Now, where did I put that blog?

The problem with allowing a long lapse in blogging is that it’s hard to figure out where to pick up. So I’m just going to write about a few of the memorable things that have been going on the past month and a half. Gulp! I really did not plan on not writing for so long!

Back in September when I last wrote, I was preparing for my trip to Scotland in October. First, though, I got sick. It was just your run-of-the-mill upper respiratory infection: congestion, sinus headache, sniffling, sneezing, and fatigue. I stayed home from work and telecommuted for the two weeks before my vacation, and I scaled back my activities and went to bed early at night to get more sleep. By the time I left for Scotland, the cold was mostly gone, but I brought some decongestants and nighttime cold tablets with me just in case.

Scotland was phenomenal. Amazing. I loved its bleak landscapes, fresh food, crisp weather, and friendly people. I will have a post about Scotland another time since it is worth a thoughtful write-up. However, I never quite completely got rid of the cold and it actually worsened just past the halfway point of the trip. I had a couple of days where I kept my activities low and went to bed early, and I started recovering again.

I got home and kept my early turn-in time of 8:30 or 9:00 PM. I continued to telecommute the first week after I returned, and by the second week I was feeling much improved. Then yesterday I was knocked down again: stuffed up, sinus headache, fatigued, and my right ear plugged right up. So today I went to immediate care and had an exam. The doc examined me and listened to me talk about how I had been battling what seemed like the same upper respiratory infection for about seven weeks. I’ve never had a fever or chills, just a nagging set of symptoms that keep flaring up after periods where I feel some recovery.

I’m starting on some antibiotics and prescription nasal spray, and I’m hoping to finally kick this thing to the curb for good. I’ll continue to keep my activities fairly light, but I won’t become a total slug. For example, I skipped riding today, but I’ll do so on Wednesday for sure. I’ll likely skip the gym tomorrow, but I hope to be there next weekend.

Riding is the other significant activity in my life the past several weeks. I have improved so much in just the past two months, and the riding I did in Scotland provided me some great experiences. I cantered, not just once, but quite a bit. Of the four riding excursions I took, only one did not include any cantering. (Of course, that one didn’t include much beyond just walking at a very slow pace for an hour. Ugh.)

Since I’ve been back, I’ve cantered on Finn (my share board horse) twice. I need improvement in my cantering seat on him, but it’s difficult because the stable manager does not want Finn to do a lot of cantering, so we only do one or two canters in a straight line in the arena during my weekly lesson. That’s not a long enough stretch to do much beyond have the following thoughts move through my body/mind: “Whoa, I’m cantering! I need to sit deeper. Oh, it’s time to stop!”

There’s much more to write about, but I need to pick up the practice of blogging more slowly, so I’m going to stop now. Say hello or welcome back if you read this! While I mostly blog for myself, it’s nice to know when others are interested in what’s going on in my life or have something useful to say.