With a nod to my favourite author, I decided to write a post about my holidays.
I’ve just returned from a family holiday for a week in a holiday house on Bribie Island. It was lovely. I am lucky enough that I get along very well with my husband’s family. I have, in fact, hit the jackpot when it comes to in-laws. There were seven of us in total, my husband and I, his parents, his two brothers, and his older brother’s wife.
Going on a holiday when you have a chronic illness like fibromyalgia is not an easy task. There are dietary restrictions which making eating out almost impossible. There’s all the self-care you need to do to keep yourself running (Epsom salt baths, yoga, early bed time etc.). And then there’s the challenge of what you actually do while you are on holidays.
One of the main reasons for choosing Bribie, was my father-in-law’s love of fishing. So most mornings, he and a varying number of apprentices headed off to catch our lunch for the day. I would have loved to go, but walking through sand, casting and then standing for a few hours would have used up far too much energy.
So instead I did one of the things I love to do – feed people. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen!
I made frittatas, waffles, parfaits, French toast and pikelets for breakfast (not all on the same day). I crumbed freshly caught fish in coconut, roasted chickens, marinated beef ribs, made peanut butter ice-cream and generally tried to make sure everyone went home a kilo or two heavier than when they arrived. The best bit? – I didn’t have to clean up! My knight in tarnished armour and all of his family happily cleaned the kitchen after every meal. (My knight was pretty happy that he didn’t have to do it all himself either!)
Another of my favourite things to do is to play board games. I was lucky enough, that this was something we had discovered prior to me getting ill. So we have been able to continue doing this and it is a relatively low energy activity that we enjoy. I’m not talking about Monopoly here. I’m talking games that win awards for design and gameplay and general all round awesomeness, like Puerto Rico and 
Carcassonne. We spent many, many hours playing games. The dining table (left) spent a lot of time covered in board game pieces.
Just as well there were plenty of other places to eat when the weather was fine – like this outdoor table (to the right) with a view over the canal.
I also started to learn calligraphy. My mother-in-law, Tricia, is a calligraphy artist and she very kindly gave me some one-on-one lessons and it has been wonderful to give my brain a new thing to do. If you want some work done or would like lessons of your own, her website can be found here.
I did s
pend a little bit of time in the pool. While it was lovely reducing the effects gravity has on my fibro, the Fibro-Troll was sitting and waiting when I got out. So I only went in the once. However, I did have some lovely relaxing company with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law-in-law (what do you call your brother-in-law’s wife??) sitting at the outdoor table, eating ice-cream and making things with yarn.
While I didn’t have as many adventures as Twoflower, I did thoroughly enjoy my week away and am hoping it will become an annual event.
What do you do on holidays that doesn’t use up too much energy? Let me know, I’m always looking for more ideas. And if you know the book or author I’m referring to, feel free to chime in about that too!
