Well, not really. I mean, I really meant to get a post out yesterday, because Thursday is my blog-posting day, and I don't like saying I'm going to do something, and then not doing it.
But, well, life. What can I say? Life got in the way. It's pretty handy to be able to sum up in one four-letter word - LIFE - all the events and weather and moods and people that make up our daily interactions, but there it is. This week, life and some of its aspects took over and pushed blogging to the end of the priority list.
I started my new job at the Baddeck library. At home, I finished varnishing the tall pine bookshelves that I got a local carpenter to build for me. I luxuriated in being HOME - which felt better than good after being away for two and a half weeks. I harvested my crop of tomatoes, as well as a neighbour's plums, and ran batches of them through the dehydrator. I'm still getting over my cold, and then my neck, back and hips gave out. Well, no, they didn't fully go out on me, but it was very painful to turn my head at a 90-degree angle, and walking and bending was difficult. (And, you do a fair amount of walking and bending working in a library.)
There is still some pain, but it's going away. I'm not really sure what happened to make it painful in the first place! It could be the start of another cold or virus - some people report aches in strange places - or it could be ... a lot of things. Rather than list them, I find it useful to realize that no matter what the issue is, some good REST will probably help.
It's funny what a little swine flu will motivate you to do. Because there is a society-wide fear of a pandemic - and rightly so, because a pandemic is no fun, people - we're all being extra vigilant about visible illnesses. So I'm getting over a cold - which may or may not have actually BEEN the flu - and there is a fair amount of stuff on my plate. But, because of swine flu, I keep thinking, "OK, it would be a good idea to rest and not overdo things. I want to keep my immune system in tiptop shape. I don't want to get sick with a superbug." And then I cut things back a little and don't feel all that guilty about it.
But run that little scene without swine flu, and instead I feel really guilty. But, it still makes sense to take care of yourself! It still makes sense to get lots of rest and keep your body healthy!
If it takes a swine flu scapegoat to make people like myself slow down and rest and not overdo it, then I'll take that. I just wish we didn't need a scapegoat, that taking care of ourselves was a higher priority than that. You know?
Pictures
Top: tomatoes laid out on a table to ripen. Varieties: Cherry Grande and Sweetie.
Bottom: Plums quartered and loaded on a tray of the dehydrator, ready to be dried to prunes.
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