Cough, cough, cough, slight gag and out comes a bit of phlegm. Yuck! I have been suffering from a prolonged episode of the ubiquitous cold. I am diligent about washing my hands but somehow became exposed to this nasty virus. I cough out a bit of grossness and then have to blow my nose that sometimes triggers more hacking.
Thankfully, the sputum and snot are milky in hue. I don’t have an infection, which would be indicated by a yellow or green color. It is irritating to feel so tired. My stomach muscles ache from so much coughing. I can’t lay down because it leads to choking. I have had to prop myself up on pillows to sleep at night and it isn’t very comfie. I have been consuming an antihistamine to make sleeping easier. A mild headache comes and goes but one aspirin is enough to block the discomfort. An interesting side effect is experiencing no hot flashes.
I began to show symptoms on a Tuesday and by Wednesday I suspected that I had a cold. I knew on Thursday but the indicators weren’t too intense. However, I awoke with a full-blown illness on Friday. I had already scheduled to take the day off. Running a few errands were enough to exhaust me. I cancelled my weekend plans to rest. Silly cats refused to get me soup, hot tea, or fresh kleenexes.
I still felt horrid on another Polar Vortex vexed Monday so I called in ill. Shuffled to work on Tuesday and was exhausted by noon. I had an afternoon meeting to attend and my co-workers humiliated me because they insisted that I sit alone at the end of a table away from them. They would have been exposed the week before but are idiots when it comes to illness. I complied but felt rather angry.
Suffered through the week. Errands on Friday were tiring. No sweetheart for Valentine’s Day, which is depressing for various reasons. I had to work on Saturday and drive home in heavy snow, which is nerve-wracking. I cancelled my evening plans due to being worn out, still sniffling, and not wanting to drive on slippery roads. Felt a bit better on Sunday, cleaned some and had to shovel. Dreaded the forecast for snow overnight.
To be continued…
Wash your hands!
Copyright © 2014 by Ima B. Musing; All rights reserved
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
MOVE IT
Snowflakes are beautiful. I love to be sitting in a warm home watching them fall from the sky. They cover up the ugliness of the earth below. I despise being away from my abode and having to trek in their wake. I’ve been in winter auto accidents and my anxiety level raises whenever I consider traveling on treacherous roads.
Snow deluged the Twin Cities during this past weekend. I spent early Sunday afternoon using my wimpy snow-thrower to push off about eight inches of accumulation. It was exhausting and then frustrating when four more inches fell after I completed my task. I began to fear the commute. Late Sunday afternoon I logged online and went to the Metro Transit website to determine the best route. While in college I rode the bus exclusively and mostly enjoyed the commute. I didn’t purchase an auto until I was out of grad school.
Monday morning I decided to take the bus to work after clearing off the sidewalk since there are many pedestrians in my neighborhood. I gathered my bus-fare of $2.25 in quarters and waited at the corner. I lingered and hung around as my feet became cold. I figured the bus would be late but didn’t think it would be so terribly delayed. Finally, it arrived.
Riding the bus can be enjoyable. If you seek passage on a regular basis, you get to know your neighbors while waiting for the huge vehicle and meet people who ride on the same schedule. It can be a very jovial experience. I was surprised that the atmosphere has changed. The people on my bus were not friendly. They pulled out their smart-phones or stared into space with their headsets humming into their ears. Naively, I got off at the stop the online scheduler suggested to transfer and loitered as the crowds rushed by. Eventually, the bus appeared and ferried me to my destination. I was an hour late for work, but my boss wasn’t upset.
After completing a day of labor, I had to reverse my trip. I had logged online again and learned some alternative routes. The MTC website should show an array of options from starting point to destination all on one page. I decided that I only wanted to relocate once. The more transfers, the higher the chance that there will be a delay. I caught a bus and went to a busy bus-stop in downtown Minneapolis. I felt envious of the people with a smart-phone application that could tell them about the whereabouts of their bus using GPS. I had to keep glancing down the street hoping to see my mode of transport approaching. The bus-stop should have a ticker tape stating when the busses are coming in, just like an airport.
I didn’t have to dally for too long and the second leg of my route went well until we got stuck. Actually, a vehicle in front of the bus became wedged in the snow-ice and we couldn’t move. It was too far for me to walk home. The bus driver never got on the speaker to tell us what was going on. He spoke with the people in the front rows but I couldn’t hear him. I eventually got off and strode to another bus-stop to catch a different bus. I still had to trudge three blocks to get home in the cold. It had taken me two hours from leaving work to getting to my house. I was chilly, tired, hungry, and crabby. What a wretched re-introduction to public transport. I will ride again, but I just hope it won’t be such grueling experience.
Ride da bus!
© 2012 Ima B. Musing
Snow deluged the Twin Cities during this past weekend. I spent early Sunday afternoon using my wimpy snow-thrower to push off about eight inches of accumulation. It was exhausting and then frustrating when four more inches fell after I completed my task. I began to fear the commute. Late Sunday afternoon I logged online and went to the Metro Transit website to determine the best route. While in college I rode the bus exclusively and mostly enjoyed the commute. I didn’t purchase an auto until I was out of grad school.
Monday morning I decided to take the bus to work after clearing off the sidewalk since there are many pedestrians in my neighborhood. I gathered my bus-fare of $2.25 in quarters and waited at the corner. I lingered and hung around as my feet became cold. I figured the bus would be late but didn’t think it would be so terribly delayed. Finally, it arrived.
Riding the bus can be enjoyable. If you seek passage on a regular basis, you get to know your neighbors while waiting for the huge vehicle and meet people who ride on the same schedule. It can be a very jovial experience. I was surprised that the atmosphere has changed. The people on my bus were not friendly. They pulled out their smart-phones or stared into space with their headsets humming into their ears. Naively, I got off at the stop the online scheduler suggested to transfer and loitered as the crowds rushed by. Eventually, the bus appeared and ferried me to my destination. I was an hour late for work, but my boss wasn’t upset.
After completing a day of labor, I had to reverse my trip. I had logged online again and learned some alternative routes. The MTC website should show an array of options from starting point to destination all on one page. I decided that I only wanted to relocate once. The more transfers, the higher the chance that there will be a delay. I caught a bus and went to a busy bus-stop in downtown Minneapolis. I felt envious of the people with a smart-phone application that could tell them about the whereabouts of their bus using GPS. I had to keep glancing down the street hoping to see my mode of transport approaching. The bus-stop should have a ticker tape stating when the busses are coming in, just like an airport.
I didn’t have to dally for too long and the second leg of my route went well until we got stuck. Actually, a vehicle in front of the bus became wedged in the snow-ice and we couldn’t move. It was too far for me to walk home. The bus driver never got on the speaker to tell us what was going on. He spoke with the people in the front rows but I couldn’t hear him. I eventually got off and strode to another bus-stop to catch a different bus. I still had to trudge three blocks to get home in the cold. It had taken me two hours from leaving work to getting to my house. I was chilly, tired, hungry, and crabby. What a wretched re-introduction to public transport. I will ride again, but I just hope it won’t be such grueling experience.
Ride da bus!
© 2012 Ima B. Musing
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
WHITEOUT
No depth perception and bitter cold. White obliterated the outside world. The snow was blowing so intensely that you could not see more than a foot in front of your face. Perilous situation. Life on the prairie has its hazards and whiteout blizzard conditions is one of them.
My grandparents had huge metal eyehooks located on the corner of each building about four feet from the ground. Every fall they would string long ropes from one hook to another. It was annoying to have to duck under the rope. However, the rope was a lifeline. A sudden squall from the prairie would powerfully scatter loose snow so that you would not be able to determine where you were in the yard. If you could find a rope, you could locate safety inside a building. Most country dwellers left one door unlocked during the winter to make certain that you could get out of the wind. Too many people die of hypothermia a few feet from safety or just outside a locked door.
Sometimes a storm would blow up while we were at school. It was too treacherous to let the country kids travel home. The bus may drop them off but they could get lost walking down the driveway. Lana and her sisters or other country kids would stay with us during blizzards. I would call home to get permission and we would be let out of class when there was a break in the wind. We would dash home and my mom would call the school and their parents to verify that we had made it safely.
Wind is unpredictable. One blustery day Lana and her younger sister Lisa came home with me. We trudged over four foot tall drifts for two blocks without a problem but then the wind gusted and landmarks disappeared. We linked ourselves together using our coat belts and I led the way slowly. We found my neighbor’s house that always left their garage side door unlocked. The neighbor wasn’t home but I went in to call my mom and left a note apologizing for the snow in the garage. After about ten minutes the wind decreased enough for us to keep walking. The three-block journey took an hour and we were exhausted. Mom called the school and Lana’s parents. The storm howled for three days before Lana’s folks were able to safely journey into town.
Blizzards cause the Minnesota State Highway Patrol and Minnesota Department of Transportation to shut down the roads. Anyone traveling is taken off the thoroughfare and brought into town. The hotels quickly fill and then the trekkers would be sent into private homes. My parents would accept strangers into our home on the weekend and if we didn’t have country kids during the week. We had a lumpy fold out couch to hold two people and a couple cots. Not the Ritz but better than freezing in a ditch.
I was in grade school and my siblings were in high school when four college students arrived on a wintry Saturday. Males. They were nice but flirted with my sisters. Dangerous. My dad was so paranoid that he pulled out a sleeping blanket and stayed in the hallway that night to make certain that no hanky-panky occurred. The four young studs departed after lunch when the roads were deemed safe. One of them even sent a thank you note and twenty dollars. Another time a couple stole from us so they were the final visitors allowed. A few years ago the city switched to setting up a Red Cross shelter instead of placing strangers into private residences.
I always have a disaster kit in the trunk of the car and another in the house. Usually there isn’t much danger living in the Twin Cities. I’ve been stuck in at home for two or three days due to a snowstorm. I don’t travel out of the Cities during the winter very often due to several near accidents. I call my parents instead of visiting. Prepare yourself, family, friends, and pets for disaster. Make an emergency kit with instructions from www.ready.gov and take classes from the Red Cross.
Dairy Farm Tails, Part IV more posted January 26th, January 30th, and February 6th.
Be Prepared.
© 2012 Ima B. Musing
My grandparents had huge metal eyehooks located on the corner of each building about four feet from the ground. Every fall they would string long ropes from one hook to another. It was annoying to have to duck under the rope. However, the rope was a lifeline. A sudden squall from the prairie would powerfully scatter loose snow so that you would not be able to determine where you were in the yard. If you could find a rope, you could locate safety inside a building. Most country dwellers left one door unlocked during the winter to make certain that you could get out of the wind. Too many people die of hypothermia a few feet from safety or just outside a locked door.
Sometimes a storm would blow up while we were at school. It was too treacherous to let the country kids travel home. The bus may drop them off but they could get lost walking down the driveway. Lana and her sisters or other country kids would stay with us during blizzards. I would call home to get permission and we would be let out of class when there was a break in the wind. We would dash home and my mom would call the school and their parents to verify that we had made it safely.
Wind is unpredictable. One blustery day Lana and her younger sister Lisa came home with me. We trudged over four foot tall drifts for two blocks without a problem but then the wind gusted and landmarks disappeared. We linked ourselves together using our coat belts and I led the way slowly. We found my neighbor’s house that always left their garage side door unlocked. The neighbor wasn’t home but I went in to call my mom and left a note apologizing for the snow in the garage. After about ten minutes the wind decreased enough for us to keep walking. The three-block journey took an hour and we were exhausted. Mom called the school and Lana’s parents. The storm howled for three days before Lana’s folks were able to safely journey into town.
Blizzards cause the Minnesota State Highway Patrol and Minnesota Department of Transportation to shut down the roads. Anyone traveling is taken off the thoroughfare and brought into town. The hotels quickly fill and then the trekkers would be sent into private homes. My parents would accept strangers into our home on the weekend and if we didn’t have country kids during the week. We had a lumpy fold out couch to hold two people and a couple cots. Not the Ritz but better than freezing in a ditch.
I was in grade school and my siblings were in high school when four college students arrived on a wintry Saturday. Males. They were nice but flirted with my sisters. Dangerous. My dad was so paranoid that he pulled out a sleeping blanket and stayed in the hallway that night to make certain that no hanky-panky occurred. The four young studs departed after lunch when the roads were deemed safe. One of them even sent a thank you note and twenty dollars. Another time a couple stole from us so they were the final visitors allowed. A few years ago the city switched to setting up a Red Cross shelter instead of placing strangers into private residences.
I always have a disaster kit in the trunk of the car and another in the house. Usually there isn’t much danger living in the Twin Cities. I’ve been stuck in at home for two or three days due to a snowstorm. I don’t travel out of the Cities during the winter very often due to several near accidents. I call my parents instead of visiting. Prepare yourself, family, friends, and pets for disaster. Make an emergency kit with instructions from www.ready.gov and take classes from the Red Cross.
Dairy Farm Tails, Part IV more posted January 26th, January 30th, and February 6th.
Be Prepared.
© 2012 Ima B. Musing
Thursday, January 28, 2010
MIDWINTER BLUES
Honey, it’s cold outside (also, one of my favorite songs). Some days are mind-numbingly cold. You step outside and despite all the layers – you feel chilled. The cold permeates and bites your eyeballs; it burns the inside of your nose or mouth when you breathe. I wonder why I reside in a northern locale, why, why, why??? The optimist in me states, “It could be worse.” True but I still curse the tilt of the planet when under 0 degrees Fahrenheit occurs.
20 to 80 is the temperature range that I prefer (Fahrenheit scale). Snow is beautiful to view. It changes the landscape without devastation. The city where I reside requires the residents to shovel their sidewalk within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall. An inch or two of fluffy stuff is fine and good exercise. That is not a problem unless I have to travel to work the next morning. It is horrid to get up an hour early just to shovel, come in the house to change into work clothes (I really should take another shower) and zip to work. After a snowfall the roads are iffy so I have to take extra time driving. Ugh.
I love my garden so I tolerate winter. I would prefer a briefer chilly season with less cold and snow. It would be more tolerable if the cats would shovel. I have a small profoundly expensive snow-blower. It sounds like a hair-dryer on wheels but it is helpful. Perchance to dream of a huge Toro someday… I’d love to have an electric lawnmower, too.
Shovel, shovel, shovel that blasted snow!
© 2010
20 to 80 is the temperature range that I prefer (Fahrenheit scale). Snow is beautiful to view. It changes the landscape without devastation. The city where I reside requires the residents to shovel their sidewalk within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall. An inch or two of fluffy stuff is fine and good exercise. That is not a problem unless I have to travel to work the next morning. It is horrid to get up an hour early just to shovel, come in the house to change into work clothes (I really should take another shower) and zip to work. After a snowfall the roads are iffy so I have to take extra time driving. Ugh.
I love my garden so I tolerate winter. I would prefer a briefer chilly season with less cold and snow. It would be more tolerable if the cats would shovel. I have a small profoundly expensive snow-blower. It sounds like a hair-dryer on wheels but it is helpful. Perchance to dream of a huge Toro someday… I’d love to have an electric lawnmower, too.
Shovel, shovel, shovel that blasted snow!
© 2010
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