Perpetual Ruminations

Wednesday

Wow, the month of July is almost gone, and so is summer. It sure did go by fast, but with no spring, and just jumping right into summer had a lot to do with it. It's been a few years since we really had a spring, which makes the winter seem so much longer and the summer so much shorter. Rhonda and I just discussed this earlier today, how winter set in by October, and didn't end until June. That's eight months of winter, which only leaves four months for spring, summer, and fall. Of course, we did not get a spring, winter hung in there right up to June, and then it was summer.

It was the same last fall, too. We went from summer into winter, or so it seemed. We had snow early, and wintery weather through most of the fall, Hopefully we get an extension on summer this year, and then a mild and pleasant fall, followed by a mild winter, one that's short and vanishes with an early spring.

For those who have been following my journal entries, you know I've been sick the last few days. Today is better, but still not feeling one hundred percent. I'm still stuffed up, and I'm sweating like I'm in a sauna. I'm still feeling pretty run down, but not as tired as I was yesterday.  I went to bed right after my journal entry last night, and didn't get up until ten this morning. I did wake up a lot during the night, about every hour, or so it seemed.

I was feeling very warm when I went to bed, but soon enough I woke up chilled and shivering. It's hard to believe I had a quilt on last night for half the night. But, once the chills ended, I started feeling very warm and seating profusely. I still am sweating out all the bad stuff in my system, and with the least little activity the water just runs down my face and body. I don't remember sweating this hard working out. I know I have, but not often.

Right now I'm doing my journal entry while I wait for Rhonda to get ready to give me a hand with the fence we put up last week. I want to level off a couple of the supports, and then rip some trim for the rest so it is ready to paint. I still need to find something to put on tip to finish it off, but it curves so wood will not work. I'm thinking on it, and have a few ideas, but want to look around and see if something doesn't give me more ideas to work with.

I'm also hoping that I feel up to enjoying a fire later this evening, too. I wanted to have one last night, and even started getting things set up for one, but I just ran out of steam too soon.  I don't think I would have been able to enjoy it, anyway. But, since I'm feeling quite a bit better today, I'm thinking I might just be up to sitting out and relaxing in the cool night air.

Tomorrow we have family in the area for a short visit, and will spend the day at the zoo and at the park. Again, I hope I'm feeling even better and can be around everyone. I don't want to get anyone sick with this, if it is contagious. It may not be, since it came on the way it did. I wasn't really around anyone who was sick, and it hit hard and fast.

I have some allergies that may be the cause of my infection, and it's very likely they started all of this. I can't be around cats, without breaking into a rash and having problems with my asthma, and birds also cause me a lot of harm. I like cats and birds, and I've learned the hard way that being too close to either of them can have a very disagreeable effect on my breathing, my skin, and my overall health.

Even so, we had a cat come stay with us for a while, and since he had some major health issues, could not turn him aside. We fixed up a nice enclosed bed for him in the garage and set up the door so he could come and go as he wanted. He did great with that, and of course we let him in from time to time to eat and warm up when the weather was real cold.

Last week, a lot of the work I was doing was done out in the garage, and that did have an unwelcome effect on me. Then, not thinking, I pulled the tarp down that we had put up to block out the wind, and a got a face full of nasty dust and again, it had an unwanted effect on me. At work last week, the seagulls returned to the store roof, in the hundreds. Unfortunately, the wind was out of the north, and blew down all the loose feathers and debris they have up there from nesting and such. It was almost like snow coming down, and it all was blowing right at us in the guardhouse.

So, between the cat residue in the garage, the dust and molds that had settled on the tarp, and the bird feather snowstorm that hit last week, it's not a wonder that I ended up with sinus problems. I used to go through this every spring in Minnesota when I lived in an area full of cedar trees. The pollen from them seemed to cause the same problem, and I would get a serious sinus infection as a result.

So, the good news is that it's likely I'm not contagious, and that it's passing as fast as it hit. It doesn't help me feel any better, but at least I don't have to be concerned about giving some bug to everyone I love.  Of course, that's not for certain, but it does seem pretty likely. It would explain why I'm sick and Rhonda has not gotten it. She also got a blast of the nasty dust from the tarp, and the feather snowstorm, and she also had a bit of a sore throat for one day, but her's passed and mine did not. But then, she does not have the allergies like I do.