This Week is Sure Thing Week

~ Jenny

Last week I had a bad cold: runny nose, bad cough, sneezing, shortness of breath, fatigue. This week I’ve just had fatigue–typing this in bed–so I googled for causes of fatigue, and found this:

“Dr. Katherine Poehling, an infectious disease specialist and member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told NBC News that a cough, congestion, runny nose and fatigue appear to be prominent symptoms with the omicron variant. But unlike delta, many patients are not losing their taste or smell.”

I am annoyed. I am used to getting sick and knowing why. I throw up, I have the flu. I sneeze and cough, I have a cold or allergies. I start to gasp, it’s an asthma attack. Only now, those all can be Covid, the Everything Virus. I mean, a runny nose is always allergies or a cold, but now it might be The Plague. It’s the uncertainty that’s kneecapping me.

You know what I like? Sure things.

If I reread Murderbot, I will enjoy it, for sure.

If I get a Caesar Salad Pizza (chicken, romaine & parmesan cheese)
with Caesar dressing at the Villa Capri, it will be delicious.

If I snuggle under an electric blanket with two dogs and a cat, it will be cosy.

All of this has made me realize that The Sure Thing is my major comfort right now. So I’m going to go reheat a Capri Everything Pizza (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions & peppers, so not really everything but enough) and watch Brendan Fraser own the desert in The Mummy again.

I love a Sure Thing.

89 thoughts on “This Week is Sure Thing Week”

  1. It’s scary and unsettling right now (again). I’m going to go watch Encanto for the millionth time, and sing along to We Don’t Talk About Bruno at the top of my voice. That’s what I need right now.

    1. Not sure what the point would be. I think testing is for deciding to get on a plane or go to a party. I go out about every ten days, masked, and social distance, and I did not go out while I was sick. So unless a test can show me that I was sick (antibodies test), I’m pretty sure it’ll be negative.

      Having said that, I ordered the tests from the gov’t, so we’ll see what that shows.

      1. I tried to order the tests. Turns out the dotter already did, and they said “No more than four to a household.” Bah. Humbug.

      3. I was flattened by a cold, similar symptoms to yours, Jenny. I got tested and the results came back negative for COVID. Feels good to know.(Also feels good to be mostly over the symptoms!) Be well soon.

  3. I don’t know about sure things, but I know I’m scared to get sick regardless of my belief in science and lots of being careful, and that is both a new feeling and an unpleasant one.

  4. Brendan Fraser…sigh.

    If the rumours are right, his career tanked due to Weinstein – apparently he complained about the way an actress was treated by Weinstein. Such a lovely man!

  5. Lol! I thought your post might be leading to watching “The Sure Thing” with John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. It’s old, but it holds up. If by some chance you have not seen it, I recommend giving it a try. A real little gem of a romance. And feel better soon!

    2. Not my fave. The whole standing-outside-with-a-boombox-when-she-said-to-go-away gives me stalker vibes. Also the idea of guy who only wants to live in service to his girl is not a good one for me. I like partnership love stories.

      But it is a classic and much loved, so I get your admiration. I just have Issues. I don’t like that “You complete me” line, either.

      Possibly I should not be writing romance.

      1. I think that’s Say Anything with the boom box. The Sure Thing is a lovely college road trip movie. John Cusack was my GUY back in the day.

        2. Cassandra is right. “Say Anything” is also John Cusack, and a lot of people seem to love that movie, but I don’t care for it. “The Sure Thing” is early Rob Reiner, and has a very different feel.

        3. You’re right. They meet in English class and end up on a cross-country road trip wit Tim Robbins singing show tunes. You’re right, I liked that one a lot.

          1. One of the few feminist films made in the ‘80’s. And has some of the best lines ever: “I bet these people think they’re having a good time.”

          2. Wasn’t Ione Skye, in Say Anything? Why would I know that? I watched Enchanted last week. Laying in bed watching Romcons sounds good.

            My world revolves around Covid. I used to think I had 5 different types of fatal diseases a day. This has all been replaced with covid. Chills-Covid. Congestion-Covid. Diarrhea, Vomiting-Covid. Cough-Covid It’s remarkably versatile. The little black dress of disease. Nurses are the best hypochondriacs.

  6. Take care Jenny, plenty of hot fluids and bed rest. You might just have burn out … fatigue is a result of lots of things in these stressful times. Or putting in your mail box with a sledge hammer might have strained you and you didn’t rest enough to recover, so the next cold passing laid you low. Also the Brendan Fraser Mummy is the best. I did not even bother with Tom Crusie’s version. (I am still annoyed that he was cast as Reacher, it feels like Hollywood studios couldn’t even be bothered to Wiki Jack Reacher’s description)

    1. Oh the sledge hammer bit was easy, didn’t take me five minutes.
      I have been hauling stuff around thought, so the take it easy part resonates. Thank you.

  7. More of my gardening supplies have arrived. An herb kit with cilantro, basil (of course), thyme, and parsley, and a kit of hot peppers. Alas, they must all wait on the basil and tomato crop to grow and be harvested. It’s not soup yet.

    Not that you’d accept hot peppers from a fan, but capsaicin does wonders for cold symptoms. I mean, if your nose is going to run and your eyes are going to water anyway, give ’em a good reason.

    Sigh. Not even nine o’clock and I’ve eaten half my sodium limit and a third of my calories. My Recipe #6 leftovers were full of hot banana pepper rings, and I want more. I would eat peppers from the jar, but I’m All Out. Can I get you anything when I run to my FNFL?

    1. Please, my big pleasure trip of the week is to the grocery/Walmart/pizza place/McD’s/Applebee’s/the new diner. Do not seek to deprive me of food therapy. But thank you for the offer!

      1. No problemo. Since I was going, I checked the dotter’s fridge. What was four gallons of milk two days ago was now an inch left in a single jug, so I got her three more gallons. My grandkinder never permit milk to approach its “best by” date. Drinking it, putting it on cereal, making smoothies…

        It was heavy so I left it on her porch and informed her where it was. 33°F (Near 0°Canadian) and in the shade, so no danger of spoilage. She left it out there for over an hour. 🙂

        1. After years of drinking 1% or 2% no milk we have gone back to whole milk. 1, because we deserve it, 2, because we’re almost 80 and three because when baking we’re done from trying to come up with an equal formula that mimics whole milk in recipes. But I do remember those days of nearly daily shopping for milk for three boys. I’ll now buy a gallon and split it up in four quart size containers like gatorade bottles and freeze three leaving an inch and 1/2 at the top for expansion. And that’s because I’m thrifty.

          1. We’ve found that full fat milk, yoghurt/yogurt (pick your spelling) etc to be more satisfying than anything fat-reduced, so we actually have smaller portions and enjoy it more.

          2. A reply to Sure Thing. Ditto on the yogurt. I buy whole milk probiotic yogurt either vanilla or banilla because it is so creamy.

          3. The dotter herself is Keto diet. I got her a half gallon of Almond Milk and a quart of heavy whipping cream. She turns the latter into ice cream. I have a pint of Half & Half for my coffee (decaf) and what few uses for milk I have. But the grandkinder all consume whole milk.

          4. We have thick cut organic oatmeal (Bob’s Red Mill – local. And we buy it in 25 pound sacks) almost every morning, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and dried fruit. That is enough virtue for anyone. We use whole milk because life is too short to drink skim.

  8. That is pretty much classic omicron symptoms. I hope you got tested. I actually had a cold last week (seriously? I wear a mask everywhere! how did I catch a cold?). Mostly drippy nose and sore throat for days. I thought it was the weather. Then I thought maybe it was Covid. Got tested. Spoiler: it was a cold. But I’m tired of worrying if everything is covid,

    But still, the fatigue and breathing stuff is worrisome. I hope you’re feeling better now.

    I’m a big fan of the sure thing too, which is why I hung on to my day job for years instead of becoming a full time writer. At a meeting yesterday, I put in my resignation, effective in early March. My friend and I started the shop over 22 years ago, and I mostly loved my job, most days. But the weight just kept getting heavier, and the responsibility for 50 artists, a shop, a large budget, and everything else was already overwhelming before dealing with two years of Covid. It was time. So, now the only sure thing is that I won’t have artists calling/emailing/messaging me wanting things all the damned time. You know, after early March.

    1. I’ve resigned from a few jobs and always was lighter and happier afterwards. You deserve time to write and not be plagued with other people, however creative they may be.

    2. I would love to be able to tell you that retirement is the bomb. It is, so I will.

      Retirement is the bomb!

      20 years navy. 25 years state. 45 years of “I’m from the government. I’m here to help.” I am so done! Enjoy retirement. You deserve it.

      1. Thanks Gary! I’m five years and a few months away from being able to retire. This is going to be working my ass off trying to survive in publishing. But it is still an improvement over trying to do both that and a wonderful but exhausting day job at the same time.

    3. That must produce an avalanche of mixed feelings, Deborah. 22 years is longer than a lot of marriages! I hope the friendship and the artistic connections will remain for you, minus all that work. <3

      1. So many mixed feelings. Including the fact that the store may not survive without me. And my friend (who is 76 and dealing with her own stuff) is trying to save it, and I feel like crap for abandoning it and her (you know, in 6 weeks). But everyone gets to make their own choices, and I am trying hard to remind myself that I can’t shoulder the burden for choices others make.

    4. Good for you for setting yourself free.
      The breathing stuff is probably asthma plus cold weather. It’s gone now that I’m back on my asthma meds. But thank you.

      2. I don’t know about free (because publishing, oy too). But freer, hopefully. I keep repeating that quote you post here a lot, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

        And trying not to hyperventilate.

    5. It’s a sure thing that if I see ‘nuisance’ snow, I am thankful that I’m retired. So many things are great about not having to go in to work.

  10. This really resonated with me, because during the past several mounts, uncertainty has been the only sure thing for my entire family. In fact the only sure thing about the past several months, is that some new bad thing will happen. Both parents are very ill, both of them have been in the hospital many many times over the past months. Every time we hear a doctor’s optimistic opinion or the parents seem to be improving, something else goes wrong.

    I booked a flight back home for Wednesday, thinking things were finally under tenuous control, and my poor mom ended up in the hospital again yesterday. The doctors say she will be fine, will probably be released today, but we’ve been here before.

    I hope you don’t have COVID, Jenny!

    2. They make the crust and the chicken and cheese in the oven, then top with romaine and dressing. It’s like a Chicken Caesar salad with croutons, except the crouton is a big flat pizza crust and you can eat it with your hands.

  12. Sounds like my bout with covid a couple of months ago. I mask everywhere, am careful, am vaccinated, so was sure I had a cold… But no, covid. Drink lots and lots. And vitamin c and zinc help. Feel better.

    Also, I am fully behind you on the sure thing. That’s what I want. Safe and cozy. Yes please.

  13. Jenny, I hope the rest and the sure things bring you back to health soon!
    This idea about sure thing explains why I keep doing re-reads. Georgette Heyer does not disappoint. Ever. Be well.

  14. My ‘sure thing’ movie is Strictly Ballroom. Pizza is always a sure thing. Cuddling with pets, too – I miss mine but can’t commit to one under current conditions.

    Hope you feel better. <3

  15. Get well soon, Jenny!
    A cold itself is no treat.
    But if it’s Covid:
    From what I read today, Omicron – though so much more contagious – is said to be the next step for Covid on it’s way towards becoming a mere cold. Annoying but less dangerous. Making you pretty strong afterwards.
    Well, a German proverb says “Papier ist geduldig” – who knows if the journal artical is right, but still… maybe a silver lining

  16. Ugh. On the up side, sounds like the worst is over and you’re on the mend. Hope you feel better soon.

    And agree on sure things. We could all use those now. Comforts are like Superheroes that get us through the day. And sometimes just getting through counts for something so I say bring on the comforts and sure things!:)

  17. I’m feeling fine except for falling asleep every couple of hours, which is not a problem since I’m self-employed at home. But thank you all for the good wishes. I’m actually kind of hoping it was Covid because it was like a cold, and not a particularly bad one, it was short-lived except for the fatigue, and if it was Covid I’ve got antibodies now. Strikes me as a win.

  18. The one thing I’m sure of is that my fatigue is caused by my dogs waking me up in the middle of the night. I don’t mind the 11 p.m. pee break because I can still get in a good 7 hours but barking intermittently from 2-3 a.m. is getting old very quickly.

    I am sure that I’m making veggie barley soup and it’s going to be good. I’ve been making a lot of soup this winter, it’s comfort in a bowl and healthy. Since Paul wants to lose a few more pounds before his cardiologist appointment in mid-March, I will forgo the crusty rolls. He is my true sure thing and I want to keep him around (his appointment is just routine, nothing scary).

    My sure thing for entertainment lately has been horror movies/tv shows, home reno shows like Home Town (Ben and Erin remind me of Paul and I so much), and nature documentaries that aren’t about predation. Oddly enough, I can’t deal with tension in regular shows; it took me 2 days to watch the final episode of Great British Sewing Bee! Even Repair Shop is occasionally too tense.

    1. I love Home Town. So many of the home improvement/design shows, although they’re about building happiness for someone, begin to annoy me when the main characters are all focused on performing for the cameras, competing with/snarking at each other, and showing off. I read that Erin is an introvert, which is me too, so maybe that’s the key. But I could watch it all day every day and not get tired of it.

  19. Ack, hope you are all over the fatigue soon but in the meantime resting when your body says rest is generally a good plan. If you watch a good movie or read a good book while snuggling animals at the same time, even better!

  20. Hope you are 100% soon.
    COVID-19 has been galloping through the family. Blessedly mild cases for everyone and I’ve dodged it thus far. We were finally able to celebrate Christmas this past Friday. In normal times, this would be odd but in a time of so MUCH weird it seemed fine.

  21. Feel better soon, Jenny. Sleeping it off is a good idea.
    We had really strong winds the past few days. I woke this morning with symptoms similar in to yours. After some Claritin, a puff on the inhaler, lots of water, I’m okay again. I think it was a sinus problem, so did some saline treatment.
    Even did some yard work later on, but I did have a morning nap, which is unusual.

  22. I got unsettling news today, so im also in need of a “sure thing”. Right now, im listening to old school Paul Simon (slip, sliding away), but the Mummy sounds like a good evening plan. It’s already been a long week!

  23. It’s a sure thing that I’ll do the floors on Monday, grocery shop on Tuesday, clean the bathroom on Wednesday, etc. Keeping that schedule is the only way I can keep track of what day it is.

  24. Currently, My Sure Thing feel good is watching all nine seasons of the Great British Baking Show. Unfortunately, I’m on the last season. Fortunately, there is a Great British Holiday Baking Show to watch!

    My son is still here, and I’m beginning to think it is time for him to go home. He is twinking around, upsetting my schedule; gah, when did I get old and insist on a schedule?? I’m retired, for crying out loud! And have been for 7 years now. But I still love talking with him, and eating interesting meals with him (we had Dim Sum last night, which I love, but rarely bother with). I think tonight will be Japanese. Mmm, salmon teriyaki!

  25. I’ve been dieting but the scale is stuck at 1 pound above the 30-pounds-down number from last summer. Tomorrow is Burns Night — a Scottish 5-course tasting dinner with a different scotch for each course. I’ll give my husband my scotch and drink wine; in fact, I plan to take all of tomorrow off from the diet (I have to have fasting bloodwork first thing in the morning, so I’ll need to build up some carbs in my system before drinking at dinner, right?). Wednesday I’ll jump back on the scale because I really want to be down the full 30 pounds when I see the rheumatologist in a week.

    Jenny, I’m glad you’re on the mend. If being sick turns out to mean you gained antibodies, that’s good news. The best news will be when you’re really feeling better.

    I’m off to read “Tam O’Shanter,” my favorite Burns poem.

  26. It’s a sure thing that I have taken on a lot right now. So – I am going to forget everything with a proper cup of tea & a few episodes of Death In Paradise followed by falling asleep to Last of the Summer Wine. If you place a bet that I succumbed to the alure of Britbox you would win!

      1. There’s a new series – as usual in January. It’s daft, but an hour of sunshine and colour at this time if year is irrisistible.

  27. My sure thing is FINDING YOUR ROOTS, if that’s any help. Holding the thought for a quick recovery for you!

  29. Hi all, super late to the party, but as your friendly local doctor-writer, I’m glad you’re testing for COVID, Jenny. It’s rampant even in our tiny rural area that escaped much of the previous wave and the #1 cause of cold symptoms right now.

    My personal hospital and two other regional hospitals are on outbreak. People have died. Although most people have mild symptoms this wave, Omicron is very transmissible—yes, through masks, and yes, even outdoors, which can be fatal and which is continually overwhelming our hospitals so that cancer patients can’t get their surgery.

    The best way to get antibodies is through vaccination, not infection.

    There are false negatives from rapid antigen tests, which are only positive if you capture enough virus (do the sample right) at the right time. So the safest thing is to stay home all the time except going out for essentials. I now wear N95’s when I go out when I used to wear cloth masks.

    Remember, even if someone gets mild symptoms, not everyone is so lucky. We literally have children dying in Canada with this wave. Last night, my heart hurt, hearing about an Inuit child who passed away.

    I would love for this to be our last huge and fatal wave. But in the meantime, please keep doing your part.

    1. Hugs, Melissa. My friend, also named Melissa, is a PA, and listening to her stories is heartbreaking. (She works in convenient care, but literally spends all her time dealing with Covid now, instead of practicing the medicine she loves.)

      I have gone a few times to be tested recently, just in case. Negative, but still being careful. Finally broke down and gave up my (3-layer, well-fitting) cloth masks for N95s. Sigh.

  30. And I love our Sure+Thing. Committed to teaching 42 (!!) first graders, yoga, healthy foods.

    How’re doing hon?

    2. Yes, when I saw the post title my first thought was that we were celebrating our Sure Thing, probably for teaching that many kids at once!

      Between the kids and the lifestyle change, you are one seriously impressive lady, and don’t you forget it!

      2. My first thought, too.
        It keeps telling me I’ve already said that, but I haven’t. Will it let me now?

        1. Gwarsh. I think I do. It’s not something I’ve reflected on recently, because I guess I’m secure in it. *!*

  31. Hahahaha hahahaha. I figured you were talking about the movie. Didn’t you and Lani do Popcorn Dialogues on it?

    This is pretty much the only place I use this name. It comes from Cal in Bet Me. He wins most of his bets, making him an expert who is able to spot a sure thing. It’s competence porn, innit?!

    1. Oh, that’s where it came from? That’s great.

      I don’t remember if we did that for PopD or not. We did a zillion of them.

  32. I’ve been rereading Nero Wolfe and watching it on TV. That’s a sure thing.

    Also, life dealt me a small nice surprise, which does seem almost impossible these days. We’ve been doing pick up orders from the grocery store and the order for 2 frozen raspberry bags mysteriously transformed into 48 bags. Not surprisingly they only had something like 25. Somehow we found freezer space for them all and now I can plan various raspberry delights. (Turns out they go well in pumpkin bread. )

    Raspberry in any form is a sure thing.

  33. I’m reminded of a play from college called “Sure Thing” by David Ives. I’ve always wished that life could be like that play where you get a do over if you say the wrong thing. Hmmm. . . I wonder if there is a you tube version of it.

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