I must say this is my favorite time of the year tho. All the trees changing colors and the one's blocking my view lost all their leaves and now I have a great panoramic view of nine peaks.
There's two brothers that live about 1/4 mile from me who play loud music in their garage that bothers me too. I call them the boombox brothers (lol). You can hear their music all around the mountain. Outside of that it's nice and peaceful up here...

Catra,
Most of my family lives in IL in northwest burbs of Chicago. One reason I used for not moving up there was taxes but now since RSD I have the weather too...

I do love the color changes and everything that come with the fall season...I just prefer to see it from snuggled up inside the house. My boyfriend's family owns a house on a lake up in Northern Wisconsin and I would love to move up there (despite the weather) just to have that beautiful view of the lake. There's just something that makes you feel better about being trapped in the house when you have a beautiful view to look at.

But the weather...ick...I want to live somewhere warmer. But at the same time I don't know that I would be happy living so far away from any family.

catra, have you checked into local transport services for the disabled? If there is one available, you might consider applying, even if you only use it in emergency type situations. Even taking a cab one direction and having your bf pick you up on the way home from work, might be worth it. (If you're lucky your local transport service for the disabled/elderly might even be free cab rides. One of the cities close to me uses them for much of their transport.)

Feeling trapped in an environment that causes you pain is miserable! I spent years dealing with my whole home shaking because of new beach construction that required them to drive piles. So, so aggravating. And then frequently they sit vacant all year except for the occassional weekend trip by their uber wealthy owners.

Rythmic vibration is the worst in my opinion. I do find that removing the noise helps quite a bit. Try using headphones to listen to something that will distract you. Many libraries offer free MP3 audio books and even music that is downloadable online. Check your city and county and any large statewide public library, since they all might have different programs and selections.

I never looked into transport for the disabled before...thanks for the tip. I keep hoping that we will find something that gets the blurry vision and dizziness under control enough that I can drive a car again. Car rides are not fun (that vibrating thing again) but the freedom to leave the house would be so wonderful again.

I do listen to audiobooks a lot and I do find them helpful in distracting me (you can only watch so much tv, you know?). Next time I'll try putting the headphones in and see if that helps.

Today we have crazy wind storms...I do not want to leave the couch and my nice warm set up. But I can hear the wind really whipping around out there. We haven't got plastic up on the windows yet so even in the house is a little breezy. Have I mentioned how much I love my space heater? The thing is such a blessing in times like this.

Another oddball tip...Entertainment based on pain level. If you're sympathetic system is hypersensitive, you might play around with more mellow forms of entertainment as your pain increases.

1. low to mid-level pain
I hate watching commercial tv. The sounds and flashing lights during the breaks exacerbate really bug me. There is so much incredible commercial free programming available via Netflix for $9 a month, so I just stream to my bluray player or to my laptop most of the time.

I read more difficult literature.

2. mid-level pain
I watch older movies or more sedate tv (think BBC mini series) that have fewer jump cuts (an editing device) which I find easier to watch when my pain is aggravated.

I switch to reading trashier fiction.

3. high-level pain
I take a hot bath with Epson Salts and read or listen to audio books, NPR, new age music (don't laugh, it IS soothing), or guided meditation. Luckily my tub is shallow enough to keep me from drowning when I fall asleep (well at least so far)...

I think that might be something that I have done without really knowing it. I have days where tv in general is fine (though I am mostly sick of it now and only watch a handful of shows...greatly prefer the ones without commercials and try to watch them on Demand as much as possible if they are on networks with commercials).

But some days I prefer listening to music and just chilling out (hot bath is a must at those times). Most days are spent trying to do some stitching and listening to books though (at least when I am alone), with breaks throughout the day to check the internet when my hands just can't take the stitching anymore.

But I suppose I should try to look at it closer and get a better handle on why I do these things on certain days. Some days I just can't focus on a darned thing and since I am not very mobile just bounce from one thing to the next. Those are generally some of my worst days.

I have such a hard time reading anything these days and concentrating on what I am trying to read. I can do okay with stuff that I have read before in my pre-RSD days (mostly because I already know what's going on and what's going to happen)...but new things are much more difficult. But I think the stitching gives me sort of the same effect as reading, in that I have to concentrate on something (not to mention it is a good way to keep moving my hands...physical therapist said it is great exercise for me).

Thanks, everyone for all your help. I'm willing to try anything to help me get through these rough days, and every little thing I can add to my arsenal is a big win. Thanks.