Take cheer, everybody! Trump says 2 million won't die of the pandemic here, so he's a hero! And he's never heard of testing shortages, so it must not be happening, eh? But somebody - aka the press, not his very own FBI - should be out there checking out all those masks and equipment that are walking out the back doors of hospitals, because how else to explain why the numbers of requests keep going up?
Locally, we in Arizona can take cheer as well. Governor Ducey is making even stronger suggestions that we should all shelter in place. Well, except for all those absolutely essential services. Which ones are those, you ask? Golf courses, nail salons, barber shops, photography stores, and pawn shops! Hooray!!!
Well, at least all those who've been laid off can find something to pawn for a tenth of its value so they can put another roll of toilet paper on the table. Or was that.....?
In slightly more reassuring news, all those ventilators which just arrived in California, broken, (Heck of a job, Brownie!) were immediately sent out for repairs and should be in hospitals very quickly. Central Park is being converted into a field hospital for overflow Covid 19 patients, and the Navy ship Comfort is approaching it's dock in New York. It did not hit Lady Liberty on the way in, by the way, thanks to excellent tugboats.
What? You weren't worried? Oh yeah, that wasn't Trump at the helm, that photo was him back a while ago in a fire truck and he wasn't allowed to actually move it, just pretend. Honk honk, steer, steer, honk.
Steve is slowly recuperating. He announced he saw two "rocks" the size of a fingernail last night before he flushed. When I made my confusion known, he clarified he meant the white part. Uhhhhh, that white half moon? The edge needing trimming? Trimming, definitely. I didn't ask, looking at my nails and seeing various lengths of white, for any further clarification. I'm not butter and apparently can no longer be further clarified. Or something. I decided to just be happy that some were passing, another step to full recovery.
We've been reaching out to people we both know down here, via phone or email. Amazing how many of them have gone north while the getting is good - or because their other state is already taking sensible precautions. I also talked to someone yesterday who lives alone and will be moving in across town with a pair of friends so they can all shelter in place without going totally bonkers for a month. Interesting idea.
Had to pick up another prescription yesterday, and decided to try out that drive through. It works exactly like an oversized bank pneumatic system: just hit the call button, identify yourself properly, and eventually you can hear it come rattling through the tube until there's a loud klunk next to you. The accompanying hiss is the machine opening itself up and pointing the container at you so you can pull it out and empty it, then send it back. Even I could follow those instructions!
I still haven't tried seriously to find toilet paper. There was a TV shot of a line of carts waiting to check out, each holding a large pack of it along with the groceries. Do I think hoarding has stopped? Does a bear shit in the Vatican? Have the idiots stopped taking cruises? Will the Wonderful Wizard of Oz ever give Trump a brain and a heart?
I figured out if you get really really bored, since March Madness was cancelled/postponed/whatever, we could start a new betting game. Like ice-out-on-Lake-X bets for northern states, this one will be when do other countries, their own virus problems under control, let us back out of here and across their borders? More points for picking which will be first. Call your bookies now, folks!
Just remember: Trump knew about this on Dec. 22. He fired the intelligence people who told him it was going to be a problem. Is this your "hero"?
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Adventures In CaronavirusLand, Episode (Lucky) 13
Cutting to the chase: Steve's just gotten home. There will be follow-ups in the next couple weeks, one to remove a stent. Now, instead of being unable to pass that giant kidney stone, he's passing the bits remaining from after lithotripsy. He assures me it's still not fun. And it should last for several days.
Meanwhile, the house got very empty while he was gone. Rich was here for a bit, doing multiple loads of laundry. I had a chance to support Steve's favorite restaurant by ordering a pair of taco salads for our supper before taking him back to the shelter. The restaurant is still hanging in there, hoping to continue with just three staff and only take-out orders.
My elephant agave turns out not to be an elephant agave. OOPS. I decided to research propagation again, making sure I actually knew what I thought I knew. Other than the name, I got the rest right. What prompted my research is that the stalk is actually blooming, waiting for bees to notice and visit. Packed jam full of little pale yellow waxy flowers, stamens hanging out to spread pollen about, they cover a patch of the stalk right now about two foot of its length, starting about a foot up above where the buds start. For some reason the bottom ones haven't opened yet. Plus there are about 8 feet of unopened buds above the flowers.
After reading about my real plant, I've started asking around for potential "parents" for some of the babies. There should be hundreds, perhaps over a thousand. Once they grow on the stalk to something over an inch around (descriptions are a bit vague here) and can be easily plucked off the stalk, they need to be planted lightly in cactus soil, watered every few days until they grow roots, then planted in the yard where they have room to spread to about a 6' circle, in partial shade. They still need TLC in the watering department for a few months. And smarter people than I will avoid planting them under the roof eaves. I figure I can find half a dozen places for babies in our yard, found one friend who thinks she can take a few, and the rest likely will be donated to garden centers who are willing to trade some of their supplies and work for income.
Eggs before they hatch, eh.
Watching the covid numbers in AZ, they almost haven't budged so far this weekend. I highly doubt that's from people staying home, but from the government agencies reporting the stats being closed. I mean, hey, Arizona. The woman in charge of handling the crisis just resigned, with a letter saying she's just a duplicate of what the Governor and his staff are doing. She also made a comment about him far exceeding his job in what he's doing. Gotta be more to this story.
Meanwhile, been busy on line and via phone, letting people know what I did or didn't know yet about Steve's status. His surgery was scheduled for 11:00 yesterday. He finally called me at 5:30. A bit of that was a delay in the schedule, but the rest was recovery. A rough one. This is his second time recently he's had a rough one after surgery, the other being for his back pain-killer implant. There's a lot of rapid heartbeats and vomiting, not how anybody should wake up.
But, most important, he's home now. Recovering, catching up on Facebook, TV, and likely sleep, knowing how hospitals are.
Meanwhile, the house got very empty while he was gone. Rich was here for a bit, doing multiple loads of laundry. I had a chance to support Steve's favorite restaurant by ordering a pair of taco salads for our supper before taking him back to the shelter. The restaurant is still hanging in there, hoping to continue with just three staff and only take-out orders.
My elephant agave turns out not to be an elephant agave. OOPS. I decided to research propagation again, making sure I actually knew what I thought I knew. Other than the name, I got the rest right. What prompted my research is that the stalk is actually blooming, waiting for bees to notice and visit. Packed jam full of little pale yellow waxy flowers, stamens hanging out to spread pollen about, they cover a patch of the stalk right now about two foot of its length, starting about a foot up above where the buds start. For some reason the bottom ones haven't opened yet. Plus there are about 8 feet of unopened buds above the flowers.
After reading about my real plant, I've started asking around for potential "parents" for some of the babies. There should be hundreds, perhaps over a thousand. Once they grow on the stalk to something over an inch around (descriptions are a bit vague here) and can be easily plucked off the stalk, they need to be planted lightly in cactus soil, watered every few days until they grow roots, then planted in the yard where they have room to spread to about a 6' circle, in partial shade. They still need TLC in the watering department for a few months. And smarter people than I will avoid planting them under the roof eaves. I figure I can find half a dozen places for babies in our yard, found one friend who thinks she can take a few, and the rest likely will be donated to garden centers who are willing to trade some of their supplies and work for income.
Eggs before they hatch, eh.
Watching the covid numbers in AZ, they almost haven't budged so far this weekend. I highly doubt that's from people staying home, but from the government agencies reporting the stats being closed. I mean, hey, Arizona. The woman in charge of handling the crisis just resigned, with a letter saying she's just a duplicate of what the Governor and his staff are doing. She also made a comment about him far exceeding his job in what he's doing. Gotta be more to this story.
Meanwhile, been busy on line and via phone, letting people know what I did or didn't know yet about Steve's status. His surgery was scheduled for 11:00 yesterday. He finally called me at 5:30. A bit of that was a delay in the schedule, but the rest was recovery. A rough one. This is his second time recently he's had a rough one after surgery, the other being for his back pain-killer implant. There's a lot of rapid heartbeats and vomiting, not how anybody should wake up.
But, most important, he's home now. Recovering, catching up on Facebook, TV, and likely sleep, knowing how hospitals are.
Friday, March 27, 2020
Adventures In Caronavirus Land, Episode 12
Good thing, I guess, this isn't episode 13.
4:40 AM:
Back from the hospital. Without Steve. Not a good start to the day.
This wasn't even the start. That was more like 1:15 AM. I woke up, unable to get back to sleep. After trying for over an hour, I gave up and came to the living room to read for a while. What kept me from going back to sleep was my desire to re-engineer this day. It's supposed to be the one where I go pick up Rich from the county jail from serving his two weeks for not having an income to pay his fine, then take him to the homeless shelter. I don't want to expose myself to everything he's been exposed to, nor do I want to send him to where he'll be exposed to even more of this current world without any kind of social distancing possible. I also won't bring him here to share whatever with us.
I haven't heard from him the while he's been there. I have no clue how it's been for him. It's possible he has to pay for phone calls, and I know he went in with no funds. No phone either, as that "grew legs" just before I picked him up two weeks ago. At least he knows my phone number. (I need my cell for calling most everybody.) I've heard crazy things about having to pay for necessities like soap while inside. Obviously, I worry. Thus, no returning to sleep. I'd gotten it planned that I was going to load everything he left the shelter with into the car, go pick him up, and drive him straight to the shelter. Maybe bring him a burger, depending. I think he expects to be driven back here to sort through his belongings before heading to the shelter, but no way. As it is, I worry about the 4 miles or so between the stops.
The teensy bottle of hand sanitizer is in the car, and he'll need to use it before getting in. I'm thinking about a wet washcloth to have him hold over his face in lieu of any mask, but not sure whether I'll feel silly about it. And kicking myself for letting myself wonder if it matters. But anything I pick up from him will be brought back to Steve, though I've planned for that too. I've told Steve - last night - that when I come in the house, he's to stay away until I strip, shower, and change clothes, and probably also Clorox wipe down the car.
Now it may not matter.
I dropped him off at the ER. We think it's a kidney stone. It's been four days now, and he's been waiting for his "insurance" to approve a referral to a urologist. Around 3:00 AM it was the last straw. The pain, formerly localized, had now traveled back to his kidney. Time to get medical attention, loath though we both were to test out our hospital's precautions against covid 19.
They took both our temperatures with a swipe across the forehead when we got in side the ER door, before letting us advance to the check-in desk. We're both fine, that way. After asking why he was there, they assured us he was going to a separate area from respiratory / fever patients. They also assured me I was not allowed. No visitors. I can see their point, and feel safer for both of us because of it. No, all of this concern is not because of panic about the virus. We're not panicked, but we just don't trust the rest of the right-wing idiots out there to have been taking it seriously enough to do their own social distancing. Fox certainly hasn't encouraged them to, nor their dear leader. And while this hospital hasn't run short of protective gear and equipment, they are rationing it for the "possible", aka inevitable surge in cases. So after making sure Steve had his phone, I returned home.
Still not sleepy.
7:30 AM:
Steve called. It's a confirmed stone, 5 mm. OUCH! They think they will keep him. It may be necessary to go in and get it out. At least I don't have to worry about him needing a ride home at the same time I'm transporting Rich.
Had a couple catnaps. Not restful. I'll probably sleep when the jobs are done. I can "stand down." Nodded off with news on, caught a couple stats. We have the ignominy of now having more (tested only) covid cases that any country in the world, nearly 86,000 now. AZ has "close to 600", morning news vague on actual stats, with over half of them in Maricopa County. Makes sense, it's Phoenix plus. Most of those so far are among younger adults.
Maybe our seniors are taking this seriously. Let's hope so. I still see the walkers passing along the sidewalks, usually by twos, but occasionally with one trailing the other by 6 feet. Those who still walk side by side appear to be couples, so one can extrapolate they're already sharing every germ that comes along. We still see traffic on the street, including those truck/trailer combinations equipped for yard work. If they're smart or lucky, most of their customers right now are snowbirds who've fled but whose yards are just as good at growing weeds as this one.
One kind of traffic is missing, oddly enough. Fire and rescue trucks like our fairly straight street as a route to everywhere, and it's typical to hear them 3 or 4 times a day. I can't recall the last one. UPS and mail seem to be on their usual schedules, though we've come up with several ideas on why mail is an hour or two earlier, and a local utility project is proceeding. Haven't driven anywhere for a few days now, till today anyway when nothing was open yet, so I have no idea if crowds at the grocery store are still there, or what's on the shelves. A friend hasn't seen TP, milk, eggs, or butter for a couple weeks. TV news shows are warning about all the wet wipes folks are using, possibly believing the "flushable" claims, and how they're clogging up the machinery.
Wouldn't you love the bonus employment of having to clean up that?
Driving past the gas station, I noticed gas prices have finally come down from $2.89.9. By a "whole" 30 cents. Prices around downtown Phoenix have been that low for over a month, a classic example of supply and demand. We seniors do not drive like everybody else as a whole. It may have taken this long for the tanks to empty enough to put in lower priced fuel. About a week ago Steve read me something from Facebook where gas was down to just over a dollar a gallon. I'm torn between envy and hoping this doesn't signal an increase in air pollution.
Speaking of, when I take garbage out after supper I check out the sky. Haven't seen a plane for about two weeks, and we're under the flight path. Either they come in over the Superstitions and leave over us, or the opposite. A normal evening the sky holds half a dozen moving lights any given time. There are still some flights however, the jets from Luke AFB. We don't have to see them to know they're up there. Our boys in blue don't worry about the noise.
11:00 AM:
Still haven't heard from Rich. Called the jail and confirmed his discharge is in process. Also made sure he will have free access to a phone to call me. So, waiting. The car is loaded with everything I can think of he might want with him. He can sort it out at the car.
Checked latest stats on virus in state. Typically they post by this time each morning. Since last numbers, overall cases went from 509 to 655, deaths from 8 to 13. 399 cases are in this county. Last stat I saw for whole country from CNN was 90,700 cases with 1347 deaths. Florida, which just couldn't bring itself to do anything about spring break, suddenly has 2,900 cases, a rise of 500 in just one day, and is just starting to put in stay home orders for part (!?!) of the state.
Now a warning?
Steve calls every couple hours. He's been given both pain meds and something that's supposed to relax the tube coming from the kidney so the stone might pass. Later he called and said surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. He let me know his daughter has been informed so I assume the rest of his family knows as well. We're staying off the phone as much as possible so Rich can reach me.
5:00 PM:
Cases jumped to 670 in state, rise happening in outstate counties, with the same number of cases in our county as this morning. Same death toll so far, but they've clarified 5 of the deaths are from this county. By bedtime the numbers will have changed.
Rich has been delivered safely to where he needs to be. During the time we had for conversation, I brought him up to date on family and virus news, as there was no TV in the jail. We stopped in a MacDonald's parking lot so he could go through his belongings to sort what he'd take with him into the shelter, without it happening under snoopy and acquisitive eyes. There was a sign on MacDonald's door informing folks that their restroom was no longer open to anyone but employees. I warned Rich that he'd be finding a lot of that for a while.
Discussing his two weeks, he assured me there were no covid cases he was aware of, though a couple of people were in isolation just in case, waiting for symptoms to increase or vanish. When Rich heard about the loss of smell/taste symptoms, it was news to him, and he pledged to spread the news around the homeless population. His worst experience while in jail was finding out that two meals out of three had foods labeled "not for human consumption."
Is that legal? Or "just" Arizona?
He returned within the shelter's rules' timeline for returning after absence with cause, saving his bed. If he hadn't been that prompt, he would have had no bed. Not no-bed-for-a-night-or-two, but no bed. Period. The shelter has been filled with as many of the virus-vulnerable homeless people from the surrounding streets as could be crammed in, and the only open beds will result from rules violations or... well, patients leaving for the hospital or morgue. Those openings still wouldn't be for him.
Most of what Rich left in the car is old dirty laundry. He hadn't time either to or from jail to do laundry. But since he's heard buses are free right now, he plans to swing by in the morning to get it done and take back a supply of clean clothes. Steve should still be in the hospital, and I'll take precautions.
We'll have to forgo hugs though. Have to settle for loving words.
6:00 PM:
US cases now 100,700+. Deaths 1,540+.
Bedtime soon.
4:40 AM:
Back from the hospital. Without Steve. Not a good start to the day.
This wasn't even the start. That was more like 1:15 AM. I woke up, unable to get back to sleep. After trying for over an hour, I gave up and came to the living room to read for a while. What kept me from going back to sleep was my desire to re-engineer this day. It's supposed to be the one where I go pick up Rich from the county jail from serving his two weeks for not having an income to pay his fine, then take him to the homeless shelter. I don't want to expose myself to everything he's been exposed to, nor do I want to send him to where he'll be exposed to even more of this current world without any kind of social distancing possible. I also won't bring him here to share whatever with us.
I haven't heard from him the while he's been there. I have no clue how it's been for him. It's possible he has to pay for phone calls, and I know he went in with no funds. No phone either, as that "grew legs" just before I picked him up two weeks ago. At least he knows my phone number. (I need my cell for calling most everybody.) I've heard crazy things about having to pay for necessities like soap while inside. Obviously, I worry. Thus, no returning to sleep. I'd gotten it planned that I was going to load everything he left the shelter with into the car, go pick him up, and drive him straight to the shelter. Maybe bring him a burger, depending. I think he expects to be driven back here to sort through his belongings before heading to the shelter, but no way. As it is, I worry about the 4 miles or so between the stops.
The teensy bottle of hand sanitizer is in the car, and he'll need to use it before getting in. I'm thinking about a wet washcloth to have him hold over his face in lieu of any mask, but not sure whether I'll feel silly about it. And kicking myself for letting myself wonder if it matters. But anything I pick up from him will be brought back to Steve, though I've planned for that too. I've told Steve - last night - that when I come in the house, he's to stay away until I strip, shower, and change clothes, and probably also Clorox wipe down the car.
Now it may not matter.
I dropped him off at the ER. We think it's a kidney stone. It's been four days now, and he's been waiting for his "insurance" to approve a referral to a urologist. Around 3:00 AM it was the last straw. The pain, formerly localized, had now traveled back to his kidney. Time to get medical attention, loath though we both were to test out our hospital's precautions against covid 19.
They took both our temperatures with a swipe across the forehead when we got in side the ER door, before letting us advance to the check-in desk. We're both fine, that way. After asking why he was there, they assured us he was going to a separate area from respiratory / fever patients. They also assured me I was not allowed. No visitors. I can see their point, and feel safer for both of us because of it. No, all of this concern is not because of panic about the virus. We're not panicked, but we just don't trust the rest of the right-wing idiots out there to have been taking it seriously enough to do their own social distancing. Fox certainly hasn't encouraged them to, nor their dear leader. And while this hospital hasn't run short of protective gear and equipment, they are rationing it for the "possible", aka inevitable surge in cases. So after making sure Steve had his phone, I returned home.
Still not sleepy.
7:30 AM:
Steve called. It's a confirmed stone, 5 mm. OUCH! They think they will keep him. It may be necessary to go in and get it out. At least I don't have to worry about him needing a ride home at the same time I'm transporting Rich.
Had a couple catnaps. Not restful. I'll probably sleep when the jobs are done. I can "stand down." Nodded off with news on, caught a couple stats. We have the ignominy of now having more (tested only) covid cases that any country in the world, nearly 86,000 now. AZ has "close to 600", morning news vague on actual stats, with over half of them in Maricopa County. Makes sense, it's Phoenix plus. Most of those so far are among younger adults.
Maybe our seniors are taking this seriously. Let's hope so. I still see the walkers passing along the sidewalks, usually by twos, but occasionally with one trailing the other by 6 feet. Those who still walk side by side appear to be couples, so one can extrapolate they're already sharing every germ that comes along. We still see traffic on the street, including those truck/trailer combinations equipped for yard work. If they're smart or lucky, most of their customers right now are snowbirds who've fled but whose yards are just as good at growing weeds as this one.
One kind of traffic is missing, oddly enough. Fire and rescue trucks like our fairly straight street as a route to everywhere, and it's typical to hear them 3 or 4 times a day. I can't recall the last one. UPS and mail seem to be on their usual schedules, though we've come up with several ideas on why mail is an hour or two earlier, and a local utility project is proceeding. Haven't driven anywhere for a few days now, till today anyway when nothing was open yet, so I have no idea if crowds at the grocery store are still there, or what's on the shelves. A friend hasn't seen TP, milk, eggs, or butter for a couple weeks. TV news shows are warning about all the wet wipes folks are using, possibly believing the "flushable" claims, and how they're clogging up the machinery.
Wouldn't you love the bonus employment of having to clean up that?
Driving past the gas station, I noticed gas prices have finally come down from $2.89.9. By a "whole" 30 cents. Prices around downtown Phoenix have been that low for over a month, a classic example of supply and demand. We seniors do not drive like everybody else as a whole. It may have taken this long for the tanks to empty enough to put in lower priced fuel. About a week ago Steve read me something from Facebook where gas was down to just over a dollar a gallon. I'm torn between envy and hoping this doesn't signal an increase in air pollution.
Speaking of, when I take garbage out after supper I check out the sky. Haven't seen a plane for about two weeks, and we're under the flight path. Either they come in over the Superstitions and leave over us, or the opposite. A normal evening the sky holds half a dozen moving lights any given time. There are still some flights however, the jets from Luke AFB. We don't have to see them to know they're up there. Our boys in blue don't worry about the noise.
11:00 AM:
Still haven't heard from Rich. Called the jail and confirmed his discharge is in process. Also made sure he will have free access to a phone to call me. So, waiting. The car is loaded with everything I can think of he might want with him. He can sort it out at the car.
Checked latest stats on virus in state. Typically they post by this time each morning. Since last numbers, overall cases went from 509 to 655, deaths from 8 to 13. 399 cases are in this county. Last stat I saw for whole country from CNN was 90,700 cases with 1347 deaths. Florida, which just couldn't bring itself to do anything about spring break, suddenly has 2,900 cases, a rise of 500 in just one day, and is just starting to put in stay home orders for part (!?!) of the state.
Now a warning?
Steve calls every couple hours. He's been given both pain meds and something that's supposed to relax the tube coming from the kidney so the stone might pass. Later he called and said surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. He let me know his daughter has been informed so I assume the rest of his family knows as well. We're staying off the phone as much as possible so Rich can reach me.
5:00 PM:
Cases jumped to 670 in state, rise happening in outstate counties, with the same number of cases in our county as this morning. Same death toll so far, but they've clarified 5 of the deaths are from this county. By bedtime the numbers will have changed.
Rich has been delivered safely to where he needs to be. During the time we had for conversation, I brought him up to date on family and virus news, as there was no TV in the jail. We stopped in a MacDonald's parking lot so he could go through his belongings to sort what he'd take with him into the shelter, without it happening under snoopy and acquisitive eyes. There was a sign on MacDonald's door informing folks that their restroom was no longer open to anyone but employees. I warned Rich that he'd be finding a lot of that for a while.
Discussing his two weeks, he assured me there were no covid cases he was aware of, though a couple of people were in isolation just in case, waiting for symptoms to increase or vanish. When Rich heard about the loss of smell/taste symptoms, it was news to him, and he pledged to spread the news around the homeless population. His worst experience while in jail was finding out that two meals out of three had foods labeled "not for human consumption."
Is that legal? Or "just" Arizona?
He returned within the shelter's rules' timeline for returning after absence with cause, saving his bed. If he hadn't been that prompt, he would have had no bed. Not no-bed-for-a-night-or-two, but no bed. Period. The shelter has been filled with as many of the virus-vulnerable homeless people from the surrounding streets as could be crammed in, and the only open beds will result from rules violations or... well, patients leaving for the hospital or morgue. Those openings still wouldn't be for him.
Most of what Rich left in the car is old dirty laundry. He hadn't time either to or from jail to do laundry. But since he's heard buses are free right now, he plans to swing by in the morning to get it done and take back a supply of clean clothes. Steve should still be in the hospital, and I'll take precautions.
We'll have to forgo hugs though. Have to settle for loving words.
6:00 PM:
US cases now 100,700+. Deaths 1,540+.
Bedtime soon.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Adventures In Caronavirus Land, Episode 11
I can still smell. No, I didn't say "stink." We've already established that. It's never been in question. I'm saying my nose works. Other than a couple times post-surgeries, it's always been pretty good. It comes from Mom. She was always the first in the family to smell something. Growing up, it was one of those things that just was. Ho hum, boring.
Mine came into its own during my first pregnancy, when suddenly the whole olfactory world twisted. Everything I previously loved was suddenly nauseating. Literally. Nine months of morning/afternoon/evening sickness. That was for each ten-month gestation, and became my own positive pregnancy test for the three kids, having never actually had a positive test. Barf? Pregnant again. Somehow it all never kept me from gaining weight, though. Dang!
The post surgery olfactory slump turned out to be a favor, since food also lost it's grip and I began a very slow weight loss. Stress seems to have the opposite effect, of course. I'd almost welcome it back, except we've just learned that loss of smell and taste is one of the symptoms of the virus, possibly the only one in otherwise asymptomatic people. While we just learned it, already one of the CBS national morning news anchors is self quarantining due to exposure to somebody who just lost those senses. Let's hope the news spreads more widely than the virus.
Another tidbit is getting traction. There is a thermometer company, Kinsa, with an accompanying app on people's smart phones. Those phones send the data to the company. They've been tracking fevers in relation to flu outbreaks for a while. Somebody noticed new patterns in the spikes, and figured out how to weed out the "normal" flu fever data and compare the results to covid 19 statistics. The non-typical fever spikes preceded by a few days the rise in covid 19 statistics.
They've mapped their data. Rachel Maddow showed it Tuesday night. Two things stood out for me, personally. Florida is showing the highest spike right now, and they haven't yet ordered any kind of stay-home orders. Spring break....
The other thing was contrasting Minnesota and Arizona data. Minnesota was in the lowest fevers category. Arizona showed a low (1st tier) level of fevers, again in a state with no actual stay home orders yet, though piecemeal things like schools out have been happening. However, the color showed up on our state's map covering a very wide swath from north to south borders. By "wide swath" I mean all but a very narrow band along the east and west borders.
Think we're going to continue hunkering down, as much as possible. AZ reported "only" 8 deaths in morning news, with 508 verified cases, but our curve is angling up. Exponentially. Compound interest.
Oh, the great grandson was 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 19-point-something inches. I forget exactly, and Steve's sleeping. He got the text. He also got pictures which, amazingly for a newborn, capture his eyes open. He is adorable. Of course.
Talked to a friend from Minnesota a bit ago. She and her husband have both been sick. all the symptoms of covid 19 except their fevers weren't "high enough." They asked for a test, but were refused. Not enough tests around to"waste" them. With my new knowledge, I asked and verified they both had lost smell and taste for the duration. But we'll never know now what it was. She's had flu several times over the years, but never as bad as this. I filled her in on the progress being made for finding a test for antibodies to establish who had it without knowing, and may now be immune. He'd love to be able to return to work. So far their sons are showing no symptoms of anything, except boredom. Teenagers.
Pure plagiarism from the internet, reaction to the "seniors should sacrifice" idiocy, coupled with the alleged Christianity of those spouting it. It was in comments on Daily Kos Tuesday, but I can't relocate the exact article and commenter for attribution. Sorry. So something like this:
For God so loved the Market that he sent his only Son, for whosoever believeth in their banker should not perish but have everlasting wealth. John $3.16.
State prisoners are being sent to an egg farm to work, and will be housed there. A pizza joint offers toilet paper with pizza. The favorite local Mexican restaurant has a free taco salad when you buy one, and now will take credit cards despite years of refusing them. Congress is offering hope... for some. The President declares himself a war president but doesn't bother to use his "war powers" to ramp up production of ventilators or personal protective equipment, while refrigerator trucks collect and store bodies. Mississippi's idiot governor refuses to ask people to change their habits. Against all logic, 59% of people polled actually approve of Trump's handling of the pandemic.
And you're still reading this.
Go figure.
Mine came into its own during my first pregnancy, when suddenly the whole olfactory world twisted. Everything I previously loved was suddenly nauseating. Literally. Nine months of morning/afternoon/evening sickness. That was for each ten-month gestation, and became my own positive pregnancy test for the three kids, having never actually had a positive test. Barf? Pregnant again. Somehow it all never kept me from gaining weight, though. Dang!
The post surgery olfactory slump turned out to be a favor, since food also lost it's grip and I began a very slow weight loss. Stress seems to have the opposite effect, of course. I'd almost welcome it back, except we've just learned that loss of smell and taste is one of the symptoms of the virus, possibly the only one in otherwise asymptomatic people. While we just learned it, already one of the CBS national morning news anchors is self quarantining due to exposure to somebody who just lost those senses. Let's hope the news spreads more widely than the virus.
Another tidbit is getting traction. There is a thermometer company, Kinsa, with an accompanying app on people's smart phones. Those phones send the data to the company. They've been tracking fevers in relation to flu outbreaks for a while. Somebody noticed new patterns in the spikes, and figured out how to weed out the "normal" flu fever data and compare the results to covid 19 statistics. The non-typical fever spikes preceded by a few days the rise in covid 19 statistics.
They've mapped their data. Rachel Maddow showed it Tuesday night. Two things stood out for me, personally. Florida is showing the highest spike right now, and they haven't yet ordered any kind of stay-home orders. Spring break....
The other thing was contrasting Minnesota and Arizona data. Minnesota was in the lowest fevers category. Arizona showed a low (1st tier) level of fevers, again in a state with no actual stay home orders yet, though piecemeal things like schools out have been happening. However, the color showed up on our state's map covering a very wide swath from north to south borders. By "wide swath" I mean all but a very narrow band along the east and west borders.
Think we're going to continue hunkering down, as much as possible. AZ reported "only" 8 deaths in morning news, with 508 verified cases, but our curve is angling up. Exponentially. Compound interest.
Oh, the great grandson was 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 19-point-something inches. I forget exactly, and Steve's sleeping. He got the text. He also got pictures which, amazingly for a newborn, capture his eyes open. He is adorable. Of course.
Talked to a friend from Minnesota a bit ago. She and her husband have both been sick. all the symptoms of covid 19 except their fevers weren't "high enough." They asked for a test, but were refused. Not enough tests around to"waste" them. With my new knowledge, I asked and verified they both had lost smell and taste for the duration. But we'll never know now what it was. She's had flu several times over the years, but never as bad as this. I filled her in on the progress being made for finding a test for antibodies to establish who had it without knowing, and may now be immune. He'd love to be able to return to work. So far their sons are showing no symptoms of anything, except boredom. Teenagers.
Pure plagiarism from the internet, reaction to the "seniors should sacrifice" idiocy, coupled with the alleged Christianity of those spouting it. It was in comments on Daily Kos Tuesday, but I can't relocate the exact article and commenter for attribution. Sorry. So something like this:
For God so loved the Market that he sent his only Son, for whosoever believeth in their banker should not perish but have everlasting wealth. John $3.16.
State prisoners are being sent to an egg farm to work, and will be housed there. A pizza joint offers toilet paper with pizza. The favorite local Mexican restaurant has a free taco salad when you buy one, and now will take credit cards despite years of refusing them. Congress is offering hope... for some. The President declares himself a war president but doesn't bother to use his "war powers" to ramp up production of ventilators or personal protective equipment, while refrigerator trucks collect and store bodies. Mississippi's idiot governor refuses to ask people to change their habits. Against all logic, 59% of people polled actually approve of Trump's handling of the pandemic.
And you're still reading this.
Go figure.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Adventures In Caronavirus Land, Episode 10
It's hard to stay calm right now. No, not cabin fever. It's the naked avarice "trumping" humanity and science in the face of this pandemic.
Not Dying For Wall Street. It's trending right now, in all but the halls of Republican power. But people are still drinking the kool-aid. Patriotic seniors should die to save the economy? This from the mouths of those shameless enough to claim the the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, included "Death Panels."
Have Republicans become the party of sociopaths? Then again, that's become a rhetorical question. I'm just reluctant enough to answer it out loud because I still hope the tiniest bit that there can be a "no" answer to it.
That tiniest bit is rapidly shrinking.
I'm not willing to die for Wall Street. I'm OK with staying home for a good while. (Putting off resigning myself to needing to cancel summer plans yet.) Sure, stress eating has risen it's chubby head. Those applesauce/banana pancakes were delicious! Steve helped eat them, but of the box of mix, 5 lonely cakes huddle in the refrigerator waiting to rejoin their fellows.
I'm not feeling stifled by staying in. I'm furious, but by the idiocy and avarice of others. Dare I hope, if the nincompoop-in-chief tells us to go back to work and shopping, that enough Governors will show they are smarter and have better values systems, enough to reject it? This only works if we all participate, but it's patchwork stupidity.
There are small comforts other than face stuffing. The great grand baby should be born by now, but we're waiting to hear. Mom was sent home for a bit, returning to the hospital today. Last word was an emergency caesarean, but her father, our family source, is kept miles away. If I can judge from my own emergency back in '76, the baby is delivered in about a minute and a half, and Mom is put back together in about an hour and a half. So we're optimistically waiting.
More people are reaching out via email and phone. The weather is nice, with systems blowing through carrying just enough clouds to provide a spot of color around suppertime. Some of the sprayed weeds are visibly dying. The pulled thistles, the ones I was too tired to throw away properly so just left in the carport, got carried away by something, presumably for dinner, so I never had to pick them up. The pricker tip in my finger from them worked its way out by itself. Harvey Weinstein has contracted covid 19 and I almost wasted a full second wondering if I was terrible for not really caring? Tuesday is mail ads day, a scoopful of flyers shoved through the slot, the one notable thing today being our local grocery story didn't waste money on what they might not still have to sell by the time we get there. And all our sniffles, sneezes, and coughs can be written off to allergies as the pollen blows in accompanied by the fragrance of orange blossoms. Nobody has a fever. Best, we still love each other.
Not Dying For Wall Street. It's trending right now, in all but the halls of Republican power. But people are still drinking the kool-aid. Patriotic seniors should die to save the economy? This from the mouths of those shameless enough to claim the the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, included "Death Panels."
Have Republicans become the party of sociopaths? Then again, that's become a rhetorical question. I'm just reluctant enough to answer it out loud because I still hope the tiniest bit that there can be a "no" answer to it.
That tiniest bit is rapidly shrinking.
I'm not willing to die for Wall Street. I'm OK with staying home for a good while. (Putting off resigning myself to needing to cancel summer plans yet.) Sure, stress eating has risen it's chubby head. Those applesauce/banana pancakes were delicious! Steve helped eat them, but of the box of mix, 5 lonely cakes huddle in the refrigerator waiting to rejoin their fellows.
I'm not feeling stifled by staying in. I'm furious, but by the idiocy and avarice of others. Dare I hope, if the nincompoop-in-chief tells us to go back to work and shopping, that enough Governors will show they are smarter and have better values systems, enough to reject it? This only works if we all participate, but it's patchwork stupidity.
There are small comforts other than face stuffing. The great grand baby should be born by now, but we're waiting to hear. Mom was sent home for a bit, returning to the hospital today. Last word was an emergency caesarean, but her father, our family source, is kept miles away. If I can judge from my own emergency back in '76, the baby is delivered in about a minute and a half, and Mom is put back together in about an hour and a half. So we're optimistically waiting.
More people are reaching out via email and phone. The weather is nice, with systems blowing through carrying just enough clouds to provide a spot of color around suppertime. Some of the sprayed weeds are visibly dying. The pulled thistles, the ones I was too tired to throw away properly so just left in the carport, got carried away by something, presumably for dinner, so I never had to pick them up. The pricker tip in my finger from them worked its way out by itself. Harvey Weinstein has contracted covid 19 and I almost wasted a full second wondering if I was terrible for not really caring? Tuesday is mail ads day, a scoopful of flyers shoved through the slot, the one notable thing today being our local grocery story didn't waste money on what they might not still have to sell by the time we get there. And all our sniffles, sneezes, and coughs can be written off to allergies as the pollen blows in accompanied by the fragrance of orange blossoms. Nobody has a fever. Best, we still love each other.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Adventures In ... I'm Sick Of This Title, Aren't You?
Raspberries galore!
No, not in the grocery stores, though I can't attest to that, having stayed away. These are the kinds I make in my mouth for bad behavior. I do it from the safety - for me and them - of my living room. I don't care to share microbes, from either direction.
You're welcome.
First, to Sen. Rand Paul. After finding out he was exposed to covid 19, he got tested. BUT while waiting for results, he mingled and mingled and mingled.... Now he's tested positive. I'm not even sure I should feel relieved that most of his mingling occurred among Republican Senators. We'll still need a quorum to pass necessary legislation. So P-p-p-p-f-f-f-f-f-t-t-t-t-t-t-t! Twice!
Second, to those thousands and thousands in this area who figured out the only way to aleviate their cabin fever was to go out on the hiking trails with 5,000 of their closest ... uh ... germ wagons over this weekend. TV footage shows there was absolutely no possibility of maintaining two feet of distance between hikers.
Wait. What? Six feet? P-p-p-p-f-f-f-f-t-t-t-t-t-t-t! I'd offer to do it 5,000 times, but haven't the energy any more.
I just vacuumed the living room, after all.
FYI the vacuum is currently parked in the living room where I can see it because I don't have to feel guilty about not vacuuming any more. Although, I can now look at it and feel guilty about not emptying the canister again, since it's half full. OK, OK, I told you the living room needed vacuuming, didn't I? Well, I vacuumed it, so there.
Turned on the TV this morning because that's what I do. Arizona stats are really climbing now, and our (Republican, don'cha know) Governor hasn't yet given the stay-home order, though he has written the feds begging for assistance in controlling the virus. Schools are closed and no groups more than 10. 10? What good is that? We need to quit this stupidity. Soon, I hope. Though I have to go pick up a prescription refill soon. Been postponing that in favor of... whatever. Any which whatever. On the plus side, I may not need to find the drive-up window after all, because I also am thinking about applesauce. Yep, once thwarted, twice obsessed. And while I'm there, see if TP has arrived, and eggs, and the summer sausage they carry, bananas, milk, and, hmmm, ice cream is getting low....
I won't bother looking for hand sanitizer. I ordered some about ten days ago through Amazon, and it's been shipped. Guaranteed to be here, uhh, let's see... mid May! Yee-haaaaaa!
* * * * *
Post-shopping observations:
My route to Walmart passes a school. Though closed, I found myself obeying the flashing speed limit sign, wondering as I did whether it was sillier that it was still flashing or that I was paying attention. Probably always better to be safe.
I always pass a couple banks and credit unions. While my CU in MN has let me know repeatedly they are only open for drive-through or electronic banking, the ones down here seem to be doing a booming walk-in business. Hey, but no germs on money, eh? What, really? Dang! I'll have to quit spending it.
Shopper levels are down a bit, if the ability to find a spot in the shade in Arizona is any indication. I did drive around the store first, to find that pharmacy drive-through. They located it on the north end, about as far in any direction away from the pharmacy as it's possible to get in that store. It had a line though. Adding that to my having a list of other things, I parked in the lot and went in for all of it.
While you still can't buy hand sanitizer in the store, there is a prominent display near the carts for hand and cart wipes. For my first time, I used them. For both. Well, technically, I used three. That's how many pulled out before disconnecting from the dispenses. Best not to waste. They'd just dry out waiting for the next customer. Right?
There were three people I saw with masks on. Gotta wonder if they're sick and trying not to spread it? Or still think it will protect them from the rest of us, just in case?
I did find what I thought I would on my list. Butter was in, slight surprise. TP not. No shock there. I asked a clerk when they might get that in. It comes around 2 PM daily. People start to line up by the shipping / delivery door around 1 PM. The ice cream in my cart, plus my personal inclinations, nixed that kind of wait. Lucky I don't need any yet. Butter, eggs, milk, applesauce and summer sausage were available. Eggs were the only ones with "limit 1" signs. Good thing they meant cartons and not eggs. I did get two hand of bananas since that rack was full and some were overripe. While many of the spaces for processed meats, i.e. lunch meats, hot dogs, etc., there was a large stack of summer sausages so I didn't feel guilty about getting two of them also. It's hard in normal times to find more than two or three in the store, and often none , so it was an unexpected bounty.
Once home, the freezer didn't quite have space for the ice cream. I made the ultimate sacrifice and finished up the old one to make room. Ahhhhhhhhh....
Hard times, my way.
Just heard, the our great-grandson is on the way to the hospital to get born.
No, not in the grocery stores, though I can't attest to that, having stayed away. These are the kinds I make in my mouth for bad behavior. I do it from the safety - for me and them - of my living room. I don't care to share microbes, from either direction.
You're welcome.
First, to Sen. Rand Paul. After finding out he was exposed to covid 19, he got tested. BUT while waiting for results, he mingled and mingled and mingled.... Now he's tested positive. I'm not even sure I should feel relieved that most of his mingling occurred among Republican Senators. We'll still need a quorum to pass necessary legislation. So P-p-p-p-f-f-f-f-f-t-t-t-t-t-t-t! Twice!
Second, to those thousands and thousands in this area who figured out the only way to aleviate their cabin fever was to go out on the hiking trails with 5,000 of their closest ... uh ... germ wagons over this weekend. TV footage shows there was absolutely no possibility of maintaining two feet of distance between hikers.
Wait. What? Six feet? P-p-p-p-f-f-f-f-t-t-t-t-t-t-t! I'd offer to do it 5,000 times, but haven't the energy any more.
I just vacuumed the living room, after all.
FYI the vacuum is currently parked in the living room where I can see it because I don't have to feel guilty about not vacuuming any more. Although, I can now look at it and feel guilty about not emptying the canister again, since it's half full. OK, OK, I told you the living room needed vacuuming, didn't I? Well, I vacuumed it, so there.
Turned on the TV this morning because that's what I do. Arizona stats are really climbing now, and our (Republican, don'cha know) Governor hasn't yet given the stay-home order, though he has written the feds begging for assistance in controlling the virus. Schools are closed and no groups more than 10. 10? What good is that? We need to quit this stupidity. Soon, I hope. Though I have to go pick up a prescription refill soon. Been postponing that in favor of... whatever. Any which whatever. On the plus side, I may not need to find the drive-up window after all, because I also am thinking about applesauce. Yep, once thwarted, twice obsessed. And while I'm there, see if TP has arrived, and eggs, and the summer sausage they carry, bananas, milk, and, hmmm, ice cream is getting low....
I won't bother looking for hand sanitizer. I ordered some about ten days ago through Amazon, and it's been shipped. Guaranteed to be here, uhh, let's see... mid May! Yee-haaaaaa!
* * * * *
Post-shopping observations:
My route to Walmart passes a school. Though closed, I found myself obeying the flashing speed limit sign, wondering as I did whether it was sillier that it was still flashing or that I was paying attention. Probably always better to be safe.
I always pass a couple banks and credit unions. While my CU in MN has let me know repeatedly they are only open for drive-through or electronic banking, the ones down here seem to be doing a booming walk-in business. Hey, but no germs on money, eh? What, really? Dang! I'll have to quit spending it.
Shopper levels are down a bit, if the ability to find a spot in the shade in Arizona is any indication. I did drive around the store first, to find that pharmacy drive-through. They located it on the north end, about as far in any direction away from the pharmacy as it's possible to get in that store. It had a line though. Adding that to my having a list of other things, I parked in the lot and went in for all of it.
While you still can't buy hand sanitizer in the store, there is a prominent display near the carts for hand and cart wipes. For my first time, I used them. For both. Well, technically, I used three. That's how many pulled out before disconnecting from the dispenses. Best not to waste. They'd just dry out waiting for the next customer. Right?
There were three people I saw with masks on. Gotta wonder if they're sick and trying not to spread it? Or still think it will protect them from the rest of us, just in case?
I did find what I thought I would on my list. Butter was in, slight surprise. TP not. No shock there. I asked a clerk when they might get that in. It comes around 2 PM daily. People start to line up by the shipping / delivery door around 1 PM. The ice cream in my cart, plus my personal inclinations, nixed that kind of wait. Lucky I don't need any yet. Butter, eggs, milk, applesauce and summer sausage were available. Eggs were the only ones with "limit 1" signs. Good thing they meant cartons and not eggs. I did get two hand of bananas since that rack was full and some were overripe. While many of the spaces for processed meats, i.e. lunch meats, hot dogs, etc., there was a large stack of summer sausages so I didn't feel guilty about getting two of them also. It's hard in normal times to find more than two or three in the store, and often none , so it was an unexpected bounty.
Once home, the freezer didn't quite have space for the ice cream. I made the ultimate sacrifice and finished up the old one to make room. Ahhhhhhhhh....
Hard times, my way.
Just heard, the our great-grandson is on the way to the hospital to get born.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Adventures In Caronavirus Land, Episode ...?
Which one is this exactly? Or are we past the point where counting episodes matters. Some of you are still reading, though. Nothing better to do either?
Sunday. Day of rest. If that's your belief. For others, Saturday. Or Friday. When you're retired, it's hard to pick out one that distinguishes itself from others.
Mine started out restful. Woke up after 7 hours sleep, did the necessary, went back to sleep. @ hours later, Woke again. Got up. Got dressed. Watched some TV. Slept in my chair.
Steve had been online and shared a whine from some local person about them closing down the centers and ball courts/fields, but letting the golf courses stay open. Hey, lady, it's so much easier to keep your "social distance" on a golf course and clustered around the bocce balls, eh? They haven't closed the sidewalks to walking either. I've even seen - gasp! - couples trudging along together! Life just ain't fair.
(Hmmm, frustration!!! I was going to put something snarky about Trump and walking/riding around golf courses here. It sounded wonderful in my head while I was in the shower, but I've totally spaced all but the plan to do it. Dang!)
I'd had big plans for breakfast. I buy add-water-only pancake mix. Never have to worry about having the right number of eggs or amount of milk. I like to add fruit(s) to the mix first, then water to the right consistency. Today's plan was applesauce and cinnamon. No applesauce in the pantry, and not gonna go out for some. Found peaches, apparently canned a decade ago because once I used the can opener I discovered something almost black inside.
Forget the dang pancakes! Nuked a frozen breakfast sandwich instead, after removing that glop they call cheese.
After that third nap, though, I felt ambitious. I'd sprayed weeds again yesterday until my back complained that I was bending over too long in order to make sure that tiny stream hit something green. Whole patches of them were still out there, mocking me. Patches which were sprayed before the last rain were showing generous new growth between the dying bits. Time to go back to work. I finished the remains in both sprayers, then hunted through the house for the concentrate to mix another gallon.
Bet you think I had it in hand, eh? Well.... I'm gonna remember next time to put the water in the mixing tank before I add the chemical. Seems it foams up when the water splashes in, so there have to be several pauses before enough water can be added to make the proportions right. But I did finally figure out how to get the vacuum canister come off for emptying, and go back on while I was waiting. It's now in the living room, tucked behind me where I don't have to look at it and feel guilty about not using it.
But the yard did get fully covered this time. Seems that if I use the widest stream, covering patches rather than plants, it's really quick and I don't have to bend over to see just where each little plant is to be sure it's wet.
There was one puzzle, however. What does it say when a neighbor who hasn't acknowledged you for several years yells a "Hello" across the street? Is it a kind of "Hey, we're all still alive here" kind of a thing as we wait out this virus? Or is it some passive-aggressive way of letting you know it's well past time you took care of those weeds?
We have two spiny cactus in the yard. That's if you can count the roof over the patio as "yard." There's no trough there to move rain aside, just a flat plate across the end of the metal roof. It catches pine needles in the tiny gap where you thought it was flush. And a cactus seed as well, apparently. It's been there for years, possible since before we moved in but just didn't notice. It's been pulled out several times. A year or so later, there it is again, laughing at us. Spiny as heck. I'm not going to be the one pulling it out, no sirree. Uh-uh. Not even with gloves and tongs. Nope. Not me.
The second one popped up in the front yard, about two feet away from the driveway. It's so tiny, nobody believed me when I said it was there. They couldn't find it. When I went out to point it out, I couldn't either. Then next time, it was there again. I mentally marked its spot against other things in the yard, like the sunken garbage can, driveway lines, or another plant. When I looked for it again, I still couldn't find it. Finally some piece of fluffy white something lodged in the rocks a few inches away, and that became my marker for it, until it blew away again.
I'd asked Rich to please remove it for us last summer. It hadn't gotten done, but I hadn't seen it either to notice. Until I did again. Now it's got two fat little (spiny) pads on it, and three somethings coming out of them. Not sure if those are new growth or flowers. I have pictures now, proof of something or other. I think about putting a stake in the yard, though whether to warn people or just help me find it again I haven't decided. I want to see what it does, though. I'm still amazed at how something green can hide in reddish rocks. But I can nearly always find it now! And I'm pretty sure I didn't spray it. I think.
I took a wonderful shower after the spraying was finished. It seemed wise, not just because I was sweaty and a tad rank. OK, OK, I admit it: really rank! There, you happy? I've seen the ads on the TV about the chemical weed killer causing cancer and killing you too, green or not, but you can collect $$ before you croak. Or some such message. I've been using it for years, but figure if it's going to be cancer, it'll be 4 years of training managers in an unventilated dry cleaners back in the '80s that'll do it to me first. Or maybe the caronavirus will beat them both to it. Still, I'm smelling a lot better now, so it's safe for you to read this! (Sniff sniff) Just checking. Yep, safe.
Sunday. Day of rest. If that's your belief. For others, Saturday. Or Friday. When you're retired, it's hard to pick out one that distinguishes itself from others.
Mine started out restful. Woke up after 7 hours sleep, did the necessary, went back to sleep. @ hours later, Woke again. Got up. Got dressed. Watched some TV. Slept in my chair.
Steve had been online and shared a whine from some local person about them closing down the centers and ball courts/fields, but letting the golf courses stay open. Hey, lady, it's so much easier to keep your "social distance" on a golf course and clustered around the bocce balls, eh? They haven't closed the sidewalks to walking either. I've even seen - gasp! - couples trudging along together! Life just ain't fair.
(Hmmm, frustration!!! I was going to put something snarky about Trump and walking/riding around golf courses here. It sounded wonderful in my head while I was in the shower, but I've totally spaced all but the plan to do it. Dang!)
I'd had big plans for breakfast. I buy add-water-only pancake mix. Never have to worry about having the right number of eggs or amount of milk. I like to add fruit(s) to the mix first, then water to the right consistency. Today's plan was applesauce and cinnamon. No applesauce in the pantry, and not gonna go out for some. Found peaches, apparently canned a decade ago because once I used the can opener I discovered something almost black inside.
Forget the dang pancakes! Nuked a frozen breakfast sandwich instead, after removing that glop they call cheese.
After that third nap, though, I felt ambitious. I'd sprayed weeds again yesterday until my back complained that I was bending over too long in order to make sure that tiny stream hit something green. Whole patches of them were still out there, mocking me. Patches which were sprayed before the last rain were showing generous new growth between the dying bits. Time to go back to work. I finished the remains in both sprayers, then hunted through the house for the concentrate to mix another gallon.
Bet you think I had it in hand, eh? Well.... I'm gonna remember next time to put the water in the mixing tank before I add the chemical. Seems it foams up when the water splashes in, so there have to be several pauses before enough water can be added to make the proportions right. But I did finally figure out how to get the vacuum canister come off for emptying, and go back on while I was waiting. It's now in the living room, tucked behind me where I don't have to look at it and feel guilty about not using it.
But the yard did get fully covered this time. Seems that if I use the widest stream, covering patches rather than plants, it's really quick and I don't have to bend over to see just where each little plant is to be sure it's wet.
There was one puzzle, however. What does it say when a neighbor who hasn't acknowledged you for several years yells a "Hello" across the street? Is it a kind of "Hey, we're all still alive here" kind of a thing as we wait out this virus? Or is it some passive-aggressive way of letting you know it's well past time you took care of those weeds?
We have two spiny cactus in the yard. That's if you can count the roof over the patio as "yard." There's no trough there to move rain aside, just a flat plate across the end of the metal roof. It catches pine needles in the tiny gap where you thought it was flush. And a cactus seed as well, apparently. It's been there for years, possible since before we moved in but just didn't notice. It's been pulled out several times. A year or so later, there it is again, laughing at us. Spiny as heck. I'm not going to be the one pulling it out, no sirree. Uh-uh. Not even with gloves and tongs. Nope. Not me.
The second one popped up in the front yard, about two feet away from the driveway. It's so tiny, nobody believed me when I said it was there. They couldn't find it. When I went out to point it out, I couldn't either. Then next time, it was there again. I mentally marked its spot against other things in the yard, like the sunken garbage can, driveway lines, or another plant. When I looked for it again, I still couldn't find it. Finally some piece of fluffy white something lodged in the rocks a few inches away, and that became my marker for it, until it blew away again.
I'd asked Rich to please remove it for us last summer. It hadn't gotten done, but I hadn't seen it either to notice. Until I did again. Now it's got two fat little (spiny) pads on it, and three somethings coming out of them. Not sure if those are new growth or flowers. I have pictures now, proof of something or other. I think about putting a stake in the yard, though whether to warn people or just help me find it again I haven't decided. I want to see what it does, though. I'm still amazed at how something green can hide in reddish rocks. But I can nearly always find it now! And I'm pretty sure I didn't spray it. I think.
I took a wonderful shower after the spraying was finished. It seemed wise, not just because I was sweaty and a tad rank. OK, OK, I admit it: really rank! There, you happy? I've seen the ads on the TV about the chemical weed killer causing cancer and killing you too, green or not, but you can collect $$ before you croak. Or some such message. I've been using it for years, but figure if it's going to be cancer, it'll be 4 years of training managers in an unventilated dry cleaners back in the '80s that'll do it to me first. Or maybe the caronavirus will beat them both to it. Still, I'm smelling a lot better now, so it's safe for you to read this! (Sniff sniff) Just checking. Yep, safe.
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