160 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 3-28-20”

  2. Good morning NancyJ, et. al.
    It’s supposed to reach 80 in Greensboro today.
    FoxNews says “Calculate how much you will get from the stimulus bill.”
    I don’t want nothing from the stimulus bill.
    I want this to be over.

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Good morning! Atlanta traffic on the main expressways is all clear. I had to ride down to the office with Art and now he is in Kroger picking up a few necessities. This store probably has more than our local store. Because of that flat tire earlier in the week, Art had been using my car. So that is why I had to make this trip.

    I still am not feeling very well, and there is temptation to let the brain wander over to Corona. But since it started with the intestinal problem I am probably okay.

    Art hit the jackpot! He got toilet paper!

    Liked by 5 people

  4. Me too Chas. We were scheduled to have dinner with our neighbors the other day and had to cancel. There are three of us couples who get together monthly. If the weather was warmer we could set up tables out on the property ten ft away from each other and at least enjoy each other’s company staying in our own space….but it’s kind of hard to do that in the snow! 🙃

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I have been home two weeks now. I am beginning to get cabin fever. I feel like I need to be doing something but don’t know what. I would like to clean my house and have it peaceful but it would only get wrecked again so I have given up on that.

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  6. It was good to get out this morning. There are so many old and beautiful dogwood trees in bloom in the town of Jonesboro. As of later today our whole county is on lockdown, but where the office is located is in another county that is not on lockdown.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Kim, except for two trips to the grocery store (the most recent one was two and a half weeks ago), and church March 1, I haven’t been inside any building other than my house for the month of March. (Church has met via Facebook for two weeks, and the week before that I was out sick with the flu.) I am getting out and walking every day the weather allows it for my mental and physical health. I have lots to do, but it is hard at times to have the mental focus to do it.

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  8. Nancy jill, could you do dinner in your cars? Do a driveup in a circle facing each other, turn on the speaker phones and use the heat when necessary? I have been considering such meetups. We could meet outside except the pollen is so horrendous with this heatwave and so much in bloom.

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  13. I’m giving up on produce for now.

    Janice, so glad you had an outing and scored some toilet paper to boot. It was interesting to me yesterday as people gathered out at the dock where the Navy ship came in; several folks I talked to (carefully standing 6 feet apart) said how wonderful it was just to be outside. Glorious!

    It was sunny but cold. One guy rode his bike up and down the dock, waving a US flag. I took a picture of him, guess I should post it on FB.

    A former colleague who now works at the Times posted a hilarious Tweet w/photos showing all the LA city council members as they met yesterday via ‘zoom’ from home — he said they really need to get back to the council chambers asap considering the awkward in-home camera angles and, um, curious home decor backgrounds with odd knickknacks on shelves and “what exactly is that?” wall hangings. The critique was funny but gentle.

    I still haven’t received my taxes and it’s been at least 3 weeks now. Guess I’ll call or email the guy today, although I realize the deadline now is extended. But I have a refund coming from the state & I owe the feds, so if I can swing it I’d like to get it all done by the 15th.

    And yes, I’ll take the stimulus money, thank you. It’ll just make a U-turn when I get it and help pay my taxes.

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Our state is on lockdown.

    I finished a tote bag. I have had this pattern for a long time and just couldn’t justify taking the time and money to make it when I have so many tote bags. I decided this was a good time to do it just for the fun of it. It has books on a shelf on the front of it. The books are made from scraps of fabric and then have the salvages of fabric appliqued on them. It was fun to decide the fabrics and the words to put on to make book titles. The lining (which shows 1/4 inch on the outside top edge) is fabric from Hobby Lobby with words on it. The main words are peace, hope and love. It will be an interesting reminder of this strange time in our history.

    My daughter and grandchildren were supposed to be visiting this weekend. I am sad they could not come. OTOH, I am so blessed to know they are as safe and sound as they can be. I am grateful my SIL (a different family) has now gotten home from Alaska and is able to join his family in TN. I miss them all, but that is normal in our lives now. One day there will be no more missing; no more tears. I am blessed to know the end of the story when so many others have no idea.

    Liked by 5 people

  16. Good morning, after the time on the bike, I went outside to a beautiful spring day and had a bit of a walk about. Surprise surprise! The sun came up again this morning! I even got to enjoy some fresh kale from the garden now that the snow has departed

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  17. The tote sounds very cute — I had seen something similar for sale online that I thought I might someday buy for Carol. Speaking of Carol, she’s hanging in there but this continues to be hard on her and others in that facility as they’re confined to their rooms. Her major frustration now is that she can’t spend the monthly money she is about to receive again since nothing from outside, including amazon orders or pizza or Vons delivery, can come into the facility at this point. But she did manage to get a $300-limit credit card somehow. So much of her conversation when we talk now is focused on what she’ll buy when buying becomes possible again.

    I ordered a pack of 12 reporters’ notebooks from amazon ($19.99) as I’ve run out and the free ones we usually get are at the now-evacuated office. I think we can expense things like that for now (we turn in monthly reports for work-related mileage, parking, etc). I’ll try, anyhow. I was told by a photographer that we could.

    Meanwhile, the councilman’s aide gave me a few pair of his disposable gloves, he carries a box of them in his car and I’d mentioned to him yesterday that amazon will be out of those for some time to come; I was relying on washable gardening gloves when needed.

    My editor joked that I finally got something for those city taxes we pay. 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

  18. Most lock down places allow for some exercise and dog walking though Italy, I believe limited the dog walking to fifteen minutes a day. And New York was limiting long runs and bike rides to closer to home. It actually makes sense because so many people, like my son, don’t think it applies to them.
    In Idaho, people were coming from other parts of Idaho and other states, to camp along the river but were not being good campers. Loud and trashing the places. So they are limiting that.
    As to going for a drive. Sure, but one of the contagion sites is considered to be the gas pump and people going for drives will need those.
    Daughter, the nurse who visited us when we lived in Italy, was sorrowing the deaths of nine hundred people in Italy in twenty four hours from the virus. It is worth a few weeks or months of my lift, sitting back and chilling so others can live. I know, God knows the number of our days. But that does not mean I should be pushing my neighbor into the grave.

    Liked by 6 people

  20. Kim, clean the house. You know you should. You will feel better and those you love will feel better. And tomorrow you can do it again. And while you are cleaning, pray for us.

    Liked by 5 people

  21. Mumsee, we have a Prius and we’re not driving anywhere. We “went for a drive” a few days ago just for the sake of the car battery. We drove around for 25 minutes or so and then came home, and I told my husband it had been a lovely date. But without even going to church, we won’t need to fill up for many weeks. (We usually fill up once a month since our move.) I would imagine that people who aren’t commuting to work can safely take an occasional drive and not have to get more gas (assuming they have half a tank or so now).

    We went for a walk two days ago and found a “new” park. Well, we’ve known for the nearly two years we have lived here that the park was there; we just have had so many other places to go that we have never been to that one. But it was well worth the visit, and assuming parks don’t get closed, I plan to visit throughout the summer because it’s really lovely. A beautiful creek that’s really deep in some places, with a bottom that is solid rock (probably the local limestone) and not mud), and apparently in the summer they plant wildflowers for butterflies and they also have nesting facilities for chimney swifts. But we’re being really scrupulous about social distancing, and other people were too. The trail is wide enough that sometimes people just moved to the outside edges, but at one point we went off in the grass for a bit since there were quite a few people. Two women who knew each other saw each other, but they gave “air hugs” from 10 or 15 feet apart. Toward the end I saw a group of four or five people coming up behind us, and I told my husband they might gain on us. He said there is plenty of room for them to go around us, and I said they are all young people and they just might not be doing the social distancing thing, and so we moved off the trail. Anyway, that makes three walking trails that begin within a mile of our home. (This one is a fairly short trail, but pretty.)

    Liked by 2 people

  23. I cannot imagine life in India, Africa, refugee camps. India had four hours notice they were shutting down. Migrant workers in India are attempting one hundred plus mile walks to home as all public transport is stopped. Living conditions we see portrayed does not bode well. We have plenty to pray about and nothing to complain about.

    Liked by 5 people

  25. I am happy to know Janice is thinking of me…..we live in Corona, NM.

    So, the epidemiology Dr says the CCOVID19 does not like heat or humidity. The plan is to try social distancing until the heat of summer takes care of it. He pointed out that all of the large outbreaks are basically slings the same latitude, so environmental conditions will surely be an influence. He pointed out that while almost every country has a few cases, the ones with heat and humidity don’t have widespread increasing numbers.

    Liked by 4 people

  26. I should get the dogs up to our little neighborhood park this weekend, we haven’t been there in a while, we only pass by it on our walks (which are after dark when the park probably isn’t too safe). I can check it out at least, to make sure it’s not too crowded.

    Some of these smaller neighborhood parks are hard to actually “close.” The larger, more popular gathering spots can be shut down just be closing off the parking lots. One of my favorite local spots below the cliffs has now been closed, unfortunately, I was thinking of taking a drive down there at some point just to watch the waves.

    Hmmm, Trump today mentioned an enforceable national quarantine that has been thought about? Apparently too many people are still moving around from state to state (NY to Fla, for example).

    Liked by 2 people

  27. He also thinks there have been a lot if false negatives due to poor technique in collection. When you do a flu swab, go insert it far enough to get a good sample of secretions. He said it needs to be done more like a strep swab, where you get epithelial cells from the sinus tissues. A good strep swab will touch both tonsils and the back of the throat. A good COVID SWAB will gather tissue from deep in both nares.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Oh, I guess just NY, NJ, CT?

    Our LA councilman wants to increase restrictions here, but not sure anything enforceable will be proposed immediately. But our numbers are heading up quickly now.

    As RKessler mentioned, summer weather may provide a break and buy us some time. It would be wonderful if we could have a safe and approved vaccine approved before it returns again.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Oh, take care Kare. I did hear today that there’s now a test that gets results more quickly, as in 15-30 minutes? But not sure that’s readily available just yet.

    How is AJ?

    Liked by 1 person

  34. As of yesterday, Georgia had 2001 cases and 64 deaths. Thankful for wise moves by county and municipalities to go into lockdown now. I wish they would do it to contain my brother and all of his errand running.

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  35. Nancyjill, one of the best things about Colo however, very little heat or humidity.

    But generally as temps go up this virus spread hopefully will at the least slow down.

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Well at least we usually get some heat in the summer…and ya’ll know we do not have Spring around here…we jump right from a foot of snow to peonies blooming in late June 😊
    Dear Kare I am praying for you this day…and I know you know to stay hydrated!! And rest…and and and ❤️

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  38. I have been reading in Revelation lately. You know: earthquakes, pestilence, wild beast killing people, storms, etc. Revelation 9:20: 20, 21: The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of heir murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

    But God….

    Liked by 2 people

  41. Blaine County, that haven for Hollywood folk seeking sanity, is the second highest rate of cases following New York. We don’t have that many, but the rate is that high.

    Like

  42. Here’s the notice that went out today from the la county sheriff’s station in our local area:

    ~ The city parks and city trails are closed across the peninsula. There is currently no public access to many of the places you’re used to frequenting. We are all supposed to be at home *or* traveling to obtain necessary services like food, medicine, etc. The “Safer at Home” order also allows for outdoor activities such as “hiking, walking, or biking” provided that those activities are done as individuals, or as families, and as long as they can be done while maintaining social distancing with other people.

    With the above in mind, you do not need to, nor should you, drive 10, 15, 20, 45 minutes away from home in order to go for a walk. You should not be going to an area that is known for hiking, that other people will be going to, in order to become a potential vector for disease. If everyone decides to congregate at a trail or park, that defeats the purpose of limiting contact!

    To this point, we have issued zero citations within our patrol area for violation of this order. We would MUCH rather everyone do their part and adhere to the order voluntarily. The order has a direct impact on the health and safety of all of our loved ones, and our neighbors, so everyone should *want* to do their part to limit the spread of the disease.

    Now, here’s the part where we have to get real with you. The fact that we haven’t issued citations for violations of the “Safer at Home” order doesn’t mean that we can’t. It means that we PREFER not to. If you decide that you need to drive 45 minutes away from home, and drive around barricades strewn across an entire roadway to get to your preferred hiking spot because you are more important than anyone else, then you’re getting a ticket for driving around the barricades. If you decide that you want to pick up a couple of friends and drive around aimlessly at 70 mph on Hawthorne Boulevard because the responsible people are at home, staying off the roads unless absolutely necessary, then you’re getting a ticket for speeding. It seems like some people have decided that the current state of affairs means the rules don’t apply to them, and it is truly disheartening.

    The “Safer at Home” order is tough. It’s tough because, for one brief period of time in our lives, we’re all being told that we’re grounded and have to stay home, and can’t go outside to play with our friends. And it truly is WE. The people that work at the station are YOU. We are members of the community. We have to stay home when we’re not at work. We have families. We have kids that are driving us nuts from being stuck inside for what feels like FOREVER. We GET IT. But this is truly one of those greater good things where we all have to take stock of ourselves and ask ourselves if it’s really that impossible for us to put the good of others over ourselves for a few weeks.

    We’re asking, begging, and pleading with everyone to adhere to these orders by voluntarily doing the right thing today, tomorrow, this weekend, and until the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issues new orders. The sooner we, as a society, decide to stop being selfish and stubborn, the sooner we can get past this virus, and the easier those of us that are at risk for complications can rest in the mean time.

    So please, if you’ve got to travel to go to work because your place of employment is still operating, or you need to acquire food, medicines, or everyday essentials, please do. If you need to take care of others that are unable to care for themselves, or shop for themselves, please do. But if you just *want* to get out of the house because you’re going stir crazy, then take a walk around your neighborhood. Don’t congregate at local parks or trails (again, they’re closed). Don’t visit your friend’s house just because you’re bored. You’re unnecessarily exposing them, their families, or yourself or your family when you don’t need to, and potentially prolonging the length of this crisis. ~

    Liked by 2 people

  43. My husband walks everyday he can. He goes for car rides and decided to go fill his truck with gas yesterday. He took hand sanitizer. I was irritated that he paid inside instead of at the pump. That is his normal practice, but these are not normal times. It was not necessary, IMO. I think he made a do to list, but scheduled it for when the Rapture occurs. Good thing we love one another.

    Liked by 4 people

  46. Same with the rest of you who may have symptoms of one kind or another. Take it seriously, rest, get aid if you need it. These illnesses out there are no joke.

    Liked by 4 people

  47. Janice, a doctor who is an expert and was being consulted on the local news station, said that the corona virus can appear as gastro intestinal problems. He mentioned nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. I am a little concerned as I had two bouts of diarrhea yesterday. I did get gas a week ago and touched the pump, obviously.

    Liked by 1 person

  48. okay, I posted last night late. You all should watch Is Genesis History? A great video and is free today and tomorrow. It is on you tube, face book and on their web site of the same name. Very well done with Del Tackett. Almost two hours, but fascinating.

    Liked by 2 people

  50. yes, this is that Del Tackett. He goes all over and shows you things like the fossil record and the layers of sediment left by the flood.

    Liked by 2 people

  51. Art told me he got gas for my car. He used no gloves or sanitizer, etc. When he went to Kroger he brought back one wipe they gave at the entrance and wiped his hands and the steering wheel with it. I am the germ phone and he is not. That is why I have a sense of doom tempered with the peace of God that passes all understanding.

    I have a theory that it is spreading more in the affluent areas where people live who traveled out of the country and came back. In general, the area where my husband’s office is located remains less affluent because the county schools almost or did lose accreditation. In contrast, where we live, in general (but not including us) is much more affluent because of all the medical and high tech positions held by people.

    One example is that my pastor had to travel to Georgetown, TX an affluent suburb of Austin to do a funeral at one of his former churches. On the plane going there all was fine for limited exposure. On the trip back to Atlanta, he said all seemed fine until the Andretti racing team got on the plane with him headed to Atlanta to return to Italy!😳👀😳

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  52. Germ phone=germ phobe
    But my phone is germy, too. I keep wiping it down with alcohol on cotton balls. I hope that helps.

    Also, with me not feeling as well as I would like, it gives a good excuse to not be hugging on Art. I don’t want to share germs even if he is not as careful about sharing his.

    Learn and Live instead of Live and Learn!

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  53. I have chuckled at and been irritated at the different Dr’s that we have come through. They are all doomsdayers with this corona virus. They almost all think they know better than the CDC about who to test. There is certain criteria which should be met before they test. One of them wanted to, and did, test people who had no signs or symptoms or risk factors. All that does is back up the results even longer and those who are symptomatic don’t get preferential test run time. Right now we are 3 to 5 days to get results.

    As of last night we had 191, with 1 death and 7 hospitalized. They are expecting a surge on resources the week of April 20.

    Liked by 1 person

  54. No, I saw something about one lady who died from it had intestinal problems, too. But the CDC does not list that as a symptom. I really believe I ate and drank a bad combination of things due to not having good supplies of food. I think that was the true source of my diarrhea. Don’t try this at home! A can of Peregrino (sp?) sparkling water mixed with cherry juice and apple cider vinegar. Then have some redskin peanuts followed by coleslaw.
    Really. Not. Wise.

    Liked by 1 person

  58. Our adjoining Nezperce County (with Lewiston), has four cases and one death. Our Lewis County (with Nezperce), has zero but the other side Idaho County has one. It seems like it is everywhere and will grow everywhere. It is not hot and humid here.

    Like

  60. The report for our County is 160 confirmed cases with 7 deaths. Daughter was antsy so I sent her to Chick FIL A drive up/pick up. They wrote on the bag “you are blessed”…they all had gloves and masks on and daughter said the drive thru was quite busy 🐓 what a world what a world…..

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  61. Did I mention I saw two human beings outside of my family yesterday? The neighbor brought firewood we bought last fall and his cousin was helping him. We waved.

    Liked by 3 people

  64. Innovation at work. 🙂

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/dyson-designs-ventilator-10-days-184812185.html

    “Dyson Designs Ventilator in 10 Days for COVID-19 Patients”

    “Dyson is renowned for its innovative vacuum cleaners and sleek hair dryers, but this week the British company has made headlines for stepping up in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Founder Sir James Dyson reports that his company has invented an entirely new ventilator to address the desperate need for the lifesaving devices. The CoVent was designed in just 10 days by leveraging Dyson’s existing digital motor, whose technology is already optimized for safety and efficiency.

    In an email shared with Architectural Digest, James Dyson writes to his staff: “[The CoVent] is designed to address the specific clinical needs of COVID-19 patients, and it is suited to a variety of clinical settings. The core challenge was how to design and deliver a new, sophisticated medical product in volume and in an extremely short space of time. The race is now on to get it into production.””

    Liked by 3 people

  65. And….. sometimes you have to yell at ’em first….. but, progress.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gm-ventec-announce-capability-produce-172636066.html

    “GM, Ventec Announce Capability To Produce 10K Ventilators Monthly After Trump Lashes Out On Twitter”

    “GM and Ventec said they will build VOCSN critical care ventilators at the Kokomo plant, with FDA-cleared ventilators planned for shipment as soon as April. Ventec is also taking “aggressive steps” to ramp up production at a Bothell, Washington facility, according to the press release.

    The setup of tooling and manufacturing at the Kokomo plant is already underway, according to GM and Ventec.

    “Depending on the needs of the federal government, Ventec and GM are poised to deliver the first ventilators next month and ramp up to a manufacturing capacity of more than 10,000 critical care ventilators per month with the infrastructure and capability to scale further,” according to the Friday press release.

    GM said it is donating its resources to the effort at cost. The automaker also said it will begin making Level 1 surgical masks at its Warren, Michigan plant next week. Production is expected to reach 50,000 masks per day within two weeks, with the potential to reach 100,000 per day, GM said.

    “We are proud to stand with other American companies and our skilled employees to meet the needs of this global pandemic,” GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.

    “This partnership has rallied the GM enterprise and our global supply base to support Ventec, and the teams are working together with incredible passion and commitment. I am proud of this partnership as we work together to address urgent and life-saving needs.””

    Liked by 2 people

  66. probably the easiest way is to go to youtube and enter in “Is Genesis History” or you can try their website: isgenesishistory dot com

    Like

  70. LA County: Now at 32 deaths, 1,817 cases

    Our numbers from the LA Times posted an hour ago:

    __________________________

    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-28/coronavirus-deaths-in-california-top-100-as-officials-struggle-to-slow-spread

    L.A. County announces 6 new coronavirus deaths as hospitals fill up in California

    Los Angeles County public health officials announced six new deaths from the coronavirus and 344 additional cases on Saturday, bringing the county’s total to 32 deaths and 1,817 cases. Of the total cases, about a third of them — 601 — were confirmed in the past 48 hours, officials said.

    As of Saturday, 398 people, or about 22% of positive cases, had at some point been hospitalized.

    Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said the increase in cases means that it’s more crucial than ever to practice social distancing and self-isolate if one is feeling sick with even mild illness.

    “If we all commit ourselves to stay home, stay away from others when sick, and stay six feet apart when out, we will save lives,” Ferrer said in a statement. …

    … Newsom said that hospitals statewide already are seeing a surge in patients, with the number of people in intensive care units doubling overnight, from 200 people Friday to 410 Saturday. Hospitalizations overall rose 38.6%, from 746 Friday to 1,034 Saturday, he said.

    “That is a significant, sizable increase and if trends continue along those lines, then we will start to manifest conditions that are very familiar to people on the East Coast,” he said at a press conference at a Bloom Energy refurbishing site in Sunnyvale on Saturday with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. …

    … Officials continue to warn that Los Angeles could soon resemble New York City, the center of the nation’s coronavirus epidemic, which has reported more than 26,000 cases and more than 450 deaths. The state of New York has more than 52,000 cases, more than nine times as many as in California.

    “In less than a week … we’ve more than tripled the number of people here in L.A. County who are positive for COVID-19,” Ferrer said.

    She warned that if the spread of the virus was not slowed, the region’s healthcare system would be overwhelmed.

    Epidemiologists say they expect L.A. County’s case numbers to continue to grow, but that social distancing may help stave off a repeat of New York’s rapid spread. The measures went into effect in California early enough that they could have a significant impact, experts say.

    In the latest effort to encourage people to remain at home, L.A. County on Friday closed all of its beaches, along with piers, beach bike paths, public trails and trailheads. The city of Los Angeles followed suit Friday night, announcing the closure of park facilities, trailheads and trails.

    Officials say it’s too soon to tell whether the attempts to curb the virus’ spread are working. …
    ______________________________-

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  71. Had a lovely walk with my neighbor. We may just try out Peter’s suggestion of a Zoom dinner since there is snow on the ground and the air is cold! Then we may move onto a circle the wagons on the property type of dinner date! I will take photos when we pull it off!! 😊

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  72. $400 fines in Northern California for quarantine violations (visiting closed off areas?) According to what someone posted on social media. Yikes.

    Like

  74. Beautiful weather here today, less than a week after getting an inch of snow (which came the day I started wondering if it was too early to start working in the garden). And my son was happy to get called in for a shift at Taco Bell.
    I made roast chicken for dinner so I could use the box of stuffing mix I bought for Thanksgiving and forgot to use. (I usually forget something at Thanksgiving – one year it’s the gravy, another time it’s the cranberry sauce. There’s so much food no one notices. Or if they notice, they don’t say anything.) And this time I managed to cook it right-side up. (Last time I carefully examined the chicken so I wouldn’t put it in the pan upside down like I had the time before, but still got it wrong. Obviously I don’t do roast chicken very often.)

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  75. Dj all the parks playground/basketball/tennis courts are closed and taped off in towns. Our neighborhood owns our own park/trail/playground…35 acres of HOA private owned land…you guessed it…people are coming into the neighborhood with their kids and hanging out at our private park/playground. Neighbor and I saw a teen riding a little spring type horse we have there as he was on his phone… 😜

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  76. I was supposed to zoom with my family twenty five minutes ago. I suspect they are more frustrated than I am. The thing asked for my apple password. I have an apple password?

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  77. Our region has over 50 cases and three deaths, primarily because of the one nursing home outbreak. The premier of the province reamed out city dwellers who go to their cottages during this time of lockdown. We live in cottage country, and already have a higher percentage of seniors because people in the city like to retire out here. The rural country hospitals are small, and cannot handle the extra volume of people who normally only come to the area seasonally on weekends or for a couple of weeks on holiday.

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  78. I’ve hit the bottle. We had two Sparkling Red Grape Ciders left from the holidays. Art can’t drink most things that are red because it can form kidney stones. So I drank the whole bottle in two days by myself. I have one more bottle to go. Maybe I need to save it for communion?

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  79. As I mentioned on the prayer thread, Nightingale has five patients with respiratory symptoms who will be tested for COVID-19. A few days ago, she texted me to ask me to put her small laundry basket, some trash bags, and her robe in the entryway so she could take off her scrubs and shoes, and then go straight to the shower. That’s what she’s been doing since then. She also wipes down anything she’s touched, such as the doorknobs, with a disinfectant wipe.

    This was her fourth day / fifth shift in her six day / eight shift streak. It will end with a double on Monday. Things have been particularly busy, and today she barely had five minutes to “shove salad in [her] face”. She is exhausted and went to bed early.

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  81. I scrubbed down the ancient butcher block table from home in the kitchen, waiting for it to dry to give it a good coat of food-safe oil. It’s a pet table, mostly, I feed Annie on top of it so she and her food are a safe distance away from marauding dogs.

    Love “old” stuff. 🙂 But then you all knew that.

    Figured it’s a good day to get to some of those things I’ve been meaning to do for so long …

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  83. Apple passwords are just as important as a Social Security number dont’ ya know!?! I have mine encrypted in a file somewhere 😂
    My neighbor handed me a glass of white wine when I met her on the road for our walk today…she said this was our “walk and “whine” time together 😂

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  84. My EMT says they’re waiting for the shoe to drop. Next week or so should so higher numbers. “We’re about a week behind NY.”

    She’s still putting together a potential strike force.

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  86. We are expecting a surge around April 20. We have 2 ventilators on our 25 bed hospital. RT told me last night that they could be modified to take care of 6 pts each. He also said that the bi-pap machines could be used for ventilators also. I think they have a plan to convert some offices into or care so it brings us up to about 35 possible beds, plus the 9 beds in ER. I don’t know who they think is going to take care of these potential pts as we are chronically short staffed.

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  87. We had both vents in use last night. One for an OD, and the other for a huge brain bleed due to a fall. Both were transferred out from our facility.

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  88. I feel the same, Kizzie. I take extra clothing and change prior to leaving and then shower when I get home. I don’t want to infect my car.

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  89. You are right, Kizzie. It is like a movie that does not end in two hours so. It’s a bit like Ground Hog Day since we do the same things over and over again.

    Our pollen count is over 6,000 and has not been this high since 2013. My nose does feel a tad bit stuffy from it. It would be something to find out that all this pollen in the lungs kills the Corona virus.

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  91. According to the self-assessment tool for our province, I am supposed to call 811 to see if I need testing. I figure if I’m not having trouble breathing, nor am I going anywhere and husband is quarantining as well, I don’t really need a test. Although, I guess it could be useful to let those I’ve been in contact with in the last two weeks.

    Nancy jill, I hope you disinfected the glass and your hand after 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  92. Has anyone heard about the recovered cases in Wuhan that are now showing reinfection? It is a small percent, but round 2? I think they are not sure if the testing is accurate.

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  93. Keeping you in my prayers Kare…and if you do find yourself being short of breath I would think that would be a good time to call…but my prayer is that it does not come to that for you ❤️
    Neighbor had a napkin wrapped around the cup and I had gloves on my hands. I threw the cup away and washed my hands after taking off my gloves 😊

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  94. Janice= I’ve heard of some being reinfected. It seems the virus mutates such that getting it once does not make you immune to a mutation.

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  95. Wine in a paper cup (or was it plastic?), it’s come to this.

    This is kind of like a movie or miniseries Kizzie and I might watch.

    Tonight I watched the Clint Eastwood film about Richard Jewell. I remember when that happened in 1996, I was working at the San Pedro paper that closed down two years later (after being around for over 100 years). There have been some serious criticisms about how the Atlanta Journal reporter was portrayed (by those who knew her, she died a few years before Jewell did).

    But the film was a good and important cautionary tale on how quickly and easily people in authority or power can jump to wrong conclusions about a guy like Jewell: white, lives with mom, police wanna-be, overweight, very unhip. It must have been a horrible ordeal for him and his mother.

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  96. I called. I’m in mandatory isolation and will get tested within 2 days with results in 3 – 5 days. Sigh. In other news, I signed up for Disney+ since we don’t have a TV in our bedroom and I can’t concentrate long enough to read more than a few pages at a time.

    Husband will be staying in the guest room (I’m sure it’s already too late) but they said to do that and then when they call me back they’ll give more details for us.

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  101. Glad you claimed 100, Chas! I had to see who got it♡
    I went outside earlier and recorded the sweet birdsong to post on Facebook. God gives us a free daily concert which is even sweeter in the spring.

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  105. Kare, I might not have read all you posted (if you posted day before yesterday, for instance), but it’s achiness that’s your main symptom? Seems most likely to be the flu. Won’t they test for flu first?

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  107. Good morning, all. As predicted, the sun did indeed rise this morning.A beautiful spring morning it is. Birds are singing, light rain has stopped, things are raring to go.

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  108. Morning! Oh how beautiful is this day! Sunshine, fresh air and our birds are singing too Janice!!
    Dj the cup was plastic…the elegant crystal Chinet wine tumbler 🙃
    Check in when you can Kare…we are praying for you…and you too AJ!

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  111. Daughter says she will be picking up double shifts as the workers are dropping. They don’t have that many to start with. Maybe six or seven? Very rarely have more than one employee there at a time. Seventeen clients. Finding dependable employees seems to be a problem.

    Liked by 3 people

  112. Older daughter says the hospital, which has way more employees than the facility, looks eerie. They normally do eighty surgeries a week and were down to twelve. Lots of empty beds. Waiting.

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  115. I missed my shower yesterday so it felt extra good this morning. 🙂 Our church service begins in about an hour, on YouTube but also embedded on the church website now I believe. Carol asked me to send the link which I will. She looked in for part of the time last Sunday but said things became too noise there around her with staff coming and going into the room so she didn’t make it all the way through the sermon.

    I’ll finish up oiling the butcher block table later today, do some more work in the kitchen. It looked good a couple days ago. Things have disintegrated.

    Then I may head into the back office/den room and clear out all the old (as in 1-2 weeks worth) mounds of paperwork, printouts of council agendas, past stories for reference. I can no longer see the desk. Then I can may work in there again.

    But these days I also find it helpful (and doable since I live alone) to move the laptop around and I’ve used the dining table and front entry table on various days to plant myself. When it warms up, I may try the patio but that’ll be complicated as the laptop charge will limit me. I also have my work laptop here, however, and that battery might be stronger and newer.

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  117. I did the Zoom on telephone Sunday school or Bible study time which was in Ezekiel. Then I did a telephone conference prayer call with a group from my church so we could lift up the online service as it was going out into the world (we all knew we could catch the service later online). Next I found an email fro our contact at Art’s church who sent a link to their Vimeo Sunday morning meditation and partial service. Next I will watch my service. And this morning Karen and I talked and she has symptoms of illness so I had a prayer session with her. I am starting to know how it was in the olden days when people did church all day on Sundays!🦋

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  118. Oh, and Art’s pastor (lady) was doing Ezekiel, too, about the dry bones. So that seemed like an extension of my Sunday school.

    I had cleaned out a catch all bowl I have beside my bed and found a little rock/stone I had picked up some years back. It fits nicely in the palm. While in our prayer session I was holding it. The guy, husband of my Bible study leader, chose a passage to read from the Bible. He was reading about turning hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. I was lifting that stone in my hand up to God as he read and prayed.

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  119. DJ, when I was homeschooling Wesley, I had various spaces set up as learning stations around our house. What you wrote reminded me of that. It is good to move around in my way of thinking. It refreshes the brain.

    In the early years we always sat together with one large whiteboard in our laps on which he could do his math problems in various colors of dry erase markers. Somehow I think it helped him to be able to write the numbers in visually large print rather than on paper. People have so many variations in how they learn best.

    So glad you have spaces available so you can remain active as you are use to being.

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  122. Chas, after I clicked on Janice’s birdsong video, I had to turn the volume up quite a bit higher than I need it for listening to music videos to hear it well. Maybe that will help on your computer, too?

    Janice, thanks for recording that! Beautiful. I heard different sounds than I hear up north, though one of them, the one that sounded like a slide whistle playing a descending scale, resembled our Northern Cardinal.

    Do you know which birds you were hearing?

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  123. We are a chatty bunch today. But it occurs to me that none of us can go out and about as we might do on a Sunday afternoon. This gives a chance to interact with each other.
    But when I was thinking about that, it occurred to me that AJ has a ministry of sorts. Has been for some time.

    Liked by 4 people

  124. Watching the University of Arizona vs Kentucky 1997 National Championship game. I have to chuckle when the announcers say “foul against the Wildcats” since both schools have that mascot.

    I know, the outcome is known, but I didn’t get to see it 23 years ago.

    Liked by 2 people

  126. Ah, hearing the gospel preached again, thanks to technology. Excellent sermon today, it can be read here:

    Click to access A+Desired+Haven.pdf

    And an interesting prayer for deliverance, but not before it has accomplished what God intends for it to accomplish.

    The storm is of God. What will we learn about ourselves?

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  128. I am doing much better today. The fever seems to have broken – I felt pretty bad before that happened. I had the flu shot in the fall, then I got the flu in January and now this. I do have other factors like being in another province with high rates and hugging my DIL who had returned from California the week before and the time line all fits so that is why they are testing me. I won’t end up in hospital unless something drastically changes but they want to test so that they can know. If I do have it, they can contact all those I’ve been in contact with in the last two weeks. Thankfully that’s not many people as I was distancing before we were told to and working from home also before we were told to.

    And the fever is back. Oh well. I will take some tylenol and sleep some more.

    I was able to change the sheets and have a bath, so that helps a lot. Husband will have to do laundry in a few days 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

  130. Oh, Kare, I hope it continues to get better. When I use to get sick a lot I found that my fever often returned in the afternoon especially when I had bronchitus.

    6 Arrows, we do have cardinals here, mockingbirds, crows, hawks, robins, bluebirds, brown thrashers, woodpeckers (or sapsuckers maybe), and smaller birds. At night we have owls. I am not good at distinguishing their songs. I think I heard a crow in the distance at one point. We do have a mockingbird that serenades so I am sure it is a closer sounding one and probably the cardinals, too.

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  133. There is a grid that has been shared on Facebook by one of our healthcare networks here in Connecticut that compares the symptoms of colds, the flu, allergies, and the coronavirus. What I found quite odd is that it ranked coughs as “rare” under “Colds”. I think I “rare”ly get a cold that doesn’t have a cough, whether to begin with or as it finishes up.

    Liked by 1 person

  135. Oops, I commented on this on the Friday thread thinking I was here. Trying again…

    Nice article, DJ, on the arrival of the hospital ship. I was gladdened by the additional news that the state is going to lease St Vincent’s Hospital to beef up hospital capacity. (For those who don’t know, it’s where DJ was born and I had 3 childhood heart surgeries, and it was closed down last summer.)

    Liked by 3 people

  136. Back from my walk with neighbor. It was lovely and we got it in before the rain arrives later on 😊
    Husband and I spotted a new to us bird on the birdbath this morning. I quickly researched it and it said a House Finch….well it isn’t in the house so I wonder why they would name it such. It was red on top and top sides then brown everywhere else. It was so pretty and he was eating snow since the birdbath was frozen!
    Kare thanks for reporting in! We continue to pray and it is good to hear you are feeling somewhat better ❤️
    Dj our Vet is asking clients to only come if absolutely necessary. They will come out to the car to get your pet, take them inside to care for them and come back to you with your pet. We love our Vet…. 🐶

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  137. Big sister, I’m checking in. Did I say something to suggest I was not well? I’m fine, everyone here is fine. I’m not usually here much on weekends – I usually catch up either late Sunday or on Monday.

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  138. Regarding re-infection, I watched a half-hour Focus on the Family interview with Francis Collins, the head of NIH. He was asked about re-infection, and said there have been “anecdotal” reports, but nothing that convinces him. He thinks it more likely that it was a relapse of someone who wasn’t fully over it yet. I also wonder if it might have been two different bugs in close succession.

    The interview was about ten days ago, so the picture could have changed since then.

    I found it worthwhile to watch. Collins came to faith in Christ as a grad student after being a committed atheist. He has written much on the relationship between faith and science. He also was the head of the Human Genome Project. In the interview he talked about what we’re facing with Covid without hype or hysteria, then talked about how we might think about it as Christians.

    Liked by 1 person

  139. A young man from our church got married last night. His father, an elder, got a CA license to marry them; only family attended and afterward they all stood on the street while friends drove past honking and waving. Honeymoon? Nearby B&B for a few days then back to his bedroom next to mom and dad!

    In other news, another elder and his wife have about 50 goats. They were nearly late to SS because several got out and they had to track them down!

    They have several new kids and are having trouble getting sufficient goat milk to feed them. I do not know why the nannies are not doing their jobs.

    Yesterday, they went to 5 stores, each going in apart because they were limited to two quarts of goat milk each. Feed storm is back ordered, as is Amazon.

    Who knew?

    Liked by 1 person

  140. It’s kind of amusing watching the “numbers” linked in to the church service each week. There’s a jump about 5-10 minutes after it begins and I have to smile, thinking of those who regularly turn up at just around that time in person, too. 🙂 Our late arrivals (and yes, I’ve been among them at times, I’m much better at being early for the online services).

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  141. I have a couple FB-linked friends who remain convinced that this is all a complete overreaction and it’s no worse than “the flu.” I get it, and think — at some point — we’ll get a handle on this and have treatments and a vaccine.

    But right now, for the short-term, it is killing a fairly large number of people by most standards and we still know very little about it, we have only short-term data to go on. In 6-12 months we’ll know much more.

    This “lock-down” response, while I know it seems extreme (and, granted is doing some horrible damage to our economy, to businesses, and to many people who are losing jobs and livelihoods), is designed to slow the spread, slow the death rate, and buy us some time so those medical advances that will fight it can be developed.

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  142. Good to see you, little brother. I thought you had said something about a headache the other day and that is a symptom. Nobody could possibly just have a headache anymore. But with your heart history…Self isolate. And wash your hands!

    Liked by 1 person

  143. We have quite a few bags of goat milk in the freezer. Thought we might have to improvise with one when one of the ewes died suddenly the other day. No clear idea of what happened though a few thoughts. Anyway, her kid was taken by one of the other moms and is doing well. Adoption is a fine thing. I am glad God deemed it so.

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  144. I finally found a way to do a standing computer. I found a sturdy tub to put on the table. If I am going to listen to something, I want to be able to move. There used to be a different dresser here that worked, but that is gone. The new one is so high I cannot see the top.

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  145. I like President Trump. I have wondered why but after watching the news briefing, it is because he sincerely seems to care about people. I see that in his family (yes, I know he is divorced a couple of times) and his actions and it was apparent that the number 2.2 million was very effecting to him. He sees the individuals. God is working.

    Liked by 3 people

  147. Ah, the Northern Cardinal is in the South, too. 🙂

    Why isn’t my avatar turning green like usual? It always goes from blue to green when I type in my email, but this time it is staying blue in the box below. Let’s see if it stays that way when I post…

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  149. Nancy Jill, house finches: they regularly nest on or near houses. They aren’t supposed to be in the east, but decades ago someone was selling them (in New York I think) as cage birds, calling them “Hollywood finches.” When he found out he was about to get busted, he released them, and the rest is history. The eastern birds are a lot more susceptible to disease than the western ones, since they are really inbred. However, the western ones have been expanding across the continent, and last I heard there wasn’t much space between the two groups, so they may have met in the middle by now.

    They are one of the first species I learned, and the species that encouraged Mom to buy a bird field guide. See, we had a front kitchen growing up (which Mom always hated), and Mom put two trellises in front of the house and planted a passion vine on each. The vines did wonderfully, and they spread along beams to meet in the middle. On that beam, every year a pair of house finches nested–one year two pairs. We could watch them from the kitchen window as we washed dishes. The parents would get so used to our presence they’d ignore us, so we got to watch them feed babies just a few yards away from us.

    But we didn’t know what species they were, because Mom really didn’t know all that many birds. One day we were out camping and discovered the lady in the next trailer loved birds, and she had a field guide that helped her identify them. So Mom told her about our nesting species and described the birds. The lady turned to finches and we narrowed down the varieties and identified them . . . and Mom decided we needed a copy of that book, and so she bought one.

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  151. Thanks much Cheryl! That is such a sweet memory you shared of the vine and watching those birds nesting! We enjoy watching them and are fascinated how some are skittish and some are not. We have birds coming to the feeder on the deck who are very skittish…they fly off even as we just pass by the back door on the way to the kitchen. Others continue to feed without skipping a beat…even if we open the door and step outside 😊

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  153. Mumsee, I’d forgotten that I had mentioned the headache here. I was fine 2 or 3 days later, by mid-week. Sometimes I get a mild headache just from being tired, and maybe from some muscle tension.

    In our house we have 2 people over 60, one of them with “underlying medical conditions”, one younger person with other medical conditions, and one very healthy young person. We’re all being very careful. Flyboy, the young healthy one, has to go to work four nights a week, but he’s being conscientious about protecting the rest of us.

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  154. I am still trying to persuade daughter that her daughter is worth showering a few times a day for. She has to shower when she goes to work and when she leaves and, because I don’t believe her, showers when she gets home. And changes clothes.

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  155. And now I hear that seventh son is unable to work on the helicopters because the one he works on is locked down in Chile. He has been waiting for a week but apparently it is not coming back so he plans to drive over here from Salem Oregon and work for a local farmer for a while. I am certain he does not understand that he will be expected by the state to self quarantine for two weeks. Nor does he care. He is a social butterfly. And he is not to come here at this point. If he was able to follow the rules, it would be fine. We would have him self quarantine in the guestroom side of the house. But he wouldn’t. He would need to go visit here there and everywhere. Sorry but the baby and my husband come first and they are both on the endangered side. Of course, my husband may stay in Boise.

    Liked by 2 people

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