Sorry I made so many mistakes in recent the Post about MSM.   Iidoes not cure my dyslexia   LOL
but without it I would not be able to paint etc.. Hugs to all  Is there a DOG !!!  Ann

This will be hard to write  yet I have to pay it forward
 I want with all heart to help folks in Chronic pain etc.

Please don't feel sorry for me when you read this, I am a tough old dame and have my grandmothers guts.
My son once said, pain bring clarity of mind and I believe it makes for gratitude in small joys too.

It's Jan 7th a New Year and I have a new goal to get well again and I am, thanks to MSM  & Vitamin C in combination.

To explain better I have to go back to when I was 12 and tell my story.  As a kid was plagued by Rheumatism and what the doctor called growing pains, plus sore red blobs on my arms and legs and for a whole year boils in my ears, the latter was cured by one shot of penicillin which before had only been given to soldiers in WW2, what I really had was a mild form of lupus.

I did not know at the time that the sun has a big effect on my body because I have an over active immune system. At 15 my Dad bought me my own business and because I was indoors during daylight hours my pains declined. Over the years I had flare ups of  lupus, some really bad and other just mild. I developed RH Arthritis and it was thought I had a TB hip.... no doctor mentioned Lupus till I was 48.   So I carried on by taking up to 12 Entrophen a day 

 I had been in the moving business from age 10 but had to quit at 50 because of a crumbling spine which had developed arthritis, my left hip was still bad too.  My husband quit as well for the similar reasons. We moved to Fenelon Falls to open Pirates Pizza in 1986. It was a big success, but we sold it after 2 years to look after our daughter and her 2 babes.  Both of Graham and I became the artisans we should have been all along, but we had no idea that we could be so creative.

 About 1993 my left hand became very painful, very swollen, so much so, my Doctor ordered a specially molded brace as my hand was useless any any knock was dreadfully painful.

In 1997  we got a computer and I gave up painting to write a book about my grandmother and her six young sons Graham helped towards the end.
He died in 2000.

One night I was watching the Larry King show with James Coburn the actor.  James was spreading the word via TV and the media about Organic MSM Sulfur
 ( not to be confused with prescription sulfide with its bad side-effects )
James had been in a wheelchair for many years due to severe RH Arthritis. After taking MSM he was able to to stand and walk again. He made a film and was able to walk on stage to accept his Oscar... see link below

MSM was hard to find those days, but I got some and began taking it  ie 8 1,000 mgs a day.   About three months later I put the brace away,  no more pain, no more swelling and I could use it again.
Then I became making tons of concrete garden art, see photos in this blog.

I stopped taking MSM, I was better very strong and healthy..

 I had a stroke in late 2006 due to the stress of 24/7 care-giving to my sick daughter. After the stroke I decided to reno the house and sell it because my daughter was getting worse.  Going up and down the step ladder for months caused me to have bursitis in my bad hip. I went to my doctor and got an x ray.  What a shock  it was bone on bone and had been for years, apparently the first xray I had had in 2000  showed it, but my doc had sent the wrong X ray!!!!  I still had to wait till May 2008  for a hip operation, it never struck me to take MSM.   After the operation I woke up and couldn't move my leg, not even my toes, it was paralyzed and remained so. I was really pissed off, not for me but for my daughter  How the hell was I supposed to keep her safe.   I was in rehab for ten weeks and came home in a wheel chair with my leg in a brace. At the time my daughter was in Whitby Mental Health Hospital (in 25 years she had spent 7 years locked up.)
 She was a sweetheart, very kind and gentle, her illness was due to having babies ie post partum depression, over time she developed Schizophrenia and she had Bi polar disorder too.
I got her out of hospital but because of her self inflicted accidents, I tied her to me with a nylon rope... at home.
I saw a very bleak future only living minute by minute... maybe as hermits.
Before the operation if she  had a good day we would go into the village she was very friendly and funny.
  I could still drive with my good leg, but Liz couldn't lift my wheel car in the van because when she was sectioned a cop held her arm in a such strong hold he gave her a frozen shoulder and she had become very fragile due to osteoporosis from the long time drugs side effects. One day she said... Mum I can't  keep my promise to you, 5 days later she killed herself.  It was very peaceful she had a big happy smile of her face, finally she was at peace with no more torture.  I had got her to 50, it was a promise I made so she could see her beloved children as adults. Her promise to me was she would look after me when I got old.

BTW the wonderful people of Fenelon Falls took my Elizabeth under their wings its a wonderful place to live..

So after that for 4 years I struggled on, thankfully I have 3great sons and grand children and wonderful friends in the village and on line. 
I developed Fibromyalgia and my spine got worse, there was nerve pain and muscle spasms in my leg too. I used a walker and eventually the brace came off.  I had a stairs chair gilder to get into the basement.

 Thanks to my dear friend Bob in the US  and my son, I began painting again in 2010  but I was in a lot of pain, on Morphine, Celebrex  etc.
 
Little did I know how bad the side effects were, the pain pills caused bleeding ulcers and Barretts Esophagus.  I got weaker and weaker due to the pain and lack of real food.  I could only eat slop and Ensure. I came off the strong pain meds when I realized how much damage they had caused.
It was hard after that so I spent a lot of time in bed.

After helping to organize a Santa Day in Fenelon in 2012  which I said was my 'Last Hurrah,' I was ready to finally give up and just fade away. Then  one night like a bolt of lightening I thought, I wonder if MSM would help my spine but I brushed off the thought because my spine was so far gone has I had developed Spinal Stynosis too

Yet!    the computer was there at the end of my bed, what harm was there. I thought Sod it! I'll do some research. What a big happy surprise.  I found it cure, balances or improves some many things that plagues us in this so called modern age....
For the last 50 years soil has been polluted by chemical fertilizers and animals ie cattle and chickens  are fed  hormones. What chance do our kids have,so many with  ADD, Allergies and Asthma..

Organic MSM Sulfur starts in the sea then becomes rain... and as we all know rain of our face is harmless, without it we die.

After only 4 days of taking MSM it made a difference to the Barretts,  no more pain, no excess acid, no throwing up blood, it balanced the acid and alkaline, no week long flare ups and I began slowly eating normal food.  Ensure is so boring. Now a month later my pains are much less,  I can half  high my left leg  and every day I walk up and down the stairs as much can.

( Every single person who has cancer has too much acid in their bodies.  Think on that  it's all about balance)

So being me, I have another obsession/project   passing on  this wonder news.
PLEASE if you have read this, and don't think I'm as mad as a hatter, pass these links on.
There are folks out there who long to be pain free and would love a normal boring day well folks have
Today I feel Fabulous  Euphoric in fact.
If you want to try MSM etc and can't really afford Canadian prices check out
Swansons Vitamins on line in the US.. they have great deals ie 2 for 1  LOL I don't get a pay back


Please take time to read these links... and pass it on if you can... Remember...

" Together small voices make Roar.".

copy and paste if necessary

www.msm-info.com

 James Coburn
http://www.dancingalgae.com/msmtwo.html

 http://dherbs.com/articles/msm-sulfur-vs-sulfur-393.html

http://all-natural.com/msm.html

http://healthnews.benabraham.com/html/msm_-_we_can_t_do_well_without.html

http://www.cancertutor.com/Other/MSM-Article.htm

My first annual art show at home will be on June 10th in Fenelon Falls... I have almost 300 paintings on show. Realist watercolours but most are abstracts on canvas or yupo paper...Its so good to be painting again.. Life is very sweet now...

Our family Book Its Muck or Nettles has has been scripted into a play/Musical in our home city of Sheffield.. It is called Sheffield Song  Here is recent Article.

It's a long time since I was here, lets just say I'm through a dark tunnel and into a very bright place, a state of grace.
I began painting again in 2010, just a few small watercolours, they were OK, I still had some skill but.... it was not enough. I needed a paradigm shift and it came via my son Bill finding some blank canvas's when we decided to paint the rec room which had been my big studio until 1997.
I decided to try 'Acrylic Abstracts' but never thinking I would get obsessed again.

After about 12 I went out and bought more canvas's and I decide to have a show at home, on Dec 2011, which gave me 163 days for 163 paintings... I improved pretty fast so by the end of Oct I had reached my target and more and the rec room was freshly painted.
My show was a success. My wonderful POD pals came to help and so did my grandchildren Ann Marie and David... They all brought food and drinks and Margaret even cleaned my fridge.
I sold 38 abstracts and 2 watercolurs and later the same one watercolour to Saudi Arabia. Which came from a Yutube video Regina had made for me... So now I have another new beginning... and my dues have been paid.
I have total peace of mindm something I craved during the 25 years of care-giving.
RIP my darling Liz... The bravest woman I ever knew.

My Son Bill has a New Beginning too, he went back to College @ 52
So finally after years of begging him to write he is... I only have this I can post at the moment, but I will ask him for others prose and poems ....today is Jan 29 2011

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

by William Wardley

Ann is dyslexic; she had a tough time in school, failed her finals and missed the opportunity to attend art college. Her artistic talent lay dormant for decades. Her love of art surfaced in the doodles she drew, while concurrently running an international moving company, caring for her family of six or being house mother to several university students that stayed in the seventeen roomed house she cleaned daily. Ann knew the value of recreation and community, she had been taught by her parents, aunts and uncles. Before the days of the idiot box and pre-packaged holidays, long before the video game and video recorders, people made their own fun. This was particularly evident in her family’s choice of holiday spots. Their favourite place was an open field at the seaside, the only sign of civilization: a solitary water tap that poked out of the ground at one end of the field. The family circled their moving vans just like the covered wagons of the old west, and dropped their tailgates. The tailgates became the stage for vaudeville acts they performed for each other, or ramparts, battlements and portcullises of ancient castles. Dragons slew, maidens rescued, and daring deeds done to order. If laughter is the best medicine, I’m sure their immune systems were second to none. Ann passed this love of art and imagination onto her children. Three sons and a daughter spend many hours building ocean liners and rocket ships from the oddest assortment of household objects. Did you know three drawers of the dining room buffet could morph into Cain’s Bounty or six kitchen chairs and a silk parachute could become Barnum and Baileys annex. Her home and backyard became a favourite haunt for all the neighbourhood children, none were turned away, all were welcome, and usually fed.

Fast forward three decades. Ann, now living in Canada, her family grown, returned to the art she had loved so much. Tole painting caught her eye; she enrolled in a night course to pursue it, even though it was far beneath her abilities, as was evident by the comments of a local prominent artist Terry Andrews. Terry bought her three or four Windsor and Newton sable brushes, and told her to paint something real. That’s how it all began, a simple comment, a gesture of faith and a really good push in the proper direction. The time was right; Ann and her husband had just sold one of the busiest pizza restaurants in the area. They had bought a log cabin in the woods; they had a stream, and pond with herons and fish, and forty acres of solitude to cut the noise from the outside world. Ann started to paint.

One of Ann’s first paintings was entered into the Buckhorn Art Festivals juried show. It took second prize. The next year she entered two, earning her an award of technical merit for one (which, ``far exceeds the boundaries of realism``.) and a first place prize in the amateur category for the other. I have that painting in my room; it brings me great joy whenever I look at it. As usual Ann was not satisfied with just doing something, she wanted to pass her gift and enthusiasm onto others, but where to start. She had a few conversations with other local residents that shared her love of art and community. Peter Pennington, a retired architect from Toronto saw Ann’s enthusiasm; they formed a great friendship and began working towards their common goal, pulling in and engaging others as they moved along. Ann suggested they form a group of twenty local artists to start an art festival in the community of Fenelon Falls.

Why only twenty, Peter remarked, Ann knew immediately he was the right duck, he didn’t think small. Peter put up $5000 of his own money and found sponsors. Ann took care of marketing, media and prizes and getting artists. Within ten weeks the small group of founding members planned and implemented the first annual Kawartha Art Festival. That was 1989. It was a great success; it is still running today, drawing in huge crowds over the Labour Day weekend. There are now well over 100 artists from all disciplines. It has become a destination for people from all over North America, and a stop off for international tourists, it has garnered praise and accolades from professional artists and publications alike.

Ann, as usual, wanted to include everyone in her labour of love, so the second year of the festival they started children’s section. Local school children could enter their art work. It was judged by their peers, and prizes were donated by sponsors. One prize from an art supplier in Germany was valued at over $400, truly a measure of the success of the festival and Ann’s commitment to her community. The children’s section was called `Young at Art` a fitting title I think.

Ann participated in the Kawartha Art Festival for several years, then family commitments changed and she put down her brushes. But that was not the end of Ann’s commitment to her community.

Ann’s daughter had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It was a crushing blow to the family. In their usual manner they pulled together, to help Elizabeth raise her family, a task hard enough for any single mother, let alone one with paranoid delusions, manic depression and hallucinations which were punctuated by moments of clarity. They worked as a team, each with their own assets and talents. Eventually the two children grew independent, Elizabeth’s symptoms got worse. To this day I believe something inside her said my children are grown, happy and safe, I can stop fighting now. She dropped into despair and was committed to Whitby Psychiatric Centre several times. Her family hated it, it was too clinical, it focused on the problems and the negatives not on the assets. Her family decided to bring her home. Ann was now a widow, in her early sixties, and prepared to take on the toughest, yet most satisfying era of her life. Within a short time Ann realised she had to keep Elizabeth busy. If she was allowed to brood she could become manic and angry. Fortunately Ann was still vibrant and active.

In their infinite short sightedness the local government decided to amalgamate several small communities into the City of Kawartha Lakes. Services were cut drastically to save money. Parks and Recreation were the first to suffer. Ann saw an opportunity to help her daughter and her village. It was a simple plan; Ann and Elizabeth took a few simple tools, went into the village and started pulling weeds from the sidewalks and curbs. They were noticed immediately. The ``nay sayers`` ridiculed it, others saw the intent and encouraged it. To thank Ann and Elizabeth, the Reeve and Rotary Club elected them to be Grand Marshalls of the Fenelon Falls Santa Day Parade. Ann declined and let her daughter carry the honour. Elizabeth got to ride in a huge red convertible at the head of the parade. I still see that radiant face in my dreams. Sadly Elizabeth took her own life at the age of 50.

Now alone, save for the visits of her three sons and her grandchildren, there was a void in Ann’s life. She picked up her brushes and started to paint, but not the still life paintings of her past glories. Ann changed tack and tried her hand at abstracts, a completely unknown medium to her. As usual she learned fast and became quite proficient. Her community rallied around her and gave support; she opened her studio for the first time in over a decade. It was a great success, and if I’m any judge of this paragon, she will find a way to include her community, it is in her nature and I respect her for that.