in my rheum

in which our plucky heroine has eyes are beginning to heal, and a throat that is not...

I am still feeling too ill to be doing much of anything other than the most basic self care. None of my creative projects are anything other than my wistful imaginings at this point. Still just getting up long enough to take medication, care for the most needful physical necessities, and then back to sleep. This is so boring, but also so necessary... (note: PCR results in yesterday = I do not have COVID! (whew!!))

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~ out and about ~

this is not an electron microscopic view of the interior of my throat, but it might be an impressionistic re-creation... or it might just be some interesting bark I saw while I was unsuccessfully seeking Cepacol...

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I have been trying various home remedies to ease the pain in my throat. Starting with simple salt water gargle, warm broth, ice water etc. My usual go to Ricola lozenges are not helping at all, and it has been almost a week now. I am glad I don't have COVID, but what the heck is going on with me. A normal cold involves congestion, runny nose, sneezing, maybe a bit of fever and a possible sore throat. Flu involves fever and muscle aches. I have no fever, and aside from the bacterial eye infection that started several days after the sore throat, and which is responding well to the antibiotic eye drops, no obvious other signs of trouble. But not being able to swallow without pain is pretty unpleasant.

It is really inconvenient being allergic to cherry... many sore throat products have either cherry, or misc fruit flavors. The numbing OTC lozenges the doctor suggested are apparently unavailable both at local pharmacies and via Amazon. This leads me to believe that there are more sick people out there than I remember as is usual in the middle of the summer, at least in the Before Times. I am intending to contact my PCP tomorrow, as this has been ongoing since last Wednesday night and is not improving at all...

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a thank you to Dan Rather's "Steady" for calling this version to my attention. and to Simon and Garfunkel for being part of the sound track of my life for lo these many decades

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Rheum is the term for fluid that exudes from the eyes, though not usually in reference to tears, which have their own terminology. While I hope I have not suddenly become so senior as to have rheumy eyes as a given condition, it also may be related in some subtle way to my sorrow at the diminishment of my mother. The sudden loss of my father, and the ongoing long goodbye to my mother are just plain hard, despite being as common as could be. That I had them in my life for so long is a great blessing. That they must leave before I do is not unexpected.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. ginger in the freezer, so I can try making ginger tea, as suggested by my herbalist friend Rois
2. my life allows me to stay home and rest/sleep when I am sick
3. I don't have COVID

Time of Isolation - Day 1140