not anymore

Yesterday was July 11, or 7/11.  Did you celebrate Slurpee Day?  No?  Understandable since Slurpee Day became another COVID-19 casualty. 

When our kids were young and willing to hang out with us for such things, we'd make it a point to do a bike ride to 7-11 on Slurpee Day.  We never made it in time for the free ones because those came in little 7.11 oz. cups, and the store would run out quickly. 

           

Just as well because those freebie Slurpee shots would not do on a mid-July bike ride.  We were there for the full strength.

I don't remember when the last Slurpee ride was, it's been quite a few years, but I saw a headline yesterday that it wasn't happening this year - social distance precautions and all that. 

I used to think it was kind of strange the way people would flock to 7-11 for 7.11 ounces of free Slurpee, but I guess it was a big enough deal to make its cancellation a news story.

In other COVID news (as if you don't have enough), I came across this graphic today.  

SOURCE

Honestly, I didn't dig around to verify the data behind the graphic, but if it's true... time to build a moat, Colorado?

Keep washin' yo hands!

it's good to stop and avoid the goose babies

Yesterday at work, "I" had three ER patients.

We food folk don't get many requests from the ER, but sometimes patients need to stay a while only for observation, so the staff puts in orders for them.  We don't know what they're in the ER for - none of our business.  

One was a woman in her mid-30's. She looked exhausted.  In my clueless and short unprofessional assessment, I deduced she had succumbed to the heat.  She looked flushed and mildly sunburnt.  Her hair was a bit messy and had that recently-sweaty look.  She had an IV in one arm, and I noted the food the nurses ordered for her was a bit high in the sodium realm.  

Naturally, I could be totally wrong, and I was probably projecting some of my own experience on to her because it's freaking hot outside!  It was a good reminder, though, to stay hydrated and keep up on the beat-the-heat tips (my moisture wicking tops are working marvelously!).   

My last semester of college undergrad was a summer session, and during that time, I went to upstate New York for a job interview.  The humidity hit me like a blast from a sauna as soon as I stepped out of the airport.  I took the job, and we ended up moving there a couple of months later from dry Colorado.  

We soon learned that, not only does the humidity make the hot feel even more hot, but also

• shade does nothing.  It's not cooler in the shade, only darker.
• temperature ranges are teeny tiny.  The high could be 89 F during the day, and the nighttime low could be 85 F.  Call that a "low"!?

I remember reading a cautionary story of a young and healthy guy who went out running in high heat and humidity.  In short, he died.  His body kept trying to cool him down with sweating, but sweating does next to nothing in high heat and humidity.  Soon enough, his organs shut down.  Yeesh.

We sort of got used to the humidity in our nearly 10 years of living there, but I can't say that I miss it as we've long since moved back to the dry heat of Colorado.  Ugh, it still feels like being under a heat lamp, and it's not like we never whine.  But the nights and early mornings are the bomb!

Tuesday morning, I was enjoying a lovely bike ride into work.  My commute is about 8 miles and a wonderful way to start the day, I miss it on my days off.  It takes me through a smallish park with a quaint duck pond - such a serene setting.  

There are several goose families in the park, and sometimes they think they own the place.  I was making my way through the path when one of the larger families - I swear, they hatched like 12 babies - were all hanging out.  I had to slow way down so as to not cause a ruckus.

I ended up coming to a full stop and taking in the moment:  the goose babies, the sunrise, the crisp morning air... I noticed a family of ducks out for a morning paddle across the pond and decided to snag a pic 

See 'em?  The ducks?

Of course once that sun got a bit higher in the sky, hell (seemingly) broke loose once again, and I inwardly bitched about it on the ride home that afternoon.  

But at least our shade is functional.

-----------------------------------------------------

Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

6. Share the most recent image you published on Instagram and give us the back story

like a hole in the head

This past week or so has been a series of checking things off the healthcare to-do list.  We moved here late last year around the holidays, then once the holidays settled down, COVID-19 came a-calling and shut everything down.  With things including doctor's offices opening back up, I was able to get while the getting was good and check off the annuals.

Here I sit all blood-screened and checked-up and mammogrammed.  For the mammogram, the mammogrammer changed out the squisher.  Did you know they come in different sizes?  Did I get the one to accommodate the smallest boobs?  Small half-Asian female squisher?  I assume the all-purpose squisher was on the machine to begin with.

Either way, happy to say, there've been no surprises, and if things start falling apart, I now have places to call.  And this week:  the dentist.

Actually, I want to ask the dentist about replacing that big honking tooth I had removed last fall.  At first, I figured I'd just let it ride since it's in the back and doesn't affect the all important smile.  But it's such a big gap, and I like to chew things sometimes.

I'd already noped out of a dental implant as my oral surgeon says I'll need a bone graft for that.  A bridge is another option, but then I'd need to crown the adjacent teeth.  Plus, there's the cost to consider.  So I'm leaning toward a partial.  For one stupid tooth. 

Way back when we bought our first house, the previous owner was a fake teeth maker.  A denture maker?  Not sure the actual title, but he had a small shop in the house from where he worked.  There were various molds and teeth and wires - kind of like a jewelry shop?  Somebody had to do it.

Nowadays, I think fake teeth are often made at the dental office.  I know our previous dentist offered same-day replacements.  I have front crowns, and I remember having to wait for their arrival.  I got the first set when I was 11 years old, and they have since been replaced twice.  They've looked more like real teeth with each "upgrade". 

But for this big back tooth, I don't care the appearance so much as long as it fits.  Can I get a gold one? 

Anybody reading have experience with partials?  

breaking bad?

I left my house for a run this morning, and as I turned the first corner to leave the neighborhood, I was met with a scene similar to this:

But not just one armored vehicle.  Two vehicles like this with SWAT guys mounted on each side, all gunned up.  Behind them were several more police vehicles taking up the incoming lane of traffic for about a block long stretch.  It looked kind of like the end of a 4th of July parade except nothing was moving and no one was throwing candy.

Yup, the po-po was back in the 'hood.

As I rounded that corner and came upon this scene, all the helmeted heads swiveled in my direction and locked eyes.

Needless to say, I stopped in my tracks, thinking, "Oh sh*t...". At least I don't THINK I said it out loud.

After a moment, one of the SWAT guys hanging onto the first vehicle motioned me and said to go on ahead, and I was thinking, "really?" as I looked at the long line of force I would run past.  Dutifully, however, I did as I was told and jogged on by with a bit of extra pep in my step.

Highly curious as to what was about to go down, I couldn't get a read from any of the coppers I went by.  They each seemed to be watching me, but all were silent save for one hairy one that gave a short *BARK*

When I returned after my run, all was clear, but I think it's safe to say they were back to visit the same house as last time.  The news story that ran after the first incident concluded with, "...more arrests are expected" as they continue to dismantle the drug trafficking organization.  Sheesh.  Such an innocent looking street with young families and puppies...

What are your neighbors up to?

parting shots

I went for my monthly allergy injections today.   I get one hit per arm - one for grasses, trees, and weeds; the other for various molds.  As far as the stinging insects allergy goes, the strategy is "don't look or smell like a flower".  So far, so good.

I mentioned to the shot-giver that my weed arm puffed up pretty good last time.  She advised me to take an antihistamine after I get my shots, and I'm thinking,
"I thought I was getting these shots so that I don't need antihistamines?"

Oh well, I'd previously decided that this will be my final batch of allergy antigens - they mix up a year's worth at a time, and this is year three.  Are they working?  A little?  Maybe?  Feels like time to move on.

Speaking of moving on - that bicycling challenge from Wednesday?  I did my part and was tallied at cyclist number 518:

From what I can tell, there is a camera/ sensor that records movement through the bike lanes - both north and southbound lanes.

Anyways, the previous record of seventeen hundred something was not broken.  The final count for Wednesday was 1,502.  Not a bad showing considering there's a major construction detour just south of the counter, there was no Bike To Work day (which I understand is a big to-do around here.  Lots of food, freebies, and festivities.  Participants probably take in more calories than they expend by riding to work or wherever), and the nearby university is online-only for summer classes.

On the work front, the hospital is final-ly bringing back the moms and babies unit next week and will then be functioning in all departments.  For us lowly culinarians, reduced schedules are likely here to stay until end of summer at the earliest.  It can be chaotic at times, but I'm actually enjoying the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none life for now.

And a final finally, Magnum goes back and forth pondering if he's already had the dreaded COVID-19.  Remember back in late January, we sold our previous house?  I mentioned here in the blog that I had to drag Magnum's sorry butt to the notary public to sign closing papers because he was battling a case of the crud.

I didn't catch it and we'd both gotten flu shots in October, so we figured his just didn't take.  Now, looking back, he remembers tasteless food at a product launch dinner he attended for work ("what a lousy cut of prime rib!")  and developed the worst chills ever.  These days, there is mounting evidence that the virus was in the U.S. by late last year.

Did he or didn't he?  To me, it appeared to be a typical case of Man Flu.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: final

mission not impossible

I could hear the pressure washer before I saw it. Turning the corner, there he was, getting rid of some recent graffiti.  Someone had painted "LOVE" in huge purple letters that took up an intersection entering our neighborhood.  Coincidentally, this is the intersection of the recent SWAT team drug bust event.  Co-coincidentally, this is the intersection where I used to see people nearby, strangely sitting in cars with the engines running.

Anyway, the LOVE is gone.

And I'll update that I have not seen any idling vehicles parked in the suspicious spot in several weeks.  Honestly, although I joked about a drug drop at the time, I don't think the idling vehicles are related in light of the recent arrests at the nearby house, as the house is on the other side of the intersection.  Seems to me that, if you're buying/ selling illicit drugs, doing so in an open and strange location and having to cross a street wouldn't be the right way to go about it.  I have no first hand experience here, but I think the passing of goods and payment can be done pretty discretely.  It's not like it requires a dolly or something, right?

In other news we're still working reduced hours since the Covid restrictions.  When I started the hospital job, it was three 6-hour shifts a week.  It reduced to two 4-hour shifts for a few weeks.  It's now holding at two 8-hour shifts in recent weeks, and I'm hoping that holds steady until the next uptick.  In the meantime, I'm still going a bit stir crazy on days off.

This week, I at least have Maisey.  Maisey is Wolfgang's cat, and Wolfgang is away having some mountain biking fun with a couple of friends.  So I have Maisey duty. 

She's a rescue cat, and like all of our pets other than Napolion, no one really knows her origin story.  I think all cats have their quirks, but Maisey's a bit of a strange cat in that she's not big on the grooming. Wolfgang has to sometimes either comb out the hair knots or cut them off when there's no hope.  Other cats I've known  have been meticulous with the grooming, but it seems that Maisey was absent that day at cat school.

She has improved somewhat, like the universe sent her a clue.  Despite the ratty hair, she's just too cute.  And she's providing me with some purpose this week.

Today WOULD have been Bike to Work Day in our highly bicycle friendly town.  Cancelled because of you-know-what. 

There is a bike count sign that records bicycle traffic along a particular route in town, and a local bike club has issued a challenge to break the current daily record of 1,737 riders.

I honestly don't know how the sign works.  How does it discern bikes from cars from runners from walkers?

Oh well, I'll go be part of the count and let someone else worry about accuracy.

To summarize today's assignments:

• Feed a cat
• Empty a litter box
• Attempt to remove ratty tufts of cat hair from a cat
• Bicycle past a sign
• Don't do drugs

What important things are you up to today?

let's do 'em all!

I'm late to the Mama Kat link-up this week.  I'd like to say it's because I was busy living an ultra productive life the last couple of days, but that's so not the case.

WHATEVER, to get myself back on track(?), I thought I'd try to tackle all of the prompts this week.  Here goes:

1. Share a new recipe you would like to try.
Oh, geez.  That's a toughie.  Well, I did have a patient at the hospital comment that we have the "best" veggie burgers.  Granted, that seems a bit like saying we have the biggest pigmies, but I have yet to try one of our veggie burgers at the hospital.  Either way, I'm not going to try the recipe as I don't actually care enough to find it out what it is.  They just come in a box that way. 
Onward!

2. Something someone said recently that made you think.
I was talking with Wolfgang this week and he showed me some digital artwork he's done from an online course he's doing.  Wolfgang works full time, but wanted to improve his art skills during this Covid downtime.

I mentioned that I haven't done much drawing or anything artsy in a long time, and he offered some tips on getting/staying motivated.  It made us wonder about how the really prolific artists kept at it year after year, painting after painting, book after book, etc.
They probably had their own mind games...

3. Write about a show you recently binge-watched.
Magnum and I recently finished watching all three seasons of "Arrested Development".  I liked it well enough.  Pretty goofy, and had some witty one-liners.  There was a reboot that resulted in seasons 4 and 5, so I guess we'll watch those.  Episodes are short, so I'm usually able to stay awake. 


4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: ride
For this I'll provide an update to review those moisture-wicking-uv-protecting shirts I got for my afternoon bicycle commute.  They're lovely.  Well, not particularly lovely in appearance, but they keep me relatively cool while protected from the sun's unfriendly rays.  Appearance wise?  Think pajama top.

Even on the model, it's rather pajama-ish, and my boobs are not those boobs.





5. Did you have a childhood security object? What’s its story?
My most memorable "security object" was a stuffed clown named... Bozo? Maybe?  Anyway, despite my not remembering the name, I carried that clown everywhere.  He was stuffed and soft, but had a face of rigid but thin plastic.  The face also had stuffing. 

One day when I was about three, my brother and I were playing in the back yard, and of course, Bozo was there too.  I was intently focused on some three-year-old's thing when I looked up to see Bozo on the ground beneath where my brother was swinging on the swingset and smacking Bozo in the face on every back and forth. 

I ran to Bozo's aid and discovered his face was cracked.  I asked my mom to please fix Bozo, fully expecting her to do so because moms can do anything and surely everyone loves Bozo.  Content with the prognosis, I went down for a nap only to awaken and never see Bozo again. 

In the (many) years since, I've come up with different theories on Bozo's demise:

•  My brother was jealous of Bozo and the love I lavished on him, so decided to make him disappear.
•  My mom felt it was time for me to give up Bozo and conspired with my brother to create a believable scenario for him to disappear

Naturally, there's the chance that

• The whole thing was a timely accident that created a nifty opportunity for Bozo to disappear.

I eventually got over it.  Really, my pondering theories on what truly happened to Bozo over 50 years later is all healthy reflection, I'm sure *AHEM*

6. It’s been three months since Covid began shutting everything down. How are you doing?
Our governor recently loosened restrictions a little more, so things are cautiously looking up.  Personally, I'm a bit stir crazy, but can't complain.  I'm just not much of a homebody type, so it wears on me to not be able to go places.  On the bright side:

I have a couple of tutor students whose testing schedules are ever changing, but they're keeping at it.

Our hours are still reduced at work despite the hospital being almost fully staffed now.  That's been good in that I've been able to cross train in a "trial by fire" kind of way, and I'm grateful to be working a couple of days a week at least.  Rumor has it that moms and babies will be returning at the end of the month, so that will bring in even more busyness and, hopefully, more hours.


What are you eating/ drawing/ watching/ wearing/ missing/ doing?