Second day in a row where I’ve been awake since 4 am. Crap.
I’m so tired.
Don woke up early today, as well.
The brown-eyed susans are opening. I can never decide what to type; black-eyed susans or brown-eyed susans. Apparently, it’s the same flower with two different names. And the flower looks different depending on where you live. Since that “eye” is brown, that’s what I’m going with.
We haven’t tested for Covid yet. We decided to do it today. We’ll see. Frankly, I’m so congested on a daily basis, I’m not sure whether I’d know if I had any symptoms!
I have two coaching jobs coming up and that means I have to be out in the world again. As did Don when his group of artists performed the other night. Through this performance, the artists earned a little income after two years plus of not performing and I’m proud of Don (and his friend Elly) for planning that wonderful evening of music.
There’s been a lot of talk on the blog about being responsible and careful re: Covid. As far as I can tell from the comments here ever since the pandemic began, all of us are very responsible. Don and I are extra vigilant, but we do have to work. The venue where they performed the other night required proof of vaccination. Some people were masked, others weren’t. Don was masked the vast majority of the time. He didn’t “take a risk” as someone said, any more than you do when you go to the grocery store and shop among masked and unmasked shoppers. That’s life nowadays. We do what we feel comfortable with. As always, Don and I make these decisions together. Frankly, when I worked on the film, I felt more protected than any place other than my home because the protocols were so strict. At times, we took off our masks to eat and to pose for photos. The rest of the time, we were masked. The protocols will be strict in rehearsal rooms and theaters, as well. We limit our exposure, we don’t eat inside restaurants, we are so careful that many people would make fun of us.
But, as freelancers who need to work, we tend to accept job offers. Because…income.
There’s a large segment of the population that isn’t careful and in some cases, have never been vaccinated. I don’t get outraged any more. It is what it is and that’s the way it’s going to be going forward. All I can do is take care of myself, wear a mask, and do my best to protect others. And I do. We do.
The house yesterday morning.
Okay. I need more coffee.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Your house looks beautiful, Claudia. A lovely place of refuge on a hill. I love that.
I have the Susans too — and that’s what I tend to call them — the Susans (and the Peas — sweet peas!) The yard looks grim till they pop but when they do, what a splash!
I see fewer and fewer masks despite numbers going up and a sense of complacency — probably fueled by the fact that cases, while up, tend to not be so fatal as they once were. But for those of us with compromised systems, we take no chances. I go to the store and mask (though if no one is there, I might drop it for an aisle or two, especially in this heat). When I get back to the lake I will see fewer masks than here (and more signs for Trump and his chosen ones). Once the primary is over, I’ll get a sign supporting our governor for the lake — we’ll see how long it lasts before it is defaced or stolen.
I’m glad you both are working, though. I know it was a tough couple of years and you do what you need to do. I’m not surprised the theatre protocols are more stringent and that gives me confidence. Take care, my friend.
We always mask when shopping, too.
Thanks, Jeanie.
Stay safe.
Claudia, that large shady green area by your lovely house looks perfect for a picnic!
I know what you mean about the masking situation…for me, wearing a mask just seems kind of automatic after all this time! It’s reaIly not such a big deal or inconvenience. I am surprised in some places where I’m not seeing others mask up. Hope you and Don are negative when you test.
We tested negative, Barrie. All is well.
Stay safe.
Yes!
As my daughter said we have been so so so careful…yet it comes…my car wasn’t moved for months in Indiana I have co tongued to mask and isolate…walk my miles even in Florida…eat right…vitamins… vaccinate…I am not angry…sad that others don’t vaccinate and mask…if they don’t care about themselves…at least others…as to taking chances…every time I walk in my little Dollar General…or my tiny grocery store…good luck to you and Donald…prayers dear girl…
Thanks, Brenda. We tested negative.
Stay safe.
I think there is a human tendency (or perhaps it is cultural) to look for a way to assign responsibility to a victim (of crime, of an accident, of covid) as a way to assure oneself that “this couldn’t happen to me”. Thus, an assault victim is thought to be inappropriately dressed, someone who is hit by a falling tree shouldn’t have been out in a storm, someone fully vaccinated who gets covid “took an unwise chance”. While it is easy and reassuring to engage in this type of thinking, it isn’t helpful and may be actively painful to others, and thus is to be avoided.
For example, my husband and had (thankfully mild) cases of covid, despite being fully vaxxed and boosted. There were comments from others about “perhaps you got it on the plane” – a trip 3 weeks earlier – or “you shouldn’t go to the store instead of getting a delivery”. Not helpful. Stuff happens.
Hope all goes well. I love the picture of your haven of a home.
ceci
Not helpful at all. Sometimes things just happen.
We tested negative, Ceci.
Stay safe.
Claudia….stay cool today. Your shady porch looks so inviting but if there are any babbling brooks or waterfalls near you…take a ride there. It can be very restorative to mind and body. Be well.
We sat on the porch this morning before it started to get really humid.
Thanks, Maria.
Stay safe.
I hope you both test negative. I know you and Don are super careful but life does go on and we have to go out in it sometimes. Being careful is all we can do. Your home is such a lovely place and so relaxing, I know the two of you are blessed. Hugs.
We tested negative, Linda. All is well.
Stay safe.
I no longer get angry at those who don’t mask, either It’s a waste of my time and energy. The failure to mask means I must isolate more than I would otherwise, but I’m grateful that I can do that, even if I so miss some activities and people.
I’ve been waking extra early, too, and then falling into a nap midday, something I rarely ever do. I wonder if it’s the body’s adaptation to the heat, ensuring we’re active during the cooler morning and evening hours, but in a dead-to-the-world nap in the middle of the day.
It might be. All I know is that I’m exhausted!
Thanks so much, Linda.
Stay safe.
My husband I have managed to avoid getting the virus, either by luck or being super careful.
We are both fully vaxed and boosted and wear masks if we are going into a store. However, we also believe that we have to return to everyday life – we see friends, we have eaten in restaurants, and have attended baseball games and concerts. You do what you can, and hope for the best.
Exactly.
We tested negative, by the way.
Stay safe.
I’m not angry at those that don’t mask….I’m angry at those who have spread misinformation that vaccines, boosters, masks, and social distancing don’t work. Somehow we have managed to avoid Covid. We are vaccinated and boosted, and mask up as necessary. We still use hand sanitizer after shopping. It’s become a habit now. But we have resumed most activities including eating in restaurants occasionally. We’ve come to realize that we will have to learn to live with Covid…for us, it’s as simple as that.
Your home’s setting is idyllic. Good luck with the tests later! ;)
I think you’re right. It is now the way we live.
We tested negative, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
Thank goodness!! ;)
xo
I have not tested at home yet but government sent me four tests and just received four more
Family got them
Also
Everyone can
Also for seniors Medicare will give you 8 a month
I finally had to get some in case
Free also
We got the ones from the government. We test occasionally and we just tested this morning and we’re negative.
Thanks so much, Brenda.
Stay safe.
I’m thinking of you and Don and hoping for good test results for you both. Even Dr. Fauci had Covid a few weeks ago, proving that it can happen to even the most careful people.
We did do the test and we’re both negative.
Thanks so much, Emily.
Stay safe.
i try to not get angry about stupid awful covid itself and (especially) the people who have not ever taken precautions against it, who don’t care about other people and/or intentionally spread lies about covid/vaccinations/etc. i try to focus on what is in my control and do what i can to protect myself and my family. i try to remind myself that life will probably always be this way with covid and people variously taking or not taking precautions and i try to have comfort in what is known and can be done to fight covid and how such has improved greatly since early 2020 and will likely continue to improve (though probably not go away 100%). i try very hard at all those things, but i still get angry, sometimes scared and also very, very sad about it all. i pray, of course, and know that the good outweighs the bad, that vaccinations and other precautions help … but i could use better stress relief. i cannot run anymore (for my back having broken in four vertebrae … stupid osteoporosis) and walking doesn’t bring on the endorphins and use up nervous energy. ugh.
on a related and happier note, i saw you say both you and don tested negative for covid. i am glad about that for you two! whew and hooray!
having a day here for which i need to “don’t tell God how big your problems are … (instead) tell your problems how big your God is”. thanks for listening.
kathy
sounded pretty miserable in what i just wrote. that is true … but i know (and hope you know) that there’s more good than bad in the world, that things will get better.
thanks.
xo,
kathy
xoxo
But walking quickly does bring on the endorphins! Try that.
Thanks, Kathy.
Stay safe.
SO glad to read that you & Don have tested negative!
May that result bring you both peace and decreased stress, and a nice, long night’s sleep tonight!
Stay safe, well & cool.
Let’s hope I can sleep tonight. I’m really fried.
Stay safe, Amy.
Hi Claudia,
I long ago stopped thinking about the anti-mask, anti-vaccine bunch too. If I do my mind goes to their “you can’t tell me I have to wear a mask but I can tell you, a woman, what you can and can’t do with your own body.” Better to leave it alone and not watch much news these days, except the hearings.
Those are brown-eyed Susans you have, by the way. We have tons too. I did a bit of research a few years ago to find out which is which and the black-eyed Susans have shorter, more rounded-on-the -end petals. We’re so lucky here because the hottest it’s been ins mid-eighties all summer. Lots and lots of rain. I cannot imagine how they’re coping over in countries who never even approach that much less 3-digit temps.
Glad you both tested negative.
K.
Well, I think they’re brown-eyed susans, too, but several sites said they go by both names and the names cover rounded petals and the ones I have. Sigh. Brown-eyed susans it is.
Our heat index at the moment is 99 degrees. And it feels like it!
Stay safe, Kay.
First, I am so happy you tested negative. Bill and I have managed to not catch it. He is still working, so not everyone wears masks but I still ask him to. So far so good. Not so good with our air conditioner. We need a new one, ugh! We knew it was getting close but did not want to deal with it in the middle of the summer. Not an expense we needed, but in Phoenix you can not live without it. Thank you to those people who have commented about my MIL. She had another bad night last night. Got a call at 2:00 in the morning that she had slid out of bed again! They have to call you whenever that happens, but the crazy thing is there is a law they can not put bars on the sides of the bed. What is that all about?! I guess it is a very controversial subject in the assisted living communities. They say bars hurt people more than the fall out of bed. Crazy!
There has to be a better way. On a positive note, if I went driving by your house, I would want it! It is adorable! Hope you get better sleep. Take care of yourself!
Oh no! What a worrisome time for all of you!
Praying for all of you, Deb.
Stay safe.
Thx for sharing your test results. Yay!! Our littlest family member got her 1st shot last Friday. She is 26 mos old. Marched in w her little mask on carrying her Bear lovey, held up her arm & said “Thank You” w fist bumps & on she went w her day. People amaze me. Kids give me real joy.
That is adorable! Oh my goodness, what a cutie pie!
Stay safe, Chris.
ChrisK, your story brought such a smile to my face of your dear little one, Bear lovey in arms; I’m so glad you have her for love and joy and comfort; I remember here when you were looking forward to her birth, so to think she’s now over age 2, wow, how the time has flown. Having her in your life has I’m sure made all-things COVID much more Bear-able.
It’s hard for people to work in a pandemic. I’ve felt badly for those who were ‘out there’ in 2020, 2021. Gosh, the emergency providers like police, fire, paramedics, nurses, doctors; the housekeeping people in the hospitals. They must have felt like they were walking into a mine field, before vaccinations and when far less was known about Covid.
My husband has been working a regular, permanent, part-time job for nearly a year now (he just got a new contract for another year through 2023), and it’s mostly hard/physical work, such that wearing a mask is really uncomfortable and hot (and sometimes inhibits his breathing when he’s expending a lot of energy), but you do what you have to do to stay safe and earn money in what are challenging times financially in the fixed-income years. Not all of us ‘seniors’ got that golden parachute and the big pensions. Or made the big money along the way to have healthy savings and investments for old(er) age. (Or didn’t plan well enough!)
He’s (husband) the one of us who goes out into the Covid-plagued world. We use hand sanitizer constantly. We’re always masked. We live in a busy, crowded/densely-populated neighborhood off of a busy and bustling boulevard of not-upscale retail, fast-food restaurants and light industry, so we get lots of knocks on the door from all kinds of people, but we rarely open it, instead talking through a nearby window. We’ve just had to learn to be very careful for ourselves and our own particular health risks. My husband had to fly out of state some nine months ago due to a family crisis, but he took great pains to schedule flights and public transport at hours when he felt he’d be around the least number of people, which meant for a travel ‘schedule’ most people would never want (like getting down to the airport, two hours away, at 3am; or arriving somewhere else at that not-convenient hour). Our spare, weekly activities away from home are very limited and very planned, to be as distanced as can be feasible around other people. But, clearly, not everybody can live (or would want to live) like we do; they have bigger lives, bigger responsibilities; their own priorities; their own risk assessment.
I think I’m influenced by the increasing number of family members (I alone have over 30 cousins [first-second-third-fourth cousins {I’m the old matriarch!}] who’ve now gotten Covid, one of whom died from the virus), friends/neighbors, my husband’s rather-large number of former and current co-workers and other acquaintances (between us, my husband I once counted up to 70 people in our ‘realm’ who’ve gotten Covid in the past two-plus years), who seemed to have contracted the virus doing activities my husband can’t or won’t do, such as gathering, traveling internationally, going to certain indoor events (a myriad of situations). Even they, the stricken, have been able to point out why they think they got the virus, where-when-who-what (because I think, too, it might be one of the questions the doctors ask, in absence of contact tracing). Fairly, though, we know of a few others who DO travel (a lot!), who DO party, who DO gather, and they’ve never yet gotten Covid (and I pray they’ll continue to be safe; some are vaccinated, some not).
So, yes, I was one of the ones spouting off about Covid risk yesterday and it seems I may have offended more than one person here with my unsolicited opinions, which was never my intent, because I agree it does seem the MHC readers … and you and Don … have been careful with the contagion. There’s just another segment of the population who is not careful, and we know who those folks are (out there in the big world), but maybe this is a ‘tired’ conversation now (to continue to hash on Covid) … because there will keep being variants, there will continue to be breakthru infections, there will always be people who won’t vaccinate or mask; it does seem to now indeed be ‘life’ as we’ll know it for a long time ahead. So why keep talking about it!
I’m an anomaly because I’m severely immune compromised, I canNOT take chances with the virus/variants, so I can’t do things other people do (would be unwise, per my doctors) like see friends and relatives in person, hug them; or go inside a venue to eat, watch a movie, a sports event, a concert; shop leisurely in a store (I go to medical appointments, and that is IT, because the doctors no longer do tele-med, so I have no choice but to go to THEM rather than have them come to ME); but I’m in the minority, while the rest of the world lives differently. And so applies an equally-‘tired’ expression: ‘It is, what it is.’ I just have to keep getting cool with that, and accept my situation. It’s become a personal problem I don’t need to share, here on the blog or anywhere. Again, I apologize to anyone on Claudia’s blog (and Claudia!) for whom I may have caused any annoyance or insult. I’ll get quiet(er) on the subject. Try harder to curb my (many) words. I recognize I’m a guest on this blog and I don’t need to overstay my welcome.
I hope you’re able to catch up on your sleep soon, Claudia; it just ruins the days when we’re sleep-deprived. Very happy, SO glad, to learn that both you and Don tested negative to the recent Covid exposure. Sweating out those few days (til the test results come in) isn’t fun.
Wishing you and everyone here continued good health and happiness always! Let’s hope the nation cools down in more ways than one (ugh, the summer heat with either cloying humidity or dry, dusty, hot!).
Of course you can’t take chances! There are other readers of this blog who are in the same boat. They also cannot take any risks.
I think you thought you sparked the comments. I don’t think it’s that at all, but rather a discussion that sparked off my comments on the blog post. Do not apologize! Okay?
Well, you’re being your usual kind and generous self, Claudia. Thing is, your post yesterday wasn’t even about Covid; I guess we were just carrying over from the day before, since it was so startling and upsetting to think either you or Don could get Covid. Your news made me have that awful pit in the stomach; scared for you!
I don’t want to alienate anybody; I go off with too-long comments, as if I can’t stop writing. What can I say, your blog is always so interesting, with such a great group of women; it’s you who sparks our brains, makes us think, learn new things!
Thanks, Claudia.
Yes, it was! I talked about testing and going out in public, etc.
I love the discussions here on the blog.
xoxo
Oh gosh, no! You didn’t offend anyone. What bugged me was someone saying they were surprised “Don took that risk” and I thought, are you kidding me? We are as careful as anyone can be. But we have to work, and we do it carefully. Case in point: Don wore a mask as much as he could last Thursday and we tested negative today. BECAUSE he is careful. It got me thinking about anger and where we are, and I’m tired and sleepless. I just have to let that frustration with others go. No apologies necessary, Vicki!
xoxo
xoxo back atcha, and I’m again so concerned that you are tired and sleepless … if it’s any consolation, my husband and I have been having TERRIBLE sleep for awhile, and we’re quite unfocused, getting nothing done at the house; we were just talking about it today, of how we MUST get out of this rut. If it keeps getting easier to just do nothing, we’ll never get ahead with our goals and dreams; time of course is flying by at rocket speed; but of course there’s also the whole issue of WEATHER and we’ve been really hot since the first of June; it curbs your activity, of just going outside to do basic chores; so, at this point, Oct-Nov can’t get here early enough for me, although I hate to rush it. OMG, as an aside, friends of ours in the Midwest said that Walmart was already putting out Christmas stuff; are you kidding me? I said to my husband, “Are you sure they didn’t say Back-To-School stuff?” He said, “Nope. They said Christmas.”
… you know what’s pulling at me, too … I’ve talked of it before, but being the last one in my neighborhood of the 50 original owners and seeing the final two homes of other original owners go up for sale in the same week, which never happens in my old neighborhood … when I’ve had to watch the slow progression of moving the aging people into assisted living/nursing homes, somebody else piecemeal and slowly stripping out the homes of their belongings in the past few months (when they were unable to do it themselves), then the estate sale where you walk into the rooms of their houses with a lot of their stuff still on display and for sale; all the strangers in the house when the homeowners had been fairly private people; just makes my heart ache; even if it wasn’t a time of Covid, I wouldn’t have gone to the sales as it just feels too invasive of their privacy to me; but now, the one house in the real-estate pages for sale as of yesterday, basically untouched since the 50s but immaculate, with their original bathroom SINK and TUB in its bright-1950s pink porcelain tile, and you know someone here in SoCalif will go in there, rip it all out, re-do the bathrooms and kitchen (not appreciate the vintage-ness of it), make it appealing to the first-time homebuyer who’s young and has different tastes in 2022; flip the house and make a $100,000-plus profit as even the old 3-bed/2-bath tract homes are worth a lot of dough because they’re just no longer in inventory anymore, besides which they have YARDS for kids to play in, with lawn, back and front, instead of a community playground when a house now-today is built vertically in SoCalif with no yardspace/zero lot lines or close to it; no longer one-story, spacious ranch-style homes being built … and it’s just a lot about my resistance to change and holding on to neighborhood memories; of course I know the families involved too since I have a 66-year relationship with the tract-subdivision; I just can’t believe how much it’s been bothering me to lose these last two homes of the original group of homeowners of my parents’ generation, and for how long now it’s been bothering me and why I can’t get past it, although I try to tell myself that change is inevitable and maybe we’ll all end up with some nice neighbors; I just think it’s sometimes harder to be the one left behind (I’m it; I’m the last of the originals here of my tract) — like in employment scenarios, when there’d be a layoff, it was almost easier for the fired people to go, and get on with their lives than the rest of us who remained, but I can’t even explain the feeling, not really … maybe it’s just more ‘loss’ along with everything else we perceive as lost in the last few years, on the political front, with Covid, about democracy; who knows; we’re all going to grope with many kinds of loss as we age … I guess so anyway …
… or else I just need some sleep, too!
That makes complete sense to me. I would feel the same way. In fact, when two of our neighbors here put their houses up for sale during the past year, I was very upset and feeling ‘abandoned.’ They were older neighbors – one had recently become widowed and the other couple were in their eighties.
I got a bit more sleep last night but I still feel tired and irritable. One more night should do the trick.
I cannot believe that they have Christmas out at Walmart. The retail season has become one long continuous holiday.
xo