VIRUS NEWS:
Trump singled out Florida and Texas for virus response help.
White House Task Force Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, has warned that nine cities are starting to see upticks in case numbers.
As we wade through the tsunami that is the coronavirus first wave in the US, Dr. Fauci is already worried about the second wave.
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina has flatly stated that the president has no plan in how to deal with the virus.
The White House is now making random coronavirus testing mandatory.
Even though he does not have the power to do so, the president is threatening an executive order in regards to blocking mail-in ballots in the presidential election...even though we are in the midst of a deadly and very contagious pandemic.
Twitter temporarily suspended the president's re-election campaign from posting on Twitter as it was spreading misinformation about the pandemic.
Dr. Fauci warned of a "really bad situation" if we do not get our positive case numbers down below 10,000 a day over the next month (currently, we are running 40-60,000 positive new cases a day).
New York City has set up quarantine check points to try and slow the spread.
Nearly 70% of Americans say the government lifted quarantine rules too quickly.
The Midwest, which has largely gotten through the pandemic with few cases, is finally starting to catch up with increasingly frightening numbers.
A biker rally in South Dakota expects 250,000 riders. Masks are not required.
A doctor in Louisiana lost her cousin to the virus and believes that if she would have worn a mask, she might still be alive.
Apparently you can get less sick from the coronavirus if you are wearing a mask.
Spain has debuted a new COVID-19 tracker app that is twice as successful as human tracking.
Many hopeful vaccine manufacturers see good news ahead. Moderna has started its final phase of testing. China's vaccine candidates are progressing nicely. Prices for these yet-to-be-realized vaccines are already being announced.
The University of Minnesota has been working on a cancer treatment utilizing "natural killer cells" to combat COVID 19.
A report suggests that "designer antibodies" could be battling COVID 19 before a vaccine is ready.
The common cold may have help some survive the coronavirus better than others.
Trump may be dreaming of a vaccine as his "October surprise" to win back voters...but those dreams are not rooted in reality.
The president was recently interviewed for a program on HBO. The interviewer asked some good questions. The president, though, said the death toll "is what it is" and that we have the virus "under control." REALLY? The full 38-minute interview is below:
Students in the school system that Vice President Mike Pence called the "forefront" of reopening, have tested positive for the virus and are now in quarantine.
In Utah, students were going to be allowed back to school if they tested positive but were not showing symptoms. That decision has since been changed.
Statistics for school aged children (and younger) in Orange County, Florida were recently brought to light. Since the pandemic began, 1,885 children under 17 have tested positive in the county.
The governor of Tennessee admitted that he is not following the CDC guidelines for safely reopening schools.
A high school student in Missouri has tested positive.
A student in Georgia was suspended after posting photos showing his school with crowded hallways.
A new article from researchers show that children 5-17 have coronavirus viral loads comparable to that of an adult. Those under 5 years of age have 10 to 100 times higher viral loads. Yikes! That is the opposite of what has been reported thus far.
A 7-year-old boy in Savannah, Georgia became the state's youngest COVID 19 mortality.
Twenty-seven counties in Minnesota have had increased viral numbers and will be starting school online instead of in the classroom.
A teacher in Mississippi died this week while self-quarantining.
The co-founder of a pro-Trump students' group, Turning Point, has died from COVID 19 complications.
A funeral in Minnesota led to 30 people getting infected.
A man in Scotland awoke from a coma after suffering from the coronavirus...only to learn his entire family had died from it.
A widow in Texas wrote her husbands obituary, calling out Governor Abbott and President Trump.
An infected man in Ohio went to church and infected 91 others.
A Republican congressman from Illinois has tested positive for the virus.
Texas is going to start allowing visitations to nursing homes that have not had a COVID 19 problem. How stupid is that?
A nurse in Palm Springs needs a lung transplant after battling the coronavirus.
Some cities are starting to go to extremes in an effort to crack down on coronavirus precautions breakers.
Due to the virus outbreak, Facebook employees will now work from home...until July 2021.
Dr. Fauci is not responsible in any way for this virus. However, idiots out there believe he has something to do with it or don't like what he has had to say about it and have targeting the doctor and his family with death threats. The doctor says his daughters need security, it has gotten so bad.
The Republican-controlled senate is still battling with the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives for the next stimulus/relief package.
More than 60 NFL players have chosen to opt out this season due to the virus.
WalMart has announced free drive in screenings at some locations.
The reality TV series BIG BROTHER is returning with social distancing and masks in place.
Check out CNN's latest Coronavirus Town Hall.
In an interview with Geraldo Rivera, Trump says he made no mistakes with the pandemic.
GLOBAL:
The world now has 19,091,446 cases of the virus. There have been 714,767 globally.
India now has two million cases and more than 41,000 dead.
The city of Melbourne in Australia has entered its sixth week of strict lockdown. Yesterday, workers were told to stay home.
This chart is from Monday, but you can see the point about Trump's response and other parts of the world:
STATES:
New Hampshire reported 1 new death and 25 new cases yesterday.
The governor of New Jersey blamed "knuckleheads" not following the state's virus guidelines for the spike in cases recently. The state had 411 new cases yesterday and 8 more deaths.
South Carolina had 1,295 new cases yesterday and 44 new deaths. The state's infection numbers are growing and will soon top 100,000 cases.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis was telling people it was safe to hug their loved ones as long as they were wearing PPE...despite medical experts advising against such actions.
Pennsylvania added 807 new cases and 38 deaths yesterday.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio has tested positive for the virus. At least 50 bars and restaurants in the state have had outbreaks in them since July 1.
Michigan had 722 new cases yesterday and 26 deaths.
A judge in Louisiana has uphold the governor's orders requiring masks and closing bars.
South Dakota had 105 new cases yesterday and 4 deaths.
Along Texas' southern border, towns are overwhelmed with coronavirus cases and deaths. Another nursing home in the state has also had an outbreak.
There were 587 new cases in Utah yesterday.
Nevada added 729 new cases (622 of those in Clark County, home of Las Vegas) and 10 deaths on Wednesday.
Oregon added 267 new cases and 1 death yesterday, bringing the state's total number of infections to just over 20,000.
A seafood plant on Kodiak Island in Alaska has had dozens of positive cases.
More restrictions and stronger enforcement are in place on the island of Oahu in an attempt to stem the tide of infection in Hawaii.
CALIFORNIA:
Los Angeles County has surpassed 200,000 cases and is nearing 5,000 deaths.
Shasta County has seen a 75% increase in hospitalizations due to COVID 19 in the last two weeks.
Reports suggest that the crisis in California is being fueled by young adults having raucous parties.
San Luis Obispo County reported 77 new cases yesterday.
A restaurant in San Francisco is using gardening domes to prevent the spread of the virus.
LOCAL:
There will be free coronavirus testing today at Manchester Center in Fresno.
The Central Valley is seeing an increase in cases, according to Dr. Brix.
Kaweah Delta Hospital is hoping the military healthcare team can prolong its stay by at least another 30 days as it battles the virus.
Fresno courts are not following the state mandates.
A 16-year-old Clovis boy is back home after battling COVID 19.
A Fresno father is hoping for a lung transplant---but the virus outbreak is hampering efforts.
Local school districts explain what virtual PE will be like this year.
A Fresno pool hall owner faces backlash over signs mocking COVID 19.
CREATIVITY:
Actor Ryan Reynolds is looking to give people a chance to work in the movie industry. Really! Here are the details:
Here are more of the very creative QUARANTINE BARBIE sets:
MAIL:
I had the quickest note from Rosa in England on Monday morning.
"Sorry for the radio silence," she said. "I'm super busy at work and also selling my house -- so not the smartest thing to do with COVID. In London, we are back to square one. It feels like this is never going to end."
Kim, my CNA friend in Wisconsin, sent this note:
"I am still doing well," she said. "As of Friday, I tested negative again. I try to stay home as much as possible. I am so glad that Governor Evers did enforce the mask mandate. I still see people who refuse to wear them. I just saw a man at Kwik Trip look at the sign, mumble to himself, and just walked in without one. They did not say anything to him. I suppose people are afraid to confront anyone about it. I also am hearing about more positive people. A co-worker of mine did test positive. She is back to work after two weeks. My dad knows someone he used to work with that was positive and off of work. These two people both lost there sense of taste and smell. The had no other symptoms. My co-worker did say that she had a low grade temp at times, otherwise nothing. I am glad that they are both well enough to talk about it. It is scary. My family and friends are staying well, so far.
"I am still hoping for Hawaii in March. A girl can dream..."
My friend Vye lives in town. Tuesday was her birthday. Despite the pandemic putting a damper on things over all, she did go out to The Annex here in town with her boyfriend for a birthday dinner. This is what she texted me about the evening:
"Social distancing was handled very well," she said. "It was all outside seating with pretty Edison light strings interspersed with cooling misters. The patio seating location has trees that block out most of the end of day sunlight that can pierce a diner's pleasant experience and eyeballs. Menus are printed afresh daily. The staff all wear masks when refilling, taking orders, clearing plates... Seating truly met the 6 ft apart minimum. And, of course, the food and cocktails and wine were all delicious. Four hundred stars!"
SHIRLEY:
Shirley has stayed inside mostly. It's just too hot. I did get her out a couple of times this week, though.
I LOVE it when I call and she decided to come to me or go inside or outside. That is so tortoisely cool of her.
But I was a bad tortoise daddy. I left her alone all day Wednesday, returning Thursday afternoon. I don't know if she was mad at me or just sleeping, but she had her head pulled tightly all of the way in her shell and she has not emerged from her box since my return.
Silly girl...
ME:
My aggravating neighbors (the ones with the fence) had some sort of party or family gathering recently. They pulled their trailer out of storage and had it parked in front of my house for several days. I thought they planned to go somewhere. But late Sunday evening all of these cars arrived (parking in front of my house and across the street). I'm guessing the trailer was used as extra accommodations, in addition to whatever room they had in the house. The visitors stayed several days---and are gone now. But the trailer remains parked there. I don't really care. I know I don't own the street...but it's just RUDE.
On Monday, I had my telehealth conference for my immunologist/rheumatologist. She went over my lab and biopsy results. My labs were all fine. My muscle biopsy was fine. My nerve biopsy was, however, not fine. I already knew this, but played along, waiting for her to explain what the results ("Focal loss of large and small myelinated nerve fibers"). The nerve stuff is outside of her realm of specialty, she said. She thought maybe it was some form of "chronic, slow Guillane-Barre," which seems unlikely to me. It's not presenting like Guillane-Barre at all. She also suggested it could be "MS" (Multiple Sclerosis), but I am fairly sure that possibility was eliminated with brain MRIs i've had. She also thought it could possibly be "C.I.D.P." (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). (This could be it--although there are aspects of that diagnosis that don't sound like my situation either.) Essentially, since she was in an area she wasn't familiar with, she was just guessing.
So--no news isn't necessarily bad news. (She said she was glad the muscle biopsy was okay. She was suspecting a specific muscle disease that there is no cure for. EEK!) At least we have the biopsy results to go on---something they would never have seen in an X-Ray or MRI. Hopefully Dr. Bhatia will figure me out...
My best friend Erich decided he wanted to spend his birthday at my house. I was a little weirded out by that, but he had come to take me to my biopsy in June and had stayed a few weeks then. He had been at home more or less since then, so I told him okay.
Before he came, I had to get to the bank on Tuesday. The guy ahead of me was masked, but (although you can't tell in the photo) the guy ahead of me's mask was so sheer---you could see his features beneath it.
Later, I stopped at Von's. They had a hand sanitizing station and sanitized carts. Nice.
Although the worst of the hoarding seems to be over, I noticed that a large chunk o' the stores toilet paper was missing. The cleaning supplies were also very sparse. Jinkies! Will I ever find Lysol again? I have NEVER found any available since this thing started.
I was pleased to see plastic sheeting between customers at the self-checkout line (which was new since I was last there).
I also picked up some medication at CVS...as well as a new cane to use to help with my balance. Oooo...
When Erich arrived, we were trying to decide what to do for dinner. I remembered I had a Panda Express gift card from someone... I think it was from my friend John, in Frazier Park, California. So, we opted to go there. (Thank you, John!)
While in line, I spied a mask cheater. Get that nose in there, honey. No one wants to see that.
Wednesday was Erich's birthday---and he wanted to go to the coast. So, although we got a bit of a late start, off we went. I was kind of weirded out by the idea of doing this as well. But there are things at the coast you can do---while being socially distant. Right? Hmm.
We stopped first in Cambria. We didn't go there so much to sight see or go shopping. No. We stopped because Erich needed to pee.
We looked all over for a bathroom...even going into shops to look. Nothing. I asked a guy in a liquor store. He said to try a restaurant.
I remembered there being a public bathroom near a parking lot...and we eventually found that. However, due to the pandemic, it was closed and locked. Swell...
Back a block from the bathroom and parking lot, we had seen a restaurant with a large garden area for dining. He decided we should go there so he could use their restroom. We stood in a socially distanced line, waiting to be helped. But Erich couldn't wait...and off to the bathroom he went.
It was my turn with the hostess. She took me to the garden through the converted house...where I spied Erich standing in line, doing the pee-pee dance. Ha! I was taken to the back garden and seated---socially distant from everyone else. Erich finally emerged. We split a hummus plate appetizer and a lunch salad with chicken. I went to the bathroom---and there was no line at all. Ha!
Across the street from the restaurant, Erich spotted a candy store that sold F-U-D-G-E! So, of course, we had to check it out. There was a 6-person maximum limit in the store...and we were 6...until this family of 4 came barging in. Fortunately, the other four people inside left about that time, so we were able to shop.
There were many different varieties of fudge. Erich got a regular chunk o' fudge with walnuts. I got a sugar free with walnuts chunk for myself. However, the sugar free was a LIE of sorts. On closer inspection, once purchased, I saw that while no sugar was used, it was full of corn syrup. UGH! Still, it was mighty tasty....
They also had MYSTERY BAGS for sale for only a dollar. Oooooo... What could possibly be in them? I had a dollar and took a chance. This is what I got:
After the candy store, we headed out for the coast. I took Erich up to see the elephant seals. The weather was perfect, so much nicer than the blast furnace that is the central valley.
From there, we drove north, passing the Piedras Blancas lighthouse station. Visitors are not allowed to the lighthouse. I'm not sure why (They were not allowed pre-pandemic either.) (What I want to know is where is the town of Piedras Blancas? I've been by the lighthouse several times and have never seen any indication that a town is anywhere near it. But if there is no town, where did they film THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS...which takes place at the lighthouse--and the town of Piedras Blancas! (Actually, now that I think of it, in real life the lighthouse looks nothing like the lighthouse in the film. Gasp! Can the movie really be FICTIONAL? WHAT!?! No way!)
We drove on to Ragged Point, the southern tip of Big Sur. There are great vistas there.
Since the day had gotten away from us and I didn't relish driving home in the dark, we decided to stay over night and go out for a special birthday boy dinner. We got a cheapish room at the Creekside Inn
The room was less than glamorous---but we didn't care.
The place we wanted to go (The Sea Chest--on Moonstone Beach) only had to go orders---and no outside dining. So, we stayed in town and ate at the Sow's Ear. The Sow's Ear, as had several other restaurants, had created an outdoor dining experience that actually spilled over into the street somewhat.
I opted for a steak salad.
Erich had the braised short ribs.
They did not serve cocktails (WHAT!?! Who picked that place?), Erich had a glass of wine. In honor of the pandemic, I opted for a Corona Extra. It said "Limited Edition" on the bottom of the label. Does it always say that...or is it expecting a vaccine soon?
The dinner was just okay. Happy birthday anyway, Erich. During the meal, my mom wanted to know what was going on. I told her...and, worried about us, I am sure, she kept texting and texting and texting while we were trying to enjoy our dinner. Did we have things to wipe down the room? No--I told her. Where would we find Clorox wipes at that hour in Cambria? Be careful. Use hand get. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Yes, it was stupid of us to go there and stay---but it was happening and we just had to deal with it. Of course, I had a HORRIBLE night of very little sleep. Every time I touched the blanket or faucet or door knob, I was freaked out. Especially since we were in such a cheap-o hotel with nasty polyester sheets (that were hot and itchy). I'm sure the sheets were changed daily--but what about the bed spreads? Blankets? I felt like I was staying in a petri dish. Ick!
The next morning (yesterday), we had breakfast at Linn's (on their converted parking lot).
I had spinach and mushroom eggs benedict.
Erich had a salmon panini.
A few years back, we had gone to the coast and stopped off in Parkfield on the way. Parkfield is known as the earthquake capitol of the world. The population is only 18 and there is literally almost nothing there to see...except for this horse skeleton--that was the only thing I did NOT get a picture of when we had visited.
Erich knew I wanted to get a photo of the horse skeleton, and suggested a visit on our trip home.While looking it up on line, he had found this site saying that the road to Parkfield from San Miguel along Vineyard Canyon Road was the most beautiful around and a little-known "must see." Since we were heading up there anyway, why not take it?
We took the San Miguel turnoff, then followed a sign for Parkfield. We were driving along these rolling hills covered with vineyards and it was quite picturesque. There were a slew of wineries that looked really interesting along the way. And then we realized we were totally going the wrong way. We Google mapped it back to the right road and...THIS was the most beautiful must see? Ugh! It looked like and dried out stretch of lonely road in the foothills anywhere...
Eventually though, we did arrive in Parkfield.
In a town of 18...during a pandemic, especially...there wasn't much traffic.
We stopped at the tiny school house, which is the home of the horse skeleton.
And here it is.... Just what every playground needs; a horse skeleton posed as if it were rearing up on its hind legs.
Creepy fun...
Directly across from the school is the little bungalow that serves as the local headquarters for the US Geological Survey and next to that is the UC Berkeley Seismological Lab.
A little further in on the left is a welcoming gate with a treehouse play area.
Next to that is the Parkfield Cafe. It was open, but we did not go in---still full from breakfast at Linn's.
Just beyond the cafe is the row of mailboxes for the whole town. Zowie!
Parkfield sits on the Pacific and North American plates along the San Andreas fault line. You cross over the San Andreas Fault as you enter the town, actually. This memorial marker explains the significance of the fault and the town's location.
Near the monument is this old water tower-looking thing that apparently served as a Shell station at one time. Today it is part of the Parkfield Inn.
Here is the rest of the inn.
This fun sign post points out directions to nearby attractions, such as the fault line (0.5 miles that-a-way), the Parkfield Inn (over there) and even Paso Robles (32 miles out yonder).
This statue stands guard over the entrance to the Parkfield Cafe.
This slimy, moss-covered fountain sits to the left of the old Shell Station that is now part of the inn.
As we left town, we would be crossing a bridge over the San Andreas Fault, returning to the Pacific Plate.
And that was our trip. It was perhaps ill-advised...and we may come down with something. I hope not. We tired to be safe. But who doesn't? The next two weeks will tell... Fingers crossed we are okay.
Stay SAFE! Stay SHELTERED! Stay ALIVE!
Cheers!
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Comments
Cheers, Christa
Parkfield? On your bucket list? Not necessarily... There really isn't much there. But it is interesting for a quick visit, I guess. The road to it is just past the actual James Dean intersection (NOT where the James Dead Memorial thing is). It is easy to miss and the road is not the best.
I'm pleased they found nerve issues---that is a huge step forward. I spoke with a pediatric neurologist (the boyfriend of the daughter of one of my mom's friends) just today about it via phone. He suggested genetic testing. I'll discuss it with the new neurologist if/when I ever see him.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks for visiting.
CHEERS!