I CAME,I COOKED,I COLLAPSED

With my son and his friends out all day and the prospect of a full kitchen all day tomorrow I decided to get as much baking and cooking as possible done during today. We had a lovely morning coffee in bed before a breakfast of hot buttered crumpets and muffins with jam or honey cooked for us by my son.


Once every one had gone and the dishes were done I set work and made a very large batch of cookies well stuffed with dates,by the time I was finished the whole table was filled by the cooling cookies and the kitchen smelled glorious.

It was around this time that I began to feel shivery and in spite of the heat in the kitchen I put on a sweater which made no difference at all. I prepared the vegetables for a pork and cider cobbler(tomorrows evening meal) and then fried off the pork with a little dripping and a good squirt of tomato puree. All of this I tipped into a conker coloured casserole and then went on to prepare a steak and kidney casserole for Pa and I on Tuesday, my son will be having chicken pomadori that night and neither Pa or I can stand the stuff!

By now I was sneezing my head off and I felt like hell,this made me even more happy that I had done so much advance preparation for meals next week. The two casserole;s cooking in about 90 minutes,quite a saving on the cost of cooking too.

My son arrived home at five...rather earlier than usual and the reason was obvious as soon as he walked through the door,he too had been smitten with whatever it was that was making me feel so ill.

I prepared a fast meal of scrambled eggs on toast with pork chipolatas and tomato sauce,and was jolly glad that we had chosen for tonight a meal so easy to prepare and we all love sausages.

As soon as the kitchen was cleared my son and I tottered off for showers and a hot lemon drink which I am sipping as I write.

Both of us are less than pleased at this unfortunately timed ailment as my son returns to work on Monday night and I have a busy week in prospect fighting off the estate and minding the shop for out secretary who went off on holiday on Friday,it never rains as they say.

I feel inclined to say to hell with it but I am hoping that I shall feel better in the morning,I probably have a cats chance in a tumble dryer but I can hope!!

As for my son I have no doubt that the silly so and so will go to work tomorrow shaking with pestilence, nothing I say will change his mind so I sha,nt utter.

And so to bed with a hot water bottle and the cat,she will I expect desert me for Pa,s quieter slumbers, she hates sudden loud sneezes you see.