Scattered Thoughts . . .

This past weekend, Sheila and I finally got out of the house and managed to do some much-needed shopping.  This was the first time we were out and about since before our cross-country trip well over a month ago.  What held us back, mostly, has been my health...  between the flu and the associated impact on my primary health problems, I was stuck at home and mostly slept so that kept us at home.  Needless to say, we were in fairly desperate need of some grocery shopping as well as personal hygiene items so those two things were our priority.  I have to say that it was nice to be out of the house though!  Sheila and I went to lunch too and had a much-needed tasty lunch.   Sheila wanted to run through a car wash since it was nice out for a change so we did that and then headed back toward some shopping in Williston.  As we were passing Ashley Furniture, I quickly told Sheila to "pull in here".  As she was pulling into the shopping center, I mentioned that perhaps we should d

When I got out of bed yesterday morning, the sun was shining brightly!  I can't remember the last time we've seen the sun...  maybe someplace out west last month during our train trip? So, after taking a bunch of medications that I need to take every morning, I started collecting solar astronomy gear to bring out to the deck.  The days and nights that are suitable for astronomy in our neck of the woods are severely limited so I need to take advantage of every available moment if my health allows.  Fortunately, yesterday morning I was feeling well enough to do an hour or two of solar astronomy.  At the very least, I knew that a short burst of adrenaline would carry my flu-ridden body for an hour or two! I had planned to set up the telescope on the deck so I could stay out of the snow and mud but, unfortunately, the sun is still too low in the sky way up here in the north.  When I stepped up on the deck by the time I started moving gear outdoors, the sun was behind the trees.

I'm still struggling to shake free from the flu.  I've been sick since just before we arrived back home from our cross country rail journey.   I still have a cough but not nearly as bad as it was in that first week. My biggest complaint, however, is dealing with the overwhelming fatigue and overall aches and pains.  Then, add in the usual fatigue, bone pain and joint pain from my primary illness and the past few weeks have been brutal.  An hour after getting out of bed in the morning, I need to lay down again.  At that point each day, I hardly have the energy to stand or hold my head up.   We'll see how long this lasts...  I'm tired of it though...

I think I am feeling well enough to get a few blog posts published so I'll give it a shot.  My health is still rather poor and I'm still in recovery mode from a bout with the flu but I'm thinking more clearly than I have since returning home so I should be able to get a few blog entries published today.   The first group of photos that I needed to and wanted to get done were the photos from Adam and Joi's surprise engagement so that is what I tackled first. I was one of the few who knew that Adam was going to propose to Joi but, since we were traveling across the entire United States, I was very light on photography gear.  I would have preferred to have a few flashes, some umbrellas, and perhaps even a more appropriate portrait lens or two.  Everything had to fit in one small shoulder bag though so I had to sacrifice the lighting and heavier lenses for convenience and staying as lightweight as possible.   Since I knew the proposal was coming, I was constantly on t

On our way back home from California, apparently, I picked up the flu. I rarely test positive for anything but I somehow managed to test positive for the flu this time around.  Usually, test results are inconclusive whenever I'm tested and we need to come to some sort of clinical diagnosis instead.  This time around, however, I tested positive for Influenza A.  It was almost too easy! The doctor immediately started me on an anti-viral medication and I noticed a positive difference within a day.  That was good news!  I took the five days of required medication and improved each day but, the moment I finished the course of drugs, I immediately started getting worse again.  This is not so good.   So, now we've been back home for a little more than a week and a half and I am still quite sick with the flu.  I'm coughing, having difficulty breathing, not much of an appetite, sleeping a lot, and I'm generally feeling pretty lousy.   Of course, my primary illness would ty

I have one of those illnesses that is actually quite consistent.  The symptoms are transient through time, space and frequency but the illness itself is quite consistent.  In order to get a few good days, I must pay the price with a few bad days.  Unfortunately, it is not an even trade-off...  I pay the price of a few good days by having to endure many, many days of bad days.  I'm in that low part of the trade-off cycle now.   On the last two days of our cross country train journey (Monday and Tuesday), I had an annoying sore throat.  I've had worse sore throats but it was consistent and wouldn't go away.  I was hoping that I was just a bit dehydrated since I was avoiding an excess of fluids due to availability of bathrooms.  Unfortunately, I would quickly realize that the sore throat was not due to slight dehydration.  Although dehydration can bring on other problems, that would have been a more simple problem to resolve...  pump fluids either orally or through IV. O

Everyone was in their bunks by 8:30 this evening.  Once it gets dark outside, there isn't a whole lot to see out the windows of the train.  I think everyone is a bit worn out too.  Anyway, I am still awake attempting to edit some photos and type this blog entry as the train rocks and lurches down the rails at about 80 miles per hour (according to my GPS).  Let me tell you, editing photos and typing is no easy task under these conditions so I wouldn't be surprised to find a few typos in this blog entry when I check it at our next destination.  While I'm still up in my lower bunk, I'll get this next blog entry published and linked to Facebook. Early this afternoon, we checked out of our hotel and walked the couple of blocks to the train station so we could catch The Lakeshore Limited.  This train will take us on our second leg from Springfield, Massachusetts to Chicago.   Our walk to the newly renovated Union Station was nice in what could only be considered spring