Share Your World (July 29, 2019)

Posted on by Astrid

Today, I’m joining in with Share Your World. I loved today’s questions. Here are they and my answers.

1. Is it wrong to sell store-bought pastries at a bake sale?
No. It’s a little unauthentic, but it’s not morally wrong. In fact, with the licensing that’s required to sell food (or cosmetics), it may be wiser. I know this from the time I made handmade soaps for my staff and fellow patients in the psych hospital. They wanted to give me a small amount of money for it and I didn’t object, but I did make it clear that I didn’t have a license. When my staff sold a traditional new year’s treat in large quantities at my ward, the manager did make sure he had a license.

2. Have you ever interacted with the police?
Lots of times, mostly for my own safety when I was in a mental crisis. I have however also been in contact with the police for the mere crime of being (or appearing) lost. I will soon write a post on this topic.

3. What will you remember most about this past year?
So far, the most memorable moment of 2019 was my being approved for long-term care.

4. Is it better to have fungus on your toes, your tongue, or your pizza?
LOL. Since a pizza with mushrooms on it is called fungi at least here, I prefer that. Not that I like this pizza, but it’s much better than having a toe fungus at least. I am so happy my toe fungus was finally (mostly) eradicated after many years of suffering when I got oral medication for it last year. I have no experience with a tongue fungus and I’d like to keep it that way.

5. What is one slang word that makes your skin crawl?
I don’t know much about slang, but ableist slurs definitely make me angry. I’ll go with “lame” for now.

Friendly Fill-Ins Week #167

Posted on by Astrid

I discovered Friendly Fill-Ins already over a year ago, but rarely joined in. Especially since I stopped using my old PC, it was hard, because I couldn’t copy the questions on my iPhone and my Mac was giving me a pain too. Now I’m trying to get used to my new PC and am learning to write blog posts on it too. It is lovely. Today, I’m joining in with Friendly Fill-Ins week #167. Here are the questions.


  1. If I had ________________, I would _________________________.

  2. ___________________ sparks my creativity.

  3. _________ keeps me up at night.

  4. I only just recently learned _________.

My Answers

1. If I had a lot of money, I would get myself my very own sensory room. My husband has said that, if he ever wins the lottery, he’ll give me my own fully furnished snoezelen® room. Not that he ever plays in the lottery and neither do I. I already have a lot of sensory equipment, but I’m discovering new stuff almost on a daily basis.

2. Discovering writing challenges and journaling prompts sparks my creativity. Not that I’m very creative at all. I always plan to soon write some poem or piece of flash fiction, but I never get to it. I love to freewrite, but somehow, I feel held back in doing so. As such, journaling prompts and writing challenges do help me.

3. The heat keeps me up at night. At least right now. Although I must say, when my husband leaves the house at 5AM and I try to go back to sleep, I often shiver if the fan is still on and the window open.

4. I only just recently learned about what’s involved when you’re buying a house. As regular readers may know, my husband and I saw a house we may want to buy last week. Well, technically my husband saw it, as he visited it right out of work, and I accepted his description at face value. I am not sure I’m allowed to disclose this on my blog, but we reached an agreement with the seller on a price and are now working out the details of the contract. I have no idea about such things as finding a solicitor, getting a mortgage and all that. As a side note, the house is too small for me to have my own room, let alone a sensory room. However, since I’ll hopefully move into a care facility sometime in the not-too-distant future, I’m just hoping I’ll be able to use the facility’s sensory room.

39 Odd Things About Me

Posted on by Astrid

I found this survey on several other blogs and thought I’d participate. I don’t know who created it. It’s originally called “40 Odd Things About Me” but there was no question #31, so I corrected it.

1. Do you like bleu cheese? No.

2. Coke or Pepsi? Neither. I don’t like soft drinks.

3. Do you own a gun? No.

4. What flavor of Koolaid? I don’t think Koolaid even exists here in the Netherlands. If you mean lemonade, I don’t care for it but the one I’d drink if I had to is raspberry.

5. Hot dogs? Yes!

6. Favorite TV show? I rarely watch TV.

7. Do you believe in ghosts? No.

8. What do you drink in the morning? Black coffee or water.

9. Can you do a push-up? No way!

10. Favorite Jewelry? My wedding ring.

11. Favorite hobby? Writing.

12. Do you have ADD/ADHD? Maybe. I definitely am disorganized but I’m not hyperactive. If I don’t have ADD, I’m pretty sure I have some type of executivve functioning disorder.

13. Do you wear glasses? No (they wouldn’t help my sight anyway).

14. Favorite cartoon character? Donald Duck. Is he a Dutch invention?

15. What three things have you done today? Done my morning routine, gone to day activities, read blogs.

16. Three drinks you drink all the time? Water, coffee and green tea.

17. Current health worries. Don’t know.

18. Do you believe in magic? A little.

19. Favorite place to be? The sensory room at day activities.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? I don’t remember.

21. Where would you like to visit? The USA.

22. Name four people that will play along: I don’t know.

23. Favorite movies? I don’t watch movies.

24. Favorite color? Blue and green.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don’t know.

26. Can you whistle? No.

27. Where are you now? Home.

28. Where would you rather be? Somewhere cooler.

29. Favorite food: Chicken.

30. Least favorite chore? Vacuuming.

31. What’s in your pockets? I’m wearing a skirt and T-shirt, so no pockets.

32. Last thing that made you laugh? Reading these questions on another blog.

33. Favorite animal? Cats when it comes to pets, dolphins when it comes to wildlife animals.

34. What’s your most recent injury? Hitting my toe on the elliptical three weeks ago. It still hurts.

35. How many TV’s are in your house? One.

36. Worst pain ever? My collarbone fracture.
37. Do you like to dance? Yes but I can’t.
38. Are your parents still alive? Yes.
39. Do you enjoy camping? No.

So You Know (May 20, 2019)

Posted on by Astrid

I discovered Revenge of Eve’s So You Know (S.Y.K.) last week through another participant. However, I would’ve been terribly late to participate in that week’s installment. Today, I looked up the questions for this week and am on time to join in. The idea behind S.Y.K. is that Candice, the creator, poses a set of questions, which other bloggers get to answer. Here goes.

1. How long have you blogged? What is the anniversary?
It’s complicated. I have had a blog on WordPress ever since February 21, 2007. However, I moved my content from an online diary to WordPress then, so on that blog, it looks like I’ve had a blog ever since 2002. The blog you are reading now is ten months old, with its anniversary being July 25. However, I’ve had this subdomain ever since 2011 and had a blog on it then too.

2. What was your original purpose for beginning a blog?
My original reason for transferring from an online diary to WordPresss was to make my posts less personal and more essay-like. I would put my diary-style posts under the category of “Personal”, so that my parents and others who did not want to read my navel-gazing, could skip it. My original purpose with A Multitude of Musings was the exact opposite, to have a diary where I could be completely myself (and my alters could be themselves).

3. Did you research about blogging before establishing your own?
No. I didn’t even know that some bloggers did. I started most of the blogs I’ve had so far on a whim.

4. Has your purpose evolved or changed directions? If so, what was the determining factor for the change?
My purpose is still the same, but I am more aware of my audience. This may be a reason my alters don’t feel as comfortable sharing right now.

5. What determines your measure of success as far as blogging is concerned?
I must admit I rely a little too much on my stats to determine this. I would really love to resort back to writing just for me, as I did on the online diary site, which after all didn’t even have a commenting feature. However, now that I’ve had a blog for twelve years, I cannot even write in a private diary without having an audience in mind.

Sunshine Blogger Award Again

Posted on by Astrid

Yay, I was nominated for a blog award again. Jill from Food, Feelings, Freedom nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger Award. I had already been nominated for this award about eight months ago, but am so happy for another award nomination. The idea of this award is that Jill poses eleven questions, which I have to answer. Then, I get to nominate eleven more bloggers and ask them eleven questions. Here are Jill’s questions.

1. What do you do when you’re having a bad day?

It depends. When I’m having a bad day, I mostly feel like sleeping, but I try to do other things to cheer myself up too.

2. What is one thing you are most proud of?

My writing abilities.
3. Do you have any pets? Want any?

Yes, my husband and I have a cat named Barry. I’d someday love to have a dog too.
4. What are three values you consider most important?

Respect, kindness, honesty. I think I got this question sometime a few months ago too, but can’t remember where I answered it, so I cannot look up whether I said the same then.
5. What are some of your hobbies?

Writing, reading, using the Internet.
6. What is one thing you would tell your childhood self?

Follow your heart! In other words, don’t do what others expect you to do if it doesn’t align with your feelings.
7. What is your favourite quotation?

I like many quotes, both funny and inspirational. My favorite quote is by Madeleine L’Engle and is about the fact that, the richer a character, the fuller of contradiction it is.
8. Where do you see yourself (what do you hope for your future) in 5 years?
I hope I’ll be living in a supported housing placement, doing day activities I like (at my current place maybe).
9. What is your biggest fear?
I guess abandonment.
10. What aspect of your life are you currently working on? (Work? Personal? Health?)
Mental health and finding an appropriate living situation.
11. What is a risk you took that paid off?
I don’t really know right now.

I am late writing this post, as Jill nominated me last week. I am also having a nasty cold as I write this, so I’m not up for a big challenge. For this reason, I originally didn’t intend on nominating anyone specifically. I thought for a bit that I should do it anyway, as leaving the nomination open seems annoying to me. However, screw it. I’m nominating the first eleven WordPress bloggers to see this post. Here are my questions for you.

  1. What is your biggest achievement in life?
  2. If you were to choose a college major now, which would you choose?
  3. Are you more a cat person, a dog person or maybe you’re a rattlesnake person?
  4. What’s your favorite color?
  5. Have you ever been to a farm?
  6. Are you a city, small town or rural area person?
  7. What is your taste in music like?
  8. How old were you when you spoke your first word?
  9. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
  10. What is your favorite mythical character?
  11. How long have you been blogging?

Share Your World (April 22, 2019)

Posted on by Astrid

For the first time in a long while, I’m once again participating in Share Your World. Today’s questions are very interesting.

I tried to write this post on my Mac, as I cannot copy the questions on my iPhone. I finally however decided to continue on my phone, as the WordPress editor is hard to use on the computer.

1. Was the last thing you read digital or print?
Digital. I am blind, so cannot read standard print. I rarely read Braille either, although I recently received a Braille letter.
2. Are you more an extrovert or introvert?
Introvert for sure. I definitely am not energized by a lot of interaction. I also prefer a few deep friendships to having a lot of acquaintances. That being said, online I can be more of an extravert.
3. How is your life different from what you imagined as a younger person?
Very. I am not sure there’s any resemblance, in fact. As a teen, I imagined being some type of university professor when I’d grow up. I for sure didn’t imagine doing day activities at a center for people with intellectual disabilities. I also didn’t imagine having a husband. The only thing I did imagine at the time was being a writer. I didn’t know about blogs at the time, but did know about online diaries. My online diary gradually morphed into my first blog.
4. Do you think about dying? Does death scare you?  Why or why not?

Yes, of course I think about it sometimes. I saw a man shortly before his death last January at day activities (a fellow client) and this did make me acutely aware of the finiteness of life. Death doesn’t really scare me, although sometimes it does.

Additional Gratitude Bonus Question:  Who has been the kindest to you in your life?

My husband. He loves me despite the fact that I can be quite blunt and a pain in the arse to be around.

The Friday Four

Posted on by Astrid

I am struggling a lot. I got some really bad news, but I cannot share it publicly at this point. This has caused me a lot of stress, but it did get me to revive my offline journal, which I keep in an app called Dyrii on my iPhone. I have the app on my Mac too, but haven’t yet fully figured it out on there.

That being said, my not being able to share what’s on my mind publicly, did keep me from writing on this blog at all. To get myself back into the writing habit, I am participating in A Guy Called Bloke’s Friday Four. I get the impression that this is the last installment in the series for now, so I’m rather late to the party. I like the questions though.

1] If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up?
I prefer to be with someone to talk to and for them to cheer me up, but I often act like I prefer to be left alone. I tend to withdraw when depressed.

2] What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you?
The (lack of) significance of my being of above-average verbal intelligence. I got a bad reminder of this last week (the stressor I cannot share about here). For those who don’t know, I have an above-average verbal IQ, but struggle in almost every other area of cognitive, social and emotional development, adaptive behavior, etc.

3] What do you think about when you’re by yourself?
Usually the current stressor du jour, which often involves the future.

4] What are three things you value most about a person?
Kindness, compassion, respect.

Bonus Series 1 Question
If heaven is real and you died tomorrow, would you get in?
Yes, because I believe there’s no special requirement to get into Heaven (like accepting some kind of savior) and I’m not an altogether evil person.

Sorry Not Sorry

Posted on by Astrid

Today I am not sorry I suffer with mental health issues. I didn’t choose them, no matter what some people think. I don’t necessarily have a bad attitude – and when I do, it has nothing to do with my mental illnesses.

Today, I’m not sorry I am a trauma survivor. I didn’t choose to endure the traumas I endured. These traumas and the resulting mental health symptoms do not make me weak. They do not make me not resilient. People can be resilient and suffer from mental health issues or trauma-related symptoms nonetheless.

Some people choose to believe that the fact that I don’t live up to my intellectual potential, means I’m not resilient. They reason that, if I were persistent enough, I would have finished university and had a job by now. They also judge my lack of persistence in these areas as a sign of a bad attitude.

Today, I’m not sorry I live with multiple disabilities. I don’t care whether you consider these disabilities valid or not. The people who judge me, think I use my disabilities as an excuse not to fulfill their expectations of me. They don’t realize that it’s my life and I have absolutely zero obligation to fulfill their dreams for me. No, not even when these people are my parents. I have no obligation to prove I am worthy of life.

People who don’t know me well commonly assume I must be very resilient for the mere fact that I’m alive. I didn’t use to like this attitude either, but then I read today’s post by carol anne, which inspired this post. Both of us were born prematurely. Both of us suffer with lifelong disabilities as a result. Both of us endured childhood trauma. Doesn’t the fact that we survived and haven’t succumbed, mean we’re pretty resilient? I think it does. We’re badass!

Share Your Merry World (December 10, 2018)

Posted on by Astrid

I am still in the mood to write, but am still a little uninspired. I love the
Share Your World challenge though. This week, Melanie has really interesting questions for it.

What’s the worst topping you could put on popcorn? (credit to Teresa for this one)
Mustard, LOL. Melanie answered hot sauce, but I wouldn’t mind that as much. I’m still not fully recovered from my husband’s kale macaroni, on which I chose mustard as a condiment. Such a mistake!

In what country did Silent Night originate?
I have no idea and am too lazy to look it up.

How would you react if there was irrefutable proof that God doesn’t exist? How about if there was irrefutable proof that God does exist?
I wouldn’t change much either way. I am not sure what I believe regarding the existence of a living, actually-involved-in-our-lives God, although I think the idea is comforting. However, the fact that I do not subscribe to any organized religion and do not feel that morality is based on God, means I would probably still live my life here on Earth as I do now whether God exists or not.

And last question:
What is the scariest non banned item you could take on to a plane?
Uhm, my white cane? I have no idea really.

Which version of the holiday celebration do you and your family enjoy? By this I mean do you follow Jewish traditions with Hanukkah; Christian celebrations with Christmas and (for those over the pond) Boxing Day; or some other festivities that I’ve overlooked? Please do share with everyone!
We celebrate Christmas, although I don’t care about any of the traditions that much. It’s just one of two good opportunities to see my parents and sister. My birthday in June is the other.

Queen of Questions (December 9, 2018)

Posted on by Astrid

I have a ton of blog post ideas floating around in my mind, but I cannot get ahold of one. Teresa’s questions for today are very inspiring too, so I’m just going with those.

1. What was your favorite subject in school?
Math for most of elementary school and the first year of secondary school too. Then it became too difficult.

2. Sleigh ride, snowmobile, or something else?
Sleigh ride. I loved riding our little play sleigh back when I was a child. I’d love to someday ride a real big sleigh.

3. If you were a disney character, which one would you be?
I don’t know that many Disney movies, but the one that comes to mind now is Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Not that I ever saw the movie, but my father used to read us the fabulous book.

4. What is the meaning of life?
I’m still learning. Maybe that’s the meaning of life.

5. What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
I don’t really eat any strange foods, because I’m a rather picky eater. My husband’s kale macaroni with mustard comes to mind though. The choice to add mustard was mine and it was a bad choice.

6. Puppy, kitten, piglet, or baby goat?
Baby goat. I saw them at the petting farm a few times growing up. I love kittens and puppies too though. My husband raised a cat from kittenhood on before I lived with him. The cat, now five-years-old, no longer lives with us.

7. If you were auditioning for an Idol show, what would you sing (imagine you can sing if you can’t)?
I’m a Survivor by Reba McEntire, of course.

8. What is your favorite cartoon?
I don’t watch cartoons. I like Sesame Street though if that counts.

9. Randy Rainbow – what is your favorite song?
Until I read another blogger’s answers to these questions, I’d never heard of Randy Rainbow. I’m too lazy to look him up though, so I’m going to pass this one.