Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Well...that's good, I guess

I've always been a bit of a night owl, but I'm not sure what's up now. To add to my usual late-night alertness, I'm also extremely energetic and productive, mostly cleaning things. Odd. Not a bad thing, per se, but unusual. The rest of my family is pleased, if rather bewildered as I go scurrying around the house, tidying things, and wiping down counters, etc. The cats are a bit alarmed...they prefer their humans to stick to usual schedules and not move too fast.

Incidentally: not having cats would sure cut down on the amount of cleaning! I dreamed the other night that we had to get rid of Petunia because her front teeth had somehow turned into razor blades and were dangerous. I was a bit disappointed at first to wake up and find her still there...and sleeping on me, which was disconcerting until I woke up fully, since, you know, she had razor teeth and all. Ugh, never mind. No respite from the cat hair and the clumps of dust that show up if I don't clean the floor every other day.

So far in my energetic phases I've cleaned up most of the surface things, so if this keeps up I'll probably be tackling the bigger pile on my desk, or the pantry...hmm...pantry... Oh, right, I'm in the middle of writing a blog post.

Oh, I'm reading too: I read "The Forged Coupon" by Leo Tolstoy last night, along with the last three chapters of "The Hidden Art of Homemaking". Granted, the first was only 99 pages, short for Tolstoy, but still! I should take advantage of this and find some history books to read, or something else edifying.

Sadly this energy doesn't seem to be channeled into some things I need to do, like email and letters. I started writing a letter to a second-cousin, and I owe another cousin an email (or two!), and it seems like there are some other people I need to write to also. Well, if I can stop cleaning long enough, I'll try to write some emails. ;)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sweet memories and precious hope

The hymn "Amazing Grace" makes me cry. In a good way. :) It's a hymn that's fairly well-known even in secular circles I believe, because popular artists have sung it. I think we might run the risk of not thinking about the words when we sing, simply because we know it so well. But the words are beautiful.

I also have great memories of this hymn from when I was little. I remember Dad singing it to me before bed: me snuggled up to him on his lap and listening to him sing as I started to doze off. Well, occasionally I dozed off anyway...probably 9 times out of 10 I didn't and didn't want to go to bed, but I remember the times when I wasn't wiggling and trying to get out of going to sleep. :)

So between that memory, and the words of the hymn, it brings me to tears. As an adult I find it so true and so comforting. It's the story of every believer. Verse three I love in particular: "Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come" ...but grace has carried me through it all, and will support me through all the even harder things that are sure to come, and will do so until the end.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Here's a lovely instrumental version of Amazing Grace:

On a much lighter note, raise your hand if the grammatically incorrect "no less days" has ever rather bothered you. ;)

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Oh, so that's a fever...

Bleah, famous last words. I didn't want my cough to turn into...something else. Well, it did. I am now recovering from bronchitis.

I'm feeling much better today and would have been able to go to work tomorrow if I had to. Yesterday though? Not so much.

Also I'm clueless about fevers. Looking back, last time I recall having a fever was when I was probably twelve or thirteen. So I really don't remember it very well. I just don't get fevers. I get colds, but not fevers...or stomach problems when it comes to that. So Monday night when I was chilled to the bone I thought it was a side-effect of my not eating lunch and having a minor blood-sugar crash right before supper, and also being in need of sleep.

Cold, very, very cold...so I attempted to thaw in a hot shower and then spent the evening bundled in blankets, with a heating pad. And of course when I woke up in the middle of the night, completely out of it, burning up, but aching and shivering at the slightest bit of cool air, and with a pounding headache, my brain wasn't up to registering that I had a fever! Obviously something wasn't right, but I didn't want to think about it, I just wanted it to stop.

So I got up when my alarm went off at 6, after a night of frantic, feverish dreams, to see whether I was up to going to work. I took a Tylenol in hopes of stopping my headache (because at that point I thought maybe I just had a migraine) and slowly started getting ready for the day. Half hour later I gave up and stumbled into my parents room, informing my dad that no, I was not going to work today, and that I needed the thermometer to take my temperature. Yup, I had a fever, which had probably gone down some from taking the Tylenol.

So I stayed home from work yesterday and today. I hated to bail on them like that, because it's not easy for them to find someone else to take care of the baby, but this was too much for me to overcome. I've dragged myself in while feeling pretty bad before, but nothing like this. All day Tuesday I went from feeling ever-so-slightly better to once again feeling totally wiped out.

So anyway, that's what I've been up to. Oodles of fun, obviously. Now Mom's coughing too, so she might have it as well. But I'm not going to have to go to work tomorrow either, so I can take care of her. :)

When I felt better today I got some recipes printed out, and just now got them stuffed into page-protectors. I don't know why those things are so tight...just a little bit more room would help with getting the papers in without crumpling them. Or maybe because I was putting two sheets of paper in they were too tight. It doesn't seem like it should make a difference.

I also pulled the office/school supplies out of the cedar chest in our living room and put the DVDs and VHS tapes in there instead today. Had to stop in the middle of it and rest though because I realized I didn't feel up to getting up off the floor with the big pile of stuff I was holding. :P

Well, the good news is that with any luck, if I get another fever within the next six years or so I might perhaps recognize it for what it is!