Most of this past week was spent catching up on chores, especially laundry and cooking. Because I missed both our anniversary and Charlie's birthday, I baked him a cake on Saturday...from scratch.
Here's what it looked like before I cut the first slice. Did I mention that I made it from scratch?
I didn't have all of the ingredients I needed, so I went to the store on Friday. I put on a mask when I left the house and didn't take it off again until I got home. I was pretty sure I wasn't contagious, but...why not.
You may remember from last week's blog post that I took a Covid test on Saturday, just to reassure Charlie, and it was negative. I took another one on Monday and again on Wednesday, because I planned to go to choir. Both were negative. I was the only soprano who showed up, and my ride, Gail, was the only alto. She had missed the Condega event because she was out of town. The two other choir members who got sick when I did were not at practice. One, I believe, was still feeling unwell, and the other was still testing positive. They both expected to be back on Sunday, and it was an easy program, so we should be fine. What I didn't expect was a fever Saturday night. It woke me up in the middle of the night. I moved back into the guest room, took another Covid test, and it was negative. I don't know how I could have caught something new, and my temperature was normal again Sunday morning. I still don't know what was going on, but I wasn't sure if I was contagious and didn't get much sleep, so I didn't go to church.
During the week I managed to get some knitting done while listening to the rest of Anthony Fauci's On Call. I could identify with him somewhat when he talked about how he went to an event wearing a mask and took it off because he was the only one wearing one. He came down with Covid a few days later and took Paxlovid. He felt better after the third dose, but he had to miss his daughter's wedding! Well, missing one anniversary and one birthday isn't nearly as bad as missing your daughter's wedding. It's always fascinating to read or (listen to) details of events you remember from the news years ago. I've been around almost as long as Dr Fauci, and I remember many of the events he wrote about: AIDS, Zika, Ebola, H5N1, H1N1, etc., as well as the Anthrax and Smallpox scares, and then Covid. I can recommend this book. There are a lot of descriptions of the scientific discoveries and how they work, but he has spent most of his life explaining things to laypeople, so his explanations are easy to follow. So, as I said, I got some knitting done. Just a few more inches before the border pattern on the sleeve.
We often see deer roaming our neighborhood, but it's unusual for one to bed down in our front yard. This fellow made me think of the quote from President Harry Truman, "The buck stops here."
We did some walks this week when the air quality and temperature permitted. On Saturday, we took a short detour through the wilderness on the other side of the trail.
It wasn't much farther than if we had stayed on the trail. The pups often take a nap after a walk. They get a lot of exercise chasing eat other in the back yard or playing in the house, but there's nothing like a nice walk, even just two miles.
Dusty got some vaccines on Tuesday. I stayed home with Sandy, because I wasn't needed at the vet's for just that. We weren't having a checkup or anything, and I would have had to do an extra test.
Finally, my wonderful editors are finished with my manuscript, and I'm just finishing up fixing things. I hope to send it off this week. To follow up on one suggestion, I had to take another photo and add Nico to the cast of characters. Now I'm trying to decide if I need to change the photo on the back cover to include Nico. I think I will.
I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil,Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows.
What's on my sewing machine: Still its dust cover.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Different Ways To Write, Mariah is learning Arabic and Charlotte is learning Hebrew. They explain to Emil that these two languages use letters that are different from English and that you write both of them from right to left.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished withOn Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci. Now listening to Dean Koontz's new book, The Forest of Lost Souls. Also reading a physical book, In the Shelter of Each Other by Milree Latimer, an author I met at the Condega event on September 8th.
What's in my wine glass: Madroña Riesling 2019. Riesling will go with anything, and this Riesling is my favorite!
What's my tip of the week: For those of us who are US citizens, we have an election coming up. You can check your voter registration for any state at IWillVote.com.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
Well, my fever didn't go up again on Monday, even in the afternoon. I was also monitoring my O2 levels, which fluctuated from low (for me) to excellent. I was tired and had to blow my nose a lot, but after the first day (Sunday, Sept. 15th), when I had a fever, I didn't really feel sick. I stayed in the guest room unless I had to go to the bathroom, when I put on my mask. I got my own breakfast, wiping down everything I touched with a sanitizing wipe and taking it back to my cell to eat. Charlie brought me my lunch and supper, leaving a tray in the laundry room, which is next to the guest room. I took the last dose of Paxlovid Thursday morning.
I had been told to continue to isolate for 24 hours after finishing the medication, and then, if I didn't have a fever, I could leave isolation and roam about while wearing a mask. It wasn't clear whether the 24 hours began as soon as I took the last dose or after the time I would have taken the next dose. I had been taking the medication at 8:00 PM, beginning Saturday evening, and 8:00 AM each day. I decided to play it safe and go by the more conservative option, so I started my 24 hours at 8:00 PM Thursday. Since I planned to continue sleeping in the guest room during the time I had to be masked, so I could at least take off the mask at night, I figured I might as well wait until in the morning to free myself from my cell. That meant that by the time I left isolation, it had actually been almost 48 hours since the last of the medication. I had started some overnight oatmeal (see recipe, below) when I was getting my breakfast on Friday. (It sits in the fridge overnight anyway, so a few more hours wouldn't hurt.) Saturday morning I ate it in the dining room, accompanied by my first cup of coffee in a week.
When Charlie got up, he insisted I take a Covid test. I didn't see the point, because I was going to keep masked anyway, except when eating or drinking, but to make him feel more comfortable, I tested. This was the result: negative.
Now, I understand when people take Paxlovid, or even if they have Covid without taking it, they sometimes test negative but then can have what they call a rebound, in which the disease comes back. They can test positive again, even if they are without symptoms. This happened with President Biden, who also took Paxlovid. The only reason they knew he had rebounded was they were routinely testing him every day. He had no symptoms. This rebound effect is more common with older patients. So...I'm still wearing the mask and planned to continue wearing one until the end of the day on Wednesday or symptoms reappear, after which I would have to isolate again. That was the plan.
I was absolutely dying for a nice walk outdoors in the fresh air, if we had such a thing. I hadn't walked the dogs in more than a week. Charlie walked them several times during the week, when the AQI was low enough. I went online and checked the monitoring station closest to us.
Yay! It was good, so we walked, but only 1 1/2 miles. I was ready to go further, but Charlie didn't think it was a good idea, so we peeled off from the trail at the entrance closest to our mailbox.
We welcomed Autumn by walking again on Sunday, because it was a beautiful day, with a low AQI and moderate temperature.
While I was recovering, I had to go up and down the stairs every morning to let the dog out and then back in again. Early in the week I noticed my legs getting tired, and I was getting a little out of breath when I climbed the stairs, but by Saturday I could run up again without feeling tired or out-of-breath. Still, would be better to take it easy until we know I'm completely recovered.
I wasn't planning on going to choir practice on Wednesday, of course, but on Tuesday I received an email from our choir director, saying that between people being sick or out-of-town, she was canceling our practice. We weren't scheduled to sing on Sunday anyway, but we had planned to work on some upcoming pieces. OK, I knew I was sick. I knew one person who was out-of-town, but to cancel practice because of two people didn't make sense. It had me wondering. Was anyone else sick? Then on Friday I received a text from one of the other sopranos, asking me how I was doing. I'm guessing she had learned from the choir director that I had Covid. She told me that she and one of the altos had also come down with it, as well as another person from the church who isn't in the choir but was supposed to play the piano and the organ on Sunday. My first thought was that I might have infected someone at choir practice the previous week, before I had any symptoms, but that other person hadn't been there. I had wracked my brain, trying to figure out where I could have picked up the bug. I thought the most likely place would have been the Condega project event two weeks ago. It turned out that we all got sick about the same time, and all of us had been at the event. Besides the four of us, a fifth person from church has come down with it. Some of the others are having a harder time with the bug than I have (so far...knock on wood). I don't know who else, if anyone, might be taking the medication for it, but they're all younger than I am, I think, so maybe it wasn't recommended. I'm hoping everyone is well again soon.
I didn't feel much like knitting during the early part of my isolation, but by the end of the week, I was back to my Oregon Autumn Cardigan. It won't be long now.
That gave me something to do while listening to my audiobook. How ironic that I have just reached the part where he talks about the Covid epidemic! Coincidence?
In family news, Johan is taking up the French horn. (Based on the attire, I assume it was hot when this photo was taken.)
Soren has a refined ear for music, having listened to a lot of actual performances but not much practicing.
This week Karen had a small piece of her ear removed because of potential cancer/precancer (I forgot the actual diagnosis) as the result of sun exposure when she was a child and teenager in Texas and Southern California, right about the time the hole in the ozone layer was at its biggest. Put sun block on your ears!
Saturday I resumed my duties, masked and energetic. I made another batch of granola, and then some stir-fry to have with rice for supper. Yesterday I made some bread.
Back in the saddle again!
I was feeling good, but I didn't want to be like Typhoid Mary and accidentally infect others while feeling OK myself. Well, that's not likely now. My nose is running again and the dry, scratchy throat has returned. I still tested negative, so maybe allergy?
I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil,Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows, but it's calling to me.
What's on my sewing machine: Still its dust cover.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Emil's Big Problem, Emil wakes up in the morning and can't find his special glasses. He remembers putting them into the charger at bedtime, but they're gone! How will he deal with that? A story about problem solving.
What's on my iPad/iPhone:Almost finished withOn Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci. Also reading paperback book
What's in my wine glass: I had my first glass of wine in a week Saturday evening. It was left over from before I got sick and had aged OK. Sunday we had this one: Chateau Le Roudier Bordeaux Superieur 202
What's my tip of the week: Here's how you make Overnight Oatmeal: In a 1 cup or larger jar, per person, put 1/2 C each slow-cooking rolled oats and milk and 1/2 t. cinnamon or to taste. You can add honey or maple syrup, if you like it sweet, and about 1/4 a chopped apple is also a nice addition. I usually use water and a couple of tablespoons of powdered milk instead of the milk, because we usually need the milk for other things.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
This is going to be a very short blog post. I'll explain why later. It was another busy week until...well, I digress. Dusty and Sandy went to the groomer this week. Here they are, checking the state of the neighborhood after getting home.
The AQI fluctuated from good to hazardous. We tried to keep an eye on it and get out when it was no higher than moderate. We took a nice long walk before grooming time on Thursday.
We took the flap out of the dog door for the summer, but we have a metal panel that we can use to close it, but when we do, the dogs have to ask to go out. We've been keeping it closed because of the air quality (or lack thereof). Everything outdoors is covered in ash, and some of it creeps inside.
After their grooming appointment, I took the pups outside to get some portraits. They don't stay pretty for long. Here's Dusty.
And here's Sandy.
We watched the debate Tuesday night. We had another Madroña meeting during that time, but we recorded the debate so we could watch it later. There were literally some things I did not have on my Bingo card. It was interesting, and I got some knitting done.
We put up our signs the next day. These are our choices for President, Congress and State Senate.
Early in the week I made the Easy Black Bean Soup again. We made it twice during our trip, once while camping and once in Wisconsin. While we were camping, I added some diced potato to make it go further. I don't remember what I added in Wisconsin. I think we might have had some leftover rice. This time I threw in some of the baby greens we use for salad. It's the lime juice that really makes it.
I finally got a photo of the finished soup, so I added it to the recipe in my Recipe Box app. (The recipe doesn't say to sauté the onions and garlic, but I usually do.)
Kitty Katie is growing. She seems very comfortable with her new family.
Things were going very well until Saturday morning, when I woke up with a scratchy throat. That's where the "uh-oh" comes in. After avoiding Covid for nearly 4 1/2 years, it finally got me. I went to urgent care, which I wouldn't have bothered with in the old days. My throat was barely scratchy, my nose was running a bit, but I felt OK otherwise. My temperature was normal. They took samples for two tests. The first one was positive, so they didn't bother with the second one. I just got my booster on the 6th, but it takes about two weeks to take effect, and it's of probably no use. The PA at urgent care said I was borderline as to whether I needed to take Paxlovid, but I qualified because of my age my blood pressure issues. I decided to take it, because if you take it, it's better to start it as early as possible. So far, symptoms have been like a mild cold, but with a fever. The challenge is keeping Charlie from getting it. I'm sleeping in the guest room and wear a mask when I have to leave the room. I had a fever most of the day yesterday. I expect it will climb up again today. I'm glad I got it identified early.
I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil,Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows.
What's on my sewing machine: Still its dust cover. I did use my Featherweight to take up the hems on a new pair of pants.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: On Friday, we had another reedited story, this one about rainbows and colors. Here's A Colorful Story.
What's on my iPad/iPhone:Still listening to On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci. When you have to lie in bed, it's good to have an audiobook to listen to.
What's in my wine glass: No wine for several days due to my illness and related medication.
What's my tip of the week: Covid is rampant again. If you go out among other people in a closed environment, wear a mask. It takes about two week for a booster to take effect.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
