November weekend featuring Mom, germs, foods, retail therapy and future TV
The cold that had been stalking me for about two weeks finally pounced on Thursday night, though I seem to have lesser version of what's been going around. From one friend's Facebook: "My sinuses are so congested my teeth hurt."
People are also complaining of sore throat, copious mucus and extreme weakness. Someone else said that theirs was hanging on for five weeks (!) and counting. In my case my eyes hurt, sore throat mainly at night, occasional coughing and sneezing and a runny but manageable nose, which feels like it's been reamed with a bottle brush. I can feel the fun gunk coating my lungs, and of course sleep .... bahahahaha! *snort* It feels like I've got maybe a week of medium-grade misery ahead, which would be getting off lightly. Water, better nutrition, NyQuil/DayQuil, vitamins, and sleep (bahahahaha! *snort*, etc.) would help. Let's see if I can get to bed and in true rez mode by 9:30. (*snort*)....
I spent Saturday searching (four) thrift and a few retail stores for a TV table with a mounting bracket for the 52-inch plasma TV that Gary rescued from being chucked out at Dupont. No luck there, but the thrift stores did yield the crock pot, full size coffee maker, wine glasses and coat that were also on my list. I've been wanting a casual coat so that I can save my leather jacket for more formal occasions. I scored a good looking fuzzy black one that's loose, but pulled nicely in at the waist. I also snagged a pale grey wollen double-breasted pea coat that fits me like a glove, has a fabulous pop-able collar and looks like it was made to wear with my Ravenclaw scarf. A great lightweight burgundy hoodie with a hood that actually looks good completed my haul - all that for less than $40. I got some vacuuming and general tidying done, but not much else, which I'm blaming on my Germ Situation.
Sunday started with grocery shopping, sweeping the decks and spot cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms in preparation for my Mom and stepfather's visit. Michael even vacuumed the upstairs (!) This was their first visit to The Dome, arriving five hours sooner than expected. They oohed and ahed over the house, but didn't spend much time upstairs in the common room, most likely worrying about imposing on Michael's space ::: eyeroll::: So we caught up on the dog hair-covered sofa, bunnies wafting to and fro, in the one room that I hadn't gotten to clean. If I'd had the TV up and running, they probably would have felt less weird about being upstairs. TV is their social Binky. They don't just sit and stare at it - they'll hold complex conversations over top of it, but for some reason they need it blaring in the background. They tend to gravatate to the kind of TV that turns my brain to goo. She used to binge read science fiction. I don't get it. I introduce them to shows - they like it, but just talk over it and miss all the best bits. Oh well. That's what wine is for.
They wanted to spend most of the time in Chapel Hill, which they love, so my grocery run could have waited. It did make me stock up on fresh food, and being fresh, I had to cook it soon whilst in no mood, but that's meals sorted for most of the week. We did a car tour of Chapel Hill/Carrboro, photos at Gimghoul Castle, cider (the Village Tart sour cherry is tasty!) at West End Wine Bar and burgers at Carolina Brewery. Owing to lack of TV, we turned in around 9:30. Super, because I was dying for bed. Sleep wasn't stellar, but it happened. Poor Michael didn't have Monday off. We wrapped up their visit at Elmo's, my go-to breakfast spot for out of town visitors, then they headed out at 10. Between their visit and Shauna and Liz' visit in the summer, the investment in outfitting the guest bedroom has paid for itself and then some. I go in and stare at its majesty at least once a day. It would kick ass as an Air BnB.
I tried two more thrift stores for the TV stand. Nope. Best Buy had one in stock that I'd checked out online, but no display model. The ones in stock were in the back room on a high shelf requiring a forklift to bring down. I was starting to fade by then, so I called it quits and headed home. I was sorely temped to have a nap, but tidied up the pantry, pulled out the groceries and made a monster batch of stew in the new crock pot. Beef, potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, cabbage, spinach and mushrooms, two packets of stew seasoning, a big splash of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne for extra zing. I cut up too many veggies, so I'm running a second batch.
I pulled up the listing for the Best Buy TV stand and checked out the specs, reviews and reviewer photos. It should fit in my car, which was one concern, and it looks like it will look good in The Dome. If it weren't bucketing down rain I'd have gone back to get one immediately. Making the decision was the hardest part. We will soon have some quality TV up in this bitch.
.
People are also complaining of sore throat, copious mucus and extreme weakness. Someone else said that theirs was hanging on for five weeks (!) and counting. In my case my eyes hurt, sore throat mainly at night, occasional coughing and sneezing and a runny but manageable nose, which feels like it's been reamed with a bottle brush. I can feel the fun gunk coating my lungs, and of course sleep .... bahahahaha! *snort* It feels like I've got maybe a week of medium-grade misery ahead, which would be getting off lightly. Water, better nutrition, NyQuil/DayQuil, vitamins, and sleep (bahahahaha! *snort*, etc.) would help. Let's see if I can get to bed and in true rez mode by 9:30. (*snort*)....
I spent Saturday searching (four) thrift and a few retail stores for a TV table with a mounting bracket for the 52-inch plasma TV that Gary rescued from being chucked out at Dupont. No luck there, but the thrift stores did yield the crock pot, full size coffee maker, wine glasses and coat that were also on my list. I've been wanting a casual coat so that I can save my leather jacket for more formal occasions. I scored a good looking fuzzy black one that's loose, but pulled nicely in at the waist. I also snagged a pale grey wollen double-breasted pea coat that fits me like a glove, has a fabulous pop-able collar and looks like it was made to wear with my Ravenclaw scarf. A great lightweight burgundy hoodie with a hood that actually looks good completed my haul - all that for less than $40. I got some vacuuming and general tidying done, but not much else, which I'm blaming on my Germ Situation.
Sunday started with grocery shopping, sweeping the decks and spot cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms in preparation for my Mom and stepfather's visit. Michael even vacuumed the upstairs (!) This was their first visit to The Dome, arriving five hours sooner than expected. They oohed and ahed over the house, but didn't spend much time upstairs in the common room, most likely worrying about imposing on Michael's space ::: eyeroll::: So we caught up on the dog hair-covered sofa, bunnies wafting to and fro, in the one room that I hadn't gotten to clean. If I'd had the TV up and running, they probably would have felt less weird about being upstairs. TV is their social Binky. They don't just sit and stare at it - they'll hold complex conversations over top of it, but for some reason they need it blaring in the background. They tend to gravatate to the kind of TV that turns my brain to goo. She used to binge read science fiction. I don't get it. I introduce them to shows - they like it, but just talk over it and miss all the best bits. Oh well. That's what wine is for.
They wanted to spend most of the time in Chapel Hill, which they love, so my grocery run could have waited. It did make me stock up on fresh food, and being fresh, I had to cook it soon whilst in no mood, but that's meals sorted for most of the week. We did a car tour of Chapel Hill/Carrboro, photos at Gimghoul Castle, cider (the Village Tart sour cherry is tasty!) at West End Wine Bar and burgers at Carolina Brewery. Owing to lack of TV, we turned in around 9:30. Super, because I was dying for bed. Sleep wasn't stellar, but it happened. Poor Michael didn't have Monday off. We wrapped up their visit at Elmo's, my go-to breakfast spot for out of town visitors, then they headed out at 10. Between their visit and Shauna and Liz' visit in the summer, the investment in outfitting the guest bedroom has paid for itself and then some. I go in and stare at its majesty at least once a day. It would kick ass as an Air BnB.
I tried two more thrift stores for the TV stand. Nope. Best Buy had one in stock that I'd checked out online, but no display model. The ones in stock were in the back room on a high shelf requiring a forklift to bring down. I was starting to fade by then, so I called it quits and headed home. I was sorely temped to have a nap, but tidied up the pantry, pulled out the groceries and made a monster batch of stew in the new crock pot. Beef, potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, cabbage, spinach and mushrooms, two packets of stew seasoning, a big splash of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne for extra zing. I cut up too many veggies, so I'm running a second batch.
I pulled up the listing for the Best Buy TV stand and checked out the specs, reviews and reviewer photos. It should fit in my car, which was one concern, and it looks like it will look good in The Dome. If it weren't bucketing down rain I'd have gone back to get one immediately. Making the decision was the hardest part. We will soon have some quality TV up in this bitch.
.