city at night

city at night

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Arctic Chill and a Touch of the Flu

 
 
Gone are the sunshine and warmth to which I had grown accustomed.
 
 
I just took this picture a few minutes ago of the gray, cold morning here in Ohio.  We have had nowhere near the amount of snow that New England has received.  (You can tell from the snow accumulated on top of the planter that the snow is not very deep.)  Just after I took the photo, we had a brief, heavy flurry, but as I write this the falling snow is almost imperceptible.  The big weather news here is the extremely cold temperatures that will be moving in this weekend.  At the moment the temperature is 25 degrees Fahrenheit, but tonight it is supposed to go down to -5 F.  Tomorrow's high temperature is predicted to be 1 degree, with a low of -10 (that's -23 for readers who are used to the Celsius scale).  Brrrrr.
 
 
Two days after my return from Mexico I woke up with what I can only explain as a mild case of the flu.  I had my influenza shot last fall, as always, but the experts who make up the vaccine did not do a very good job in predicting which strains would be prevalent this year.  I read somewhere that the vaccine was only 23% effective.  There was quite a bit of flu going around prior to my departure for Mexico in January, and I was keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't catch it right before my trip.  Thanks goodness, I didn't!
 
But on Thursday morning, I didn't wake up until 10:30... very unusual for me.  I got up and I had an extreme case of the chills.  Although I had no congestion, sore throat or coughing, I felt achy and tired.  I took my temperature, and I had a mild fever. 
 
I've spent most of the last two days in bed.  The fever subsided, but I still felt worn out.  Today I woke up at a more normal time (7:30), and I feel like I have more energy.  So, hopefully, I am just about over whatever I had!
 
I would also like to send out a "hello" to my friends Nancy and Fred who are currently on a trip to Australia and New Zealand.  I have noticed some visitors from that part of the world, so I suspect that they have been following my blog.  I hope that your trip has been fantastic!
 
Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers. 
 
 

4 comments:

  1. And, Happy Valentine's Day to you Bill, as well. Take it easy and get well soon. If you have to be sick, having the weather be terrible helps in that you don't want to go out and do stuff............Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Barbara. Since I wrote the post it has snowed more, and it's very windy. It's rather wicked out there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hola Bill! I'm so sorry to hear that you are in the grips of la gripa. Hopefully you feel better pronto!

    The temps here are insane. Early this morning it was -3°F, which is almost unheard-of in Boston in Mid-February. Fortunately, as I write, it has "warmed up" to 8°F.

    My snowblower died yesterday, and I'm now feeling a severe case of the winter blues. Get me out of here!!!!

    Let's all hope that this insane weather stops soon.

    Feel better.

    Saludos,

    Kim G
    Boston, MA
    Where we're voting this the "worst winter on record."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kim. I'm fine now.
      Although we don't have anywhere near the amount of snow as you, we are sharing with you the frigid temperatures. I think yesterday's HIGH was 1 degree.
      Stay warm.
      Saludos,
      Bill

      Delete