Friday (Sick Day) and Saturday

So, I woke up at 3:00 a.m., gagging. I went to the bathroom and blew my nose and that never stopped. I went through all the tissue boxes in the house and then started on the toilet paper.

Sidebar: I only had six fresh toilet paper rolls left and I was worried!

I slept off and on from then. At 7:45 a.m., I sent a text to my boss, letting her know I was staying home, so nobody else gets sick.  She replied, “Good! Get better.”

It was – 11 degrees (actual temperature) outside.

Sidebar: I was used to the Alberta Clipper thing (thanks, CC) and then learned last year about the polar vortex, but this Siberian Blast (the newest phrase) of cold air is ridiculous!!!

I was starving, so decided to make a big breakfast. I forgot how long you put bacon in the oven, so I Googled it. That’s when I discovered I’d been doing it all wrong!

The recipe I’d always used called for a 400 degree oven, bacon on tinfoil and a half sheet pan for 15-17 minutes. But the bacon was never crunchy enough to crumble.

So, today, I found out that’s for regular bacon, not the thick bacon I always buy! So, I tried the new recipe for oven-baked thick bacon. I laid the bacon on the tinfoil (not touching), peppered it (I love pepper on bacon) and stuck it in the oven for 10 minutes. Then I used some tongs to turn it over and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Sidebar: I always crinkle the aluminum foil before putting in on the sheet tray. That gives the grease somewhere to go.

About 10 minutes later, all the smoke alarms started screaming “Fire!” So, I raced out of bed (and the morning news) and checked. Sure enough, the damn bacon burned!!!

Sidebar: I noticed when I was putting it down that it wasn’t all that “thick” in spite of the packaging. That was probably the problem.

I pulled the sheet pan, tossed the burnt bacon and foil and then let the pan cool. Then I started again. But, there were problems. That was the last sheet of my wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil (so it went on the grocery list). So, I had to join together two regular sheets, then crumble and spread.

I decided to shave and shower. I got in the shower and finally was able to breathe through my nose. I sat on my shower chair enjoying the moment, until the water started to get cold. It was the best I’d felt in two days!

Back in the kitchen, I baked another sheet pan of bacon. I turned it over after 10 minutes, but this time I watched it like a hawk. I pulled it and set the bacon on some paper towels.

Inspired, I thought I’d make some hash browns and maybe some over-easy eggs to go with my bacon. I peeled two russet potatoes and then grated them into a glass bowl. I filled the bowl with water and swirled it until it got cloudy I drained it and then refilled it again.

But, by that time, the good feeling from the shower was wearing off. I ended up putting the bacon in a baggie and sticking the drained raw potatoes in the fridge. I went back to bed.

I spent the rest of Friday either in bed on in my chair. I switched places every few hours so I didn’t hurt my back.

Vicky sent me many text messages. She stayed home Friday as well, so I’m not sure if she felt bad for getting me sick or was just lonely.

I never did eat anything Friday, so when I woke up on Saturday, I got back to work on that breakfast. I fried the potatoes in butter after seasoning them with salt and pepper. I let them get a good crust and flipped them over. When they were done, I set them aside and fried to eggs over easy and warmed up the bacon.

I ate one egg, two bites of hash browns and one strip of bacon. That was all my poor throat could take. I put the rest in the trash.

I went back to bed. I couldn’t eat, but I could drink. So, I alternated between ice cold cranberry juice and hot coffee or tea.

My daughter Melissa called in the afternoon and we talked for a while (at least I tried to talk).

I realized I had to eat something, so I got my Dutch oven and dumped two boxes of chicken stock in it. Then I sliced up two small onions, some celery and a carrot. I would have used two carrots, but I only had one in the fridge. I added in some salt, pepper and two bay leaves.

I took two chicken breasts and poached them in my stock. When they were fully cooked, I diced them and added them back to the soup. While that got happy, I made some wide egg noodles in another pot. After I drained them, I added butter, dried parsley of some of my frozen chives.

I mixed some of the noodles and some of the soup in a bowl and ate my dinner. My taste buds are shot, so I couldn’t tell you if it was good. But it felt good on my throat.

I tried to use Livestream to watch the boxing at Fort Jackson, but couldn’t get the search bar to work. Probably just me, being dumb.

Since I had the Roku set up, I ended up watching “The Grey” again. Then I tried to sleep, but kept waking up to blow my nose.