Health Outing Today I had a double health outing. I had my teeth cleaned and I got a flu shot. I know teeth cleaning may not be essential, but my teeth NEED cleaning every 6 months, no matter how hard I work on them at home. I was eager to have my teeth cleaned today. I was curious how different things would seem, at my first pandemic appointment. Would I recognize my hygienist in her gear? I've heard about all the PPE the dental workers must wear now. Some offices are charging extra fees, to cover those costs. I wore my mask into the building and had my temperature taken. Then everything felt pretty much the same. My hygienist entered in a mask, but I'm used to seeing staff in masks. When she put on a shield that didn't even seem odd. Maybe she's worn one before? But it did feel strange to suddenly open my unmasked mouth, to her hands. Then it was the same old thing... carrying on a conversation with my masked hygienist, while her hands were in my mouth. But my teeth are clean now and they feel wonderful. Walgreens for Flu Shot I decided to make it an extra fun day and headed straight to Walgreens for a flu shot. I had my temperature taken and went into a little room, where I studied the "Triangle of Safety" sign. "What does that actually mean?" I asked the young woman giving me a shot. She mumbled something behind her mask. She clearly did not want to make small talk in that small room. That makes sense. Another Sign I walked out of Walgreens, feeling extra good. Clean teeth and hopefully no flu, as I move into this pandemic fall season. I passed the trash can and noticed a sign that needed no interpretation. I guess I'm not the only person who has been annoyed to discover trashed masks and gloves in parking lots.
Sadly the people who do that, probably don't care about signs.
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Tour de France The Tour de France has been a nice distraction on TV. I watched Don in bike races, 40 years ago in California. Now I watch Don relaxing in front of the TV, enjoying something so far away from our current worries, of Covid, politics and fires! The races are exciting to watch and the scenery is stunning. You can forget about the pandemic, until you see bikes crowding like this. But I guess there's a much bigger chance that these guys will die of a bike crash than Covid. No Podium Girls All sports have had to adjust to the pandemic. Cycling is the only one I know of, that had to stop the tradition of Podium Girls. It's about time! That was a tradition that needed to go. Yes, it was kind of cute seeing the lovely girls putting the awards around the winner's neck and handing him flowers and stuffed animals. Podium Team Then again, this podium just looks silly. Now on the podium, they have a guy and girl, wearing yellow masks. The winner stands in the middle, awkwardly holding his flowers and lion. Faceless Winner There are still medals and flowers and now we have masks, on the podium. As always, I'm glad that athletes are making statements with masks. (even if they don't have a choice) However, it's kind of sad that I can't see the winner's expression at all. For all I know, he might be pouting because he didn't get kisses from the Podium Girls.
No. I'm going to say, he's grinning behind that fabric! Labor Day Today Today is Labor Day. When I was a kid, it marked the last day of summer. Most kids across the U.S., are back to virtual learning, this fall. School is extra complicated for so many, right now. First Grade in Staten Island 1963 My school worries were pretty simple back in the day. We moved a lot, so I do remember many first day nerves... in schools, where I knew no one. But there were no pandemics. School seemed like a pretty safe and simple place. On This Day, in 1971 Some kids had a different kind of worry on September 7, 49 years ago. Busing had begun, as a way to achieve desegregation in schools. Some kids were nervous about traveling to a different school. My brother was one of those kids, but I don't remember him complaining. Many adults were angry, but my parents supported the plan. Mom volunteered at the school and her enthusiasm helped make my brother's transition a positive one. I think Mom would have been a good Pandemic Parent. Brave Students There have been so many brave students in history, from little Ruby Bridges to the young students at Little Rock. And this fall, there are brave kids as well, dealing with frustrations and fears of learning from home... or walking into a school, full of masks and rigid rules.
I will be cheering on all the kids and teachers tomorrow! Staff and parents as well! U.S. Open Tennis So many sports have been adjusting and adapting! I don't like the feel of an empty stadium and I'm just watching from home. There's a ghostly sound of air moving, without crowds. Do the players hear that? It's almost spooky to see the players emerge with their masks, before the match. I'll bet some are happy to hide their nerves behind those masks. Some are letting their masks help share a message. The players get to remove their masks, but the ball-kids and judges, keep theirs on.
The ball kids aren't allowed to hand the towels to the players now. I'll bet that's a relief for some. Our daughter was a ball kid once and got reprimanded by Andy Roddick, because of how she handled the towel. I can only imagine how extra stressed the tennis players are these days. I'm glad the ball kids can keep their distance! Derby in September It's very strange watching the Kentucky Derby in the fall, instead of spring. It's even more odd, seeing jockeys in masks. It's good. They are following rules, I'm sure. But they're also setting a good example. I miss seeing faces, though. There was also no rain and no mud. And there were no big crowds and no big hats. Well maybe a few. But it felt very different. The jockeys started the race with masks on. I was surprised. Most athletes are un-masked, in other sports. I cheered for "South Bend", since I was born in South Bend, Indiana. "Authetnic" won the race. I briefly got to see the face of Jockey John Velazquez! I'm glad we got to see his smile.
Pop-Up Decor It's not pandemic boredom that leads to my goofy decorating. I've always amused myself with whimsical "Pop-Up-Decorating-Spots" around the house. There's one nice thing about having no visitors in the house for 6 months. Nobody is judging my cleaning or cooking or decorating styles. Don of course would never say a thing about My Circus Corner. We all do what we have to do. I like having Pierre the Trapeze Man, near the kitchen, keeping an eye on Don and me, when we cook. I love circus colors. I love the nostalgia. This corner of the kitchen makes me happy. Skills My Pop-Up-Circus has also inspired me. I now have some juggling skills! It's been easy to grab those colorful balls, sitting in the bowl! Back in May, Don and I struggled and laughed and kept working at it. We ordered better juggling balls and now we can keep it going through a whole song... well, a short song. Juggling to music, is extra challenging. Good-by Circus. Good-bye Beach But it's time for the circus to leave town. It's time to put away the beach. It's time to say good-bye to my Pop-Up-Beach, too. What will it be now? It's too early for Halloween. And speaking of Halloween, what will be happening with that? Are kids going to trick-or-treat, during a pandemic? Maybe I could wait on the porch, juggling candies, till I spot kids in costume. Then I could toss goodies into the open trick-or-treat bags.
Hmmm. We'll see. Cancel Italy Plans I just cancelled our hotels in Italy. I knew we weren't going months ago, but it was hard to do this final task. Even if we were brave enough to travel, we aren't allowed to go to many countries right now. Aruba and Turkey, yes. Italy no. Trip to the Grocery Store So no international travel. But at least we can pretend. Our neighborhood Randall's Grocery closed down over a year ago. During the pandemic, a new grocery store opened. I haven't been, because I haven't gone grocery shopping since early March. We've done curbside and delivery and Don has done in store shopping by himself. But today, we took a trip to Al Rabba. Dreamlike It was odd for me to be pushing a cart after all this time. I appreciated the cleaning station. It was odd being in the grocery store where we shopped for 20+ years. It was a like a warped dream... maybe a Covid dream! Familiar this and totally foreign that... Curious Foods and Drinks I miss our old store, but it was so crazy and entertaining to be in this new shopping atmosphere. I know what Sprite is, but what is Wai Wai? We didn't get any Iraqi Mango Sauce... this time! Unfinished The 61,000-square-foot supermarket, felt like a warehouse with towering boxes and pallets, stacked hight with bags of rice. So much rice! I couldn't tell if some of this was temporary. They opened during the pandemic after all. Or was this a cultural thing? I felt like we'd taken a trip across the world. Visiting grocery stores in different countries has always been a wonderful way to understand the culture. Eggplant The produce was intriguing. So many kinds of eggplant! These Graffiti Eggplants were beautiful. There were 8 different kinds. We bought some good old Italian Eggplant. American Food I had to laugh when I saw the American Food aisle. Raisin Bran and Honey Comb cereal! We didn't purchase any boring American foods. We also didn't purchase any of these fine beds. Hmmm? Odd. I don't remember Randall's having beds and cots for sale. Chat Hut It was early for lunch, but we picked up some hot food, after we checked out. Our lunch a little later, was much more exciting than the old salad bar the Randall's once had. Salad Bar. I'll bet we never see one of those again. I didn't get a photo of the Samosas that we also purchased. All was piping hot and tasty. And later in the evening, Don grilled some burgers made with Halal meat. Tasted like ground filet mignon! We kind of overdid in the sweet department. The coconut cookies were very yummy.
No trip to Italy this year, but we took a trip to India and Pakistan, Africa, Asia and the Middle East... without traveling more than a minute from our house! Dad's 93rd Today is Dad's birthday. I've been fretting about it. This photo was taken in 2018, when Dad moved into assisted living. Never would I have guessed that 2.5 years later, he would be isolated in his living quarters... for 6 months. How do you make your dad's birthday special, when you're far away and he is locked in. Gifts? Cards? We were on the road coming back from seeing the kids, when I realized I was running out of time. I always travel with stamps, so I made a corny card in a hotel room. I ordered gifts on Amazon. No homemade cookies or special handmade gifts. Night Before It made me so frustrated and sad and angry to know that my dad could not have a hug or a visitor or an outing on his birthday. Now, his facility allows some outdoor visits, but they don't schedule them on Wednesdays. So I took this silly photo and sent it to my Uncle. He said he would share it with Dad when he saw him next. FaceTime? I knew I'd talk to Dad on his birthday, but that's nothing special. We talk daily. I wish we could do a FaceTime call, but he seems uncomfortable with that. So I fretted some more. Then I had Don take a video of me doing a very silly Happy Birthday song. He jumped in at the end and we blasted horns. I sent the video to a staff member. "Could you show this to my dad on his birthday?" What Else? Then I worried more and texted the kids in CA and OR. The kids sent videos and photos with birthday greetings. Yay! These would also be shared along with my singing video.
Well, I guess all that worrying was for nothing. Dad had a good birthday, without my frantic worrying. My siblings all called and sent gifts. My Uncle was allowed to take him out for lunch, after all. What!? I was so surprised and pleased. I thought they were still on lockdown! Dad was delighted with the collage frame that I sent, but he didn't seem to remember anything about being shown photos or videos. I think he just had too much going on and can't remember everything. Here I had pictured him, sitting all day watching his birds. He was having a much bigger pandemic birthday than anyone else has had in our family! Lunch out and tons of calls and gifts. Whew. I need to save my fretting for bigger things. On-the-Road Dining We made it back to our home after 24 days. Luckily most of those days were at Airbnb's, with our own home cooking. We did however have 11 days of on the road time. Nearly all of our meals were sandwiches made from the cooler... eaten in the car or at a picnic table. It was just easier. McDonald's? Close to the end of our trip, we spotted a McDonald's, while pumping gas. I honestly have not had a fast food burger in over a year. It sounded like heaven! Maybe they had clean restrooms, too? Nope. We weren't allowed in. We could do curbside though. Why would we? We just did the drive through. Happy Meal Time I was so giddy, I ordered a Happy Meal. It came with 2 tiny boxes of fries. Is that how they do it now? One for kiddo and one for Momma? It tasted pretty wonderful. Tailgate Picnic Some of the western states had rest stop closures. That is super annoying when you can't just pull up and take your sandwich fixings to a picnic table. So after we pumped gas at this station, we pulled up to the fancy arrows and did some tailgating. This food prep photo, is most unappetizing! Yikes. White bread and the whatever we could find in the bottom of the cooler. We ate these tasty treats in our laps, in the car. It was about 100 degrees.
So glad to be back home with our very own kitchen! |
Not-So-Happy List
Cancer, Covid & Coronary... I started this complaining list/blog, in May 2016. I posted 200 gripes about my breast CANCER and then I was done. On March 13, 2020, I started venting all over again, when another disease (starting with a C) interfered with my life. This time it was the invasion of COVID and it affected every person. I ranted for a year, until I got my COVID vaccine in March 2021. CORONARY Artery Disease was the reason I restarted this blog on September 26, 2021. This time it was my hubby Don, who was dealing with a worry that started with the letter "C". Coronavirus and Cancer, Coronary Artery Disease! All are evil, but none can totally get me down... if I vent! I usually end up feeling a little more positive at the end of each post! Navigating This Mess! The most recent post is at the top, from coronary posts in 2022, back to cancer posts in 2016. To find past posts, look below the "Archives" section, to find "Categories". Archives
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