How come you always feel sicker on a Friday when you can't go to the doctor until Monday

Unless something changes between now and Monday I'm going to have to break down and go to the doctor.  I still feel crummy and what I'm coughing up is still cloudy.  This isn't clearing up at all.  I want to stay in bed all the time and sleep and my temp has been creeping up a bit from time to time.  Remember, I don't normally run fevers and my normal temps are around 97.5 or so.  Ninety-nine is a bit high for me.

But we'll see how staying in bed all weekend and not running around (let alone mowing the yard) help.  I'll start the echinacea again, too.  If by Monday I'm still feeling bad, I'll set the alarm and get up early enough to get one of the same day appointments.

We were going to go look at stoves tomorrow and Zach needs to pick up his new glasses.  We were going to go today but we were under a tornado watch and I didn't want to get too far from home.  Plus I just wanted to stay in bed.  I'm really tired of feeling crummy like this all the time.

I'm going back to bed.

TTFN

The wind doth blow

I washed up some stuff by hand this morning...a shirt of Zach's that got attacked by spaghetti sauce and my wrappings for my lymphedema...and hung them out on the line.  I'm waiting now for them to blow away.  It was so windy today I didn't set the seedlings out.  I was afraid they would get ripped out of the potting soil.

I got the stuff to church for the rummage sale.  I don't think I have the energy to work it though.  I'm still dragging and apparently still have a touch of the bronchitis, if that's what it is.  I got some B-12 tablets today to see if that helps with the energy problem though.

I finished up the vest for Bette and discovered that no matter what I do the neck is too small so I had to rip back and change my pattern.  She's been expecting this for a couple of weeks so she's not going to be too happy.  This is one of the reasons I don't like to do knitting for people...they don't understand how long it takes.  She told me when she first asked me that she expected I would finish it in an afternoon.  I tried to disavow her of that notion but she laughed it off and told me she knew how fast I knitted.

I am not a fast knitter at all.  Not slow but not fast and no way could I knit a vest in one afternoon even if I didn't have anything else to do.  I tried to tell her that I had a lot going on but I don't think she heard me.

You can tell I'm still a bit cranky.  She's really a lovely woman but doesn't understand about the knitting thing.

I've got some echinacea to plant next week maybe and I'm going to start planting some herbs in pots.  I can at least put them in the garage if there is a need.  But not today.  I've got pizza to stick in the oven (which is pretty tricky with a broken door) and I have to chop up some veg for mine and Tom's but I should be able to do that after a short nap.

Off to sleep a bit and then supper.

TTFN

Ready to call it a night

It warmed up a bit, enough that I didn't need a jacket today, although  I'm still feeling a bit weak so I went with a fleece sweater.  I had errands today:  library and shopping.  I bought some solar lights for my back yard and a tie out for the pets because I don't want the leash on the clothesline anymore.  In a couple of weeks the garden will get tilled and fenced in so the pets won't need to go in that direction anyway.

We're going to go look at stoves this weekend.  It won't be pretty, I can tell you that since Tom and I have completely different ideas about what we want.  I feel like as long as I'm not buying something we don't need, I should get to choose since I do 95% of the cooking.  But that's just the way I see it.  Still, we always manage to do these things without bloodshed so I guess it will work out.

The seedlings did well overnight in the garden.  I forgot to cover the blueberry bushes and haven't been out to look at them yet but I don't think we got any frost last night.  Not quite warm enough for the seedlings to overnight outside but soon...very soon.  We've got rain predicted for the weekend and early part of next week.  My mind needs sunshine though.  Post-flu depression and all that.

Zach and Tom have it now although Tom seems to be bouncing back quicker than I did.  Zach is about to turn the corner on his as well.  The reinforces how much I need to get back into shape.  I tried to make healthier choices on food this trip.  Follow-through is my weak point though.

I need to get busy on Bette's vest so she can have it by Sunday.  She's getting a bit impatient and I don't blame her.  I don't have that much to go, but I've been falling into bed at night with no energy to knit at all.  Or read.  Or draw.  Nothing but lie there and doze on and off until I finally just stay asleep.  Tonight I will force myself to knit until I can't anymore.

I'm not cooking tonight so I think I might just crawl into bed now and take a short nap so I can stay up past 8 p.m.  After I put the seedlings back in the garage.

TTFN

A bit nippy out there

I think little by little I'm getting my strength back although I was only able to mow the back yard today. I still have the side yard and under the apple tree at the very back of the yard. I plan on making myself a little sanctuary back there, with my rocks and some new lawn chairs and the Weber fire pit thingie I've made up. Twinkle lights would be good, too, but there are solar lights on sale at StuffMart for only $3 so I think I'm going to get those. It's shady up there and sort of private so I can have a place to think and reflect and read...maybe even knit. I've got tiki torches I can use for the mosquitoes so it should be a good place for me when I get it done.

Getting those rocks up there will be an ordeal though. They're all very, very heavy.

I pushed myself to finish up the back yard but by the time I was able to turn off the mower, my hands were throbbing and my hips were locked up or something. I could barely walk into the house. I'm so terribly out of shape. I've got to fix that.

I've been getting some stuff together to take to church this week for our rummage sale. I'd like to take the encyclopedias but they're upstairs and I just don't think I can make that many trips up and downstairs to get them out to the truck. Maybe next year. I do have some things in the basement that I plan on loading up tomorrow though.

I've got the seedlings in the garage for now. I had them out in the sun today and they look much better. I lost a lot of tomato plants but the pepper plants are holding up. And I still have many tobacco plants that will hopefully transplant well. There is a frost advisory tonight but I figure the seedlings will do okay in the garage. I just wonder about my blueberry bushes though. I watered them today but they'll still be pretty moist and with temps at freezing, I hope they don't die. I'm not sure what to do about it. I have two buckets I could upend over them but that leaves two uncovered. I'll try to come up with something.

Zach's not feeling well at all today and Tom sounded horrible when he left for work. I've got the greatest empathy for both of them, having gone through all this last week. I hope they feel better soon. I'll take over Zach's chores today as he's mostly down for the count.

Supper is cooking and requires my attention so I'm off to get things done.

TTFN

At least it's sunny today

Didn't make it to church yesterday because I was up all night...as usual. I was stressed out because I had altar guild and had to make it there, so of course, I didn't. Someone else took care of clean up so that was a good thing. I've done for others enough times I shouldn't feel bad about it, but I do anyway.

Zach had an eye appointment today to get new glasses. Tom is next but I'm going to wait until fall, I think. Mine are the most expensive, darn it.

We mowed a bit of the lawn today but my heart was racing and felt like it was going to burst through my chest wall and I was gasping for air so I decided to finish up tomorrow. Zach tried to help but he's got the flu and was coughing and hacking while mowing so I sent him into the house. He did quite a bit before he would agree to quit though. Still...lots to go.

I'm going to move the seedlings outside tomorrow. I'll cover them up at night but they should be okay out there from now on. I'll keep an eye on the temps lest there be frosts or something like that. I need to clean house in a most desperate way but I'm still a bit weak so I'm just going to get done what I can. I've got to load up the truck for the church rummage sale this weekend. I'm going to be relentless, at least with my stuff. I wouldn't ever give anyone else's stuff away without their permission. My ex did that to me twice and there are things lost that I can never get back.

Off to go lie down because my head hurts and I'm fighting sleep.

TTFN

Rainy, achy and still coughing

Had a bit of a setback last night. I was up until 6 a.m. coughing. I still feel like crap but I have to go to church to do altar guild cleanup tomorrow. Zach's throat is hurting and he feels crummy, too, so he's going to stay home. I'll just try to avoid close contact with people and not shake hands during the peace.

I've gotten 4 loads of clothes done today although those stairs are killing my knees. Not to mention my head is pounding, too, probably from all that coughing.

I got some work done on the vest last night. Up past the armholes. I won't finish up tonight because I'm not feeling like knitting but I hope to deliver the vest next Sunday. Bette won't be there anyway tomorrow.

It rained all day, sometimes hard and it's cool enough for a heavy jacket. I think it's good we don't have the stuff in the ground yet. Maybe next weekend. I've said before you can't plant before May.

I finished up Fringe and really liked it. I had gotten an Irish miniseries starring Tony Doyle (from Ballykissangel) but it was pretty boring. He played a father whose wife died and he became bitter and angry about everything and took it out on his kids. His son left home and didn't stay in contact. The father would manipulate the girls who remained at home with guilt about leaving him. He finally marries again, just so he can have a wife and some normalcy. Not because he loved her. Eventually he starts being abusive toward her but persuades her that he's not so she keeps staying. It was just that there was no build up toward anything. Just a lot of him being mean and the girls crying because he wouldn't let them follow their dreams. Normally I love British, Irish and Scottish stuff but this just didn't have any life to it.

On the other hand if I felt better I might actually enjoy it so maybe I should try again tomorrow if I feel better.

So tonight I'm watching Lovejoy season 1. I started it a long time ago and couldn't get into it but this time I'm really enjoying it. I guess timing is everything with me.

Well, off to put the last load into the dryer and fold the load that's in there now. Then I can have a scalding hot shower that might make me feel better.

TTFN

The recovery process continues.

I'm definitely on the mend. I'm not as weak as I was and the coughing has subsided greatly. Plus the infection seems to be going away so there is no need to visit the dr. Which is a huge relief.

I finished up the baby blanket for Haiti and will take a sabbatical from knitting for our sister church as there are other projects that need to be worked on. I'm nearly halfway done with the front of the vest for Bette and I want to start designing knitted baby clothes to possibly sell in the future.

I'm also learning about rocks and crystals because I want to get into designing jewelry as well. Organic stuff as I'm not really a gold and silver type of person.

I decided on a smaller garden because my seedlings didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped and I'm not sure I've got the stamina for a huge garden. I don't want it to die out because I couldn't take care of it. Plus I got to looking at the back yard and I'd rather make the yard look attractive and keep the garden tucked behind the garage. I can bring the garden up the hill a bit to give me more room so I can keep my clothes line there and the pets can still have the run of the back yard on their leashes. I'm also going to work harder on my prairie garden this summer too with some bushes if I can find some dirt cheap.

My altar guild partner called me this morning to tell me she took care of setting up already because she won't be here this weekend so all I have to do is clean up after service on Sunday. Such a relief as I'm still not 100% yet. Zach and I do plan on loading up the truck with stuff for the rummage sale next weekend though. Then I'll be able to get out the back door again because that's where I've got stuff stashed.

Feeling better but I still need to lie down for a bit and maybe go through patterns to see what I want to tackle next.

TTFN

Coming back

Although I'm feeling better, I feel incredibly weak. I know I have an infection because of what I'm coughing up but it does seem to be subsiding. If I'm still coughing the gunk up by Friday I'll consider calling for an appointment but I suspect it's clearing up on its own.

I managed to make it to town to run the errands but I'm wiped out. So I'm working in small sections of time trying to get the house cleaned up. The guys were great about keeping up with things but there is cleaning that needs to be done. I've put Zach to work today helping but tomorrow he has to mow the yard. It's getting a bit high.

I've got that roast on the stove cooking because I forgot to set up the crockpot before I went to town. It smells wonderful so far but there is still a ways to go before it's done. In a little bit I've got to scrub some potatoes and chunk them and add some carrots as well. Then maybe a salad to go with it.

I didn't get any knitting done last night. I'll try to get some done tonight though. I ended up going to bed early and while I didn't sleep through, I did get more sleep than I have since I got sick. Two major coughing spells in the middle of the night and some serious aching but other than that I got some sleep. Tonight should be even better as I got more cold medicine today.

I watered the blueberry bushes today. I forgot about them when I got sick but although they were dry, they were still alive. I've got to get out there daily to take care of it. We might get the garden tilled this weekend. Next weekend at the latest. My seedlings aren't doing too well. The green peppers look great but only about half the tomato plants look like they'll survive and about a third of the tobacco plants look well enough to transplant. Still...it's a start and I can replant some of the tobacco plants since they have a fairly short growing season. The tomato plants, not so much. I might get a few plants from the store and just make do with what we've got. I need a better system next year though. Maybe I can set up a place in the basement with lights and a timer.

Well it's time to get up and clean for the next 15 minutes. I feel like such a wimp but I don't want to overdo it and I end up breathing hard after about that length of time anyway.

I promise if I'm not better by Friday I'll go see the doctor though.

TTFN

It was a bit longer than a week...

but I think I'm finally out of bed. It was a nasty flu that might have morphed into bronchitis. I didn't go to the dr to find out for sure, but the signs were all there. I took echinacea, drank fluids and coughed as much as I could to get the nasty stuff out of my lungs. It appears to be working. I would have gone to the dr by Friday if it hadn't started clearing up though. The dr told me last time not to come earlier than 10 days into it. I have no idea why.

I'm pretty much wiped out from all the coughing. I didn't catch a break yesterday coughing nearly non-stop all day and much of the night. By morning I was able to sleep from a few minutes to a few hours in between coughing spells. A lot of non-productive coughing yesterday with so much effort to achieve so little but today it's a lot easier to get something accomplished.

I am totally exhausted though. I managed to get out of bed (and even make the bed) and head to the store for milk. I didn't go to Beaver Dam though because Mayville was much closer and I didn't have the energy to drive to BD. I could have gotten milk from Kwik Trip but I needed to get something Zach could fix for supper. While there, I found a beef roast for $1.99 a pound so it was a beneficial trip. That will go in the crock pot tomorrow for supper.

Hopefully I'll be feeling much better tomorrow so I can get some stuff done. I am a wuss when it comes to being sick. I hate it. I can never just lie in bed and watch tv and knit because nothing feels good or is interesting. I started watching Fringe that I got from the library and it so totally sucked that I couldn't even watch beyond 5 minutes. Of course, yesterday I decided to give it another go and fell in love with it. I'm a total fan now. That's how awful I am when I'm sick.

Yesterday I finished up the back of the vest I'm knitting for Bette at church. I started the front last night but got to feeling really crummy and couldn't knit anymore. I had the lights off at 8 p.m. and tried to doze off and on in between coughing spasms. Which meant I didn't get a lot of sleeping done at all. But I hope to sleep better tonight.

Heard some sad news Monday morning. We didn't make it to church because I was sick and Zach seemed to be coming down with it as well (darn him and Tom, they got over it within 3 days) but a good and really nice guy from St. Mark's passed away after church. He was there for the service, coffee hour and I think, the Vestry meeting, even made it to his apartment, but never made it to the door. We shared a pew every Sunday and everybody loved him. I'm not sure how old he was but I think he was in his mid 60s. He seemed very young, at any rate. We will really miss him! RIP Ken Restall. What a loving and kind man you are.

On that note, I will head back to bed to lie down as my head feels like it weights a hundred pounds. And I hope to feel better so I can get more knitting done.

TTFN

Let me just curl up in bed for a week.

Oh, crap! I think I'm coming down with something. I've had a low-grade fever off and on all day, my head is pounding, like a sick headache, not like an allergy or stress headache, and I feel more achy than usual. And I'm a bit nauseous. I suspect this is a bit more than my imagination because Zach has the same symptoms (and no, I didn't mention mine to him first...that would be cheating.)

I want to stay in bed tomorrow but the roofers are coming over to give us an estimate and the house is a wreck. I have to get up early to clean up a bit because I'm feeling too bad tonight to do it.

We did watch Monsters versus Aliens on OnDemand tonight and had a good giggle in between groaning and whining.

And we worked on Zach's taxes. He gets a whole $12 back but none from the state. So we didn't file state taxes since he made so little money. We had that option. Otherwise they wanted us to pay $30.00 to file state taxes he's not getting any money back from. I do have the website for filing state taxes free but it's not worth it. I've got no energy left and since he doesn't have to, we won't.

Ours came back with a need for fixing and we ended up with more money so that's a good thing. But don't use H & R Block software. So not worth the money. Use TurboTax, which is free and your state site, which is also free. (Not TurboTax state though...that's expensive.)

I'm off to bed to see if my stomach will settle down. I'm also going to take a tramadol earlier than I normally do to get a jump on the pain. I took some ibuprofen for the headache but not much good has happened there yet. Hopefully the tramadol will help with the headache as well as the body aches.

TTFN

Depression? Or diabetes fatigue? Who knows?

Sorry for the absence. I've been feeling under the weather and have barely gotten anything done for the past week. Still feeling crummy but I did get some stuff done today. Tom and Zach planted my 4 blueberry bushes today for me and Tom mapped out the garden. He'll be getting a roto-tiller Friday (he's taking off for his birthday) and then we'll start putting stuff in the ground. I have to get my seedlings out because they're too tall for the seed tray but if I take the lid off, the cat eats them so they've got a better chance outdoors than they do indoors.

Sometimes there are solutions that are so obvious you just can't see them. Tom's sister gave us her headboard for her water bed and I've been using it in the living/dining room as a bookcase until one night...in the wee hours...I woke up from a dead sleep with a light bulb over my head. Duh! Headboard! For my bed! It's working out perfectly for me. I just can't believe I didn't see it before that.

I've been reading the Twilight series because I'm curious what the draw is. While I admit that I've been unable to put them down, I can't say I'm a fan. There are many levels of squick for me relationship-wise but it is compelling reading. Not great literature, but better than anything I could write, I'm sure.

I tried to watch Twilight the movie but kept falling asleep during it. I'm sure I'll get through it one of these days but there is so much brooding going on that it's hard to watch.

We have new neighbors. A family with 2 small boys. Apparently I didn't impress them as our first meeting was when their youngest was digging in our yard and I told him not to (sweetly, of course) because it was our yard. The dad then grunted at me when I said hi to him. I'm hoping this isn't the way our neighborly relationship will go from here on. I think I'll just choose to believe that he was grumpy from the move.

I haven't done any knitting for about a week. I have a vest I'm working on for a woman at church so I should probably force myself to work on it tonight while watching A Touch of Frost, season 2 & 3. And Doctor Who that I taped last night. And Inspector Morse that I taped Thursday night.

We got Tom a couple more items for his birthday because I felt bad we gave him his gift so early. Tombstone and a package of targets for his crossbow. I've got some cardboard down in the basement and lots of styrofoam peanuts that I can use to make a base for the target.

Off to dig out my knitting and enjoy some British television.

TTFN

Still mushy brain with a promise of snow

Hopefully we made the last trip to Fond du Lac for Zach's school. All that way up there and he was only there for 30 minutes. His adviser figured out the problem, which Zach will take care of tomorrow with the school (he didn't have access to his student account for some reason) and in a few weeks, he'll be done. Graduated. Finished.

Sausage, biscuits and gravy tonight for supper. Comfort food! I love breakfast for supper.

It's rainy and cold today with a promise of snow tonight. Maybe as much as 3 inches. Blech! I'm so done with winter that this isn't funny.

Still mushy-brained. I've tried to read non-fiction stuff and it's just not registering. As you will notice, I've been reading the Twilight series. Not great fiction and in the third book she sacrifices the plot for the plot, if that makes any sense. But it's holding my mushy brain's interest so far and that's good. I couldn't finish up the first movie though. As a friend of mine says...he broods, he broods, he broods, he sparkles, he broods. And I would add...she pouts. But that's just me. I know lots of people who hated Lord of the Rings.

Off to munch down on supper and then hop into bed. I'm still sleeping a lot!

TTFN

My brain is mush

The time for the tax due date is ticking down and my brain is so fried that I can't process the numbers. Somehow, though, I have to get it done.

It's rainy and cool today and I"m all achy. I didn't take a pain pill though because I try to save those for the really bad pains during the day or the keep-me-awake-pains at night. I took ibuprofen and that took the edge off.

Still tired though and still sleeping a lot during the day.

And, having a mushy brain, can't think of anything to write about. So sorry.

TTFN

Aaron and Bonnie

I'm feeling a bit better today. I managed to stay awake all day yesterday and although I wanted to get to bed early I had to finish up a dvd that was due back at the library and couldn't be renewed. But I slept well and a bit late. I even stayed in bed for a while after I woke up, watching the weather channel and enjoying the forecast. I may have turned a corner on whatever this has been that has knocked me on my rear end.

I stayed awake today, too, although I'm really tired. But I still have a bit more energy than I've had for the whole of the past week.

Wednesday I had to do some shopping and while Zach and I were in StuffMart, a man walked up to us and said, "Hi, Aaron. Hi, Bonnie." Zach and I looked at each other. Looked around. Looked at the man. Then back at each other. Then he said, "You're not Aaron and Bonnie?" We both shook our heads no (in a state of total confusion) and he yelled back at some older woman, "It's not Aaron and Bonnie!"

So now Zach and I call each other Aaron and Bonnie. I've never had that happen to me before.

It really was the high point of my week.

I got 4 blueberry bushes this week and hope to plant them this weekend some time. I love blueberries and blackberries but really don't care for raspberries at all. I also have some strawberries to plant as well. I'm keeping the fruit and herbs in the area behind the garage so I've got room in the main part of the yard for veg and tobacco. My re-planted tomatoes are coming up faster than the first planted group did. Still waiting on the bell peppers though.

We've got some branches and stuff that I'm going to ask Tom to burn in our "fire pit/Weber grill" sometime this weekend as well. Tobacco needs ash in the soil. We should have enough to do the job since we've been accumulating it for several summers. I might sneak across the street and steal the branches our neighbor has laid out. Especially since the city doesn't pick up branches in the spring. They'll be there all summer long.

The skies are darkening up with a promise of rain. I don't mind so much after all this wonderful sunshine. And Easter has a promise of sun and warmth so a few days of the wet stuff isn't so bad.

Well, I've used up all my energy for now so I'm going to lie down for a bit before cooking supper. Kosher hot dogs, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes for supper tonight.

TTFN