Coronavirus

[Hopalong]

Hear, hear for Sambucol (elderberry syrup)! I take a tsp several times a week and a tbsp/day if I'm feeling cold-ish. Would double that if I had or had been exposed to Covid. (The extract is a bit more powerful than the syrup.) Likewise echinacea.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11399518/

hugs and health,
Hops

[lighter]

We had 2 bags of Sambucal Elderberrry zinc lonzenges in the medicine cabinet..... opened them this morning.  The girls like them.

I think we're a little in shock...... waiting to see if J and I get sick.... see how sick we get.

L has a fever just under 100, sore throat, her ears were painful this morning till she equalized the pressure... was refusing meds, but she's on board today and taking Advil Cold and Sinus, the zinc and XClear nose drops to stop secondary infections from taking root.

Lots of congestion and a runny nose... very tired.... hasn't lost her sense of taste. 

Have you heard anything about your friends with Covid,Amber?

Thanks for the information, ladies.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Nothing new yet, Lighter.

[Hopalong]

Thinking of you and your daughters today, Lighter.
You may not have the time or focus to check in, but update when you can.

Omicron is known to less-frequently cause severe lung involvement (pneumonia), yet also to be hitting young people with harder consequences than Delta or the original virus did. L is lucky that she has a vigilant mama.

How is she doing and how about YOU and J?

I bet you are in shock -- I would be, too. Had a close call with the plumber who refused to wear a mask (puffing and blowing 4 feet from my bedroom for 3 hours, twice) but had me over a barrel since he already had my money and had to return to complete the job. All over now, but it was tense and miserable. I was saddened by his hostility when I extremely nicely explained (before his return day) that I had realized I was uncomfortable without him wearing it, and courteously asked him to. He said he'd rather not even come back into my house if I was "living in fear" and was closed off and obviously loathing me (a "lib") from that moment. Barely spoke to me and rocketed out of my driveway like his truck ran on hatred. I wasn't angry; I felt really sad. When we first met we'd had a pleasant, friendly vibe.

So goes politicizing public health. Biology, virology, and science. Education.

hugs and health, sorry for the tangent. What matters is you and yours being well!
Hops

[lighter]

Hops:

DDL has lost her voice and stopped all nose sprays,bc they make her very gaggy, esp with all the phlem and sinus stuff going on. She's on her second full box of tissues, so that's a box a day......her appetite is reduced and she's unimpressed with the Vapo Rub.

This is my asthma baby, but she hasn't needed rescue meds since she was climbing moutains over 4 years ago. I do worry past bouts of Pnumonia could harm her in this fight.

DDJ feels as though she definitely has COVID.... she said it feels like she just had the vaccine.... very shivery cold last night,, hot this morning.  Weak.  She'll test herself again tonight... 24 hours after a Neg Covid test. 

I had a weird night with some coughing/congestion in my throat and lung unhappiness.... felt like something was in lungs, pressing out or bouncing around.  Could have been dust from sleeping in the loft..... I just thought positive thoughts and slept 11 hours...... woke up feeling almost normal, then I fell off the back porch steps and knew I'm not 100% and still roll like a rolly little polly, which is good.  No harm, no foul.  Happened in slow motion.....I saw the step I fell on then the big slate stones I'd land on and my body just did what it does.  Learning to fall right in martial arts is something I think we should teach children in public shools.

I want to go into the yard and get busy, but that would be stupid.  So, rest, plenty of fluids, there's a yummy smelling Boston Butt Pork roast at 250 degrees for 5 in the over after marinating 24 hours in the fridge..... think Cuban roast pork.  Whatever comes, there will be food.  J picked out many yummy looking BBQ sauces at the Farmer's Market a while back...locally made... and she's looking forward to trying them out.

DDJ said she's more sensitive to grains than dairy, which is a very bad thing. Dairy tears her up.  Quinoa doesn't bother her, so she's trying to get used to it.... she said it tastes like eating sand... we have lots in the pantry.  I made a pizza for L last night from frozen GF pizza dough that was pretty good.  I formed a medium thick crust, baked it first then added a white sauce made from oat milk, garlic and fresh grated parm cheese.... really good stuff.  Topped it off with lots of carmelized mushrooms and shallots..... a little bit of mozzarella cheese, but I think more parm would have been just as good. It was really good.  I cooked a dozen eggs in the air fryer.... 6 minutes for gooy centers then turned it off and let them sit in the heat a while longer for perfectly cooked eggs I've been enjoying in egg salad with avocado mayo and spicy chili crisp on romain lettuce.  The Vietnamese curry is almost gone..... tomato sauce is almost gone... figured I'd make a pizza for ddJ this evening with that. 

I'm sad Olympic Ice Dancing feels dissapointing to watch.... those athletes worked so hard for spectators to think....
 "awwww...no jumps or lifts, a little boring."  Not a proud moment for me as I turned it off and went for another zinc.

I guess it's possible we all have COVID.... have received different loads, have different symptoms..... or maybe only 1 or 2 of us has it.  I'm not sure it really matters. After J takes this last COVID test, we;re out of tests unless I get more.  It's odd to think everything could go terribly sideways OR we come out of this knowing it's not so bad and wer'e immune, maybe, for a while.  Hard to say.  Will see.

I started feeding the squirrels and birds from one single bowl on the porch, but the squirrels are fighting and knocking glass bowls and lanterns around, so scattered the seeds on the rail again.  We see so many interesting birds... very happy to see them.

Sorry things are so weird with the Plumber, but you needs him, Hops.  I understand feeling like a hostage to a hostile little man with skills I happen to be dependent on.  It would be amazing to OWN plumbing/electric/framing and carpentry skills, it truly would.  I hope you're plumbing problems are all solved at the moment?

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Thanks, Lighter. Sorry about their symptoms (and your fall!!) but glad you're aware and not doing macho stuff. Rest, hydrate, keep it simple...this too shall pass. But I can so understand some angst running beneath the calm coping. Who wouldn't.

Plumbing crisis is over and fixed and I just won't use him again. It was illustrative.

Zooming with poet friend shortly so won't linger, but I was glad to get your update. I don't eat mammal or bird flesh (do eggs and minimal dairy though), but amazed myself by making a veritable vat of cabbage-veggie soup -- enough to share with neighbors and to freeze. It's yummy. There was a funny guy on YouTube who narrated it so simply I thought, I can do THAT! His biggest tip was No Boiling. I made it quite spicy. Overnight the flavors mellowed a lot. Added beans and brown rice for protein and am going to eat a big bowl daily until it's gone. Hoping for a gradual kick-start on getting rid of my body's Covid display. Fluffy, shall we say.

Hang in there. Don't worry about perfection in anything!

hugs
Hops

[lighter]

My sister is readying to drive across the Canadian US border next week IF they can. Their test results expire the afternoon they're making the attempt...... will try to go at 8am, but there's quite a bit of fear AND sis's SIL and 3 grown children and their SOs just got over COVID, so it's hard to say whether they're incubating it or not...... are any of us?

Apparenting the SIL's group all experienced flu symptoms with half of them vomiting.  Sounds terrible till I remember they recovered.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Most people DO recover - in varying lengths of time. So don't fret unless there are new, more symptoms.

[Hopalong]

Yes. Don't feed fear.

Feed rest, trust in healing, slooooooow and peaceful waiting it out.

hugs and health,
Hops

PS Search out reasons to feel happy. Moments. Peace. A smile.
You're in cocoon mode, doing human. Doing it together.

[lighter]

L is miserable, very snotty, coughing, exhausted and her voice is still gone....... throat hurts very much. Just miserable. Her eyes over her mask look like she's crying, even when she isn't.

J isn't feeling any better, but she's not feeling too much worse..... just like when she got the flu vaccine, she said and that lasted for days..... she was sore all over and feverish. 

I hope I have it too and I don't get miseraly sick.  I really don't want to be miserable...... last time I had the flu it took me down for a month and I was shocked at how ill I was.  Hoping I don't feel terrible isn't giving in to fear.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Wow, sorry to hear your second DD also got covid.
I can't understand hoping to get it yourself? Regardless of a week's not-as-terrible-for-most Omicron experience, there is the possibility of long covid to avoid...just read more about it yesterday. Seems like a mysterious microvascular meltdown.

Stay safe, Lighter. Do all you can to prevent contagion.

Or that's just my vote, not that I have one! I'd rather cope with vaccine after-effects than actual infection likewise. My booster was 5 months back so for me, all cautions are on until they release booster #2. They're finding that booster immunity lasts about four months, and are already releasing a second one (Pfizer, anyway) for the immunocompromised. Which I ain't, but old folks will likely be next.

Hang in there, woman. You're going through one of those trials. A sick house. Hope the girls rally soon and you take all precautions meanwhile.

hugs
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Lighter - while you're still up & moving, why don't you cook & freeze servings of your & the girls favorite "comfort foods" and sick room food? Do the shopping to keep ingredients stocked, too. Maybe you don't get sick - you'll still use it to nurse the girls up. Maybe you get sick and they have to take over nursing YOU?

See where I'm going with this?

[lighter]

Yup yup yup, I see, Amber.

I wish we all agreed on comfort foods. 

J said our diets seem to correlate with the level of symptoms we're experiencing, in her opinion.  L eats gluten, sugar and dairy as her major food groups.  J eats halfway healthy in her opinion.  I eat very clean.  J's lower stomach is involved this morning, btw.  She didn't know tummy involvment was a symptom. 

::shaking head::.

L's throat is still very painful...... she's coughing up lots of mucus.... threw up mucus this morning.  Last night she had a mean nose bleed, but she's always been one of those kids with nose bleeds.  My white bedding took a hit.

We're a mess.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

(((((((((((Lighter))))))))))))

What an ordeal. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

My thoughts just jumped to After.
I wonder what the girls, and you, will think and feel that's different as a result of this trying experience?

Don't even bother leaving the present moment, I get it!

hugs,
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Oh my. I get it Lighter.
How're you feeling today?

Maybe with the complicated dietary needs/wants you could just make a few servings? Don't forget to mark them in the freezer -- I hear the brain fog that continues a while after is pretty bad. I've pulled out bacon grease instead of frozen broth before - sans covid. No the containers weren't marked.