Tag Archives: coronavirus

dress shopping, post-Covid, and a warm fall.

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I am happy to report that at long last, I feel mostly recovered from my dust-up with Covid. I’m trying to get rid of the lingering fatigue and miasma in my lungs and head but have my smell and taste back, am back to running (slow, snotty, and wheezy), and I am feeling about a thousand percent better. It was no joke, though, and took me down for longer than any illness I’ve had in the last few years, so again, I highly recommend boosting and taking it seriously.

Otherwise, we’ve been chugging along with marching band season, which hasn’t been as all-consuming this year due to fewer home games. Between that and Covid, I’ve only been to one tailgate and I”ll miss the first marching competition next Saturday because we have tickets to ‘Funny Girl’ at the Fisher Theater in Detroit (purchased before the competition schedule was released). The kiddo has a date to Homecoming in early October (!!) so we had to go dress shopping. The last one she tried on was the winner and is quite an elegant little number, black lace over a nude silk sheath, with little off-the-shoulder straps. She’s going to look like a million bucks, very Old Hollywood, but as a mom it is still gobsmacking to see how SMALL all the dresses are. I told a friend on Facebook that I think they could make 3 of today’s dresses out of 1 of ours from the 1980’s / early 90’s.

We booked our Spring Break – yes, it seems early but after forcing the kid to go to Colonial Williamsburg last year, I’d promised her a trip somewhere warm for next spring. We are going to the Bahamas! For 5 nights and 4 days which already stresses me out a little bit (thinking about being away from home that long) but which I’m sure will be an amazing trip.

The weather in Michigan has been very warm and summery, sunny days with highs in the upper 70’s and cool nights, lather rinse repeat. It shows no signs of cooling off anytime in the next 10 days which is nice, but I really am craving some crisp weather, frost on the pumpkins, and some storms to usher in the cozy season. There’s nothing worse than traipsing around a cider mill or pumpkin patch when it’s 80 degrees and you are sweating and there are bees in your cider.

enough + covid 2023

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Sometimes you get to a point where your body just says – enough. Enough global Zoom calls, audit committees, stressful workdays, deadlines and unreliable colleagues. Enough commuting. Enough meal planning, prepping, grocery shopping, exercising, laundry and housework. Enough stressing over who will win the rojo jersey at La Vuelta. Enough driving your kiddo everywhere and letting her drive, keeping her calendar, planning for tailgates, helping out with marching band and making sure she has stuff for her lunches. Enough doctors appointments to try to keep up with the slow creep of age and its impacts, enough hair appointments, enough ortho adjustments. Enough EVERYTHING. And then you get Covid and are forced to do NOTHING.

Covid’s been chasing me around for a couple of weeks along with the usual ‘ick’ of the back-to-school germy stewpot. Last week was a corker. It was a stressful work week, with early morning global calls and late afternoon/evening audit grillings. I had inadvertently stacked appointments during my lunch hours, and the kiddo’s schedule is busy with fall band. On Thursday I had an anxiety attack and by yesterday morning I’d popped for Covid which threw everything into a tizzy. I’d been scheduled to help the marching band at that night’s game, and even though that was now obviously off the table, I wanted the also-sniffy kiddo to test to make sure she was okay to go. I’d gone to Urgent Care for my diagnosis, because there were no rapid tests available at any local pharmacy (are we back to this again? I had no idea) so a mom friend left a Canadian test on her porch for me to use with the kiddo. Luckily, she was and continues to be negative and so does Brandon which is good because by 3pm that day all I could do was crawl into bed and hate everything.

As much as it sounds appealing to just shed my responsibilities and let my household fend for themselves for a bit, it is actually hard. It’s difficult for me to do nothing and it’s difficult for me to have Brandon and the kiddo have to rely on each other for meals and other things. And it’s hard for me to ask for help when I feel too tired and weak to even make myself a cup of tea or rustle up something to eat. Luckily, Brandon is fantastic in these situations, has no fear of the Covid, and although I’m insisting on quarantining and wearing a K95 mask when I do have to venture out of my room, he is constantly sticking his head in my room to ask me what I need and how I am.

Despite not feeling well at all, truthfully it’s still a mild case. My major symptoms are congestion (my brother equates congestion to having a ‘sea cucumber’ living in his sinuses and this ‘sea cucumber’ has apparently decided to AirBnB in mine this weekend), a bad headache, and fatigue. The cats are taking care of me in shifts – Pot Roast usually has the night shift, Emmett gets the mornings, and Sarge the afternoons. I am missing out on a glorious fall Saturday here with the Harvest Moon festival in full swing downtown but with my feline companions and a couple of indulgent Kindle reads (’28 Summers’ may be a beach read but it’s also been great for Covid) I am doing just fine. I’m sure I’ll be back on my feet in no time and back to the usual pace.

friday five!

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1. I got my Covid booster on Monday so, like Big Bird, I am fully armed to protect myself and my community. My first two were Pfizer, this one Moderna. My initial side effects were all similar- sore arm, fatigue, headache, all of which were resolved within 24 hours. I took the next day off from work, slept, drank lots of water, and was good to go the following day. However, now, a few days out, I’m developing an itch and mild rash at the injection site. After some Internet research I’ve found that this an uncommon but benign side effect – mostly in women – of the Moderna shot but not seen with Pfizer. Nothing to worry about but who knew.

(And while we are on the topic of Big Bird’s vaccination, can we remember that Big Bird has been endorsing vaccines since 1972? And let’s also remember that Ted Cruz is a repellent individual who – while vaccinated himself (!) – feels he has nothing better to do to serve his constituents than attack a PUPPET for making little kids feel good about vaccinations in general. Whenever I think the GOP can’t get shittier or dirtier they manage to outdo themselves.)

(Also – fuck psycho Kyle Rittenhouse and fuck his psycho mom and fuck the biased judge while I’m at it. You don’t go out walking around with an AR-15 and then CLAIM SELF DEFENSE WHEN YOU KILL PEOPLE. It was what you INTENDED TO DO ALL ALONG. And then certainly don’t (badly) pretend to CRY ABOUT IT. You’re a racist scumbag murderer – at least own it now, stand by your shoddy upbringing and flawed belief system and complete absence of morals and ethics and take your punishment.)

2. The other big thing for me this week is the rollout of the new Weight Watchers program. I’ve been on WW for over a year now, after gaining some Covid weight. I gained about 10 on top of being about 10 over where I should be, lost almost 20, stopped working the program and gained back 10 to put myself right where I was pre-pandemic. I’ve been half-heartedly and listlessly tracking since then without much motivation. Peri-menopause is real and it is here. The new program has jump-started me because I can actually earn points back for drinking water, hitting my step goals, and eating non-starchy vegetables! I’m very much in favor of it and am back to tracking constantly. For the first time in months I’ve had over 60 oz of water several days in a row and hit step goals and food targets as well! I love that the program is holistic, there are no “bad” foods, and encourages general health, activity and well-being.

3. Yesterday at lunch Brandon and I walked our annual Thanksgiving donations down to the mailbox. We each donate a specific amount for Thanksgiving (and then again at Christmas) to our selected charities. This year he went with Salvation Army and I chose Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit. Then we got Starbucks in the new holiday cups (basic bitch level enjoyment unlocked) and walked around the historic district of our village admiring the Veterans Day flags and banners. A belated but heartfelt THANK YOU for your service to all my readers who are vets!

4. I’ve never been one for expensive shampoo but my stylist convinced me to try samples of Aveda NutriPlenish and dammit after a week my hair looks and feels much improved. I find it difficult to spend that much on shampoo and conditioner but what am I to do? Luckily my salon is having a holiday 25% off sale next week so I can pick up my first bottles at a bit of a discount. I’d be better off if I could go days between washes but I’ve never been able to do that.

5. For several weeks the kiddo and I have been working together on a top secret crafting project for holiday gifts, which I hope to share more about next week. This year, we’re trying to do more handmade gifts for loved ones and I’ll give you a hint – we use a lot of these at this time of year.

That’s it for Friday. What are you doing this weekend? Brandon and I will do a 4-5 mile run, and I have to get the kiddo sorted out with a pair of black dress pants for her band concert on Monday night. I also hope to finish up her Purl Soho Simple Pleasures hat. The weather should be cooler and wet with possible S-N-O-W! Be well and enjoy. xo

do i want to go back?

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I’m still working from home 100% but expect that my workplace will open back up a bit after the holidays, maybe? I have mixed emotions about that. After a year and a half, I can’t imagine going back to the way things were, being in the office 5 days a week. I am an introvert so working from home has been no issue for me; also, my job in the legal profession supports that. My primary responsibilities are reading and reviewing documents, and those are very well-suited to a quiet home office with a cat asleep on my desk and WRCJ classical radio playing in the background.

I’ve also been able to have time with my kid that I have never had since she was born. I’ve always been a working mother and so being around to see her off to the bus, to be home when she gets home in the afternoons, have a snack together, have her do her homework in the armchair in my home office while I’m doing my job – well, it’s been a blessing. It’s been an absolute gift of time and presence. But I do have to admit that from a mental health and productivity standpoint I also benefit from being in an office, too. I can relationship-build, have meetings, and resolve issues more quickly face to face than with a technological hookup like Zoom or Skype or Teams. And being isolated in a home office can be anxiety-producing for me. Issues that are just ‘one more task’ to complete in an office of bustling, busy colleagues with their own agendas, complaints and victories can become looming and dreadful in a home office. Problems can be magnified, worries fester. It’s easy to miss the forest for the trees and remember that I’m a part of a larger assembly, and we’re all going through similar things.

I know a lot of folks who are eager to get back; I know just as many who want to stay home full-time, which I do not think is an option in my company over the long term. So we will just have to see what happens.

more rain, more tests, a bit of sun and vlogtober

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The sun came out on Saturday and it was a joy. It feels like it’s been raining for a week straight – nothing dries out and lawns are full of fairy rings of strange mushrooms. I’m a bit concerned that I’m just not ready for the long dark days in winter to come, since these ceaseless days of damp have really gotten to me this week (along with everything else on our plates at the moment). Running and being outside is a necessity, but in our village it is perilous because of the slipperiness of wet leaves and the occasional ankle-turning black walnut hidden therein…I tried to soak up the golden rays and took advantage of the beautiful day to pad out our Halloween decorating scheme.

Jacques is the hanging skeleton for the porch- Gus is the pumpkin head. In Miss L’s world Gus has the voice of a Bronx cab driver and Jacques is a former French aristocrat.

Brandon and I both got Covid tests on Saturday as well and they are both negative! So Miss L came home from her dad’s. And then it rained again.

The rest of the weekend was spent reading and crafting. I am burning along on my Halloween socks and also my little Halloween cross-stitch. This is totally due to the joyous thing on YouTube known as “Vlogtober” in which vloggers vlog every day in October (perhaps that was self explanatory…). A couple of my favorites are participating – Tales from Cuckoo Land and This Little Wonderful Life – so I’ve had a lot of peaceful time with them and my projects.

And that was the weekend. I am hoping for a more normal week ahead but it will be a busy one, with doctors appointments (optometrist and general physical), a Girl Scout activity next weekend and Miss L’s big orthodontist appointment. As well as the usual work from home and normal upkeep of home and family. Onward friends.

grey damp days.

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It’s felt like a week of Groundhog Days. Every day dawns grey, damp, and unseasonably sticky-warm. Brandon’s been home, bored and very tired, so we have coffee together and then if I’m not going for an early run, I shower, dress, and log on in my home office (which is also currently my bedroom during Brandon’s Covid isolation period). I’m spending a lot of time in that little back bedroom.

A couple of mornings I’ve run before work which helps break things up.

We have lunch and the afternoons are back in the home office while he naps. Around 530 I start dinner, we watch a scary movie for 21 Days of Horror (more on that later this month) and then tea and bed.

To get up the next day and do it all over again.

It would be nice to see the sun or have some things to do outside the house. Maybe next week. Brandon is feeling a bit better every day and I’m still healthy and displaying no symptoms. We’ll both get tested at some point this weekend and hopefully two negatives will mean a return to some semblance of normalcy around here.

breakthrough

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Last week was a week. Can I just tell you? We were all sick with what we originally thought was a seasonal cold or flu, probably brought home from school. Our immune systems are untested and fragile after a year and a half in a masked bubble, and the illness cut a swathe. I ended up on the couch and unable to work (or do much of anything else) for two days, my kiddo ended up in Urgent Care and on antibiotics for a sinus / ear infection, and my partner in Urgent Care with…breakthrough Covid.

Luckily, he is vaxxed and the doc says that has helped his case be quite mild. His major symptoms are fatigue and a mild loss of smell. He’s on the mend, isolating for the requisite 10 days, quite lonely and bored already as we’ve divided up the house (and kept Miss L at her dad’s house) but it is what it is. I have tested negative, and have no new symptoms. We are very grateful that a year and a half into the pandemic, this is our first household experience with Covid and that all in all it is mild. We are so lucky to have had the vaccine and access to quick, reliable healthcare.

I’m on the upswing health wise and am trying to keep the routine in the house, the refrigerator and oven full of good, nutritious, and comforting foods, and catch up on work missed from my own two days down and out.

All in all things could be much worse!

(Of course this viewpoint has only emerged AFTER my initial storm of panic, anxiety, alarm and guilt – now I can be philosophical and sound like I am rolling with it and have it under control, which, I can assure you, I very much DON’T! But I’m also a proponent of ‘fake it til you make it’ and maybe also a bit of ‘if you build it, they will come’ with a dash of ‘you must imagine your life and then it happens’.)

Keep calm and carry on. I hope you are all in good health and spirits. xo

I was even too sick to knit!!

happy may

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Happy May, happy Beltane. It was quite a week here in Suburban Elysia, full of dentist appointments, board meetings, nighttime calls with my colleagues in Japan, waves of pollen and allergies. But somehow we muddled through and the big news, the event that capped our week, was Brandon and I receiving our second doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine.

24 hours post, we are both feeling fine – sore arms, some fatigue, but that’s all, so we are pretty lucky, I guess.

I hope you are all well. I will be back next week with a couple of finished objects (!!) and more nattering.

hey it’s august

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I don’t really know what happened to the last few weeks but hey it’s August!

We had our summer trip up north and it was just what we needed. Our intent was to avoid tourist crowds, stay safe, and just visit my parents. So no shopping or eating out. Instead, we socially distanced on the beach, we hiked, hit up the A&W for cold & creamy root beer, and we spent time with my parents. We visited baby llamas and I bought yarn and thought wistfully about uninterrupted knitting time. And I worked. We came home, and I worked much more, and then Brandon had a death in his extended family, and we had his close family come to stay for a few days for the Arrangements. In the meantime I was working even more than much more and when I finally lifted up my head this morning here it is. August.

I’m really hoping for a few restful days in a row now. I haven’t been working my Weight Watchers plan as strenuously as I should, and I haven’t run or done any strength training in almost 3 weeks. If you’ve gotten the message that work has been very busy then you are correct! and I find lately that working from home is making it difficult for me to compartmentalize and keep things separated. The upside is that I don’t have a commute, and in the beginning of the work from home I felt that work / life balance was a lot easier with that extra time. Now, though, tasks and projects that I’d be able to turn off at 5 o’clock and not ruminate on until the next morning at the office now live just down the hall. It’s easy to stay online and keep working much longer than I would normally or fit in something else before bedtime or during the evening.

In other news, like many other school districts, ours is currently grappling with the “right way” to start up again in the fall. As a result everyone is coming to realize that there is no “right way”. One surrounding district after another is declaring fully remote start. We were initially told that our reopening would be aligned with the “phase” Michigan is in – “phases” being based on the number of Covid cases among other things – but although we are technically in a phase that would allow us a hybrid start (part virtual / part in-person with masks, reduced class sizes and staggered attendance days to allow for more distancing) it now seems almost certain that we’ll be fully remote again. I guess the good thing about this is that the decision has been made for me, which reduces the amount of internal debate and agonizing over a set of completely imperfect choices. From a health and safety perspective, this is the right choice, I think; but from a social, educational, and personal development perspective, I really feel for all the kids who are getting shortchanged by circumstances out of their control. Everyone’s doing the best they can and I don’t think there are right answers but it’s a bummer either way.

Reminder: Show Us Your Books next Tuesday!

 

 

life these days – covid update

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On March 16 Widget Central sent us all home; Michigan soon entered into a Stay Home Stay Safe order and I thought Covid isolation might last a few weeks – tops. It’s now mid-July and the world is still tilting strangely off its axis. It’s safe to say that the US is collectively not dealing well with having regular life impacted to such an extent and our reactions run the gamut of the five stages of grief, and seem to puddle, like stagnant water, in denial and anger.

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Brandon points out that being disembodied is no excuse for ignoring safe mask protocols.

As for us, we’re wearing masks, practicing social distancing, shaking our damn heads at the insanity and complete chaos in the political sphere thanks to 45 and his bumbling administration, and laying low. I’m working from home still and finally had Brandon set me up a home office in our spare bedroom. I’d been working at our desk off the kitchen, but with no end in sight to work from home protocols, and the likelihood of school restarting in the fall totally up in the air, it was time to make things more permanent. I feel pleased with having a more private space to go and segregate myself from the workings of the household, which can be distracting for me and disruptive for Brandon and L. They’re home much more these days and don’t always need to be tiptoeing around my Skype calls.

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The weather has been hot and fine and we’re heading up north soon to see my parents for the first time since February. I’ve tried to be very cautious about travel and the prospect of exposing them to anything, and I don’t want to be a typical downstate tourist running rampant up north and spreading germs. We’re not staying very long and the main goal is really to see and spend time with my family. We don’t plan on eating out anywhere, or shopping, or sightseeing. We did buy a little sun tent, though, and hope to get in a couple of beach days where we can social distance and still enjoy sun, sand, and water. And I’d love to do a couple of hikes on the Sleeping Bear trails, and go for some runs.

I hope you’re all well and safe wherever you are and taking whatever precautions you need to in order to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy. xoxo