My Life on a Plate

What's in a Nose?

I've had a strange couple of days and can't really find an adjective to describe how I feel. Frustrated is probably the closest.

Yesterday I went out for the day to Nottingham with my friend Joy. First mistake I made was wearing high heeled boots which seemed comfortable when I put them on but after tramping round shops for a couple of hours were decidedly not. Still, I had a divine coffee at Starbucks, a pleasant meal by the canal and even managed to buy a few 'C' presents for my stepdaughter. More on the 'C' word in another entry and I warn you it will be a good old Scarlett grump.

Joy was really poorly a couple of years ago with breathing difficulties. No one ever really diagnosed her problems but allergies and asthma have been the keywords. I was really concerned about her, I've rarely seen anyone deteriorate in so short a time but she battled through and is coping now. But, her condition has left her ultra-sensitive to smells.

Now I'm one of those people who loves to sniff at everything. Maybe I was a dog in another life. If I have a cold the worst part is not being able to smell anything. I burn scented candles all the time, love sweet-smelling cosmetics and will always put my nose into anything new I purchase, be it clothes, wool, soap or books. I think I come from a family very in tune with their sense of smell.

Of course I don't like everything I smell and in a down mood will pick out all the bad smells. One of my aunties used to joke she'd like 'Here is the body of Edna Rose, who died because of her sensitive nose,' as her epitaph. But on the whole I love anything that smells good.

But Joy's condition means anything scented causes her breathing difficulties so I couldn't take her in my favourite cosmetic shop or sample perfumes. Even the pub we decided to eat at was burning incence so we had to move as far away as possible. I'm not resentful; just saddened about her condition and fearful of how I'd cope without my 'smellies' if I found myself in a similar condition. God, can't I ramble?

Anyway, I was shattered last night and couldn't get into my MSN hotmail account for some reason so decided on an early night. Did me good I think.

Today I STILL can't access my hotmail messages or access any images still on WDC. Hubby and son can get into their hotmail so WHO's got it in for me?

The weather has altered dramatically too. From being a very mild autumn it's suddenly turned really cold - minus FIVE tonight. The birds are terribly confused but are fickle enough to suddenly demand the food they've ignored during the mild spell.

Tonight I can't access my hotmail messages on MSN which are mounting up, I can't see any images or anything on WDC, can't get into Yahoo games and can't get Yahoo Messenger to sign in either. Oh technology really brasses me off. At least my sister is here for the weekend so we'll be able to sit up late tomorrow night ...doing what? Maybe we'll just have to find things to sniff.