless I find out for definite that they are right I am rarely deterred.

I must admit, most of my efforts have been driven by lack of money. Often the only way I will get something done that I require is to do it myself but there have also been plenty of times where I have just wanted to give something a go. I once started a jewellery business, bought in all the component stock and even had a London solicitor prepared to write up all the legal contracts for my sales representatives at a massive reduction in price because he believed in the business model. All this without ever having designed or even made a piece of jewellery in my life. My designs proved very popular and the jewellery went on to sell in numerous tourist outlets across Scotland. Those that had told me how silly I was were soon eating their words.


I know I am not alone in having such an ambitious nature. To me it is such a positive way to live your life, only accepting defeat when you have tried your best and not until. I really cannot understand these naysayers that love to pour doubt on peoples efforts. So what if we are trying to do something we have never done before? Why is it they think we cannot learn? Maybe the people who doubt so strongly are the people who would dearly love to be go getters themselves? It is true that some of my ideas are rather unusual. They can pop up out of the blue and seem to have no basis in common reason to most people but that doesn't reduce their validity. Each time I set myself a goal, however small or daft and I achieve it, my moral is instantly boosted. I can look back on the experience with a real sense of achievement, I can also look back on my failures with a chuckle and                                         know that at least I tried.

So come on all you doubting Thomas’s and Moaning Myrtle’s, next time someone you know tells you they are going to try something different. Maybe something daft, strange or just out of the ordinary for them. Instead of telling them all the reasons why they are wrong, mad or just plain stupid. Why not give them some encouragement, stand back and enjoy watching them giving it a go? You never know, you might even be inspired to try something different yourself.

To see the biggest achievement that I was told I could never do, visit my shop at:
www.nellyharper.co.uk/shop

guest blog for the Alliance of Independent Authors

Guest Blog

I am a little slow in preparing my blog for this week, so in the meantime I will give you the link to a guest blog I was asked to write for the Alliance of Independent Authors.

http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/indie-author-after-illness/


50 self published books worth reading 2015

This week has been a little crazy. Apart from excellent reaction to the guest blog, I came home from a week away to find my debut novel The Girl of Two Worlds has made the short-list for the 50 self published books worth reading 2015. For any of you wanting to vote, you can find the link at the bottom of the page.
Occasionally the link re-directs to the sites home page. Should that happen simply click the link to vote near the top of the page, choose the fantasy category and the book will appear in that section. Whilst your there you can also vote in all the other categories or browse the lists of books to find your next read.


http://www.readfree.ly/vote-for-the-50-self-published-books-worth-reading-2015-fantasy/