The sore throat started developing late Friday afternoon, but I ignored it: We had hot dates both at my friend Linda B’s show* and a concert by the Cypress Quartet** and I refused to miss either one.
By the time we got home I felt pretty lousy. The sore throat was worse, I ached all over and I had that burning-eyes-and-nose sensation that suggests sinus involvement. No fever, though, so I’m inclined to think “virus.”
However, I’m reminded of the one good thing about being sick: Reading.
A day like this is a free pass to step away from weekend work and into the bed, or into the easy chair while wrapped in a blanket. If I can hold my head up at all, a book goes with me. Although I did go out today (haircut appointment, quick stop at the supermarket to buy yogurt starter and more milk), most of my time was spent either lying down and reading or sitting up and reading.
In other words, bliss. Well, it would have been bliss if it weren’t for the epizootic currently romping freely in my body.
The only other chances I have to read-read-read take place on planes. No deadlines, no household chores whispering to me – just me and my latest novel or nonfiction work. It’s almost worth feeling poorly just to be able to focus on someone else’s words for a change.
Reading and resting
Although I tried napping I couldn’t sleep, but at least I was lying down. Mostly I read and read and read, counting myself fortunate that I’d recently been to the library. In the past 24-period I finished a Jack Reacher novel called “Make Me,” and started and finished “The Good Son” by Michael Gruber.
We’d planned on having hamburgers for supper, atop DF’s homemade rolls. Fretting over the state of my health, he decided instead to make what we refer to as “ham and yam,” which is actually called sweet potato hash with Black Forest ham. “It seems healthier,” he said as he dished it up.
We use whatever ham is on sale, though, and he probably tweaked the other ingredients a touch. Either way, it was savory and comforting, and slid down a little less painfully than hamburgers probably would have.
It’s almost 10 p.m. and I’m more than ready to hit the hay, but I’m waiting for DF to come home. Also taking a break from reading to heat up the milk for more yogurt; I know that if I started on my third book I’d be tempted to stay up way too late.
If I’m not better by tomorrow evening, I’ll probably ask DF to fire up the basement sauna. Even if I can’t kill the crud, at least I can bake the ache. In the meantime, I’ll be reading.
*I’m giving away two more of her pendants. Enter by 7 p.m. PST Sunday, Feb. 7.
**Here’s a brief review of it from the local paper.
Related reading:
Count me in….feel better!
Sympathies. I am fighting something off right now. Have books available! May consider epsom salt bath.
Two words….”netty pot”…I discovered this a couple of years back. The minute I feel what you describe coming on I put warm water with salt in the netty pot. I have had great results. No nedd for expensive OTC meds or prescriptions… Hope you feel better soon…
I’ve got a neti pot, but the idea of pouring water into my sore sinuses right now is just….yech.
Thanks for your good wishes, and for leaving a comment.
How do you use a neti pot? It sounds like a good idea but I’m put off by the weirdness of it.
I’ll answer, in case Jack doesn’t, with a brief from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/neti-pot/FAQ-20058305
Personally, I use just warm water rather than a saline solution. Although I’ve heard people describe the sensation as “pleasant,” that is not the case for me; I was one of those kids who never wanted water in her nose when swimming. Once I’ve finished I’m glad I’ve done it, though, and it takes less than a minute per side.
CRUD…Sorry for the “mis-spelling”…sheez!
Feel better friend. Sick sucks.
I don’t think you can beat homemade chicken soup – and you can drink it lying down through a straw. Feel better soon.
Feel better soon, Donna. Hope the sauna helps. Oh, BTW, I also like to read when I’m sick, but I can’t read as fast as you can, that’s for sure! ;o)
My sore throat remedy is to gargle with salt, take garlic a couple times a day as an antiviral, and take an anti-inflammatory (Tylenol, Advil or aspirin) several times a day. Get better fast and enjoy reading.
The sauna sounds wonderful:)
It really IS wonderful: solid, steady heat plus a little steam if DF pours water onto the rocks. Stepping out to cool down in the 50-degrees-or-so basement is a pleasant shock to the system. It’s also enough for me — I don’t feel the need to roll in the snow or anything like that.
Feel better, Donna. Glad you have DF to take care of you.
Yep. Blessed. (And I don’t mean just when I sneeze, either.)
Hope you feel better soon.
Get well soon, so you can go back to the library! When I have sinus trouble, I use steam: breathe it in from a simmering pot on the stove, if you don’t have a steamer. Also zinc. Take it every few hours. It will definitely shorten the time the virus gets to rampage through your system.
Aww, feel better! But, yes, an excuse to sit and read — bliss! And nice care from DF — gotta love that!
Belatedly, I hope you’ve kicked the crud! I’m about six weeks behind on everything not life-support-critical thanks to my own lingering cold thing 😛
Sadly, the crud invited a friend over to play: Now I have a bad head cold, too. The sore throat is pretty much kaput, though.
Hope you’re feeling better soon.