respublica

Masks are really confusing

We took a ride over to the Steelville Missouri area on Saturday to have a look around at something different. It was a nice day and good for a ride to a river area. But, what was really shocking to us happened when we stopped at a gas station on the edge of Steelville. There were lots of people standing around outside and inside the "on the run" shop inside. People by cars, people by the pumps in groups with absolutely no one wearing a mask. Inside where we'd expected this, again, no one was wearing a mask not even the workers.

I found this creepy and rather frightening. It is often reported that that part of Missouri is very low on people getting vaccinated. I'm so used to being in a place where everyone wears a mask that all I wanted to do was get out of there. I hate to say it but it seemed like walking into a horror movie with that kind of sinister laughing.

Like masks or not, it's still one of those things which is mandated or expected. This was just so weird and the hypochondriac  that I am, I kept checking myself all evening to see if I felt ok.

Hunger appeaser

For the past several months I've taken to eating popcorn around 10:30 in the morning. We get up really early and get a lot of work around the house and yard done. And I'm starving. Popcorn satisfies me in a big way. But, not popcorn covered with oil or butter, just a bag of air popped corn with some salt.

This has driven Dale a bit nuts and recently he can't help but comment on this habit every day. But, haha, more and more he asks for the bag when I've had enough.

So this health story from this morning was right up my alley. Eating popcorn may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease!

I ran right in to Dale with this story.

Hours and hours in a car for one shot

The local St. Louis news yesterday carried story after story on how crazy the Vaccination day in St. Charles County was going. I say crazy because it was a traffic and vaccination total botch up. 4000 people were registered to get their shots at the Family Arena/Convention Center and health workers and the National Guard had hoped to administer 400 an hour.

Well, wouldn't you just know the traffic came to a stand still and backed up for several miles. People were quoted saying they were still sitting in their cars hours after their scheduled appointment time. Most needed a bathroom.

Frankly, as I was reading about this throughout the day, and it didn't end until 10 at night, hours later than planned, my belief was that way too many people headed over there long before their appointment time. Get there early they thought. And when a couple thousand do this, it's never good.

This is why I was so impressed with where we got our shots, Memorial Hospital in Belleville. Our instructions were very clear. Please do not arrive earlier than 15 minutes before your appointment time and if you do get there early, stay in your car until it's time. If you have an appointment and a time slot, they will have shot for you. Just like St. Charles. Those people could have had a much better day if they all had used common sense. Or maybe the convention center should have sent out this advice ahead of time.

Why oh why did so many in St. Charles believe it was necessary to go hours early? If everyone would have gone when scheduled the people ahead of them would have been gone and parking lots would be fine all day as would the highways. This is what Covid has done to us. We panic.

But this getting out early for things is nothing new in St. Louis. It just has to stop during the vaccine times.

Shot number two

Dale and I headed over to Memorial Hospital yesterday afternoon to get our final Covid vaccine shot. At least we hope this is the final one. I talked with the woman taking our information and mentioned the second round and she said that she hoped two will be all. But, she said, there's talk it's possible, maybe, that there will need to be a third at some point. Like us, she hopes that won't happen.

In any event, the area for the shots was not filled like it was for the first shot. It looked to us as though everyone there was getting number two. At Memorial there are many tables with nurses administering the vaccine while the rest of the area was filled with men and women who volunteer to get everyone where they are to go and do the paperwork. We saw several Holy Cross members there as well.

We were in at 2:20 and headed out at 2:43. Pretty cool.

Neither of us had any after effects accept a sore upper arm. My arm was quite a bit more sore than with the first. I did not need anything for this last night but this morning I did take a Tylenol. So we're done and thankful.

The Vaccine hunt finally ends Monday

I've lost a lot of sleep recently worrying about the difficulty in getting the Covid Vaccine. I've tried so many places with no result and have had to listen to news reports of counties adding more and more people to the eligibility lists. I read posts from people who got their shots at one place or another, but by the time I'd heard it was too late.

This morning, or last night, I got up at 3 a.m. and began searching. I stumbled upon a site which listed places by state (Illinois) and found Memorial Hospital in Belleville with quite a few open slots for next week. At least on Monday and Tuesday. I grabbed Dale as soon as he got up a little before 4 and we both signed up and by golly, we were successful. We have our ticket!

It still bothers me that Madison County is not doing as much as other areas. But I'll surrender that irritation for the time being.

Meanwhile we wait

We've been watching the vaccine issuance for some time now and we can't make heads or tails out of how this is being done in Madison County. It just seems like surrounding counties and areas are way ahead of us. We heard to today from someone who is sort of involved that Madison was just overwhelmed and is trying to keep up.

What I read is St. Clair County has vaccine times at several places. Part of St. Louis will be adding vaccines at Walmarts and Sam's Club. Around here? no.   Walgreen's and possibly CVS is doing the shots, but when I check I get the notice that nothing remotely near us is doing this.

So, my question is, was Madison slow on the uptake with this? I have friends in the Chicago area, a major population place, and they have had both shots. Same for others in places other than here. It's very frustrating to read news reports that Illinois and even Madison will be extending the list of those who can now get the shots including kids. I mean, come on, those of us who qualified in group 1B have heard nothing except they were overwhelmed and now they will add even more numbers to this list.

We are doing our best to stay safe, staying home except for grocery runs and wearing two masks. But it's getting exhausting not letting our guard down especially when reading the cheers from so many others posting they got their shots.

I do recommend double masks, though. The paper type under a cloth mask feels much more secure. And, oddly, easier to breath.

And one more update I just read from the Post Dispatch. Missouri said it will double the doses to the St. Louis region after local officials complained. Now there's an idea for Madison County.

 

Two things constantly on my mind

Every day I either obsess over or give hourly thought too food and health. The first is what I'd guess is on everyone's mind and that is when or if we will ever get the Covid Vaccine. This is totally out of my control and we are at the mercy of whenever our names come up on the registration list. But it's hard to stop thinking about.

The second is what will we have for dinner. This past 11 months of being stuck at home meant eating in every single day. We aren't prone to going out to eat although we miss this a lot. We also don't do pick up very often, maybe 5 times during the shutdown. All this means is that I have run through our meal rotation many times. We've tried meals seen in magazines. I've run out of ideas and have been tempted to start buying cooking appliances I know in my head I'd only use a few times. Such as the air fryer, instapot, etc.

We do eat more vegetables with dinner and I buy a lot of the frozen type since they are just as nutritious and last longer than fresh. We've done chicken, ground beef, roasts, pork in many forms, fish. We've had umpteen pasta meals, rice meals. We've made Mexican, Asian, and American meals. We've had breakfast for dinner and dinner for lunch.  I tired of my cooking.

Finally! Grocery shopping advice

I'm being sarcastic with this post header, we've been getting advice on the safest way to grocery shop since last March. But, there is always a positive reason for relaying this information again since we tend to become rather casual, or sloppy, after so many months.

This article lays out the safest way to get in and out of the grocery store which, honestly, is the one place we can't avoid unless you're using the personal shopper delivery style.

The first rule is the old rule. Wear a mask. Recently medical people have been advising the wearing of two masks for much better protection. That may seem crazy, but I did this the other day and I will continue to do it. I felt much more secure. I bought some 95% filtration disposable masks at the new Ace Hardware and put that on first and over it one of the cloth masks I've had. It was not uncomfortable, hot or annoying. And this combination did not fog up my glasses. Plus it felt much safer.

The second is another old rule. Keep a distance from people in the store which may mean going early in the morning. It's fairly easy to do most days, but not on the busiest days of the week like Saturday or Sunday. The article says the least crowded time is Monday at 8 a.m.  However, that is the time when grocery shelves will be the most bare. Any early morning is probably best.

3. Make a list so you don't waste a lot of time in the store. I've been doing this since the virus hit and it helps. It also helps to know where things are in your store and make your list starting with things from the door onward. That way there is no back tracking or fumbling around hunting for those olives or whatever. Also have an idea of what you want for meals several days in the future. I've always been bad at this, but I do this now so I don't have to go out every darn day.

4. Don't take the whole family along to grocery shop. I do see any number of multiple family member shopping, especially on weekends. What I have also noticed is the large number of older men who are doing grocery shopping. This was most likely not part of their routines before Covid, but it's a way for them to get out of the house right now.

5. And clean things when you leave, sanitize your hands in the car, get rid of the plastic bags at home (you can live without them). Wash your hands before and after unpacking. Obsessive? yes. But worthwhile.

6. And, the more people you are around the more you could come in contact with the germ. Passing through a crowd, for example, is more likely to find germs than walking by a couple of people.  I'd add one more thing. If the aisles are laid out in one way fashion, FOLLOW THE ARROWS1 So many shoppers are ignoring them right now and we have to pass by shoulder to shoulder to shoulder in the aisles. Stop this!

Trying to make sense of the Covid Vaccine

I have to be upfront. I really want to get the vaccine. However the logistics for this are looking hit and miss or, maybe, very difficult. My sense is many of us want this shot and the supply is unknown. I've signed up with the Madison County Department of Health which will communicate when we will get an appointment. This is fine, but the difficulty is the need for a second shot within a certain time frame and I haven't heard how this will be handled.

There are more than one Covid vaccines out there, which one will be available in our area? How many weeks between shots? Now I read another vaccine has appeared which is a one shot and done. Who will get this version?

In any event I'd guess the numbers of those wanting this will be sky high in every community which will surely necessitate those in charge finding a way to get this done as simply and efficiently as possible. And be prepared ahead of time for any possibility that might come up.

More confusing hygiene news

One month it's one thing, the next it's something different. Now we learn that showering could be bad if we overdo it. I mean, seriously, at the early stages of the Covid, all we heard was keep washing hour hands, put on clean clothes after being out in public, take a shower, use mouthwash. Now the experts are warning that taking a shower longer than 15 minutes can be bad for us. Or, 5- 15 minutes is even better. Longer showers can dramatically reduce hydration to your body, and strip it of its natural oils to a point that could cause physical skin imbalances. That’s right, just like over and under-watering your plants can drastically affect their balance and appearance, so does over-watering your skin.

Prolonged showers – especially at warmer temperatures – can lead to dry, cracked skin, acne, ingrown hairs, rashes, redness and other sensitivities. So, ugh, cold showers!

I really find all this just too much. For every one thing there is an equal and opposite thing. What they all agree on is using moisturizer.

But then this: "If you do find yourself taking showers more often, taking them at a cooler temperature will help to maintain your skin’s natural moisture and barrier composition. Cold showers aren’t always a comfortable option, but they are an option. In fact, they come with the added benefits of a metabolism boost, cleansing your lymphatic system which helps to fight off infections, training your nervous system to respond to stress differently".

Who imagined we'd be debating showering?