A Test and a Vaccine

When Peg sent out a text, while we were playing pickleball, that her cold was more than a cold, we knew that our bubble had burst. Seems as if a get together at the pool did not include as much social distancing as is wise, and it was seemingly inevitable that someone else would get it too. Of course at that moment in time, Yvette was also playing pickleball and had no idea that she, too, had it. Yikes and double yikes!

Immediately Connie left, contacting another friend and the two of them went to get tested at a place that uses the saliva test. Others went there as well, finding it convenient and the 48 hour wait for results a fact of life. Because we had our vaccinations scheduled for Friday, and this all happened last Monday, Bruce went online to find out where we could get both the rapid test and the longer one at the same time. Turns out that Orange County has just such a place out on West Colonial that other friends had used. Thank goodness for their insight because those tips were invaluable. 

Firstly they recommended we arrive as early as possible, before the 9AM opening. Leaving at 7:30 we arrived just before 8, easily finding the location which was well marked. 

Note the moving cars with spaces between them. Following behind those cars,

yet another turn,

and eventually coming to a stop near the sign below. Good news for me, just to the left of the far structure there was a bathroom. Whew!

What we did not know, at this point, was just how long and winding the road ahead was. Inching forward a tiny bit, we encountered the cars pointing in the opposite direction, the place we would eventually occupy in approximately two hours. Bruce opened his window, asking the fellow who was probably fifth in line, when he arrived to get such a spot. "Four AM"was his reply!! Because Denny had told us there would be a considerable wait time, I'd brought along a crossword puzzle and Bruce had his book.

Once the clock struck nine, the cars began inching forward, and we knew we were on our time would eventually come. True to the sign, around 90 minutes later, we made our final turn towards the tents.

Woo hoo! Almost there. Right about now I should mention that both Peg and Yvette are having mild cases, neither of them very sick, although almost ten days into it, Peg began having chills again while Yvette has no sense of taste or smell. 

Meanwhile, I guess it is my optimistic nature, but I felt pretty confident that neither Bruce nor I had it, but making sure was prudent, just in case I was being a fool. Once at the spot, it was all done quickly and  efficiently, especially because we had preregistered and had our bar codes ready. We both had the nasal swab, as well as the one they insert into your nose much deeper.

God bless those workers...can you imagine what it must be like doing the same task from 9-5, day in and day out? Not to mention the worry! I had the larger of the two pictured women and both could not have been any more pleasant. As we left the tent, both of us kind of swallowing hard to recover from the nose probe, we were so pleased that we had arrived early as the line of cars to get in was absolutely incredible! I had estimated that there were at least 100 cars ahead of us....well, the line when we left, snaked through the whole road out of the park and at least 1/2 mile down Colonial Drive and then onto another road!! Now that would be some kind of wait!! Actually we learned from a friend a few days ago that there are signs when you pull onto the park property that say expect a four hour wait from there. 

Oh how we hate you Covid-19, let me count the ways.

It was with a sigh of relief that we received texts, even before we pulled into the complex, saying our results were ready to be viewed on the special website. Negative/negative. Although I got my negative results from the PCR test on Thursday, Bruce received an email saying his specimen was contaminated. We decided that should he develop any symptoms he would go through the ordeal again. To date none have emerged.

So, on Friday morning we left the house, prepared to wait again for our time slot of getting the vaccination between 10-12AM. We drove to the vast, mostly empty, convention center on International Drive, following the provided signage. I will say it was not nearly as helpful as the ones at Barnett Park, however, the set up is fairly new, whereas the testing site has been open now for about nine months. 

I'd brought along the iPad and this time we killed time by watching several great videos about the origin of pickleball back in 1965. How they made up the rules as they went along, to the history of paddles, going from shaped plywood to the beginnings of what are called composite paddles. Turns out an early young player's Dad made them from scraps he brought home from Boeing. Good thing they were fairly short because this line moved quickly. We came around this corner,

and there it was!

My reading of the Edison book has made me hyperaware of inventions, both the tweaking of old ones, and the use of new ones. Which brings me to the barcode. Who knows who came up with that technology which would change the world? I did not, and now, much to my astonishment, I have just learned that it was based on Morse code!!   Amazing, right? Then again, perhaps you knew that? 

While not quite a barcode, this was used to mark us before we received the shot.

Undoubtedly based on an earlier invention. Anyway, EMTs gave us the shot in our preferred arms and it was super easy. Mostly anyway. In the photo above you might note a man with a blue shirt on and that man turned out to be a photographer for the convention center who stopped my EMT from pulling the needle out of my arm in order for him to take some photographs!! Appropriate, right? After about a 15 minute wait in the parking lot, with medical personnel standing by, once assured we had no reactions we were sent on our way. Again it was done quickly and with efficiency. I will say that the initial encounter with the website was a little tricky, but once I found the instructions, it worked just fine. Not only does it now display our encounters, it has our next vaccines, scheduled in February.

On the first day it was a bit sore to the touch, on the second, way more so. Now it is day four and it feels fine. Bruce had some chills and general malaise on Saturday afternoon and I was as lazy as I could be, but we are both fine now. One thing I have learned is that the next dose is greater and more uncomfortable. Furthermore, Fallon had her second dose and she had a very miserable 24 hours. Fortunately, for most people, those types of reactions are short-lived. 

So, now you know. In an effort not to worry our out-of-town sons, I've kept this quiet until now, our in- town sons were freaked out enough! In any case, we feel fortunate to have, hopefully dodged the disease. Now we are hoping our friends recover sooner rather than later.

One week since this all began, our local hospital, two miles away, is now scheduling vaccines and five of our friends took advantage of that today. There are, or so it seems, some advantages to being over 65. :)

In other news, it snowed in Austin yesterday and I will say I was a wee bit jealous when Jonathan and Alissa did a Facetime with me as they walked around the block.

For some reason, my last post seems to have fallen through the cracks and should you have missed it you can click HERE. 

Finally, have you tried blistering Shishito peppers before? While normally not a huge pepper fan, should you see them where you buy produce, I can recommend them highly. A tip I read was to oil the peppers, not the pan and it was an excellent idea.

Now, my dear ones, I am heading into the kitchen, where I plan to do some baking in order to refill the cookie jar. 

your friend,

Gail

Are We on the Upswing?

That is the question of the hour. In Orange County, it sure seems that way with hospitals reporting fewer new cases of Covid-19. The governor has allowed restaurants to re-open with strict guidelines as to how many can be served at a time along with servers wearing masks. It's a start folks! Now if only the library would open I would be happy as I've only got about a half of a book left to read!

While we are waiting for life to return to normal, we are doing what we can to stay active, including a trip to Moss Park late last week to ride our bikes. While it seemed like a good plan, most of the park was closed. On our way into the park, we drove through Isle of Pines, a development near the park that once was considered out in the boondocks. Now, however, it is but one of an amazing amount of development off Moss Park Road. Wow, how times have changed! That said, it is still pretty wild in places as evidenced by the gator Bruce spotted beside the road.

That's Florida for you! The only fishing allowed in the park was along the canal because the boat ramps and docks were closed.

We knew that the campground was closed to camping, but did not expect the trails through it to be off limits, however, they were, meaning we could only ride a few times around the vast parking areas. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, a rare treat. So peaceful and quiet, along with ideal weather.

We'd brought a picnic lunch, enjoying it under the shade of the large oak trees. I was sad that it had been two months since last we sat at a picnic table. Nevertheless, we have nothing to complain about as we've not been sick, nor do we know anyone who has been. While we were eating we had a visitor on one side of the table,

and another one on the other. While we were in Vancouver I kept remarking on how large the crows were, thinking ours were smaller. You be the judge of that.

I think not as this guy was huge! There were tons of wading birds along the shore where once there was a swimming beach.

And although it is well documented that Wood Storks are not my favorite birds, they sure look great in flight. You can't go wrong with classic black and white!

Just before we were leaving, I spotted this little guy along the shoreline near the dock where the crew teams practice. (they were earlier!)

The traffic, normally pretty brutal was a breeze coming home. There are definitely some advantages to this whole shutdown.

My phone arrived as I was typing my last post and it's a little beauty, although a tiny bit larger than I was expecting.

Of course, I was clueless that there even was a new iPhone when I decided to finally take the plunge. My old phone was an iPhone 5s, one of Bruce's cast offs and it served me well these many years until the battery just would no longer hold a charge. The new one is the inexpensive model, iPhone SE, because I'm not usually one who is tied to my phone, so spending a bunch was unappealing to me. Anyway, I've had it for some days and it works just great.

Another day I finally sat down at my sewing machine, making a new little "plant mat". Never heard of one? I just made it up! Maybe it should be called a plant coaster?

It is always noteworthy when I spend a day cleaning, mostly because I am so proud of myself for actually tackling something I am not thrilled to do. Anyway, on this particular Saturday, I tried something new. And what would that be, Gail? Tea for a floor cleaner! Have you heard of it before? I had not, but thought it was worth a try because I was hoping some of the tannins would stain some of the scuffs on our floors. Apparently it is a thing.

I brewed about six tea bags and let them sit for about 15 minutes, then put the tea in the bucket along with some cold water and I must say, it worked beautifully! Now, if I could only get myself to do it more often instead of taking photographs!

I can't stop myself from taking photographs because stuff is always happening, like the Mallard ducklings getting so big! They came right up to the back door again before heading back to the lake.

Before much longer they will be as big as mom who, btw, still keeps them with her at all times. I mentioned we've had some front porch visitors too, including this Downy Woodpecker, and a Tufted Titmouse at the same time.

The Cardinals are coming again, and we've even had the occasional Blue Jay, although they are mighty big for a feeder of this size.

Sunday we went for another bike ride, this time more successful than the last. Parking at Lake Ivanhoe park, we rode on the Urban trail to Mead Gardens. You know, I told Bruce that it is possible to send messages to anywhere in the world through thin air, yet bicycle seats remain uncomfortable. How can this be? Anyway the best thing we saw on this little journey was an Osprey nest with two babies, only one of whom I could get in the picture! How fun, right?

Driving to the park, we stopped first at Lake Cherokee because I'd heard there were some cygnets, and by golly, there were!

Which begged the question, were they the same ones from nearby Lake Davis? And the answer is no, they are not, however, we were saddened to see that one of the original four Lake Davis cygnets was gone. Watching the remaining three waddle down to the water was quite the sight, what with their feet being almost too big for their bodies at this point.

Absolutely amazing how low the water is!

Which brings us to the end of the photo show. Around here, the neighbor's construction continues with miscues daily. One day they knocked out the water to our building. Another day, in an attempt to miss the contractor's truck and trailer, the garbage men tried going around it and pulled off about a six foot tree branch, and breaking one of the carport tiles along the way. The next day they filled our newly-emptied dumpster with the old cabinets. My friends are encouraging me to lighten up, which is something I will have to learn with practice as this will be going on for about a month. The funny thing is that today I read an article in the paper about some residents of Arlington, VA who live across from the under construction new Amazon headquarters.  The presumption was that during the heavy pile driving phase, most of the residents of the high rises would be at work and the noise would be no problem. And then along came Coronavirus, keeping them all at home where it is driving them crazy with the noise, going so far as to petition the local government to make them stop. The moral of the story is, it can always be worse.  And, of course, we will be having to ask forgiveness ourselves if we ever get around to doing the other bathroom! And to think that we put it off so we could do the entire camping season!

Which reminds me to say that they are opening some of the state parks again, however, none of them are ones we are interested in so our supplies remain in storage.

We had a great birthday chat with Jonathan who had a wonderful day courtesy of some special gifts from Alissa. Ours were entirely practical and I will leave it at that. Won't be long until Mr. Peck celebrates his as well.

So, I would most definitely say that we are inching closer to good times once again.  Then again, that may be the optimist in me. Only time will tell, as it always does.

your friend,

Gail

A Very Pleasant Surprise

I know what Bruce would tell me right about now if he were home. "Just don't listen." To which I would counter, "that is impossible for me!" The condo next door was sold and the renovations began this morning. For the nearly two years we've lived here, it has been quiet, hearing our upstairs rarely, and certainly not next door. It began this morning at 9, two bathrooms being demolished. Yikes! I'm am constantly amazed that Bruce can tune noise out. Perhaps some of it will rub off on me?

On the last day of April, in the time of the Corona pandemic, it is raining, something to be very grateful for as we've been in such a drought. The first few days of the week, the weather was beautiful, warm, but not too warm, prompting me to go on a little mission to Leu Gardens. In the early days of learning photography I went there countless times to photograph whatever I could find that caught my fancy so I know that place like the back of my hand. Early this week I learned that they were not only open, but that Mayor Dyer declared it to be free. Or, at least that is what the head of the place told me. Not that I knew he was such, but seeing a super interesting and unknown plant, I asked the closest person I could find, who was wearing a mask when he came closer.

Amazing, right? This is a Mexican milkweed, planted adjacent to the butterfly garden. But of course.

It almost felt illicit to be strolling the grounds with hardly anyone there when I arrived a little after opening. Of those there, everyone was super respectful about keeping their distance. One of the most exciting things to happen was this:  as I was standing beside a plant, camera in hand, I noticed a woman coming toward me that I was sure was my friend, Bev. She read my expression as horror that a woman was coming close! Only in the time of Corona my friends. We had a long chat, catching up and hearing each other's stories in this crazy time. Most of the folks I see regularly I'm good without hugging, but I sure wish I could have hugged Bev.

As you can see, it is easy to keep a safe distance. Taking my time, I explored not nearly enough before it was time to leave. Rarely have I seen the gardens looking so good.

All of it was wonderful,  however, the orchids, tucked into the crook of some of the trees, really stole the show.

Oh my, the color of the one below!! Captivating.

The one place where it was harder to stay apart was the butterfly garden area which was sad because there were so many butterflies to watch. There was a man with a lens about a foot long that hogged the space, much to my chagrin!

 Lucky for me, when I went into the nearby vegetable garden, not only was it empty but a Monarch was quite cooperative, enjoying the nectar of a lovely Gerbera daisy for a long while.

Count me surprised when I walked through the visitor center to leave, lo and behold, there was a new Dorothy Gillespie installation. If you missed my last post, that won't mean a thing. If you are one the wonderful people who I am humbled to have read my blog regularly, you will remember Bruce standing beside one of her sculptures at the Orange County building last week.

Speaking of Orange County, the governor is allowing some businesses to reopen, beginning Monday, however, how much of that order will translate to our county, I'm not so sure. Still no hair salons, which is a shame. Even when they finally do open, having my hair colored and cut probably still won't happen for a while because it takes hours and even though my level of worry is low, it seems prudent for me to wait a while longer. Seriously, everyone is going through the same thing, so in that overused phrase, "it is what it is!"

We are doing our part to keep the economy moving, what with my new phone, allegedly arriving today, and Bruce is having a trailer hitch put on the Subaru for a new bike rack that will better suit our needs. In an excellent move on my part, I went to Publix today, finding most of what I wanted. Plus, that kept me away from the construction noise, so there's that.

Bruce is getting many folks vote for "neighbor of the month" on our street. Not only did he wash the Packard that was completely covered in yellow oak pollen,

He washed a neighbor's car that has been an eyesore for what some folks have told us, nearly three years! First the Packard because we use the parking space of the folks who own it while they are away for most of the year in North Carolina. Hesitant, in order not to offend the man, Bruce knocked on his door, asking if he could wash his car. When the man asked, "how much?", Bruce told him there is no cost.  How dirty was the car? Dirtier than any I've ever seen.

The entire car looked similar with some places even worse!

He washed parts of it, not once, not twice not....five times!!! trying to get the grime off. Car washing is actually not allowed in the parking lot, but folks turned a blind eye to that because they were so delighted. I can't tell you the number of people who have stopped him, thanking him for doing so. The owner is 90+ years old and in no shape to do it himself. That man of mine is something else!

We are having some birdies!! Life imitating art, or should I say, the other way around?

There's more I'll wait to share in an upcoming post. Tomorrow is our dear Jonathan's birthday and he is inching closer to 40 all of the time. He, like Bill and David, will remember this particular birthday for a long time to come. The number of cases of Covid-19 in some parts of the country are very puzzling to me. You would have thought, what with our huge number of international tourists, and domestic, for that matter, that we would have been overwhelmed, but it seemingly is not the case. As I type, there are 1,268 deaths in Florida with 33,690 reported cases. Texas, where Jonathan and Alissa live, has only 759 deaths, and about 600 less reported cases. I wonder why that is when Texas is way more populous? And why does Massachusetts have so many? There seems to be no rhyme or reason, but I suspect in the future there will be studies galore on every aspect of this pandemic. For now there are more questions than answers or that's how it appears to me.

A couple of things worth noting....

* The newspaper reported that in some parts of the country, stores are out of sympathy cards. :(

* Some staffing companies were offering nurses up to $10,000 a week if they would come to New     York and work. I wonder how that made the regular staff feel?

* There is a lot of generosity happening for those less fortunate. Hurray for that!

* I must admit, I felt a bit guilty when buying the last bag of flour on the shelf.

Finally, I managed to get some decent photographs of the new Wood Duck family while they were on coming on shore. Not all of them mind you,

this little one was the renegade, preferring the water.

It won't be long now that there will be no more new duckling births. Sure hope it won't be too long now before we are not talking about death on a daily basis.

your friend,

Gail

Day Whatever

In our newspaper there is a running tally as to how many days since spectator sports shut down, and today the number is 45. Seems like longer doesn't it? Just think 45 sunrises, and sunsets, since things began taking a turn for the worse. The good news is that in Orange County things are actually taking a turn for the better, or at least that is how things seemingly stand as I type.

Yet still, we are all really in the dark as to what is next, aren't we? It's kind of scary on so many fronts. It was also reported that the law enforcement offices are expecting more calls for suicide attempts which probably comes as no surprise, what with so many people already living from paycheck to paycheck. Not to mention, domestic abuse worries. Or, for that matter, child abuse worries. For a generally optimistic person, it is hard to maintain that attitude but I'm trying!!

I began a new puzzle the other day, one that was actually purchased for Matt and Tom and had just not found its way to the post office. Double sided, it looked pretty hard to me which is perfect for them. I've not gotten very far.

The truth is, I was hoping to do another puzzle, a good way to spend the afternoon hours, so I went to Target, imagining I might find something there that was good for a beginner. Fat chance.

In other out and about news, we drove over to Bill and Fallon's house to deliver some cookies and holy cow, the price of gas!

This is one that won't be believed in a few years, or so I suspect. Of course no one is driving anywhere, so it really matters little, right?

One day last week, rather than go to Lake Davis for a walk, I suggested we go to Lake Eola and see what was what. Remember how I said about going to a public park and social distancing? Most of the time it was just fine, but there are some folks who just don't seem to get it. Not to be ageist or anything, however it seemed to be mostly young folks on their phone. Nevertheless, it was a lovely day for a walk.

There were quite a few swans on nests, while others were taking a break, allowing a view to their eggs. Pretty darn big aren't they? Plus, all the nest building materials!

Before leaving downtown we dropped by the County Administration building to check out the latest sculpture installation.

Bruce is standing beside a Dorothy Gillespie sculpture, an artist some will remember from the parking garage across the street where there is a colorful one hanging down through all five floors. This sculpture was crazy creative, and I mean that in both ways--very crazy, but clever.

There are all manner of everyday objects stuffed in, including dog bones, knives, and Matchbox cars. Did I ever tell you that they were created in Hackney and Matt took us to the museum there? Very interesting.

Another day we went on a long bike ride through the nearby streets, stopping in a tiny park on Lake Hourglass near our friend Lynn's place. Seriously tiny, there were but ourselves, and a young father with two small children. There is a small dock and pathway set amongst two small lakes. What a wonderful surprise to come across this:

When the little girl saw it she squealed with delight, especially when asked by her father if she thought it was done by fairies! I'll say one thing about this pandemic, folks are getting very creative. I've seen where stores in downtown Vancouver have been boarded up, the plywood brightened up by colorful murals painted by local artists. I talked to a friend today who told me she's learning to paint by watching Youtube videos. I've probably mentioned that Facebook group for birdwatchers in isolation who are posting the most beautiful photographs of birds in their garden, primarily in England. Not just photographs, but whoa Nelly, are there some talented drawers in that group! Another facebook group I've been introduced to is called, "A View from my Window" wherein people post photos from around the world, looking out their window. That group, my friends, is fantastic. Speaking of a view, on March 4th, I wrote a post entitled, A Room with a View which is pretty crazy. It was also the last post before the, pardon the expression, shit hit the fan. As I was going back in time, I realized that something has gone amiss on my blog, so if you go do the same, reading anything after that date, many of the embedded photos are missing, replaced with a symbol like, no entrance which is highly disappointing and something I only discovered by accident. Anyway, apparently it is a Google problem that they are trying to fix, or so that is what my search told me.

On that same bike ride, I also saw on a power line, a Great Crested Flycatcher, quite the mouthful for such a small bird. Their photo (link) is infinitely better than mine. Then, I saw a lovely Wood Thrush. It was a good day for bird enthusiasts!

As well, it was a good day to see a new flowering tree that looks a lot like a Schefflera, maybe in the same family? A new bloom to me.

On my way to check on the little Carolina Wren in her nest hole,

I saw some lovely colorful annuals which brightened my day even further.

Perhaps you are wondering how Bruce is handling this shut down? Well, he's learning what it is like to be retired, that's for sure. Some folks were worried how he would adjust to retirement, having worked 80 hours a week for so many years, and so was I, but he filled loads of time working for free, which suited him beautifully. Now, if we still lived in our home, with his big workshop, things would have been different....he'd have finally gotten to use those tools! But life took a turn, and here we are. So, how is he filling his days? Making me play pickleball with him, that's how! And it is already blistering hot, even early in the morning! We are getting marginally better, so when the day comes that we can, once again, play with friends, hopefully we will have improved. There are advantages to living in a condo, don't get me wrong, just not enough work to do. Which is partly the point, right?

I, like most of you, have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen and not just on baking. One night I made Thai Noodle salad, a recipe I'd used once before. Was it worth using 18 ingredients? I think so.

Another night I made pizza, and still another night I made a new recipe called Green Rice. Essentially, it is rice made with a ton of green stuff I'd put in the food processor, including parsley, cilantro, poblano peppers, jalapeno, green onions, and anything else I could find in the produce drawer. Just kidding on that last part! Crispy chicken and delicious sliced tomatoes from Clemons rounded out our meal.

One rainy morning, I went to check on the ducklings, and of all things, they began following me up to the back door! Aren't they huge?

And yes, it has finally rained!!

Have you seen any of the new television commercials that include Covid-19? I'm having a hard time figuring out how they were made, what with social distancing and all. Speaking of social distancing, there is another new word usage going around...zooming. And we all just thought it meant moving quickly!

The time has finally come for me to get a new smartphone. And the good news for me is that they are just putting out an iPhone that is very similar to my current model, an iPhone 5s, with a home button and about the same size! On April 25 I received an email from Apple saying the phone had shipped and would arrive on May 5. I've waited this long, what's another 10 days, right?

After a mostly hot and humid weekend, another week of quarantine came to an end, and today we start a new week, knowing almost nothing about what the future holds. There are so many people suffering, either mentally, financially, or with their health, it almost doesn't seem fair that we get to enjoy our surroundings, yet we do, with enormous gratitude.

 And so we look forward to light at the end of the tunnel....

your friend,

Gail