Our new doctor

Dr Stephanie Cao

Both SG and I were stranded without a PCP (Primary Care Physicians) after our beloved Dr. Saran decided to find another position. I guess this is happening all over the country, with so many physicians quitting and/or overwhelmed during the Covid disaster. 

Dr. Cao started at PeaceHealth Medical Group earlier this year and already has a full slate of new patients, and both SG and I luckily became two of them as of today. SG had researched all the possible candidates we could choose from, and he showed them to me awhile back. I liked Dr Cao immediately, when I learned of her interests. She "enjoys cooking, yoga, and photography," according to her web page. (I cannot seem to cut and paste any more, or I'd give you more information about her.) She's Vietnamese and did her residency in Las Vegas. We feel very fortunate to have her as our new PCP.

We are required to wear masks during our entire visits, but I asked her if I could take a picture without hers, for my contact list. She accommodated me (and then immediately put it back on), and I think she's not only a lovely person outside, but also inside. Plus she does yoga! It's also nice to have a young doctor (who usually know about the most recent medical advances), but also because she's not likely to be retiring any time soon.

However, having said that, for one reason or another I keep losing my PCPs and that makes me very sad indeed. Right now, I feel in very good hands. Let's hope Stephanie sticks around for a long time to come!

:-)

Two years ago

Saturday walking group

This picture was taken almost exactly two years ago, and obviously we had snow then, too. Right now most of our recent white stuff is gone, but I had forgotten that we had this much snow not that long ago.

Today, I didn't go anywhere with any group. My lower back is giving me fits, and it's hard to get up and down from a seated position. This happens to me every now and then, and I know it's most likely going to get better sooner rather than later. In fact, it's better right now than it was this time yesterday, but I am still in pain and hold onto my lower back when moving into an upright position, like the old lady I've become.

Two years ago we were still unaware of what changes we would go through between then and now. It's been two full years of dealing with the pandemic. It was only a few short weeks after this picture was taken that we started into a lockdown scenario. By March 2020, I had stopped going pretty much anywhere in my usual routine. I found this from my blog back then:

My schedule is still plenty full, with yoga classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, my rarely missed Thursday hikes, and the Saturday walk. Not to mention the four days a week at the YMCA, which I am considering shaking up, too. It's just time for me to reassess what I am doing out of habit, and what I am doing because I really want to.

How little did I know how much my routine would be altered! I don't go to the Y right now because of Covid, or the Saturday walk which only recently started up again. (I do walk most Saturdays with Mel.) I still do yoga, but now it's on Zoom rather than in the studio. Occasionally I join the Thursday Senior hikers, but mostly these days it's just Melanie and me, a smaller group for several reasons. The pandemic has really changed my daily life. I also am not taking the bus because of possible exposure to the virus, and my friend John, who I usually sit with in the coffee shop has caught the latest version of Covid, although he's triple-vaxxed, like me. Even if I wanted to catch the bus, there's no place I would feel safe going to.

So I am not getting the exercise I was very much addicted to. Little by little, most of the days of getting all my steps and closing the exercise rings on my watch just isn't happening. At first I was upset by it, but I am finding that I am enjoying what I do accomplish much more than I did, when it was just routine. Once my sacroiliac joint is no longer painful, I'll do more than I am right now. Which is not much.

For two years we have been profoundly affected, pretty much all of us, by the pandemic. Other countries are also having a hard time of it, and I should be grateful that we can actually see an end to it in the near future. But, of course, that's what I thought last summer, and then Delta came to spoil our summer, and now Omicron is simply everywhere. So, I am hopeful but not totally convinced that I will soon be getting back to whatever my new normal will be. How about you? How are you doing two years in?

:-)

Our Saturday walk

Interurban trail had a little snow

On Saturday, after all the snow we got last week, we expected a bit of snow still on the trails. Mel and Chris and I headed off to the Interurban trail in Fairhaven and went a good distance before we got to this point, where we decided it would be a good idea of strap on our microspikes. We did, and then instead of skirting the icy patches, we went right for them. It was a lovely five-mile walk, in good company and happy that we had some little spiky daggers we could use to navigate the ice.

Then yesterday, Sunday, the sun decided to come out for the entire day, and Mel and I went down to Squalicum Harbor to walk around in the sunshine for a short walk. It was packed on the sidewalks, since everybody wanted to have a little bit of those delightful rays hit our smiling faces. 

And then today, Monday, it's raining again. But at least it's rain and not snow for a change, with warmer temperatures. If it weren't for this latest omicron wave, it would be a good time to get some shopping done.  I went to the grocery store masked and hoped to get out before it got crowded. When I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed that it was quite bare, with not many cars. Just right for staying away from others, I thought.

But when I went inside, I realized quickly that there were very few items on the shelves. The kitchen was also closed, because the entire staff is in quarantine, out with covid. The shelves have nobody to restock them. It's simply everywhere! My friend John (whom I had not seen for three days) called me last night to tell me he's tested positive for the virus, too. So far I seem to be free of the virus, but who knows for sure? I don't have any symptoms, but that's no guarantee I am not carrying it, even though I'm triple vaxxed and wear my mask when I'm out. John did develop a sore throat and blocked sinuses, so he bought a rapid at-home test and sure enough, he's got it.

Since the food I went to the store in search of was unavailable, I decided it was perfectly okay for me to buy a piece of pre-packaged but homemade raspberry cheesecake to go with my coffee. And boy it was sure good! Glad I didn't buy any more of it, because it was delicious and I wouldn't have been able to stop if I had an entire cheesecake.

Now that everyone I know is coming down with the virus, I think it's a perfect excuse to become a hermit. With a laptop, iPad and iPhone, that is. I'll be glad when this wave has passed.

:-)

How are you?

Flowers and sky

I learned a new word today: phatic. It refers to "small talk," or the things we say to each other that start off a conversation, such as "How are you?" Nobody really wants to know how you are, since that's not usually the intent of the phrase. It's more often something we say to one another just to get conversations going. There's an interesting article in the Atlantic (I think you need to pay for a subscription in order to read this article, but I found it fascinating if you can get it.) I was intrigued by the title, which is Why People Keep Asking Which Vaccine You Got. 

It turns out, according to the author, that it's simply a way to get the conversational ball rolling, and these days, it's the vaccine and the pandemic that is on most people's minds. 

Suddenly, asking “How are you?” involved really and truly asking the question, whether you meant to or not. Who knows, after all, if the other party (or someone in their family) might be sick, or has lost their job, or has even just reached a new low of sorrow and terror.

Which takes that question out of the mundane, ordinary world we used to know, and reminds us all that these are not ordinary times. Vaccine small talk has given us something to talk about, and I am truly wondering how we are managing during these remarkable times. We won't soon forget about how we coped with this period of time. Phatic speech might have changed in some ways, but still...

Which one did you get? I got the Pfizer vaccine.

:-)

Spring has sprung

Blossoms are out everywhere

Actually, I took this picture last April 9th, and so far this season, these flowers are still to come. I've changed the route I take to the bus every morning where I snapped these pictures, wanting to give myself a little more distance, but I did take a look to see how these are doing today, March 22nd. They still have a ways to go. If we continue to have plenty of blue skies and warmish temperatures, I might be able to duplicate this shot this year on the same day.

I went looking for spring pictures, because the season is definitely here, and showing up in blossoming trees, daffodils, and tulips pushing out of the ground but not yet showing their flowers. Many of us are so anxious for our conditions to change, to get back to some sort of normal life.

Our governor just announced last week that the entire state would move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 guidelines for Covid, meaning that almost all activities that I once took advantage of will return, even if not in full numbers. My gym is again offering hour-long workout possibilities, but you have to register ahead of time and of course everyone will be wearing masks while working out. I have missed the stationary bike I once rode daily, and I'm happy to be able to return to that activity once again. 

I get my second Covid vaccine shot tomorrow, so by mid-April, I'll be fully vaccinated against the virus, but you won't see me taking my mask off any time soon inside any stores. As the weather gets warm enough, I'll still be sitting outside my coffee shop, as they are not thinking about opening the doors quite yet. They would be able to provide 50% occupancy under the Phase 3 guidelines, but it's not very well ventilated and I would rather stay outdoors in any event.

But! Rather than concentrating on what I can't do yet, I'm happy to concentrate on how we are managing to get the virus under control around here. It sure makes me feel more secure when I see everyone around me still masking up. The usual winter flu cases are almost nonexistent this year, because of wearing our masks against the coronavirus. And nobody I know has had so much as a cold for the same reason. 

It reminds me of the old saying that it's an "ill wind that blows nobody good." At least we stayed healthier than usual during the fall and winter. And as I said in the title, SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Yay!

:-)

Rainy Monday

At Geneva Pond

I took this picture last Thursday when we went on our usual hike, four of us, expecting it to rain. That was why Melanie chose this hike, but guess what? It didn't rain at all, and we were able to enjoy ourselves and remain dry. Not so much today, however: it's raining hard enough outside to cause the remaining leaves to tremble as heavy drops accumulate on them.

We are getting ready for more restrictions because of Covid spreading quickly throughout our state. We are not alone. It makes me wonder about the future of Al's locks. In the picture you can see that he already has gone from his normal look of close-cropped curls to shoulder-length ones. He hasn't gotten his hair cut since the pandemic began in March. He's one of those lucky men who has kept the majority of his hair and I think he rather likes the fact that he can now pull it into a ponytail if he wants. Plus his wavy locks are rather handsome, if you ask me. I would let MY hair get that long if it looked as good as his does. (It doesn't.)

As of tomorrow, our gyms are closing, all indoor dining is curtailed for the next month or so, and we are being asked not to have any gatherings of more than five people in our homes. Fortunately for me, I'm not going anywhere for Thanksgiving, but I do feel badly for others who are not so lucky. It's going to be a terrible holiday season, I fear. Our shutdown starts at midnight tonight, so maybe I'll go looking for something to hoard. (Just kidding: I hope it won't be like it was in March.)

:-)

What day is it again?

Dahlia in early morning light

I especially love how the light seems to be coming right out of these flowers. I took this picture as I and two friends were beginning a nice excursion into the forest from town. We walked, socially distanced of course, for around six miles before returning to town and the treat of a bear claw (which added back all those calories I'd burned on the walk).

One thing I can't get over is how much better I feel after a walk like that. And it's just about the only thing I can do with company these days. I still don't feel comfortable eating at a restaurant, even outdoors. But getting outdoors and moving always seems to help my mood.

The days are running into each other during this pandemic. It takes me a few minutes when I wake in the morning to figure out what day it is. I no longer have much of a schedule, and in the Before Times, I went to bed knowing exactly what the next day would hold. Of course, there were some interesting events that might spring up unintended, but that doesn't happen much when you are stuck inside with nowhere to go.

We are almost halfway through August, and we are experiencing a nice break from the heat. At this latitude, we are losing more than three minutes of daylight every day, which adds up to a noticeable difference in a week's time. Once we get to the end of August, many trees around here will have begun to turn into fall's brilliant hues. So, even though I'm having trouble finding out which day it is, I know that the seasons keep on turning, turning, turning.

But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you. —Stephen King

:-)