Tag Archives: sick

Stuffed

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It started last night–a sniffle, a drip, a few sneezes. I knew it would be a tough night. It was not all that bad, however. The head cold had arrived.

It annoyed me all day. My head is more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey. And my nose is running longer than an ultramarathoner.

Tonight will truly be the one where I stay awake, littering the floor with tissues. Luckily I will not be visiting a school tomorrow, like I did today. I had to keep dashing off from my spot in the library to empty the old sinuses. I can snort away to my heart’s content tomorrow as I work (mostly) from home.

I did run this morning and that seemed to help. I hope to rise early and do that again tomorrow as well. It helps flush the green goo. At least, it did this morning, and I am more stuffed now than then.

Good stuff, eh? I am sure you will be staying tuned for more updates. To end on a better note, it snowed on and off all day. It hardly clung to the ground, but we have some white stuff coming down. Christmas may be white, after all. And by then, this head cold should be gone. Good riddance I say to that.

Jack-O-Lantern Update

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Here’s one more photo, after we returned from the Halloween festivities in Hinesburg center. Right before we planned to head out, it started to rain, hard. It dumped. The heavens opened up. It poured. Cats and dogs. By the time we got out of the car, however, it was mostly just damp. We tricked and treated (well, only treats, really), popped into the fire station for the celebration there, and then went home to get my daughter to bed. Turns out she had a fever of 103 degrees. I guess we got one trick after all.

Sorta Spooky, Sorta Funny

Soup and Bread

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That’s what’s for dinner. I had to be home to meet my daughter off the school bus. It isn’t always easy to work when she comes home, especially when it is just the two of us, and frankly, I want to spend time with her during that window. So we did that. She told me about her day, showed me what she brought home. The kid is a gem. She smiles and feels proud of herself. I feel lucky to witness that every day.

Once she started chilling by herself, I stuck some sweet pumpkin in the oven to bake. I started bread dough. I turned the pumpkin into soup and the bread into dinner rolls. It is the easiest dinner ever.  It took a little time but was not hard to do. So we ate bread with our hot soup together at the table. My son didn’t eat much. I think he is getting sick. It seems most kids are getting sick these days. It is only October and plenty of children are missing school. Too bad. Maybe the soup and bread will help.

We have nine pie pumpkins left. Enough for some pumpkin muffins, maybe more soup, and a pie. Later in the week I will whip up one of those. I want to make this pumpkin pie I learned about several years ago and tried only once. It is light but rich. I want to experiment with it and maybe make it again for Thanksgiving. What’s not to like about pumpkin pie?

I may be getting a little something in the head myself. I have been wondering if I run every morning, will that help me stay healthy, meaning will it prevent sickness? I know I will be healthier in general if I run often, but can it ward off the viri?  Can it keep the bacteria at bay?  I guess I will see what I can find out with my R of one.  I had a short run this morning. Maybe I will go longer tomorrow. It was awfully hard to get out of bed in the dark this morning. I am hoping it won’t be so tough the next time I try it. I love running as it gets light, but it has been all dark these past days. It is dark when I leave the house and dark when I return. Easy there, Winter; it’s only October.

So I will try my running and pumpkin health plan for a while. That soup will last for a few days. When it runs out, that’s when I’ll bake up a pie, or at least some muffins. That ought to be good, no?

Slow Day

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My boy is asleep in the chair next to me.  He had a fever.  He just woke from an hour long nap.  Then he fell asleep again.  The kid is out.

My daughter had a rough morning, feeling homesick about this half day art camp she has been attending.  It is three hours in the morning during the week.  She has had a blast.  Today she was afraid of the dog she met yesterday and concerned about the number of kids and other stuff.  She went anyway.  She came home and said it was the best day yet.

I installed three new smoke detectors today.  I also installed two carbon monoxide detectors.  The ones in the house might be twenty years old.  Who knows?  That was a satisfying project.  It rained again so no painting today.  I also dealt with a bunch of eBay sales.  EBay sales don’t exactly rake in the cash here but it is kind of fun, I have to admit.  And it pays for our Christmas presents.

I was ready to tackle a few other tasks but they involved making too much noise.  I need to finish taking out the bush I started tearing up yesterday, but it is right outside the window where my son is conked out.  No need to wake him for that project.  It can wait until tomorrow.

So I didn’t get much done today.   It felt like a Sunday.  It is amazing how a day can slip away when you are worried about a sick kid and you have a bunch of other days ahead of you.  The sun is finally out so it is good weather for some outside projects.  Oops, time to make dinner.  That’s a project I won’t put off.

A Western Day

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It was a day that made me feel that I was in the west.  The sky was clear blue and the winter air made it seem I could see forever.  The snow on the mountains shone brightly in the sun.  Everything seemed to be in high relief.  It was a high contrast perfect type of day.

It never rose about freezing.  The highest temperature I noted was 27 degrees.   The sun, however, warmed things enough that the children ran around for a couple of hours without jackets.  I trust that they know when they are cold.  They will ask for more clothes if they need them.  Today they were good to go with sweatshirts.

The air was dry.  I ran six miles this afternoon, abandoning my winter hat not long into it for a brimmed cap.  Once I warmed up I did not worry about frostbite on my ears even with a breeze.  The sun is higher now.  Two months ago the same temperature and wind conditions and clear skies would not have felt so warm.  Spring arrives in one month.

I felt tired running today.  I might be fighting off the sickeness that my wife managed to catch.  She spiked a fever.  She never spikes a fever.  If I had even a touch of that business, it makes sense that I would be tuckered after six miles.  Although, admittedly, I felt tired even at mile one.  What gives with that?  But I slogged it out slowly and felt fairly good by the time I got back.  I hope tomorrow gets me going in better shape than that.

My run today reminded me of runs I have taken in the west–cold, clear days with air that feels fresh.  It only feels that way around here in the winter.  The trees are bare so I can see much farther and the air is dry.  We rarely get that dry air here in the summer.  We get plenty of humidity and lots of green.  I don’t think of that as western.

There is a good chance we will get a storm later this week.  Tomorrow will be another beauty and I am taking it off for President’s Day.  I need to celebrate my patriotism and all that.  Wave a few flags and remember the deeds of great men.  I will do some playing of some sort.  We head to the Adirondacks in a week.  I am hoping we get a blast of snow in time for that.  Then we can do lots of playing, western day or not.

Home With the Kid

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My daughter was up most of the night with a fever and a cough.  I stayed home with her today.  That wasn’t too big a deal, in regard to my other obligations.  I managed to reschedule some meetings and I got some of my tasks completed.  It wasn’t bad spending some time with the kid, however.

We watched Shrek the Third, which my wife had rented on a whim yesterday.  That timing worked out well.  We played out in the snow in the afternoon, when she felt better (my daughter, not my wife), we ate lunch together, I helped her with some word activities that she brought home from school.  It was some quality time.

She doesn’t have a cough anymore.  Her fever is gone.  She fell asleep fast.  She was tuckered after little sleep last night.  She considered taking a nap but just couldn’t fall asleep this afternoon.  Who could blame her?  Think of all the daylight she might miss.  She came with me to pick up her brother and was the helpful sister, carrying all his things for him and greeting him with a grin.  Those two love each other.  I am fortunate there.

Tomorrow she will be fine and I will be back to working a full day, rather than piecing together what I can while tending to a not quite healthy child.  Hopefully the cough will pass me by.  She won’t be taking care of me if I crash.  She’ll be off to school whatever happens to me.  If I get sick I will sit home and try to work but get little done and feel bad about that as well as feel bad physically.  That would pretty much suck.

So no sickness for me.  I’ve got my wolf bane and my vitamin C and my early to bed.  I’m off to work in the morning.