There was another Word Tsunami about 2am. I don’t know what that’s all about. All these wee hour ramblings. Anyway, not only was I up half the night hitting the keys but then I woke up at 6.30! My body clock is still operating to my regular work schedule! Still, I realize that these days I’m at my best in the mornings and try to make the most of my energy burst! I decide to seize the moment and bake some Banana Bread, the idea being that I can bake it, freeze it and serve it up for friends and family should I be lucky enough to get any visitors next week. Preparation is everything! By the time David wakes up and comes to the kitchen to make his lunch, it looks like someone has detonated a bomb in the kitchen. There is stuff everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. You would never believe that I once worked at McDonalds and worked to a strict Clean-As-You-Go policy! The clean up operation is pretty immense and looks set to make me late to meet my brother Ryan at 9am.
I am only going to North Sydney and under normal circumstances this would have been a pleasant 20 minute stroll. However, circumstances these days aren’t exactly normal and walking from one end of the apartment to the other can be quite exhausting! I’m starting to realize my limitations, and am learning to adapt to them. So instead of walking, I take the train. Secretly, I relish the opportunity to squeeze myself in like a sardine on a busy commuter train, because I won’t be able to do this for at least a week once I’m radioactive! Being squashed never felt so good!
It’s a gloriously sunny day and Ryan treats me to a delicious iodine free breakfast and we have a good catch up. After our little rendezvous, I take the short walk to the library. It’s probably only five minutes round the corner but it feels like a marathon. It’s so funny to think that a month ago, I could have run from my house to North Sydney and back twice and now this little errand has me flat on my back! I’m totally spent by the time I get home. While it’s frustrating to be so exhausted after doing so little, once again, I realize how lucky I am, my fatigue is temporary, some people live their whole lives just like this. It made me think of my mum and her lupus. I guess this is how she feels when she has a “flare” and I feel overcome with a wave of empathy.
David phones to say that my Dorothy Perkins order has arrived and I’m stoked. That means I can get to try on all my new clothes tonight. I was stressing out that if they didn’t arrive before I went in for treatment, I wouldn’t want to try them on for a couple of weeks in case I contaminated them!
As usual I have my priorities in order and top of the list is Food! I’m really anxious that when I go into hospital for treatment tomorrow a) the food will be gross and b) it won’t be iodine free (or as iodine free as I’d like) c) it will be fatty and send my weight watchers points rocketing into orbit. I can’t control much about the treatment, but at least I’ll sleep easy knowing that I can eat something healthy and delicious! This motivates me to get off the sofa for a bit of a cook off and some more kitchen mayhem. No matter how tired I am, I can always find a bit of energy for baking.
First on the menu are Cranberry Chewies¸ yummy but healthy mini meringues and iodine free! While I’m there I also knock up some Sliced Tomato, Basil and Red Onion Salad which is great on it’s own or with some cardboardy rice cakes. It’s quick to make and delicious to eat!
Later in the day after a little rest, and hanging out with my friend Pippa, I try out a new iodine free recipe for dinner – Lamb Stoba – a really yummy curry from the Caribbean. While I’m there I knock up some more Roasted Pumpkin and Cumin Dip and some Mini Ham and Corn Quiches for David. It’s a great way to use up the egg yolks that I saved from my Cranberry Chewies earlier in the day. The kitchen’s a disgrace! I’m a kitchen terrorist!
The weather takes a turn for the worst and Sydney is soaked in a super storm, so big in fact, that it cuts the power to the train line that David is travelling home on. A journey that usually takes 20 minutes takes an hour and 40! The plus side is that I get time to restore order to the heart of the home and the curry flavours have plenty of time to develop! He arrives home, tired, wet and with my bag of super new cool clothes.
We almost sit on top of each other when we’re watching telly just because we can, at least for tonight. It’s also the last night we’ll sleep in the same bed for nearly two weeks which is sure to weird us out, although I’m sure what with my midnight word tsunamis and champion doona tossing David won’t miss me that much! And I know it’s corny but I’m sure it’s true, absence makes the heart grow fonder!
