hanging with helene hurrying thither

The last thing I did before I left home today was check in with NHC.

Hurricane Helene isn't forecast to cut a swath to us, but she'll be dumping tons of water.

See that white-headed curve facing toward the west?

Think of that as an Amazonian woman with very long hair, rising up out of the Gulf and shaking those waters out of her thick tresses.

Yeah, that's what we have in our immediate future, as do the Carolinas and Virginia.

Hopefully she won't do it in slow motion like that other one did.

We're expected to get 4 to 6 inches of rain, but that won't be as bad as the mountains are going to see.

Still, I have no intention of being out in it, nor dealing with the accompanying winds.

I have until 8 PM to get done what I want to get done on this Thursday!

Timetable in hand and head, off I went!

First stop: AMC Cinema!

I'd taken advantage of my A*List status to make a reservation to see "The Wild Robot" in Real D 3-D!

Ever since I first saw the previews for it, I've been super excited about it.

Remember how much I loved MAV1S?

Well, this version of android sounds like a robot akin to her.

I was hoping for the best...

and having a pepperoni pizza, too.

(smile!) 

I had another motive for seeing "The Wild Robot", though, in this format.

I wanted that bonus kit so I could build my own Rossum-7134.

How sweet is that???

Tom made sure I got one, as well as the others there this afternoon.

And how was the last dance on this week's A*List?

Sweetly memorable, one to hold close and gently twirl on the floor before bringing back for another close and gentle hold... perfect.

Truly, it was perfect.

Beautiful story about love and friendship and change, with elements of scarier aspects of life gently sprinkled in...

fabulous characters with that touch of being real, not caricatures...

wonderful voices of actors heard too seldom, like Mark Hamill and Ving Rhames, as well as the talented Lupita Nyong'o who can imbue any work of fiction with heart and soul.

I cried three times, it moved me so.

I will absolutely be seeing that one again next week.

(smile!)

Afterward, I popped over to Staples for a new ink cartridge for the printer.

AARP had rewarded me twice with gift cards for the points I've earned with questionnaires.

That netted me a total of $15 off the genuine HP ink - hooray!

Then I walked over to AutoZone, as AllState had gifted me a $7 off $30 coupon.

Lord knows my girl has a drinking problem!

So now she'll have another quart, as well as a new windshield wiper blade.

Yes, just one; I rarely have a passenger, so okay if that side is not so good.

(smile!)

What else did I have a discount or freebie for?

Oh, yes: a flu shot and the latest COVID-19 booster!

Not only will UHC pay for those for me, but they'll reward me with $5 to spend elsewhere.

Plus, as I went to CVS for the shots, that store gave me a coupon for $5 off $20!

That was perfect for using with a $4 Ensure coupon... all money that stayed in my pocket!

 

What a perfect way to finish out my day of fun!

And what should I see on the telly when I switched it on?

That 'mercial with John Legend that had encouraged me to get a flu shot!

(smile!)

Then, about 10 PM, the tornado sirens started singing around my neighborhood, performing duets and trios as they drove me to distraction.

I do so loathe tornados.

The only thing in their favor is how intensely brief they are.

A minute, maybe two, and they are gone, leaving destruction all around.

I prepared my tornado shelter: the innermost hall closet, with a suitcase to sit on, a bagged blanket to protect me, my bag of medicines, and the solar lamp from Cathy in California.

That light may be the most important item there, to preserve my sanity as the tornado sirens wailed their scary threats for the next 90 minutes.

 

I had to turn off the sound from the TV.

It was much more important to listen for the sound of a train barreling outside my door.

It was much more important to listen for the sound of the rain against the windows.

 

Hurricane Helene is huge, just huge, and her northeast edge was throwing out continuous streams of tornados across three states... including Georgia.

Hope I won't lose electricity before she gets gone.

Helene has winds up to 140 mph, making her a Category 4 - and, as seen in this Wind Arrival diagram from NHC, her reach is the worst I've ever seen.

That was posted at 11 PM.

I'm planning to check again at 2 AM on her progress.

At least she isn't lingering.

No, she's hustling along at 24 mph, like she has a hot date lined up in Tennessee.

Yes, I jest, but that's an effort to stay calm.

Here's hoping for the best, here and elsewhere.

i caught ya with your backfield in motion

Today is definitely not a Saturday!

Yes, I did see a cartoon this morning, but no Bugs Bunny.

This time, it was Popeye, trying to feed spinach to Sweetpea.

Yeah, like a baby would have anything to do with that green stuff!

Very funny!

The title was "The Football Toucher Downer" and this scene was from the tale the sailor was telling the child about when he, Popeye, was a scrawny squirt, with his team getting overrun for the Blutos until he, Popeye, relented and ate his spinach.

The game was the thing that caught my attention.

Football is a big draw in the southeast, and it hardly matters whether its little kids or bulky grownups tossing that pigskin around - football is the real deal.

Just ask either of my brothers and they'll tell you that's the truth.

I may love baseball on the diamond more than them, but the gridiron has their hearts.

Most of what I know about football I learned from Mel and Tim of Mississippi.

They're the two guys who sang "Backfield In Motion", back in 1969.

I was eleven, at an age when I was really paying attention to things like lyrics.

It probably didn't hurt things that I was a real Daddy's girl and Daddy loved football.

Shoot, Daddy loved all kinds of sports!

Mel and Tim did, too, interweaving football and boxing and baseball and basketball into the mix in their song about a girlfriend who was cheating on them.

Still, it did teach me some terminology, like first down and all that.

Super Bowl parties are responsible for me understanding what those meant.

So, here are the lyrics so we can all sing along with them in the video.

 

"Backfield in motion, yeah

I'm gonna have to penalize you, yoo-hoo
Backfield in motion, baby
You know that's against the rule, huh

 

Offside and holdin', yeah
You oughta be ashame' of yourself, baby
Offside and holdin', yeah
Holdin' on to someone else

 

You know you're cheatin', baby
Fakin' the bout
You know you're balkin', baby, oh yeah
Strike three, you're out

 

And I caught you with your
Backfield in motion, yeah
I'm gonna have to penalize you, yoo-hoo
Backfield in motion, baby
You know that's against the rule

 

First down, you start cheatin' on me
Second down, I was too blind to see
Third down, you know I love you so
Fourth down, baby, I got to let you go

 

'Cause I caught you with your
Backfield in motion, yeah
I'm gonna have to penalize you, yoo-hoo
Backfield in motion, baby
You know that's against the rule

 

Now you will see, oh yeah
Just how I felt, you better believe it, baby
You beat me to the punch, honey
But you hit me below the belt

 

And I caught you with your
Backfield in motion, yeah
I'm gonna have to penalize you, yoo-hoo
Backfield in motion, baby
You know that's against the rule

 

Backfield in motion, offside and holdin'
Backfield in motion, double dribble, baby
Backfield in motion, woo, clippin', honey"

(Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Melvin Harden / Hubert Timothy McPherson)

 

Really is a cute song!

And today really is a beautiful breath of warmth again!

Last Monday, Savannah had a high in the mid-80's.

But when November rolled into town on Wednesday, the temps didn't even reach 60.

Seriously.

Brrrr.... I hated that so much.

But life is good again, with the lows this week right where they should be again.

 

Plus, I've got my shots up to date, and it's been long enough that my immune system has its new warriors in place.

That's a good thing, as it's definitely cold, flu, and COVID season.

The latest data is showing a decline in COVID cases, which is to be expected.

The United States finally has over 80% of the population vaccinated.

So, while it's gonna be a bugaboo with staying power, at least most are living through it.

This Omicron remains quite a versatile beast, morphing with each new host - that means with each person that gets infected by it - but its bite has weakened a bit.

Almost gone are all the XBB variants, replaced by three new contenders.

That would be the HV.1 - the somber taupe band near the middle -

the FL.1.5.1 - the minty green block near the top of each column -

and the EG.5 - that's the peachy block topping off each column.

Of course, this graph can only tell what's going on from those who are tested in hospitals, urgent care clinics, and doctors' offices.

Still, it's good to have some idea of what's going on out there in this part of the world.

Now, let me stick a mask in my pocket before I head out the door!

I keep hearing coughing people everywhere I go.

I certainly do not intend to join their ranks.

What say you?

as calvin said: the days - and nights - are just full!

And it isn't even fall yet.

That's when the theatre troupes go back into action.

Plus, the Savannah Jazz Festival will ramp up in mid-September, and then all sorts of music and autumnal-themed events follow suit, following folks into that cooler night air.

I just need to remember to stick that mask into my back pocket, as COVID is again keeping company with more of us.

Yeah, that's right, it's still around, still sending folks to the hospital and the morgue.

Truly.

Remember XBB.1.5?

I started talking about that variant of the Omicron strain of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus back in January of this year, not once, but twice.

Then, in April, I shared the news about its sweet-16 version, rockin' in the USA and worldwide.

Well, now there's a new model, XBB.2.3, and, like these other XBB variants, it spreads as quickly and as easily as the common cold.

That means you don't start having symptoms until three days after infection with it, i.e., three days after the person gifted it to you.

Wash those hands.

Avoid crowded places.

Keep away from folks not in your bubble.

Have a mask handy at all times.

Wash those hands!!!

I already know three people who have it.

Yes, that's present tense: have it.

Now, what did I say about the days and nights being full?

 

Yesterday found me at the Jepson with Michael, Leila, and Alyssa!

 

The museum was having Free Family Day to celebrate its Age of Armor exhibit and I had invited the Saturday morning family groups to partake with me.

 

So glad the Effingham contingent was there!!!

(smile!)

As well as saving the $45 it would have ordinarily cost for the three of them, they got to see live action from the medieval ages!

 

There were two 'living history' groups in the second-floor Auditorium to introduce the kids, and their folks, to the finer points - pun intended!!! - of weaponry then.

 

Schola St. George doesn't have a local chapter, but a group had traveled to be here, to educate attendees in the differences between the types of armor worn and the uses of the different weapons.

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) does have an active local branch in Savannah and they were quite enthusiastic about having others to spar against!

 

We were pretty excited about that, too!

 

An element of surprise is always a nice touch, not just for the fighters, but also for the cheering crowd!

 

And cheer we did!

Michael was on the 'blue' team and I was on the 'red' team, by dint of which side of the room we were on.

 

The first match was between Sir Ed, for blue, with a spear, and Sir Sam, for my team, with a dagger.

 

The second match pitted Sir Pietro of SCA, armed with sword and shield, against Sir Seth, wielding a pole axe.

 

Each pair battled at least three times, with each winning at least once.

 

My favorite matches, though, were the rapier fights between Sir Zacharius and Lady Jacqueline!

So much more elegant... and she won all five battles against him!

 

What did Alyssa and Leila think?

Their minds were on the trampoline party!

After about two hours with me, they were off!

(smile!)

 

Oh, but one very bright spot for me!

We had explored the new Children's Art Museum on the third floor before the medieval arts.

At some point after the battles, while we were looking at the crafts studio - where kids could construct their own swords and shields! - Leila came up to me excitedly.

"Aunt Tina, come see what i found!"

It was a lovely little park within the second floor area of CAM!

There was even a 'pond' with 'goldfish' and a wrought iron bench and so many flowers!

(smile!)

 

After a couple of hours at home, I bounced downtown again, this time to the Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

I was a volunteer usher again for SVF-11, for my second opera of this season!

As a cultural exchange with the Tokyo VIAA, we were in for a treat: "Madama Butterfly".

What a thrill - and a bit confusing - as the show was sung in Italian, as it was written by Puccini.

Japanese costumes, Japanese cherry blossoms, Japanese design, and not a single thing that was Japanese except some of the singers and some of the names of the characters they portrayed.

However, audience members had dressed in the most colorful, Japanese-themed, attire they owned!

What a lovely parade for me!

And guess who I saw and spoke with?

The 'Tis, of all people, and the cellist Yvonne (that's why-von, not eee-von), from my days at the Povie pool hall!

 

Plus, Liz Lang and Jessica Best, two I held dear from that SVF-8 season, came to watch!

Was there anything that surprised me about this particular opera?

Maybe 'surprise' is too strong a word.

At the end, Jeremy Brauner, the one portraying the US sailor who had bought Butterfly, a 15-year-old geisha, to be his wife while in port in Nagasaki, practically  had to encourage the audience to applaud his performance.

And just why was that?

In this #MeToo time in history, his character was one to be booed, one who took advantage of a young girl's heart and betrayed her love.

He was no Romeo... but all of this took place over a century ago, in a different clime.

Accolades I gave for a perfectly nuanced performance, to him and the entire cast! (smile!)

This morning was all about Miss Virginia.

Yes, that title is correct, as she never wed.

For all intents and purposes, she became a Protestant version of a nun in the latter half of her 39th year, back in 1963, devoting herself to Asbury Memorial Church and to Jesus, for sixty years.

Her favorite color was red and we were all encouraged to brighten the synagogue in that hue.

I wore Mother Pat's Hawaiian dress, a flowing, hibiscus red muumuu of a gown, perfect for summer, and perfect for this celebration a long life well-lived.

Her niece and her nephew were in town, too, and Rev. Billy was back on the stage.

He says we're going to honor her, and the other 24 Elderberries who were holding down the fort" for several years until 1993, thirty years ago when he started here, every year on this day.

What a marvelous idea!

As he read off the list of their names, some of the faces came smiling up in my mental photo album.

Nell Hagins.

Joe Hunnicutt.

Harold Wiley.

Elizabeth Lariscy.

And, now, Virginia Holliday.

I may not have known the majority of them, but I knew these, and am glad I did.

i thank You, God, for sharing them with me.

(smile!)

But my day was not yet done.

The Two Posts American Legion had a special meeting in the middle of this afternoon, in lieu of the missed one on Thursday night.

This time, we were meeting with the contractor, so I was sure, as an Executive Board member, to be present and accounted for... if a little late.

I'm glad I was there.

We have a date for the next phase: September 5th.

That's when the drains and water lines for the horseshoe bar will be dug and construction of the bar itself will commence onsite.

See that blue tape in the foreground?

That's the front edge of the bar.

The blue tape further back is for a cabinet, with another, for the liquor and such, along the wall.

We're hoping for a soft opening for Veterans Day.

I had been hoping for dinner with this meeting.

 

After 90 minutes elapsed, and 6 PM neared, folks began bidding their adieus, as did I.

Now, what to do?

How to finish out this weekend of diverse activity?

Dinner and a movie, of course!

Too late for anyone to join me at Carrabbas, but I certainly did enjoy every last bite of this Salmon Cappieri, loaded with capers and lemon flavor!

So satisfying!

Then to the "Blue Beetle" in BigD with Barbara!!!

What a fun romp it was, too, with lots of story to go along with the action!

The most fun, though, were all the superhero gadgets!

They looked like something a 10-year-old boy would have gleefully made, letting his imagination run free, with material choice being constrained by his finances!!!

Very nice way to end the day.

(smile!)

keep those hands washed, folks

Notice this: I'm not saying to not have fun.

Life is short, so be sure to enjoy it, especially with those you love.

I'm just saying that SARS-CoV-2 is still alive and kicking.

That Omicron version has had some definite staying power.

That's because it's able to mutate so easily into forms that have a much better success rate at causing COVID...

which, in turn, adds to its success in staying alive and invading new hosts.

Those new hosts are us, people.

 

Remember when I introduced XBB.1.5, the new kid on the block?

That's that lovely lilac swath that kept continually growing and expanding, accounting for almost every case of COVID detected.

Well, after holding sway as the leader of the pack for more than three months, there's a new contender for the title of most virulent coronavirus: XBB.1.16, the sweet sixteen variant.

Showing its fighting color as a deep purple haze, it's definitely gaining strength.

 

Here's the difference: it's showing up all over the United States.

Whereas XBB.1.5 definitely originated in the northeast and then spread over the holiday season, XBB.1.16 is responsible for about the same proportion of COVID cases in every region of the continental states.

Want to be safe?

Stay in Hawaii or Alaska, as they seem to be devoid of coronavirus issues.

I have friends who have recently gone on cruises and came back with the disease and I know others who have gone to concerts or sporting events and turned up sick three days later.

Are they going to stop going on such outings?

Am I going to stop going on such outings?

No, and I speak for all of us.

We're all fully vaccinated and we've had the omicron variant booster.

The virus would make us feel bad, but it won't be a death sentence.

Want to decrease the risk?

Wash your hands.

Stay away from folks who are coughing and hacking.

Wash your hands.

Keep a mask handy in case you want to wear it.

Wash your hands.

Try to keep a little distance between you and strangers.

Wash your hands.

Wash your hands.

Wash...

your...

hands.

let's talk about x bb, let's talk about you and me

I think I'd like a bit of Salt'N'Pepa with that order, please!

Might as well make it spicy, right?

"Let's talk about x bb,

let's talk about you and me,

let's talk about all the good things

and the bad things

that may be."

 

Hard to believe it's been 32 years since "Let's Talk About Sex" hit the airwaves.

Now, we have something else speeding through the air.

Ah, yeah, and it's faster than a speeding bullet ...

well, maybe not, but it does seem to be traveling on planes.

How else to explain how the XBB.1.5 strain, which began in the northeast of this country, has spread so effectively west?

Remember, I'd introduced it after the first week of this month.

I'd even postulated that its origins were in the Great White North of the USA, with folks there carrying it home all over the country for Christmas.

Well, my theory was correct.

 

I can't say I'm happy about being right on this, but, what the heck.

Those purple pieces of pie don't lie.

The New England states are plum eat up with that shade, looking more like a new version of Pac-Man gobbling up the area.

(Yeah, a bit of humor, a little joke, and maybe a small pun to make the medicine go down.)

As travel pushed into the other regions on the map, the tiny slivers of purple have morphed into definite dessert-sized slices of pie.

 

Here's the table of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants responsible for the recent cases of COVID.

My thanks to the CDC for making that map and this table.

Tracking from week to week since the past three months, it clearly shows the changing of the guard, so to speak, from one dominant strain to another.

I want to emphasize one thing: all of this data is for the omicron form of the virus.

The table bears witness that this form of the virus is clearly as malleable as the rhinovirus that brings us the common cold every year...

every year...

so the best we can do is pump up our immune system's warriors by showing them the general identity of the invader.

Namely, be sure to keep up with the mRNA boosters make sure to eat protein.

So what does the table show?

In October and much of November, the BA.5 was dominant.

That gave way over the holidays to the "barbeque" siblings, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, until after Thanksgiving and Christmas were almost done.

That's when the XBB.1.5 stepped in...

and, as is clear, it has quick-stepped its way to the top of the charts for most hits.

I get my Omicron booster on February 2.

I've been waiting since the second week of December, when I had my PCP appointment and made the list for the 'vaccine'.

I am so ready for it.

 

I'm back!

I took a break from this serious talk for a bit of British fun.

Specifically, it was time for "Shakespeare & Hathaway"!

This week's episode dealt with a race-car driver getting killed and the disappearance of his vintage car.

Lucky me!

Their assistant, a Sebastian of all trades and thespian by training, was all dolled up like a rock star from 1968...

just like Elvis, from the black leather suit to the sideburns and curl in the middle of his forehead!

Such a treat!

So, on that high note, I'm off!

Toodle-oo!

forget about the bbq, there's a new guy in town

Remember when I was waxing on about the barbeque variants of SARS-CoV-2?

"You mean the coronavirus that causes COVID?"

Well, that virus is the SARS-CoV-2. The variants are all formed when that virus mutates as it assimilates nucleotides from each host.

"And now she's talking chemistry..."

Biochemistry, actually. There are five nucleotides that compose DNA and RNA. Each group of three is termed a codon and those refer to a specific amino acid that's needed for whatever protein is being built. One nucleotide in the wrong place can cause a variety of mutations in the protein under construction, possibly making that protein incapable of performing its function. Now, if that protein is one of the 765 types of immunoglobulins that our body uses as its warriors against invaders, that's when the trouble starts. Failure at that level, when a person becomes immunodeficient, is already documented in many diseases. Long COVID may well be a new immune-deficiency disease, with no easy fix, as it is manifested as a variety of ailments for those infected persons who develop it.

"Great. One more oogie boogie in the woodwork."

Not so much there as in the air we breathe. Saturday, Barbara and I were texting about random topics and COVID came up, as it's a hot one. Here's how the textversation went.

her: I heard about a Harvard study that our noses don't protect us from germs as well when they are cold, partially accounting for the increased number of winter illnesses. Nose mittens? Of course we need to be in masks again. Nobody is safe from the latest variant.

me: Mask is always with me. Hardly ever do i see anyone wearing one, except at the VA and AMC 10. Was at both yesterday [i.e., Friday].

her: I'm seeing more in the few places I go like grocery stores.

me: My ex got it again for Christmas, thought it was a cold until his breath stopped. Still trying to get over it.

her: He most likely got the new variant. No vaccine or prior case is effective. The experts say we're all going to get this variant.

me: Well it's evident that covid is staying a while. At least the vaccine makes it less dangerous and keeps folks out of hospitals. The trick would be to make the vaccine mandatory, like the ones children have to take for school. No polio or measles or mumps now. What is needed is a TRUE vaccine, not a shot of RNA-enhanced immune activator. People forget that what we have is a stop-gap measure, not a vaccine. The media messed that up.

her: It infuriates me that people have made health political. Polio is back among some antivaxers. We can send men to the moon but can't cure the common cold. Who knows what we'll get from all the melting permafrost.

me: You know, I had not equated this virus with that situation. What a kick in the pants that would be if it turned out this virus came from that source. Would not surprise me. This planet is a fairly closed system, much like a science project in a terrarium. What we have is what has always been here, in one form or another.

"Well, there's a thought that's straight out of "The X-files" and scary as hell."

Right? But here's the problem. When Barbara speaks of "this variant", she means the general omicron form that the coronavirus has had for this past year. What she fails to comprehend is that the label "omicron" applies to a wide range of variants, with new ones forming all the time. That's why it's easier to send people to the moon - that's a physics problem, a technology problem, something solvable via math. As for the rhinovirus behind the common cold, that's a form of life. And, just like its bully brother, the SARS-CoV-2, the common cold virus mutates as it goes from host to host. You can't make a vaccine for a bug that changes that rapidly. You have to make smarter people, people who will wash their hands and cover their face with their shirt or sleeve when they cough or sneeze, people who will wear masks and not get up in each other's faces...

"Yeah. Americans have not done too well at following those simple guides."

No one has. That's the simple truth. You expect children to be forgetful and not do those things. But somehow you expect more from adults. It just doesn't happen. Correction: it doesn't happen enough. We all need to be more conscientious of how our actions affect others close to us, whether they be family, friends, or strangers.

"Heard."

Please, don't just hear me... do it. If all the folks in the northeastern states had done so, we wouldn't have this new Omicron variant ramping up all over this country. Here's the hard data to back up my words. See those two lower swaths of color? The pale teal and medium teal? Those are the two BBQ variants of Omicron that were so dominant all around only three weeks ago. Notice that one of those variants (the light teal) is almost gone, meaning it's not the one causing new cases of COVID. But see that growing triangle of purple, up on the upper left? That is the new troublemaker, the new bully in town, XBB.1.5. That's the one that went home for the holidays with so many folks from the New England states.

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

Just look at this diagram. I selected the XBB.1.5 segments of COVID "pie" to be accentuated on the picture. Notice anything telling? Check out the eastern states that are most north. See how the majority of their cases last week are directly attributable to that new strain of the Omicron variant of the initial coronavirus that started it all? Then, as we move west and south from that area, purple wedges are showing up everywhere else. My theory is that those purple wedges will grow in the next two weeks. The question is this: what will be the next mutation to become dominant?

"Yikes. Guess I better get better about the mask thing. I've been a bit lax of late."

I've noticed. The booster of the new "anti-death by COVID" doesn't get administered to my waiting arm until February 9th. You'll notice I didn't call it a 'vaccine' because that is not what it is. It's an alarm bell to wake up our team of immunoglobulins, to raise our warriors to peak alertness to aliens, from wherever they hail, whether that be fallout from the depths of space or released by melting ancient icebergs. Take care... and wash those hands!!!

beans and rotini soup!

Yesterday hit 70; today will barely make it to 60.

As for the weekend, we've got the mid-50's by day and 30's by night.

What does all that mean?

Soup weather!!!

Rather than head back southside to the Olive Garden, I thought I'd try my hand at pasta e fagioli.

I always have some kind of beans around, and some form of noodle, so why not?

And you know what?

It was fabulous!!!

I just may need to make a big batch of it and keep it handy.

Here's the recipe, and I'm putting it in the one place I know i won't lose it: in my blog.

(smile!)

 

* * * * *

pasta e fagioli a la faustina

 

2 cups of broth (fat-free, low sodium, chicken used)

1 large stalk of celery, sliced lengthwise, then into 1/2" pieces

12 slices of turkey pepperoni, cut into fourths

Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper and Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herbs, to taste

1/2 cup of beans (low sodium kidney beans this time, rinsed well)

1 serving of dry pasta (I used rotini this time) 

On medium heat, bring the broth to a boil.

While stirring, add the celery, pepperoni, and seasonings, then cook about 10 minutes.

Stir in the beans, let return to boil, then add pasta.

Stir occasionally and cook until the pasta is al dente (about ten minutes for the rotini).

Enjoy!

* * * * *

 

With the weather flip-flopping all over the place, it's a wonder more folks aren't sick.

Between COVID and Influenza A running rampant, if's not safe to regard a sneeze or cough as just part of a head cold.

Believe me, I'm doing my part at keeping myself, and others, well by having a mask wherever I go.

I wish more people would do the same.

Omicron has two Barbeque variants that make up almost 70 percent of all new cases here in the USA.

Yeah, I'm surprised that the media hasn't glommed onto that moniker, given the identities given to those variants.

Instead, BQ.1.1 is called Cerberus, and it's the more dominant right now. That's its spread in the upper graph.

The lower graph has the numbers for BQ.1, known in media speak as Typhon.

So, what does it mean?

Here's the gist: wear those masks, folks.

There are all kinds of respiratory nasties out there and you don't want them.

Also, make sure children wear masks, too.

As well as these grown-up diseases, there's Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and a particularly nasty streptococcus that's sending kids to hospitals gasping for air.

Very scary.

Just try to stay aware of those around you and avoid crowds when possible.

Does that mean I'm not going to the play at SavChTh this evening?

Of course not... but my mask will travel with me and go on when needed.

Happy holidays!

22 September 22

"Is this going to be some regular thing now? You had a similar post title last month."

 

Oh, did I? That just slipped my mind, dearie. Nope, just kidding! I rather like the way it looks, with the month booked by the same numbers. Makes it look important!

 

"And was today important for you?"

 

Actually, it rather was! Generation One had a 'lunch & learn' session, with Dr. Timothy Connelly of Memorial Hospital, and this was a full-house event. I guess everyone else wanted to hear all about "Vaccine Update", too!

 

"Was it helpful?"

 

It was to me! The speaker had a very down-home approach that reminded me of my teaching style. As it turns out, he is a teacher now, no longer seeing patients, and letting folks know the latest on the medical front is his specialty.

This new anti-COVID vaccine, for instance, isn't that new. It's still a mRNA vaccine, targeting the spike protein by which the coronovirus gains cellular entry. In fact, 50 % of it is the same as it was, with the balance being tweaked to account for changes in the spike protein.

It does not contain nay of the actual virus, either live or dead or attenuated, as do vaccines for influenza or polio or measles or pneumonia. That is how the mRNA vaccine for coronavirus differs from every other vaccine for disease.

That last part is not news to me.

However, it will be a disappointment to some folks I know.

They're waiting for some super-miracle vaccine that will prevent them from getting infected by the SARS-CoV-2 strain, whether it be Omicron version or the next one down the line.

That's never going to happen.

The way to not get infected is to wear a mask, maintain your distance from folks outside your social bubble, and wash those hands!

What the vaccine does do, and does remarkably well - like, with an effectiveness of >90% - is keep that viral infection from developing into a case of COVID that lands you in the hospital and fighting for life on a ventilator.

That's a huge miracle, to me.

And it's much better odds than folks had 100 years ago when that pandemic came home with the American GI's from WWI. 

"So true. Hey, that's when that crowd-sourced flick, "Pearl", was set, isn't it?"

 

Yep, that's correct! I'll get around to that later... nah, since you brought it up, let's do it now! But, first, you have to hear the title I'd made for this week's A*List.

God's Country Pearl, The Woman King

Nice, right?

 

"Well, not as catchy as last week's trio, but I guess it'll do for a bunch of chick flicks."

 

These were most assuredly not "chick flicks", which tend to be rom-com or deep into weepy, emotional family dynamics.

That is not what any of these were.

By the time I sat through the first two, I suspected each one was centered on a woman with a deep-seated, festering, grudge who loses control and kills people. Fortunately, that theme was not present in the third movie.

 

"Really? That's what "God's Country" was all about? I thought Cinema Savannah was bringing that to town?"

 

Yeah, Tomasz is, and yeah, that's how that movie is. Ex-cop left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and moves to Montana as a college professor, with her mom, both still bristling, seventeen years later, with hatred for the mess in Louisiana. After the mom dies, the ex-cop finds an outlet in two rednecks. And just what great wrong were they doing to her? Parking in the canyon where she had her house. Seriously. 

I watched it at the AMC, with Barbara and Carolyn, and they took her side. Seriously.

I took the side of the deputy sheriff, caught between two factions running hellbent for leather into a murderous conflict.

"That doesn't sound like the kind of film Tomasz would get."

 

I agree, especially as there was no nudity in it.

 

"Hahahaha! Yeah, I know what you mean. And the other movies?"

 

"Pearl", like you said, is set in 1918 and features folks wearing masks all around town. The lead role is a fresh-faced young woman, trapped under her mom's baleful eye, trapped on the farm she had wanted so to leave, trapped caring for her dad who is bound to a wheelchair after catching the deadly influenza. She had married a man from a wealthy family, sure that he would take her away from her poverty, but he had joined the Army and left her right there, with her dreams of becoming a famous dancer slipping out of her grasp.

 

"Oh, the poor girl!" 

She may have been financially bereft, but she became morally bankrupt, starting small and then going after any and every source of aggravation in her life. It was rather comical. Try to imagine Dorothy if the woman on the bicycle had been her Auntie Em.

"Yeah, you'll need to target that rabbit hole with your first niece, not me."

Good idea. Now, what about "The Woman King"? Well, that one is billed wrong on several counts. First, the summary would have you believe this was an anti-slavery movie; that's wrong. That aspect is one of the subplots, but not the crux. Second, the previews would have you believe that this is a war movie with lots of fighting; that is also wrong. This is a movie about a squad of fighting virgins, much like the Amazons, and there are a couple of fight scenes. But the heart of the film is the leader of the squad, who, as a rape victim, is not a virgin, and who did bear a daughter, who her best friend put up for adoption.

"None of that is even hinted at in the trailers!"

I know. They concentrate on the slave trade, and try to throw any white people under the bus, so to speak, and minimize the role played by the African king and the black trader he worked with most. It's truly a much better movie than the previews make it out to be. By the end, I was catching a note of similarity between this one and "Lifemark", which also dealt with adoption rather than abortion.

"Well, I guess you can tell what demographic they were targeting by keeping the focus on race relations and conflict. Anyway... what else did you do to mark the date?"

 

I was the gate wench for "The Christians"!

 

"You were what??? Oh, you're trying to be all cutesie about telling me you were a volunteer again for the SavRepTh show."

 

Well partly, but that's also where they put me! For usher detail, I'd expected to be inside. Nope! I was on front gate duty, welcoming 'parishioners' to 'Pastor Paul's church' and waving them toward the open doors. How nice to be outside as the day became dusk! 

But that wasn't the best part. Nope, it was getting hugs from Deborah and Kimmi as they came through and saw my smiling face! They're in-country from Costa Rica for the next two weeks and will be in Savannah for the next few days. After all, the Savannah Jazz Festival is going on and Deborah so loves that music!

 

"Hey! How very cool!!!"

 

It was, it was! And they were accompanied by Sherry, and fellow Savannah blogger Thomas Houston, and I got big hugs from them, too! Then, as the play began, I was able to sit down a row back from them, so we were all watching it together. So very nice!

"And how was it this second time? Did it still leave you with so many questions?"

I think maybe it didn't have as strong an impact on me as it did that first time. Plus, 'talking' it out with Grandpa had helped. Especially after I realized he had been my age when we had those deep debates. What an eye-opener for me that realization had been!

"Well, you have to remember that he's been gone for forty years now. I guess March would have been that anniversary."

I think I need to take a trip to Waycross in the near future. It's been a while since I visited family there, both the living and the dead.

"Lunch with cousin Lynn again? Nice! We could go for sushi!"

Yes, we could! Imagine that: sushi in Ware County! Very nice!

(smile!)

undeniably and reliably

me:

And the COVID test is absolutely, indisputably, negative!

her:

Yay!

me: 

I was trying to remember the adjectives used for the wicked witch under the house. LOL!

her: 

(Judge) if she...
(Mayor) if she...
(Judge) is morally, ethically,
(City Counselor) spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably, and reliably dead!
(Coroner) As Coroner, I do aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.

me: 

Lol!

her: 

I do so love that movie.

me: 

Me, too! 

Thanks, Mama, for instilling that love of "The Wizard Of Oz" into me and into her.

So good to share that inside joke with my first niece!

Now, off I go to meet her for an overdue lunch!

i thank You, God.

day 11, but who's counting

Me.

I'm counting.

And, no, I am most def not happy about it.

This makes five days that I've sent rough swabs up into each nostril, rubbing until my eyes water.

Not that I've done that five days in a row.

I don't think I could have stood that.

But I swabbed a week ago Monday, doing the process correctly, but not collecting enough sample, so that was a false negative.

Damn.

Then, on Wednesday of last week, I tried again.

That's the topmost test in this quartet of positives.

The next test was on Friday, and it was positive.

Then, on Sunday, I used the last of the home tests that I had, hoping it would say my bout with COVID was done.

No, that test again showed I was still positive, though the lines were fainter.

Yesterday's mail brought in four more home tests.

This morning I used the first of them... and thought at first that I was negative, even tooting the news to Christina and to my ex.

Only later, when I turned the light on, did I realize there was still a faint purple line under the 'T' marker.

Damn.

Damnity damn DAMN!

I feel fine, I really do.

No fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, no headache, no sneezing, no anything.

Yet, the test insists that I still have the coronavirus active in my body.

That means I could spread it someone else if I don't wear a mask.

That means I should stay home and keep self-isolating.

That means I certainly cannot sit across from anyone and share a meal.

I know Christina had hoped we could have lunch today.

So did I.

I know my first niece is still hopeful of having lunch together tomorrow.

Me, too.

Tomorrow's test result needs to be negative.