COVID Vaccines and Cherries

As soon as the new Covid vaccines became available last week I scheduled an appointment with CVS for both me and my husband for yesterday. We had to go to another CVS in Vienna as it always seems to be an issue trying the schedule one in our neighborhood. We weren’t looking forward to it because every time we get this vaccine we know it will knock you out and your arm will hurt. And that’s exactly what happened. Since we got the vaccine later in the afternoon we are feeling the results of it today. We are both very tired and our arms hurt a lot! This makes for the NINTH injection! But when you are in the at risk category you really don’t have much of a choice. The last dose was in March 2024 followed by an actual Covid infection within two weeks. Luckily it wasn’t horrible, but I lost my sense of taste and it was quite awful. My husband had two pretty bad days. But it could have been so much worse without having been vaccinated all along. After we got the shots we walked over to Giant to see if they had any cherries. We didn’t get any on Tuesday on our usual grocery day because our Giant store didn’t have them. We were happy to see that they had some so we got a bag and drove back home. I am hoping that we can eventually have a week where we don’t need to make any appointments for anything. Good luck with that. All I can say is that the process is so much easier than in was when we got the first vaccines. Everything is automated from scheduling to vaccination records.  We should be thankful for that.  

52Frames Patron+ Screencast

I have belonged to the 52Frames Photo Challenge group for over three years! It started during the pandemic and continues on. It’s a great hobby, gets us out of the house in search of photos related to a specific subject each week, and I have learned a lot along the way. In June I decided to become a patron by paying the annual fee. With that you get a few nice features - access to the album on Monday before it goes live on Tuesday, a logo on your page that says you are a patron, the ability to create your own “letterhead” on the website, and educational videos - among some of the options. Another nice feature is that one of your photos will be critiqued by the guy who started the whole thing - Yosef Adest. I got a note in the comments section of this weeks challenge “rule of odds” that “my photo was featured in our Patron+ screencast this week.” That was exciting to hear. The critiques can be both good and critical so I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that Yosef was quite complimentary about my “Dancing With Monet” submission. And he spent a good bit of time telling us why it was a thumbs up! This critique gave me a boost of confidence and the comments from my fellow framers have been so positive. So it’s been a fun week on 52Frames. I really look forward to the challenges each week and spend a lot of time editing. Sometimes it pays off! 

Compression Socks

One of the items that is useful for plantar fasciitis is compression socks. I’ve done just about everything you can do for this condition and maybe after three months it is slowly starting to subside. It may also be that I fell on a sidewalk last week and the pain in my hip and knee is more prominent. It’s just not been a good year for us. Anyway, since my husband now has orthostatic hypotension primarily due to new medications he is taking, compression socks could also work for that. So I ordered three different kinds of socks. He didn’t want any, but since we can wear the same socks I ended up giving him half of what I got - except there was only one pair of the knee high socks that I gave to him. He is usually reluctant to try anything so I am hoping that he will. All sorts of things can go wrong once you get to a certain age. But at least there are so many gadgets and helpful items to make it at least a little easier. I pulled out my knee brace today to wear on our morning walk. It made my knee feel a bit more secure. After two uncomfortable nights I may wear it to bed to prevent any odd knee bending. I’ve been wearing a foot splint at night for the plantar fasciitis. What else is next?

 

52Frames Rule of Odds Photo Challenge

The subject this week for the 52Frames weekly photo challenge was “rule of odds.” That means things in odd numbers. My first thought was to visit the National Gallery of Art. We hadn’t been there for a while and so that was the plan. We started off in the sculpture section, then moved about rather aimlessly hoping to come upon something of merit. I absolutely love Monet and that is where the photo that was submitted was found. There were three Monet paintings, three cushions, three couch legs, and a father and two daughters. The most striking part were the girls. While dad was captivated by the painting, the girls were having a wonderful time and I caught them in the act of swirling and spinning. So it was titled “Dancing with Monet.” The only problem was that there was an interloper sitting on the couch and I needed to edit him out by using clone and painting him over. I also put together two composite images - one of my husband going down the stairs and a second of some guy standing beneath a painting that was triplicated. A few other options were taken in the east gallery main hall. I’m usually not satisfied if I don’t submit a composite but the expression, vibe, and color from the uplifting scene in the Monet exhibit could not be resisted. 

Reporting an Uneven Sidewalk to DC DOT

I am still feeling a bit of a wreck after taking a very hard fall on Friday. We were taking a morning walk and heading towards the WWII Memorial on a sidewalk parallel to 17th street SW. There is a very uneven sidewalk that we have always noticed and avoided - except for this time. I fell on my hand, elbow, hip and knee and have scraped and sore spots to prove it. My Apple Watch fall detection went off asking if I needed an SOS sent. Luckily I was holding my husband’s hand and he tried to keep it from getting worse. I used to report lights that were out and other such things to the DC DOT when we lived on Capitol Hill. So I tried to report this terrible sidewalk using the same website. I got as far as entering in the nearest address and it wouldn’t let me go any further after attempting several times. So I sent an email instead - including a description, a map from my iPhone showing where the incident occurred, and photos of the sidewalk. I also kept the phone number in case I don’t get a response. It’s quite a dangerous problem and the city gets sued all of the time because of this. I am fortunate that things are not worse. But it’s just another reminder about getting old. And every time I move I am reminded of it. 

Trying Out Maman Joon

There is a Persian dish that I really like. It’s called Zershek Polo and is a mouth watering half baked chicken that comes with rice made with berberries. It is a Thursday special at Maman Joons. And since we can now order on line we thought we would try out the place. We have been going to Moby Dicks since we moved to DC eighteen years ago. So we felt a bit disloyal! The menus are typical Persian fare. Aside from the chicken we ordered the usual items that we always get. We were very impressed with the packaging of the food and my husband was very impressed with the cleanliness of the establishment. I absolutely loved the chicken - so much so that I would go there every Thursday just for that! The Koobideh kabob was also very good. As for the salad, soup, bread, baklava, and eggplant side dishes I think Moby Dick’s is better. The servings T ‘a man Joon’s are also larger than Moby Dick but they are also more expensive. So we now have two Persian places for pick up. I’m glad we tried it and look forward to going back. 

I Tested the Apple Watch Fall Detection Feature

We thought a drive in to town was in order. We hadn’t parked at the Tidal Basin for a while and the plan was to walk to the White House. I’ve been suffering from plantar fasciitis for about three months so our usual morning walks have changed. I’m trying to build up a tolerable walking distance little by little while doing all of the exercises, icings, and splint wearing during the day and night. So we made our way towards the WWII Memorial. I’m always telling my husband to look down because the sidewalks are a mess. Well, I didn’t this time. My foot hit an unexpected raised portion of the sidewalk and I couldn’t catch my balance while my hat flew off. Thank goodness I was holding my husband’s hand as it most likely softened the fall. I’m just glad I didn’t take him down with me. Right after I fell my Apple Watch sent a message - “it looks like you’ve taken a hard fall.” Since I was “ok” I closed out the message. But if I hadn’t done that, an SOS would have been sent. This was a nice reminder that gadgets can save lives. Not one person stopped to help us - which I guess I’m not surprised since I got up right away. We started the walk again and then the discomfort set in … my left hand was badly scraped, my elbow was too. My left knee was also scraped and started to hurt, along with my left hip. So I fell on four points rather than one. We decided to turn back to the car and go home since I wanted to put ice on my hand and knee. So I’m sitting here with ice everywhere - including my foot, took and advil and am hoping that none of this is serious that it would require any sort of medical intervention. It has not been a good year for us. It could have been a lot worse and I am thankful for that. But for someone who tries to be so careful it didn’t make any difference today. I guess that’s why it’s called an accident.