Adventures In Caronavirus Land, Episode 7

Yay-y-y-y-y! Happy Spring! Time to put the X-mas lights back up, everybody!

What? Not doing it in your part of the world? Is Phoenix the only crazy place? More than normally crazy, that is? They're putting them up in neighborhoods - supposedly, according to TV - and in shopping and restaurant areas where there is no traffic. The claims are it's something for the bored to do, something for the rest of us when we're out and about but keeping our social distance of course - to feel cheery about.

I'm going for stupid, personally. Sounds like a good idea until you figure out who just won't keep their distance or can't if it really attracts attention.

Kinda like that now-viral video of the cute little white dog being walked down the street with the leash attached to a drone. Good idea until it's not, and then it's horrible.  What happens when that big mean dog runs out to challenge the little dog?  How can a drone deal with that? Crash? That all you got? A drone is gonna chase away the big dog? Or the car that doesn't see either drone nor dog? Or some twerp finds it funny to yank on the leash? Has the drone the power to turn the pooch around?  Stop the twerp? Seriously, anything that powerful would also be illegal. Mourn your pooch from jail, where your new BFFs are happily sharing all their germs with you.

For the record, other than twice yesterday, there is yet no recurrence of fever.  Protest was canceled, though I notified our leader that I was staying home regardless. I checked with my Walmart pharmacy when I got one of those robot messages about refilling a prescription, and was informed it was OK for me to show up for it because they now have drive-through. Who knew? And where? The pharmacy is in the front of the store and I've seen no indication on the front of the building of any spot to accommodate a drive thru. Guess I'll do a drive-around and see where it might be. Logistics would be interesting though. Somebody has to hike them across the store to wherever for each customer? Way to limit your exposure, staff! We want you to keep healthy!!!!

I've developed my own "hack," if you will, for avoiding Starbucks prices and still getting my own delicious (for me at least, never actually tried Starbucks) mocha to start my mornings. Mind you, it's not an every day thing any more, since I'm actually quasi-listening to my cardiologist and reducing caffeine. I buy instant coffee and Swiss Miss's sugar free cocoa mix in the can.  They get dumped together - 7 ox. coffee crystals and two 10.6 oz. cans cocoa - into a repurposed large peanut butter jar. Along with a spoon that fits. (Spoon goes in first or never. Too packed. When returning it, I find it helps to push the spoon down while shaking the jar lightly so the packed powder moves.  Not so hard you get a faceful, or counter full. Or floor full. I mean that last would be a pure crime!) I do my best to be sure they are blended evenly.

However, a couple spoonfuls later or a shake of the jar and I see the large coffee crystals rising to the top.  That happens to any mix of solids as the little bits filter down through the cracks. If uncorrected, my mocha mix becomes unbalanced, both in flavor and caffeine. For months I've looked at it and thought I should dump it all into a flour sifter and break down the coffee. And looked at it. And thought.

Today, somewhere beyond bored, and sick of virus figures and presidential BS, I went ahead and did it.

Amazing what can catch your attention in these times, eh?

I've been on the phone a bit more than usual. Saw an article in National Geographic and passed on two words of information to my daughter: Kokopelli Trail. Not for her, but my son-in-law.  This is a bike trail that goes from Colorado, along the Colorado River, into Moab, Utah. Or vice versa. He loves long distance bicycle trips and is also - among other things - a professional photographer. Additionally he likes camping and has a circle of like-minded friends. When things simmer down, he might appreciate this information.

It caught my attention because of series of crime fiction books by Rich Curtin set in Moab with a deputy as the main character. The descriptions of scenery have prodded both Steve and myself to schedule more time in the area than "just" Arches for our summer trip north. The trail itself doesn't appeal, of course, since our touring will be by car, but our immediate thought went to Ben. The picture in the article showed a portion of the trail on a high grassy area overlooking the canyon below. Not like the Grand, but not to sneeze at either. If he were to try it, it would likely be in a group and with camping gear, all the precautions necessary for a (142 miles, 12 hour record time) long tour where there are no towns in between. Maybe even dig up a sat phone.

In our conversation, she verified all is well in their household of 4 + dog + however many cats. Staying at and/or working from home is not new for them, so they're doing well that way. Lots of internet friendships help too. Minnesota not quite so much on the doing well part. While behind the NY curve, numbers are jumping and supplies shorting. At least Governor Walsh is on the ball. Blue state, don'cha know. None of that "see me take my family out to a crowded place for fun and food and you should too" crap.

Today's news infuriated me this morning. It wasn't the fact that China has not seen a new case for three days now, and they are responding by sharing their supplies with countries where the virus is taking a high toll. Bravo there! But this jerk had to put it in terms of them "glossing over" their responsibility for "letting" it spread in the first place. Hey, everybody gets a pass for being first on the learning curve. They did learn, and took what we are still terming draconian measures to curb the virus. What are we learning from their and our experiences? Not enough yet. What are we doing to "let" it spread? Too much. Will this same jerk blame Trump for the latter? Doubtful.

Yeah, I know, politics again. But I sent emails to both local and national CBS news to voice my opinion, aka outrage. Somebody had to.

Got some wonderful news today. My granddaughter is pregnant with #2, due November. This will make great-grandbaby #3 for us. Our second "great" is due any time, waiting to hear. Have to wonder, both for now and next fall, just how safe it is to be in the hospital for anything not an emergency. OK, emergencies too. But will there come a time (or maybe just when... ?) that we have to make that deliberation? Just like having to make the deliberation of one-respirator-two-patients-so who-dies like Italy has to now? Is there a way to choose?

Oops, didn't mean to veer off onto the deep end on that bit of joy. It deserves to be treasured all on its own.

If only it can.

Her news perked me up enough to step out and take more pictures as things change in the yard, and kill off another section of weeds. Yes, the wind is blowing, but I sprayed anyway. It's a section of the yard where drift will only fall on... more weeds. Temperatures have risen enough that the house is opened up for that same wind to drive the fragrance of orange blossoms throughout the house. Win-win.

Say, did anyone watch Rachel Maddow sign off in tears last night? One of her fellow MSNBC employees succumbed to the virus.