I slept hard that night and felt terrible when I woke up. It was the headache that made me fear it was Covid. I quickly gathered my things, got a mask from Mom, and we finished up the last few chores before I headed for home. I took the test right away and it was positive. I let my Mom know, and I really hope she doesn't get this.
I haven't moved or done much since I got home Sunday morning. My list of things to get done on vacation will have to wait at least one more day. Back to bed.
We are in the throes of winter, stretches of sun and temperatures leading to thoughts of spring then snow, ice and cold again. The local groundhog, Jimmy, predicted 6 more weeks of winter for us on February 2nd, Groundhog Day, and so far it has been proving accurate. Snow will arrive here in probably a couple hours and for the next almost two days will be off and on with wintry mix and ice mixed in for good measure. Well, at least the days are getting longer and, overall, the weather is getting better, right?
Still not a whole lot going on around here to write about except the weather, but I can think of a few different things to touch upon...
Okay, it's high time I finally break the 2023 seal here on the blog. Busy, didn't feel like it, not much to say, pick what you want, all are true to some extent. Winter hit us hard and early this season, so there is that, too. What matters is I'm here, now, writing. So let's see if I have anything to say, shall we?
I hope the new year is treating everyone well. Overall, it's just a continuation of the same thing, isn't it? But that's not a good attitude, they tell me. Have I become more cynical with age? I guess it's almost impossible not to. Oh well, have a great week, everyone.
Otherwise, it's just been really frigid around here lately, but we should warm up enough to get above freezing by mid-week.
I hope everyone is having a good holiday, stay safe and warm!
Happy solstice, everyone. It's cold here, with a large snowstorm at our doorstep. Snow will start here in a couple hours and go all day tomorrow with wind expected to create blizzard conditions on Friday. Been a few years since we had a bona fide blizzard, so a good time to stay in. The state department of transportation is asking people not to travel unless absolutely necessary, but it's the holidays so people will do what they will and disasters will happen, of course.
My sister was supposed to come up to Mom's, but that won't happen now. And we're still testing positive for Covid even though we feel pretty much back to normal, so not sure if we'll make it. If not, we'll have to try for the next weekend, but surely before she flees south for the winter. She has my cordless drill and I want it back before spring!
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| This is as high as the sun gets here now. I got this pic about noon today before it completely disappeared in the overcast sky. |
We still tested positive for Covid this morning. I woke up on Friday without a fever, finally, but overwhelming fatigue, which lessened over the weekend and up to now. I think we both may have a little tiredness and sinus left, but are feeling sooo much better than last week. Thank you everyone for your concern and well-wishes. It's been a hardship not being able to do what we normally do, mostly and especially for my wife, but she's managed by directing others. Her family had their holiday celebration over the weekend and we're planning to go see my Mom upcoming, though we may be masked.
Also thanks for Dave, but I'm just a neighbor. I hadn't even been inside his house until several weeks ago. Been all around it and even on it a few times, but not in it. The services are on Wednesday, but I don't think I'd feel right going since I'll be just testing negative - hopefully. I told his son I had Covid to stop him from coming closer on that day (I was on our property on the front walk to the door, he stopped at the property line, so maybe 20 feet), so he knows I have or just had it. I would be uncomfortable though masked, and I don't want to make them uncomfortable or even sick. He texted me the details and later a link to the obituary. I thanked him, gave him my sympathies again and offered my help with anything he needed, but haven't heard anything back. That's okay, and I shan't text him again.
In a cold spell here, no chance to see above freezing for the near future. No fire pits, and none since the last. Hasn't been a good year for that, either.
Thank you for the well-wishes. Sorry, I've been sick enough that I've had no desire to sit in front of the computer. The last few days have been completely miserable for us. All I've heard lately is how Covid is just like a bad cold now. Well, obviously my definition of a cold is different than most people's.
I consider a cold as unpleasant with sniffles/cough and head/body aches, mostly. Once you get a fever and even more on top of that, especially for multiple days, I consider it something more than a cold. I just call it a nasty virus or something like that.
What is your opinion? When does a cold stop being a cold and become something more?
Yesterday after work I went and got my second Covid booster shot. It was recommended for people over 50 a few weeks ago, and now they're talking about shots for kids as young as six months, so I thought I'd beat the rush. Also, while having lunch with a friend a couple weeks ago he discussed his mother and the issues she's had with shingles, and he gently reminded me that I'm over 50 and should get that vaccination, as well. So I did that, too. Same arm, I figured why have two sore arms?
The last time I had a Covid shot I remember feeling crappy the next day and as it was a slower day I wound up taking a half day off. Today, after my fourth Covid shot and first (of two) shingles shots, I expected my arm to be sore and it is. What I didn't expect is to feel like I have all-out flu. I feel so terribly bad right now. After contacting my boss early I went back to bed, just got up recently and feel no better at all so will end up there again very shortly.
Still, I think it's worth it to feel bad in the short term rather than risk health issues in the long term. But that does not make me feel better right now.
As for today's weather report: It will be rainy all day again today with highs eventually getting to the upper 40's ºF, so still much below average. But I saw on the news this morning that we are no longer officially in a mild drought, but officially dry, still. I didn't know dry was an official term. The plants don't care and have been coming up as normal, and (they say) we should get more seasonable in a week.
Seems like we've been waiting forever this spring. I'm going back to bed.
Happy Spring equinox, everyone. It was a beautiful day today, sunny here with temperatures getting up to the mid-60's. I slept in and we had a lazy morning but then early afternoon we took a walk down to the Atwood area for a lunch and conversation at Wilson's and a short stop at the Harmony. The bike path was very busy, as expected for how beautiful this Sunday was. There were lots of walkers like us and bicyclists trying to make their way, too. It is a bike path, after all, though on days like this and for summer events the walkers seem to outnumber the bicyclists by a lot. I got this picture looking back on the way down when few were around us for a minute, and it was much busier on the way back.
The green in the far right middle is fake grass, but still a nice outdoor area behind the ice cream shop that we will visit when it gets warmer. Otherwise, there's not any green that is noticeable yet, unless you look very close and in the right place. We do have a few things around the yard starting to grow, and you can now just start to see buds on the trees.
We had some new snow on the ground yesterday morning, but not much and it didn't last long before melting. The next few days will be cooler with a 'wintry mix' at times, but only a couple nights below freezing in the forecast and no highs below, thankfully. You can finally really feel that spring is in the air, so hopefully soon I can write less about the weather and more about going out and doing things when the opportunities arise. I plan to walk more now that the weather is getting better, and just try to get out to do more things. There will come a time when the heat of summer will force us inside, hopefully not too often, but working from home now for so long I know I need to make more of an effort just to get out of the house a whole lot more often than I have. Winter is not an excuse anymore and with the pandemic seemingly under control getting out and about should be easier to do this year.
Happy Spring, everyone. I have high hopes.
The last few weeks have been extra stressful for me. Work has been very busy and I have so many extra projects on my plate and keep hitting obstacles in trying to accomplish anything. Home has been difficult recently but hoping to get that moving in the right direction again just like the weather will be. I was going to write about work in more detail last weekend, but it would have just sounded like complaining as I really can't give details. Suffice it to say that I took this whole upcoming week off on rather short notice, and they let me. I had to have off in the middle of the week for a medical procedure and my wife convinced me to just ask for the whole week off. A very good idea as I had time to use up and will get all my time back at the end of the month. And it will be very nice to have the time away from work, hopefully get myself a bit more centered again.
Tomorrow I go in for only my second Covid test ever, the first was when I was admitted to the hospital in November. That may seem strange to some, but I've been mostly holed up at home since I had Covid in early 2020, when you could only get tested if you went to the hospital (that was bursting with Covid at the time). The numbers have gone down far enough that our local mask mandate expired at the end of last month, though still required at medical facilities and some government buildings while private businesses can decide for themselves. Fitting to happen while Spring is arriving, but will still feel a bit strange when I do get out. It's been so long now, and I've spent the last two years on the over side of cautious. Anyway, I have to have the Covid test a few days prior to going in for a colonoscopy, ahead of schedule do to my recent diverticulitis. Good times. At least it was the impetus for a whole week off.
I've been watching while the whole world reacts to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and I like what I'm seeing. Not just governments and their sanctions, but private businesses shunning Russia in many ways. I don't like the unnecessary suffering because of this, both Ukrainian and Russian civilians, and I think this may end up being the downfall of Putin. We can only hope. It would be nice to see Putin and Trump share a prison cell. Sounds like a late-night television sitcom, doesn't it?
Enough for now. I'm seeing some sun peek out so hopefully there is a chance for a good walk sometime today between showers. Have a good weekend, everyone.
It's been mostly another slow, winter week around here. We're way below normal snow totals so far, and most days recently have been very cold, but there was one day that got above freezing and I took advantage by taking a good walk during a long work meeting. Aside from the weather (for a change!) there are a few things I'd like to touch upon, so time to start typing again and see what spills onto the page.
It's been a fairly quiet new year so far, aside from my most recent medical issue acting up again. This Omicron variant is everywhere so we're trying to be extra careful. We, or mostly just I, had been going out for lunch once every weekend for a while now just to get out of the house, but no longer. Other than that most trips outside the house are for necessities only.
I've been on antibiotics again for two weeks now, yet I started to get a fever and more pain again on Thursday, so I contacted the specialist I'd been seeing. She had me go to a clinic on Friday, not the overflowing-with-Covid hospital thankfully, for lab work and another CT scan and it showed inflammation and still a micro perforation of my colon. She does think that this is still treatable at home, but if it worsens I may have to go into the hospital again for IV antibiotics for a few days. Worst case scenario is emergency surgery to remove part of my colon then I live with a colostomy bag for about 8 months. For now, another two weeks of antibiotics. This time a combination of two different antibiotics than I had been taking. Wish me luck, I really need to get over this hump.
The weather is very cold and it snows now and again but nothing major to complain about. We had the plumber out again due to a clog in our kitchen sink drain, same guy who was out in December to clear out our main waste line that goes to the the street. The sink pipes likely have never been clogged or cleared before judging by the muck he got out, the main needs to be cleared every couple of years now due to tree roots. Not much else that I can think about now, but that's okay, I'll take a quiet new year for now.
It's winter in Wisconsin during a pandemic. We just don't do much of anything exciting and likely won't for several months, so not sure what I'll be writing about but I'll think of something every now and again. Aside from my health, just a mundane time of year.
I did not get to have a firepit on the solstice like I have the last two years, it was cold and just way too windy to consider a fire, and that day the city picked up the stick pile before I could burn it. Yesterday, however, the temperatures were above freezing and the winds were mild. I started the fire about quarter to four in the afternoon and was out there until about six. Long enough, and with sunset before 4:30 it was getting pretty chilly by then. Last year my last fire was December 28, so we'll see what the weather does, if there's any more. The fire picture was taken right about sunset, and I had to remind myself to take a picture. I'm sure I have thousands of pictures of the firepit by now so I don't always anymore, but every one is unique.
Another takeaway is though I lament the loss of the tree, the dozen or more in this same picture, both near and in the distance, shows that we are not in any danger of being treeless in the area anytime soon.
Have a great holiday and stay safe, everyone. Go Packers!
But by far the biggest hit of the night was the mask I wore, parents and kids alike laughed and commented on it. First off, I felt better answering the door wearing a mask, just the new normal now. This one has an LED light display that can show several different colors and patterns, but the most entertaining is the green smiley mouth. It's voice activated so changes up to a big O shape so when you talk it moves to match your voice. Very entertaining for Halloween, though I bought as a goof on Amazin' sometime since last year as maybe something funny to wear into the office when I had to go in, or some other stupid reason. Regardless, it was certainly a hit last night.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween!
Looks like I haven't done one of these posts since May, and I've not written a lot recently so I must have something to say. Yes, it's time again to start typing and see what happens!
Last Wednesday I had my second back shot in the last two months, so by now I should know fully how much it helped and what I'm left with. The first back shot was maybe 50% effective, which still left considerable room for improvement. This second back shot was at least 50% effective again, maybe more, and what I'm left with is some tingling in my left leg/foot and sometimes pain in my left seat and groin. Not painful enough to keep taking opioids, but enough to notice, so this is just what I'm left to deal with until I can't anymore, hopefully several years in the future. In another week I check in with the neurosurgeons office again so we'll see what they say, but I don't expect any new course of action. I will live, thank you for your thoughts, everyone.
On Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate my and Terry's birthdays with food, fun and fire.
We only invited a handful of people - it seems I've lost some friends since the pandemic, so be it. Polite declines would be fine with me but ghosting pretty much says everything you need to know, so the invitations just won't be made anymore. Oh well, I guess they weren't very good friends to begin with, then. I've had only a small group of friends for a long time now and it seems to get smaller as I get older, and less 'good friends' as much as 'good acquaintances' now. I seem to have even lost one of my oldest friends since high school (over 35 years ago) just because we view Covid differently. I even reached out since, said we can just agree to disagree on this topic, but no response since that last conversation when I hung up on him because he wouldn't stop arguing about it. C'est la vie.
This week I'm on vacation, and I didn't plan on any project to keep me busy but my to-do list will be enough. After Saturday night with friends by the fire I was pretty lazy on Sunday, drank too much and stayed up way too late. But on Monday I went down to Dubuque to visit my Mom. We had a nice visit, got a couple things done for her, and mostly just hung out and talked. I spent the night and came back early on Tuesday since I had a dentist appointment and a few errands I needed to run. I also got a good walk in that day.
Today I spent several hours in the basement, mostly just cleaning, dusting, sweeping and vacuuming. I had high hopes of going through a lot of stuff to sort, donate and trash, but my wife needs to be around for much of that so by the time I finished cleaning I was happy to be done. Also had lots of heavy things to test my back with putting away downstairs. A couple hundred pounds of water softener salt, 80 pounds of cat litter, and tables and chairs that were brought up for having company the last couple weekends. The back held up well, thankfully, so next was yardwork. I did some cleaning up in the gardens and trimmed some bushes, among other things. I might get out there for a fire tonight, but we'll see how tired I feel as dusk nears.
Tomorrow is power washer day. I'll get the power washer out and wash the house, garage, steps, driveway, and whatever else needs a power washing. Likely not as long a day as today, but I'm on vacation, after all. I might get to cleaning windows, but currently I have that penciled in for Friday along with cleaning the garage, which won't be too much in there as the garage is about as organized as can be so just a little cleaning. Then the weekend has its normal chores, plus we've ordered a new sofa and ottoman (both on backorder) so will do some measuring and moving the living room rug in anticipation of the new furniture. I think we'll be moving the old couch out to the porch, which will actually help us use the porch more often, too.
So it sounds busy, but the chores get easier as the week goes so I will have plenty of time for doing other things or doing nothing, as I see fit. Weather-wise has been pretty good but getting more seasonable. This weekend will be very hot again, maybe for the last time as next week I will have to consider getting out my long pants for the first time since spring. It's been nice, living in shorts and bare feet all summer, but all good things must come to an end. Like this, if this was a good thing. Autumn officially starts one week from today, folks.
The last couple months I've only had one fire, due mostly to the heat or sometimes rain. Saturday was overcast and cool, a good day for a fire, and for all the in-laws.
I was feeling guilty for not going on a walk before company on Saturday, but I needn't have worried as I ended up with over 14 thousand steps. I'm sure it was all the setup of the garage and yard, then the reverse after everyone had left. Not to mention playing with a 5 year old a bit too much. I've not walked now since Thursday, and I won't again until maybe tomorrow. And that's okay with me, right now.
Last night I was tempted to go to my first larger show since the pandemic. Tickets were still available, proof of vaccination (or negative test within the last 72 hours) was required, and masks highly encouraged. It would have been different, but fun, I'm sure, but I was also still sore and out of 4 bands there was one I really would have liked to see and the others take or leave. A ticket was only 25 bucks, but add in the fees, parking, and a beer would double that, and almost double that again if I got a tee shirt. Tetrarch was to be the second band to play, so maybe a 40 minute set, maximum, I would guess. I like them but not enough to go through with all that, but I'm sure there will be a show soon that I won't be able to pass up.
Happy Labor Day, everyone. I'm celebrating by being extremely lazy today. Aside from the shot on Wednesday I'm hoping for a very quiet week, then there will be more fun to come next weekend.
We seem to be entering the dog days of summer now, and if I'm not mistaken the constellations agree. When I posted recently and said it seemed like peak summer perfection at that time, I was correct. The signs of a waning summer are visible now, but it's way too early to dwell on them. Lots of good outdoor time yet to be had, thankfully.
The last several weeks have been pretty mundane around here. We had quite the hot spell so spent most of our time indoors for a while, but have had lots of open window time, too. Otherwise, it's been pretty routine; work all day and house chores and relaxing at night, not much socializing at all. Where we live in Dane County we're sitting pretty good compared to other places. We have a very high vaccination rate and things have been pretty relaxed for awhile here, but with the new variant we've started wearing our masks everywhere again and purposely not going out when we don't need, just to be safe. We'll get there eventually, it'll just take more time - and vaccinations.
I know I've not written a whole lot the last several weeks, and my last couple posts have been mostly pictures, which actually prompted me to write more about them. This may be like that, too, so sorry if you weren't a fan! I just thought maybe I'd do a few updates on some varied things.
To start off, back in January I was considering whether getting the local newspaper delivered was still worth it to me. Well, I kept getting the paper for a few months after, but canceled it at the beginning of May and I haven't looked back since. I still get most of my news online, as well as sports updates. The biggest change, really, is I saved one more daily cartoon to read online. Money well saved, I think.
Update number two: Squirrels are still bastards. This little bastard was just so picturesque this morning as he worked his way into a black walnut on our back railing. I ran him off right after as I don't want any of that black walnut litter staining the wood, if I can help it.
All these pictures are from today, but most have a connection to past happenings. See the rest after the break!
