Think Outside the Box

This is your chance to think outside the box and have some fun. This activity/exercise is good for getting your creative juices flowing, or a good procrastination activity, but it is also good as a distraction from pain. It is a simple idea, and can be done in infinite variations.
Take a piece of paper (or two or three...) Draw on it four or six or eight squares. It doesn't matter how many or what size. After you do it a time or two, you can decide what feels right to you. I like six squares, in two rows of three (or three rows of two, depending on how you orient your paper). Now- Put on your thinking cap, and think outside the box, literally. What is the box, and what would you find outside it? Draw whatever comes to mind around the first box. Now go on to the second. Try not to be critical of either your ideas or your drawing skills. Any idea is a good one, even if it doesn't seem like it..Imagine looking down at it, straight at it, or up at it.Imagine it different sizes, different colors. Different ideas come to mind.
So, what are some ideas to get you started? It is a house, and there are bushes and flowers around it, maybe a swing-set, (Don't get caught up in the fact that this is an overhead view.) You can even add what you would see on the surface of the box, in this case, the roof, maybe a chimney.  It is a shoe box, with a pair of mismatched shoes. It is a toy-box with the toys all over the place...You could also see the squares as buildings in a city, and connect them with streets, sidewalks, cars, people, dogs, etc. Let your imagination wander. Have fun.
Some variations on this are thinking about what would be inside the box instead of outside (this is actually easier, so if you are having trouble thinking outside the box, think inside instead). This could be a toy-box, shoe box, or house, or a deck of cards (draw any one you want), a book, a painting, a candy bar, etc. You could do the same thing with circles, or ovals, or rectangles or triangles, or heptagons.
That brings to mind a game we used to do as kids, a similar idea to this. One person makes a scribble on a piece of paper, the next person has to look at the scribble and find a part that resembles something, and using more crayons, makes it more recognizable. You could also do this by yourself.
Get absorbed in activities such as these, and for many people, their pain fades.The more detailed and absorbed you get, the more the pain will fade. Give it a few tries. It may feel awkward and difficult at first, but it should get easier.  

Daily Grommet- My Favorite Shopping Site

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah started last night. It lasts for eight days, and it is traditional to give gifts every night. What people often do, us included, is to give one larger gift, and the rest smaller gifts. One year, among the things I gave my oldest son were a package of ping pong balls and boxer shorts. Another thing my husband and I do is put away things we buy ourselves in the month leading up to Hanukkah, and have the other person wrap them for us. Usually by the time we open them, we forgot what they were, so we get a surprise, the fun of opening a gift, and we know it is something we want.
Exchanging gifts is fun, in my opinion. I know many people get anxious about it. The way I look at it, if you get rid of your expectations, then you won't be disappointed by any gifts you get, or even if you get no gift. Whatever I get, it is something I did not have before, so it is a fine gift. As for giving gifts, I don't worry if it is the wrong color, costs more or less than what they gave me, etc. If I have made an honest effort, then I did my best, and that is good enough.
Online shopping has made gift giving much easier for folks with mobility issues. My favorite site this year is Daily Grommet. A quote from their website says "Whether it's a love of innovative design, social and green enterprises, hand crafted goods, a quest for unique gifts, or a desire to support new technologies, Daily Grommet has an inspiring set of stories and products to fill that need."  You can search the many categories for products, or  enter a word or two into their search line. You can sign up to get daily emails with their Daily Grommet picks, and even suggest a product for them to feature. There is a fun section called the Citizens' Gallery where they have 49 pages of products people have suggested. Daily Grommet has many products I have seen nowhere else, products that solve everyday problems, and fill needs I never knew I had. Several have intrigued me and gotten my creative juices flowing.
Check out the Daily Grommet site, explore what they have to offer. Don't be surprised if you have trouble narrowing down your choices.