Out Of The Ordinary

Once again, I am going to try to simplify and shorten my blog posts.  With New Years and the making of resolutions so recent... I am attempting to commit to my resolve of just blogging about unusual or noteworthy events.  Who needs to know when I get up or go to bed, what I eat, when I do house cleaning, workout, walk the dog, or what I watch on TV?  However, some typical events, like house cleaning or cooking, might be noteworthy, because for me they are not a usual occurrence.  Ha ha ha. 

While other everyday things, like a sunset or waterfall, are worth blogging about because of their extra ordinary beauty or because they have affected me in an unusual way.  So... no guarantees about sticking to the "out of the ordinary" with what I blog about.  Some of my post may, at times, be quite mundane.  I need to go to the Hokey Pokey Clinic to get help with my tendency to ramble.  Although, as always, I still hold to the premise that my blog is really just a daily journal.

Saturday morning Joe, Britney, and I were up and on the road before 9 am.

 The Bakers and Sidensticks had left much earlier, and our other two children (with their significant others) departed an hour behind us.  Cathy and Ralph left last, and were taking Mom home.  The left photo is of all of us (except Dan who was still at Fort Hood and Patti who took the photo) after lunch the day we went to the “Beach House” restaurant.

It was the first day we had seen rain as we left Long Boat Key and the beautiful Florida beaches and weather.  It was also the beginning of a cold/flu bug for me. 

We dropped Britney off at the airport in Orlando and continued to head north, along with several million other people that vacationed in Florida.

I was re-arranging a spot on the back seat after Britney got out, and discovered "the pig," a traveling gag gift that has been out of circulation for two years.  Come to find out, Cathy found it while cleaning house, and hid it in our car.

Driving home, going up I-75, drove me nuts.  The traffic was horrible.  Our GPS would have us get off the interstate to take a quicker route and we would end up sitting in a line of traffic with tons of cars trying to make the same short cut.  We got good at making a right turn, U turn, and another right turn in order to get past the 50 cars waiting to make a left turn.  It was nerve racking, frustrating, and agonizing.
  

I hoped and prayed our three children would make it home safely, and that we would also.  To keep my thoughts off of the bad traffic conditions and missing our kids, I entertained myself by reading the Dean Koontz novel "Fear Nothing."  It was a real page turner.  I don't know which was scarier, the traffic or my book.

Thankfully, Maggie was in good hands and could wait another night for our return.  Shirley took this photo of the dog who had been staying at her house since Monday.  We stayed at a dive of a hotel in Morrow and were up at 5 am (central time) and back on the highway in a matter of minutes.

First stop, gas and doughnuts, and then we were zipping down (or is it up since we were going north) I-75.  Sitting on my butt eating a sugary, greasy, blueberry muffin, I wondered how health nuts stick to their convictions during travel.  We got through Atlanta in record time and soon would be home.  My cold was getting worse and I was still missing family and Florida.  Memories of such a fun time and great moments together flooded my mind.  

Stevie was all purrs and rubs and following me around when we got home.  After unpacking the car, moving the plants out of the bathtub and back to where they belonged, and cleaning the cat's pan; I went to pick up Maggie.  This is another photo by Shirley.  Maggie had been quite happy and well taken care of there.

I took Maggie for a long walk on the back nine of Druid, in hopes to clear my mind and headache, and to wear her out a little.  This second photo shows more wild hog damage recently done to the #16 fairway.  

I spent the remainder of Sunday unpacking and feeling progressively worse.  The aches and slight fever that were developing, made me think this was a flu virus and not just a cold.  How does one stick to their resolution of nutritious eating and plenty of exercise when sitting in a car for hours and then being sick at home for several days?

Sunday ended with Stevie and I sitting by the fire and watching the three hours of Survivor finale that had been taped over two weeks ago.
I don't know why this photo posted upside down or how to turn it 180 degrees.  There is a definite learning curve with this new blog site.  

I stayed home all day Monday and got this new blog started and well under way.  Stevie enjoys her squishy cat pad that Courtney so lovingly made.  She stayed near me as I worked here at my computer.  Shirley dropped off some cold medicine she had leftover from her cold (after spending over twelve hours at O'Hare and flying to Nashville last Sunday).  It helped me feel a little better.

When I wasn't blogging, I kept a fire burning in the fireplace, watched a few snow flurries drift by the window, napped, and finished reading "Fear Nothing."      

I woke Tuesday morning feeling worse.  The vertigo when I was up moving around and a pounding headache made me not want to do anything.  A sour stomach from the post nasal drip, and maybe medicine, added to my misery.

 Stevie was glad to have Maggie to play with, since I was so sedentary.  Maggie has been very "stand-offish," clinging to Joe and avoiding me.  As nice as I try to be, she did not want to come to me for hugs and kisses.  Was she mad at me or no longer trusting me because I had dropped her off at the kennel? 

Brian had brought over a leftover ham bone (for Maggie) that had plenty of ham still on it.  So, I made an attempt at cooking ham and bean soup since I had a bag of navy beans in the cupboard.  It was all I could do to stand in the kitchen to assemble this... cooking the beans and then chopping ham, onions, celery and carrots to add to it.  The soup simmered in the crock pot all day.

After an hour walk with the dog, late in the day, (I was attempting exercise and fresh air to see if it would help me feel better)  I made corn bread and a toss salad to complete our dinner.  I still felt shaky with headache and dizziness, but at least my appetite had not waned.  Maggie eventually got the ham bone (for awhile each day).  I gave it to her out in the garage to keep the grease off the floors in the house.  I also limited her to ten minutes a day with the bone.

The temperatures had been in the low 30's each day and down into the 20's at night, early in the week.  Mid week it warmed up about ten degrees.  Maggie was not wanting to go with I (or Joe) for her outside excursions.  We were wondering if it was the cold weather.  Yet she really seems to enjoy herself on our long walks and at the dog park.

Maggie found the pig I had temporarily tossed under the Christmas tree and thought it was a toy.  I was tempted to let her do it in, but then thought better of it and took it away.  Stevie was quite curious. 

I was scheduled to go to Lady's Club and then to work Wednesday.  Still not feeling great, I cancelled Ladies Club because I didn't want to overdo it.  It ended up being all I could do to make it through my almost six hour work shift.

When I arose Thursday with continued bone and muscle aches, especially in my back, I wondered if this was more than just a flu virus.  It was another day of R & R.  

Out of the ordinary, but becoming more ordinary, Joe left for a weekend with the guys, and of course a stop at the casino in Metropolis IL.

I did get three loads of laundry done and mid-afternoon took Maggie for a long walk.  I finally got back out on the roads of Fairfield Glade in a continued quest to walk all of them.

This view, which can only be seen from the road, is typical of many I see while walking.  Folks don't have a chance to really enjoy this scenery while driving.

Once home, I watered all the new transplants (about 37 of them) because they need to be babied, getting regular watering, even in the winter.  

Exhausted by the time I finished with dinner, I went to bed at 8:15. 

And darned if I still wasn't really tired and achy when I got up Friday morning after almost ten hours of sleep.  It was a cloudy day and drizzling, but I was glad I had taken the time and energy to water everything the night before.

Stevie continued to stay near by, and was being playful... attacking me, the dog, cat toys, and imaginary adversaries.

Sitting still is not my usual mode of operation, and I was getting bored with it.  Plus, I felt I needed to do something productive.  But even during the short dog walks, I felt out of it... dizzy, tired, and un-energetic.
 

 Midmorning I got a fire going since our great room would not be getting heated by sunshine on this dreary Friday.  It helped brighten the gloom and warm the room.  Next I started on paper sorting.  This is a project I have started on numerous occasions, but this time felt I had a good chance of completing since I was "home bound" so to speak.  When I needed a break from sitting, I would get up to put a log on the fire and take down Christmas decorations.  Fatigue would set in, in a rather short amount of time, and I would go back to organizing file folders.  Stevie tried reorganizing stacks or the little note signs I had on the piles, and was of no help, other than keeping me company.

Unfortunately, birds hitting our windows is not out of the ordinary.  This little house finch wiped out upon contact, and lay helpless in the cold rain.  I had to intervene, not knowing how badly it was hurt.  I warmed it in my hands and it seemed fairly alert.  Next I decided to put it in a "nest" in the garage so as not to frighten it any more than necessary, and keep it warm and dry while it hopefully recovered.  With in an hour, when I went out to check on it, I picked it up and it tried to flap its wings in my cupped hands.  So I went outside, opened my hands, and it flew off.  Yay!  Wish I could recover that quickly.  


Maggie alerted me to a backyard visitor and I saw this deer coming up from the pond.  She stayed awhile and ate a bunch of the corn, then wandered off.










Remaining in my PJ's all day, I never went out except to take Maggie on short walks and one longer walk.  I didn't even finish the paper sorting and barely made a dent in Christmas take down.  Sometimes I think I am feeling better, but then I have a slight relapse.  Tomorrow is another day.