elegentry

I am still unwell in a low level way. Have been since Sunday. So I am at home, working* but trying to get maximum fluids into myself- chicken soup, soluble aspirin *,* coffee, oh and even some water. Last glass of water was found by the budgie before I drank it- much excited splashing ensued. I then got a fresh glass for me and am insisting budge stays in the warm loungeroom until he dries.

When I had the flu shot a few weeks ago- they said if I did get sick, it would likely be less severe and pass quicker. So maybe I would have raging bronchitis if I hadn't had the shot? or maybe I would be well?

F4 peeps- I don't think I can sing tonight, more's the pity.


*well, for another hour or so anyway
**why does panadol make me feel vaguely unwell?

I am feeling slightly better. Still need to go sit down more than usual though. Yesterday I was all dizzy and shaky in the morning so though I turned up, I did not contribute at all to the pizza oven building at doushkasmum  and sacred_chao  abode. By afternoon I had improved enough to manage some pruning and weeding activities in their front yard. So the rosemary bush* looks healthily growing rather than half dead.  I also knitted the first 10 or so rows of an important hat. I should post more about the hat later I think. In addition I took over many dozen squeaky clean crown lager bottles. I collected and cleaned these about 3yrs ago thinking I might do some brewing. Well, brewing has not managed to squeeze itself onto my active list so the bottles go to doushkasmum  who is brewing enough to run out of bottles. Yay, they get used, they are out of my house and I might get to drink some of the eventual contents.

I stayed home this morning swearing that I would actually paint something! Well I did but it wasn't bathroom proper yet. I painted the chest of 8 drawers instead. Frustrating, I keep finding more prep that needs doing before walls and architraves can be painted. So I applied more spackle this morning and then had to wait for it to dry before sanding etc. Hence the painting of the drawers, they could be done while the latest lot of spackle dried. Somewhat later and I now have sanded spackle , a door stripped of fittings and I think I can actually paint that bit!

I am being amused by the colour for the walls. They have been asking to be painted a soft pale pinky beige. Sort of an echo of the terracotta floor tiles but vastly paler. I went through the paint charts in the house and the winner was called..."Pantaloon"! how sweet. I swear I did not pick it for the name but as the best choice of all the pale pinky beige options, really. What is now amusing me further is that the drawers were not painted in Pantaloon colour, what a pity. The drawers are "Whisper white"  **, chosen to match the new cupboards.

Now I have to decide whether I will go to catch the last hour of Irish or paint a door before going off to my visiting appointment this evening. I had meant to go to the full session of Irish today but the way I am feeling, 3hrs of solid exercise would be way too much.

*that I feel somewhat responsible for as it came out of my garden

**which name is amusing in itself given the regular contents of these drawers

if you have a cold with attendant sore nose...and are silly enough to also play about with plasterboard and spackle....DON'T rub your nose! ouch. I suppose plasterboard has lime or some such in it. Sort of like doing ill advised things with fingers covered in chilli residue.

I do hope Bash went well today. I am sad to not have gone. The weather was fan-jolly-tastic.

It sounds odd to be writing of reno work while claiming to be too ill for Bash. However I have only enough energy to be upright for about 20min at a time. I didn't want to get halfway to bash and then come over all woozy, or breathe on people and pass this unpleasantness on. So I rest on the couch until I am bored, then go do bits of useful things until I need to recline again. In ~20min bursts with 30-60min rest in between I have:

-been to the local hardware, bought butterfly screw things and paint
-put up the towel rail in it's new spot, about 15cm from it's old one, how exciting. One side went really well. The other was a bother as there was not enough hole to use the butterfly thing and not enough wood for a normal screw. Might try again  later with one of those plastic plasterboard screw things.
-drilled holes for the toilet roll holder and guest towel ring. Need to paint before I can put them up.*
-taken down the luggage rack in the kitchen- and was forceably reminded of the hole in the wall it was hiding
-filled said hole by carving up a bit of plasterboard
-spackled old holes etc. Spackling is fun. It mixes up like icing then you get to trowel it into all those holes. Rather satisfying.

So my aim from here is to get the painting of the bathroom done over the next few weeks so the new cupboards can go in rather than cluttering up the dining room.  No energy left for that today. Now i really need couch time.

* I suspect this is not the recommended order of operation. I just wanted to do my drawing on the wall etc before the pretty new paint went up.

I really am turning into my Mother. the first sign of a cold or so and she would lose her voice. Well it's happening to me now. I have had a sore throat and cough all week. Last night i made the mistake of spending the evening singing. Well, I now the voice is croaky and cracking. I am at home supposedly working but have spent over two hours trying to get my internet to work. Running out of data allowance just as one needs to work from home is not convenient. I have upped my account now but getting enough connection to make that happen was not easy. I think I am back on broadband now, whew.

I really do need to get some work out today but fingers crossed maybe can rest a bit this arvo. shortly  there will be an apple eaten in the sun whilst looking at flowers.

slightly less sick. Haven't taken sudafed for a whole day. Still coughing and snotty but the voice is emerging.

New back door has been hung -three times. I think it is going to stay there now? Dad has deciphered the new lock and is busy making holes in the door for it to be mounted in. The kitchen keeps getting covered in layers of dust, dirt, sawdust. it is a fight to make a clean space to prepare food.

I am hopeful of making it into the office tomorrow. Not sure I am really well enough but how long does one have to stay home for just a cold thing? Besides, our department is going out to lunch and I have a remodelled ring to pick up from the jeweller near work.

To add insult to the injury I(this cold) have dealt my collegues,  I have 3 days annual leave booked for wed-Fri this week. Wonder if I can still take this? Supposedly I will take the folks away somewhere, that might not happen either. 

I did take Mum to Darncheap yesterday. Should not really have gone, that little excursion used up my day's energy quotient. They are moving to South Melbourne, less convenient to me but at least they will still be around. They are in clearance mode. Some stuff is very reduced but not the better fabrics, silk, wool etc. I bought some bits:
-green rayon lining- best kind
-pretty silk/cotton voile with tracery of angular grey/brown/black roses on it
-fine dark brown tartan wool -lovely-for work skirt/pants
-thread and zips- habby was 20% off but all white and black thread had gone.

so someone please tell us housebound types how the tavern feast went??

cessation of daylight saving + head full of goo = being up at 5:30am. So either I will have a long day or some napping later.

I much prefer the British term of "Summertime", more elegant don't you think? Fits in a sentence much better. Maybe I should just start using it and see if I can lead by example.  Anyway it is going to be a shock to see it dark at 6:30 tonight. We are back in coming home from work in the dark territory, ick. Also-leaving work in the dark, double ick. No more enjoying the garden when I come home for several months-but hoorah for cool weather.

doushkasmum andsacred_chaocame over last night. It was so nice to have some company for the first time in days. I fed them dinner and they brought me a chest of drawers, nice. I am looking forward to cleaning up said drawers but that will have to wait until I have finished the "drawers" for work.  These latter advance, I constructed the linings yesterday. Today is waistbands and possibly hems.

Sosacred_chao where do these drawers come from? How did you aquire them? Any idea how old they are.  'Course I could have asked that last night if I had more brain and voice.

Today I have almost no voice. This, along with previously mentioned goo means I don't think I should go to bash. It is one thing seeing people who volunteered to visit the sick. Quite another to inflict myself on all and sundry. Apparently shop keepers don't count in this? by my behaviour anyway.

Frustrating- the advent of new furniture + being at home for days means I have all sorts of plans for rearranging my house! but not enough energy to do it.

Ah well, I shall away and sew.