Pandemic: Life on the ground

[Jersey Girl]

Damn. IT.

Colorado governor and spouse test positive for Covid-19
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/28/politics ... index.html

[Jersey Girl]

As seen on the New Jersey Turnpike. These are my people. They speak my language.

[Gunnar]

Because of the pandemic, we had no physical, in person family gathering for Thanksgiving as we usually do--not even with my brother and his family who live less than half a mile away. We had a very nice virtual gathering via zoom, though, with all my children and all but two of my grandchildren, who range from 15 months old to 28 years old. I didn't get to see my 7 month old great grandchild though , because she was tucked away in her bed asleep, due to it being way past her bedtime when her mother, my second oldest grandchild, was finally able to join our zoom session.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, with enough left overs for for two equally wonderful and abundant meals (so far), and still have enough left over for at least one more good meal. Because small turkeys were so much in demand, due to so many families having downsized their thanksgiving festivities due to the pandemic, my wife had to settle for an 18 lb. turkey; much bigger than we needed for just the 4 of us still at home. Thus the unusual abundance of leftovers. Perhaps we should have settled for tofu turkey. I had some of that last year, and I was amazed at how good it was! And I didn't mind the complete absence of bones in it one bit!

[Jersey Girl]

A little idea for those of you who have school age children who don't live with you. I am getting myself a second grade pen pal! If you have a school age niece, nephew, grandchild or a friend's child, even if they live down the block from you--get yourself some stamps and write a real letter. It will help you stay connected and keep your child's writing and composition skills going. If the child is very young, they can dictate their letter to a parent. Even the youngest can draw their letter and send it to you. Your letter could be a drawing, too.

If you are the parent of a child, ask an adult in their life to write to them.

p.s. Send them a stamp when you write. I chose a Love stamp. I noticed they have dinosaurs, too.

[Jersey Girl]

I've been mulling over what to do with Christmas. I actually developed a strategy. This article seems to support my idea.

Want to hang with some friends (mask-free) this winter? Make a Covid-19 bubble

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/health/c ... index.html

[Res Ipsa]

I've been mulling over what to do with Christmas. I actually developed a strategy. This article seems to support my idea.

Want to hang with some friends (mask-free) this winter? Make a Covid-19 bubble

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/health/c ... index.html

As long as you can trust everyone in the bubble to follow the golden rule: No socializing with people outside the bubble. I've talked to a couple of bubblers and come away unconvinced that this is a reliable strategy in practice.

[Jersey Girl]

I've been mulling over what to do with Christmas. I actually developed a strategy. This article seems to support my idea.

Want to hang with some friends (mask-free) this winter? Make a Covid-19 bubble

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/health/c ... index.html

As long as you can trust everyone in the bubble to follow the golden rule: No socializing with people outside the bubble. I've talked to a couple of bubblers and come away unconvinced that this is a reliable strategy in practice.

Okay so here it is. We have 3 bubbles. The members of which do NOT socialize with anyone outside their individual bubble and wear masks whenever in public. Otherwise they stay home and don't socialize at all. Now I will be honest here...one slips up his mask to take sips of coffee and puts it right back down in between sips. I think I'm okay with that whole thing since the small group of coffee aficionados is currently ostracizing one that won't wear a mask and they meet for coffee drinking outside now. I'm not joking this is how desperate some folks are to get away from home, I mean... me.

In any case, here is my strategy. And I want to just say I was praying about this last night because I was still on the fence. And then, I came across this article. So while you might consider that a coincidence, I of course do not. I'd also like to mention that I was invited to Christmas the other day and told that if I didn't want to be inside "You can sit on the porch, we'll give you a blanket, and you can watch us open presents through the window like the Ghost of Christmas Past."

Direct quote.

I did 2 test of the system gearing up to C'mas. Bear with me.

1. Family members came over and did not wear masks. I wore my mask, setting precedence.
2. Family members came back. I requested they wear masks. They did.


Both times we talked about the pandemic, shared ideas, etc. and etc. The second visit is when I got the porch offer.

My strategy is better than the article suggests...I think. If our 3 bubbles wish to have Christmas together which they do, I think I can do that and here is how. I will wear my mask indoors, keep my distance, and take my food outside. I already told them I would go in a separate vehicle so if I felt I needed to leave early, I could do that. Not criticizing anyone since we all shared perspectives and preferences, and I shared mine.

I would be the only one wearing a mask. One person in my immediate bubble would not be wearing a mask. I hope all of this makes sense.

How'm I doing, RI?

ETA: Our governor is streaming live right now with updates. Oh god, he's going to cancel my plans entirely I just know it.

[Res Ipsa]

Jersey Girl, I think you covered the most important part when you said that each of the bubbles socializes only within that bubble. If that's true, and there's not much travel involved, I think your chance of exposure is pretty minimal. When I've talked to a couple of folks about their bubbles, I've found that there are little exceptions here and there that make the bubbles leaky. It's all a matter of individual risk tolerance. Right now, I'm not willing to put my life or health in the hands of someone who, say, just had to go see and hold the neighbor's new baby or who got together with her brother from out of town but she knows he's careful.

When I look at the huge rate of spread of this virus right now, it tells me that far too few people are being careful. So I try to be exceptionally careful.

ETA: Just looked at this week's numbers for my county. New cases still going up, but less steep. Hospitals filling up. Number of outbreaks rising. Contact tracing has completely fallen apart. Three months ago, over 90% of new cases were contacted within 24 hours. Over the last two weeks -- 25%. And the rate in my zip code has spiked over the last two weeks.

And some welcome news: no increase in suicide rates in Washington and OR during the pandemic.

[Jersey Girl]

RI would you please check our numbers for me? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. El Paso County, CO. Then I'll get back to you on this.

[subgenius]

The problem with hair fire is that they cook liberal brains into a deeper stupidity...
MSNBC’s Dr. Gupta: Just Because You Get Vaccinated Doesn’t Mean You Should be Traveling or That You’re Liberated From Masks