Recovery

i have really missed blogging all week. i have also missed connecting with my blog friends and family, too. i wanted to post something on thursday because i was feeling a little more energetic. unfortunately, we had an all day electric outage problem in my neighborhood and i didn't risk turning on the computer. i spent a lot of time on thursday with my grandson and managed to do most of my cooking for shabbat. i wasn't feeling all that great on friday but i still washed my floors with a fair amount of bleach. three dogs is just too doggie for my sense of ascetics. i bought the challah and looked all around the neighborhood for some roses to pick. there were some really beautiful ones across the street but i wasn't feeling up to conversing with my neighbors. a little while later, my friend michal, showed up with a handful of huge and very lush roses from her neighbor's garden.

she went upstairs to see if gal needed a hand with the baby and i went about setting the table. my friend showed up around 3:00 p.m. and i ran out to greet her at the local bus stand. i gave her a healthy snack because she is on a really strict diet. she looked beautiful! the extra weight looked good on her face. however, i fully understand her frustration with carrying an extra 20 pounds. we had a good chat for a while and she went downstairs to get ready for shabbos. i scrambled to poach some fish and made an individual portion for her without any oil. i had bought a variety of fresh herbs for a change, and all my salads were extra tasty this week. i also made a variety of salads without oil for my friend and a chicken breast braised in lemon juice with green squash.

i felt really ill on friday night. after having a dry cough all week long, i developed an infection and couldn't stop blowing my noise. what a host! although, i tried hard to keep up with the conversation, i was definitely not on my game. my son was in a good mood and treated us women to a medley of shabbos songs. it was really a lovely evening. i woke up at 5:00 a.m. on saturday morning, gasping to breathe. it felt as if my throat had closed. i thought about my options to get to the hospital, if needed. i drank a hot cup of water with honey and lemon but it made me nauseous. i didn't dare lie down again and simply fell back to sleep propped up on the sofa.

at 8:00 a.m. everyone came into the kitchen for hot drinks and cake. i got up and joined everyone. i felt simply wretched. zvi went off to shul and i took the strawberry cheese pie, that i had managed to make, out of the freezer to defrost. i even had a piece. it was so light and creamy. the cold cream felt so good going down my burning throat. it was the first real sugar and carbs that i had in about 2 months except for the morsel of challah that i ate on shabbat. i was so uncomfortable, that i didn't rally care about my diet. once again, i lost my voice. i ate some dried fruit and tasted the lemon cake made with white sugar and white flour. how scandalous! i picked out the raisins from the cake and the lemony, sugary taste was heavenly.

i decided that i urgently needed to take some medicine. i took a couple of homeopathic doses of flu remedy. i was achy and feverish and my head and throat both throbbed. it was a relatively warm day, and yet i was freezing, and had the heat blasting. within a couple of hours, i was spitting up green mucous and my nose was running like a faucet, non stop. i officially, had a real infection now.

even though it was a special shabbat, i was unable to say my morning prayers. i sat downstairs in the sun with michal and gal and baby, sahar. the dogs were also enjoying the sun and started racing in the grass. i excused myself and went upstairs to set the table and get the food set up. zvi came home rather late, because he had stayed in shul for kiddush. needless to say, he wasn't really up for another meal.

just as we sat down to eat, a young couple came over to visit with their two small kids. i kind of scared them off with my flu. a moment later, gal's mom showed up with three of her sisters and the two brothers. my kitchen was in shambles. there were dirty dishes and cups and pots all over the counters. no one wanted to eat so i took out drinks and ices and dorito chips. it was too hot for them to sit in the back yard. i took out the rummy cube board game but the kids opted for books and of course, the baby, their favorite toy of all.

a little while later, her married sister and husband showed up. they walked over an hour to reach my neighborhood. what a gathering we were! the kids and grandmother left before 3:00 p.m. i escorted them out of the neighborhood wearing my bedroom slippers. when i got home i was feeling woozy. i took more flu remedy and got the third meal ready for everyone. i ate a bunch of greasy chicken, which was a real mistake. when shabbat ended i got up to wash the dishes. i really felt weak. i stopped when the men came home from shul. i couldn't do any more. my body shut down for the night. i sat down at the table with the ladies and drank some hot mint tea.

my daughter-in-law came downstairs a little while later, and did all the dishes and pots. i am truly blessed! my friends and i schmoozed until 11:00 p.m. and everyone went to sleep. i turned on the television and watched "american idol" until 1:00 a.m. the entire time, i blew my noise and coughed up phlegm.

i got up this morning at 7:00 a.m. and decided to try another remedy to boost the immune system. i think it helped because my throat isn't burning and my nose is running clear again. my friends went off to town without me. i am not getting out of bed today except for blogging. sorry for the graphic details.