February 2021 - Frolics and Facepalms!

I went to the Italian grocery store and bought some cheese. Sharp provolone and asiago. I was actually buying groceries for my mother-in-law, but I can't look at that much cheese and not buy some for us as well. So that's a good start to the month :)

My new manager started 'officially' today. My previous manager left a glowing recommendation - give some work to me, leave me alone, and it gets done! I come across as highly self-sufficient - I know what needs doing, how to do it, and when to do it...

So workwise I'm feeling pretty chuffed.

Margaret is doing well - her right hand (below the plaster) is no longer swollen and purple, albeit still somewhat darker than her left hand. She's sleeping better at night too. Friday we take her to her outpatients appointment in Kettering - she'll get checked over and re-plastered. Hopefully we'll have a better idea of the road map, and I can rebook my remaining leave (I had to cancel it last week).

She seems pretty settled in - during workdays she spends most of her time in the bedroom reading and listening to the radio (and doing emails on the iPad), then comes down for supper. Her idea is to not disturb us while we're working. Weekends she comes down earlier.

The comics are largely sorted - Paul has about a box to go through, I need to decide whether to keep the complete Promethea series I have. Sort of occult urban fantasy, I'm not too sure - I decided to dispose of both series of The Invisibles, along with the complete series of Lucifer.

The eldest relative of my generation was diagnosed a week ago, today, with Leukemia, after a week or so of feeling rundown (and tested negative for COVID-29.) She always looked up to my mother; even bought a place a few blocks from where my folks had retired to (Venice. Fla.), and very much adopted my mother's stoic persona.
She had to report to a cancer care hospital in Tampa, a more than two hour drive, and they got going on whatever it was they did there, and Friday morning, she completed a crossword puzzle (very much as my mother always did) and ate lunch, rested... And she went from feeling okay to multiple organ failure, to her last breath in under three hours. Her husband drove from Venice as soon as he got the call. They had less than 20 minutes.
And, I'm the only family member who can empathize with her husband. And I'm doing that big time. I'm back at square one in the grief process.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: so sorry for your loss - so sudden.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: I am very sorry to hear that news. My condolences to you and your relative's husband.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: So sorry for your loss. I recall Mrs H telling me that many years before I ever met her, she had a friend who went from a physically fit, active woman to "last breath" in the space of a week, for the same reason. Scary.

>2 Maddz: Well done! And best wishes to Margaret.

>2 Maddz: Congratulations on the recommendations. You only get that sort of recommendation if you deserve it.

Glad to hear your house guest is settled in and on the mend.

>1 tardis: You had no choice. Not to get some cheese for yourself would have been downright negligent.

>1 tardis: Mmm, asiago! That's one of my favourites

>2 Maddz: Glad to hear Margaret is doing well and that hosting her is working out well.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: That's terribly sad news, I'm very sorry to hear it. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: Very Sorry.

Mr Majkia and I go for our second covid vaccine shot on Friday.

Mr Majkia is still dealing with vertigo and getting his head exercised twice a week to help them fix it. I'm not sure he's fixable in other ways though, LOL.

This morning I got called for an appointment for the first Covid vaccination. Appointment on Saturday.

>12 haydninvienna: All the best. Keep well!

>1 tardis: Well done. That was a great choice.

>2 Maddz: Congrats. Hope the new boss takes a hands off attitude as well.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: I am so deeply sorry. This is the 4th or 5th time I've heard of this happening to women over 50. Tired for a few days, gone in a week or two. I am amazed, and dumbfounded that leukemia can be undetected for so long.

>12 haydninvienna: Good for you!

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss.

>11 majkia: & >12 haydninvienna: Good luck with your vaccines. I've had 3 family members get it and all 3 had different experiences with side effects, from none to moderate.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: Sorry for your loss.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: I'm so sorry to hear this. A terrible loss, and so sudden!

AAAGH! My library card has expired, and I didn't even know it was happening! And they aren't answering my calls! (actually, there is probably only a student there now, and I should be able to talk to someone tomorrow, but still) Total panic! I can't renew anything, sign anything out, access ebooks or audiobooks, or place holds. It feels awful.
:(

>19 NorthernStar: I feel your pain. Have to admit, I haven't had much reason to use the library in several years (but I go there anyway -- just for the olfactory stimulation.) But, on a two-year cycle, they'll suspend each library card, and you have to show up in person to renew it. If you don't show up after six months, your card is archived. They can always activate it again, but until then, they stop worrying about you.

>19 NorthernStar: Our library cards don't expire as long as we're still using them; EPL doesn't charge money for library accounts so they don't need a renewal process. The only time they deactivate an account is after several years of inactivity, something I'm in no danger of. If one doesn't have a card, one can sign up online. My actual physical card is from the 1980s, and it's finally starting to delaminate, so I never use it anymore. I can't have them replace the card because then I'd have to memorize a new card number! Anyway the bar code is in the library app in my phone so I just leave the card in a drawer.

>19 NorthernStar: Update: I just saw a facebook post that the library is closed due to a Covid exposure. I hope that doesn't mean that no-one will be answering the phone! I looked back through my emails, and saw nothing from them about my card expiring. I didn't even know it was possible! And I can't even access the ebooks or audiobooks online. At least I can hold onto the books I have as hostages!

>22 NorthernStar: I have been watching The Expanse and you are reminding me of a scene in which a person in a space suit has their air supply cut off. I hope you get your access back soon. If it plays out like these situations on TV you will have got to the point of passing out and air will start pumping into your suit. We will then be treated to a five minute sequence of a dream like delusional state before you wake up refreshed in a neatly made up bed with hundreds of books around you and a device beside you going "beep...beep...beep...beep..."

The outpatients appointment went well. The plaster is off, and she's now wearing a splint instead. She's been given some exercises to do, and they want us back in 4 weeks.

>19 NorthernStar: Ack! I'd probably lose sleep over that, despite the hundreds of unread books on my Kindle and in my house. Hope you get it sorted out soon. I did notice last week that my card expires this Summer. I'll have to be sure to find out how to renew before that point.

>21 tardis: That's a smart way to do things!

>24 Maddz: Yay!

>24 Maddz: Good news! Hope she continues to improve. Also hope she actually does the exercises - that's my own downfall - tendency to slack off if I'm not very firm with myself.

>22 NorthernStar: To be fair, you have an e-reader and a basement FULL of books - a few re-reads won't kill you :)

We're starting a week of extreme cold (highs in the -20s, lows in the -30s, plus wind chill) and it's snowing again. Not a lot of snow - just enough to need shoveling, but it keeps everything looking crisp and clean. Today, I am going out for groceries, with a stop at the library to get my holds, and then I'm going to fill the bird feeders, shovel the walk (unless younger son does it first) and hibernate. There will be reading, cooking, and baking, and numerous cups of tea.

>22 NorthernStar: , >26 tardis: is awfully hard on you. Was she always like that?

Not only does she give out about your problem but then she starts boasting about being able to go to her library to pick up her holds. Harsh! So very harsh!

>27 pgmcc: You are not the only one who noticed this. LOL

>22 NorthernStar: There are a bunch of new things to borrow for free on Amazon now, have you scanned all of those? (Assuming you're using a Kindle.)

>20 WholeHouseLibrary:, >23 pgmcc:, >25 clamairy:, >27 pgmcc: Thank you for the kind words. I have left phone messages and sent an email, in hopes of being reinstated soon. I actually have no card, having lost it years ago, but I have the number memorized. I have a kobo, not a kindle, but as >26 tardis: points out, I am not entirely without books. It is the audiobook access that I am going to be missing most. I finished my last one Saturday, and was planning on starting another soon. Alas.

It is just over a month since I was at the library in person, and no mention was made of my upcoming expiry. I also have 4 interlibrary loans, a number of local books, and a DVD out right now. I have hostages.

My small town has had over 110 diagnosed Covid cases since the start of 2021, after only 17 in the whole of 2020. I guess we will be lucky if the library is all that is closed.

>29 NorthernStar: I hope you get your card renewed soon. My card doesn't expire, but I'm sure my library cancels inactive accounts. And that's a scary trend for Covid! I hope it slows down in your town.

I've been teaching in-person for a couple of weeks now. It's nice being able to really teach, but, boy, is it stressful - just the fear of it all. The kids are doing great with the new expectations. I have an amazing group this year! They are super sweet and watch out for each other. I'll be glad when I get my second Covid shot (Feb 21 can't come soon enough!).

>29 NorthernStar: In 2018 I was stranded by a fall in what was meant to be temporary accommodation, for several months. There were no accessible books, no WiFi, and my Kindle only had 10 books on it.

As a result of that experience, I now have over 1000 books in my Kindle account, most of them freebies, and keep at least 50 downloaded at a time.

>3 WholeHouseLibrary: I am so sorry to hear this. I hope you find that your shared experience enables you to help each other cope.

>31 -pilgrim-: Oh, sweet cheeses. 0.0 That must have been traumatic. My Paperwhite holds a huge amount of books now, thankfully. I keep several hundred unread things on there at once, and usually only remove the books I've read and don't plan to re-read.

I just haven't been a successful physical book reader for ages. I whine about the weight in bed at night, etc. Plus I wear mono-vision contact lenses for much of the day. This means the Rx strength is much stronger in one eye, enabling me to see distance clearly, and backed off in the other eye, allowing me to see up close better than most people my age. (Things like my dashboard, a menu or a cookbook are perfectly legible.) But reading for hours during the day would still require extra bright lights, reasonable font size and/or possibly a pair of over-the-counter reading glasses with one lens removed. That does not appeal to me much.

>31 -pilgrim-: that sounds awful!

>29 NorthernStar: My library card was renewed through emails with one of the library workers yesterday! And she renewed the books I had out, which all came due the day the card expired. Trauma over!

In unrelated news, it is cold here! It was -30something Celsius overnight Thursday, warmed up to the mid-20s yesterday afternoon, and down to -38 overnight again. The official temperatures are often a bit colder than my thermometer at home, mine only got down to -33, and is at -26 now. It is brilliantly sunny, though.

Last night there was an amazing show of northern lights, which I missed completely. Some of my friends got amazing pictures.

My neighbour across the street and one of his sons have covid. A mild case so far.

Cold here, too! Ignore the am/pm goof, this was when I got up today.



The indoor temp reads wrong because it's on an outside wall and colder than in inside wall would be.

We now know that we are expecting baby Geoffrey in the early part of July. Middle name yet to be decided, but one of the names in contention is Didymus.

>36 MrsLee: Fantastic news. I look forward to lots of updates. Wishing Granny, Granddad, Mum and Dad all the very best. Best wishes to Geoffrey Didymus too.

>37 pgmcc: Thank you!

>36 MrsLee: So very happy for you. Have you made a list of baby books yet? My daughter ate part of the copy of Pat the Bunny my mother-in-law sent her. :o) I guess I gave it to her when she was too young.

>36 MrsLee: Ooh Congratulations to all! It is lovely to hear some good news.

I hope that pictures will follow in due course.

>36 MrsLee: exciting!

>35 Bookmarque: I have a cousin in Wisconsin. Her friend posted -30s at his place this morning. That’s way too cold!

>36 MrsLee: exciting! Have fun buying him all sorts of books!

>36 MrsLee: Didymus? He has a twin? But loads of strength and joy to all concerned.

>43 hfglen: I had a brief brain-fart moment towards Falco, I confess. *blushes*

Why go merely obscure, when you can go bizarre and obscure? I suggest Leptodactylus didymus.

Thank you all for the congrats. I have NOT made a list of books, although I did give my son all of his childhood books, which will be a wonderful beginning for baby. I also have a cupboard full of books here from my husband's and my childhood, as well as many I purchased even after my children were grown just because. Never fear, there will be more books!

>43 hfglen: That was the same question I asked them! They informed me that in Hebrew, Didymus meant Thomas, which is my son's name, as well as the name of both of his grandfathers and his wife's grandfather.

>45 MrAndrew: I have been suggesting outlandish names, and funny enough, they are not appreciated. Go figure. However, we now have a middle name that is a frontrunner and it is not Didymus. It is a family name, but not overused, and I heartily approve, but will not set my heart on it until the birth certificate is signed. It is my uncle's name (who was named after his paternal grandmother's maiden name), Marrs. We shall see.

>46 MrsLee: hfglen is correct, Didymus is Greek for "Twin". It was the nickname of the apostle Thomas. (Since
Hebrew names worried on the "X son of Y" pattern, semi-formal nicknames were sometimes needed to distinguish people.)

Another example is "Simon Petros" (anglicised to Simon Peter), where Petros is the Greek for "rock". ("On this rock I shall build my church".)

>36 MrsLee: Wonderful news!

>45 MrAndrew: When we were asked what our children-to-be would be named we always said "Elvis, if it's a boy, or Elvira if it's a girl, after The King." That generally shut them up :) In the end, though, we named both after my paternal grandfather - one got his first name and one his second name.

>36 MrsLee: A new baby is wonderful news. My mother told me that she would love any name I gave my children because she would love the children.

My own news is UGH. Sunday afternoon I found water gushing out of the wall in my powder room. I turned the water valve off and then started making calls to a plumber, water department, insurance company, etc. Some one from the plumbing company came out and gave me an estimate. Insurance doesn't cover so goodbye tax refund, stimulus checks and more. The plumbing was fixed Monday.

Today the mitigation people came and tore up the vinyl tile in the powder room and cut out part of my wall-to-wall carpet where it had gotten soaked. They also noticed a plumbing leak so call the plumbers back. Now I have 8 "air movers" (fans) running for the next 3 to 5 days. It sounds like an airplane is in the house. Poor cat is traumatized and hiding under the bed; I might join her. Someone has to come every day to check the fans. Someone else had to come and test the drywall for was it lead? or some other toxic substance before anything can be done with the walls. Some of the paneling might also be bad. Friday another contractor comes to see about replacing the vinyl flooring and carpet. Insurance only kicks in after $1000 for that.

I am an introvert and have become even more so during the pandemic. Having a bunch of strangers in my home for hours at a time is very stressful.

>49 Taphophile13: Ack! I am so very sorry. How long will it take?

And yes, my animals hate having strangers in the house and any loud noise. It's one of the main reasons I keep putting off my kitchen remodel. Covid provided a good excuse. LOL

>50 clamairy: I have no idea how long this will take. I expect at least another week but it seems there are always unexpected setbacks so I just have to take it day by day as my son keeps reminding me. The cat is usually chill with people coming in but the noise bothers her. Sleeping should be interesting tonight; my bedroom is right above the fans.

>51 Taphophile13: It's probably not the loudness that's bothering the cat - there may be ultrasonics that it can hear but you can't. Could your neighbour look after the cat while the fans are running? Or perhaps put the cat in the cattery?

>52 Maddz: I hadn't considered ultrasound levels. What I can hear is bad enough so it may be worse for her. She's my son's cat so I'll mention it to him. In the meantime she has reappeared and has actually ventured downstairs where the fans are (to be near me). I think she's being very brave.

>51 Taphophile13: My animals are fine with and love having guests. I should have specified 'strangers who make noise,' which is just about all workers.

Update. Plumbing company sent someone and leak should now be fixed.

>49 Taphophile13: Sympathies! We've got something similar happening--a frozen pipe in our living room ceiling going ker-pow is going to mean some furniture shopping and rug replacement in the near future. DH is handy so he can fix the plumbing, but re-building the ceiling is going to be farmed out to the experts. Fortunately we've mostly been elsewhere so it's not disruptive of life, but darn it, I liked that couch. :(

>56 Marissa_Doyle: Oh, the ceiling sounds even worse. You are lucky that your husband can do some of the repairs. Good luck with the furniture shopping. I don't like my old couch (especially after cats have sculpted it to their liking) but none of my furniture was damaged. I don't look forward to moving everything to put new carpeting in.

Finally remembered what toxic material is being tested for in the walls. Specialists need to do the wall work if there is any asbestos.

Depending on the age of the house, there could be asbestos in the joint compound of the drywall and/or in the vinyl floor tile. That's why they test.

>49 Taphophile13:, >56 Marissa_Doyle: My sympathies to you both. What miserable things to happen, especially at a time when we are spending more time at home than ever. I wish you both speedy resolutions to the problems.

>49 Taphophile13: & >56 Marissa_Doyle: I saw a meme today you can probably identify with. Something about homeowners hoping the sounds the house is making is ghosts, because they can't afford the repairs!

My sympathy to you both.

>49 Taphophile13: >56 Marissa_Doyle: Sympathies from me too. i've had water problems in 2 houses now and they are never much fun. First law of home ownership is that your hand's always in your pocket form something.

>60 MrsLee: Oh I think I could deal with ghosts. Might be a pleasant change.

>61 haydninvienna: Sorry you had to go through it twice. It actually feels more like someone else's hand is in my pocket.

My sympathies to you both. I have had flooding experiences too in the past. And it has cost me more than I can afford.

In my own news, I too have had the Covid vaccination now (AstraZeneca variety).

I feel absolutely exhausted today, but whether that is the side-effect of the vaccination itself, by or a drive through 6" snow to get there, I don't know. (For context, the temperatures here are as cold as with pgmcc and there were yellow weather warnings out.)

Sympathy for those of you with house flooding, leaks and possible asbestos problems. We have been fortunate to date with any leaks being minor and relatively easily fixed.

In terms of snow, we have been having interesting times with snow forecast for days when we did not have snow and absolute certainty that there would be no snow on the days when it was snowing. We had great fun asking our Google Nest if it would snow today while we were looking out at the snow falling down, and the Google Nest telling us "There will be no snow in our location today." On one of these occasions, at 9am in the morning as we watched the garden turning white with powdery snow, we asked Google if there would be any snow today we got the answer, "There will be no snow in our location today until 9pm when it will start snowing and the snow will stop at 10pm."

We are becoming dubious about the reliability of Google weather forecasts.

At the moment we have Met Eireann (the national weather forecast agency) forecasts for colder weather and more snow in days to come. The thin layer of snow we had yesterday has mostly disappeared but there are a few little patches hanging around on roofs and in flower pots. As my mother used to say, if there is any snow hanging around it is waiting for more. I have found her to be accurate in that regard.

We've had several days here when there were flakes drifting in the breeze, (and it's happening right now), but only once was there enough of a fall to lie on the ground. Last night it was cold enough to frost the outside of the windows, but our "cold" (maybe -4º Celsius) is pretty small beer in comparison to what our LTers in northern US and Canada are getting.

Sympathy to those suffering house flooding. As >61 haydninvienna: says, the house always seems to know when there's a windfall in the offing and immediately develop a fault nicely calculated to absorb the lot and a bit more.

We're looking at a Tropical Storm warning for floods in the northern part of the province (again) this weekend.

We had hysterical snow warnings from our local paper, but in the end had very little. I think we're in a patch that is too far from the coast to get coastal snow and not far enough inland to get the Midlands snow. In any case, weather round here is incredibly localised as we're fairly flat.

Norfolk and Northants have had heavy snow, but like >65 haydninvienna: we've had barely enough to settle in Cambridgeshire, and when it does, it's quick to go. Colleagues in London have had several inches, as had my manager in Great Yarmouth...

>67 Maddz: I've had quite a lot in SE London, but only relative to London in normal years. It looks lovely and it's fun to go out for a walk, but I am very glad not to have to commute in it - one benefit of lockdown!

My goodness, what an interesting week Mrs H and I are having! On Sunday Mrs H was driving along a rural road near Bicester and lost a tyre off a front wheel of the car. Fortunately no damage to either her or the car, and AA responded promptly and put the spare on for her. Yesterday we bought a new tyre.

This morning our new neighbours had another furniture delivery—the one they had a month ago brought a lot of the wrong stuff, including someone else’s TV, and didn’t bring a lot of their stuff. Today’s one was supposed to be bringing their stuff, and taking away all the wrong stuff. I spoke to Frank after the trucks left and they still don’t have their own kitchen table. He is a US government contract employee and the movers would be under contract to the US government.

And when we got back from the supermarket this morning, Mrs H entered a front room that we rarely use and found the carpet was wet. After clearing the clutter we found that it’s clearly been that way for some time. A quick call to our favourite builder and it seems that there’s a small leak from a toilet next door. We have for years used that room only for storage and there would have been ample opportunity for bad stuff to develop—like the interesting crop of fungi in the angle between wall and floor.

>69 haydninvienna: Oh, dear. It seems like water leaks are the thing these days. Hope yours is easily remedied and there's no long term damage.

My own saga continues. Just yesterday the mitigation crew took out the last fan so I can finally hear the phone, the door bell, my own thoughts. This leaves me with bare tackless strips along walls where they removed the carpet. Now I need to replace the carpeting, the vinyl flooring in the powder room and baseboards. Just this morning I discovered that the plumbers did not reinstall the shut off valve on my water line so I have no way to turn off the water if anything else goes wrong. This sort of thing is why I love dealing with contractors. Too often they seem to create a new problem for every problem they fix.

I used to joke that the house is falling apart as fast as I am. I think the house is now leading.

>70 Taphophile13: The Gas Man Cometh sounds exactly like every workman there's ever been, including yours.

>70 Taphophile13: We’ve been using the same handyman for miscellaneous jobs around the house for years, and have never found any reason to complain, either of him or his string of plumbers and tilers and painters and whatnot.

ETA: I do have the odd experience in the past of dodgy tradesmen (back in Oz the plumbers always seemed worst) but fortunately most of ours have been positive.

>71 hfglen: That's one of our favorite songs to sing in the car, along with Ill Wind and the Hippopotamus Song. (Yes, my family is weird. We sing in the car.)

>71 hfglen: Thank you for that. It's exactly what I've been feeling.

Houses in central Texas were designed for temperatures no lower than 20° F (-6 or -7 C, depending on how you round.) It's been well below that for several days now, at 0 last night, and no relief for at least the rest of the week, with 2 more storms within the next 8 days.
We got 4 inches of snow on top of black ice, and the town doesn't even have snowplow attachments for any of their vehicles.
I've been doing fine; haven't lost power once. Friends and family in the area have been with brief interludes of power (20 minutes, maybe, twice a day) for days now. Some, who have fireplaces, are melting snow to flush their toilets.
On the bright side, there'll be a bumper crop of bluebonnets come spring.

Sorry for everyone's maintenance issues. We had a minor one recently - the garage heater died (ignition was replaced), but luckily before the very cold weather hit. It's been here for a couple weeks. The coldest I've seen was the little airport up in town - it was 38 below 0 F the other morning. Of course this low-hanging jet stream is what's pulling temps down all over the country (sorry Texas!) and pushing the storms south of us. We have lots of lovely snow, but it's too cold to go play in it for long.

Whoopee! Got invited to book my first COVID-vaccination today - now booked for March 1st. I hope Paul will get his by Easter.

>69 haydninvienna: Aw no! Sorry to hear about all the problems and especially the leak. Good luck with having it sorted out.

>77 Maddz: Brilliant news. Good luck with it.

>69 haydninvienna: bummer for water leaks!

>75 WholeHouseLibrary: the weather in your neck of the woods is crazy!

>77 Maddz: Yay! I get my second one this weekend. Looking forward to when The Husband can get his.

>75 WholeHouseLibrary: Stay safe, man!

So sorry for everyone else's woes. Especially >70 Taphophile13:!

So sorry to hear of all the leakages and cold weather woes. I have friends in Texas who've been coping with rolling blackouts for the past 48 hours or so. Luckily they planned (over-planned, or so they thought) and got in stacks of firewood, slabs of bottled water, flashlight batteries, etc. But it sounds brutal. People from cold climates laugh, but as >75 WholeHouseLibrary: says, the infrastructure just isn't in place when these occurrences are so rare.

>77 Maddz: That is great news!

My own facepalm is my internet connection being terrible this week. I was trying to deliver a workshop to a class of MA students yesterday and got disconnected 6 or 7 times. I know it's happening to everyone, but I just felt so unprofessional.

I'm getting a follow-up (after my valve job a couple of years ago) echocardiogram tomorrow. Good news, except that the closest hospital at which I can get it done is a 4 hour drive away. Fortunately the weather is forecast to be clear and sunny and not too cold. Should be a good day for driving, and I have several audiobooks copied to CD to play on the drive. I won't have time to listen to more than one, but it's good to have options. I also have my ereader for the waiting room.

This will be my first trip to a larger town in just over a year! I plan to do a little shopping, and will definitely stop at the book store.

I had hoped to meet some friends for coffee, but they are away from home. Just as well, I'll be able to head home sooner.

>83 NorthernStar:, Hey there! We in Texas would appreciate it very much if you took your weather back.

>83 NorthernStar: All the best for the trip, the check-up, and the book store.

>83 NorthernStar: Wow, by today's standards that sounds like quite an adventure! I hope your check-up goes well and you enjoy your time in town. Safe travels!

>83 NorthernStar: Good luck! Enjoy your adventure.

Update on the water leak mentioned in #69: we had the builder and the plumber here this morning. The leak was indeed from the toilet next door, and that should be a simple fix. The big deal will be repairing the damage in the front room. Oh well, can't be helped. The plumber will be back tomorrow to do his part. Fortunately this is a local firm that we've ben using for house fixes for years, and we've always found them reliable and honest.

ETA when the builder was here this morning he ripped out the saturated, rotting carpet. I should have thought to take a picture—Hugh might have found it botanically interesting.

>88 haydninvienna: Sounds like a delight for a mycologist, not a botanist! (These days, they're different kingdoms, and in many ways fungi are closer to animals than plants!)

>83 NorthernStar: Drive safely! We need you back in one piece.

>89 hfglen: all I know for sure is that it wasn’t a delight for us!

Wow, hang in there, my friends!

>83 NorthernStar: Safe journey and happy shopping! I hope your test goes well.

Perseverance has landed! I think that's pretty frolic-worthy - can only imagine how the scientists are celebrating.

Also, I saw a Great Horned Owl today! I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild before. It's a pity about the shadow over its face.

Yay! A two-owl day on LT. Sweet.

Made it there and back with no problems. Disappointed that I saw absolutely no wildlife on the drive today. Not even an owl.

>97 NorthernStar: >96 Bookmarque: Ford Prefect would have advised keeping your two-owl with you.

>95 tardis: Wow! It's a great day for owls here in the GD!

>98 pgmcc: That is worth of the bad jokes thread!

>99 Sakerfalcon: :-)

>98 pgmcc: Groan

>95 tardis: Love the Lord of the Darkness feeling the shadow gives it.

>98 pgmcc: Love it!

>96 Bookmarque: Not possible. Two-owl day isn't until May 25th.

Today, it got up into the mid-40s. Lots of melting occurring. So, frolicks for that.

Facepalm:
Using rounded-to-the-nearest-10-minutes military time references...
I've been on four different initial signup lists for the vaccine for the #Trump2020 virus for over a month now, without any response.
At 1100 I got a text msg telling me to follow the link provided and fill out the secondary forms. I dutifully got on my computer (because I don't use my phone for internet-machine things), typed in the link, and filled out the form.
But it was really 8 forms I had to fill out and/or sign, and I had to provide copies of both the front and back sides of my driver's license and my insurance card. Glad I have a scanner.
At 1300, I'm still working on filling out the forms, and I get an email from this same medical group confirming my appointment to get the vaccine at a stadium maybe 8 miles away. The appointment was for 1050 TODAY. The notice was SENT more than 2 hours AFTER I was supposed to be there.
I finished the paperwork, and printed out their email (with the timestamp), and drove to the stadium, figuring they'd let me get it anyway.
Nope. The gates were shut and locked.
And none of the phone number they provided will be manned until Monday.
Pretty damn sure that the folks who set this up also manage the power grid.

>103 WholeHouseLibrary: glad it’s warming up there!

I’m bummed. Because of all the crazy weather in the US, the vaccine doses for this weekend didn’t make it to Oregon. This means my shot has been moved to Thursday. Not a big deal for most people, but for a teacher, this is. Huge pain, especially since there is a HUGE sub shortage this year. I was lucky to get a sub for my originally planned days. I’m hoping the same person picks up my days for Thursday and Friday.

103: That. is. effing. nuts.
We're in a pandemic killing millions of people. There's vaccines for it. You want a shot? Come on in. Why make it so hard?

>103 WholeHouseLibrary: I got a phone call (for first and second appointments), turned up at the appointed place and time for the first one, got jabbed, and came home. That was all, no paperwork or anything. The actual appointment took less than 20 minutes including the short cooldown afterwards. Of course my local NHS practice knows everything about me that they need. Same for Mrs H, a couple of weeks later. I agree with >105 MrAndrew: .

>103 WholeHouseLibrary:, >106 haydninvienna: Got a text from my surgery last Tuesday (after the announcement on Monday) and booked straight away. Simples!

Now we're waiting for Paul to get called for his first shot (probably next month - he's younger with no underlying health condition), and for his mother to be called for her second shot.

The only thing up in the air still is outpatients appointments for Margaret (they're talking about hand therapy), and whether I'm being added to the shielders list (being diabetic).

>103 WholeHouseLibrary: That sounds worthy of the idiots "caring" for Our -pilgrim-. MrAndrew's comment applies to both. I am reminded of nothing so much as the third-world incompetence that characterises anything official here.

My daughter, her husband and their little girl have just arrived in Cincinnati to their new home. They started traveling on Thursday morning from their house in England. Her husband was offered the job in January 2020 and COVID has delayed their travelling to the US. They planned their train-hotel-plane-hotel-plane-hotel-plane-hired car journey with military precision and, as is always the case, the plan did not survive first engagement with the enemy. Due to COVID the first flight they had planned was cancelled necessitating the train to London and a hotel at Heathrow which would not have been necessary otherwise. There were other little mishaps like their COVID test results arriving on time but with the wrong date of birth on one of them necessitating a call back and an alternative arrangement for printing the results... Of course, their final flight was at risk of delay or cancellation due to the snow.

I can breath now. They have reached the house they are renting and have sent a photograph showing the blanket of snow outside. They have even managed to get their Internet working already.

A new adventure for their family group.

Perhaps there will be a trip to Cincinnati in my future. Another opportunity for a GD/LT meet-up. I'll be hoping for a bigger turnout than the one in 2016 at The Shire Bookshop in Franklin.

>103 WholeHouseLibrary: What a farce. I agree with all the other comments here. I hope you are given a more reasonable appointment soon.

>109 pgmcc: That's great news! I can imagine how relieved you must be. Moving to another continent is challenging at the best of times, let alone under the current circumstances. If you do visit Cincinnati in the future you must go to see the railroad terminal.

>110 Sakerfalcon: It was the first thing I spotted when researching Cincinnati and is definitely on my list. The zoo is also on the list.

Some happy news!
https://www.wired.com/story/cheese-actually-isnt-bad-for-you/

I had a lot of very strange pain over the weekend, and the rash broke out just as I arrived at my nurse's office this morning. I think the two spinal injections that I had over the last two months weakened my immune system (which is already suppressed to keep me from rejecting my transplanted kidney) enough to let the dormant shingles virus rear its ugly head. Even though I got the two-shot sequence for shingles last year. At least now I know what's going on. I seem to have a special talent for having such things start on Friday evening, as this one did. I've heard some pretty bad stories about people's experience with shingles, but I understand it isn't always that bad. Keeping my fingers crossed; hence all the tupos.

>114 Jim53:
Thinking of you, Jim. Wishing you well and a rapid recovery.

>114 Jim53: Oh no! :o( Hang in there. Hopefully any symptoms you do develop can be alleviated somehow.

>114 Jim53: Ugh, shingles. You have my sympathy. I’ve never had it but my late wife did. Not fun at all.

>114 Jim53: My shingles showed up on a Memorial Day weekend so I couldn't see a doctor until Tuesday. Best of luck.

what sort of treatment is helpful for a shingles flare?

>119 Darth-Heather: When it happened to me a few years ago I was given the antiviral Valtrex. It has to be taken as soon as possible after symptoms occur to have any effect so I think it was already too late for me.

>114 Jim53: Ow, shingles! Hope they clear up soon!

My mother-in-law is supposed to get her first Covid vaccine today. My husband will be dropping off her groceries this evening so can see how she's doing. I don't anticipate problems, but you never know.

>121 tardis: good luck with your mother-in-laws vaccine.

>115 pgmcc: >116 clamairy: >117 haydninvienna: >118 Taphophile13: >119 Darth-Heather: >120 Taphophile13: >121 tardis: Thanks for your good wishes. At least now I know what it is; I was conjuring up all sorts of speculation over the weekend. She gave me Valacyclovir; I don't know if she's confused about my species, or maybe it also works for mortals.

>114 Jim53: hope your shingles are not too bad!

>121 tardis: good news about Maria's vax.

>123 Jim53: Was that a Tolkien reference, ie the Vala? I'm slow on the uptake sometimes.

>114 Jim53: Oh no! I hope the medication works well and your symptoms are mild.

>124 NorthernStar: >126 Sakerfalcon: Thank you. That's what I'm hoping for too. She thought that since I saw her on the day the rash appeared, and we got started on the antiviral right away, there's a good chance it won't last too long.

>125 MrAndrew: yep, well done, you got it. I figured someone in this group would.

>127 Jim53: pamper yourself in every way imaginable! Hopefully the vaccine will at least help it be a milder case.

>127 Jim53: shingles! Ouch! I hope the symptoms stay mild.

I get my second Covid shot tomorrow morning. Mine was postponed a few days because the crazy ice storm all over the US stopped the doses from getting here. I have the next two days off just in case I get side effects.

My mom gets her first dose tomorrow. I am hoping she doesn’t have any issues with it.

>129 catzteach: I hope all goes well with your and your mom's shots!

>129 catzteach:, >130 Jim53: What Jim said!

A footnote to our interesting week (see >69 haydninvienna: ). Leak now all fixed and we have a quote for the repair and repainting of the room next door, which is for a bearable amount. We got the bill for fixing the leak, which the builder suggested we trust him for rather than doing a quote. We did, and we are happy with the result. And this morning they replaced our back door. No connection with the leak—the old one had a dog door in it from the days when we had dogs. But the dogs are now gone to puppy heaven and we have no plans for any more. So new back door.

>132 haydninvienna: I am glad the repairs were not shocking or prohibitive. Emergency work can be such a risky and expensive business. I am glad you have what appears to be a reliable and trustworthy builder. It is a comfort to have someone you can rely on.

>133 pgmcc: Exactly so.

>132 haydninvienna: glad the repair went well.

About 10 hours after my shot. My arm hurts. A lot! I can barely move it. I’m tired, but not horribly so. I feel a bit funky, but no aches or fever. It might be a rocky night.

>135 catzteach: Can you take something? I know the experts are suggesting you don't take any anti-inflammatory painkillers before the shots, but they do say you can take them afterward.

Just gotta get through today. Then pray that March is better....

>135 catzteach: Which shot did you get? I'm booked for Monday at 08:50, and have a full work day afterwards...

>135 catzteach: That was your 2bd dose, wasn't it?

Like Maddz, I am curious as to which you got.

In accordance with UK norms, I won't get my second dose until late April.

>138 Maddz: >139 -pilgrim-: Pretty sure she said somewhere that she'd gotten the Moderna vaccine.

Hey all, yep, Clam is right, I got the Moderna. It's why I had to wait 4 weeks between doses.

I woke up in the night with chills and a fever. The fever is lingering a bit and I'm stiff and sore this morning. But it's all bearable. And I know my body is building up the immunity it needs, so that's good.

I'll rest today, drink lots of water, and snuggle with the kitties while watching movies or reading. It's snowing pretty hard right now so I'm enjoying that, too.

https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-z2zXwBXim3D6EWO5JO-_s7Weaj...

At my BIL's BD today.

>142 chalton: I get an error code when clicking on your link Chalton....

>144 chalton: Nope. Still an error. (Computers!)

https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-z2zXwBXim3D6EWO5JO-_s7Weaj...

Sorry > trying to make it work.

I GIVE UP, THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!

I'm taking my mum to get her first dose of the vaccine tomorrow. I hope her experience will be better than my dad's.

I've now managed to book both of his doses - one next week, the second in May. Dad was having trouble getting his jabs booked in, as his doctor's surgery refused to book him in because they were adamant he'd already had his first dose, so he's off to the racecourse seven miles away instead of his GP five minutes' walk away. The NHS booking website also made reference to a missed appointment for his first dose, but nobody seems able to tell us where and when that was supposed to be - and in any case, Dad didn't know about it and hadn't asked for an appointment to be made.

Lesson learned, I suppose - we keep being told (by UK media) not to contact our GP about vaccines, but Dad is 70 and therefore was expecting to be contacted about a month ago. If anyone thinks they've been missed, it would be worth asking the question just in case there's been a similar error.

In other happy vaccine news, it looks like the 40-mumble age group will be able to access their jabs in April. That covers my husband, my sister and BIL - so I'll be the sole unvaccinated black sheep of the family until us poor 30-mutters can join the prick squad.

Clamairy mentioned me not posting on GD anymore on a different thread and while she didn't ask the details, I wanted to give an update.

About five to seven years ago, I took a bad fall. Rather, my backs/legs gave out and I fell. Rehab, menopause, and numerous health issues later meant that I have to decide where I spend my energy. The little I have goes mostly to one thread in the 75ers group.

Chronic pain and depression mean that I'm not the person I used to be way back when I started with LT and the GD. I don't have that same sense of light-hearted, silly humor. I miss that part of myself and hope to find it again some day soon along with my energy.

It's been a hard road especially as I just came out of a five week hospital/rehab stint again (edema from a medication change, etc.) The rehab facility was rated 1/5 stars. Need I say more?

I'm taking many new, big steps. I have PT/OT at home and an intensive therapy group 3 hours/2x week I'll be starting back up Tuesday. I'm working with the county to finally get a CADI waiver.* Lastly, while not intended**, I've lost a significant amount of weight. I don't know how much yet. I haven't been able to get on the scale. But both MrMorphy and I have noticed my belly getting... flat.

LOL. Not that type of flat. Like deflated hot air ballon flat. Hee hee. He says my belly looks about 1/3 smaller, if not more. So that's good.

*Program that provides home and community-based services to children and adults with disabilities who require the level of care provided in a nursing facility. (It will also give poor, burnt out MrMorphy a break.)

**I've been feeling nauseated lately so haven't been eating a lot. And after 5 weeks of healthy hospital (which, while yummy, got repetitious) and rehab (NOT yummy, barely edible) food, I've lost the taste for fatty or sugary foods.

>149 Morphidae: good to hear from you again!

>149 Morphidae: Good to hear from you! I'm sorry to hear of your health problems, but I hope all the PT/OT and other therapy will put you on a road to strength.

>148 pokarekareana: Maybe let's not call it a "prick squad".

On the other hand, I'm very glad for your mom and dad.
I'm still on the waitlist.

>149 Morphidae: It is good to hear from you Morphy, though I'm sorry you've been having a tough time. I hope that things will improve for you and MrMorphy.

>149 Morphidae: I'm so sorry, Nora. I hope you don't feel like you were being pressed for information about your private life. Massive hugs to you and Mr. Morphy. I hope all goes well.

>141 catzteach: I got my Astra-Zeneca shot this morning. Managed a full work day afterwards, although I started to feel a bit achy as I went through the afternoon. Took a paracetamol at tea time and seem to be a bit better now, but very tired (of course, this may be because I walked into town and back...)

I'll see how I feel tomorrow - I have a couple of full days with a lot of bits and pieces I want to clear out of the way, then the rest of the week off as well as Monday & Tuesday next week. Taking Margaret to her outpatient appointment on Friday.

>155 Maddz: Hey you got your shot, rest up and get better.

And I got my (first) Moderna shot about four hours ago. I slept for two hours, but suspect it's more because of not a whole lot of sleep last night, plus loading and unloading almost half a ton (900+ pounds) of tree trunks and limbs (in the cold rain) this morning.

>149 Morphidae: Good to hear from you! Sorry things have been so rough. I hope things go well and start improving.

>155 Maddz: Yay! I hope you have no, or minimal, side effects.

I ended up being nauseated all weekend. Food finally started sounding good this morning. The perk of all this was that I got to binge watch Star Trek Discovery all weekend.

It was a rough day at work, though. I have a little kiddo who has a hard time with things. He gets angry rather easily and has what we call a blow out (screaming, running, throwing things, etc.). Today his favorite thing to do was slam the door. He must have slammed it four times. The last time it shook the walls of the classroom. Most my kids and myself had headaches by the end of the day. We are working on ways to help him. Some of this is a learned behavior because he has been able to get out of doing work when he does this. And some of it is him truly not being able to regulate himself. I get the lucky job of holding him accountable to his work. Which means, more days like today until he sees we mean business. Oi vay.

>158 catzteach: I feel bad this morning. Really stiff and sore, the injection site is rather tender to the touch too. I suspect I won't get much work done today; I have lots of meetings today and tomorrow before I'm on leave Thursday. I did set things up last week so I could take it easy if necessary.

>159 Maddz: Did you get the AstraZeneca one? I did and had a bit of a sore arm, but that was all.

>160 haydninvienna: Yes, Astra-Zeneca it was. I'm waiting for the morning dose of paracetamol to kick in (I took 2 yesterday - one at teatime, the other in the evening). The one report I needed to deliver this week I managed to complete yesterday so the results could be looked at while I'm on leave this week and next, so I'll see how I get on during the day.

Unfortunately, I don't really have the option of taking time off - I have 2 major meetings today and tomorrow, and a training session to deliver. However, I'll see what my manager says at our daily meeting in a couple of hours.

>149 Morphidae: waves to Morphy.

>159 Maddz: My arm was so sore I couldn't lift it. Now I have a bruise at the injection site. I have a couple of friends whose lymph nodes under their arms were so swollen they couldn't lift their arms. Hang in there, it won't last long, and is so worth it.

I'm happy to say my door slammer didn't slam it once today! We had a class meeting discussing the door slamming and he realized it was scary for us. The kids gave him some suggestions on how to diffuse his anger. We set up a safe zone for him in the lost and found bin with a stuffed animal. He can go in there when needed to calm down and hide out. Poor kiddo. He is really a great kid. I hope we are able to help him this year so next year goes better for him. Third graders are more forgiving of this kind of behavior than 4th graders.

>163 catzteach: That is great, that the whole class discussed how they felt and how they could help the boy. Hopefully their constructive, thoughtful attitudes will only grow stronger as they get older.