OK, this is getting old

Enjoying the sleeping bag I slept in for a while last night

You are getting Miikka pictures because I have spent four of the last five days on my couch, and he is the only bit of scenery I have had lately. Why would I do such a lazy sort of thing, you may well ask? Because I have a cold. A mean cold that was deceptively mild at first, then started to get nasty. I mean, after spending Wednesday afternoon and Thursday lolling around in a state of malaise, Friday morning I thought myself if not fully recovered, at least well enough to return to work. Wrong - by Friday evening I was worse than I had been, with an unpleasant cough to boot. That cough and its friend sinus pressure stuck around all day Saturday and Sunday, and are just now starting to recede (fingers crossed that they are indeed going away). The thing is, I can't tell if this cold is worse than any I have had in recent years, or if it is just that I can't take any of the most expedient cold remedies on account of the infant inconvenience (to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite novels) and thus just feel if more keenly. Either way, I hope the cold is on the way out, because my couch is starting to feel molded to my body. And as much as I enjoy being home during the day and having the dog sit on me all the time, I am ready to be up and about.

Giving me the stink-eye for disturbing his nap with paparazzi photos.

And now this...

Bleh! On top of it being too hot, now I have a lovely summer cold. It doesn't seem right, to be sick in the middle of summer. Sickness is something that happens when it is cold outside, and you need lots of blankets and hot chocolate or tea. Needing a large box of tissues and feeling crummy just doesn't go well with sun. I guess I am getting the day off I wanted last week, but this isn't really how I would have chosen to take it. Also, when I am sick, I just want my mommy!

 On the beach of Lake Ontario

Speaking of my mommy, since I have been feeling a bit off all week (even before I actually felt crummy), I have missed pointing out my mother's birthday. I did send her a birthday gift, so don't worry that I missed it entirely. Anyway, here is my public acknowledgment: Happy Birthday Mom!

 Massachusetts (I think), Fall 1979

What a cute little baby. Mom was just a year or two older than I am now.

1982, Christmas? Mom, me, and grandma.

 And, tomorrow is also her mother, Betty Jean Seifer Van Dyke's, 88th birthday! What a wonderful pair of ladies. I love you both so much, and thank you for helping me become the woman I am.