Coping with pain

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Things have been both bad and good lately. The bad first, to get it over with. My pain has moved into the chronic, very chronic stage. It feels like my arthritis is getting worse, and I am trying to move around more to keep it at bay, but the results are very mixed. I've been using roll-on lidocaine at night to help me go to sleep, and it does help a little for the back. Unfortunately, nothing else is helping for the hip, and that's pretty well maxed out on the painkillers that they can give me. The other distressing thing is that I may have to be paying a lot more on my medicaid account, which doesn't help things at all. Good side. J is getting more receptive on being out and about more. We've tentatively made plans to go up to Stockbridge to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum. Yes, I love going to museums, and I want to go visit the Met before winter sets in. He has also been very good about taking me to the various craft stores for me to load up on supplies. I have a -very- feminist cross-stitch that I want to work up that is subversive as all get out. And I've decided to revive an old hobby of mine -- stamp collecting. I had one as a child, and it was quite nice, until my brother got ahold of it. He utterly destroyed it, and I have never quite forgiven him for that. So I am appealing to my friends here on mylot for any spare stamps you might have about -- yes, I will recompense and even trade with you if you are a collector. Anything to keep the brain active these days. And that is about it. Up very early this morning as I was starting to feel pain in bed, and I needed to change position. Now to get dressed, and fix some tea and toast for breakfast. Still reading James Ellroy's _This Storm._ Talk about a dark read...