Tag: Covid-19

2021 A Year in Review

It’s been a long year, hasn’t it?

It’s been a long year, hasn’t it? Who would have ever thought that the pandemic would be still dragging on at this point? It’s been almost 2 full years of the pandemic and it has impacted every aspect of our lives. We started out the year with vaccinations being approved which made us all hope for a swift end to things. Alas! So many people have still not gotten vaccinated, which has enabled the virus to mutate and surge in waves. With the holidays currently running, another surge is expected as people travel home for the holidays.

So how has all this impacted you? For myself, I find that despite not being able to get out as much, I don’t have the time I’d like to have for myself. When I checked my blog stats, I posted a whopping 283 posts! That’s almost 1 post per day! But along the way, I discovered some things about the posts. I needed to put more of myself in them.

My husband’s take on all this was that I was overwhelming myself trying to do a post a day. So let me see about changing that. Now there will still be Lifestyle posts, in fact, I will have a guest post next week. I also want to start including some Blog Tour Posts on new books.

The main focus of the blog will still be on book reviews, but if I’m honest with myself, that doesn’t mean that I have to write all the reviews. I may flirt with reposting reviews from other blogs.

My year in books

I took a look at my GoodReads stats and was really surprised.

  • 424 books read
  • 70,867 pages read
  • Shortest book – 22 pages
  • Longest book – 1209 pages (Lord of the Rings)
  • Average length – 167 pages
  • Most popular book shelved – Lord of the Rings (414 people)
  • Average Rating – 4.23
  • Highest Rated on Good Reads – 4.95 (Submission by Delta James)
  • First Review of the Year – His Human Claim by Stella Rising
  • Last Review of the Year – Alien Conqueror by Sara Fields

I have to laugh at myself. These stats would have been very different if I had remembered to mark all the ones that I was REREADING again!

Last Thoughts

It’s been a long year for my house. My husband’s decreasing mobility has meant that I spend a lot more time caregiving than I do other things. Thanks to a visit from a friend from Ohio, I’ve started taking time for myself away from the house. Right now, I’m attending Country Church with a newly widowed friend on Saturday nights. When I can, I take a walk.

If you’ve found yourself serving as a caregiver for a loved one, remember to take time for yourself as well. It will make a world of difference for you.

Till next year!

Sandy, the Reluctant Retiree!

Is it time to check yourself? Revisited

A few years ago, there was a saying “You need to check yourself before you wreck yourself.” Usually said between frenemies, it was a not so subtle way to warn someone that they needed to be very careful what they said next. I’m not talking about that kind of checking however.

It’s been a year since the Pandemic shut the world down. In those first few months, country after country slammed their borders closed and instituted almost draconian measures to try to stop the spread of the virus. People all over the world shuddered at the incredible numbers of cases and deaths that were attributed to the virus.

The medical and scientific communities leaped into action and by working far beyond overtime, managed to create vaccines that are quite effective against the virus. As cases numbers declined, some countries, including the US, started to relax the restrictions. People were getting fatigued with the efforts being asked of them. They just wanted to get back to normal.

India, and Brazil are currently experiencing Coronavirus spikes. India’s numbers have reached staggering numbers and the effects are spreading to neighboring countries. The same can be said of Brazil. In the case of India, at least, the spikes are due to relaxed restrictions and new variants.

All of this brings me back to my original question, is it time to check yourself? Are you still doing all the protective and preventative measures that were first put into place a year ago? When you go shopping, do you still wear a mask? Do you make an honest attempt to maintain some distance between yourself and the person in line in front of you? Do you take the time to wipe off the hard surfaces of items you are bringing into your home?

More importantly, if you are eligible in your area, have you been vaccinated? I don’t mean just getting one shot if the brand requires 2 shots. Have you gotten both of them? While yes, just one dose of either Pfizer or Moderna is 80% effective against the virus, it also allows for more breakout cases to occur. Getting that second shot is important.

So take a minute to do a quick check. Are you still doing everything you can to keep YOUR family from being infected??

Time to Reconsider…

It’s been a few months since I first posted this and I find myself asking the same question. Is it time to check yourself? At this point in time, the Delta variant is running rampant around the world. What are you doing to keep from getting the virus?

By now, everyone over the age of 12 in the US is eligible for the vaccination. The Pfizer vaccine has full approval. Still the numbers keep rising. Just a few months ago in Florida, the positivity rate was below 5%. Now it’s back up to just under 25%. That’s unbelievable.

Saddest of all are the reports from the hospitals telling us that over 90% of new cases are in people who didn’t get vaccinated. A recent story on the internet told the tale of a young couple who put off getting their vaccinations.

They planned to get them, but just hadn’t made the time yet. They both contracted the virus. The wife was sick enough to be hospitalized, the husband had a mild case and stayed home to recover. When the wife was released from the hospital, she made her way home.

Imagine her feelings when she discovered her husband dead in the bedroom, their dogs showing signs of not having had food or water for a few days. What’s worse, her husband had already started to decompose.

I’m not trying to scare you, I’m trying to make you aware of the risks you take everyday that you put off getting vaccinated. Yes, there are a certain percentage of vaccinated people who are still getting sick, but their illness is much less severe. You aren’t just risking your own life, you are putting your family, friends and neighbors in jeopard!

Is it time to check yourself?

A few years ago, there was a saying “You need to check yourself before you wreck yourself.” Usually said between frenemies, it was a not so subtle way to warn someone that they needed to be very careful what they said next. I’m not talking about that kind of checking however.

It’s been a year since the Pandemic shut the world down. In those first few months, country after country slammed their borders closed and instituted almost draconian measures to try to stop the spread of the virus. People all over the world shuddered at the incredible numbers of cases and deaths that were attributed to the virus.

The medical and scientific communities leaped into action and by working far beyond overtime, managed to create vaccines that are quite effective against the virus. As cases numbers declined, some countries, including the US, started to relax the restrictions. People were getting fatigued with the efforts being asked of them. They just wanted to get back to normal.

India, and Brazil are currently experiencing Coronavirus spikes. India’s numbers have reached staggering numbers and the effects are spreading to neighboring countries. The same can be said of Brazil. In the case of India, at least, the spikes are due to relaxed restrictions and new variants.

All of this brings me back to my original question, is it time to check yourself? Are you still doing all the protective and preventative measures that were first put into place a year ago? When you go shopping, do you still wear a mask? Do you make an honest attempt to maintain some distance between yourself and the person in line in front of you? Do you take the time to wipe off the hard surfaces of items you are bringing into your home?

More importantly, if you are eligible in your area, have you been vaccinated? I don’t mean just getting one shot if the brand requires 2 shots. Have you gotten both of them? While yes, just one dose of either Pfizer or Moderna is 80% effective against the virus, it also allows for more breakout cases to occur. Getting that second shot is important.

So take a minute to do a quick check. Are you still doing everything you can to keep YOUR family from being infected??

How Are You Doing?

During this pandemic, my local ABC station has been playing a commercial that features this statement. Asked by different news staff, the emphasis changes from person to person. The point being that we can all get through this pandemic, together.

If you read Sunday’s post, then you are aware that my oldest daughter has been diagnosed with Covid-19. We both have Amazon’s Echo Shows, so I was checking in with her to see how she was doing. In doing so, I was reminded of another couple who are friends of ours.

Dale and Ramona are originally from Michigan. In his youth, Dale was a runner. In his working years, he worked for the Post Office. He’s over 6 ft tall and an absolute beanpole in size. In these later years, he’s been afflicted with Parkinson Disease. Ramona is 5+ ft and might weigh 120!

Until the pandemic hit, Dale’s Parkinson’s was being handled nicely. He took exercise classes intended to keep him moving and attended support groups to stay connected with others. All that changed in March of last year. Sadly, the isolation of the pandemic has caused him to get worse, much worse.

In the last few months, Dale started to develop Parkinson Dementia. He’s spoken several times to neighbors about the “critters and homeless people” that they sent to his house. He’s called us wanting to talk to my husband about this. We’ve tried to gently redirect his attention, knowing that there is nothing there. In more recent months, he has started leaving the house and walking away. One such trip landed him on our doorstep. Another led him to the local police station in the middle of the night.

At this point in time, Dale is in a Memory Care Unit and Ramona is struggling with figuring out how to tell him that he’s not coming home. His Dementia has progressed to a point where she can’t control him and he’s become a danger to himself and possibly others. That’s a hard decision to make.

Take a good look around you, at work (if you are working!), at church if you attend, and in your neighborhood. Are there people around you that seem to be sturggling? Take a few minutes of your time to just check in on them, talk to them, pay them some attention. They may not be able to say it, but a kind word and a hug go a long way when you’re isolated and lonely!

Enjoy the Giggle!

Church Sign Edition!

They are everywhere, church signs that is! On one side may be the times for the worship services, while the other side has a short quote of some kind. It’s these short quotes that can down right give you the giggles. After seeing one at a Hispanic Seventh Day Adventist church that I walk by on a daily basis, I decided to start including them in my giggle listings. Enjoy!

Ain’t that the truth!
The Gospel is not in quarantine

Quick Tip from My Kitchen

Now that we’ve all been stuck at home for the last 5 months, many people find themselves making meals at home as opposed to ordering them. Face it, it’s much cheaper to cook from scratch than it is to order. Now, most of us buy groceries for a number of days each time we go and the meat goes in the freezer.

If you aren’t in the habit of remembering to take the meat out in the morning, (before you left for work), you may occasionally find yourself at lunchtime hoping that your meat will thaw in time!

It’s August, and for most of us, that means hot temperatures. I discovered that if I put the wrapped meat on a plastic plate and sit it on something outside, that it will thaw just fine. For me, hamburger can be taken out at lunchtime. The ribs in the photo needed to be thawed by 2 pm so I could start working them. Luckily, Florida weather takes care of thawing things.

So, give it a try! It works really well for me.

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