Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Feeling a Bit Under the Weather

It didn't rain, as such, today, but it was drizzly, cloudy, and grey.    I woke up feeling tired and my sinuses are bothering me.  I've a bit of a scratchy throat, as well.  I don't know if I am coming down with a cold or sinus infection (no fever, though; I checked), or this is just the after effects of the Prednisone, or allergies due to the rain (more mold spores, perhaps?).  Also, the Prednisone had made me feel very hungry over the weekend, and I ate quite a bit, and it raised my blood sugar quite high.  Higher than it has been in quite a while.  My doctor had warned me that one of the side effects of Prednisone is raised blood sugar levels, but it still caused me to be a bit concerned.  As a result, I just took it very easy, today, and rested.
 
I had planned to go grocery shopping and maybe shop for elastic at the fabric store, today, but  I decided not to go grocery shopping or any other shopping.  I have enough food in the fridge, freezer, and pantry to get me through the week, without needing to buy anything.  And I can hold off on clothing alterations for another week or two.
 
I lay on the sofa under a knitted blanket and read for awhile and then, took a nap in the afternoon.  It helped.  Also, the sugar levels were down to my new normal levels, by evening, so I felt better about that, too. 

After I woke up from my nap, I had a cup of tea and then, I did a load of laundry.  After that, I cleaned out the fridge (had to toss a couple of items - a partial head of lettuce and some broccoli) and emptied the waste baskets and kitchen trash.  Then, I took out the trash can to the curb.  I couldn't move the yard waste bin, though.  My gardener friend had filled my can with yard waste from my nextdoor neighbor's garden when he did our gardens last week, saying her can wasn't enough to contain all her yard waste.  He told me he will be coming by to move her trash cans for her and will move my yard waste bin at the same time.  Well, I don't know if he moved her trash cans for her or not, but my can hadn't been moved.  When I couldn't move it, myself, I called him and left a message.  He called me back about 9:00 p.m., apologizing and saying he forgot about it.  Well, I guess it won't get collected this week, then, and will have to wait until next week.  Not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things.
 
I had the last of the string hoppers for brunch, today.  Dinner was the bowl of beef and vegetable soup my friend had given me, yesterday, followed by fresh blackberries.  Then, I did the dishes and wiped the kitchen counters and video chatted with my daughter.
 
Now, I am seated here with a cup of coriander tea, which is our panacea for colds and coughs, etc.  It is made by boiling coriander seeds, letting it steep for a bit, and then, straining the resulting tea.  Sometimes, we add some ginger to it, too, for added benefits.  My daughter loves coriander tea; I don't much care for it, but I will drink it when I feel a cold coming on.   
 
I had been planning to go to the office, tomorrow, but I don't think I should if I am getting a cold or sinus infection.  Better for me to stay home and rest.  So I sent an email to my supervisor, just now, to let her know that I will either work from home or take a day of sick leave, depending on how I feel, tomorrow.  We are required to inform our supervisors prior to the start of our work day, if we are calling in sick, etc.  Right now, the understanding I have with my supervisor is, if I am not in the office, I will be working from home.  But, if I feel I won't be able to work from home because I don't feel well, then, I call or email to let her know and I take sick time off or vacation time off to cover my time.  
 
Today, I am grateful for:
- A restful day
- A nap on the sofa
- Not having fever
- More fresh oranges from the tree (two had fallen due to the rain and winds and I picked them up, today) 
- Being able to stay home from the office, tomorrow, too.

Monday's To Do List:
- Tidy the bedroom
- Do a load of laundry - DONE
- Try to finish the paperwork and filing
- Grocery shopping
- Shop for elastic?
- Clean out the fridge - DONE
- Empty the trash bins - DONE
- Take the trash cans to the curb - DID ONE

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Office work
- Tidy the bedroom
- Paperwork/filing
- Bring trash can in
- Put away dried laundry, washed dishes, etc.

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for the rest of the week?




24 comments:

  1. Hope you woke up this morning feeling much better.

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    1. Thank you, Live and Learn. Still feeling more or less the same. Scratchy throat/soft upper palate, etc. Will gargle with warm salt water throughout the day and rest.

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  2. I'm sorry you're not feeling good, Bless, and I hope your symptoms are allergy-related instead of a virus, although a virus runs its course and then is gone whereas allergies linger for much longer. I get daily pollen counts for my area from Pollen.com via email and our levels have been very high for several days. Today, there was a local headline in the news that the warm winter we've had has caused the allergy season to start a month early as the pollen that are usually released starting in March have been released this whole month. Ugh.

    I didn't know about coriander tea. I have come containers of coriander seed that I had collected from my own plants a couple of years ago, I should try that next time I'm under the weather.

    I'm glad you got your blood sugars under control, Bless, and that you got to rest. I hope you feel better today.

    My plans for today are to catch up on chores that I didn't do yesterday. So far I've started the laundry but then I heard the birds calling through the open windows and I now sitting on my patio with my laptop and my coffee enjoying their songs. I'm not sure just how productive I'll end up being! We do have some rain in the forecast, though, which we need AND that would force me to get back inside to do the dreaded chores, so I'm hoping that it does come :)

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    1. Thank you, Nathalie. I think it's a combination of getting exposed to some germs over the weekend and the weather. I know at least a couple of people were just getting over the flu at the rosary and dinner, on Saturday night, and a lot of people were coughing at the church on Sunday. I no longer wear a mask every time I go out, but maybe my immune system is still not 100%. I shall gargle with warm salt water throughout the day and drink more coriander tea and rest.

      Sounds like your day is off to a good start. As long as you have a load of laundry done, that's enough domesticity for the day, I think! :D Enjoy the patio and the birds singing for as long as you can.

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    2. BLess.. hope you soon feel much better.. Just wanted to tell you, I take predisone quiet frequently for the asthma attacks I have.. My lung doctor has told me, to be careful being around sick people [how do you avoid this?? ha] because predisone lowers your immune system.. And it is so much easier to catch bugs..

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    3. Oh, Judy, thank you for telling me that! I didn't know! And there were quite a few people who were sniffling, coughing, etc., at the Saturday night rosary and Sunday memorial mass, including a friend who was recovering from the flu. I probably caught something. :( Feeling a little bit better, this morning, though.

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    4. You are welcome.. Hope you continue to feel better.

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    5. Thank you, Judy. Hope all is well with you, too.

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  3. Sorry to hear that you feel a bit under the weather. As you say possibly the withdrawal from prednisone. I am very sensitive to lots of Rx and the first time this happened I kept taking it thinking it is my illness. My doctor told me that it then takes quite a long time to get it out of your system. I now am very cautious about any Rx.
    Take care of yourself and I pray you feel better soon.

    SandyExpat

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    1. Thank you, Sandy. I suppose it is a combination of factors, but since I don't have a fever, I am not too worried. The damp weather (it rained again, this morning) doesn't sit too well with my asthma, either. I shall gargle with warm salt water and eat more oranges and hopefully, feel better by tomorrow.

      Hope all is well with you, Sandy. Have a blessed day.

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  4. Sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather Bless. I think your decision to rest, take it easy with chores and not go into work is an excellent remedy combination.

    Medication is a funny thing isn't it. Quite often we end up taking more in order to combat the side effects of what we need for the primary ailment. I'm grateful we have medication but there are days when I get fed up of having to swallow pills.

    I have never tried coriander tea but have drunk ginger - a good one really hits the back of the throat!

    Hope you manage to get some quality sleep and are feeling better soon. Take care of yourself. xx

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    1. Thank you, Suzanne. Yes, I hate it when one medication requires you to take two more to deal with the side effects of that medication! I did sleep in a bit and will continue to rest and take it easy, today.

      Hope your week is off to a good start and you are enjoying half term. Take care.

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  5. Hope you are feeling better, Bless! Those sinus infections are the worst. Could be from the changes in the weather. I notice that I get them when the pressure is high. Thanks for the tip on coriander tea! Rest and get better!

    Hugs
    Jane

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    1. Thank you, Jane. Coriander tea is the first thing we suggest when anyone is showing the first sign of a cold, etc. :)

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  6. Glad you are able to have some flexibility with your workplace. I do hope you feel much better today. I have never heard of coriander tea but I always have it on hand so I will try it the next time I get the sniffles. Thanks!

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    1. Thank you, Anne. My supervisor emailed me back, saying not to worry about it, take all the time I need to rest and recover. I feel very blessed. I hope you have a safe journey, today. Take care.

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  7. Lovely you need to stop and rest. Work, laundry and elastic shopping can be done at any time- you should spend a little bit more time snuggled under the blanket with a good book- or a bad book if you prefer!

    News alert here tonight of storm coming Thursday.....for some reason named Doris Day......puts me in mind of musical westerns and Rock Hudson
    Take care and rest
    Siobhan

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    1. Thank you, Siobhan. I think I shall continue to curl up under the blanket with my book for another day or two.

      Hope the storm doesn't do any damage and will pass you by. I do like the name they gave it! Take care.

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  8. I hope you feel better soon! I know that up here that is a lot of that going around.

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    1. Thanks, Sharon. I am trying to nip it in the bud, but I've a feeling it's going to be a full blown whatever it turns out to be (cold/sinus infection). :p

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  9. Hope you soon feel much better, Bless. Drizzly grey days don't help either, do they? We had such a lovely sunny day on Monday and then this morning we were back to the gloom again and we had rain, too. But the temperature is above freezing and that snow is going to go away. (I insist that it is going to go away!) However, we do have to watch out for ice underfoot. I drove back from town and stopped at the communal mailbox and had to be very careful outside the car. But when I got home and parked the car under the woodshed, I was able to find plenty of snow to step in, so I avoided the icy parts of the driveway on the way to the house.
    Bushlady

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I spent most of the day resting. Sorry you are back to gloomy weather; be careful when you are out and about, easy to slip on ice, isn't it? I hope you have many more sunny days to come.

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  10. Hope you feel better soon Bless. It's good that you have an appetite even with feeling poorly ... to keep your strength up. And a bonus that you're getting additional sleep. :)

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    1. Thank you, Carolyn. I think it might be just a cold and cough, but I am taking it easy, because I don't want it to become something more. And, yes, the extra sleep is probably very helpful! :D

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