Since about two months ago I have been having constant pain in the upper back and finally it was diagnosed about two weeks ago as fibromyalgia. During the day time it is manageable but when I sleep if I have either the fan on or the air conditioner on, the pain increases and affects my sleep. If I don’t use either, mosquitoes trouble me and disturb the sleep. This year particularly, due to heavy pollution of our rivers with water hyacinth which is being removed but not as fast as I would like, the mosquito menace is higher than normal.
When we had first moved into our present home 28 years ago, we were more or less on the fringes of our city abutting farm lands, stud farms and woods. At that time since mosquito repellents were not available, we had taken recourse to nets. After a while we stopped using the nets as repellents were available but, now I find that my COPD gets aggravated if repellents are used. I therefore decided to go back to the good old mosquito nets and my daughter in love happily tooted off earlier this afternoon to fetch me one from the city.
The net hangs from a hook on the ceiling. The hook was inserted in 1990 when we had just bought the house. It is still strong enough to support the weight of the net!
Behind the bed to the right you can see parts of a chest of drawers. That is an antique piece made in Rhodesia in the fifties of the last century. I purchased it from a home returning expat in 1975 when it was already a quarter century old. It is still sturdy and very serviceable. Just above the chest you can see parts of a photograph. That is of my late wife Urmeela. From wherever she is, she would be happy to see me going back to the mosquito net!
I hope to be able to sleep soundly tonight.
I hope you sleep soundly. Disrupted sleep always leaves me a bit washed out the next day.
I’d never heard of water hyacinths. They sound like quite a menace. Wikipedia tells me they’re one of the fastest growing plants in the world, growing anything up to 5 metres a day. No wonder there are so many in your photo.
nick recently posted..Grateful
They are clogging up our rivers badly and grow because fertilisers used in farms drain into our rivers and encourage their growth. Apart from removing them physically and drying them up on land, no other solution has been found as yet.
I didn’t know about water hyacinths either!
we fought red algae here one year on a lot of our lakes. it was terrible.
I’m so glad you have your mosquito net now. it makes me think of Out of Africa.
a beautiful film. I see it’s almost 10 o’clock at night there.
sleep well Rummy!
tammy j recently posted..what’s it all about Alfie?
i just saw a commercial for a prescription for fibromyalgia on tv.
never usually pay that much attention. but i watched it. and oh my.
since the nerve endings are so close and connected all over our bodies … it must be terribly painful for you. i’m so sorry you have to have that Rummy.
i imagine you’re looking at it philosophically as you do everything.
still… as the kids said or maybe still say… it just sucks!
tammy j recently posted..what’s it all about Alfie?
My doctor informs me that apart from pain killers nothing yet has come into the market for fm. I don’t intend getting hooked on pks and as you say, I stoically put up with the discomfort. It sucks is an understatement!
Water hyacinth is clogging up our rivers badly and grow because fertilisers used in farms drain into our rivers and encourage their growth. Apart from removing them physically and drying them up on land, no other solution has been found as yet.
I slept much better last night than I have recently been able to. Thank you.
A net I am sure is far better for you than chemicals. I hope you manage to sleep well.
I slept well last night Thank you.
I’m also sorry to hear of your fibromyalgia. Kaitlin has problems with that too, it’s nasty stuff.
Andy and I slept under mosquito nets once, down in East Africa. We were happy to have them! I also remember they had a lot of lizards crawling on the walls, presumably to eat insects.
I sure hope you can get back to sleeping. I had insomnia for years and I’m grateful that it’s mostly gone now. I don’t take it for granted.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Finally!
I am indeed sorry to hear that Kaitlin suffers from FM. I can well imagine what she must be going through.
I slept well last night and I think that I have found the right solution finally.
Sleeping well is definitely the thing miss the most about getting older. I find I often sleep better in my recliner so I just crash in the living room with whatever music floats my boat on that particular night and things are usually better the next AM,
I have my mid morning nap on my recliner and quite enjoy the experience. Unfortunately, I can’t do that in the nights for the same reasons of being bothered by mosquitoes!
We slept under those tents in Africa. I hope you get a wonderful night’s sleep!
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I slept well last night, thanks to the net. Thank you SAW.
May you have a good sleep. I will likely have dreams of mosquitos swarming around my head now. My daughter moved to a place which has 55 species of mosquitos, which causes me great conflict when I think of visiting my grandkids.
Looney recently posted..Frienemies
What’s the USP of that place your daughter moved to – other than keeping her father at a distance?
Dear Looney, forgive me for laughing at the picture you painfully paint: I have you down as so totally cool, calm and collected it seems somewhat incongruous that mosquitoes have the power to unsettle you. I think you the type of guy who’d reason with them (at their level), showing them the error of their ways. Come to think of it, Ramana (and the Angel) might join you and try some guided meditation on the bastards; pre-empting the sting as it were.
U
Ursula recently posted..Alternative Comment Box – Nick
U, it is the little things in life that leave me unsettled. The big things I handle without any problem.
Looney recently posted..Frienemies
Thank you Looney. I slept well last night and I hope that I will henceforth be able to every night. I strongly recommend advising your daughter to equip herself and her family with nets and also for the guest room when you visit.
So sorry to hear about the pain. Must be awful if you can’t get away from it. If the worst comes to the worst there is always morphine. Such a comforting thought.
As to sleep: Mosquito nets are somewhat romantic. Which, no doubt, does little to offset the beasts’ unsettling buzzing noise. Mosquitoes are a bit like mice. You can hear them in the dark. As soon as you put the light on to hunt them down it all goes quiet. Mice are cute, mosquitoes are the devil’s invention.
Next time you recline, Ramana, I hope sleep will not elude you.
U
Ursula recently posted..Alternative Comment Box – Nick
I did last night and sleep did not elude me Ursula. I look forward to sound sleep henceforth every night.