cold season

Tags

cold, cold season, getting sick, health, hot tea, oranges, staying healthy, Vitamin C

Like so many who stand in front of a class and teach getting sick is part of the course. After all when you are surrounded by pupils, no matter what the age, you’re bound to pick up a few bacteria and viruses, no matter how often you wash your hands.

Yesterday, as I was explaining how to create templates, I felt that unwelcome tickle at the back of my throat. As I took a sip of hot tea, my constant companion when I lecture is a flask filled with herbal tea, I had the sudden realisation that cold season is back.

Since I don’t have the time to get sick right now I decided to try and take it easy for the next few days, drink lots of fluids and make sure my vitamin C intake is high. After all we all know the best way to get rid of those pesky germs is to stay warm, hydrate and rest.

So as soon as I got home I put on a pair of woolly socks, cuddled up in my shawl and spent a few hours avoiding my desk while drinking honeyed tea and eating a few oranges. And I have to say I think it may have done the trick for now as today I feel so much better, the tickle is gone and I hope it stays away.

 

frost flowers and daffodils

Tags

cold, cold weather, cycling, daffodils, Dublin, frost, photography, photos, spring

The last few mornings have been very cold, when I open my eyes I am greeted with frost flowers covering the skylight above my bed. On the bike I pedal hard to not feel the cold but my lungs aren’t enjoying the excessive intake of cold air as I draw breath. Freezing from the inside out – I wonder if that is a thing. Cups of hot tea and a blazing fire in the evenings are the upside of the cold weather.

Snowdrops, crocuses and tiny daffodils are emerging from the earth, buds bursting open in flashes of colour on my windowsill and under the trees in the park and it makes me think of Spring.

So to counter act the ice flowers on the windows I decided I wanted to brighten up my home and bought two bunches of daffodils – at fist they were still closed up and hiding from the world but two days in the warmth of my home and they have exploded into bright yellow trumpet heads – as if heralding spring. I added a colorful runner to my dinning table and now the bright burst of colours really cheers up the room and me up too– a small sign that warmer weather isn’t too far away, a hopeful promise of sunshine.

battling the bug below the duvet

Tags

being sick, bug, cold, duvet, flu, health, ill

After three days and most of today spent with a fever under my duvet I think it’s time to win my battle against this bug. And I have to admit I am quite fed up with having the flu (we are talking proper not being able to move flu, not just a bad cold)  – I couldn’t even read as I was shivering and had a headache, so I spent way too much time sleeping and  watching TV. The upside on that, I suppose, is I have caught up with a lot of series, both good and bad.

But I am fed up for another reason – I feel duped! I took all the vitamins and potions I could and they just didn’t do their job – the bug was stronger. So while I do seem to be coming out from crouching under my bed-covers, and the fever has subsided, I am still not feeling quite like myself. My nose is still stuffy, my chest congested and for some reason my right eye has decided to join in on the fun and has gone all red and puffy – yes I do look a treat.

So being fed up, for now, really just means I’ll be moving from the duvet to my armchair with my hundredth and one cup of hot herbal tea hoping that this bug will soon give up and annoy someone else.

sunshine and chills

Tags

chilly air, cold, winter, wrap up warm

Winter is back in Dublin, but it has brought the sun. So while the temperatures have dropped, a definite chill is in the air, the sun is sparkling off the icy roofs.

I love this kind of weather, that certain chilly nip that pinches your cheeks and makes your eyes sparkle. I love how the cold awakens your skin and the wind tossels your hair, and you feel warm all wrapped upside a wooly jacket, coat, or (like in my case) a bright red poncho.

The only problem I have is that it makes getting up in the mornings that little bit harder. When you are all curled up and cosy under your blanket and you know once you trow it off you’ll be greeted with a freezing blast of air. As soon as you enter the crisp cold morning you’ll have to move fast, get dressed quickly to get warm. Especially my toes seem to suffer a little, but as soon as I pull on my socks and move around the brisk awakening is quickly forgotten – until the next morning when the tip of your nose alerts you to another chilly day.

 

woolly socks and snotty nose

Tags

cold, flue, hot tea, quote, runny nose, snot, snotty nose, staying home, toilet paper

Three days after the first appearance of my runny nose it has not erected  a snot producing factory and has been happily making me blow my nose every few minutes. Because of this tissues and toilet paper have become an increasingly rare and valued commodity along with fresh lemons and honey.

So today I have decided to give this cold one more chance to vacate my body and am staying in with my woolly socks pulled up and a cup of steaming fluid in my hand. No rushing about, no leaving the house, no stress of any kind, just pure relaxation.

Hopefully this will lure the cold out from my head and into the wild, leaving me free of snot, sneezes and throat tickles. But for now I will curl up with a good book, a few movies and a box of soft hankies.

And tomorrow, well I will just have to come up with a plan of how to forcefully evict this annoying head cold.

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

American civil rights activist: Fannie Lou Hamer

theater and tissues, going to see Ballyturk

Tags

Ballyturk, Cillian Murphy, cold, Enda Walsh, flue, Galway International Arts Festival, Mikel Murfi, runny nose, Stephen Rea, writer and director Enda Walsh

Tonight I am going to the theater with friends, long planned and finally here. We are going to see the new play written and directed by Enda Walsh: Ballyturk. 

It opened last month at the Galway International Arts Festival and has been talked about ever since. Ballyturk is set in a fictional noplace and deals with existence and the brevity of life, a mix of silly, funny, sad and deep.

Staring one of my favourite actors Stephen Rea – who I met on Christmas Eve a few years back (but that is another story), alongside Cillian Murphy and Mikel Murfi, Ballyturk promises to be a great night out and I am really looking forward to tonight.

The only problem is that my nose is still running and I will have to figure out how to discreetly clean my nose, after all there is nothing worse than sneezing, coughing and nose blowing to ruin a trip to the theater.

And then there is the issue of my bag, normally one takes I like to take a smaller bag with me when I go out, but the piles of tissues I am going to need demands a bigger bag. This then, in turn, will effect my outfit, oh the life of one afflicted with a runny nose.

But I am determined to make theater and tissues work!

Mikel Murfi, Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea in Ballyturk

 

 

back home with a cold

Tags

being sick, cold, D. H. Lawrence, flu, health, quotes, runny nose, sick, sneeze

It has happened again and I don’t know why, I arrive home from Germany with a runny nose and tickle in my throat.

Well I did get caught out in a thunderstorm and got soaking wet, and yes I did pack summery clothes not knowing the temperatures where about to plummet so got stuck with no proper coat or shoes, and yes my baby niece did have a runny tiny nose.

Now I am back home sneezing and drinking hot tea, trying to turn a runny nose into typing fingers, after all what better excuse to stay home and work on my book?

However I haven’t quite found my muse, maybe she too is in bed with a cold, and I need to get more honey and lemons so I will have to leave the house at some point and wander down to the corner shop. But for now I will stick to my herbals and try and lure my muse from under the covers and onto the pages.

After all maybe a good sneeze will clear my mind, wake up my muse and get some work done.

I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze.

D. H. Lawrence

sniffles

Tags

cold, flu, hay fever, health, O. Henry, pesky bugs, pjs, pyjama, quotes, sniffles

I woke up this morning confused. I couldn’t figure out why I was having an allergic reaction, after all nothing is in bloom right now, but my nose was running as were my eyes. Then it hit me, I didn’t have hay-fever I have the  sniffles!

It isn’t a full blown cold yet, just a bit of a sore head and throat, a little stuffiness and watery eyes. And since I am not really sick, juts a little under the weather and I don’t need to go anywhere today I decided to take a pyjama day. After all I think it is better to nip those pesky bugs in the bud before I end up with a full blown flu.

So I snuggled down with my book and read, ignoring that it is a week day and enjoying myself thoroughly. I didn’t even open my blinds , blending the world out for a little while, savouring my hot tea and cosy cardigan.

As the day has moved on so has my sniffles, my head is back to normal and my throat seems on its way there too. Only my eyes and nose seem to have turned their running into a marathon, but I think after a good nights sleep and an easy weekend Monday will find me fully restored back to health.

And since I have  a busy week ahead of me, preparing the last bits and bobs before the semester begins, making sure everything is order and getting my scheduled back on track. But for now I’ll enjoy my PJ-day, the last one for  along while.

Life is full of sniffles, sobs and smiles. With sniffles predominating. – O. Henry

convalescing cold

Tags

cold, flu, George Bernard Shaw, health, miscellaneous, random, sick

When I woke up this morning my snotty nose had moved down and turned into a scratchy cough so I decided to finally give in to my cold and stay in bed for the day.

I called off all my appointments and have been convalescing on my sofa catching up on TV and staying warm. The only thing that I have been changing up is whether I make myself a boiling cup of tea or a hot mug of lemon and honey.

Until my nose is back to it’s normal size, shape and colour and I don’t sound like a chain smoker on a respirator I bid ye all farewell and will convalesce in style. With the words of George Bernard Shaw:

I enjoy the convalescence. It is the part that makes the illness worth while.

 

 

home remedies

Tags

breath of fresh air, cold, flue, health, home remedies, home remedy, hot toddy, lemsip, self medication, snotty nose

My snotty nose has called a few friends and Mr. Sore Throat, Ms Slight Headache and Tiny Cough have now joined the game. This ragtag band of symptoms  is causing me some discomfort but since my students all have ‘end of the projects’ to finish up and my Berlin aspirations still need some funding I have to put on a  brave face to go with my red nose and lecture on.

To help me  along I have gone down the route of self-medication.  Yesterday I bought some nasal spray, a mentholy breath of fresh air in a bottle,  some Lemsip, a drugged up hot-drink, and a truck load of tissues. But deep down I am much more a home remedy girl.

My German grandmother use to say that a cold takes seven days to clear up without medication and a week with them. And I think that probably is very true. In my experience the only thing that really helps is a good combination of lots of hot drinks, sleep and staying warm. But since it seems a little inappropriate to doze off in front of my students wrapped up in a sleeping bag the napping will have to wait until later this afternoon.

Another favourite of mine is freshly pressed lemon juice, lots of honey and hot water all mixed up into a throat soothing brew.  However I don’t really have the time or resources to conjure up this cold killing drink while teaching so Lemsip will have to take it’s place until I get home.

And finally my dads favourite of a few hot toddies (whiskey, hot water and honey) is probably the best way to kill off those naughty bacterias and viruses that are plaguing the body, or at the very least get them drunk enough to forget what they were doing.  However I am unsure of how to explain the alcohol breath to my boss and a hangover is not very conducive to early mornings and structured teaching, so again that particular home remedy will have to wait.

SO for now my artillery of medication, warm clothing and a flask of hot tea will have to help me battle on for the next few days and I am sure in a a week or seven days time my unwanted guest will have sough out a new body to occupy.