Would You Like Some Streptococcus With Your Green Bean Cassarole?

The last couple of weeks have been great. We got to go out to dinner with my Grandma Dahlstrom, and my Aunt and Uncle from Seattle, in the week preceding Thanksgiving. That was wonderful. Then, I managed to get my asphalt driveway sealed before all the heat was sucked out of Fall. Also excellent. Somehow, by the week of Thanksgiving, I had managed to forget that I only had to work 3 days. So when my wife reminded me that Tuesday was the halfway point of my work week, I was really excited.

Thanksgiving festivities ensued. There was much eating of meats, savory sides, sweets, and treats - but not too much eating... we don't want to swell up with holiday fare, now do we. The following day, my wife and her mother went into Fresno to search out "Holiday Bargains". I don't know that any real bargains were found. At least they were smart enough to value a good night's sleep over getting 50% off of another electronic device we don't really need.

On "Black Friday", my father-in-law and I split about 2 cords of wood by hand. No - not Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris style. We used a couple of mauls, and a handful of wedges. Backbreaking work for sure. At least that's what I was thinking by the next day. When I found it difficult to stand up, or bend down, or walk, or think, or hold my baby, I blamed it on the stacks of wood in my backyard. If only I had been able to recognize the symptoms earlier. By Saturday night, I was miserable. I had yet to realize that I might have a fever. Hooray for the male ego. Instead of checking myself, I bundled up in sweats, a blanket, and a heating pad, and lay on the couch. That just wasn't enough. So I got in the shower with the water as hot as I could stand. I still had goosebumps the whole time. Finally, my wife suggested that I take my temp.

101.8

That's no radio station playing the best mix of 70s, 80s, and 90s soft rock. That's what my temperature was after taking a couple rounds of Tylenol. So, after a full sleepless night of fevered dreams ( I dreamed that my baby daughter was a fashion designer. That's what you get for falling asleep to Project Runway - oh my gosh, did I just write that on the internet? This is entirely too much text for a parenthetical.).

Finally, my wife and I went to see a doctor. Positive for Streptococcus Pyogenes. There's nothing positive about that. For the next couple of days we'll be waiting for the drugs to do their magic dance in our bellies. Right now we're all about the hot tea with honey. The mucous-like Lidocaine works alright for numbing the pain, but it's difficult to overcome the gag reflex to use it.

Well, that's more than enough verbage. I wish you all a healthy and joyous season leading up to Christmas.

p.s. Woot is so wootalicious! I could almost wear it, I enjoy it so much. And, can you say Steepandcheap? Very fun to look at, and changes almost by the hour.