So Much To Do, So Much Time & Yet Too Little Energy...

One of the biggest problems with Fibromyalgia apart from the pain and limitations placed upon lifestyle choices is the tiredness, well actually its real name is FATIGUE. Worst than this is what's known as Post Exertion Fatigue which can last for, get this, WEEKS!

The actual cause of the condition is still the topic of hot debate, however a large proportion of doctors and researchers who actually believe in its existence summise that it's largely down to sleep disturbance. You may ask yourself which came first, not the chicken or the egg rather the lack of sleep (insomnia) or the condition as sleep disturbance is also one of the many & varied symptoms! Duh...

So, why am I starting a blog post about me and mine with such a dry, prescriptive preamble? Because this is me to a tee. Recently my sleep has been so badly disturbed that I almost didn't notice, given that I happily filled that time with a variety of tasks related to all things nice and other things stressful (see last post.) The only cure for this is to give one of my medications a holiday as obviously I'd built up tolerance to its sleep inducing side effects, or worse, to up the dose to elevated heights I'd rather not visit thank you very much!

On my recent holiday (vacation) the sole desire was to visit a craft brewery in Cork city knownRising Sons and down a few scoops, with the express intention of sleeping happily in a nearby hostel for the night. As it was I managed to lure my teenage son to come with us, promising him a trip to the Jameson Distillery in Middleton on the way, mackeral fishing and a trip to the English Market! So there were three of us and a jolly good time was had by all.
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Courtesy of Jameson's the three of us are now certified Whisky Tasters. Only one of us bothered with the aforementioned certs though, which was sent by email to a certain Danda who'd requested a free sample. She got it too, a little bottle of 12 yr old single malt was purchased in the gift shop. We on the other hand got to sample ample quantities of Jameson for our ticket stubs, well two of us did any way. Teenage son also got to do a taste comparison, one of 8 selected from our tour, between Johnny Walker Black Label scotch whisky (double distilled), Jameson's Single Malt(triple distilled) irish whisky & Jack Daniels (single distilled) american rye whisky: rather him than me! These days I prefer to use whisky of any origin in cooking...

The long awaited trip to the Rising Sons was preceded by dinner at Nando's which was nice. Nando's is famous amongst the young people and stumbling across it was a true miracle which turned out to be inexpensive, not too filling and if I'm honest exactly what it said on the package. Nando's serves mainly chicken dishes barbecued in Portugese style. Like I said, it was nice but nothing to write home about although teenage son was revelling in it taking Multiple Selfies' with Nando's paraphenalia in the scene just to annoy his mates!


By comparison the Rising Sons was something of an anticlimax. The two of us who at this stage in life have a good idea of what we like in a beer settled on something suitable quickly, unfortunately teenage son decided to follow his mum's example and order Handsome a very hoppy IPA (Indian Pale Ale) known for its hop content and hangover capability. Take a wild guess how that one was discovered? Answers please inthe comments section, but be warned that there are no prizes here, but I'll gladly remake the trip to Cork to join you in a pint of the aforesaid beer. Anyway suffice to say it was not to his taste & we cut our stay short in order to visit  the Franciscan Well, Cork's other real ale brewary pub. Their Rebel Red is unfortunately not available up our way!

All in all the first day of our holiday went well & we each enjoyed it in our own way. Plus I've discovered an affordable silver & goldsmith right beside the Rising Sons. Some of us had way more to drink than others, but that's okay. Jameson's are generous in their pouring and the beer was strong compared with the common or garden varieties widely available nationwide and I had just three pints, so no hangover this trip! Needless to say when we arrived back at Kinlay House hostel I was ready for bed and even managed a couple of good hours in my silk sleeping bag liner and opened out down sleeping bag...

It can take years to figure out what works, and believe me I'm still learning these tricks, but I'm getting there if a little slowly.