What did you do today? - 2020 version

[doneat54]

Thanks for the kind words. I am also a cancer survivor (12 years clean), I have learned not to "ignore" stuff that seem significant.

 

[aja8888]

Great news, doneat54! You are one lucky guy! I think I would go out and buy a lottery ticket if I was you!

 

[Souschef]

Assembled 2 4 wheel Rollators to donate to our local hospice. Hopped in the car, and it would not start. It has been sitting for a couple of weeks with us sheltering in place.
Fortunately, I had a battery charger I originally bought for the switch engine, and it a 50 amp emergency start setting. Honked it up, and the car started right away..
Delivered the walkers to the hospice. Since we have not been there to repair any of them, this should help.

 

[harley]

Got to love Florida! I was pulling some root bound plants out of big pots in the back yard today. Appropriately they were Mother-in-law tongues, also known as snake plants. On the second pot I cut the roots up around the edge, then pulled the plant out. It took both hands, since it was pretty big. As I was tossing it in the wheelbarrow I looked down into the pot and there was a den of Black Racers under the roots. At least 4 or 5, and a couple of them were pretty big. They were doing their "I'm a rattlesnake, don't mess with me" tail rattling and striking thing. I'm not afraid of snakes, but it's a good thing it wasn't DW or she wouldn't be worrying about coronavirus anymore. They scattered, going under the pot and across into other plants. So now we're not allowed to keep the back door open, which we usually do.

The only one I was able to get a picture of is about 4' long or so. That big part's garden hose, not snake. Personally I'm glad they're around, they eat mice and rats and venomous snakes. But hopefully they'll find someplace new, and not in our lanai. Hmmm...not sure why it came out sideways in the post.

 

[aja8888]

Got to love Florida! I was pulling some root bound plants out of big pots in the back yard today. Appropriately they were Mother-in-law tongues, also known as snake plants. On the second pot I cut the roots up around the edge, then pulled the plant out. It took both hands, since it was pretty big. As I was tossing it in the wheelbarrow I looked down into the pot and there was a den of Black Racers under the roots. At least 4 or 5, and a couple of them were pretty big. They were doing their "I'm a rattlesnake, don't mess with me" tail rattling and striking thing. I'm not afraid of snakes, but it's a good thing it wasn't DW or she wouldn't be worrying about coronavirus anymore. They scattered, going under the pot and across into other plants. So now we're not allowed to keep the back door open, which we usually do.

The only one I was able to get a picture of is about 4' long or so. That big part's garden hose, not snake. Personally I'm glad they're around, they eat mice and rats and venomous snakes. But hopefully they'll find someplace new, and not in our lanai. Hmmm...not sure why it came out sideways in the post.

Photo size too large (make it smaller). That should fix it.

 

[Nemo2]

Previously ordered a whack of groceries online from Wally World, (our usual store doesn't have this option running....yet)....and just went to pick them up.

Young guy from India hauled the trolley out, and from 'afar' I held up a $5 bill and put it in the trunk. He said he wasn't allowed to take tips....I replied that I wouldn't see him take it, and turned my back.

Got home and it was still in the trunk.

Pity....we'd have liked to have shown at least some small appreciation for the people working with the public while we're safely holed up inside.

 

[W2R]

Today I went to the gym - - well, OK, the W2R Gym, in my bedroom. There I rode my stationary bike for a few miles.

Then, backed up my computer while playing my new video game.

The weather is fabulous! Sunny, 84F, with a light breeze. Since I have no patio furniture, I put my lightweight camp chair out on my (small, 8'x10') patio just outside the back door and positioned it so that I could sit in the shade of the house. Then sat outside and played my video game some more, using my Nintendo Switch as a portable hand-held device. As I played it was nice to enjoy the fresh air and breezes and hear the birds chirping in the trees.

When Frank came over I brought my camp chair back inside, and we had fun chatting for a while in my den as always. Right now I'm enjoying a light brunch of scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese.

 

[Gumby]

I went to the grocery and the liquor store this morning. It was my first trip out in 10 days, and now we should be good to go for another two weeks at least. It may be notable that I spent twice as much on wine as I did on food.

 

[JP.mpls]

Gumby,
I had a very similar day. After about 10 days of isolation, I made a trip to the liquor store to stock up on wine, and my first trip to costco since the state wide virus shutdown.
I loaded up on meat, and misc.
It went fairly smooth, and I'm all stocked up for more isolation time.
Take care, JP

I went to the grocery and the liquor store this morning. It was my first trip out in 10 days, and now we should be good to go for another two weeks at least. It may be notable that I spent twice as much on wine as I did on food.

 

[pacergal]

Sunny day, sitting outside on the deck enjoying solitude.

 

[Gumby]

Preventive maintenance on the lawnmower (new spark plug, air filter, oil), then picked up all the remaining leaves in various and sundry corners around the foundation. Put the potted rosemary bush back in the ground. Noted that the asparagus is coming up nicely and we should have some ready for Easter dinner. Repaired my small side deck. Read a book out in the sun on the front porch. Said hello to all the people walking by.

 

[RobbieB]

Finished the taxes and e-filed them and both were accepted. Good to have this chore done and off my desk even with the covid extension.

 

[Hermit]

I went to town yesterday and dropped off my Jeep for body repair from hitting a tree in February. I put a couple of envelopes in the outside mailbox next door and touched the edge of the mailbox. I wiped my hands down with disinfectant ASAP. I told the guy at the shop that I would let the car sit there for a few days when he is done. He seemed to understand. Directly back home with DS who followed me in to town.

Today I ordered four "blemished" heating panels for my wood shop. I need to get those in to figure out how to finish putting in the wiring. I told the sales guy to wait until the virus thing was past before he shipped them and he was fine with that. That outfit is in the NYC area so I am sure he was happy to have some business. He said they may shut down for a while but wasn't sure.

 

[Walt34]

Received an order from Amazon of a small set of four pipe wrenches and some carpet cleaner solution for the carpet cleaner we ordered from Home Depot. One of the pipe wrenches had a very close tolerance where the jaw slides into the handle making it so tight I had to lightly tap it with a hammer to get it past the high point. Hmm...

Put that part in a vise and a few minutes with an angle grinder to remove the high spot, then polish it up with a 120 grit flap disc and it looked better than new.

I was going to go for a longish walk but then the rain started. Oh well, maybe later.

 

[38Chevy454]

Nice warm day mid 70s here, so decided to do my spring pool opening. Have an in ground pool. Removed the heavy duty winter safety cover, removed the stand pipes on the discharge and suction connections in the pool. get pump and filter assy all hooked back up with the drains and filter in place. Prime the lines and turn on the electrical panel. Turn pump on and let it run a bit. Hook up vacuum head and suck up the dirt and junk on bottom of pool. Dump in some chlorine shock and some salt (I have a salt system to maintain the chlorine). Add some extra algaecide and clarifier to get the water nice and clear, although it is really not that bad; more of a preventative to keep from problems. Water temp is colder though, at 56F currently. Pretty cold putting my arm in the water to remove those stand pipes. Should start to heat up quickly with warmer temps and now that the sun can shine on the pool instead of the safety cover. So no swimming in the next few weeks for sure!


I have a solar cover that I also put on, looks like a giant piece of heavy duty thick bubble wrap. The claim is that it helps concentrate the solar heating into the water, I think the main advantage is it helps insulate and less heat loss at night. Either way, it does help heat the water quicker. Once at temp I don't use the solar cover for most of summer. Mostly use it at beginning and end of the year when ambient temps are lower and days are also shorter.


Nice to have it opened up and being able to look at it. Now hurry up and wait for it to get warm enough to jump in, which is low 70s water temp for me. That's still brisk, but nicer once it is closer to high 70s or low 80s. Much higher than that is not as refreshing especially on those hot humid summer days.

 

[Retire2013]

Got discharged from a local city hospital after emergency appendectomy surgery last night. Started feeling localized pain on Sat. Sunday told DW I might want to have it looked at, suspecting appendicitis. Normally I would have given it "a day or two" to see if it got better on its own, but with the impending Covid surge in the next 1-2 weeks here, I did not want to have an "issue" at a time when I couldn't get healthcare.


Boy am I glad I did go. After some probing, then a CT scan, around 3:00 yesterday met with the surgical team. They had not one case scheduled that afternoon, I was in 30 mins. Even the ER when I got there around 11:00 or so was empty, only one other person there.

My wife, an ICU nurse now working in corporate was told she could not come in there. The hospital's policy now is no visitors, except for childbirth (spouse only) or end of life cases.


Woke up in PACU at around 7:00 pm. Considered coming home late evening, but pretty intense post op pain and decided to stay the night.

The kick? Not only did I have an inflamed/blocked appendix, but my colon had perforated slightly and was "leaking" into the abdominal cavity. Had I not gone in, it would have gotten bad really fast. The staff that all amazed that with my fairly advanced condition, I had no fever, nausea, chills, etc. Even my pre-op blood labs were pretty normal.


So a bit of a PSA here, if you get abdominal pain (lower right side) and there one "OOOOWWWWW!" spot you can hit, go have it checked out.

Back at the lake house recuperating, AND quarantining now....

Thank you so much for the PSA. So glad you did the right thing and are recovering well. Stay well!

 

[USA]

Doneat54: Heal up steady now. Glad ur home.

Today we picked up half a beeve raised up on the AZ strip and butchered in Utah. Split it up with Son and family, back home to pack our freezer and lockdown again.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Went to WM to pick up a couple of items and some meds for the DW. Was amazed to see that there were plenty of people in the store and only about 1 in 10 were wearing masks. The "non essential" side of the store was open, and there were still lots of "family" groups...so it appears a lot of people are either tired of the restrictions, or are stupid.

Now, listening to my neighbors having a joyful time in their new pool...with about 15 people over there and 8 cars in the street/driveway.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. People would get tired of the restrictions and say...,"FORGET IT! I am doing stuff, anyway!!!" So, when the next big thing comes around...and it has a 25% or greater mortality rate, society will be decimated.

Sorry for my negative tone, but I am tired, exhausted, and fatigued by all of this.

 

[Souschef]

I do not blame you for the negative tone. I looked out our window and saw 2 cars pull up in front of our neighbor's house.
Two of her daughters showed up, one with a dog and a baby
I asked DW if they were crazy or just stupid.
End of rant

 

[Timeisprecious]

Went through the first of a three-phase root canal, trying to save my upper right (front) incisor - a bit nerve-racking, but I'm now feeling SO much better! Oh my gosh, was I in pain! It's pretty tough to eat around that tooth. After that, everything else today was gravy!

 

[travelover]

Took the dog to the vet. They have curb service where a tech comes out and gets the dog and takes it inside to the vet who calls you on your cell phone to discuss findings and treatment. At the end, the tech calls and you pay over the phone by credit card. I appreciated the accommodation. Dog is doing well - just has some swollen lymph glands and we are being cautious in case there is a more serious problem.

 

[doneat54]

Had my first Zoom/Telemedicine doctor appointment today, follow up from Sunday's surgery. A bit of a scare yesterday when some sharp, new pain got quite intense and we were advised to go in for blood tests and possibly another CT scan. But after some consults and good test results, the pain began to subside and I feel much better this morning.

Normally not one to share health issues/experiences on line. But going through this (an emergency appendectomy) during these Covid times is a little unnerving. It has made me think and decide differently about what actions to take and perhaps it should.





Reality is though, that the hospital and staff are cruising through it all with pinpoint preparedness and professionalism. And I had never even been to that hospital before Sunday. (As I said in another post in this thread, we are quarantining in our second home that we bought last summer as it is in an area with far fewer case of Covid-19). I do get the feeling that the hospital would have done the TM video call irregardless of the virus outbreak. Very grateful for the healthcare and the professionals in it that I have access too, despite healthcare getting a bad rap sometimes.


The hospital had drive up test tents set up in the parking lot, screeners at every entrance to the building, clear signage and corralling of anyone moving through with Covid-like symtoms. But the whole place was largely empty. Model projections for the states peak impact predict a zero bed shortage which is good.



I suspect most people are just deferring scheduled/non-emergency medical appointments like I was. Anyone else had to go in for unplanned/emergency care recently?

 

[USA]

Called a server who we have befriended over the years to see what was high on her wish/need list. I received a text back that her cat had died and she was too upset to talk. A couple of her friends had helped her thankfully. She’s single and a very nice person.

 

[Walt34]

The new carpet cleaner that we'd ordered from Home Depot arrived today and seems to work well. BTW, it's still on sale. The carpet is noticeably cleaner, and is much drier than Stanley Steamer had left it so we're both happy about that. While I did wipe down the box I didn't let it sit in the garage for three days and I figured the contents had been in there for at least a few weeks.

 

[MBAustin]

Very strange not to be singing in our church's Good Friday Tenebrae service right now. Fortunately the music director had some good recordings of prior years so we were treated to the 2018 music along with new readings of the scriptures and prayers for our YouTube service today.

It's going to feel very weird to go back to normal levels of activity after all of this. This is way slower than my usual summer schedule, after which I'm ready to get back to singing in two choirs and lots of other activities. But after 2-5 months off, I think it will be hard to get back into the busier routine again. Guess we'll see.