One Day at a Time

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Are You Home?

We are still on an upward curve in terms of infections and deaths, but our Governor is slowly and not so carefully opening the state back up. We are bravely driving up to see the children and drop off garden plants this weekend. No touching and using masks, but because the drive is over an hour and we are visiting both families, we will have to use one of their bathrooms. I am going to ask them to run the fans for a while before we go inside and for their sakes run it for a while after we leave. Odd the things we request of our children these days.

I will pack some snacks because I am not sure we can feel safe eating anywhere...even outdoor sidewalk cafes!

Above is some Pasta Fajoli I made a while back. Haven't made this since I was a teenager!

I am feeling a bit useless these days as the friends that I have called have no needs, although I do check on them. Guess I just have solid pioneer friends. My kids are also doing well and so glad that all four of their careers are still moving along with full employment. That is perhaps what I worry about most when I let my mind wander down that "What if..." vein.

My gardens are super lovely as the weather has been perfect spring. Coolish with just enough rain to make the plants grow! And, as usual, the natives fight hard not be overlooked and overshadowed by the full-blossomed hybrids.

Anyway, I may stop by your place this weekend and drop off some tomato plants, some pepper plants and some basil. Will you be home?

Wednesday, May 06, 2020

Sigh

Something I read today:

"What weight do we apportion the fact of life versus quality of life? At what point of psychological and economic degradation is that quality unacceptable and is the life worth putting at risk? What number of lives, if any, is it OK to endanger so that a much higher number of lives can be bettered? What’s the higher number? And how should betterment be defined?

Sweden’s herd-immunity approach provided one set of answers. Michigan’s lockdown provided another. Whichever fork a given place or population takes, it’s making a profoundly moral decision.

A friend of mine recently asserted that no matter the Covid-19 data in July and August, all college campuses should welcome students back for the fall semester because young people aren’t the primary victims of Covid-19; because the current disruption to their lives, if prolonged, could strain them in ways that haunt their futures; and because they have so much future ahead of them. They warrant a little extra consideration.

Implicit in that reasoning is that older people, who are vulnerable if the resumption of business as usual spreads the virus, warrant a little less.

There’s no way to sugarcoat that, and there’s no point in being anything less than wholly honest about the implications of the transcendently difficult choices before us." Frank Bruni, New York Times

Someone on Facebook responded thus:

"Wonder what it costs for a two week stay in ICU? Families then have to bury their loved one. Legal fees for will probate. Cemetery plot if one is available.
All that expense and suffering. And then, medical people that spent fortune to train. Throwing it into the bonfire to care for humanity.
If we are reducing this to a matter of money, then the answer is NO. The economy will recover anyway. Your portfolio will eventually go back up. Yearly profits will not be as high. But the human cost is unspeakable. The children left without a parent. That price is too high and the economy is not worth needless deaths. I do not accept that nihilistic nightmare."

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Masking

I can remember, barely, last year when I was in China and felt sorry that the Chinese have to wear masks as they went about their daily lives in cities like Shanghai and Beijing and other cities we visited. Even our host on our tour boat gave a talk comparing the culture of the west and the east and admitted to longing for the day when his children would not have to shelter inside due to days of heavy air pollution. The majority of China's energy comes from cheaper coal.

In late January many Americans thought the Chinese were being wussy wearing their masks everywhere. Many Americans did not comprehend the virus at all.

When the pandemic first started to spread here on our continent you would see the occasional mask being worn by an elder or someone you assumed was immune-compromised or something else. In early March even I went to the store in our rural area without a mask and saw 15% wearing some face covering. Many of us felt it was probably overkill. Consistently, the government said we didn't need masks but just needed to distance. I felt in the back of my mind that this was really so that people did not rush out to buy and hoard the N95 masks.

There was a back and forth for weeks on how "aerosolized" the virus could be. There were articles on how far heavy spittle and sneeze drops actually traveled. Then the scientists' admission (still somewhat controversial) about tiny virus particles traveling distances or hanging in the air for hours. Whether these tiny vapors are strong enough to be a contagion is still being explored. Public bathrooms are the absolute worst place to expose yourself as heavy concentrations of the virus were found in patients' bathrooms and areas of heavy use in the reception areas of hospitals.

Then States started to turn the corner and ask people to cover their faces with anything if they went out shopping. This eventually morphed in laws requiring masks in some areas...such as mine. Suddenly masking was taken seriously by those snowflakes who follow the science. Others were blatant deniers but felt they needed to public carry automatic weapons for protection instead. I will not digress on this flat-earth mentality.

I had two boxes of N95 masks from Home Depot. One from a time when we were painting and doing sanding work. Another from an order I made in early January as a precaution. I gave away the unopened box of 10 masks to our local Fire Department as the Pandemic grew. Part of the other box I sent to the family for their protection and the rest I put in zip-locks to be used in the car as I have lung issues and both hubby and I are in our mid-seventies. Once worn they get aired in the car for 4 days and then re-used, which one medical site recommended for those using it much more heavily than we do.

Now the last day of April you will see all kinds of masks with varying degrees of protection being sold in ads or home-made by volunteer groups. Asia is selling tons of them on Facebook (and probably other social venues) with little facts on how effective they are. Cotton, batik cotton and quilting fabrics are the best for homemade but should use a wire to fit across the nose which prevents air escape as well as glasses fogging. They caution against non-natural fabrics and I have found nothing on silk scarves. I have some quilting and some batik materials but I do not like the ties so am waiting for elastic which I ordered a few days ago. When I make these I can distribute to those who want or need them and we can use them in the future.

As with any product that is needed masks have become customized. Sports teams, hobbies, pet breeds, and even hand lettering with the initials of the wearer are being made. Never let it be said that entrepreneurs will miss a sales opportunity!

In my vanity, I have noticed that you do not need lipstick anymore if you head outside to get mail or food. If you are female you do not need to brush your hair too much. By the time the straps are in place, your hair will look reasonably pathetic anyway.

Well stay safe out there and make sure you bring home the correct spouse after your shopping trip...we are all starting to look alike out there.

Please explain this label to me..!

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Catch Up and Keep Up

I just realized that I am trying to find time to squeeze in a blogging post. I am not the type of person that can just toss something off the top of my head...well, I can, but it will sound like one of our President's monologues and people will quit reading here and leave scratching their heads. It seems that washing vegetables, washing the mail, nurturing my spring seedlings, nurturing the perennials I had ordered with our unusually cold spring, keeping up with the laundry that may or may not be covered in virus, keeping in closer touch with family and friends who are near and far, and trying to plan meals with half the ingredients is taking up all my time and keeping me exhausted.

I should be less busy. But I had two Zoom meetings and about two dozen emails with tasks in the last week. I continue to order food online and that is harder than it sounds. These online activities are exhausting for someone of my ancient age. It took me two hours just to organize one of my email boxes so that I did not lose important emails to the great black hole where all emails eventually go. I am exhausted from trying to log in to a Zoom meeting, realizing only my laptop has a camera (who in the hell needs to see my witchy hairstyle these days?), finding I have to go to the bedroom where it is quieter, finding the bedroom internet is not strong enough and trying to take notes when every 5th,6th, and 7th word is lost in static!

Then I came across this article from National Geographic explaining why Zoom meetings are so tiring for many but not all.

My daughter (who is not one of those meme crazy ladies and certainly not one of those chain challenge idiots) got me involved in a 10 days, 10 photos, 10 friends challenge on Facebook. I spend hours trying to find meaningful photos and thinking about which 10 friends I would select...usually determined by which photos I find. My daughter's birthday was Friday and she and her family had planned all kinds of things to do. Online games with friends, a parking lot happy hour where they will remain 10 feet apart and eat and drink sitting in the trunks of their cars, and a movie night--online. They just purchased a huge trampoline that takes up their entire backyard and the kids are in such good health using that. My granddaughter has been heartbroken that she is no longer participating in cheer competitions with all the tumbling and balancing, and this is great for her.

I also was selected to participate in a View From My Window group on Facebook. Fascinating photos of ALL types from people's windows around the globe as they shelter in place. I am sure the administrators of this group will have a good book someday. Through this group, I see bitterly cold winters, soft gentle spring views, and finally, some hot summer desert views. I see lake views (pools, oceans, rivers) contrasting with high rise cities and barren alley views from all the continents and islands of the world. Some of the best "window" views include animals---giraffes, monkeys, kangaroos, parrots, lambs, horses, etc. (I guess I am spending too much time with this group.)

Today I am nervous as I will have to try to log-in to a live FB presentation and I still do not know how to do it. I failed with the test yesterday. I am supposed to support the person doing the presentation as a back-up to answer questions. Since I am not the only support person, I guess they will survive if I do not figure this mess out.

I will leave you with a photo of the 'view from my window' but this is not the one I uploaded to the group. I was in too much of a hurry and just selected something from my image catalog. Yes, I dusted the table.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

A Follow-up and Some Interesting News

1. I can’t wait for National Parks to reopen after the quarantine.

2. I am in no hurry for my volunteer meetings to reopen after the quarantine.

3. These days, resigned hope is my default mood.

4. Have I ever told you there are times when I wish I had kept my big mouth shut?

The credit for this meme above can be found in Messimimi's comments at the bottom of the previous post if you want to know who and how this came about.

The young girl above is paddling down our river on April 8. The water temps in the 40's and air temps in the 50's. We just lost two members of the Kennedy family canoeing on the Chesapeake and not wearing dry suits or their Personal Floatation Devices. A mother and an 8-year-old son. Their death was attributed to rough waves but also very cold water in the 40s. Note where she is keeping her life jacket!

The more significant changes caused by this virus is that when you force mankind to remain indoors for significant periods of time, the world begins to slowly recover from its scars and pollution that we have wrought.

Mobs of monkeys are roaming the streets of Japan.
Venice's canals have become clear once again because silt is not being stirred up by traffic. (One rumor is that dolphins have returned. This was not true and photos in social media were dolphins swimming off the canals in Sardinia which is not an unusual phenomenon.)
Lions did sleep on the roadways at South Africa's Kruger national park because of the lack of traffic.
The air pollution in Europe, China and around the world has become less. The countries with lots of asthma cases (China) can now see blue skies.
Elk have invaded Banff town as their tourist industry falls into great decline. You can see it here as well.
The earth is actually vibrating less due to the lockdown. Earth tremors can be more accurately measured closer to developed areas.
One thing that is not happening is that birds ARE NOT louder. Just seems that was with the diminishing of noise pollution and people being forced to stay at home!