General Chit Chat

@sdmom

You couldn't pay me enough to go on a cruise right now!

When this first came out, I questioned a friend on FB about being sure she wanted to go when she mentioned she was going several weeks later. It was a free cruise to compensate for one she was on last year (the cruise that got stranded off the coast of Norway with no engines that they airlifted people off of).  She ignored me. 

She has fibromyalgia and is 2 years older than I am so her system is compromised to begin with.  She still went and it turns out she was on a Panama Canal cruise leaving from Miami and ending in LA and they were gone 17 days.  She is home now but I'm gonna stay away from her for quite awhile because who knows what she might have picked up on that cruise!

@GuardianAngel Local paper just reported the county got a kit to test up to 200 samples. They have to use it to prove to the CDC that they get reliable results before testing potentially affected people. THAT IS NUTS!

This is an excellent article on how the virus began in China in December and how the Chinese government blew the opportunity to contain it. I didn't realize that China's medical care system is probably worse than the US.
https://apple.news/AF1PWHu9JRieMg0NDhTx0Ng

@Norcalgal I just read a shocking article out of California but now I can't find it about not testing a patient because they didn't qualify according to the CDC because he didn't travel. He ended up getting tested a week later, after being moved from one hospital to another. Finally tested, and is positive. 80 some odd nurses and staff have been asked to self isolate. Going by memory, I don't want to give incorrect information but this isn't the first time I'm seeing stories like this. I don't think anyone can justify what "qualifies" since it's just not only people who traveled. I can't read the whole article because of the subscription but I think they tried to control leaking info when they could have dealt with it sooner, like listening to the whistle blower who eventually got infected and passed away.

@HavaDrPepper good idea. I'd stay away as well.

Sadly the cruise ships are going to take a beating. Canadians are being told out right, do not go on a cruise. Now there are two cruise ships on lock down.

@sdmom   for you and your family. It's not easy to care for elderly parents.

@GuardianAngel

I bet that article was about the CA patient that was the first patient that was confirmed having it that they had no idea how they got it. If it is the one I'm thinking of, the patient was in one hospital and not tested then transferred to another hospital where they got tested and it came back positive. This patient also lives in one of the areas where the evacuated individuals from China were flown in to.  This was the first case they called "community transfer" as no travel by the patient had occurred.

Not long after that confirmation, the cases in the northwest USA were being confirmed which again were individuals that had not traveled.  It exploded in Washington state after that.

On a related note, I follow Becca Kufrin on IG. She posts every day about the Bachelor Live tour.  Evidently when they did the meet and greet they would shake hands with people (and knowing Becca she probably hugged a few as well).  They are no longer doing that.  Instead they are signing some kind of booklet to hand out to the individuals and keeping a little distance between them and the crowd all due to COVID-19.  They have been in that area the last few days. She had IG stories at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle today.

@HavaDrPepper yes that's exactly the circumstances around that patient.

Handing out signed booklet's is a good idea.

If anything I hope this is educating people on how to prevent germs. I have never been a fan of handshaking but it's part of my job. Now I can just not do it with a valid reason.

I've also read some people are doing the toe tap greeting, or suggesting a polite Japanese bow.

I'm not a Timmy's drinker, (Tim Hortons) but they are discontinuing Roll Up the Rim contest and moving it to digital. It's about time!

Who likes to go for walks? I walk my pup twice a day but during the winter it's hard because he's a Shih Tzu, and only 17 pounds. It's far to cold for him. It's a nice day today, balmy 45 F, time to get out and enjoy that sunshine!

My afternoon walk. Pics taken with my phone.

That's the bluest water for a working port I've ever seen! (I've lived close by two cargo ports like that and both have really murky looking water)

@GuardianAngel Looks like a brisk walk. I love your dog and he seems to love his walks!

@leavers the funny thing is, on the other side of that bridge, that's where the locks start, and it still has quite a bit of ice.

Looking at the other direction, where the freighters are docked, that's the opening to Lake Erie.

@Norcalgal He will be 14 yrs old in October, knock on wood, sometimes I can't keep up with him on our walks. He loved getting out today in his cool knitted sweater my son got him which a collar that unfolds to cover his neck, or pulled back like a turtleneck.

@GuardianAngel I also love to walk. It was 8 degrees and sunny here in London. I also took my Shih Tzu out for a long walk...about 5 kilometers. No coat needed for him. He seems to me to be rather big for the breed and I haven't had to take him to the vet yet so not sure how much he weighs. I was told 20 lbs, but he seems heavier to me. It's almost time to go do the heart worm testing so I will check then.

Winston loves the cold and the snow. He has a coat, but I don't need booties for him. There has not been one day this winter...even when it was really cold...where he refused to go out. I was so used to Oz who would refuse to go out when it was really cold...he just ran out the front door and did his business and ran right back in. Of course he was only 7 lbs and I didn't mind.

Winston refuses to go unless we are on a walk! Nothing in the back yard or the front walkway. Like you, twice a day is good. We are usually out for at least 45 minutes total, but longer on the weekend since I like to take him to different trails and he loves it...and the car rides to get there!



My photos.

@Sprite What a cutie! Wow five km's that's great! Louie hates the cold. I have to put a sweater or coat on just for him to do his business then right back in. Plus the last several years he has lost a lot of fur. You can see his tail in one of the pics. It used to be like Winston's. The vet says it's age because there is nothing wrong with him (knock on wood).

I usually go for longer walks on the weekend as well, around 45 minutes. When I had the two of them, we used to walk over an hour on the weekends and 45 minutes twice a day. He is getting older, and although he's quick and gallops around, he does get tired sooner than he used too.

I missed my walking and feel the winter sluggish and weight gain. It's time to get back out there.

My little girl RIP used to love the snow too. She used to get set like a runner at the starting gate, then jump in