Who said anything about mice?
Hi, this is G here, sitting in for Auds while she and Meg are off down South at BlogFest. For those of you out there without Twitter, you'll all be glad to know that the two of them survived the road trip, even including for the fact that one of Meg's stints in the driving
seat involved driving through that little place called New York.
They even survived the horrifying "SatNav doesn't recognize the destination" disaster. Well, it didn't want to recognize it until Auds took it into Radio Shack to get a new map card and show the rep it didn't work, which, of course, prompted the thing to work after all. I guess it got a bad case of replacement angst in the shop.
This is not to say that even with Ms. SatNav working they didn't get lost anyway. I have it from a reliable source, i.e. Auds herself, that this happened at least once on the trip. Somehow, it just doesn't surprise me as much as it should. It's that woman's voice, you see (Ms.SatNav, not Auds). Now, if I got got a menu with, say, Jeremy Clarkson's voice on it (from BBC's Top Gear), she would never get lost again, I guarantee it.
They made it there eventually and I can tell that Auds is enjoying her time down there, as is Meg. But I'll let her fill you in on the details when she gets back.
Meanwhile, back here at Casa Barking Mad, it's just me and Lil'G, hanging out and having fun. OK, this "fun" part. Let me tell you about that. I was due to take a half-day's vacation Wednesday, then all day Thursday and Friday, to let me spend time doing things, going places and having fun with Lil'G while her Mum was away. That's not quite what's happened.
Tuesday morning, I wake up with a really sore throat and a head that feels like it's had silly-putty pressure-injected up my nose. A cold. In the middle of July. It could only happen to a Brit. I must have sounded pretty bad, because Auds seriously thought about cancelling her road trip to stay and look after me and Lil'G. Not only that, but when I phoned in sick to work, my colleague at work just said "TFFT, you sound like crap, don't come in 'til you feel better - a lot better". After more than a little worrying on her part, I managed to convince the wife that it was only a cold and that she should still go. So, I snuffle my way though Tuesday and Wednesday at home. The worst was over by Wednesday afternoon and I was feeling really good about getting out and doing things with Lil'G on Thursday and Friday. Except for the manic itching at the back of my knees.
All through Wednesday night it was driving me nuts. It was a fairly warm and humid night, so I didn't think much about it, beyond the fact that it itched like crazy all night long. Eventually, Thursday morning arrives and I try to see
what the deal is. Well, the deal soon becomes blindingly obvious,
because it's not just the backs of my legs that are affected, it's my arms, legs, torso, the works. When I got to see the Doc that afternoon, and when he could get a word in edgeways, with Lil'G talking his ear off, he called it a serious allergic reaction, the worst he'd seen in a few years. Worst thing is, I don't know what caused it. Doc said that given the extent of the hives, he thought it was something that I ate - and that prescribing a topical steroid would be no good "because there's not enough in Hannaford to do you any good". But I didn't eat anything new, which leaves a couple of cosmetic items, which will never encounter my skin again. I know the picture of my arm isn't great, but you can't pay me enough to post the one of my chest on here.
All of which means that me and Lil'G have been spending quiet, restful time around the house, playing with stuff, watching movies (Barbie and the Diamond Castle, Sound of Music, more Barbie, Shrek 2 & 3, Barbie again, yay). It's not what I had planned, but Lil'G seems to be making the
most of her Daddy time. Most of all, because she knows I'm not feeling
well, she seems to enjoy being the one taking care of me, making sure
I'm OK. She has been a little gem, too. On her best behaviour, you might say.
The only disappointment I have is that she didn't try my cooking last night. I made a pot of beef stew last night in my first time cooking in a while. It turned out pretty good, even for me, but Lil'G was having none of it. Now I have never had a cooking misadventure on the scale my Dad had once, when my Mum was ill in bed. When it said 4oz of batter for the Toad-in-the-Hole recipe, there was a reason. Dad thought it didn't look enough. The batter didn't rise and get fluffy, there was a lot of it and when it came to dinner time, we didn't have Toad-in-the-Hole, we had Tapdoles-in-Quicksand. No, my cooking, as even Auds will admit, is pretty serviceable. Gaby took one look and wanted Spaghetti "O"'s. Oh well, there'll be other times.
And when it comes down to it, you just can't get upset with your 3½ year old daughter when she worries about the "plumps" on your arms and snuggles closer on the sofa so she can rub them better.
More later,
Big G and Lil'G
