I woke up unusually early this morning at a little after 5:30 a.m. And no wonder. It had been a sleepless night of tossing and turning punctuated by night sweats so severe I actually dreamed I was suffering from malaria. Finally up and around, my fevered dreams of vomiting up my lungs far behind, I headed downstairs where I fed the dogs, checked my blog stats, and proceeded to vomit up my lungs. No, no it wasn’t bad news. Visits are topping well over 3000 of late and while that alone could be cause for some celebratory heaving, I had a feeling that wasn’t it. In truth, I suspected I was either a victim of food poisoning or one of those cloak and dagger Russian radiation hits. Well, it’s unlikely those M&M’s I received yesterday from the Save Weir Campaign arrived via Vladivostok but, just in case, I’m going to be taking precautions in the future – by having our office assistant Lawren open and taste test all our mail. No, I’m going to have to go with food poisoning because I actually started feeling unwell on the drive home from dinner last night. So what did it? Was it the sunchoke soup or the veal cheeks or the sticky toffee pudding or the coconut crème brulee? Let’s have a poll! The winner will be announced in tomorrow’s blog!
As I threw up the entire contents of my stomach and then some, I made a vow to never, ever, eat food again. And so far, despite my attempts to renege and feast on an entire half a banana over the course of the day, the gods of nausea have seen fit to keep me true to my word. Just the sight of something as innocuous as Bubba licking Jelly’s eyeball is enough to send me running to the bathroom.
Fondy made me some hot lemon water and ginger which is supposed to suppress nausea (as opposed to prompt it as I initially assumed) and dropped off a tiny bottle of the most hideous Chinese herbal medicine in existence. Apparently, it works wonders. Just avoid reading the list of ingredients that include: Radix and Rhizoma Rhei (to remove heat and toxins from the blood), Fructus Amomi Rotundus (the dried ripe fruit of Amomum Kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep), Flos Cryophilic (clove), Semen (!) Arecae (the dried ripe of Areca catechu L. (Fam. Palmae) – which I really hope is some kind of fruit), Fructus Capsici Frutescentis (cayenne pepper), Camphor (from the tree of the same name), Menthol (from peppermint), Glycerin (sugar alcohol), Alcohol (never heard of it), and Distilled Water (to, uh, cut the sharpness). It actually tastes even worse than it sounds. Fondy advised me to knock it back and chase it with lots of water. I did and, believe it or not, after some twenty minutes I was actually feeling better. Still nauseous, but not as overwhelmingly nauseous as I’d been this morning. Thank you’s are in order – to Fondy, Fondy’s parents for introducing her to this vile yet effective concoction, and, naturally, to the fine herbalists in Chinatown. I’ll never question their medicinal dried seahorses again.
I called in sick today but I’m happy to report I was not forgotten. Will called to ask me about a dialogue exchange from This Mortal Coil (and wished me well once he found out I was laid up), Carl forwarded a cheer-up article about a diehard Raiders fan (Quite literally. His last words before his execution were “Go Raiders!”), and Alan sent me the following heartfelt message: “Food poisoning? I can’t wait to read THIS blog entry…” I couldn’t very well let him down, could I?
Today’s pics: the lineup of suspects (it makes me ill just to look at them), the Chinese medicine,
Q&A –
Crazymom writes: “For dinner we had no-bake cookies and milk.”
Answer: Is “no bake” just another way of saying you picked up a pack of Oreo’s? Gah, just the thought of eating a cookie is almost enough to make me revisit last night’s dinner.
Speckles writes: “But next time could you post Torri too…i’ve noticed you never really tend to post Torri, it’s always everyone else.”
Answer: I always make it a point to ask whether a person would mind having their picture taken and making a blog appearance. If they’d choose not to, I won’t bother them again.
Jenny Robin writes: “ I am currently reading a book that was released about 3 weeks ago called “Plenty” by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon…”
Answer: I’ve seen the book and thought about picking it up. Of course now, even the sight of food will bring on a Technicolor yawn.
Anonymous #1 writes: “What will viewers think of a autistic character in Atlantis?”
Answer: I think that if he/he is well-written, there’s no reason why the audience wouldn’t embrace him/her. For a great book featuring an endearing autistic protagonist, check out Elizabeth Moon’s The Speed of Dark.
UberAmanda Fan writes: “As a writer, which frustrates you more…finding out an episode is too long or too short?”
Answer: Being short is the worst as it necessitates you writing additional scenes that all too often aren’t as essential to the story.
Irishchick writes: “p.s did you get the baileys irish choc i sent ?”
Answer: Not yet and – are you trying to kill me? Merely the taste of chocolate will have me taking a launch break.
Gilder writes: “Was Don consuming mass quantities of chocolate on my behalf?”
Answer: Oh yeah! You have my yahoo email address. Send me your mailing address and I’ll pay up. Go Pistons!!!
Anonymous a ecrit: “Est-ce que nous retrouverons Andy Frizzel pendant la saison 4?”
Reponse: Peut-etre.
Wiveca writes: “Is there any food you’ve tried and just hated the taste of it?”
Answer: I’ve discovered I hate the taste of pretty much anything on its way back up.
Hannah writes: “Have you ever been here, and do you have any recommendations for good food? What are your feelings on grits?”
Answer: Never been to Atlanta. As for grits, I used to like them but today even the thought of eating them makes me want to toss my cookies.
Royal Nonesuch writes: “Have you ever had a kosher pizza?”
Answer: No but a couple of years ago I went over to Rob’s place for matzo, chicken liver dumplings, and latkes. Yum. I mean, gah! The merest taste of any will have me talking to Ralph on the big white telephone.
Bugguy writes: “Going to a restaurant called Canoe in Toronto tonight.”
Answer: Martin went the last time he was in T.O. and had a great meal. Just thinking of you eating that rich meal makes me want to ride the porcelain bus.
Jace writes: “Should we assume then that Jonas is dead, and that we won’t ever see the character again, or is there the potential for the character to come back should the story and actor allow it?”
Answer: I would not assume he’s dead. Although we have no plans to bring him back at present, you never know.
Pauline writes: “For a culinary experience try Liverpool’s signature dish Scouse, meat potatoes carrots and onions.”
Answer: Today, it sounds both delicious and liable to have me laughing all over your shoes.
Aske writes: “Do any of the dogs (pets) get to be extras in any of the episodes?”
Answer: Yup. I believe Rick’s dog was in Singularity and Chain Reaction.
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