On the D.L.

 In the sports sense ("disabled list,") not the slang sense ("down low," usually meaning "don't tell anyone about the affair I am having")

Yeah, I am mildly sick. I had not felt well much of the week. Chalked some of what I was dealing with to stress, some to putative menopause, but....I got worse overnight. Felt *terrible* when I got up (fortunately that didn't last). The symptoms suggested UTI, which, you don't mess around with those, so instead of waiting to see if I could even get an appointment with my doctor Monday*

(*She noted at the appointment last week that she had pushed back against some of the demands of the "system" she works for - that she won't see more than 25 patients a day. I hope they don't keep pushing and make her quit; she's a good doctor and I'd hate to have to find a new one)

So I tried the urgent cares. One claimed to open at 8, but when they actually unlocked the doors at 8:20, the receptionist told me "oh, sorry the doctor never comes in before 10 or 10:30." (And yet: they list the option for 8 am Saturday appointments on their website). I did not mention the website (what's the point) and just said "okay, no problem, I'll try the other place in town."

Which opened at 9. I was one of six cars in the lot; we all converged on the doors at five minutes of nine. I did not love the idea of waiting in a waiting room with other people (there was a small child in there with a URI who was in for a covid test, there was someone who said they needed a covid test, and there was an UNMASKED guy** complaining of  "a cough and sore throat."

I sat as close to the front door as I could, and am praying my booster shot and N95 mask helps hold the line, but at this point I think a breakthrough infection (which would almost certainly be "mild" in me) was preferable to letting a painful UTI run unchecked. (Already I was having what I imagined was kidney pain).

(** they didn't ask him to mask. They should have, but then again - I could see someone who walks into a medical office without a mask and doesn't put one on possibly being the sort of person who would be abusive towards the staff.)

Anyway, my guess was right. So I have a run of Keflex (one of the few I'm not allergic to) and advice to drink a lot of water, and to avoid caffeine, carbonated beverages, and sugary things at least until I'm over it.

In retrospect, maybe I should not have gone to Denison yesterday. I felt okay then, but maybe the effort of going out kind of did me in. But I got the quilt dropped off, and went to the JoAnn's (and got the newest Simply Knitting) and to the Brookshire's for food. I guess I can take comfort in that I didn't infect anyone; I think it's pretty hard to pass a UTI on. 

I did start a new pair of simple socks out of a hand-dyed yarn I bought (through Etsy) from a dyer who lives in (if I remember correctly) Edmond. Etsy can be a treasure trove of interesting hand dyed yarn if you just look a little. This one is a colorway named after the show "Friends" though I don't exactly know why - whether there are six dominant colors in it, or if it picks up the colorscheme of the show. (I never really watched "Friends," it was on at a busy time in my life when I didn't watch much TV).

Gonna see how I feel tomorrow morning. There's a potluck at church and I did not have the energy to make anything (and I doubt there'd be time tomorrow) but also I am a little "off my feed" (one of the symptoms, I guess, can be slight nausea) and I'm not sure I want to have to negotiate the "what can I eat/what do I FEEL like eating" thing when I could just stay home and heat up some broth and noodles. (A friend of mine knows I'm under the weather so I doubt people will worry)