Wednesday 11 December 2013

Advent: Week 2 and a half

When Robert Burns wrote:

          'The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
          Gang oft agley…'

He might have been writing about me!

Last Friday AGA and I were invited out to dinner with some American friends of ours and as the night drew to a close I began to feel unwell. It felt as though I was coming down with some sort of sniffy cold.
The next day I could barely get out of bed!  Gone were the plans for visiting the Christmas markets, doing a spot of Christmas shopping, and making a few preliminary mince pies…

I felt dreadful: Head pounding, nose blocked, legs weak - the usual thing.
So I stayed in bed.
I thought perhaps that it might be one of 'those 24 hour things': Irritating while they are present but soon gone.
Alas no.  
It remained well entrenched on Sunday; and on Monday I dutifully trotted down to the place I dislike going to the most: "The Doctor's Surgery".  
I went early (7:30 in the morning actually) but whether one is in London, in Melbourne, in Ludlow or in Kaiserswerth, those places are all the same.  Feeling just about ready to ask for the Last Rites, One arrives to find a waiting room seemingly filled to the brim with healthy looking people who give the occasional cough.  
I cast a bleary eye over the happy throng: 
Malingerers!  
Hypochondriacs each and every one of them!!
(With the possible exception of him with the broken arm and that woman over there with the hacking cough) 
I chose a spot in the corner, settled and prepared for the long wait.

There are three doctors in the practice I go to, but the one I usually see is a very nice chap named Herr Rassmann.  He speaks English (which is a bonus) and is a very nice man as well.

Fore-warned is fore-armed and while I don't attend the Doctors' on a regular basis, I do know what it would be like in the waiting room.  That is why I arrived armed with 'The Magic Pudding' by Norman Lindsay: my favourite book to read when feeling unwell.

The one hour I waited until it was my 'turn' to see the Doctor, soon slipped by.

The diagnosis was a viral infection coupled with a bacterial infection, and for good measure an inner ear infection.  No wonder I felt so awful.

And so here it is Wednesday and I am just starting to feel better.  That's what a box of thin torpedo-like pills, coloured a rather nice shade of racing-green does for you, when combined with a box of regulation-white headache tablets, and copious cups of tea.

And as a result, my planned Blog post is somewhat late and somewhat abbreviated.

* * * * * *

These last few days have seen AGA rushing about like a mad thing; combining work and nursing duties.  He is a champ.

But my schemes (like those of Burns' mouse) have gone 'agley':
The Christmas tree is not 'up'
I have not sent Christmas cards to relatives in England.
There are no mince pies yet, and the cake has not been 'marzipanned'.

(Bad colds that occur at Christmas time, are even more of a bother than those that arrive at normal times!)

Anyway, the extremely stormy weather we have had in recent weeks blew away all the cobwebs, and all the leaves too!




I do like the trees when all you can see is there trunks, branches and twigs,  They are asleep for the Winter and there is something magical about the way they look, their branchy splendour revealed for all to gaze upon and wonder!


And the second stage of our Christmas Nativity being in place, I made a special walk down to the Basilica today; not only to see it, but to take a photograph or two for you.  We have moved forward in time to the Annunciation:

The prophet has moved to one side.  Our Lady and the Archangel Gabriel are taking centre stage:

And so to bed. . .

I hope that you enjoyed this little post!

28 comments:

  1. Hello Kirk, Too bad that you had to get sick during the busy holiday season; I am glad that you seem to be on the mend. Perhaps all those problems were a sign that you were worn out and needed to rest up; a low-key holiday might be nice for a change.

    The sharpness of those tree photographs is incredible, I have been staring at them for several minutes, getting drawn into the complex branchings and interlacings.

    Please take it easy, --Jim

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    1. Thank you Jim for your kind words. Yes we are having a low key holiday at Christmas. We are going to the village of Beaune, which is in old Burgundy, for a week and a bit. Plenty of R & R: I am looking forward to it!

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    2. I forgot to add that I agree with you about the photographs of the trees. When you stare at the branches you do indeed get drawn in to their complexity

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  2. Oh! Poor you Kirk - your fever sounds bad - a viral and a bacterium infection is no laughing matter. Glad you have turned the corner now - if the jobs don't get done it is of no consequence, the most important thing is that you get yourself fit again.

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    1. Dear Rosemary,
      It was bad. I have not felt so unwell in quite a while. I was back at work today and while tired it was good to be out.
      Kirk

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  3. Oh Kirk, I feel so sorry that you are under the weather; however you certainly have given me a chuckle with your recount of the waiting room. It could have been from a novel….and a humorous one at that! Please feel better, and perk up for the Christmas rush! xo

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    1. Don't worry - I am making sure I am well as I want to go to the Christmas market this weekend as it is my last chance!

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  4. Did enjoy this "little post." So sorry you haven't been well, but glad you acted on it quickly and are recovering quickly, too. Although I don't like winter much, I do like the artful look of the bare trees. I once had a book on winter landscaping -- arranging plants and shrubs, and pruning deciduous trees to make the garden beautiful throughout the year.

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    1. Thank you Mitch.
      I think that trees sometimes look there best in winter. They seem to compliment stormy grey days or cold snowy ones.

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  5. Oh Kirk, I feel for you! If I was sick in this infernal cold we are having (-20 farenheit!), I would be so miserable! Get your rest. We are here. But your photos are lovely, and TIS THE SEASON! Anita

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    1. Brrrrr! Anita that is very cold indeed! Actually, while sitting snuffling in the sitting room I gazed out of the window and wished it was snowing. That would have made me feel good about being stuck at home. I am a lot better today. Bye for now. Kirk.

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  6. Kirk I hope you feel better soon! That seems to be going around over here as well.

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    1. Thank you O.P.,
      You are right. It is a world wide thing I think: my best friend back in Melbourne now has it. I told her that I gave it to her via the Internet.

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  7. I'm so sorry Kirk, What a disaster! But I hope you are better now. And I suppose next weekend you will be strong enough to do all you have to do. Hugs

    Marina

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    1. Thank you Marina,
      I am feeling a lot better now.
      Kirk
      x

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  8. Dear Kirk,

    I am so sorry that you have been feeling unwell! For heaven's sake don't overdo trying to catch up!

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    1. Dear Mark,
      I am feeling much better now and have been indulging in some Christmas cooking. That always make she feel better.
      Kirk

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  9. Hi Kirk! I'm glad you feel better! The tablets as round or torpedo-like do their deal and you will be OK soon!
    I love this scene in the church that is changing every week, we have no this tradition here.
    Have a healthy weekend!

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    1. Thank you Nadezda,
      This week we celebrated the Visitation and so the scene changed again. I am going to try and get some photos this week.
      Bye for now
      Kirk

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  10. Fingers crossed, Kirk, the bug will go away well before Christmas. You seem to be the sort of person who THRIVES at Christmas, so I'm sure your ailments will scootle off up the chimney and away into bare-leafed branches of far-away trees asap!

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    1. Der Faisal,
      I put up our tree today and that has made me feel so much better already!
      Kirk

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  11. Sorry to hear you are ill Kirk! Hope you will feel better soon, so that you can take part in the Christmas celebrations.

    Take care & stay warm dear friend!

    Madelief x

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    1. Thank you Madelief,
      Those pills have done the job and I feel much better - just in time!
      Kirk
      x

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  12. I like trees that are full of green, fruit and flowers, optimistic about the future. While your two photos of trees are starker and more arresting, they seem to be sad and lonely. Perhaps those trees suited your health status at the time :(

    Getter better quickly!

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    1. Thank you Hels.
      I like your point about the trees. I think that when they are in leaf there is an air of mystery about them. Once the leaves are gone the mystery is laid bare with each little branch and twig and twig let revealed to our gaze, but I do like bare trees in a stormy wintery setting, and when the snow is on them (and I am looking at them from inside a warm and cosy house!)

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  13. There's a large chestnut tree across the road from me and every year it is festooned with lights and a giant St. Nikolaus statue is mounted on the bench underneath it. The last few years the lights have seemed a bit pointless as it still had leaves and it seemed like this year would be the same but the storms last week took care of that and now there is just the stark beauty of the bare branches, softened by the lights threaded through them.
    Hope you feel better soon.

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    1. Thank you Moonwaves,
      I like your image of their bare branched trees threaded with 'fairy lights': There is something magical about that. You are right: lights in a tree in leaf would not be the same.
      No lights in the trees here, except on the Christmas Tree outside the basilica.
      Bye for now,
      Kirk

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  14. Hi Kirk, I hear you, it is awful to get sick, but it is particularly annoying when it happens around Christmas time. Sounds like you are doing already better, though. I loved your two photos with the bare trees. They look so majestic and dignified! Seeing them makes me miss the trees in Germany! I always loved them very much! Wishing you that you get completely well soon and that you are able to catch up with the Christmas preparations!
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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