Saturday Soliloquy: Surprise!

It’s August 27, last week of what is often the hottest month of the year.

As I glanced at my header, I had to smile. It says, “Hello August! Surprise me!”

Well, I got my surprise. Covid finally found me. It robbed me of about two weeks during the worst of it. It wasn’t as bad as it was for many people, but it was a little more than “just a cold.” Starting with unexplained fatigue before I even knew I was sick, I had every symptom on the list. My normal temperature is 97.5, so when it goes up to 101, I’m truly miserable. That lasted for only three days, and what a relief!

Over all, I’d say I got off lightly. Still feeling some fatigue, and some have told me to be careful not to push too hard because the fatigue can come sneaking back just when you think you’ve got it licked.

Yesterday I decided to do a little deep cleaning in my bedroom. Sometimes you just need to move the furniture and clean up the accumulated grick under and behind it. I got a good start, moving my bedside table, dusting, mopping, using the hand-vacuum. Felt really good to see it fresh and clean!

That’s when I looked at my dresser, a rather large piece of furniture, and knew I couldn’t finish. Terry happened to look in and see me sitting on the edge of my bed. He sized up the situation quickly, and offered to help. I truly couldn’t have finished the job without him.

Cleaning, for me, always includes doing some reorganizing. I have two small, flat containers filled with my essential oils. I keep them in alphabetical order, same as I do with my herbs and spices in the kitchen. Some certain family members think it’s silly, but I always find what I need quickly. It does require maintenance, though, like any filing system. Things don’t always get put back in the same order. I spent maybe half an hour on that task, which I could do sitting down. In the process, realized I had used up all my tea tree oil, and was also out of clove oil. So I ordered those things, put everything else back in place, and felt most virtuous at a job well done.

I’m easy to please 🙂

I’d started a pot of beans in the morning, using a soup bone and some smoked pork neck bones. Smelled SO good! I like to make cornbread with that meal. I’ve been looking for a recipe using creamed corn, finally found one online. It’s delicious, kind of a cakey texture, but I think it was just a tad underdone. I’ll try it again, using a little bigger pan. I remember my mom using a similar recipe, and her cornbread was never crumbly. I think I’m on the right track now, just need to tweak it a little bit.

Well, this has certainly been a home-style post! And it all started with my August surprise 🙂

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