Plans change...

Tonight, I should've had a romantic 3-course dinner with my husband at a restaurant in the next village (He was given a voucher for his birthday), and right about now, I should've been running around trying to pack a bag for my 5 day trip to England to visit my dear friend Clare. But instead, I'm stuck in bed with the flu :(

My throat started to itch and then burn on Monday, and despite drugging myself and try to get better, it hasn't worked. I got up to go to work on Wednesday (bad idea) and ended up coming home shortly after lunch. Been in bed ever since. Karl is going to Chicago and Detroit for work. He leaves on Saturday and returns  next Sunday. When we first heard he had to go, I booked myself a ticket to visit Clare from Friday (tomorrow) til Tuesday night. Jo-anne was gonna pick me up from the airport and I was gonna sleep at theirs on Wednesday night as I work in their backyard (not literally, but in a building on their property). The reason for this trip was two-fold: firstly, I have been threatening to visit Clare ever since I moved here, and secondly, I have never been in Northern Ireland alone, without Karl, so I was running away so as not to feel his absence so much.

Clare and her hubby, Simon had all kinds of plans lined up for us, walks in the Lake District, a shopping trip to York and many others (some of which I believe included amarula and merlot). I sent her a message today to say I'm not well enough to walk just yet, and she said it was ok as she's stressing about her research proposal which she has to have ready by next Friday. After a lot of to and fro-ing, we decided it was probably best to cancel the trip so that I can get better and she can get this PHD proposal off her chest. While I am happy to be at home so that I can make a full recovery, I am sad as I was really looking forward to spending quality time with her, and see where she works, where she calls home etc. I guess we just need to delay the gratification and bite the bullet. Luckily we will be refunded the airport tax, which is half the price of the ticket!

I will drop Karl off at his colleague's house in Belfast very early on Saturday morning, and then come home to wash all the bedding and tidy up the house before moving in with the in-laws for a week. Will be weird not having my hubby around, but hey, what's that saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder.