Yes, I am back in bed, this cold is taking ages to go away. I went to the doctor yesterday, and came out with a very long prescription, including antibiotics, since this is apparently not a virus. I've only had antibiotics about two or three times in my life before, and these are HUGE! As are the paracetamol that I have to take as well.

The doctor is at La Defense, and I took the opportunity to go to Nature et Decouvertes, where I bought myself a lamp for luminotherapie, I've wanted one for a while, and they had a travel size that goes up to 10,000 lux - this will be good if I get stuck in some backwater of Northern or Eastern Europe where there is no light from November to March. I was telling David about this, and he seemed quite interested, he is on the point of getting me posted to Poland so he can borrow it! He's a bit down, both his sons are doing their army service (David and family live in Israel), and the elder one is a combat soldier, so obviously he's worried. Not sure what the younger one does, I think he is in an army office job, as he didn't have the physical requirements to be a combat soldier.

I had to go back to La Defense today, to pick up some pills that they did not have yesterday - and I have to say that the pharmacie is great now, the medical fund has sent us cards that mean the payments are done directly when we buy medicines. Before it was only the government part that was paid directly, and the medical fund would credit our bank accounts about a week later, but yesterday I was standing there with my credit card out, and the pharmacist was saying, oh no, madame, there is nothing to pay. Anyway today I also bought some candles at L'Occitane, as scented candles are one of the ways I am getting through this illness.

I also called into rue Chabanais, and fortunately Des Fils et Une Aiguille was open today (NOT tomorrow or Friday, in case anyone reads this and plans a trip). I needed another skein of Gloriana Charcoal for my "Home is Where You Hang Your Needlework", which I plan to finish tomorrow. It's really all I have been doing in my waking moments, stitching and watching DVDs - Inspector Morse, Lark Rise to Candleford (that's good, I recommend it for anyone with a family of girls, it's just the sort of thing I could have watched with my mother when I was ten and also now), and Emma. Also "Coco Chanel" has been on television last night, with the second part tonight. This is interesting in parts, and I do love the clothes. If I were extremely rich, I would dress head to toe in Chanel, dream.... I always look at the Chanel boutique at Le Bon Marche.

The weather is now vile, cold AND wet, with occasional bursts of a horrible sleet...