Monday September 20, 2021

Fall is 2 days away and you can definitely feel it here in Massachusetts. The wind is usually from the SW in summer but shifts to a cooler, drier NE wind in the fall. So strange to fly from the summer weather still in Florida to sudden fall here. Luckily my town beaches are on the south and west so they can still be very pleasant to sit on with the wind coming off the land. I never knew all this until I lived on Cape Cod but understanding the wind is key to determining good beach days.

So today maybe we will sit on the beach. Justice still isn't allowed on the beaches in my town until 10/1 but we can bring him to Mike's town later in the week and let him run around. We are taking care of Mike's daughter's puppy for a few days at the end of the week so will probably stay at Mike's place for part of it (and his daughter's home for a couple of days).

Not much else going on. Have a safe and healthy Monday!

8 miles walk today with one of my friend's friends. Beautiful day and countryside. Tonight I pack up and we go to London for 2 days before I fly home.

I bet you are feeling very sad that your wonderful trip will be over soon.

I am, but at the same time it will be nice to be home. I will definitely be back!!

6 degrees of separation..... Covid ha**** my school. I knew it was just a matter of time. I have two kids out in quarantine and another kid on modified quarantine (meaning he goes to school and home - that's it). The modified quarantined kiddo has tested negative for Covid and has only had indirect exposure. (His kindergarten sister is in a classroom with a child who tested positive and is symptomatic. The sister is a lunch table partner, so has to be fully quarantined until Covid Test comes back negative for a second and third time over the next 4 days.) The two kids who are out both have family members who tested positive and are symptomatic. Luckily, the parents have been vaccinated, so the symptoms are milder than otherwise. The two boys who are out are great with their masks, so I'm really not worried.

Eating wasn't stellar over the weekend. Not bad, but not stellar. Too many carbs. Easing back on track today. I have "carb swelling" today. Could even feel the swelling in my hands - not one of my favorite feelings!

We are having "Earthquake Weather" today. Oddly warm and dry, with enough wind to start whipping the trees and spreading fire. Hoping it stays this way for a few days. I like this type of weather - cool and crips mornigns with warm breezy afternoons.

"Earthquake Weather"? I never heard that one. I worked in commercial property insurance so we were pretty attuned to hurricanes and earthquakes.

Sunday was relaxing and restorative. I had my tea and paper, then made a pot of soup, and a pot of chili, did some laundry. By 3pm I was back on the porch with a new novel, which I read until I finished it around 6:30pm.

Today went better than last week, because I was refreshed, I think.

I have lots of students out, but have not been informed anyone tested positive for Covid. We have some terrible respiratory thing going around, causing fever and bronchitis. Negative Covid tests. I've read that RSV, which typically impacts babies and elderly is infecting people not in those age groups.

Interesting thing about RSV - exposure to germs on a regular basis keeps people, especially little ones from getting bad cases of it. A year and a half of people not trading germs (staying away from interactions) has lead to outbreaks of RSV particularly in children. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

That makes sense though, even if it is not the outcome we would hope for.

Yes. I think as many people become very germ phobic, it's important for us all to remember that our immune systems are healthier for exposure to germs and avoiding them entirely can have unintended consequences. Reminds me of the studies that have found kids who live in too clean an environment often develop asthma we want some germs, just not Covid ones!