Day: No idea....

I feel like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. Nearly three weeks ago, I was looking forward to my husband finishing his exams and having a few days off to hike in the mountains in the spring, take some day trips and eat out with the family visiting. Instead, I ended up spending two weeks lying on the sofa with stomach cramps, frequent trips to the loo, and attempting to drink my own bodyweight in water every day.

Eventually I gave in after 9 days and went to the doctor, who surmised some sort of gastroenteritis, and it would go away eventually. I left disappointed, $120 lighter, and with a tub of pills to help with the stomach cramps. The pills seemed to make everything worse, so I gave up on them, and resorted to self medication. Essentially, what I had was virus based, and my body was still trying to get rid of whatever was in my stomach, so I needed to help it kill anything still in there. We've all seen what Coke does to pennies, so a can (emptied from height into a glass to get rid of excess gas) before dinner, seemed a good idea.

Anyway, it seems to have cured me, and I'm now back to my terrible cake and coffee habit. The weather has turned grey and cloud shrouds the top of the mountains, bringing a dusting of snow again. The sun will break through later and melt it all, and I may take my afternoon treat on one of the many terraces which have sprung up along main street.

During my hibernation, time seems to have sped up. I've missed several gym classes, havent run for a month, the grass is turning green, and the air is warm and smells of summer. We only have 6 weeks left of our expedition, and my thoughts turn to home and work, while still trying to make the most of our time here. I still want to do more hiking, climb outside, go rafting, paddle on a lake, and some crazy part of me is considering mountain biking.

However, before then I need to tackle the enormous pile of washing, and the legion of ants who have decided highway 1 runs through the gap in the side door and out through the bathroom window. Then I can stretch my wings, and wander out into the world afresh, to continue research for my never-to-be-published novel.