I’m doing better today – much better. For one thing I’ve got almost all of my normal energy back, and it didn’t take any more than the usual amount of coffee to get it there. My throat is still a bit iffy, and as the day wore on my voice started to crack. Plus what remains of the winter crud is now hanging tightly to my nose, since what winter could possibly complete without inflicting Jennifer with at least one nasty sinus infection? I am eying the fact that in less than a week, I have to climb on a plane and deal with changes in air pressure. I’ve flown with clogged sinuses before – a journey that culminated in me making a dash for the tiny airline bathroom during the descent because the sinus pressure made me puke my guts out. It was an experience I’d prefer to not repeat, especially over Christmas. However, I am forcing myself to be optimistic here, since after all there is almost a full week for this to clear up. Surely it will be gone by then. Surely it will. Surely.

In the meantime I am scarfing on healthy food. The produce stand by the freeway exit I take to get home had the most amazing grapefruit – thin skinned and so juicy, sweet enough they didn’t even need any sugar. I had one with breakfast yesterday morning and another for lunch today along with my green beans and a container of sweet potato crack, which meant that I managed to fulfill my required servings of fruits and veggies for the day in one meal. Go me. So tonight on the way home from work I swung by the produce stand again and bought a few more. I don’t even have to share them because Richard does not like grapefruit. I might make comments about that except that up until now it was the only citrus fruit I actually liked so I really shouldn’t talk. Ooh. Was that foreshadowing?

While I was at work my boss started talking about these little lumpy orange hybrids that he called satsumas. I know Richard likes oranges and he’s been even sicker than me this week. So while I was at the produce stand I picked up six of them and brought them home with my grapefruit. I gave one to Richard, who promptly said that it looks, peels, and tastes just like a tangelo. I have no idea which is actually the right name because I have started to get really confused about oranges – after all, people everywhere are gushing over clementines, which apparently are the same as mandarin oranges, and then there are tangerines and by the way kumquats look just like oranges only a whole lot smaller, and since I have never liked any of them, I have never much cared what any of them are called anyway. Anyway, on a whim (because even though I really cannot stand most fruit I still keep hoping that this will eventually change), I decided to give them a try. And the amazing thing (family members reading this, you may wish to sit down. The shock may overwhelm you) is that I *like* them! I normally cannot deal with oranges because there is all that nasty white pulp and no matter what you can never get rid of it (and do not get me started on orange juice because you should not have to chew what you are drinking and just the *thought* of pulp in my juice makes me cringe). But these! These are so easy to peel and the nasty pulp comes right off and there’s no mess at all and they’re sweet and they pop right into my mouth and I can chew them up and swallow them before my brain even can figure out that it’s a fruit related to an orange and maybe I shouldn’t like them after all. This is so exciting! How convenient that we managed to plant a tree in our backyard that will grow these.

The few remaining little satsumas/tangelos left will be gone by the end of work tomorrow (because I intend to take a handful as snacks and I expect Richard will want to do the same) so I’ll be making another stop by the produce stand tomorrow night as well, I expect. They sell these things in ten pound sacks. I think between now and when we leave for Seattle for Christmas, one bag should hold us. Well, that and maybe half dozen more of those grapefruit.