Well, this was a week I wasn’t anticipating. Seven days on from my first Covid symptoms and I can report that I feel as though I am over it. I am grateful I prioritised getting my Covid booster as I think that definitely made a difference; apart from one night with a fever and dizzy spells, my symptoms mimicked a mild cold that left me as quickly as it arrived. I am still easily tired, but from what I’ve read, that may hang around for a couple of weeks. I am still officially in quarantine though as I never got my test done until the Tuesday, and it is seven days quarantine from your test, not from when your symptoms appear. Two of my teens have now succumbed, symptoms for them began on Thursday. They are not too sick, more glassy eyed and lethargic with runny noses and mild coughs, my daughter reported the dizziness that I felt on my first night, and my son says he has total body aches and pains. Such a strange virus, the way it afflicts people differently. Both have been double vaccinated and so far, it seems to be offering them some protection in lightening the severity of the illness. My other son remains Covid free, but he lives downstairs in the man-cave that Zeus is so fond of and he’s been totally keeping to himself, eating his meals alone and he even has his own bathroom. I am quite confident he may have dodged it.
In other news, it was my birthday on Tuesday and I bought this as an addition to my tea cabinet:
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What Zeus has been up to:
Zeus has been enjoying some company for his afternoon chill. He always sits on the back deck in the afternoon hours, catching the breeze and surveying his kingdom. I love this photo of my daughter with Zeus: together but alone. He’s happy to have her company, just as long as she doesn’t interrupt his routine!
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Joke of the Week:
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What I’ve been watching:
I’ve been reading a lot during the day, but tiredness has seen me turning on the TV at night. Fortunately, I have found more than enough to watch and keep me entertained. The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary special was delightful, a real trip down memory lane with my kids watching as well and reminiscing on their own lives as they were when each book and movie came out. The Cleaning Lady is a weekly show and only two episodes have been released so far, but I am already hooked and looking forward to the next one. Wolf Like Me was a refreshingly different sort of love story, I really enjoyed it. A Discovery of Witches wrapped up nicely with its third season, I like it when a series finishes properly. I Know What You Did Last Summer was good, quite the fright night with the horror, but it went a bit loopy at the end in terms of who the killer was…one of those twists where it’s so unlikely it remains unbelievable. There was also an obscene amount of sex and drugs and overall, everyone was pretty horrible and shallow with little redemption on show. Not my favourite series, that’s for sure.
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What I’ve been reading:
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Until next week!
Theresa Smith Writes 
Well, what a week indeed.
A birthday you won’t forget, I expect, but hopefully you’ll be able to celebrate it properly in due course.
Take care, my friend!
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A birthday to remember, that’s for sure.
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Covid is not the best birthday surprise but the teapot and teacup are lovely and I hope it keeps you going and that your energy levels return quickly.
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Thank you!
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I’ve not done much reading lately. I say it’s because I’m behind in my reviewing but not sure I’ve been in a reading mood anyway. I don’t seem to have many books (or ones I’ve requested) that were published in January anyway, so the ones I’ve read aren’t published until Feb.
What channel / service is The Cleaning Lady on? I saw it’s an IMDb series but wasn’t sure what that’s shown on?
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It’s on Binge. Most of what I watch nowadays seems to be.
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A memorable birthday! My two eldest had covid while the rest of us were away – it was very difficult knowing they were ill and not being able to be with them. Like you, they had mild symptoms (sore throat and stuffy nose) that passed within 2-3 days. I do worry about the longer term impact, particularly as one of my boys is asthmatic.
I started Wolf Like Me but unlikely to finish – I liked it well enough but wasn’t gripped. I’m still watching Succession (almost finished S2), and from what I’ve heard, S3 is the best.
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I’ve been eyeing off Succession.
That would have been tough, not being there when your kids were sick! I am still quite surprised it didn’t affect my asthma. I hope nothing sinister crops up long term, but I honestly have never had a cold or flu before that hasn’t affected my asthma adversely, so frankly, it’s weird that Covid hasn’t. It didn’t even exacerbate my symptoms while I was sick with it.
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And my asthmatic son said the same – I think all the worry around the first strains of Covid and ventilators were playing on my mind! There are still four of us in the household who have not had it, so we are continuing to be very careful about avoiding exposure (I am not subscribing to the ‘everyone will get it eventually’ idea, and as I work with extremely vulnerable people, I need to be extra careful).
If you decide to watch Succession, block out a significant chunk of time – three seasons, each with 10+ hour-long episodes. It is very, very interesting.
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Oh, I wondered if your asthmatic son had experienced the same. He was no doubt bracing himself like I was and doubling down on the preventers.
I think the view that everyone will get it eventually is very fatalistic and encouraged by politicians as a means of justifying their decisions of giving up. While my case was mild, it’s been mighty inconvenient and has cost me financially to have it. I was also very worried initially as the only parent in the household. Anyone rushing out to get it needs to bear in mind that you will be quarantined for at least 7 days and if you don’t get sick leave, you don’t get a paid ‘holiday’ – not everyone qualifies for the government assistance. The more people who get the booster shot, the better, I would really like to see that become a requirement rather than an encouragement.
I am in need of a longer series, I have been flitting around with short ones and then feeling let down once they are over.
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Gosh Theresa, Covid for your birthday? Not the best present I’d imagine.
Glad to know you’re feeling better and wishing you a speedy full recovery xx
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Thanks Fiona. It wasn’t the best present, that’s for sure. Despite that, I still did have a lovely day with the kids. Luckily I wasn’t too sick.
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Happy birthday!! Sounds like it’s been memorable in its own way. Love the teapot! 🙂 Much love to you and yours. xx
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Thanks Kim. Definitely memorable, that’s for sure, but it certainly wasn’t all bad.
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Glad you’re feeling better, but bummer to be sick on your birthday! Hope it was happy anyway. And I hope you’re enjoying The Paris Book Seller… I put up my review recently.
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It was still a happy day, thanks!
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Relieved to hear you might be over the worst of the Covid and glad you were still able to spoil yourself for your birthday. I can highly recommend Succession too, I think you’ll love it 😀
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Definitely on my list now!
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Belated Happy Birthday… love your gift for yourself… very pretty.
Sorry to hear the three of you got COVID, hope it doesn’t return. I don’t blame your other son for keeping his distance. It’s a strange thing in that it affects some, not others.. and there are so many variations. Be kind to yourself.. from what family who have had it say, the tiredness stays for quite awhile.
We loved revisiting Harry Potter also.. I’ll be interested to read your review re The Paris Bookseller, looks interesting..great cover. Take care..
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I certainly hope it doesn’t return! I’d like to think I have some immunity now with having had it along with being triple vaccinated. My other son remained Covid free, he did well to avoid it.
My review of The Paris Bookseller is up on the blog now, it was a wonderful read, for sure.
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I hope your son does avoid it…and that is the end of it for you.
Thanks, I’ll look forward to reading your review.. it’s on my pile of ‘waiting to be read’ now 🙂
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I’m sure it’s a book you’ll enjoy.
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Oh doll 💔 what a rotten birthday “surprise”! That really stinks, but I’m very glad it sounds like you and the young’uns are coming through it (relatively) unscathed. I hope you’ve been treating yourself well, and that Zeus is giving you lots of healing licks and snuggles!
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Zeus is the man, that’s for sure, always willing to volunteer to sit beside you and do nothing but snuggle in for pats for ages! He’s a professional at that! How is your adorable little dog?
We’re all okay, recovered well and quite rapidly, all things considered.
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So sorry to hear you’ve all had Covid…and during your birthday week!!
B21, B24 + GF have all had Covid, but Mr Books & I have dodged it so far. Hopefully, once the tiredness eases you’ll be able to get stuck into lots of good reading (& tea drinking).
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I have read more than usual in the last week and I’m hoping that it sets me on a good streak for the year. The exhaustion has been more of an all body tiredness rather than a going to sleep tiredness in the recent week, and I can read when I feel like that. As opposed to nodding off in my chair like I was beforehand!
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Nodding off in my chair is my regular after work story!! 😂
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