Authors in Bloom
- At April 08, 2015
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 27
Hey lovely readers, we know you love books… do you also love gardening? Springtime? Food? How about winning prizes? Then read on, my friends.
I’m participating in a cool contest you might want to enter. Here’s how it works. Read my post. (You’re doing it right now!) Then pop onto the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky participant!
And then – this is very important, so pay attention! – move on to the next author blog. If you visit EACH and EVERY author-hop, you’ll be eligible to win the grand prize: AN E-READER OF YOUR CHOICE (up to $200 value) or second prize: a $25 gift card to the e-book retailer of your choice. Not to mention all the cool stuff the individual authors are giving away. Sounds cool, huh? Contest is open April 8-17, so you’ve got lots of time to enter. Good luck!
Roxanne’s Gardening Tip: for a dry, sunny area where you want low-maintenance but high impact, plant Basket-of-Gold (aurinia). Here in the Lower Mainland of BC, it returns year after year and self-seeds.
I started years ago with a couple of ugly little rooted twigs that a friend gave me. She looked at me seriously and said, “You won’t believe what these will turn into.” Now I’ve got aurinia blooming all over this difficult, rocky area of my yard.
Each year I plant a few more sprigs in new places and each spring, I’ve got fresh spots of color! As you can see, they can get quite large, too. I love how they drip and drape over the edge of the rock wall.
This hardy perennial is also fragrant. It blooms for a couple of weeks in spring, then has a second, smaller bloom in summer.
Chronic Back Pain Part 1
- At March 31, 2015
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 2
So, some of you know that I’ve been struggling with issues with my shoulder-back area. It’s a chronic sitting thing. The disease of our age, I suppose. Who hasn’t had trouble of this kind, I ask you? First-world problems.
Nevertheless, imagine a cramp in your calf (is that what they call a charley-horse? I’ve never known for sure.) but instead of your calf, it’s under your shoulder-blade somewhere, deep inside. And it doesn’t stop. A knife in the back would be a kindness but where’s an enemy when you need one?
After one bad episode in fall that abated – more or less – with prescription meds and time, I got another one about a month ago. What freaked me out this time was that exercise, ie: yoga MADE IT WORSE! Went to my clinic again, with very low expectations, I might add.
But to my surprise, the doctor I got this time not only took me seriously but sent me for a battery of tests to rule out, among other things, cardiac problems. (Post-menopausal woman with a panicky look in her eye and radiating back/chest pain… hm.) Then, he sent me for something called Intra-Muscular Stimulation, aka Dry Needle Therapy.
That knife in the back I was looking for?
Found it.
Gotta go. Limiting the time I spend at my desk is part of my therapy. Come back soon, I’ll tell you more then. In the meantime, is there a therapy that’s worked for you to counter chronic back pain? Please, share!
Cowgirl Up!
To thank all my lovely readers and supporters for helping me launch The Cowboy Next Door, I’m running a Rafflecopter giveaway. Each tweet enters you to win this cool prize package, containing two print books, a cowboy-themed dishcloth, chocolate, soap, pen/paper, and a coveted Tule Publishing tote bag! You know you want it!