Final day of self-quarantine and all is well. Looks like we dodged the bullet this time. The only bad news is that I have to work in the office tomorrow, and likely for the rest of the week. UHG!
About mid-way through, when the symptoms of the virus were most likely to appear, there was definitely some anxiety. Around that time, I got a call from the doctor on staff at the office. She asked questions and I asked questions. She said usually the first sign of infection is overwhelming fatigue coupled with a lack of appetite. I can attest that lack of appetite has not been experienced by me or Mr. W. Not for one moment!
Dan and Carlene would have come over yesterday to see me for Mother's Day, but I told them not to, just in case. I received handmade cards from each of them in the mail, both in the same envelope. Dan drew a Corona beer bottle with a "Happy Mother's Day" label for the cover of his card, while Carlene chose flowers as her theme. If that isn't a representation of the stereotypical difference between a male and female, I don't know what is.
Inside his card, Dan wrote that he was sorry I didn't make it to the beach this year, but he was happy I was safe. And he signed it: Love, Dan W. Wryly.
He has always signed his name like that on cards and it always makes me laugh.
Among words to wish me a happy Mother's Day, Carlene wrote: "Thank you for having such a wonderful son who treats me like a queen!"
It was a great gift to read that. Keep up the good work, Dan W. Wryly! Make her laugh, too!
Monday, May 11, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
1,999 Pieces
I misreported the number of pieces in the large puzzle that I completed. While it was a 2,000 piecer, there was one piece missing. ARGHHH! Don't ask how a puzzle that had not previously been assembled had a piece missing, but just know that Mr. W was involved.
In my continuing effort not to do anything productive, I went on-line and ordered two 1,000-piece puzzles for me and several large-piece "memory-care" puzzles to drop off at my mom's home. Like every other care center in the country, visitors are not allowed. My brothers and I have not seen her since the middle of March. One positive employee case of the virus was reported about two weeks ago, but there has not been another yet. Tick, tick, it's a time bomb.
Steph is afraid that she will not remember us when can see her again, and that very possibly will be the reality. What can we do about that? It is out of our control.
Her home emails a daily newsletter that lists their menu and activities for the day along with photos of residents. Yesterday, my mom and several members of her community made the cover. It looked like they were playing social-distance dominoes. She was also in a photo earlier in the week, working on a puzzle. Last week, someone from the home texted me a video clip of an employee dancing with my mom and she was actually smiling as if she were experiencing a few moments of fun. Who knew it would take a pandemic activity to coax a smile out of her?
Today is Day 5 of a suggested 14-day quarantine for me. One of my bosses may have the virus and I had minor exposure to him on Tuesday as it was my day for office coverage for my department. He wasn't feeling well when he came into the office, so I don't understand why he was there. His symptoms were headache and no appetite, but he had no respiratory symptoms (that he disclosed). He said he hadn't felt like eating for two days. DUH! If you don't feel well, stay home!
He felt worse on Wednesday morning, so he consulted one of our staff medical doctors She told him to self-quarantine for 14 days, but that he didn't have enough symptoms for the almighty test. I contacted her about having brief exposure to him on Tuesday and she suggested self-Q for me. Thanks, (Dumb) Male Boss! Staff doctor said if I needed to go into the office, I could do so by wiping down my office (for myself) and wearing a mask and gloves outside of my office (to protect others). I was scheduled to be office coverage yesterday, but one of my co-workers did it, and I will reassess the situation this weekend.
Yesterday, I checked with DMB and he said he was feeling better, whatever that means. A mask and gloves might not be enough to protect him from me next time I see him, provided I get that opportunity. Update: I just learned that our staff doctor got an appointment for him to be tested this morning and we should get the result next week.
At the office, we have been informed that, starting yesterday, we will all take one day off each half-month pay period to proportionately cut our pay by approximately 10%. I think that is more than fair. There are also furloughs and lay-offs coming. I don't think either of those things will happen to me, but my hours could be further reduced. Who knows? I cannot worry about everything at one time. First worries first.
Finally, yesterday, our bathroom project budged its first inch since the last time I posted as it was on hold for a bogus building inspection. We learned that the paperwork that was submitted had to be shuffled around to four people in the county office, and each one of them held it on their desk for 48 hours before touching it because that is their virus protocol. Gee, you think those documents could have been scanned and sent electronically for more safety and efficiency? Hell no, taxpayers love paying for the salaries and benefits of inefficient and antiquated government employees. We wouldn't have it any other way!
Anyway, the long-awaited inspector showed up yesterday. He walked up the stairs to the bathroom and spent less than three minutes inspecting the holes in the floor and walls to issue the permission to proceed with the work. I had no contact with him and I have not touched anything in that bathroom for weeks.
This means my New Dog is probably at least a month away, and I am getting antsy. All of this time at home that I could be teaching a dog the ropes around here! That's what a lot of people are doing during this stay-at-home period: introducing a pet to their household. Our largest animal shelter system is actually out of dogs! They have been conducting curbside adoptions and apparently very successfully. An available dog shows up on their internet site and it's gone by the next morning. Someone drives up and sweeps it away!
Unfortunately, on the other paw, with the economy in a such a plummet, there will be owners who cannot afford to keep their pets and will eventually surrender them. How sad is that? Pets can be such comforts and loneliness preventers at all times, and especially during stressful times. Yes, there are expenses associated with having one, but a healthy companion pet costs a lot less than therapy.
I sure do miss my little Sweetie-Pie; he would have loved having me at home so much to hang with him, or so I would like to believe.
While the largest shelter system has no dogs at this time, there is another shelter that is overloaded with needy canines. They rescue strays in urban areas and there is never a shortage of those animals. Many are large dogs with pit bull DNA that are physically and emotionally mangled from their former lives of scraping by on the streets. They are a harder sell to potential adoptive owners.
Of course, that would be the type of dog I want this time. Not a large pit bull mix because I don't have the strength to handle a dog like that, but maybe a smaller one. Mainly, an older dog that has had a hard life and has been waiting a long time to go home and be loved.
Mr. W doesn't understand why I don't want a puppy. I adore puppies, but I don't want one. I would rather have an older, more settled dog. Our first dog was a puppy when we adopted him, so I've had the experience of raising one. Two of our subsequent dogs were each about 18 months old when adopted, including the most recent one, so they still had a lot of puppy in them. (Both had been abused so I've had experience overcoming that issue.) The other two dogs were each about four years old. That was a good age. Not so crazy energetic and not so much chewing, except one of them had a penchant for swallowing socks.....
We don't a have fenced-in yard, so that means I'll be walking New Dog and training him/her to go outside on a tether. So he/she can't be a dog that needs to do a lot of outdoor running. More like a couch potato dog that enjoys walks and can adapt to being limited in the yard. We have a completely enclosed small deck on our main level that New Dog could also hang out on for some outdoor time.
Finally, finally, Dan and Carlene are doing fine. Dan is no longer taking care of Covid patients. The good news is that our health care system is not particularly overloaded with Covid patients, but due to anticipating that situation coupled with the consequences of the contagiousness of the virus, the census in the children's hospital is very low. That has led to cut-backs in staffing.
As Dan bluntly explained, "Mom, kids are not in school going to gym class or playing sports and getting injured. And they're not getting other illnesses from each other. So we don't have enough patients. That's why we have to get our hours cut." Each of them lost a shift this past week, taking them from three 12-hour shifts to two.
Thankfully, they live frugally and should not have financial issues. If I wasn't happy enough that they got married last year, I am even happier about it now. For one, their year of wedding planning did not result in a cancellation like so many engaged couples are currently facing. At the time, we didn't know how fortunate they were to be able to spend nearly $30k to have the day they wanted, Wryly says dryly.
Mostly, though, I am happy they are living through this unprecedented time together and can rely on each other. One year ago, Dan was living in an apartment with two other single guys. Because it is all about me, just think how worried I would be about him if that was his living situation now. In lieu of that, he is living with the love of his life, and she with hers, and they are on track for an extremely memorable first year.
To think my biggest "problem" last year at this time was finding Dress A. What a forehead-smacker. I didn't know how good I had it.
So, that is the update here. Mr. W is on the patio whacking golf balls into a giant net with a target that flaps around. Earlier this morning, we had some lovely birds landing in our trees but the golf-whacking scares them away. About a month ago, I spotted a pair of bluebirds (not jays) that seemed to be scoping out the tree nearest our kitchen window for a nest. "Forget it," Mrs. Bluebird chirped to the Mr. "This location is too noisy. And look at the nut down there, swinging that stick."
I saw them this morning in a tree in the common ground, so maybe they will settle in that area. Also seeing a lot of cardinals in those trees. They are so beautiful, but also a reminder of no baseball. Don't get me started.
Always something.... My new puzzles are scheduled to be delivered today. My spring of living unproductively continues.
In my continuing effort not to do anything productive, I went on-line and ordered two 1,000-piece puzzles for me and several large-piece "memory-care" puzzles to drop off at my mom's home. Like every other care center in the country, visitors are not allowed. My brothers and I have not seen her since the middle of March. One positive employee case of the virus was reported about two weeks ago, but there has not been another yet. Tick, tick, it's a time bomb.
Steph is afraid that she will not remember us when can see her again, and that very possibly will be the reality. What can we do about that? It is out of our control.
Her home emails a daily newsletter that lists their menu and activities for the day along with photos of residents. Yesterday, my mom and several members of her community made the cover. It looked like they were playing social-distance dominoes. She was also in a photo earlier in the week, working on a puzzle. Last week, someone from the home texted me a video clip of an employee dancing with my mom and she was actually smiling as if she were experiencing a few moments of fun. Who knew it would take a pandemic activity to coax a smile out of her?
Today is Day 5 of a suggested 14-day quarantine for me. One of my bosses may have the virus and I had minor exposure to him on Tuesday as it was my day for office coverage for my department. He wasn't feeling well when he came into the office, so I don't understand why he was there. His symptoms were headache and no appetite, but he had no respiratory symptoms (that he disclosed). He said he hadn't felt like eating for two days. DUH! If you don't feel well, stay home!
He felt worse on Wednesday morning, so he consulted one of our staff medical doctors She told him to self-quarantine for 14 days, but that he didn't have enough symptoms for the almighty test. I contacted her about having brief exposure to him on Tuesday and she suggested self-Q for me. Thanks, (Dumb) Male Boss! Staff doctor said if I needed to go into the office, I could do so by wiping down my office (for myself) and wearing a mask and gloves outside of my office (to protect others). I was scheduled to be office coverage yesterday, but one of my co-workers did it, and I will reassess the situation this weekend.
Yesterday, I checked with DMB and he said he was feeling better, whatever that means. A mask and gloves might not be enough to protect him from me next time I see him, provided I get that opportunity. Update: I just learned that our staff doctor got an appointment for him to be tested this morning and we should get the result next week.
At the office, we have been informed that, starting yesterday, we will all take one day off each half-month pay period to proportionately cut our pay by approximately 10%. I think that is more than fair. There are also furloughs and lay-offs coming. I don't think either of those things will happen to me, but my hours could be further reduced. Who knows? I cannot worry about everything at one time. First worries first.
Finally, yesterday, our bathroom project budged its first inch since the last time I posted as it was on hold for a bogus building inspection. We learned that the paperwork that was submitted had to be shuffled around to four people in the county office, and each one of them held it on their desk for 48 hours before touching it because that is their virus protocol. Gee, you think those documents could have been scanned and sent electronically for more safety and efficiency? Hell no, taxpayers love paying for the salaries and benefits of inefficient and antiquated government employees. We wouldn't have it any other way!
Anyway, the long-awaited inspector showed up yesterday. He walked up the stairs to the bathroom and spent less than three minutes inspecting the holes in the floor and walls to issue the permission to proceed with the work. I had no contact with him and I have not touched anything in that bathroom for weeks.
This means my New Dog is probably at least a month away, and I am getting antsy. All of this time at home that I could be teaching a dog the ropes around here! That's what a lot of people are doing during this stay-at-home period: introducing a pet to their household. Our largest animal shelter system is actually out of dogs! They have been conducting curbside adoptions and apparently very successfully. An available dog shows up on their internet site and it's gone by the next morning. Someone drives up and sweeps it away!
Unfortunately, on the other paw, with the economy in a such a plummet, there will be owners who cannot afford to keep their pets and will eventually surrender them. How sad is that? Pets can be such comforts and loneliness preventers at all times, and especially during stressful times. Yes, there are expenses associated with having one, but a healthy companion pet costs a lot less than therapy.
I sure do miss my little Sweetie-Pie; he would have loved having me at home so much to hang with him, or so I would like to believe.
While the largest shelter system has no dogs at this time, there is another shelter that is overloaded with needy canines. They rescue strays in urban areas and there is never a shortage of those animals. Many are large dogs with pit bull DNA that are physically and emotionally mangled from their former lives of scraping by on the streets. They are a harder sell to potential adoptive owners.
Of course, that would be the type of dog I want this time. Not a large pit bull mix because I don't have the strength to handle a dog like that, but maybe a smaller one. Mainly, an older dog that has had a hard life and has been waiting a long time to go home and be loved.
Mr. W doesn't understand why I don't want a puppy. I adore puppies, but I don't want one. I would rather have an older, more settled dog. Our first dog was a puppy when we adopted him, so I've had the experience of raising one. Two of our subsequent dogs were each about 18 months old when adopted, including the most recent one, so they still had a lot of puppy in them. (Both had been abused so I've had experience overcoming that issue.) The other two dogs were each about four years old. That was a good age. Not so crazy energetic and not so much chewing, except one of them had a penchant for swallowing socks.....
We don't a have fenced-in yard, so that means I'll be walking New Dog and training him/her to go outside on a tether. So he/she can't be a dog that needs to do a lot of outdoor running. More like a couch potato dog that enjoys walks and can adapt to being limited in the yard. We have a completely enclosed small deck on our main level that New Dog could also hang out on for some outdoor time.
Finally, finally, Dan and Carlene are doing fine. Dan is no longer taking care of Covid patients. The good news is that our health care system is not particularly overloaded with Covid patients, but due to anticipating that situation coupled with the consequences of the contagiousness of the virus, the census in the children's hospital is very low. That has led to cut-backs in staffing.
As Dan bluntly explained, "Mom, kids are not in school going to gym class or playing sports and getting injured. And they're not getting other illnesses from each other. So we don't have enough patients. That's why we have to get our hours cut." Each of them lost a shift this past week, taking them from three 12-hour shifts to two.
Thankfully, they live frugally and should not have financial issues. If I wasn't happy enough that they got married last year, I am even happier about it now. For one, their year of wedding planning did not result in a cancellation like so many engaged couples are currently facing. At the time, we didn't know how fortunate they were to be able to spend nearly $30k to have the day they wanted, Wryly says dryly.
Mostly, though, I am happy they are living through this unprecedented time together and can rely on each other. One year ago, Dan was living in an apartment with two other single guys. Because it is all about me, just think how worried I would be about him if that was his living situation now. In lieu of that, he is living with the love of his life, and she with hers, and they are on track for an extremely memorable first year.
To think my biggest "problem" last year at this time was finding Dress A. What a forehead-smacker. I didn't know how good I had it.
So, that is the update here. Mr. W is on the patio whacking golf balls into a giant net with a target that flaps around. Earlier this morning, we had some lovely birds landing in our trees but the golf-whacking scares them away. About a month ago, I spotted a pair of bluebirds (not jays) that seemed to be scoping out the tree nearest our kitchen window for a nest. "Forget it," Mrs. Bluebird chirped to the Mr. "This location is too noisy. And look at the nut down there, swinging that stick."
I saw them this morning in a tree in the common ground, so maybe they will settle in that area. Also seeing a lot of cardinals in those trees. They are so beautiful, but also a reminder of no baseball. Don't get me started.
Always something.... My new puzzles are scheduled to be delivered today. My spring of living unproductively continues.
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