Righto, there are things coming up you should know about! Firstly, I’m going to be performing as part of the Fringe this year, in the Cracking Up Comedy team. I can’t tell you what I’ll be doing exactly because I haven’t written it yet! It will almost certainly involve poetry. It will be good, because I don’t go through the stress of getting on stage to perform something I don’t think is good. Come along! Details on What’s On. You can see a pic of me on the flyer on the main page of the Mental Health Coalition of SA. (just scroll down)

Also, I have heard recently about a retreat for people who have experienced childhood trauma or abuse. It will be in April at Swan Hill in Victoria. There is a cost involved but it’s pretty minimal for the time you’re there being fed and housed. I can’t personally vouch for this, I have never been on it, and I don’t personally know the people running it. I have heard some positive things second hand, and also been assured that at least one of the support people there is familiar with dissociation and DID, so please do some research if you think this might be useful for you. All the details on What’s On.

I have a poem in an exhibition in Broken Hill called Plastic Lives, written for an artwork that will be displayed in the gallery there. The opening is Friday 9th March with a poetry reading on Sat 10th I’d like to be able to get to. If you’d like any details, email me.

In other news, my TMJ pain has settled considerably since I got my night guard from the dentist. This week I’m trialling going off the new meds to see if I can do without them now. As they dry my mouth out (sounds innocuous, but it’s not – causes me severe dental decay) I’d prefer to do without them.

Charlie is…. still in a difficult spot. His ears are dreadful and the new meds haven’t yet done any magic. They are also very expensive, the new regime costs me $80 per 12 days and I’ve been told I may need to keep this up for 3 months. I’m not yet thinking about how I’m going to be able to keep that up. He has stopped howling at night which is a huge blessing, but I can hear him start up as I drive off, so I’m still very concerned about that. I have some sedating pain relief for him which I’m hoping will help. His new meds don’t taste very good as I found out the hard way the other night. Usually I can crush pills, mix them with yoghurt and he’ll gobble them. Not this time!! I had to spoon every last drop into him as he fussed and bubbled and sprayed me and the kitchen with gritty yoghurt. I had to change and mop afterwards!

We’ll get there somehow. Vet checkup next week to see how his ears and eyes are doing. I’m thinking of writing an open letter to my neighbours to let them know what’s going on.