Rapid Road to Recovery

This picture of our peach blossoms makes me feel great, just the mere sight of it! On top of the world!   I have been bogged down by crazy, hectic activity these last two weeks.  So much to do, so little time..........  The reason:  End of term. So many strings to tie up and projects to complete.  And in the home, crazy, frenzied Spring activities in the garden, building projects on our front doorstep with hundreds of little considerations and decisions to be made.  Add to this all, the delightful culmination of a term's hard work ending in a tropical holiday getaway!  So suddenly our holiday crept up on us (we had booked and planned it a year in advance)............... quick as a flash, I sent out a barrage of invitations to Helpxchange visitors............... to have all 6 respond in the positive. I had suspected it would be a lot harder to find housesitters at short notice.   Eeek!  So graciously, I accepted the first positive responder and declined the others.  Fast forward to this point in time and we have a house full of guests - our lovely French housesitters, our returned Argentinian ex-helpxchange from 3 years back, and Mike's very old (in relationship years, not age) friend from Melbourne!  Add to this a builder outside the front of our house making much hammering, grinding, nail-shooting noise and playing his own blend of 60's radio station ........ and one can see why a picture of Spring blossoms is calming and healing.  

I also managed to pick up a violent cold/flu bug from the kindergarten.  As I was potting up some seeds on Friday afternoon, I started to cough rather ferociously and wondered if I had ingested some potting mix ...............oooops, is this how Leggionaire's Disease begins?  It continued well into the night.  On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling rather weak and unwell but thought I would fight the good fight and stay on my feet.  After half an hour, I had to admit defeat and weakly climb upstairs and huddle in bed with a hot water bottle.  All the classic symptoms of flu; cold; shivering, achey body, cough, head fit to burst................  Oh, no!  There goes our tropical vacation!!

My learning so far in life, is that if you fast at the first sign of illness, the body is able to utilise the energy required to digest food, into healing the body.  So that's what I did.  For nearly 36 hours I did not eat but drank water and sage tea.  Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and I was able to move around and feel like I was on the road to recovery.  Wow!  It's amazing what your body is capable of if you give it the right conditions or ingredients.  No drugs.  Nothing but rest, fasting and patience.   I am almost certain that we get sick, simply so we can rejoice in the feeling of wellness again.  Health is a commodity we take for granted when we have it!

The new insulated floor is laid.

Behind the white is a gaping hole where the new full-length window will be inserted.

Travelling in Style:  The previous weekend I happened to go to the Bowling Club Car Boot Sale and picked up this grand little cat-box for $3.  It has a wicker lid to close for transporting the cat, and a little velvet cushion inside.  On opening it, Shanti immediately hopped in, smelt around it for a few minutes and then lay down and stayed there all night.  It is testimony to her love of small confined places.  Last night I walked out of our bedroom to find 2 very bright  eyes staring at me from my shelves with linen in wicker baskets!  Little beastie leaves her fur on all my newly laundered bed sheets!  She will not be coming on holiday with us, but she has 2 lovely French keepers to take care of her.  And if we ever need to go somewhere with her, she now can travel in style!

Oh, to travel in comfort.......

I often say that nothing really surprises me in life.  I had worried that I would be sick on holiday but my body has fast-forwarded it's healing at a break-neck pace and I can only but marvel at what it is capable of!  I can't help but being most pleasantly surprised!!  And the other advantage of my 36hr fast???  I think I might just look a whole lot better in my itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini next week, with a new-look, flat tummy!!  Hope it lasts!   Beach weather; bring it on.......................!