May is MCS Awareness Month... check out the Canary Caravan Carnival hosted on Vardo For Two!

In honour of May being MCS Awareness Month, Mokihana from Vardo For Two is hosting a  Canary Caravan Carnival!
She has come up with a number of creative categories and welcomed submissions that include poetry, a visualisation, prose, photography and art.

There is a wonderful diversity of entries listed below in order of appearance.  You can click on the titles to be taken directly to that entry on Vardo For Two.

The Impact of MCS on Self-Esteem
Article by Recovering EI/MCS Psychotherapist Kay McCarty

Finding your Path
A Visualisation by MCS Ally Joan Tucker

Reflections and Feelings About Life With MCS
Poetry by Katrina Kluzik

Susie Collins Writes About Her Passion

Prose by the Founder of The Canary Report

"Sad Songs Not By Elton John"

Poetry by 'Anita Freshair' (aka Daisy O)

Entertaining Angels Unawares

A True Story by MCS Ally and Astrologer cj wright

Cosmic Pie: An Astrological Tool for the Canary Carnival

Article by Mokihana using this tool to gain insight into her journey with MCS

"Portrait Of A Life With Chemical Sensitivities"

Photography by Julie Genser, Founder of Planet Thrive

Artistic Tangents: A Hidden Gift From MCS

Art and article by Liberty

Making An MCS Documentary... A Canary's Angle On The Issue
Article by MCS Filmmaker Kimberly Shaw

Lilacs Smell Good Again!

The lilacs are in bloom in southern Ontario - an event that used to keep me inside at this time of year.  They used to smell very strong to me and I would get bad headaches and brain fog if I was exposed for more than a few seconds.  With MCS, one can react to VOCs from any source - even naturally occurring ones in plants and flowers.


Now lilacs smell wonderful to me!  I was out gardening for a few hours today and the wind was blowing a neighbour's lilac blossom scent my way.  I loved every minute of it and had no negative reactions  :-)
It is such a joy for me to be able to enjoy these natural smells again.
I've also been enjoying it when fresh cut grass smell wafts my way - something that a few years ago I would have thought impossible due to the high terpene level in grass.

I'm not yet at the point where I'd bring strong flowers like lilacs, hyacinths or lily-of-the-valley inside though I do bring some more mildly scented flowers in.

What flowers do you love?

Do you react to natural sources of VOCs?