Monday, September 23, 2013

Booooo?

Poor neglected Blogger. :(
I  have been really sick lately though. *cough*hack*cough*
Though I feel MORE bad for the husband than for me. Poor guy. Ended up spending our 22nd anniversary in the hospital - for me. (Where no food was served. Worst anniversary dinner ever. lol)

It wasn't all bad that day though because, in addition to some other things, he gave me a trio of worry warts as a gifts:
Photo credit to Blobhouse because, really, I can't promote her stuff any better than this. It's PERFECT.

How prophetic! Ha! We had laughed and laughed over Blobhouse's whole Etsy shop a while back but especially the worry warts. Those faces SLAY me. (I love EVERYTHING in that shop though. Seriously.) But I hadn't forgotten about them since then so I really did love being surprised with my own warts. 

And then the day after the hospital (which came with some new meds and more doctor appointments to line up) I started to come down with a vicious head cold that, two weeks later, I'm still dealing with. Duh, right? OF COURSE ALL THE SICK PEOPLE ARE AT THE HOSPITAL. IT'S PAR FOR THE COURSE YOU WILL CATCH THE PLAGUE THERE. Cue even MORE ferrying about to doctor appointments and more testing and it's all so MUCH FUN, I can't even. (Nothing definitive yet but beta blockers seem to be helping even without knowing the cause of my heart issues and I have some nifty tranquilizers that scare the crap out me that could be helpful but, honestly, I'm too scared of them to take them.) 

Oh hey, did I mention he was on vacation this whole time too??? I brought down our anniversary AND his vacation. Go me? Heh.

In between me snotting and coughing (and being passed out from sipping from a Nyquil bottle 24/7 because it's the only thing that WORKS now that the meth-heads have stolen the good cold medicine from us) we did manage to get out a couple times though. Once to New London to see an art installation at an American art museum on Louis Tiffany. No pics (see: sick) but it was definitely worth the trip. (This state has more bloody "New" cities than it can shake a stick at though. I think it was New London? Hell, it could have been New Britain. I WAS SICK. AND NOT PAYING ATTENTION. Also, there are a million city and towns here that start with 'New'. lol)

But the real prize was a trip to.....

The Bronx Zoo.
YOU CAN JUST DRIVE THERE? It never occurred to me before but.......YOU TOTALLY CAN.
The impetus for this was an ad I saw in the paper here for a bus trip back in July. That date didn't work for me but it got me thinking....YOU CAN DRIVE THERE FROM HERE. So we did. 
2 1/2 hours down and pretty much traffic free - no complaints at all!

(We will not talk about the drive back because the 95 once you get BACK into Connecticut is the most miserable stretch of epically awful traffic every_single_time_we_do_it_no_matter_the_time_of_day and GAH! Why is it so bad? It's like a 25 mile stretch of HELL. It's literally like falling into a wormhole and coming out into HELL. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Man, I am *so* glad I don't live anywhere near that end of the state.)

Anyhoo - BRONX ZOO. YAY. Totally a bucket list thing for me. It's one of the world's biggest zoos, in operation since 1899 with some of the original buildings from wayyyy back still in use. (The architecture alone is beautiful.) If you love zoos, how could you not want to go? 

Verdict? It was awesome. And big. So so so so so big. We used up every last minute of the 7 hours the zoo is open to see everything. And we had to HUSTLE at the end, I tell you. For real. You can not overstate how big this zoo this. (My Fitbit recorded us walking SEVEN MILES while we were there. No joke!)

The favorite was the lowland gorillas. They have a really BIG enclosure that wraps around and around (and even over you) but a lot of them like to spend their time up right against the glass. I've seen gorillas before but never so close and at eye level. You could literally sit right NEXT to them, with just a slip of glass between you. Even hold your hand up against their hand, if you want. (And they do interact with you at times.) They stare at you AND through at the same time. It's uncomfortable, to be honest, and makes you think about a lot of.......stuff. (Also? Very humbling.) I would go back just for this. 

Worth the trip if you can make it. :)
I felt pretty good while we were there, magically (?), and then my face blew up on the drive home for some reason and I was a drippy, swollen, cherry red eyed sad sack of a mess by the time we got home. I have no idea why it waited until we were finished with the zoo part of the day but I was so thankful it held off like that. WHEW.

Wish we could have gotten out more but........you know. Stuff happens. 

Also good that week:
HONEY HONEY HONEY HONEY. 
HONEY WAS HARVESTED.
This year's stuff is the darker colored honey. What a difference from last year, huh??
Funny how that works out. 
Now have almost 65 bottles of new honey so this year was a success. THANK YOU.
Kind of nice after both hives collapsing last year. 
Fingers crossed they live through the winter now! :)

More stitchy stuff to update now that *light cough* I'm starting to feel better but I'll save it for a post of it's own. :)

15 comments:

Robin in Virginia said...

I had a chuckle over your description of that stretch of I-95! It was totally accurate and it sort of reminds me of the I-495 stretch that goes around Washington DC.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

Robin in Virginia

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling better soon. Glad you had such a great time at the zoo.

Our local zoo is pitiful and on the verge of being shut down by the state, but my *hometown* zoo --- The Philadelphia Zoo is AWESOME!

I feel about I-4 in Florida, the same way you do about I-95. The stretch between downtown Orlando and Lakeland is a horror ride every single time.

Margaret said...

Oh gosh, sounds like you and DH have been suffering big time. Such a bummer!!!! Hope you're both feeling back to normal really soon if you're not yet. We used to go to the Bronx Zoo constantly -- it's an easy drive from us. But with the kids being grown up now, we haven't been in ages. It really is a wonderful zoo -- I think we're spoiled for any other ones now. Love those worry warts! I have to go look at that etsy shop!

Veronica said...

Yikes! Hope you're feeling a lot better now?

The zoo sure sounds like a fun place to visit. Gotta keep that in mind if I ever visit there. What a handsome creature that gorilla is.

Hugs,
Veronica.

Cath said...

Hope you feel better soon . Both kids have the crud , so I will probably start my winter long cold earlier than usual .x

Annie said...

Ugh.. no fun to be so sick. I really feel for you. I'm glad to see it didn't affect your incredible sense of humor!

Those worry warts are a riot. Great anniversary gift (kind of).

And how nice that you were able to do that Zoo trip. I just wonder what those gorillas are thinking!

That's a lot of honey! Good to put in tea for sore throats.

Hope you get all better soon. You have too much to do to be sick!

Vickie said...

Oh Melanie! I hope and pray for good health for you!
We have a very good zoo, the Milwaukee County Zoo. I know EXACTLY what you are saying with the gorillas. I gotta say, it is actually disturbing to me. I have such mixed feeling on the zoo. Always have. Such beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful creatures.

Jackie's Stitches said...

I hope you feel better soon, it sounds like you've had a really tough time of it. Happy Belated Anniversary to you both!

Catherine said...

So sorry to hear you have been under the weather! I do hope you are feeling better and that your hubby doesn't come down with it now. Love, love, love those worry warts and wow, your own honey!! Yummy!!

Penny said...

Sounds like a miserable time health wise. Hope you are feeling much better soon! I will have to remember Nyquil - when my son was sick recently, all of the things that used to work didn't help at all. The zoo sounds fabulous - glad you enjoyed it! Those worry warts gave me a good laugh. :) Wishing you and your husband a happy anniversary!

Marsha said...

I spent some time on that stretch of I95 two weeks ago. I don't miss it. It was the worst part of a 2000 mile road trip. The Cape was worth it though. Anyway, hope you feel better real soon. Happy Anniversary, warts and all!

valerie said...

Happy Anniversary!! Sorry to hear you were so sick tho. No fun! I hope that you are on the mend. The Bronx Zoo sounds amazing! I'm glad you had a fun time.

Carol said...

Oh, Melanie, your September sounds even worse than my August! I'm so sorry you had to spend time at the hospital and then pick up a darn cold on top of everything else. (Really had to laugh at your meth-head comment, though :)

I sure hope you are feeling better very soon--give all your worries to those worry warts. HA!! I LOVE THEM!! Thanks for the link to her Etsy shop.

So glad you were able to get out and do a couple of fun things--the zoo must have been wonderful judging by the photo of the gorilla AND the fact that you walked 7 miles!!

So glad your honeybees came through for you this year! Will you be eating all of it or selling it?

Take good care now and enjoy this lovely fall weather...

Maggee said...

that is a terrible thing, to be sick all this time. I know. I have pneumonia right now... oh joy! But the good news is that I am catching up on blog reading! The worry warts are so funny! Hope you feel better! Hugs!

Julie said...

How awful for you (and hubby), I hope you are well on the mend now and feeling much better. The zoo trip sounds like an amazing place to go.
the worry warts are fun!