Or, my defense of a two week Birthday celebration.
Much like Xmas cards, the steady trickle of Birthday cards in the mailbox brings pleasure to the recipient that a bill simply cannot hope to achieve. As stated back in December, cards are worth the effort.
Another year on the clock but I feared a
relapse. The weather matched my mood and
health.
February 19 Cold
and windy day; snow late PM. The deep
ache of early flu settled across the shoulders.
Abandoned the work out in favour of my blanket, a good book and herbal
tea. (Do I know how to live?) Amused myself with a little Apartment
Therapy. Everyone in raptures today over
the concept of the sink bowl. Basically,
you get yourself a container of some kind and use it to collect your vegetable
peelings and so forth. Site regulars in
awe of this “new” concept and have gone to great lengths to adorn their sinks
with high end glassware for the sole purpose of temporarily housing used tea
bags and table scraps. It is now
regarded as avant garde to keep a used margarine container on the counter. Someone
was channelling my thoughts and reminded the dear readership that this is a
compost bucket and nothing else. And,
could they not take the scraps and put them directly into the garbage pail? Sheep are everywhere.
February 20 Cold
with flurries. Birthday mode kicked into
high gear. Three cards in the
mailbox. No time to take in the aches
and pains. Day two of no proper lunch.
Society frowns on lunch. Instant
gratification demands answers and the noon hour be damned!
February 21 Cold
weather alert. SO VERY TIRED. No lunch
hour. Took an Horlicks to take the edge off the cold
and nearly knocked myself out. Turns out
the Horlicks is manufactured in Taiwan.
Whatever happened to UK point of origin?
Collapsed into bed and, despite the aching, I passed out from the
exhaustion.
Quote found on
myback40feet: It is in our nature to be
generous but thinking about it makes us selfish. How very true.
February 22 Snow
and freezing rain. UGH. I was on
tenterhooks. Is this the shape of things
to come? Is the 23rd to be characterized by sore throat, aches and
sleep deprivation? Will I in fact see
tomorrow? Took a bowl of Vietnamese rare
beef soup to ward off the coming plague.
Pho Mai on Stone Church was doing
a brisk noon hour trade. Extremely busy
menu and, unless you’re a regular, I recommend starting with the basics. Cat fish figuring prominently. Dosed myself with an early evening cocktail
for medicinal purposes but it lacked that je ne sais quoi. Perused Ranch Dressing . As fine a job as the shadow box was, I think I would hang the antique ornaments on an Xmas tree.
February 23.
Overcast and cold. Not an
auspicious start to the day. Cold seems
to be in full swing. The Pater called with BD wishes. Had to abandon dinner
plans. It was to have been an Indian
extravaganza ~The Full Monty. Instead I
nursed my cold and ate leftovers. The humanity! Took a
single malt-for medicinal purposes.
Finished The Sisters Brothers. I cannot say enough about his book. A few lines:
My touching Charlie’s arm like this would never have happened when it
was attached and as such I blushed from the foreignness of it (pg. 311)
It must not have been that I loved the bookkeeper but that I loved the
idea of her loving me and the idea of not being alone(pg 304)
As seen this week on a package of staples : Caution-staples have sharp points.
In-store point of purchase: Turn unit to face customer. And then, Turn unit to face cashier. Are we simpletons? No.
February 24 Sun
trying to emerge. Cold. The Pater arrived bearing gifts. Gifts wrapped, I may add, in Xmas paper. My first thought was that they had just been
unearthed from a forgotten December stash. Now in possession of appropriately sized glassware for the sticky rice
and shrimp cocktail dishes. No need for
the booster seats. Capped of the day by finally putting the knob back on the
bathroom door. Naturally the screwdriver
slipped and sliced into the fresh paintwork taking a sheet of paint with it.
Alas.
And so, I was determined to mine this past week for all
it was worth in an effort to stave off an early death.
February 25 Bit of sun.
LONG DAY. I am now in possession
of my next experimental dessert-Coffee Parfait a la Ginger Rogers courtesy of
Silver Screen Suppers. Went with a Mediterranean diet in an effort to fortify
myself. The Pater firmly believes in a
daily ration of animal fat and the more bacon on your plate the merrier. I chose vegetables, olive oil and fish. Did not have the desired effect.
February 26 Wind
and freezing rain. 20 cm on the
horizon. Thought it was Wednesday. Disappointed with reality. The Widget Maker brought me a latte. No lunch hour, again. Euphoria all but gone by 18:00 Took the workout but could barely keep moving
after the half hour point. Perhaps I
should have gone with a bit of streaky bacon?
Ominous sign as I left the parking lot.
The parking and street lights went out and stayed out. A stampless Birthday Card was waiting for me in the mailbox. Well done Canada Post. Bed,
early again.
February 27 Snow, drizzle and slush. Definitely Wednesday. Deep aching, tired. Straight to bed at 17:00
February 28 Early
flurries. Abandoned a day of Widget
Making. Drank copious amounts of herbal
tea. SO VERY TIRED. On more intimate terms with the WC than
usual. Burned the fever off. Extreme appetite.
What happens on Mondays that brings me so low on Tuesdays?
March 1 Sunny, cold.
TIRED but persevered. An
unopened piece of mail sat waiting for my return. I cried out, “Am I the only person capable of
opening mail?” Staggering appetite. Ate like a returning champion at a hot dog eating
contest. Finished the Trollope. Think
I’ve had my fill of marriage exposee for a while. Could Trollope not have had the flaky one
head off to Scotland with the groundskeeper? Broke free of the cube for a wee jaunt into the countryside. Wee being 10 minutes. Found a crumbling farm yard and the cattle were
out on Dickenson Road. They looked like
woolly mammoths compared to this past Fall. Wild turkeys reached the South side of the hill. Same trek every day. Early morning start on the North side taking in the afternoon sun by noon.
Putting things in writing is dangerous business. How you’ve meant things to be read and how it’s
actually read are two very different things.
Corporate email clearly illustrates that there is no room for comedy
which is too bad because we, all of us, need a little levity in an otherwise
dull day. But later, Coke bust in the neighbourhood! News at 11:00 Yes, never a dull moment for the locals.
Distressing read on the South African
business. Apartheid alive and well.
March 2 Overcast,
few flurries. 6AM-the lone dove sat cooing to
an unseen partner. I wondered if they’d
set up nest in the drain pipe. Spied
tulips and daffodils making their way out of the cold earth. We are how far away from Spring? It was decided that after an early night, a
lie in and an afternoon nap that dinner plans would finally come to
fruition. The Gate of India was the
destination of choice. We went with the
works~bhaji, samosa, Mulligatawny and Dall soup, Tandoor chicken and tikki
masala, gulab jaman, kulfi and chai.
Excellent dinner. World’s
smallest cocktail glass and if it hadn’t been pointed out to me I would never
have known my martini was on the table.
So you see it's good to take your time with Birthdays. Take a week, take two if it pleases you.
March 3 Sunny, cold. Sunday wind down mode. Sam opened the grocery store and I was inspired to cook. I chose a birthday cake, of course. Wachtel interview with George Saunders. Humans as lawn ornaments. Hmm. Putting The Semplica Girl Diaries on the reading list.
10 PM Is that a tickle in the throat??
