Wednesday, June 29th

[Colliemom]

Good Morning. Cloudy out this a.m. Trmp is 58°. Sunshine coming later. Rain didn’t amount to anything much last night, but supposed to have some tomorrow tonight again.

Judy, glad you arrived home safely. Was quite an adventure. Anita, Iceland looks like a pretty place too. Enjoy.

Hair cut n my agenda later this morning, but first is changing my bed, throw a load of laundry dry in the washer and run the vac. Maybe will mow front entrance later this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Got a bunch of decorations to put out there for the 4th of Jul and some in my yard too.

Yesterday’s trip to dentist, actually Endodontics, turned into a major operation. Bit down on something hard about a mo pnth ago, which caused sharp pain on a tooth and gum area. Had it checked out, Ex-Ray by my dentist, coyld’t see anything amiss, sent me to Endodontics, more ex-Ray and CBCT scan. Verdict was nothing seemed to be amiss either. No explanation for pain. You can sometimes bruise the gum or surrounding tissues,muscles etc. Suggexted to monitor. Any more issues, let them know. Things seemed to be getting better, but area was sensitive. Eating the otber dsy seemed to aggravate it and was very sore over weekend again. Felt something soft in upper gum line and swollen cheek. Long story short, was infected. Wound up getting it cleaned out along with a root canal Now have temporary filling and on antibiotics. Go back in two weeks for finish work and thrn see my dentist for a permanent filling after that. We won’t discuss the bill . Feeling much better this morning. No pain. Just bit of dull ache which is to be expected.

Enough adventure for this week. Better get my act together here and get stuff done before I have to leave later. Have a nice day everyone.

[cnq50b]

Good morning Sue & all who follow,

Glad they took care of your tooth, Sue.
Judy, good to see you made it back safe & sound.
Anita, still light out after 11PM - not sure I'd like that. Sounds like you've hit the ground running. Can't wait to see more pics when you get back.
Ava, I'm glad to see you back online.
Shirl, I know what you mean -hoping the ups overshadow the downs soon.

I've got Jordi for 2 more days this week & then I'm retired again. I had Olivia for a few days last week & rediscovered what a delight she is one-on-one. She had the cashiers at Hobby Lobby calling her by her name & discussing purses & her doll house. Plus she organized all the toys I keep here for them. She'd love to help me 'organize' more but she can be brutal.

Well, time to get ready for my little buddy.
Stay safe out there.

[Shirlv]

Morning All, Sue it’s another lovely day here. Not looking good for cookouts this coming weekend. Glad a tired Judy made it home safe. Had to smile, she is one organized woman. Landed on time, ride available to pick up rv, picked up groceries and already planning to get rig washed. I took an allergy med early and it’s low humidity so plan some outdoor time. A few household chores to accomplish. Still dealing with irritations that seem to be the new normal nowadays. It will get better. Be safe

[JudyJB]

Don't think I am THAT organized. Had no food at home and after eating in restaurants and take-out for so long, plus still having sore stomach from food poisoning, I needed easy food like milk and eggs and bread. I have two doctor appts tomorrow, so will pick up rest of essentials then.

Still tired but yesterday was exhausting to the point I was stumbling. I left hotel yesterday AM at 5:30, which is 12:30 am Ohio time. Then 9:20 plane was going to be so late I would miss connection, so they rescheduled me to Detroit and then to CLe, but much shorter layover time than would have had in JFK. Anyway, plane from London was half hour late arriving to Det, so barely made it through customs and had to literally run through Detroit airport to make plane--last person on board and huffing and puffing. Suitcase, of course, did not make it. It is 50 miles from CLE airport to storage lot where RV is, rest were all full when i made arrangements, and son and family are not due back from vacation until today, so needed ride arranged to take me to pick up rig.

So, today I have to switch spots, and will go out for truck wash during that time. Luckily there is a Blue Beacon not too far away. But I need to hand around to wait for suitcase to be delivered. Oh, and I lost about 13 pounds while I was away--I am guessing mostly in last week with food poisoning. I am trying to eat normally, but I eat so much and stomach is still complaining a little. Going to have a scrambled egg on English muffin this morning as soon as I am done with this message.

[JudyJB]

QUESTION: A friend of mine who recently took a tour of Ireland is telling me that a lot of people she knows have recently come down with COVID, and that it seems to be more vaccinated individuals who are getting sick. But this disease is not being reported because we are all using home tests.

She is trying to convince me my food poisoning might have been COVID, but I have tested negative every night since, so I do not believe this.

Has anyone else had this experience with a lot of friends recently getting COVID??

[Shirlv]

Judy, I am not smiling I’m laughing. You have two doctors appointments scheduled for tomorrow? Glad you gave yourself a day in between and glad your flight wasn’t canceled. Eat lots of pudding and hope you better soon.

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning. Cloudy out right now but is supposed to be cooler from here on thru the weekend. Down in the 70's works for me. Sue glad you found the source of your discomfort but I can just imagine your bill LOL Dentistry is NOT for the faint of heart. Judy I think there is plenty of Covid still around. It just isnt as devastating as it was initially for most of us. I dont think you had Covid, food poisoning seems much more reasonable with your symptoms. Everything that can go wrong with our systems "can be" caused by Covid LOL And yes people are testing at home more now that ever. Just continue with your bland diet for a few days until your system gets back to normal. Glad you had a good trip in spite of your setbacks.

I need to go out and water this morning, maybe after another cup of coffee. Then not sure what my day will bring. Lately I am a little short on motivation. I think I need Sue to kick me in the butt and get me going LOL I get tired just reading about her activities. Yes Shirl some weeks have way more irritants than others. Some I can fix and some I have to learn to live with. Not sure what I will make for dinner tonight, right now havent even had breakfast.

[Cudedog]

QUESTION: A friend of mine who recently took a tour of Ireland is telling me that a lot of people she knows have recently come down with COVID, and that it seems to be more vaccinated individuals who are getting sick. But this disease is not being reported because we are all using home tests.

She is trying to convince me my food poisoning might have been COVID, but I have tested negative every night since, so I do not believe this.

Has anyone else had this experience with a lot of friends recently getting COVID??

Judy, I read a lot of articles regarding Covid - not just the sensationalist stuff, but mostly on medical websites like Lancet and etc.

I am not a medical professional (nor an ex-medical professional) but what I am coming to understand is that the newest Covid variants might not show positive on the tests that were designed to detect the original version of the virus.

Also, people are not much testing anyway (even with home tests, which are relatively expensive, as I am sure you know - if one does not have access to the government-provided ones) when they become ill.

Further, and very unfortunately, people who have been vaccinated and twice boosted are now getting ill. There is a woman in my community in our age group that was fully vaccinated and fully boosted with two boosters who caught Covid and passed.

My closest friend in the world and her husband were both fully vaccinated, and fully boosted with two boosters - and yet they both became ill with Covid. Thankfully, they both had mild cases and recovered - but this is worrisome to me in the greater view of things.

This, again very unfortunately, seems to be happening more and more frequently - again, the original vaccination was designed to protect against the original Covid. The many (and increasing) variants appear able to evade the antibodies produced by the vaccines because the vaccines were designed for the original Covid and not for the variants.

Most worrisome (and a bit confusing) is that in some places those that are vaccinated are becoming ill at a greater rate than those who are not. I am a strong advocate for vaccination and boosting, so this has me wondering what is going on.

Anne

[Acadianmom]

Judy, glad you made it home. If that had been me I would still be in meltdown from the plane problems. I don't know anyone with covid. When it all started I knew a few people that died from it. The only person that I know that had it twice is the guy that has the cattle here and they own the feed store. When covid was bad no one at the feed store was wearing a mask but me. They were a bunch of Trump anti Vaxers and horse wormer takers. I still have the big bottle of hand sanitizer in my car and use it before I go in and come out of a store. The first thing I do when I get home is wash my hands.

We have an 80% chance of rain. The radar shows a lot of rain in the gulf so guess it will move in sometime today. I went fishing late yesterday afternoon and while I was down there clouds moved in and I could see lightening in the distance. I came in. My neighbor got home about that time and started mowing to get it done before it rained. It never did rain. She is braver than I am, I saw a tree explode one time. I probably should go mow. I need to get it done before I go to the lake or it will really be long when I get back.

Sue, your tooth problem sounds like what I went through and ended up getting a root canal. That tooth bothered me for over a year but I didn't want a root canal. I should have had it done when the tooth first started bothering me.

Next month I think I will try to bring the neighbors tomcat to the spay and neuter clinic. He eats here all the time and fights with my cats. Then I have a vet bill. The other night he was after Rascal and now Rascal is limping on a front leg. Hope he doesn't get an abscess. I need to get some cat treats so I can catch that cat. He will let me pet him sometimes.

Martha

[Shirlv]

Two family members recently had Covid and said it was like a bad cold. One had prescription Benzanate for cough and said it was more effective than cough syrup.

Judy, at a recent doctor appointment I was ask if I had traveled out of the country. Maybe you need to call your doctors before tomorrow to see if your travel has any bearing on your appointment.

[OregonLuvr]

I am very much over the "pandemic". Not that I think it is gone or anything, I just think we are going to have to learn to live with it. I have been vaccinated, boosted, still wear my mask depending on where I am, and hand sanitizer still is alive and well in my house and car. I do not go to "gatherings" or crowded situations. It has become my way of life now. They never claimed you could not catch Covid even if vaccinated but it would be a milder case.

I was very sick in January and the following months, and am sure now it was Covid. I never left my house to get tested or treated as the ER was not on my radar. I still have a cough and not alot of energy to be honest. My doc said it was most likely Long Covid and could continue up until a year. Good lord NO. I dont think they really know. I do have an appointment with an internal medicine doc the end of next month so we shall see.

[Bethers]

Linda was hospitalized for a week or so with Covid. She has long Covid. Karen, I was pretty sure you had Covid back then from your symptoms, etc. I hope your symptoms now continue to decrease. I agree that at this time we need to keep some of our new habits, but also we have to understand this will, most likely, bev with us forever. Kind of like the flu. I will continue to get any boosters they approve.

On another note I'm sharing a picture for Irmi. It showed up in my memories.

[monik7]

My daughter and granddaughter spent 3 weeks in Italy, Greece and Spain and managed NOT to catch Covid there and during the flights to, from and between. They were fully vaccinated and boosted. However, after being home for about two weeks, my daughter tested positive for Covid. She said the worst symptom was a very bad cough. Thankfully she’s recovered now.
Sandi

[Irmi]

Good evening ladies!

Judy, I'm so happy your trip back was mostly uneventful. Anita, have fun on your trip. Velda, have a good 4th with your friends. Karen, it's always good to read that you found a new doctor that you like, as well as the staff. Shirl, so sorry you lost your tomato plant and also hope your ups out weigh the down moments. Sheila, you are so fortunate that your family gets together when they can. Like many of you, we still and even mostly did before the pandemic, stay away from large crowds. Neither of us have had any symptoms of Covid, but some people don't. So it's really hard to say if we had it.

Beth, thanks for the picture. I passed it on to the friends we traveled with and she said thanks.

The landscape people for our community were fired because they couldn't keep up with anything and a new company is supposed to start July 1. We sure hope so because the grass and hedges are atrocious. Fortunately they had only been with us for a couple months, and whoever they hire will have lots of catching up to do to get this place back in tip top shape.

[JudyJB]

Karen, I hope your doctor can give you something to improve your energy. I am worn out and really slogging, but I think my problem is that I am still not eating my usual amount of food--basically the food poisoning is making me eat like I am on a diet. Today was better, but still having to force myself to eat when I am hungry. Food poisoning sure made a mess of my system.

One thing that I think kept me healthy (other than food poisoning) while I was traveling was that I traveled alone, in a car, instead of in a bus full of people. Also, I ate a lot of takeout as I was tired at the end of a day and did not feel like eating in a sit-down restaurant. And for one whole week, I had a cottage and cooked all my meals. My friend was on a bus, and she and her boyfriend ate almost entirely with the group in restaurants. I was in public places, but not in the same way as you would be on a tour. My biggest worry was the underground, but it was interesting that most trains there had substantial cool breezes, but I did have a couple of long rides where the trains were hot and had little ventilation. I made sure I wore a mask on those. Not sure why the difference. Going to do a test once every couple of days for next week, and then go back to once a week or so. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Did not get truck wash as I had to wait around all day for suitcase, which did not come until 3:30. I emptied it, and then I did two loads of laundry. But I also vacuumed and place feels a lot cleaner. Clean house always makes me feel better.

Couple of things I saw and want to tell you about. First, almost every homeless person in London has a sleeping bag and most have tiny tents given to them by social services. They put them up at night and take them down in the morning, so while they are often against buildings in busy areas, they do not interfere with businesses during the day. And, they don't end up being tent cities because they are spread out. Second, I imagine you have all heard about the problems poor women and girls have getting sanitary supplies. I was in more than one restroom in a store or restaurant, where there was a stack of products with a sign telling women to take what they needed for their entire period and to take extra for anyone they knew who needed them.