Thursday, January 29, 2015

Eolake illness? and a new tea-warmer

I saw by accident that some people (enough to make it show high in suggested search terms) are searching on google with the words:
Eolake Stobblehouse illness
... showing me there's a vacuum of information there.
Yes, I have told things here and there, but I've been shy about it, because the situation is in itself complex, and because I was and am always hoping it will get much better Any Day Now.

Like many know, since 2013 I no longer own or run the nude-art site Domai. The main reason had to sell it was that I was not in a condition to work.
The doctors are not in agreement about what it is. But the current favorite is Chronic Fatique Syndrome.
Anyway, it involves debilitating pain, anxiety, and crippling chronic exhaustion.
I even stopped going out photographing, my dearest passtime.
As you may imagine, there are more fun times to be had than this, if you have a choice!
It is hard to pinpoint the start of it, but it got worse and worse until at least 2013. From 2014 there are signs of betterment sometimes, although it is still pretty uncertain. Some days I'm very low and pessimistic, others I can accomplish a little, and have some optimism (for example I've bought the domain stob.me as a memorable place to buy my art, but the site is not up yet.)

Here's to hope. Yours kindly, Eolake Stobblehouse


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I got a couple of fine hot-drink flasks (the brand Contigo ones turned out to be much much better than the more famous Thermos brand, for me), when I lost my last tea-light tea warmer. It didn't seem I could find a replacement for that. But now I did, though I had to import it from the states. Bought it at a site called Notting Hall (not Notting Hill).
I think it looks great, modern, and it's stable, and will service cups or tea pots of any size (the hole is smaller than the bottom of any cup I know of). (Though I think I'm one of few who use such for cups.)


This is my exemplar. I love how with modern cameras, you don't need tripod and special lights to shoot something like this indoors, you just point and shoot. With a decent camera, and especially with a fast (sensitive, apertures 1.0 to 2.8) lens, you will probably get a good picture easily. (The big aperture also gives it a taste of "pro" with the softened background, which also softens any distractions which might have been there.) 

You put one of those little fat tea light candles (in a small aluminium pot) in the bottom. The lid does not get hot (at least in the short time I've used it), but the heat up through the hole is very effective. 
Biggest variable is the material and thickness of the bottom of your cup/pot. 
Funny, writing this, I think I can smell my last cup of Lady Grey, though I used to buy the popular brand Typhoo.