Covid-19: It Continues

[Italiancook]

For the first time in 22 months, I went into a retail store . . . wearing 2 masks and gloves. To my pleasant surprise, all the employees wore masks. I had arranged by phone with two departments for my items to be ready for pick-up. In one area, I had to chose from seven items for a gift. Total time in the store: 19 minutes.

I hope that store has a lot of brave customers, because the ordeal will keep me away for the rest of this year.

But I do have plans to buy a refrigerator and stove and throw rugs all in one day, when I recover from today's ordeal.

[Mike Nolan]

The challenge with your appliance purchases may be delivery time, when our refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher all stopped working last month I went shopping for possible replacements. The refrigerator and freezer I never did get a clear estimate of availability, they were hoping for a shipment of them some time in December but were already backlogged on those models to other customers, including contractors. One store gave me an estimate of March 2022 for a new Bosch dishwasher, which I think was at least trying to be honest.

We wound up repairing all three, hopefully they'll last long enough for the repair cost to be worthwhile.

[skeptic7]

I'm in Lexington Kentucky and have been here since October 16th. I was planning on a short week long visit to my father but he broke his leg and I needed to stay around. He is doing wonderfully well at recovering and is out of the hospital and rehab center and is being annoying as ever. Taking the good with the bad this is good, being annoyed at someone who wants to tell me how to cook is perpetual. If your father was 95 and deaf, how would you argue with him?
Anyway my Covid complaint is that Lexington is at "Very High" levels of transmission and 3/4 of the people shopping on weekends weren't wearing masks!! Everyone at the hospital was very sensible and kind and responsible, but what is wrong with all the other idiots! What about manners? If the store management want you to wear masks, its polite to do so!! Its like taking off your shoes in someone else's house if thats their custom, or taking off your hat.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--I'm glad that your father is recovering. It is always iffy when an elderly person breaks a bone.

Here in northern Indiana, and indeed in much of Indiana, people are also not careful. I am now two weeks out from my booster shot, and I still wear my mask in stores or any indoor location. I notice that medical and dental offices require masks, and people seem to be honoring that, perhaps because they would be removed if they do not. Stores are another matter. Most employees (with the exception of my local grocery store) are required to mask, and I do so as well. Most customers are not. For me, the Covid-19 pandemic exposed not just selfishness, but a lack of caring for others in our society.

Our farmers market, which has an indoor location in the large meeting room of the public library has limited vendors, so that social distancing can be achieved, and vendors and buyers must wear masks. That gives me confidence to return. The unfortunate part is that not every vendor who wanted to participate could do so, and the decision was made based on having a variety, so some people are not happy.

[Janiebakes]

I was at the Louisville Slugger museum and factory two weeks ago. Sign on the door said masks strongly encouraged. Only a very few were wearing them. I thought of my tiny granddaughters and how I did not want to bring Covid to them. That made it easy to wear my mask. Also got the booster shot two days ago. Pretty good hit of side effects from the hot red lump on my arm to chills/fever and nausea but again, grateful for the medicine. A high school friend and his wife are anti-vaxxers. He sailed through Covid, she spent 4 weeks in ICU was on ventilator enough to get a tracheotomy, needed a feeding tube. Six weeks in the hospital, 2 in a nursing facility, then back home to continue rehab for talking and walkin. I'll take that sore arm, thank you.

[BakerAunt]

My husband got his booster--Moderna--last Thursday. We had to go to the larger town where we do our grocery shopping, as the CVS in our little town had Pfizer not Moderna, and my husband wanted to get the booster that matched his original vaccine. He had a sore arm for a couple of days and was out of sorts the evening he got the shot, but he was fine the next day.

Some of the anti-vaccination people remind me of former students of mine who would do elaborate plagiarism in their papers. They would have saved so much time--not to mention avoided academic disciplinary procedures--if they had just done the assignment themselves.

[Italiancook]

Because I have a small, traditional kitchen, I needed only ordinary appliances. My GE double oven range and refrigerator were delivered the day after I ordered them. I had to settle for stainless steel. I wanted white, but the pandemic nixed that.

The day after the appliances were in place, the dishwasher quit drying the dishes on the top rack. My husband researched online and found that if we turn on hot tap water before starting the dishwasher, the top rack will dry. This is true, and it solved our problem. Another tip he found is to keep Jet Dry in the holder. That helps the dishes on top dry fully. Of the two, I think it's the hot tap water run that solved our problem.

[BakerAunt]

Congratulations, Italian Cook on getting your new appliances. And Kudos to your husband for figuring out the dishwasher!

[Joan Simpson]

Italiancook glad your husband got your problems fixed and enjoy your new appliances!

[chocomouse]

This afternoon I got my Moderna booster shot. I'm glad I did all the cutting in of butter, stirring, etc when I baked in the morning, as my arm has already begun to ache a bit and stiffen up. I didn't have any problems after the initial shots (only the severe bruising and swelling that lasted 2 weeks following the 2nd shot, but that was from the needle, not the vaccine) so I expect this will last only a day or two. And what a pleasant experience I had compared to the first two vaccinations last February and March. No long lines and long waits, plenty of privacy and sanitation, friendly folks, good organization. We seem to have learned from earlier mistakes.

[BakerAunt]

Although I read about a canned cranberry shortage online, there was still a respectable amount of a generic brand and Ocean Spray at the local grocery store this morning. We do not do the canned cranberries, but I post this information for anyone who worries. It probably depends on the store and where its supply chains are.

[Mike Nolan]

I've seen plenty of fresh and canned cranberries (are they REALLY the same fruit??) and lots of canned pumpkin as well. But I'm doing a sweet potato pie because I can't stand pumpkin pie. (I might have a little sweet potato pie, if only to see if it boiling the potatoes instead of baking them makes much difference, but I'm also making a pecan pie for those who don't like savory/vegetable custard.)

BTW, Susan Purdy has this useful rule: 1 pound of raw peeled sweet potatoes = 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes.

[chocomouse]

I've spent the last week mostly in bed, a result of the Moderna booster. I was in bed for 3 days and am now on day #6 and think I am back to normal. For 3 days I was dizzy and nauseated, and felt like I had a fever although I did not. But mostly - I was exhausted. After those 3 days, I'd sleep 10 hours at night, get up for half an hour, and then sleep for another 2 hours - a pattern that repeated all day long. Luckily, I am retired so don't have to do anything, and Thanksgiving will be just my husband and me so I have almost no work to do, except cook. I've been getting flu shots for over 50 years and I've never had a reaction other than a slightly sore arm. I guess it's still better than getting Covid.

[Joan Simpson]

Chocomouse I'm sorry to hear of your reaction to the shot,wishing you well.

[BakerAunt]

Cases have spiked horribly in our county. On Nov. 28, there had been 115 cases (for Nov. 25, 26, 27, and 28). November 29 was only 24, but then Nov. 30 was70, Dec. 1 was 60, and Dec. 2 was 90. Happy Holidays.

When we do our big shopping trips to the larger town northeast of us, we have limited out shopping at Walmart to once every three months for stocking up, because so few people are wearing masks, and even some the employees are sloppy about it. We also have seen fewer masks in Aldi's and Kroger.

Our hospital district reported that ICU beds were 40% Covid on Nov. 30, 42.9% Covid on Dec. 1, and 44.9% Covid on Dec. 2. I told my husband that we need to avoid any emergencies since only 11% of ICU beds are available.

Indiana has not done well with the pandemic. The legislature wanted to end the "emergency" and ban vaccine and testing mandates for businesses, but they would have had to call a special session, and with cases spiking, the better part of valor was discretion, and they left the governor (same party) to extend the rather mild emergency measures. The death toll stands at 17, 117, and I would not be surprised if it hits 18,000 by the end of the year.

I am not worrying about the omicron variant right now; Indiana is in the grip of Delta.

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