Stomach Troubles

Ugh. I awoke at 5AM with stomach pains. I spent a half-hour in the bathroom before I finally made it back to bed. I felt awful, nauseous and chilled. I slept until 9:30...and then didn't want to get out of my nice, warm bed for another hour.

The weather wasn't too bad. It was still a little windy, but the rain had subsided into clouds. In fact, it hasn't rained since around 10 last night. There were leaves and branches on my porch and front lawn, but as far as I could tell, no trees were down. (I'll take a look at the side path tomorrow, when I'm feeling better.)

Finished Young Frankenstein while trying to eat slices of Cornmeal Baguettes spread with cranberry-pear butter. I then went online to check on friends and family who were in the path of the storm, and called everyone in the area. Almost everyone had survived. My folks in Cape May County and Matt, the proprietor of Dinosaur Dracula, lost power, but Matt says he weathered the storm better than his neighbors, and Mom says a downed tree landed on a line. Bruce and Jodie had no problems whatsoever, including downed limbs and losing power. Rose had a cold, but was otherwise fine. Ms. Krah in Wildwood had flooding problems but seems to be ok now.

I worked my way through Maiden Voyage for another hour or so. Chapters involving storms, the ship tossing about, and lots of eating was doing nothing for my delicate condition, so I put it aside and decided to try an idea of Mom's. I don't have any peppermint candies, so I added some peppermint extract to hot water. While it cooled, I took a nap.

After my nap, I sipped my water, made chicken broth, honey on a wrap, and canned peaches for dinner, and watched the bizarre Rankin-Bass full length cartoon Mad Monster Party? After that ended, I thought the Tiny Toons Adventures episode "Strange Tales of Weird Science" was appropriate.

In three wacky tales of science gone awry, the Toons demonstrate why some scientific concepts are best left on the shelf. In the first story, poor Hampton is accidentally doused with a chemical that enhances scent, making Hampton an irresistible bit of ham to everyone around him...including his best friend Plucky. The second story has Sweetie trying to brainwash Furball into chasing Arnold the Pit Bull instead of her. And the third marks the original appearance of Plucky's "Toxic Revenger" character as he tries to get Montana Max to remove his factory's backwash from Plucky's swamp.

I hope those of you who were in the path of Hurricane Sandy came through it unscathed, too.