An Interesting Week

Calla Lily Leaves

Well, this has been an interesting week: I got the second Covid vaccine (sore arm, one day of creepy-crawly skin, irritable, squirrely stomach, and sleepiness, followed by 2 more days of sore arm, sleepiness) and slept through Lincoln, The Rose, and most of The Importance of Being Earnest, then many hours of Poirot on Acorn; on day 2 I was well enough to do some paperwork until my brain just gave out. Stayed awake for Downton Abbey but lost it for Poirot again, and went to bed early.  I had chills both days, but that could be a function of our house (woodstove) and sweats at night, which could also be a function of the house (a tendency to load up with too many blankets when the bed’s cold when I first get into it), but overall, much better than the symptoms of having Covid. Today’s looking to be a close repeat of yesterday.

Of course now, according to the latest QAnon word, transmitted to me by way of someone who had a conversation with a follower recently, I have a molecule inside me that allows the overlords to track me and I’ll slowly become a zombie. Sounds like fun. Do Q zombies eat pizza and curry? 

If you plant these mini roses, they'll live in the garden

Also this week, as expected, the rat bastards in the Senate found the worst president in history not guilty of inciting insurrection, then some of them tried to land on the correct side of history by saying it was because they had no power to try a “private citizen.” Riiiiight. After – how many was it? 147? of the most respected Constitutional scholars from both sides of the political divide in the country got together to write a letter to the Senate telling them it was their considered opinion that the Senate did, indeed, have every right to try the ex-president. Nice try, McConnell.

After a few days of recovery perhaps we’ll get some time, as a dear friend longs for, when we won’t have to hear the Inciter-in-Chief’s name on the news. Though it would be welcome if paired with the words “Sentenced to Jail” attached.

I’m in the midst of ordering seeds and such, assuming that spring will eventually arrive despite all signs to the contrary. Snow expected tomorrow, again; there were only 2 days this week we actually didn’t get at least some hours of snow, so not a big surprise. I’ve got the live plants, potato, onion, leek, shallots all ordered, and a few seeds. There’s still a large list of seeds waiting to be sorted and put on an order form and mailed. I do it this old-fashioned way hoping that when I’m looking at the stupidly long list I’ll come to my senses and not over-order. It never happens. Part of the problem is that seeds are so tiny, and the garden seems so large; and part of the problem is that I live in the middle of a field, so my brain looks out at the back forty and says, “Pshaw, there’ll be plenty of room, go for it.” 

Stuff that lives in my dining room

 Of course, if we’re still in the middle of a drought as we were last year, I’ll need extra seed. Too many things needed to be replanted because they either took weeks and weeks to germinate, or germinated and soon after shriveled up and died.  It wasn’t a great year for gardening.

So if the world warms up in its usual time, I’ve got about two and a half months to get my hands in shape to be able to plant, otherwise the Husband’s going to have a miserable spring while he plants and I stand over him saying “Not that way!!” The weird thing that happened to my hands last summer soon after I injured my thumb by hitting a rock, hard, while hand-troweling planting holes, is still unresolved. One MD (bone specialist) said it’s arthritis, and couldn’t explain how 3 days of Vitamin D3 cured half of it; another MD (pain specialist) said it’s carpal tunnel, and couldn’t explain why the first MD didn’t think so, or how my left hand and my little finger on my right hand “caught” carpal tunnel from the right thumb.  I think they’re both wrong, though I think the second might be partially right. Whatever. I’m trying a new combo of Chinese injury formulas which are having some effect and might have enough effect over the next few months.

Two Days Later: So apparently the transition into zombie is well underway; at dusk last night (day 3 after the vaccine) my shot arm got wicked, wicked sore and it’s making my neck and shoulder and upper back on that side also sore. And my knees. And every other pain I’ve ever had in my body. I vaguely remember this happened last time, too, but earlier in the day so by morning it was all completely gone. It didn’t disappear overnight this time, so I’ve got CBD ointment on the arm (for some people arnica works well, it has no effect on me; and if I didn’t have the CBD here, I’d use either one of my Chinese medical ointments, or Tiger Balm, but I’m interested in testing the CBD so I’m using that), and a body warmer on the shirt over the painful spot (heat for 8-12 hours!) and a sweater over that, because chills seem to be part of this for me; and then a hot rice shawl-pad over the shoulder and neck and down the back, and a high-necked polar fleece vest on top of all. And I broke down and took a couple of acetaminophen.  It’s minimally helpful but the rice bag’s making my neck and shoulder feel better and I’m very sleepy.

So I’m going to end this and go sleep through a couple more DVDs, and with any luck tomorrow I’ll be pain-free or a total zombie. Fair warning for those of you who haven’t had the vaccines yet!

For the blog 15 February 2021: herondragonwrites.blogspot.com

All photos Deb Marshall

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