Day 224. Hanging Around

In the end there were no St. Paddy’s Day festivities for me. On Friday, I spent a couple of hours at my local Starbucks, so I wouldn’t get in my cleaning lady’s way. Took my laptop and decided to do some writing there.

It was cold here; and every time someone opened the door, to come in or to leave, a gust of cold air surrounded me. By the time I got back home I was really chilled. Not just cold on the surface of my body. I mean the kind of cold you feel under your skin.

When your bones feel cold. When, no matter what you try, you just can’t seem to get warm.

Not that I didn’t try. I put on my warmest jammies. I was still shivering. I put on a fleece robe. Honest to God I was still cold. So eventually I crawled under my duvet. But not before I took an Oil of Oregano pill. In case you don’t know what it is, it’s an immune booster. I was afraid I’d catch cold, so I wanted to prevent it, if I could.

I cursed myself, of course, for staying at Starbucks as long as I did. But I was engrossed in what I was writing, and just didn’t feel like interrupting the flow. Stupid!

A friend called at around 4:30 and asked if I wanted to go see an apartment with her. The thought of having to get dressed and go out in the cold again really wasn’t working for me, so I declined.

Although I was alright on Saturday, at least for most of the day, I still felt chilled. My bones had still not warmed up. So the first thing I did was take all my vitamins. I take a lot of vitamins every day. And, I took another Oil of Oregano pill. It was my third, because I’d taken one at bedtime the night before, as well. And I had a huge glass of orange juice with my breakfast.

Like I said, I felt ok, so I was pretty confident I’d be fine.

Early evening I started feeling sniffly. The inside of my nose tickled and burned a bit. Like when you’ve inadvertently inhaled pepper. Then I started to sneeze. Not a lot. Just occasionally. But enough for me to think maybe my preventative measures hadn’t worked so well, after all.

Yesterday the sneezing stopped. But I still had the tickle and my nose was still a bit runny. I didn’t feel bad. But I didn’t feel great, either.

And much as I tried to get dressed and go out, in the end I stayed home.

My cats were in heaven. And, truth be told, I had a lovely day.

For once, I read the entire Sunday New York Times in one pass. Usually I split it up because I’m going out. Not this time. I took my time, I drank some tea and went through it, section after section, until I’d finished it all. The cats could tell I wasn’t rushing off, and they were as happy as can be. And they kept me company while I was reading, each on their own chair. In fact, they never moved from my side all day.

Pets know when you’re not feeling all that perky. I don’t know how they know, but they do.

Their favourite, though, was when I decided to go take a nap, in the middle of the afternoon. I had hardly settled myself on the bed when both boys jumped up beside me. One on either side. It was their purring that put me to sleep, I think. It is such a comforting sound.

The heat from their little bodies finally warmed me up. And when I eventually woke up, several hours later, I no longer felt that chill I’d felt for a couple of days.

Although Sundance and Bartlett are hoping for a drop in temperature. And a relapse. They’ve also hidden my vitamins.