The CHRONICLYsILLy Whine-ry!

Good Morning and Hello Friday!

After a long night of little sleep, I am dragging a bit today, and am planning on taking a nice relaxing day, maybe lounge out under the awning until my echocardiogram later this evening...but Thank goodness its friday and I know it has been one hell of a week for all of us that are CHRONICLYsILLy...So why not kick off the weekend (or end your work week) the right way...with a glass a of wine in your hand! But not just any wine...No! No plain bottle of wine will do after a long week...So I'd like to extend an invite to you, to come join us at The CHRONICLYsILLy Whine-ry! Where we have a bottle of wine to meet all your "Whine-o" needs! Located on the elusive Lupie-Land Islands, is our premiere vineyard, stretching hundreds of acres across one of the smaller islands of Lupie-Land (the Droopy Lupies tend to the vineyards with care each and every day...not sure what a droopy lupie is? Check out "The CHRONICLYsILLy Candy Factory Tour" Post) So after a long day at work, or just a long week in general...Come join us this evening for our Fatigued Friday Whine Tasting! Where We're pairing all of our favorite and most popular sellers perfectly with your medication (so as to not interact with one another, will teach you all of the best combinations!...And will through some dark chocolate in too!)

So without further adieu, I'd like to take this time to personally welcome you to The CHRONICLYsILLy Whine-ry, we are glad you could all join us this evening! Come in and have a seat (yes, we have seats, lord knows no one who is Chronically ill is standing for an entire w(h)ine tasting! ) and we will get tasting underway! Our first whine on our list is one of our most popular sellers, "My hands and toes are White from Reynauds Zinfandel." It's a light fruity whine, for all of you that struggle with Reynauds on any given day, this whine will calm your nerves..It pairs nicely with plaquenil, and compliments blood pressure medication very well. Now if you'll take a look at our list, we will be moving forward an on to our Riesling. One of our sweeter wines, our "This Riesling is Raising my blood pressure" is one of our most popular wines here at The CHRONICLYsILLy Whinery! It pairs well again with your blood pressure medication, and a nice piece of dark chocolate....Next is our "It's a butterfl rash not blush" bottle of Blush whine...It is the only blush whine on our list tonight and it goes along very well with prednisone and any other steroid your doctors may through your way...But be sure to only have a glass or two..It goes down quite smooth! Ahh... we are coming up to one of my favorites here at the Whinery (my house is never without it!) our classic, "How Merlot can your platelets go?" This is our driest whine we sell here at the vineyards...You are drinking the '06 Bottle, which was one of our best Merlot years here at the vineyard! And it pairs well with any and all of your medication, but tends to compliment prednisone and Cellcept rather nicely...This is also one of our promotional bottles this month, and if you purchase two or more bottles of it, you will receive a free, "I went to the CHRONICLYsILLy Whine-ry and all I got was this lousy T-shirt...and a bottle of whine!" Oh this next one coming up is quite popular among the older folks, that have that cultured palette...I'ts our, "I've been waiting in the

doctor's office for hours and I'm Bord-eaux!" A pleasant blend of fruits that mix together harmoniously, and offer you a bit of relaxation after a long day at the doctors... pair it with a muscle relaxer and you'll be good to go! And that brings us to our most expensive bottle on the list, The "My prescriptions cost more than a bottle of Cristal?!" It's our take on the ever so popular beverage to the stars, and while it might seem rather pricey to them, we can guarantee that you spend more monthly on your prescriptions! Pairs well with a Pain-killer to ease those worries about how much you really spend on your medication! And that brings us to our last bottle for our tasting...its our house bottle and each and every one of you will be leaving with a complimentary bottle of it as a way of saying 'Thank you for visiting Our Whinery, we hope youcome back to Whine with us soon!" So without further delay, I present you with our house whine, "My Chronic Illness is a Champagne in my ass!" It pairs well with all of your biggest aches and pains and eases them as well as your mind to a lovely state of relaxation and comfort. A great way to end your day, here at the CHRONICLYsILLY Whine-ry! Please feel free tobrowse our vineyards and the gift shop (where we have some of our other classics you did not get to sample such as, "I cannot walk anymore I need a Cab-neret" and "My joints are a lovely shade of Burgendy") on your way out, and I hope you all have a lovely and CHRONICLYsILLy weekend!

WOW! What a way to end your Friday! I must go get my house bottle of," My Chronic Illness is a champagne in my ass" ready and chilled for tonight... But before I do, I'd like to share another entry from the lovely Annie Taylor (an excerpt from a note written about trip Annie took earlier this year!) over at the LAQ (The Lupus Association of Queensland) for our CHRONICLYsILLy "Share your story" Challenge! And then of course leave you with our Page of Hope, where you can stop by sign the guestbook and make a contribution, or inquire about tickets and tables for the Butterfly Gala (the inaugural Gala in NYC being held by the LFA) and of course we will never part ways without our daily Jolt-of-Java!

CHRONICLYsILLy "Share your Story" Challenge:

March 12 2010

By: Annie Taylor

Here I am about to set off for Thailand again..I must be nuts, I have Lupus, Heart Disease, and diffculty keeping my balance at the best of times..

Travel Insurance - Check..suprisingly enough Travel Insurance Direct were more concerned with my heart problems than my Lupus, whereas I was concerned for any Lupus Nasties my Little Butterfly might throw me!!

However Insurance is bought and paid for, and the only thing they won't cover is my recently broken wrist. I have gone up an age group since last time...grrr...so a higher premium of $150. However it was still cheaper than RACQ. I did declare all my Lupus-y things..neuropathy, RA etc.

Packing - check. Took as little as possible, 9. 5kg....but had heaps of carryon in my backpack as all my drugs have to be carried in personal luggage, along with a letter from my doctor siating pharmaceutical names for same and confirming they are required for my own use. Note to Lupies....Steroids are a prohibited import so you WILL need this letter.. You must carry your drugs in their original boxes and packaging so it's quite bulky.

Check anywhere you travel for vaccinations required and the Malaria Risk!!!! Bangkok and Chiang Mai are in protection category 4 which means cover up after sunset and use repellant. Those of yuo already on anti malarials are laughing. We carried a small pump spray of Off and a roll-on of Aerogard everywhere. Also check the travel advisories and register with Dept of Foreign Affairs before you go.

11 hours to Bangkok, then a 1 hour stopover before getting to Chiang Mai. I am taking my own soft fillled peanut neck pillow. Blow up ones suck majorly!!!! On top of everything else it is not so much more to stuff in the backpack and means I also have the airline pillow to help make me more comfortable. I put the plane pillow in the small of my back or under my feet. Always, always travel with at least a dozen packs of travel tissues, handy for lots of stuff. And a small vaseline ....for my nose.. ...the plane plays havoc with my sinuses. Gels, liquids, lip glosses and anything

you carry on board must be less than 100gm/ml and all packed in a large clear Ziploc bag. I pack my meds in another one..makes it easier to pull them out if customs asks to see them.

Pack all toiletries in suitcases in Ziploc Bags too..saved my butt on many occasions..especially when the Betadine leaked!!! For first aid I take Betadine liquid, 6 bandaids, small roll of adhesive cloth tape, a 5 pack of gauze swabs and a pack of Zergic..great for sinus and sneezes. I also take a half foil of Lomotil , and a genereric Analgesic/calmative. AND Hand Wash.............of the waterless variety. If you need more than that you need a DOCTOR!!!!!!

Don't bother with shampoo, etc, buy it there ...7/11's are everywhere and your first port of calll when you arrive anyway to buy munchies and alcohol..Its fun trying to work out whats what..Hint Hint DOVE produsts all look the same in Thailand.

Impresssions of Thailand..happy people who are content with their lot on the whole. No crime that I saw, an incredible ability to utilise every available space. Also very clean, both the people and the country. They recycle or reuse SOOOOOOOO much. Beautiful food, fruit, and it is safe to eat at the market stalls, if the Thais are eating there you should too. EVERYONE eats out ...all the time.

I never saw an unaccompanied child or young teen. Even the poorest of people are friendly and outgoing. Not as many people living on the street or as many beggars as I had expected. The power lines are SCARY. Like metal spaghetti everywhere.

Northern Thailand is hot and dry, and although it is jungle it is not the lush green you expect. However it is still stunningly beautiful and I loved it.

I didn't get Thai Tummy because I watched the amount of fibre I ate, had only lightly spiced dishes (mostly), small sized portions and this trip DID NOT drink young coconut juice......I had it every day last trip..big mistake..LOL

My Beautiful Butterfly behaved splendidly, and allthough I was tired, and really punished my feet and legs with walking (still paying those multiple Spoons back - my feet are swollen, sore and my calves are very very painful) I will do it again. But maybe we will hire a scooter next time..LOL

Here is some artwork Annie has done as well!

Page of Hope-Nothing is Kim Possible!

Tickets and Table Info. for the Inaugural Butterfly Gala!

Jolt-of-Java: " I love the light because it shows me the way...Yet I endure the darkness, because it shows me the stars...And remember the best way out...is always through..."-An adaption from Og Mandino & Robert Frost