Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[kaleidoscope]

A book is a wonderful idea!  Group therapy:)  {{{HUGS}}} to all ♥

 

[Ohiopirate02]

I am now on day two of working by myself in a closed library.  We were doing curbside pickup where patrons were putting books on hold online, but had to stop yesterday.  We are down to essential personnel only.  Yesterday was tough having to do everything by myself.  Today, i am starting to get a little stir crazy.  Luckily, people have been very understanding and appreciate what little service we can now provide.  Also, the "are you open" calls have finally slowed down.  I am supposed to be working on the behind-the-scenes stuff, but my desire to do this has waned this week.  

[BetyBee]

I am so thankful to all of the essential employees of the world - health care professionals, grocery store employees, truck drivers, warehouse workers, gas station attendants, letter carriers, delivery drivers and anyone else I may have forgotten!  

I've had a dry cough for a couple of weeks now. It comes and goes throughout the day and night. A sore throat started the other day. No temp at all - I take it every day. No shortness of breath either. Whether it's the virus or not, I have no idea. If it is, I'm blessed to have a mild case. I've been social distancing since 3/14. 

The other day I saw a meme that you are isolating with the cast of the last show you watched. Guess what mine was? The Beverly Hillbillies, lol!  And actually, the Clampett's might be good people to be stranded with.....if I could learn to enjoy possum stew! 😉

[ChiCricket]

7 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

The other day I saw a meme that you are isolating with the cast of the last show you watched. Guess what mine was? The Beverly Hillbillies, lol!  And actually, the Clampett's might be good people to be stranded with.....if I could learn to enjoy possum stew! 😉

Oh no! I watched Sister Wives...noooooooooo!!!!!!

[Oldernowiser]

I watched “Grace and Frankie.”

Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sam Waterston...martinis and a beach house.

 I am never coming back!

[emma675]

Yeah, we're not doomed. It's going to suck and probably for a long time, but we'll bounce back. I hope our new normal involves more time with family and friends and less time stressing and working ourselves to the bone. 

[kokapetl]

9 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

3.3 million people filed for unemployment. This country is financially ruined. 
 

The virus is going to injure/kill a lot of people. 
 

I don’t believe that not wearing a mask is good advice. The virus is airborne. But there are no masks for anyone. Guess wearing a scarf will do. 
 

Im just really sad and feeling abandoned by human race. 
 

Feeling really crappy today. 

You could be a Palestinian living in the Gaza Strip 🇵🇸. Or even one of the “lucky” ones that live in the West Bank 🇵🇸. But you’re not! You are a genuinely lucky person. 

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, kokapetl said:

You could be a Palestinian living in the Gaza Strip 🇵🇸. Or even one of the “lucky” ones that live in the West Bank 🇵🇸. But you’re not! You are a genuinely lucky person. 

   I am a glass half full kind of person (usually.)

   My husband is my exact opposite. I'm always telling him when he starts his worrying and crabbing at the world, "hey...at least you don't sleep in a cardboard box under a bridge!"

Now I'm having to remind myself of that. This too shall pass. 💗💗💗

  

Edited March 26, 2020 by ChiCricket

[McManda]

10 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

I don’t believe that not wearing a mask is good advice. The virus is airborne. But there are no masks for anyone. Guess wearing a scarf will do. 

The virus is not airborne, meaning is not like pollen, floating aimlessly around in the air. It's only airborne when it's expelled in fluids from an infected person via something like sneezing or coughing. It needs a vehicle.

Cloth masks are generally to protect other people from your infection by inhibiting the spread. That's where the cloth masks (or scarves, I suppose) are helpful. They help stop your cough from getting on others or on things others could touch. The cloth masks don't really help you from getting infected as much because that infected cough is all over you. Sure, you might not have inhaled it but the virus is on your clothes and on the things you touch, and if you touch those things and then touch your face (to take off the mask, for example) you're at risk for infection. Cross contamination isn't really something the general public thinks about or is good at.

That's why staying home, self quarantining, and social distancing are your best bets for staying healthy, and not just with covid-19. If you have to go out (for -essential- supplies like a full grocery run, not a, oops I'm out of chocolate sauce for my ice cream grocery run) minimize contact and wash your hands when you get home. The virus needs a vehicle and a host. Don't be the vehicle or the host. #staythefuckhome

[CalicoKitty]

I "cut the cord" last year and stream my live TV using YouTube TV.  I just received a notice that they are giving Epix free for a month.  They are automatically putting it on and will remove it when the month is over.  No pressure to pay the extra fees.  I was using Hulu, but I have found that YouTubeTV has a similar channel lineup, and it includes my local PBS station, which Hulu does not.  And it is less expensive.  It is nice to see services like streaming TV are doing special things at this time.

[Jynnan tonnix]

I do appreciate all the helpful posts in response to @galaxychaser. I haven't had the time or ambition today to come up with anything useful, but, yeah. Things really suck right now, but they are not as bad as they have been at times in the past when we still managed to come back. Not unscathed, but still solid. And, unfortunately, there are things out there which could potentially still be a lot worse than what we are going through right now. Just hang in there. We are a pretty resilient species.

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Jynnan tonnix

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

Things really suck right now, but they are not as bad as they have been at times in the past when we still managed to come back. Not unscathed, but still solid. And, unfortunately, there are things out there which could potentially still be a lot worse than what we are going through right now.

It could have been a more Ebola or Lassa fever type thing that got loose in the whole world.  Or a closer to MERS type virus would have also been more disastrous.  

I'm trying to stay in, but have to keep taking sick pet to the vet which is not making the family happy.  Just really bad timing and expensive.

[Love2dance]

Hang in there, @galaxychaser, try to keep news watching to a minimum. It has helped me immensely to do this. I look at the headlines online for a few sources and only read in depth something I think it is important to know. My city council member keeps us up on what’s happening locally. And that is more than enough for me per day. Try to watch fun stuff on tv or read fun things online or hard copies. Maybe find even more groups to chat with like us. Exercise in any way you can! I miss my gym SO much, but am trying to do a little exercise every day. There are free online resources of all kinds to guide you in exercise if you need that. We are all in this together, but I really do believe we will get through it. And I am really old. LOL

[ChiCricket]

Look how many people came back to Illinois! 😭

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/cellphone-heat-map-coronavirus/

(this tweet has the animated video)

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by ChiCricket

[Oldernowiser]

I see the University of Michigan is well represented...and the timing coincides with the Michigan case numbers exploding.

My mother is in Ann Arbor. 

Thanks, arrogant chucklefucks.

[latetotheparty]

17 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

3.3 million people filed for unemployment. This country is financially ruined. 
 

The virus is going to injure/kill a lot of people. 
 

I don’t believe that not wearing a mask is good advice. The virus is airborne. But there are no masks for anyone. Guess wearing a scarf will do. 
 

Im just really sad and feeling abandoned by human race. 
 

Feeling really crappy today. 

If this country can bail out Wall Street they can goddamn pay some unemployment claims, in my opinion. I’m so sick of big business getting everything while awarding themselves huge bonuses and everyone else being left to twist on the wind. 
 

Our leaders had the opportunity to start putting the infrastructure in place three months ago. They played the stock market instead and put their heads in the sand. We are all paying the price for that.  

[doodlebug]

On 3/25/2020 at 9:13 PM, McManda said:

Thanks @doodlebug for the informed update. It's thinks like this that Trump needs to be talking about in his less conferences, Even if it's not overwhelmingly positive. Information is better than platitudes. 

What struck me is the projections that activity in Ohio won't peak until mid-May. Do you have more information on that? I'm in MI and we're basically following OH's lead. I'm afraid of this continues like it is until mid-May people are going to take this less seriously than it needs to be. We can't convince people to stay in and away from others for two weeks. 😔😠 (We're not even going to talk about Trump wanting to open the country by Easter. The Pope cancelled Easter at the Vatican. Surely the Trump can follow suit.)

 

Seems like opinions are varied.  Ohio’s amazing director of public health, Dr Amy Acton, said that things should peak at the end of April in Ohio.  This was at her daily press conference on Thursday.  Two weeks earlier sounds good to me.  She also fairly gushed about what an incredible difference social distancing has made and encouraged us to stay the course.

We have another institute-wide update at lunchtime today.  Word has it, reassignment is happening next week and many of us will be working second shift in a makeshift gynecological urgent care center being developed to divert non-critical patients from the ER.

One of the OB/Gyn docs in my area tested positive.  He’s home, doing ok.  Meanwhile, several other docs in our group have serious health problems and they’ve been removed from direct patient care to protect them.  One, who has been doing full time practice and taking call, is on the list to get a kidney and it would be tragic if she got sick and then one became available.  So, our on-call schedule has been re-jiggered a bunch with more to come, I’m sure.  Luckily, we’ve got a pretty large group, so we can re-distribute without overburdening anyone.  Several of us who  have quit doing OB are willing to work L&D if needed.  I’ve missed the babies if not the night call.

My employer is trying to avoid laying anyone off, so they’re trying to figure out ways to keep everyone busy as we wait for the other shoe to drop.

i understand the fears about the economic hole we’re digging here, but I don’t see a better alternative.  We’ve survived worse than this..

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by doodlebug

[McManda]

4 hours ago, latetotheparty said:

Our leaders had the opportunity to start putting the infrastructure in place three months ago. They played the stock market instead and put their heads in the sand. We are all paying the price for that.  

That's what happens when you elect an arrogant, egotistical business man only out for himself to Commander in Chief and expect him to lead during a crisis. 😡

[Jynnan tonnix]

Post from @McManda brought over from Dullards thread

Quote

 

Off topic, sorry! Blueberry banana bread? That sounds delicious! When you bake with blueberries do you use fresh or frozen? I'm hesitant to try with frozen (the frozen raspberries were a soggy mess!) and the fresh blueberries, besides being kind of expensive right now, are on the sour side. I've been wanting to make some blueberry scones lately though. 

I've got some past eatable bananas ... maybe this weekend I'll take a stanb at Jill's recipe, just to see. It's banana bread, how awful could it actually be?

Wait, I just looked. While the recipe doesn't sound awful ... 6 large bananas, 2 cups of sugar, and 4 cups of flour? That's more of a Duggar-sized recipe than a Dillard one, imo. I'd have to halve it. Or third it.

 

This is the recipe I use. https://www.cooks.com/recipe/wd57a7vs/lonnies-banana-blueberry-bread.html

I also tweak it by adding extra lemon flavor with lemon yogurt (or just a mixture of sour cream and lemon juice if I don't have yogurt, which I don't right now). If you have lemons, which I also don't, lemon zest is a nice touch.

You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries, but the frozen ones tend to make it overly soggy, so cut down a little bit on moist ingredients. They also tend to turn it purple, which is not a great look. But it still tastes OK. I do recommend fresh, though.

ETA: Drat! I went back and forth copying and pasting bits of this because I can never figure out how to move a post in one fell swoop (it copies the quoted section, but not as a quote, and not with the name of the person who wrote it) and still managed to put it right back where it came from. Sorry, Mods...I tried.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Jynnan tonnix

[Scarlett45]

I was wondering why I hadn’t heard my kettle whistle for my morning tea. 
The light wasn’t on. 

So just gas all this time!
Guess who has all the windows open!

 

😢

[kaleidoscope]

Doodlebug, your updates mean a lot.  Thank you.

[Barb23]

I made it out to my infusion appt yesterday for my RA.  It was things as usual for that part of the rheumatology office. The nurse said no one has cancelled. We all  need the infusion medicine to function & without it would cause more flare ups which is not good since we need to be & feel our best to fight the virus if we get it.  It was interesting to see how my fellow patients with the same disease are handling things.  

My rheumatology office is located in a medical center with all kinds of specialties & were well prepared.  Everyone had to pass by a station where they asked the usual questions to see if we had any symptoms & everyone was given a mask. I noticed the secretary was also wearing gloves and  occasionally used hand sanitizer on them. The nurse had separated the infusion chairs well past the 6 foot distance.  She said all the doctors are giving the patients a choice of how they wanted to be seen - in person (if showing no sx), by the Zoom app on computer or by phone.  None of the offices were accepting walk in appts.  

There was a long line to drop off my rx's at the pharmacy drive-thru, understandably so but people seemed to be waiting patiently.

It did feel good to be out & it was a beautiful day to go for a ride. 

Like others, I have tried to cut back on the news.  I'm blaming a part of the doomsday negativity on the news reporters.   For example:  Our governor has been giving almost daily updates of how the state of Maryland is handling things.   I feel he has been on top of things & implemented a lot of our closings & changes incl our social distancing & self isolation way before  other governors did. He has kept us informed being even keeled, upbeat & not causing a panic and has answered many questions.  One of our local news reporters gave us a report after his speech telling us what he said.   She had the most negative tone in her voice like she was reporting the world was coming to an end.  We were expecting the Governor Hogan's new policies to happen for the most part so it wasn't a great surprise but she made it seem that way.  Like how are the residents of Maryland  going to exist with all these changes?  I told my husband I felt like I listened to two way different speeches - the real one the governor gave & a totally different very negative version she reported.  

Edited March 27, 2020 by Barb23

[doodlebug]

I've been bragging about Amy Acton, the leader of the Ohio Department of Health.  She has done an exemplary job and is one of the main reasons Ohio has been a leader in this crisis.  The other reason is our governor, Mike DeWine, who listens to her and bases his decisions on what is medically necessary not on what is politically expedient.

Amy has lead a life that sounds like something out of a movie: her parents divorced when she was young, her mother was unreliable and took up with a series of unsuitable men, putting Amy and her brother in jeopardy.  They moved frequently, were homeless on several occasions and actually lived in a tent in Ohio one winter.  Her mother remarried, a man with a history of child molestation, and, when Amy was 12, he was arrested for abusing her and her mother finally lost custody to her father and she gained some stability.  BTW, she never saw her mother again after she was arrested for child abuse. Amy tried to kiss her when she came to court for the arraignment and her mother turned away and refused. She ended up going to medical school, becoming a preventive health specialist with a master's in public health.  She's married with 6 kids and started crying during a press conference while discussing her 2 adult sons who live in San Francisco and were under lockdown due to Covid.  If they made a movie of her life, no one would believe it.

A true hero for troubled times.

https://vindyarchives.com/news/2019/aug/31/ohio-leaders-passion-comes-from-youngsto/

Edited March 27, 2020 by doodlebug

[Turquoise]

I get to bring my husband home from the hospital at some point today. We haven't seen each other since he went in last Friday, although we've been in phone contact and the doctors have included me via speakerphone in rounds. They're putting in a PICC line so they can continue with his antibiotics. I'm waiting to hear how they're going to show me the basic care. We'll have a home health nurse, but I need to know what to do in between visits.

[crazy8s]

have shifted my focus today to making masks for our health care folks. I have fabric, elastic and all.

DIL ob/gyn has one cloth mask. that is it. large hospital group in Michigan and she has one cloth mask that she brings home in a bag to wash each night.

for all you folks out there with fabric and sewing skills

https://sarahmaker.com/how-to-sew-a-surgical-face-mask-for-hospitals-free-pattern/

https://www.wxyz.com/news/jo-ann-fabrics-giving-customers-free-materials-to-make-face-masks

 

 

[ChiCricket]

I thought I'd share part of an ongoing family (familia) chat we've been having about my nephew (and covid-19 in general.)

The first one was from last night (please pardon my swearing..I was very upset, and it was only between my daughter(doctor's wife) and me, and she also swears like a trucker.)

 The second chat was from just a little  bit ago(with all of my husband's relatives)

Edited March 27, 2020 by ChiCricket

[doodlebug]

2 minutes ago, ChiCricket said:

I thought I'd share part of an ongoing family (familia) chat we've been having about my nephew (and covid-19 in general.)

The first one was from last night (please pardon my swearing..I was very upset, and it was only between my daughter(doctor's wife) and me, and she also swears like a trucker.)

 The second chat was from just a little  bit ago(with all of my husband's relatives)

 

I'm so sorry to hear this.  It is true that, in certain situations where the lungs are not absorbing oxygen properly despite maximal ventilator support, flipping the patient onto their abdomen has been shown to help.  It improves the air flow through the lungs or something.  A lot of the photos from Italy have shown ICU patients lying in that position.  It is a lot harder for nursing staff to care for someone in this position and easier for various tubes and wires to get knocked out of place, which is why they want to transfer him to a place where the staff has more experience and where they may even have special hospital beds for this.

2 hours ago, crazy8s said:

have shifted my focus today to making masks for our health care folks. I have fabric, elastic and all.

DIL ob/gyn has one cloth mask. that is it. large hospital group in Michigan and she has one cloth mask that she brings home in a bag to wash each night.

for all you folks out there with fabric and sewing skills

https://sarahmaker.com/how-to-sew-a-surgical-face-mask-for-hospitals-free-pattern/

https://www.wxyz.com/news/jo-ann-fabrics-giving-customers-free-materials-to-make-face-masks

 

 

My employer, which initially said they didn't want donations, is now accepting cloth masks from citizens and giving them to patients who are immunocompromised or who have non-Covid respiratory infections to prevent the spread. I believe they are also making them available to first responders who need them.  N95 masks are currently only available to those working in the hospital with patients who either have COVID 19 or are seriously ill and waiting for the test to come back. 

A recent article published in the OB/GYN world recommends that we wear face masks every time we are close enough to a patient to touch them, even in outpatient settings,  which is virtually every patient in this line of work.  They also have guidelines for caring for labor patients and recommend that EVERY patient in labor wear a surgical face mask, symptoms or not.  In addition, in an ideal world, this would be switched to an N95 mask during the pushing phase as most women are releasing a lot of droplets into the air as they breathe, etc.  All caregivers should wear full protection at all times when around any pregnant patient with respiratory symptoms and, anytime there is a possibility of droplets from the patient entering the air, that should include an N95.  Of course, there is no way any hospital has enough gear to actually do this, so caregivers are forced to choose what they or the patient will wear.

We had an update again today, a lot of it was technical nuts and bolts stuff not terribly interesting in general.  We talked about predictions as to when things will peak and it turns out the research numbers geeks at my institution as well as another well-known medical center have collaborated to give us the data which is based on our particular hospital in our particular Midwestern city.  They say that, if we are unable to flatten the curve (and it is too early to tell yet), then we will have our peak in mid May which will include about 4500 intubated patients in the system, 12,000 patients hospitalized overall.  Our facility will not survive those numbers.  If we maximize our measures to flatten the curve, then the disease will peak in early August with much lower numbers.  Most likely, we'll be somewhere in between.  So, best case scenario is that this drags on for the next 5 months or so.

We're also being organized into teams to cover the hospitals if needed.  OB/GYN's would be put into a team lead by an internist and which would include nurse practitioners and residents.  We would all make rounds together and the internist would make all the major decisions while we would be tasked with communicating with the patient's family and helping to coordinate the various ancillary services needed to care for these complex patients.  That sounds doable.  Since we are not seeing as many patient in the office these days, they're preparing some online courses to help us brush up on our internal medicine since most of us are rusty.

[PikaScrewChu]

I feel so drained the past few days. I know this will end but it feels like it has been an eternity already. It's weird I don't feel guilty not marking assignments ASAP. Normally I would mark them as soon as I could as fast as I could. I got permission after this assignment, as long as they completed all assignments and handed in everything on time, they can take their grade as is. There will be a take home final available if they so choose but at this point I'm exhausted. That and I do not want to be marking finals 6-7 months from now if I made it mandatory. 

I've got other projects to keep me going through work. I'm trying to focus my energy on getting them done and not sitting around on Reddit refreshing for news. It is hard though. I feel like I'm watching a car crash at various speeds. I think I need to re-watch all of 90 Day Fiance now. Or something. 

[ChiCricket]

OK..just got news about a guy who works in the same department with my

SIL  L___  in a Chicago Home Depot. He's also sick with covid, and had to be put on a ventilator.

His wife is a nurse, and now they think SHE has it (they're waiting for the test results.)

  Is this just happening in my world?! I remember someone here said they had relatives on a cruise who had it? or did I make that up in my head? I feel like I'm losing it. 

 Does anyone in here have real knowledge of someone else that they know personally that has it? If so, what state or area in the country are you from??

Below is a post from a family member from a Caring Bridge site they made to keep us updated on his condition.

****************************

March 27, 2020

Journal entry by N___ M_____ — Mar 27, 2020

Thank you all for your continued love and support. R___ is currently in ICU, still requiring ventilator support. R____ is still having high fevers today. Please continue to pray for him.

Edited March 27, 2020 by ChiCricket

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

OK..just got news about a guy who works in the same department with my

SIL  L___  in a Chicago Home Depot. He's also sick with covid, and had to be put on a ventilator.

His wife is a nurse, and now they think SHE has it (they're waiting for the test results.)

  Is this just happening in my world?! I remember someone here said they had relatives on a cruise who had it? or did I make that up in my head? I feel like I'm losing it. 

 Does anyone in here have real knowledge of someone else that they know personally that has it? If so, what state or area in the country are you from??

Below is a post from a family member from a Caring Bridge site they made to keep us updated on his condition.

****************************

March 27, 2020

Journal entry by N___ M_____ — Mar 27, 2020

Thank you all for your continued love and support. R___ is currently in ICU, still requiring ventilator support. R____ is still having high fevers today. Please continue to pray for him.

I know a couple of physicians, OB/GYN's who are hospital based, who've tested positive.  They're both sick, but not bad enough to be hospitalized; their symptoms seem to be more like regular flu stuff: fevers, cough, fatigue, etc.  I live in Cleveland, OH.

As a health care worker, I expect I will know a lot more people with the virus soon.

[jcbrown]

So sorry for all the hard things people are going through. 😞

I wanted to update on the lunch delivery to Dad's care facility--it was a huge hit. The staff was totally psyched and Dad ate his whole sandwich (which is huge!) and called me right away to say thank you. I'll do something like this again soon, I think. I was jealous, too, I love the sandwiches from this place. The delivery driver called me when she was outside and I said, "oh, no, I'm 2500 miles away but let me get you the right phone number."

We have a Google group for our condo and people are being organized to put stuffed animals in their windows for kids to find when they're out for fresh air. We now have six animals in our windows (until the cats knock them off, at which point we will have different animals in our windows...). There is also a a little boy in our complex who is offering (via his mom) to do chalk drawings on the front sidewalks of anyone who wants them. Our drawing is booked for Monday. Look for the helpers.

[CalicoKitty]

I just heard from a friend that her daughter (in her 50's) and granddaughter (high schooler) both have it.  They live in Chicago.  I don't think they are hospitalized.

[MargeGunderson]

@ChiCricket, I’m so sorry this is hitting close to home for you and your family. My department head had it (sits about 3 feet from me). He was not hospitalized, but said it was the worst flu he had, and really took a full two weeks before he felt like he was getting back to normal. I feel very fortunate that I’m fine, as are my other colleagues.

I’m in the metro Boston area, which does not have a shelter in place order, but only essential business are open, schools are closed until early May, and companies are encouraged to move everyone possible to work from home. I just finished my third week of work from home, and we have been told that we will not return to the office until May at the earliest. Today I went to Target to pick up a few things and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t crazy busy (quiet, even!) and I was able to pick up a package of toilet paper and of paper towels. Also, chocolate and Cheetos for morale. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by MargeGunderson

[louannems]

22 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

So sorry for all the hard things people are going through. 😞

I wanted to update on the lunch delivery to Dad's care facility--it was a huge hit. The staff was totally psyched and Dad ate his whole sandwich (which is huge!) and called me right away to say thank you. I'll do something like this again soon, I think. I was jealous, too, I love the sandwiches from this place. The delivery driver called me when she was outside and I said, "oh, no, I'm 2500 miles away but let me get you the right phone number."

We have a Google group for our condo and people are being organized to put stuffed animals in their windows for kids to find when they're out for fresh air. We now have six animals in our windows (until the cats knock them off, at which point we will have different animals in our windows...). There is also a a little boy in our complex who is offering (via his mom) to do chalk drawings on the front sidewalks of anyone who wants them. Our drawing is booked for Monday. Look for the helpers.

This is wonderful!  My in-laws are in an Adult Family Home and we can't visit them.

In years past, they used to love to go to the Tulip Festival in our area, which is a huge tourist draw.  It's closed, like everything else, but you can order fresh cut tulips from their website.

So I ordered a bunch of bouquets to be delivered to the care home.  MIL has severe dementia, and FIL only cares about his TV, so I hope the staff enjoy seeing the tulips.

[MargeGunderson]

@louannems, would that be a certain tulip festival in a midwestern state known for corn, caucuses and the state fair?

[CalicoKitty]

I need some advise.  I am planning to move to the Carson Valley in Nevada, and I have not lived at altitude since I was a child.  I'm not sure what to expect.  Will my Instapot take longer to cook?  Will I need humidifiers?  If I put snow tires on for the winter, where do I keep the regular tires?  What else do I need to know?  I am thrilled to go to a place with less crime and cleaner air, but I want to be prepared so I know what I need. 

I have discovered that packing is not fun.

[jcbrown]

32 minutes ago, louannems said:

This is wonderful!  My in-laws are in an Adult Family Home and we can't visit them.

In years past, they used to love to go to the Tulip Festival in our area, which is a huge tourist draw.  It's closed, like everything else, but you can order fresh cut tulips from their website.

So I ordered a bunch of bouquets to be delivered to the care home.  MIL has severe dementia, and FIL only cares about his TV, so I hope the staff enjoy seeing the tulips.

This is terrific. Good for you. I'm sure the staff will like them.

[Love2dance]

10 hours ago, Turquoise said:

I get to bring my husband home from the hospital at some point today. We haven't seen each other since he went in last Friday, although we've been in phone contact and the doctors have included me via speakerphone in rounds. They're putting in a PICC line so they can continue with his antibiotics. I'm waiting to hear how they're going to show me the basic care. We'll have a home health nurse, but I need to know what to do in between visits.

@Turquoise, I had to give my husband medication through a PICC line when he got a heart valve infection. It is daunting, but doable, and I got pretty proficient after awhile. I know you will do a great job! 
 

[GinnyLee]

I've been sick for the past 10 days. Not sure what it is since only people in high risk groups are being tested. My sister is a nurse and I keep updated with her. She thinks I might have a sinus infection with the flu. But I'm not sure. I think it might be a mild case of corona. At the very least, I don't have a fever or the chest pain/pressure, or shortness of breath associated with corona. Regardless, last night I started to get feverish again and thought the fever was coming back. I went into a panic attack and had to stand outside at midnight. I started shaking uncontrollably, thought I was going to get sick and started crying. I never cry! I have never had a panic attack before. But I calmed myself down and was able to finally fall back to sleep. I woke up with no fever, but was exhausted. I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks for reading. 

[CherryMalotte]

I'm so sorry for your nephew ChiCricket.  Sending healing thoughts his way, and to all of our loved ones affected.

Had a check up appointment the other day - got greeted at the door with a very masked up and gloved nurse who took my temp (97.7) and then the doctor's nurse also took my temp and I had to answer all the questions (how are you feeling, have you been exposed, have you been out of the country) three times.  I have seen online people complaining about all this and I say wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?  Or be infecting a child or some random elderly person?  

My husband though is driving me nutty.  Mr Malotte and I are on two totally different sides of the political fence and it's grating, more so because he's been home and I am subjected to it constantly.  He listens to a shitload of conspiracy nuts on YT and elsewhere and is totally convinced it isn't as bad as they say it is.  I think he's pissed because he's had to file for unemployment (not really, I did everything online) and he's pissed that the restaurants are closed and he can't sit and have coffee with his buddies, and he's pissed that the salons and such are closed.  He's pissed over stupid shit and unfortunately I get to hear it all.  I had enough last night, showed him the Johns Hopkins Corona map, and told him that I highly doubt that the liberal snowflakes only are running that webpage, and how many bodies exactly would be enough for him to believe?  He's been a little quieter since.  I almost wish one of his siblings or work friends or myself would come down with it just to prove to him that it's really really real.  I mean not really, but damn!

I swear, he wasn't like this when we got spliced. 

[magpye29]

So today I got a Facebook message from someone I went to school with, just a little innocuous hi how're you doing kind of thing.  I responded in a friendly way, then she responded without commenting on anything I had said.  She said she had seen my name on a WHO list and that I was going to get some money from them, and that she had already gotten money.  I said I wasn't aware of that.  Then she offered to help me get in touch with a WHO agent.  I'm slow, but that sent some alarm bells off in my head, so I texted "How do we know each other?"  The other person wrote "Why would you ask me that?" so I wrote back, "Just verifying that this isn't a scam."  I saw that the person read it, and never heard another peep.  Meanwhile, I checked my friends, and the picture that was with the texts was there, but it doesn't look anything like my friend.  I checked the thread again a little while ago, and all the other person's messages have been "removed because the sender's account requires verification."  People are so wrong!

[louannems]

59 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

@louannems, would that be a certain tulip festival in a midwestern state known for corn, caucuses and the state fair?

No!  It's the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon, Washington.  It's a beautiful thing to see, even with all the tour buses.  

[Zella]

18 minutes ago, magpye29 said:

So today I got a Facebook message from someone I went to school with, just a little innocuous hi how're you doing kind of thing.  I responded in a friendly way, then she responded without commenting on anything I had said.  She said she had seen my name on a WHO list and that I was going to get some money from them, and that she had already gotten money.  I said I wasn't aware of that.  Then she offered to help me get in touch with a WHO agent.  I'm slow, but that sent some alarm bells off in my head, so I texted "How do we know each other?"  The other person wrote "Why would you ask me that?" so I wrote back, "Just verifying that this isn't a scam."  I saw that the person read it, and never heard another peep.  Meanwhile, I checked my friends, and the picture that was with the texts was there, but it doesn't look anything like my friend.  I checked the thread again a little while ago, and all the other person's messages have been "removed because the sender's account requires verification."  People are so wrong!

Yikes! I have gotten emails recently offering me some of Jeffrey Epstein's fortune and apparently Muammar Gaddafi's widow wants to trust me with her money too. 🙄

@ChiCricket I am so sorry about your nephew--he and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Have you had any more updates about his condition? Was he able to be transferred?

[Sew Sumi]

46 minutes ago, magpye29 said:

So today I got a Facebook message from someone I went to school with, just a little innocuous hi how're you doing kind of thing.  I responded in a friendly way, then she responded without commenting on anything I had said.  She said she had seen my name on a WHO list and that I was going to get some money from them, and that she had already gotten money.  I said I wasn't aware of that.  Then she offered to help me get in touch with a WHO agent.  I'm slow, but that sent some alarm bells off in my head, so I texted "How do we know each other?"  The other person wrote "Why would you ask me that?" so I wrote back, "Just verifying that this isn't a scam."  I saw that the person read it, and never heard another peep.  Meanwhile, I checked my friends, and the picture that was with the texts was there, but it doesn't look anything like my friend.  I checked the thread again a little while ago, and all the other person's messages have been "removed because the sender's account requires verification."  People are so wrong!

Sounds like your friend got hacked.

Sending healing vibes to everyone who is ill or knows someone who is. So far, so good here, but my husband works at a hospital, so I am worried for him. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Sew Sumi
Not I'll, autocorrect!

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, CherryMalotte said:

My husband though is driving me nutty.  Mr Malotte and I are on two totally different sides of the political fence and it's grating, more so because he's been home and I am subjected to it constantly. 

     We are married to the same man. 

The only thing that shut him up about it "only being the flu" and "fake news" was someone in our family actually getting it.

He's only stayed home for me before that happened, because I have COPD,

and I told him "if you keep going out, you're going to bring it back here and kill me...and then I'm coming back to haunt you because it'll be all your fault!"

(I really DID tell him that)😂

PS...we've been totally sequestered since March 13...so today makes 15 days😯

Edited March 28, 2020 by ChiCricket

[ChiCricket]

2 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

I need some advice.  I am planning to move to the Carson Valley in Nevada, and I have not lived at altitude since I was a child.  I'm not sure what to expect.  Will my Instapot take longer to cook? 

I do know that when I visited my daughter when she lived in the mountains in New Mexico, I tried to bake cupcakes for my grands..and they didn't turn out right...at all. 

She didn't have internet up there, so I couldn't look up how to adjust it for a higher altitude.  If I remember right..I overcooked the outsides and the middles weren't done?

[CalicoKitty]

1 minute ago, ChiCricket said:

I do know that when I visited my daughter when she lived in the mountains in New Mexico, I tried to bake cupcakes for my grands..and they didn't turn out right...at all. 

She didn't have internet up there, so I couldn't look up how to adjust it for a higher altitude.  If I remember right..I overcooked the outsides and the middles weren't done?

That's what I'm afraid of.  It will be a whole new learning curve.  I guess I'll find out!

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

@ChiCricket I am so sorry about your nephew--he and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Have you had any more updates about his condition? Was he able to be transferred?

Yes he was. Not sure how he's doing though, because I haven't heard from my niece since she told me he was transferred this afternoon. I don't want to call her too much.

(For anyone curious, if you know Chicago hospitals, they transferred him from Norwegian to Rush.)

 

[latetotheparty]

3 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

@louannems, would that be a certain tulip festival in a midwestern state known for corn, caucuses and the state fair?

Or possibly one shaped like a mitten. 

[latetotheparty]

@ChiCricket Yes, my brother has it. He lives in Denver. He has a moderate case and has not had to be hospitalized so far. He caught it from one of his guitar students. I’ll be keeping your family in my thoughts. 
 

@CherryMalotte My ex was sliding down the path of wrong thinking. Then he became disabled and changed his tune. Ha. Sadly this “affliction” often comes with age. It’s been my number one thing to guard against but the women in my family tend to get more radical with age so I think I’ll be fine.