I started to feel poorly on the 9th May (the day after I flew back from Menorca) and today - the 27th May - is the first day I've felt like myself. Whoever or whatever infected me on that short return flight floored me like never before and left me feeling so weak and washed out, I took to my bed for nearly a week. Nasty recycled air!
During that time I managed only two days of work, and even then I was dosed up with painkillers the whole time. In fact, the only reason I returned to work that week was because the day after, on the Saturday, I was booked on a long-standing date with some lovely friends from the first job I had back in the seventies and I wasn't going to miss it. I don't know about you, but I never leave the house when I'm off sick from work and feel guilty if I do so.
Anyway, by the time I got home from the reunion I was deteriorating fast with a horrible pressure in my head and eye. In fact, on the Sunday morning, I was crying with the pain. Monday morning saw DH rushing me to the GP who diagnosed a severe sinus infection and prescribed me penicillin.
So, here we are on Saturday 27 May after a horrendous week in more ways than one. Like everybody else, the news from Manchester left me traumatised and sickened. I cried over the loss of life, and the terrible injuries inflicted upon some of the people who survived. The attack seemed so shocking, and being so close to my home in Lancashire, it somehow felt so personal, too, especially as my son works in Manchester just around the corner from the arena. For some of the people in the arena that night, their lives will never be the same again, and that's what I'm struggling to get my head around.
On a happier note, however, we have a lovely, little visitor this weekend.
Meet Jasper.
Isn't he gorgeous? His mummy and daddy have gone to a wedding and asked us if we'd kindly look after him for the night.
We've never had a dog in the house before, although my mother and father always had dogs before I was married. That, though, was almost 37 years ago!
We've been contemplating buying a dog for a while, so has our weekend visitor made up our minds? Not sure. Watch this space.
Until next time
Kim xx
It's May. Is it really two months since I updated my blog?
We've just got back from our holiday in Minorca. We stayed in es Castell in a super hotel near to Mahon, where we have visited before but only for the day. The hotel we picked this time was in a great location, and meant we could snap plenty of ship and ferry activity on the Med.
We enjoyed it so much we didn't want to come home! But, then we never do. And, although we seem to have brought the sunshine home with us this time, our next visit to Minorca isn't until early October, so I do have to admit to a little bit of sulking since.
I don't know about you, but our holidays always seem full of strange little incidents, and the first incident this time took place on a boat trip around Mahon Harbour.
There is a such a lot to see around the harbour - a lot of military history, both Spanish and British - but a young woman, dressed only in a bikini on her top half, proceeded to ruin the running commentary for the other passengers by accepting a FaceTime call from the UK right in the middle of it. Cue pursed lips and sour expressions, and that was just me and DH.
The second incident took place in the hotel itself on the last evening we were there. The evening meal was served between 7.30 and 10.00 pm and we varied the times we ate, depending on when we arrived back from our day-time activities. On this particular day, we'd come back early and decided to eat, then go and finish our packing. We were sitting outside having a lovely, refreshing gin and tonic on the patio when the dining room opened its doors. I decided to walk in the back way through an open door whilst my husband queued up at the front of the dining room and gave in our room number.
"Madame!" shouted the maître d' in a very loud voice. "What on earth do you think you are doing?"
For some reason he'd taken great exception to what I'd done. I mean, how very dare I? How dare I sneak through the back and maybe inadvertently nab the best table overlooking the harbour from under the nose of the very annoying guy who by pushing to the front every night, managed to do exactly that?
"You should not have done that!"
"Should I not?" I said. "Why not?"
He never answered me, and for the rest of the meal a frosty silence prevailed. He glared at me several times, and I have to admit, I glared back. Cue, once again, I'm afraid, my sour expression of the boat trip around the harbour. This unfortunate little fracas could have ruined our last evening, but I refused to let it.
Honestly. Some people.
My fitness tracker was put to good use, though, as we walked 102,000 steps in a week which equates to around 41 miles with 658 active minutes. Good job too, as the puddings in the hotel were irresistible and we were never content to just eat just one of them!
Whilst we were there, I finished revising my second novel, so I'm pleased to report that when I submitted the synopsis for a Bombshell for the Barrister to the publisher I mentioned in my last blog, they requested the full. Hopefully they'll like it, so I'm keeping everything crossed on that one. Now, I just need to crack on with my NWS submission.
I'm about to send off my balance for the RNA Conference in Telford where this time I intend to be more brave with my one-to-one choices. Last year, stupidly, I cancelled a one-to-one with quite a well-known agent and the only reason for that was because I lost my nerve. I'm not saying the agent would have even liked my work but the trouble is, I'll never know now, will I?
Until next time
Kim xx
During that time I managed only two days of work, and even then I was dosed up with painkillers the whole time. In fact, the only reason I returned to work that week was because the day after, on the Saturday, I was booked on a long-standing date with some lovely friends from the first job I had back in the seventies and I wasn't going to miss it. I don't know about you, but I never leave the house when I'm off sick from work and feel guilty if I do so. 
