At times I am ready to ditch my Weebly blog, because I have had a lot of trouble with posting and having my titles turn to dates--as if the system just ignores the fact that I have written in a post title.  Some days I go back and edit the title line and other days, I simply don't care.  So when those posts show up that don't look right or in some cases, only part of them don't show up, it is not the author's fault but something about Weebly that hates my particular computer.   Mid-Kid says she thinks it is probably because I use Firefox and the two don't work well together. 

Anyway, it has been a while since I have put any picture up...Nothing at all now for months.  But I wanted to share the photos of the shelf and plate rack that we recently made as an addition to the shop.

The first photo is obviously of the hanging rack with shelf.  The goal is to use the shelf as a display for vintage lamps.  Since this photo was taken, I have already added a couple more.  And don't forget to admire my vintage step stool that belonged to my grandmother.  The lady who runs the neighboring shop loves it paint splatters and all--normally we keep it tucked out of sight because our shop is not that kind of vintage.

Once we had the shelf up it seemed we needed some lighting so I had a new clear set of Christmas lights that I strung between the space in the shelf boards.  It worked wonderfully.  They provide just enough light to make the space look inviting.

A funny story about that multicolored light hanging over the shelf.  Some man came in one day and wanted to purchase it.  In my opinion, this is an ugly old plastic lamp from the 70's and something Mom bought on a whim one day. She always said she wished she hadn't of bought it and didn't really like it.  I took it down years ago and stuck it in a box.  I took me for ever to find the thing, rather like out of sight out of mind, but we needed light over the temporary hanging racks that we had up and it is "vintage" so I went on a digging expedition to find it.   Within days a man came in and wanted to purchase it! 

I had to tell him it was my mother's and I didn't think she would want me to sell it.  A few days later I was telling her about the lamp, which she could not seem to recall, and when she did she said, "Why didn't you sell it!!".  So we agreed that it would be okay if I sold it. 

A few days later the lamp came up again and she told me not to sell it.   Stuff that she is never going to want; stuff that she was willing to sell but once she got to thinking that it might be worth $25-$50, she changed her mind.  Welcome to my world. 

The next photo is of the plate shelf that Hubby built.  Since the photo, other things have been added to the top. 

There are of course other shelves and tables but when I asked the shop owner to take photos, I neglected to mentioned the other walls.  There are shelves full of collectibles. There is a case of 18 inch doll dresses, a shelf with jewelry, an ironing board full of aprons, a large shelf geared toward baby items, and various odds and ends that make our store "vintage and vintage inspired".   There is also a sewing machine against one wall so that work can be done during shop hours. That way the buyers can see that it hand made locally.

We are nestled in with a beautiful antique store and another vintage/antique store that has a different flavor.  The three stores all complement one another and the owners get along wonderfully.

Well, we made it through the season, it was a bit off for us but we made the best of it and we ended it with good food and laughter. 

As we rapidly move into the year, I am attempting to find the self discipline to push through the fog in my brain.  I had a few weeks of what felt like good recovery and then I just crashed about the time my brother left back in December.  As I study this mold toxicity problem, I realize that the extended wet rainy days since then may have brought on a new outbreak of mold in areas unseen.

To be honest with you the mold issue seems much more difficult than the Lyme.  The symptoms are similar and the two often overlap because once the body is compromised the myriad of junk that our body fights daily begins to take a hold into illness. So if there was mold it would have made the Lyme issue worse, or vice versa, which would explain why there is so much overlap with Lyme and mold. 

Some times I wonder if people realize how many viruses and various toxicities they carry along with them in daily life.  I suppose most don't think about or care until they get sick.  I know that often when I talk with others, I can see it behind the glazed look I get that they do not believe me...and some just frankly like to tell me I am getting older and I am suppose to be loosing my memory.   Dementia is a new normal for our generation and it is expected that we will all fade away locked into our minds.

I started down this learning curve about internal bugs years ago, when I began to research TB and learned that many people carry the latent virus and have no problem with it, because their body's immune system keeps it at bay.  If everyone had their blood work done and looked at the contents of the soup, I think it would surprise most to learn how many active bugs they have and how much toxic mess they were dealing with.   We are a sick generation that all crave a pill to make us better.  And we are a generation that believes if there is no pill then the illness can't be real.  There are just too many out there that feel like they are dying a slow death with others around them think they are making it up...after all, they don't really look sick.  So while I might smile and and keep living my life, there are times when it is an effort to put two thoughts together in order to clean up a small area.

Yesterday was a such a day. Two of us had a horrible day and could hardly function mentally.  I got to feeling better in the afternoon and then got a whiff of a chemical product that Hubby had used and it affected me so much so that my blood pressure dropped and I had a moment where I felt like I was going to pass out.  At that point, I decided that I had better just stop trying to accomplish anything so I went back to my computer and started researching again. 

In my research, I found something that I had recently become aware of in my own life; and that is that I have become more sensitive to chemicals.  I always have had a problem with "smelly things". Mid-kid as well, suffers terribly from perfumes.  I usually hold my breath when I walk down the detergent aisle and for the most part use fragrance free soaps and very mild dish detergents. I hate chemical air fresheners!!  Bug sprays will cause my lungs to go into raspy fits and I avoid them like the plague.  My mother has always  disbelieved me and has for years.  I have always been super sensitive to musty odors and dust. Then I learned that mold grows on dust.  Ummm....

So as I continue to research, I watched this one doctor lecture a group of med students last night and she said, it is good to take the patient as far back as possible to when the symptoms began, because that is the starting point of the problem and it will also determine the toxicity level you maybe dealing with. (the longer the problem, the more complicated the recovery)  .

So as I begin this new learning curve about what might be part of of our health challenges, I go back to my childhood and living in a house in Florida without air conditioning.  The summer rains brought much moisture into the home and into the nocks and crannies of the closets where things would get musty.

Our home in Louisiana had black mold in it some place, we never found the source but you could smell it when the A/C was off.  It was here that we first noticed that Mid-kid had a problem eating wheat.  Is there a connection?  Perhaps because mold exposure not only mimics sinus allergies and asthma but can also make other types of allergies worse.

 And then we moved to AZ where they have some powerful molds that grow in that dirt you just don't know about them until the monsoon season.  When we moved back east, the dust that covered every living inch of what we owned, grew a fine layer of gray mold on it. 

Then we shifted to the farm life and there is no possible way to stop mold from growing in barns, basements, and the ground around you.  The reality of this leaves one feeling overwhelmed but I refuse to give up.  

We spent the first day of the year over at the shop building a new clothes rack.  We have been using cheap portable racks and while they are good for the Farmers Markets, they are not professional looking and the light construction makes them not user friendly.  So I asked Hubby to build us something more professional looking.
We wanted something made with pipes and then a shelf over the top to sit things on.    Hubby got the supplies the day before and we went to work.   Now, we have a history of making do when necessary.   Hubby does not have a pipe vice and didn’t want to spend the extra $65 to buy one.    So we set up in the back room of the building with me acting as a pipe vice using pipe wrenches and the eldest daughter acting as gravitational force to hold the pipe down.   Hubby ran the cutting tool.  This worked fairly well. 
Then we discovered that if the cutting tool was left on the floor all I had to do was to stand on the handle and Hubby ran the pipe wrench to turn the pipe, this made the job take less personage to accomplish.  So I spent most of the afternoon standing around and then standing on a pipe cutting handle.   
I had no intention of spending my day like this but after we got started we decided it was best to get the job done.   After the other shop owners went home I put newspaper down in the hallway and began to stain the shelf boards.   At some point we sent the daughter across the street to get us some apples for a snack because we were getting hungry.   Then we sent her home because she had a previous scheduled engagement.   Hubby and I stayed committed to get the hanging racks and shelving into place.
I have to say this was one of the smoothest projects that we have done in a long while.   Everything went together with ease, no real upsets to the process, and overall we were pleased with the outcome.   As we were closing up for the night, just as I was ready to turn out the last night and lock the door, I heard a huge crash in the back room (where the new shelf went up)….
What was that?!  I turned the light back on to discover that one of the older racks had broken and collapsed leaving clothes all over the floor!!    So off the floor and onto the new rack!!  It seems that the new rack truly was needed and we got it done just in time.