Monday 22 November 2010

Not quite so much vim and vigour


A discouraging and swear-wordy start to the day, the always-tricky curtain rail falling off as I opened the sitting room curtains. But despite this, I felt convalescent enough to walk the dogs through the park this morning, slowly, breathlessly, with several pauses for dramatic coughing, during a rare hour when it wasn't drizzling in the curiously persistent and depressing way that is a November speciality here.

Sandra came too, her cough almost a match for mine; we pondered on what pre-aspirin/paper tissues/centrally-heated life in winter might have sounded like, for example in the damp and insanitary Middle Ages - lots of public coughing, hawking and spitting, we thought, and everyone's clothes permanently sodden with mud and nasal secretions. (Our standards of thinking and conversation were a bit limited today; post-viral brain decay combined with too much daytime tv.)

Then home - the drizzle starting up again just as we reached the back door -  to make a simple soup from some of the fridge's untouched food mountain, and while it simmered, to notice and vacuum up an unfeasibly-dense layer of dog hair from the kitchen and hall floors (why isn't Flossie bald? She's shed at least one puppy's-worth of hair since Margery was here last week).

The dogs love soup, and had some with their dried kibble for dinner. I had mine without the kibble. Sandra's tall husband came round and fixed the curtain rail, thus eliminating the student-house look of the bay window. Then I sat dazedly on the sofa and recovered from all that unaccustomed fresh air, exercise, food and hoovering. It felt like a full and busy day, and I'm quite worn out now. Maybe a thimbleful of that French tonic wine after all.....

Oh, and I have at least one viewing this week - Wednesday afternoon - and perhaps another  - one that I cancelled earlier, due to being busy with my near-death viral experience - will be rescheduled. Viewings? you may ask. Isn't the house off the market now? Aren't you about to start work on the attic/bathroom conversion? Yes, yes, and yes. No, I can't explain it either, and I can't find it in me to care much, but I'll let you know what, if anything, happens.

7 comments:

Rattling On said...

I have often pondered the amount of hair our lab sheds and the alternative uses it may have. I could have stuffed several sofas by now, or feltmaking... which happens in unattended corners all by itself.
Glad you are feeling a little better.

Anonymous said...

It's sods law - you decide to take the house off the market, so now people want to view it!! Glad you're on the mend - and hopefully having flu this early in the winter will give you immunity for the rest of it!

the veg artist said...

So glad you are feeling a bit better, and eating again. We have all been worried.
The viewings are unexpected - you never can tell. If you don't like the look of them, you can always breath in their direction!

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Now you'd decided that you were happy to wait , the house will , of course , be snapped up .
Meanwhile walkies , soup AND hoovering ? For Heavens sake , SIT DOWN !

Sue said...

Glad to hear that you are on the mend, don't go too mad though.
Interesting developments on the house front!

Kate on Clinton said...

Well, you must be on the mend since you didn't put kibble in your soup.

20 YORK STREET said...

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xox,

20 YORK STREET

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