Thank you deeply on all fronts, sweet Donna. Very good point regarding the possible difficulties of being an avid sky watcher if one lives in a part of the world where blue skies are the norm. I appreciate you bringing that up.

An approach that one could take then would be to “read” a field of flowers/plants or a forest/grove with trees of varying shapes and sizes to see if any distinct shapes/images/impressions present themself.

Many thanks as well for sharing about some of the things that have been impacting your GI (and overall) health this year, my dear friend. I am truly sorry that 2020 hasn’t always been a bed of roses for you the medical front either. That sure does take a toll on one’s daily existence quickly.

Diving into the long-standing complexities of my GI health (to say nothing of the rest of my health, lol!) could easy fill a mammoth book. I’ve dealt with multiple chronic gastrointestinal conditions for much of my life at this point and they’ve often been, to be frank, a living nightmare.

That said, over the years, through a lot of trial and error, scads of testing and elimination diets, lifestyle changes, supplements and meds, surgeries, alternative approaches, and more, I have been able to make some positive strives.

This year, I’ve 100% tightened up my Low Fodmap eating (this approach helps me massively), while also adopting an even more low carb + high fat diet (aka, I’m eating keto and it is helping me massively).

I’ve had brutally bad celiac disease for ages now and have otherwise been severely restricting or eliminating scads of different foods for medical reasons throughout my life (especially from the age of 18 onward), so thankfully these changes haven’t actually removed too much from my diet as it stood in recent times before I introduced them.

To date, I’ve not taken a 100% carb-free approach (such as the carnivore diet), but am not opposed to doing so (be it short or longer term) if I feel it is ever warranted.

For now, my GI is adoring being (even) lower carb on keto and the benefits of this way of eating are extending far beyond my GI and to many other areas of my health + overall wellness (including such things as more energy + better consistency of energy levels, better mood stability, and even aiding with areas such as anxiety and depression).

It’s fairly early on in my life of being a keto eater, so I’m not saying it’s going to work for me – or that I’ll opt to stick with it – forever, but in the here and now, it is providing many benefits that I am grateful beyond measure for (unfortunately though, as my body started to become keto-adapted, the experience did trigger a major flare-up with a chronic bladder condition I have called Interstitial Cystitis, but aside from that, I cannot think of a single way keto has negatively impacted my health yet).

Phew! Quite the long answer there. 😄 I’ve not talked publicly about (going) keto yet, so the words just eagerly tumbled right out about it in this reply.

I really appreciate you asking me about this point and am always just an email away if you’d like to discuss health-related matters further.

Immense hugs!
♥ Autumn

I’d be interested to know the dietary changes you’ve made for your tummy issues – I’m avoiding dairy and wheat and have found a lot of benefit in that along with including more fruit and fresh veggies, some of which we’ve grown ourselves. The other thing I’ve done is a helluva lot of release this year and that seems to have helped …

Sending love your way dear Autumn,

Donna 🧚🏻‍♀️❤️🐝
https://donnadoesdresses.com

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and healing well wishes, dearest Ann. They must be working, because I am doing a touch better so far this week (yay!!!).

We’re still duking it out with some fairly high temps, but they too are gradually receding a bit at the moment (the daytime highs here are now in the upper 20s – still toasty for sure, but quite as stifling hot as many recent days) and I think that’s helping matters as well.

Tonight is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and reply to blog comments in quite a while. I hope that it is a sign that things are turning around more for me again and I can begin to ease my way back into the online world, as my health and other circumstances permit.

Thank you again for blessing me with your sweetness and understanding. You’re such a special, awesome friend.

Giant hugs & joyful countdown to fall wishes!
♥ Autumn

Immensely kind, caring and thoughtful Paula, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comment and concern – as well as for visiting my humble corner of the blogging sphere.

Going entirely MIA on IG for nearly four weeks solid now was in no way planned or intended. This is the longest unplanned IG hiatus I’ve experienced in recent years and while there have been certain positives to the necessity of time away as of late, I much prefer to take scheduled IG (and/or internet in general) breaks them to have them spring up out of the blue like this one.

My natural instinct is to beat myself up about it, even though I can’t change what has passed. Instead, I’m redirecting that thought energy and reminding myself that in the grander scheme of life, a few short weeks is but a drop in the bucket and that, all things willing, I’ll soon be able to return to the web (IG included) on a more regular basis again.

How right you are about the strength, inspiration and blessings of the ever-turning wheel of the year. No matter where my health, and life in general, are at, this fact never fails to uplift me and help me through challenging times.

Really, thank you again. You have a heart that makes gold look dull by comparison.

Abundant blessings of the early harvest season to you!

♥ Autumn

Ooohh, how exciting (and revitalizing!) that the first stirrings of fall time may be upon Denmark already. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer now until our most beloved of seasons engulfs us fully again on both sides of the Atlantic.

Thank you very much for your understanding and empathy regarding the sizzling hot heat here this summer. I’m likewise very sorry that your area has been slogging through some mighty steep temperatures as well. No matter how many summers I live, it never ceases to amaze me just how intensely serious heat can impact a person.

The weather has mellowed a tad at the moment. Most days are hitting afternoon temps in the high 20s at the moment. Still warm, no two ways about it, but considerably more bearable – and breathable!

Thinking of you and sending scores of wishes for a swift return of fall time your way.

♥ Autumn

Thank you deeply across the board, sweet Shelia. I’m very touched that you thought of me during a recent lightning storm. Reading that more than made my day, especially since I’ve felt an extremely strong connection to storms throughout my whole life (which, I like to believe, stems in part from the fact that a wild summer storm ragged across the sky within the first 24 hours of my life).

I’m very sorry about the wildfires that it, quite literally, sparked though and really hope that they’ve been contained/extinguished. The Okanagan was, by the standards of the area, fairing okay all things considered this summer until fairly recently when the hefty Christie Mountain Fire hit the Penticton area. We currently live a touch over two hours north of Pen, so haven’t been directly impacted by this current blaze. However, having lived in that town on and off for a sizable part of my life, I cannot help but feel all the more so for the area and its inhabitants.

Hopefully forest fire season will soon wrap up again for another year, before it wreaks any more havoc on our gorgeous corner of the world.

Thank you again deeply. May you have a relaxing, wonderful tail end of August.

♥ Autumn

Thank you deeply, my treasured friend. Your kindness and support are such blessings in my life.

This is my longest unplanned IG hiatus in recent years. It’s been almost four weeks now since I last logged into (let alone posted on) IG. I’m not wild about this fact, but accept that it is what it is and that sometimes we need (or want, as the case may be) to focus elsewhere in our lives. I’ll be aiming to post there again in the coming days and, all things willing, ease back into being more active again on IG as September returns.

I’m a firm believer in the importance of SM (and internet in general) breaks, but do generally prefer to purposely take them rather than have them pop up organically as this one did for me. Such is life though, and in the grander scheme of things, a few weeks is but a drop in the much bigger, wonderful bucket that is life.

I hope that your own IG breather has been a positive, enjoyable one and that life is smiling on you across the board this summer.

Huge hugs,
♥ Autumn

Heading to look at the clouds …