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Jan 9, 2012

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever?



Friends, I am back from a very intense, thankfully short, bout with something I'm guessing was Influenza.  It came on rapidly Saturday evening and within 3-4 hours I could hardly lift my head off the pillow.  I'm a big believer in letting fever do its thing (unless you have other medical problems or are a small child or elder) and now, roughly 36 hours later, I'm 85% of the way back.  Was this a cold, a flu, something else entirely?  Who knows.  Suffice it to say I'm glad to be vertical once again and not shivering under three blankets, a ski cap, and a heavy fleece.

How did I entertain myself during this brief illness?  Fortunately, I had a few DVDs from the library I could watch on my laptop while lying down.

Readers, has there ever been a truly entertaining film about West Point?  Perhaps, but I'm afraid 1934's Flirtation Walk, starring Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, ain't it.



You may think, given the leads, that this is one of those big Busby Berkeley spectaculars, but you'd be wrong.  There's a lot of precision marching, sure, but it's all West Point cadets.  I am almost certain none of you have seen Flirtation Walk -- which unbelievably was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture  -- and if you never get a chance, don't worry about it.  That said, I think Dick Powell had an amazingly charismatic screen presence.

Have you ever heard of The Bell Telephone Hour?  These were musical shows made primarily in the Sixties featuring musical theater stars of the day, and this is a fantastic series if you find it at your local library.  Yesterday I watched one featuring two beloved TV moms, Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson.  


You may not know that Florence Henderson was a Broadway ingenue in the Fifties and Sixties and starred in the first national tour of The Sound of Music long before The Brady Bunch.  She's delightful on this DVD, and if you have roughly four hours to spare, listen to her multi-part interview for The Archive of American Television that starts here

This woman has had a sixty-year career (so far) and has never stopped working.  Poor Shirley fares much less well on her portion of the video, I'm afraid, sounding somewhat off key and ragged throughout -- these were recorded live so maybe she had what I have now -- but looking beautiful in a series of Grecian chiffon gowns.

The Daily Ditches continue!  I sold this Joe Colombo plastic cart (I had three) on Craiglist on Thursday, so even though I haven't sold any sewing machines, I now have space for all of them, sort of.



And now a very specific question one of you Blogspot bloggers might be able to answer.  Since I started MPB, whenever I imported an image into the blog through the "insert image" icon, the image would automatically end up in a Male Pattern Boldness file in Picasa.  Since last week, unfortunately, this no longer happens.  Each imported image ends up in its own Picasa file, which is extremely inconvenient.  Any idea how I can fix this, or if it's something that's changed in Picasa and/or Blogspot?

As you can see, the colder weather means the dogs are exercising on their treadmill again, which they can do for 45 minutes at a time.  They seem to like it; I mean, if they didn't they could always jump off.  In the background you can see that my Featherweight table sits in the far corner; I've placed a big teak tray over the hole -- there's something about the look of a gap in the middle of a table I don't love.



Readers, that's it!  I am drinking lots of tea and eating lots of citrus, and just taking it easy.  Sewing will have to wait but it's certainly on my radar.  I hope everybody's well -- fortunately flu viruses can't be transmitted over the Internet.

Have a great -- and healthy -- day, everybody!

Sing out, Florence...

23 comments:

  1. About the picture upload. Here's how I do it.

    I just open picasa and upload the images for the blog of the day to their own folder (I use the same name as the blog title). After that I start my blog and insert the pictures from picasa (AOT from my local drive).

    Hope this helps!

    And the dogs: look like they definitely are having fun. Like you said: they wouldn't if they hadn't.

    Think you just (sorry, don't mean to underestimate it) had a cold. A real influenza would've taken a week or so. But I'm by no means a physician.

    Anyway: good that it's gone!

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  2. Sorry to hear you had the flu. I had it for 36 hours and it wasn't fun. When it was over, I felt great but I was weak. Nasty thing left me weak. But within a day I was back to normal.

    It seems as if Jan-Theo gave you some good information. I have a Picasa file that has 1000 pictures in and it takes forever to open. I would like the opposite and want to try her idea.

    Love how your dogs use a treadmill. As I walk daily in our large backyard, our border collie walks with me in hopes I will take her out in the car.

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  3. Peter,
    Sorry you are (were) under the weather. I have to agree with Jan-Theo, you would have been sicker for longer if you had Influenza. When I had it a few years ago I had a fever for 8 days!
    I love the treadmill. My dog is too big to use such a thing. I think they enjoy it. They look like they are having fun.

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  4. @Ann 'try _her_ idea' ? If that referred to me... Well - hint - when I sing I'm between a tenor and a base.... ;-)

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  5. To prevent giving the wrong impression: you don't want to hear that.... ;)

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  6. Yes i am old enough to remember THE BELL TELEPHONE HOUR. It was a wonderful show with most of the symphony, opera and broadway stars of the era. very fond memories and i cannot think of any contemporary show that compares.

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  7. Sorry you were so sick, but glad it was short and that you are on the mend. Tea, fluids and sleep. Unless one has other health problems that need to be addressed, that’s really all one can do, so let your body rest and ease back into things slowly.

    The dogs on the treadmill – how cute is that?? That opening image made my day. Your doggies are in far better shape than I am.

    Congrats on the ditching. Keep up the good work!

    I do remember The Bell Telephone Hour. I wish we had more shows like that and Playhouse 90. Surely in this age of hundreds of channels, there is room for these types of programs. Thanks for the clip. Florence Henderson now has a talk show on Retired Living TV (though her show has nothing to do with retirement) and she still looks amazing. I think she must have a “picture of Dorian Gray” somewhere.

    Stay well!

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  8. I wish someone would put me on the treadmill for 45 minutes a day. I don't seem to be able to do it for myself. I hope you're back to 100% soon. BTW, I just love your daily ditch and have incorporated it into my routine as well. I blogged about it and gave you the credit, of course.

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  9. Glad to hear you are feeling better :)

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  10. Glad your bout was brief. I've been wading through the endgame of walking pneumonia for the last week -- not fun. Perhaps it should be called staggering pneumonia. I remember the video you posted of the dogs last winter with humorous musical accompaniment. I love that they march along together. I'm also favoring hot liquids, citrus and sleep . . . just hearing the kettle whistle makes me feel better. Hope that last 15% is obtained by tomorrow!

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  11. Sorry to hear you were poorly but glad to hear you're getting better now.
    Could you fix the treadmill up to generate power for a sewing machine? Just a thought!
    Do they get competitive with each other and race?

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  12. Thanks, guys. I'm definitely coming along.

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  13. Glad to hear you are on the mend.
    Re the picasa photos all going into separate folders thing, this happened to me last week too but my upload from yesterday was back to normal so maybe it was a glitch that got fixed? You can move photos into different folders by clicking the photo open and then "Actions", "Move to another album". Then you can select the album you want to move the photos to and delete the now empty album. It's a pain for sure so hopefully it's a one off exercise! Hope this helps!

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  14. Glad you're feeling better! I'm constantly slathering myself with hand sanitizer, but I know my luck can't hold out forever. When it hits I'll take your advice. Lots of tea, citrus and old movies.

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  15. Glad that you are on the mend - you brighten the Internet.

    LUV The Archive of American Television. It's such a meaty dialogue, without any hurried feeling to it. So many of the stars and behind the scenes people really share themselves, and a few stories you've never heard before.

    Is it time for your dogs to get a blog, or at least write an entry? They must harbor opinions on your sewing and such, and need to dish.

    Oh, since we all have a Suzanne Sommers hangover, how about a little Joyce DeWitt to even things out?

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  16. Lucky doggies to be exercised even when Daddy is sick. Cesar Milan would be so proud of you.
    Glad you're better. I hate to be sick. Takes too much time out of my life! But it's a good opportunity to watch cooking shows during the day when the best ones are on, and copy recipes.
    Stay well!

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  17. I hope the rest of your recovery is swift.

    Serendipitously, I've seen that type of cart before just yesterday on a blog (http://lutteridyl.blogspot.com/2011/09/sybord-af-den-fede-slags.html) where it is used as a sewing supply cart. I so desperately wanted one, but all internet searches came up negative. I tried googling rolling cart, went to the Container Store's website and Amazon. But now! You have given me a name for it and I can seek one out. Thank you!

    (Of course, now that that I see the price of a new one is $200+, I'm reeling.)

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  18. Tara, here in NYC they show up frequently on Craigslist (used of course). I sold mine for $50.

    That said, I do NOT recommend it for sewing supplies for a number of reasons. The drawers that swing open and closed are VERY shallow, and the plastic is opaque. The other shelves are all open and exposed to dust. The only thing it's good for (sewing-wise) is storing very long rulers and rolls of pattern pattern paper (my cart also opened from the top for that kind of storage).

    I notice that the unit on the blog you linked to has deeper drawers than mine had (There are a variety of models), but they're still not very deep. And all those plastic boxes she then had to buy -- VERY expensive when you add it up.

    Ugly aesthetics aside, I don't think you can beat those cheap transparent plastic shelving carts from The Container Store and other such places, for storing sewing supplies, fabric, etc.

    Obviously, if you want all your sewing stuff in a self-contained unit you can hide away somewhere, and you have very few notions, the Colombo unit may work for you. But you will probably outgrow it VERY quickly.

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  19. That cart you sold, I used to have one in yellow and I am now very sorry that it is no more. I could use it now. If you come across any more I's be glad to know.

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  20. So glad you're feeling better! Seems like the cold/flu hit a lot of bloggers lately. Stink. I haven't commented in awhile but you've had some great posts lately, Peter. Loved the Suzanne Somers/sexy post and discussion. But I'm all over that doggy treadmill! I never knew such a thing existed and would make our herding dogs lives very happy during our lazier days.

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  21. I've been having the same problem with Picasa. My workaround has been to upload photos as an "album."

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  22. Glad you are feeling better!

    Funny - I actually went to West Point and have not seen that movie. Do know what Flirty Walk is....

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