duck-shaped pain

And I have one massive cold. Courtesy of some sneezing, hacking woman sitting in front of me on the plane to Newark. Ever have a feeling of doom? I did, sitting behind her, imagining each just-released rhinovirus attacking my eyes and nose with glee.

Despite this, I have to go out and purchase items for and then prepare Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Which will be fun. All these other people rushing about, also trying to select last-minute food items, all unaware that I am currently on my last nerve and that any one of them might be in danger of stepping on it. Sickness can just bring out the evil in some people, namely me.

Favorite cold remedies:

• Hot lemonade. Take one lemon and cut it in half. Slice one half into little pieces and place in a tall glass or big mug, along with some honey and possibly some cinnamon. Squeeze the juice of the other lemon half into the glass, and then fill with hot water. Stir. Drink. Take a nap. [1]

• Mugfuls of Echinacea Cold Care tea, with honey and lemon, followed by several hours of decorating shows on TV.

• A lot of vitamins, taken while listening to the stereo really loud.

• Eating salmon, while trying to avoid work (Note: since I am still on vacation, this remedy cannot currently be used).

• Sleeping for eleven hours in a row, then groggily reading all the catalogs that came in that day's mail

I have to admit it: I'm sort of sick of traveling. Right now, being at home in my pajamas, drinking coffee made to my own personal standards (not like I didn't drink a lot of good coffee while away, it's just that I enjoy having control over what I drink once again), seems like the best thing in the world. But we'll see how I feel in a few days, after enduring Thanksgiving with my crabby grandmother who doesn't like anything that I cook, and exhausting the delights of my town for the 1,000th time. Planning to spend the last two weeks of my vacation hanging around the house and reading books sounds tempting when I think about it, but we'll see what actually happens. A few days of that and I just might set off again for somewhere else.

Yes, I am dreadfully behind on the trip reports. Not only am I due to write about what I did in NYC, I still haven't reported in on Tucson. I assure you that they're coming, though -- I just have to sort things out in my brain.

[1] This recipe is taken (I didn't change anything except the wording, so I don't think I can claim to have "adapted" it, the usual phrase for such recipe theft) from Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking, which is a good read and has other useful things in it besides hot lemonade.

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