I’M sick all night, finally getting some respite about 5am…and some sleep.
Of course, the kids are up early…that’s OK tho’ – while I’m not feeling great, I’m a lot better.
It’s short-lived tho’ – an hour or so later the lower abdomen discomfort and subsequent vomiting hits back.
By early evening Mikey’s arrived…and Margaret and Les have decided that they should call NHS24. After early two hours on hold Margaret’s had enough and takes me to Forth Valley hospital in the snow.
A&E is mobbed and it’s three hours before I see triage nurse Sandra…she’s fantastic and arranges a canula, a range of blood tests to be analysed while we wait to see a doctor….and some intravenous stuff to try and stop the vomiting.
Even better, we’re show. Through to a more private waiting area…
UP early to get the smoker fired up and the turkey out of it’s brine.
Once things are underway for later we have some Buck’s Fizz and open some presents – we have a family ‘secret Santa’ but Margaret and I have presents for each other and have included Matty and Les.
I’m starting to feel a bit unwell tho’ – a tender and uncomfortable lower abdomen. Kinda like Tuesday.
It’s so bad that I have to go for a lie down not long after Catriona and the kids arrive 🙁
The turkey’s making good progress in the smoker and I give Margaret final instructions on finishing it off.
Once I’ve made a brine and submerged the turkey I get some cherry stuffing made and ready for the oven…
AFTER a bit of lie in we have breakfast and I prepare a nine for the turkey…we have to improvise a brining bag which will, hopefully, do the job. If I see a benefit from the brining process we’ll get a suitable food-grade tub or something for the future.
Margaret and I put up some more lights outside – the wee Christmas tree outside the front door and some round the decking balustrade.
I venture out to pick up the car which we left a few villages away last night. The weather’s not great but I’m halfway when the drizzle turns to torrential rain and the winds whipping up a bit of a storm. I call home and Les comes to rescue me.
Back home I start on the cherry stuffing for tomorrow. Takes a little longer than I plan but it looks good. Matty arrives just as I’m getting it into the oven…then all we need to do tomorrow is heat it through.
After dinner we take a walk along to see Betty, Kirsty and Laurie for a wee while then back home for a nightcap…
I’M busy in the studio when Margaret goes to visit Catriona and the kids to drop off an engraved board I made for the kids to lay out stuff for Santa’s visit.
I take a wee break and go along to see Betty and amn’t long home when Les arrives. We have a coffee and some Christmas cake then Margaret gets back – she’s got some extra shopping – and we have an early dinner before heading to the village hall for a community carol singing event. The first one since covid!
Next we drive along to Anna’s a few villages away for a wee party then jump on the last bus home.
Not too late so we watch a film and have a few glasses of red…and maybe a snack or two…
A LOT better this morning…but still a bit delicate.
My usual Thursday morning guitar student arrives bang on time and we have a good wee session.
I hit the studio and post a rough’n’dirty video fo Blue Christmas to my TikTok account and around some other social media and get a call from the school in Balloch saying none of the kids are around today, so no need to go in. Shame, but actually, I’m still not feeling great…so not too bothered.
There’s some custom keyrings to be made for a kids outdoor event so I manage to get them done then have a fairly lazy remainder of the day…still feeling a little sorry for myself…
..the sickness continues. Was meant to be on a day out to Loch Lomond Breweries with Martyn and the Urbancroft folks and bummed to be missing it.
Late afternoon I haven’t been sick for a good hour or so but still ‘out of it’ and feeling awful. Managed to doze a little in between bouts…then an overwhelming spew erupts and i crash. An hour later I wake up feeling A LOT better..still not right, but an awful lot better.
I manage a glass of water without it coming back up…then some rehydration formula Margaret picked up at the pharmacy, I get up for a while and watch the tennis…then back to bed….another ‘lost’ 24 hours.
UP early to get the oven on and the bread that shoulda been baked yesterday on the go.
While it’s baking I have a shower and get some bits and bobs sorted out..then wait another hour for the load to cool before breakfast. Olive and sundried tomato sourdough toast with egg bites on the side 🙂
There’s some audio to sort out for Betty then i record a quick’n’dirty version of Blue Christmas for TikTok…the machine is out of memory so I restart and go for lunch.
Been feeling a bit odd since mid-morning and still feel weird after lunch. i go for a lie down…then the spewing thing starts. Jeez.
I WAKE up to put the oven on and realise I didn’t prepare the bread last night…ah well, it’ll just have to wait ’til tomorrow.
After my first guitar session of the day – on Zoom – I ho back to the office and carry on producing some custom West Highland Way Gifts’ orders.
Lunch is air fried tofu and rice then I investigate some of the settings on OBS for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream – I really need to work out some of the tech issues!
Then it’s back onto my accounts until evening and another session with one of my Zoom guitar students followed by my Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook – the last of the year.
After dinner we take a walk along to see Betty and help out with some stuff then it’s back home and a few bits and bobs to get done before bed,
THERE’S a bunch of custom profits to be made for a West Highland Gifts’ customer so I get busy in the office until it’s time to head to Bo’ness.
We’re off to the ‘Santa train’ and meeting Catriona, Will and the kids ate the railway.
First up, some lunch, then a look round the railway museum until out train leaves at 3pm.
Catriona’s booked a private compartment and we enjoy coffee, juice and mince pies while various entertainers stop by to keep the kids amused. There’s a brief stop at the ‘North Pole’ destination where the kids post their letters to Santa, then back on the train…and a visit from Santa himself. The kids love it.
When we get home I’m back in the office for a while..then make some jambalaya..then we sort some Christmas cards. Trying to really cut back this year, but there’s a few that we still like to send.
Finally get the Andouille sausage onto the smoker…
ANOTHER long lie then after breakfast I pick up Betty’s paper from the shop and pop along to visit.
There’s a fair bit of stuff needing done in the studio and I potter about between there and the office…in between times I get the smoker fired up and ready for the Andouille sausage I made yesterday.
Smoking the sausage is one of the hardest jobs…the smoker has to be kept at really low temperature and crept up to 160 degrees farenheit over the duration of the smoke. It’s dark by the time they’re ready and have to be sprayed with water and hung in front of a fan (outside) for an hour before going in the fridge. Some of it is destined for jambalaya tomorrow (Sunday) night.
