Scattered Thoughts . . .

I 've been sick with COVID since mid-July and I'm still struggling with this virus.  I felt better than I have in a couple of months yesterday morning so I finally stepped outside to do some landscaping.  I haven't done this at all in the past month so this was a good sign that maybe this virus is behind me.  Actually, I haven't done anything outside at all in the past month so the yard was definitely in need of some attention. My plan was to start with the edge trimming with the weed-whacker and then see how I feel.  I got side-tracked and did some pruning and trimming of some plants but I finished all the edge trimming in less than an hour.  I was still feeling well so I decided to pull out the lawnmower.  My original plan was to do the edge trimming on one day and then do the mowing on another to better manage my energy and avoid overdoing it but I was still feeling well after doing the edge trimming so I decided to mow the lawn too.   I got th...

I didn't accomplish much of anything today.  I'm still dealing with fevers coming and going throughout each day since my tick bite.  My fever(s) never got above 100 degrees today so that is sort of good.   I'm still generally feeling quite lousy and  I also had difficulty focusing on any one task so I ended up bouncing from one thing to another within minutes, never really accomplishing anything.    I'm still in quite a bit of pain which certainly affects my ability to focus...  although the pain isn't as bad as yesterday but I'm still in pain.  My joints and my muscles hurt.  I have a bit of a headache too.   I stayed indoors today with the exception of wandering outside first thing this morning to water the flowers.  The first thing this morning the temperature outside was already up near 80 degrees!  Other than that, I was indoors all day long.  The weather was in the 90s again today and I don't do well in th...

L ast night, after my doctor's office had closed for the day, my very low grade fever that I had throughout the holiday weekend, started rising.  Stuff like this always seems to happen on the weekends or at night.  By 8:30pm, the fever had reached 100.4 degrees so I was a bit concerned.   I still wasn't sure where the threshold should be for being concerned or seeking more medical attention but I figured the best thing would be to call my doctor's office in the morning.  If I started feeling miserable rather than lousy, then I would have to go to the hospital emergency department.  However, before heading to the bedroom last night, I realized that I could also write my doctor an email then, if necessary, follow-up in the morning after they opened for the day.  I definitely didn't want to wait so long that I would need to go directly to the hospital. This morning, the phone started ringing at 7:15am.  I get virtually no phone calls but now my line ...

This entire week has been one health problem after another. I honestly was fighting back tears as my health crashed into anaphylaxis last night. The tears weren't because of pain nor simply because I was feeling miserable. The tears were because I have been so unproductive this week and I now had to accept the fact that the next few days would be, at best, a recovery period of more nonproductivity. This weighs so heavily on me, I suppose, because I want to do so many things around the house but can't... because each day I lose due to this debilitating illness, is one less day I will have in my life. Now, once again, I didn't just lose another day, I just lost a full work-week and this downtime of nothingness promises to be longer. We were doing some light shopping in Williston and South Burlington last night... the first store we visited was all it took. As we were walking into Bed, Bath & Beyond (we hadn't even entered the store yet), I was experiencing breathing...

As I wrote in my previous blog post, Kenzie wasn't feeling too well at my birthday celebration. Her nose was constantly running and it was obvious she had a bit of a headache. She sort of moped around all evening... she was a bit clingy... she was scowling... she had a perpetual Clint Eastwood squint in her eyes... she had no desire to join Lukey on the boats... all telltale signs she was not feeling well. When the birthday cake emerged from the house with a candle on it, Kenzie perked up, smiled and clearly was getting a bit excited. When she dove into her big piece of chocolate truffle cake, I really think she started to feel a bit better. Afterward, she was a bit smiley...  more like her usual self. She was laughing and seemed content. Gone was the Clint Eastwood squint and the scowl.   So, is chocolate truffle cake a secret cure for all that ails us?

...one little one was not feeling too well. We knew Kenzie had a cold because of her perpetual runny nose but it was painfully obvious she had a bit of a headache too. Photos always seem to reveal all. In this case, it was easy to see that Kenzie was dealing with a painfully annoying headache too. Her usual bubbly, smiley demeanor was hidden behind squinted eyes like she was Clint Eastwood staring down a dirty villain at high noon. Her little girl personality was hidden behind a seemingly permanent scowl. Upon viewing the photos from my little birthday celebration, it was obvious Kenzie had a headache and wasn't feeling herself. She had no desire to play on the boats with Lukey. She was a bit clingy and just wanted to be held. Her nose continued to run like a babbling brook all evening long. She did, however, get excited and a bit bubbly when she found her baby doll in the toy-box and subsequently carried her baby doll around most of the evening.  Unfortunately, that s...

The past two days were relatively productive days for me for a much needed change. I still ran out of energy within a few hours each day but I managed to get a few things accomplished. I feel as though I have not been 'productive' since I built our fireplace in December so this was a much appreciated and refreshing change to have a couple of productive mornings this week! The weather was nice so I was able to pull the table saw out of the shed so I could cut some wood. I have to admit, however, that just collecting tools was almost enough of an energy drain that I needed to call it a day.  I managed to slow down enough to keep up enough energy to make it until lunchtime. After that, I was so spent that just the simple act of putting tools away was impossible. Yesterday morning I did a little bit of staining... typically, this doesn't affect me too badly but yesterday was an exception. While I was cleaning my brush, my tongue started tingling and then, within a few momen...