Thursday, December 28, 2023

A Not-So-Merry End to Christmas

We only enjoyed the company of Genius for a couple days this holiday. He and Friend left early on Wednesday morning to drive back to Pittsburgh. We did have Christmas Eve, and a couple hours on Christmas Day for a dinner that had to begin at 11:00 a.m.! Not a problem for Val, whose school lunch time for two decades was 10:53 a.m.

Tuesday night, we went to the casino to spend some Christmas cash. Spend, indeed! NOBODY was a winner. I didn't even have any jackpot worthy of a picture. This was an unfortunate end to our holidays, since we moved Backroads and earth to obtain a block of time to meet up. The Pony had to work on Tuesday. He hustled his hooves off to be done by 5:00. Hick picked him up, and we were at the casino by 6:45. Genius and Friend, who were staying in the city, arrived three minutes later.

I had taken a ham sandwich, a couple deviled eggs, and a slice of Oreo cake for The Pony to eat on the way. When we were almost there, he said he wasn't feeling well. Don't blame my food! The Pony's hands were shaking, his back and legs hurt, and he was lightheaded. He said he felt okay to go in.

The casino was SO SMOKY! I almost didn't want to stay. I felt like I couldn't breathe. And it was HOT, too. We soldiered on, losing our money all willy-nilly. The Pony's heart just wasn't into it. He sat near me, and was lacklusterly pushing the SPIN button. A couple times I thought I saw TEARS forming! Poor Pony!

We left around 9:15. The Pony seemed to perk up a little under the full moon, in the crisp night air. Yet on the way home, I felt a fever in his forehead. He had an achy, restless night. Actually took his scheduled day off on Wednesday, rather than work for overtime as he'd planned.

On the ride home, I developed hoarseness and a drippy nose. It's like The Pony and I came down with something on the exact same timeline, although my symptoms were different than his. At first I thought it must be irritation from the casino cigarette smoke. Not sure what we picked up, or where. The Pony could have caught something at work. Otherwise, we were both around Genius and Friend, and at Sis's house on Sunday night. Sis said on Monday, she had a cough and felt bad, but thinks she's getting over it.

I would love to go to town for some new scratchers that came out on Tuesday, but my body would rather loll around the house, nose dripping, drowsy, and relax.

So far Hick has not shown symptoms. We'll see. 

12 comments:

  1. Oh dear! For sure there's definitely Covid and very bad colds making the rounds. I hope you and The Pony have quick recoveries.

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    1. We are hydrating and napping and waiting for it to run its course. The Pony has taken two days off work, hoping the fever will go down.

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    1. Thanks. The Pony and I are texting our temperatures and any developing symptoms. I'm relying on rest and fluids, The Pony has added Nyquil and Dayquil to his regimen. I have banned Hick from touching the remote, and encourage him to steer clear of my germ-ridden presence.

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  3. You and the Pony are not alone. My husband came home last Wednesday night with a sore throat and congestion that developed into a full blown crud fest. He was sick for 4 days and finally started feeling better the evening of the 4th but nowhere near 100%. On Christmas Eve, I woke up with the sore throat and I am just now starting to feel better. Still weak and have a cough, but aches and pains less noticeable. When husband returned to work, he found out that many people had been out sick, while he was out. The first person that I feel started this Petre dish was SENT home because he was coughing and sniffling all over the office. A full-fledged adult that doesn't have enough sense to stay home when sick. My old high school friend's family ended up with the crud, thus changing their Christmas plans. My husband picked up Chicken noodles in the cup for me and he said the shelves of similar and this item were really picked over. I guess everyone is sick. I hope this is it. No relapses allowed. Hope you and the Pony have a quick recovery. As I said, it took us at least 4 days to feel human again, 5th day giving more indication of survival. Ranee (MN)

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    1. Sorry that you both have been sick, but this info gives me HOPE! Hope that we can get over it (mostly) in 5 days, and not the 10 I have cautiously allowed myself.

      Maybe I will have Hick get me some Hot & Sour Soup. That usually opens up my stuffy head. I think I also have a can of Chunky Chicken Soup that I keep on hand for such emergencies.

      Aside from missing my daily scratchers, I am just moderately miserable. So far.

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    2. Another thing that we both found helpful was to sleep elevated. My husband even agreed that it helped keep the congestion out of his lungs. I know you are not a big tea drinker, but I will reiterate that honey in the tea worked very well for my sore throat. Hope you are feeling better soon. Ranee

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    3. Yes, I have been sleeping while sitting on the couch. I have been contemplating some hot water with honey and lemon later this afternoon. Can't hurt!

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  4. I'm guessing Sis's place is where the bug made the rounds and chose its victims. Hope it passes quickly. I had a sore throat the day after Christmas lunch at the twins home, but that was definitely from the cigarette smoke and vanished later that day. I hope Hick doesn't get it so he is well and able to be at your beck and call for the duration.

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    1. That's my suspicion, although nobody there seemed sick. It usually takes two days from when I'm exposed to something until I catch it. So that would make it Sunday evening. I went nowhere else on Sunday. No time for a town trip.

      Hick is fine for now, and actually seems concerned about me. He's treating me like those random people he does good deeds for! I might ask him to bring me a bottle of yellow Gatorade on his way home this afternoon.

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  5. Oh, I am so sorry you two are ill. So far, I still wear a mask out and wear one when anyone comes here. We will get a flu shot, so maybe with the mask wearing getting a flu shot and covid vaccine next week, we will be okay. However, I do have a navel orange to eat which will surely make me ill because I am allergic to citrus!

    Not to win was just adding insult to injury. Hopefully, you can make up for that soon.

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    1. Thanks. I'm sure we will pull through. It just seems like time slows down when you want it to speed by. I don't wear a mask because I get lightheaded, and anything can pass through them short of actual droplets if anybody sprays a sneeze in my face.

      Maybe you should re-think that navel orange! The casino loss was nothing new to me, and was only about 1/3 of the bankroll I took. The worst part was seeing The Pony feeling badly, when he usually has such a good time at the casino.

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