As I write this, I am anxiously waiting. I just took some (generic) Sudafed because the box promised that it would relieve the sinus congestion. The hope that this medicine will do the trick so that soon I might actually be able to breathe through my nose again is all that is keeping me from grabbing a bottle of extra-strength drain cleaner, tilting my head back over the sink, and finding out once and for all if Draino really can clear the toughest of clogs.

Or in other words, I'm sick again. Sigh. The sore throat came back on Sunday, and has since degenerated into this current sinus fun. At least we're bypassing the fever and chills this time. I should be grateful for that, I suppose. But still, it's been frustrating. I only got a few chances to ride last week and was really hoping to rack up some miles this week.

At least I've got a bit longer of a reprieve. We finally got our schedules for the next two months. Richard's off to train the mollusk handlers of San Mateo next week, but I'm happily home for another two weeks before I go work with the mollusks of San Francisco. Time enough for me to get over this cold, be healthy for a while, and get sick again. Why yes, I *am* being all kinds of optimistic today.

We went out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant in Woodland tonight, since we were in town anyway to pick up my ring. A few weeks ago, I noticed this odd thing on the inside of my left pinky - the skin was red and raw as if it had been scraping on something. I couldn't figure out what exactly the problem was until I took a closer look at my wedding ring and realized that there was a tiny chip in the side. How it got there I haven't a clue, but last week we finally got around to taking it back to the jewelers to get it fixed. They called this afternoon to say that it was ready.

It's always a little embarrassing to get a piece of jewelry back from the jewelers. Every few months or so I drag out the home-cleaning kit and drop in the ring, then dutifully use the teeny tiny little brush to carefully clean away all the smudges and dirt. But when it's been on my finger for a while, I just don't really notice quite how dull it starts to get, until the jeweler gets his hands on it and gives it a thorough cleaning. My ring is extremely sparkly again. In my snuffly, drugged state, this should provide for at least a few hours of entertainment.