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!