Current temperature: 88 degrees. Tomorrow’s high: 81. Thursday will be 64, and on Friday? A high temperature of 54. Maybe some storms along the way, maybe not – the all-purpose forecast of widely scattered showers seems to be the go-to. Well, it’s May. No guarantees. And it’ll be nice to take a bike ride in the cool, as opposed to the heat.
Having fulfilled my Midwestern Oath to Open Every Conversation With a Note About the Weather, how’re things?
I headed back to the gym this week. It’s masks-optional for vaccinated patrons, but there’s no verification. I decided to let go, let god, and go when very few others are there. Also, I opened the back door for a breeze whenever possible. And turned on the fan. And got in and out in 40 minutes. And I crossed my fingers and spit.
I thought I’d been keeping up with my basement workouts, but I am good and sore, although not cripplingly so.
It so happens the owner of my gym had a heart attack during the pandemic. Not a serious one, but he’s been taken by the spirit, and has become a prophet of Vegan. He says it’s making a difference, and I’m sure it is, but honestly, every time I even consider it, my head starts to hurt. I’ve probably said it before, but it strikes me as similar to staying kosher; you always have to be thinking, where is my next meal coming from, who will prepare it, and how can I be sure it’s up to my standards? You have to familiarize yourself with fake meat, tofu and other unfamiliar offerings. We’ve been experimenting with Beyond and Impossible meats, and found they work best in stuff like chili or tacos, because a burger is a burger is a burger. But you look at the nutritional information on the package and think, this is healthy? Who knows what’s in that stuff?
Ever since the Great Fat-Free Panic of the ’80s/’90s, I’ve been suspicious of any food masquerading as another food. Artificial sweeteners, Olean fake fat and now, faux-meat. Grinding nuts and loading them with spices to make…something. Vegetarian I can handle, but take away my eggs and cheese and you’ve got a fight on your hands. So while I don’t judge if this is your thing, it ain’t my thing.
Jeff, you just discovered Lord Huron? I too am a fairly recent fan. And what’s more, I learned that for a couple of years, I edited the front man’s father, who contributed to Bridge. And yes, they’re named for the lake the family has a cottage on.
What else? I’m weary of outrage, but man, it sure is plentiful these days. Between MTG and LB, I’m just about exhausted. But we can’t let down.
OK, I’m about out of anything to say, and Wednesday work awaits.
LAMary said on May 26, 2021 at 9:50 am
A friend has been a vegetarian for years has never been interested in fake meat, tofurkey, any of that stuff, and I get it. We do vegetarian meals, not vegan, three times a week. It’s tough with younger son at home. He’s a carnivore. Vegetarian lasagna makes him happy, though. I still eat cheese, put milk in my coffee and love eggs in many forms. Imagining a life without parmesan makes me sad. Fake gruyere is a crime against nature.
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Jeff Borden said on May 26, 2021 at 10:18 am
We’ve cut our meat consumption considerably in favor of fish, but I still enjoy a nice, juicy steak or a fat hamburger. The market near us sells pre-made hamburger patties with extra ingredients –chunks of jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese, or smoked gouda and bacon, etc.– and they are simply deeelicious.
It likely will surprise no one here that MTG is a prodigious fundraiser. Every stupid, racist, anti-Semitic, conspiracy-laced rant she delivers generates hundreds of thousands in cash money. And Kevin McCarthy, who might as well be Charlie McCarthy considering how ineffective he is, is loathe to do much more than gently slap her wrists. He has to keep catering to that white grievance, baby. It’s all the party has left.
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Icarus said on May 26, 2021 at 10:25 am
I imagine of the many things that keep them away, our Alien Overlords think we are silly for defining our diets the way we do. Figure 365 days a year X 3 meals and snacks, let’s round it up to 1500 eating moments.
If someone doesn’t eat meat for all of those, they are a vegetarian. But what if you don’t eat meat for 1450 out of 1500 – does that mean you lose your V-card? it doesn’t really seem like you are much of a carnivore in that scenario.
I was telling a Vegan friend the other day that it’s actually easier for us meateaters because we CAN go a meal without meat and get along just fine.
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Beobachter said on May 26, 2021 at 10:37 am
This week was the holiday Whit Monday, and MAX-ination day (two shots+two weeks)! I was wrong to assume our drug of no choice would be Moderna. Instead it was Comirnaty (Pfizer–BioNTech). I also expected some emotional reaction, but nichts, until I saw a daughter aiding her 90-year old mother. Then it got a bit dusty in the aftershot area.
Round 2 was the most CH-chill experience I’ve had in the German part of CH (CH is the ISO country code for Switzerland). As a couple we were allowed to go in the shooting gallery cubicle together, and because of no side effects from jab#1 we were rewarded with a wait time of 300 seconds. Total Swiss Timing in/out of the big tent was 14 minutes!
This week is also the one year anniversary of us purchasing used eBikes, picking them up out east, near Germany. We made the run to the border on a 6AM train, sole occupants of a first class Wagen, and then cranking back home. It’s the last time we’ve been on public transportation.
We celebrated each round with 7 day holidays. Da wife (I grew up in the same county as David C’s workplace) filtered AirBnb+Vrbo listings for non-shared facilities up to 60km (comfortable range for one day’s pedal) away from home. Our first abode was an 1870s three story farmhouse. Recently renovated, it had the largest kitchen (outside of a castle) I’ve seen in Europe, with an island and table for 8. The refrigerator was standard form (too small), with the typical two shoeboxes sized freezer. (I proved my US bona fides in dwelling number two by asking if they happened to have an ice cube tray.)
Our 50 pounds of ‘necessities’ were packed into four rear panniers, and a week’s worth of groceries (B-no-B) was ordered for delivery within 2 hours of arrival.
It was the first time we’ve slept outside our apartment since August, and a welcome reset. A different kind of quiet from the apartment building, nice views, and daily 50k rides to explore the areas.
Thanks to AppleTV Minus, an HDMI dongle for the iPhone, we continued LOL-ing to “Call My Agent”. (Deborah, we also enjoyed “The Bureau” season 1, and two is in the queue.)
Some snaps:
https://imgur.com/a/DzOVNRq
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Little Bird said on May 26, 2021 at 10:44 am
What did I do?
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2021 at 10:45 am
For a couple of years now we’ve been dealing with ‘what do we make when son comes over’ because he was diagnosed with celiac disease and it’s challenging. He cooks much more often than his wife does and when we eat at their house, generally speaking the food is delicious. It’s friggin’ expensive to buy GF things, too. Breads, muffin or cake mixes, other flour sources are just crazy expensive. But what are you gonna do? This extends to cooking implements, too, which I didn’t know until Josh asked me not to use wooden spatulas, etc. when I cook for him. It’s like learning a whole new language sometimes.
We’ll be in Pittsburgh this weekend and I can’t hardly wait. Only one or two of my sibs will be there, but both of my kids will – it’s our family reunion on Sunday. My mom’s side of the family. Her parents had 35 grandchildren (my 9 siblings and I are 10 of them of course). Uncle Joe had 10, Uncle Tim had 6, Aunt Peg had 6, Uncle Jack had 3. The gathering won’t be as big as years past but we are still happy to be together with some family at our usual spot in Cranberry, PA. I’m pretty sure my 6 month old twin great nieces will be there – our first chance to meet them! Olivia is looking forward to playing with so many cousins. Sadly, this is the first year we have no members of my parents’ generation. Aunt Jackie died last May (not Covid). So now we are the oldest generation, my sibs, first cousins and I.
Anyone watching some good t.v. these days? We are really into Mare of Eastown (HBO). And The Chi came back on Showtime this past weekend. Another excellent entry opened up this season.
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2021 at 10:47 am
All those fake burgers taste great once you put a slice of cheese on them, am I right? I also worry about all the chemicals and fillers in them, but it’s a discussion going on in our house too. I was vegetarian in college, relying on eggs and cheese like Mary. D was a classic meat and potatoes person, so we had to learn compromise. Most meals use meat more as flavoring than main dish, and when he wanted a big old steak, he would buy one and grill it.
But now the man has got religion and wants to be vegetarian (not vegan, thank goodness). It’s for the good; he sees the family health issues and doctors tell him every one of them are affected by cholesterol and inflammation. So I support him, I do, but too many of the dishes he tries are highly spiced and my GI tract sends them straight through, if you catch my drift.
Anyway, if you’d like a little outrage, how about those Texas Republicans, so concerned about the constitutional right to bear arms that they’re also ready to throw out the educational aspect of gun ownership? Funny how they’re less concerned with the rights of voters and women’s bodies.
Or we could mention the Indiana legislature, urging Governor Holcomb to overturn Indiana University’s rule that all students and staff must get Covid vaccinations before the fall semester. When our son started there he had to show proof that he’d had a measles booster. Why? They had an outbreak and a lot of people got sick. It seemed very sensible to us, and he’d already had the booster.
Or we could mention the Governor himself, currently in Israel to provide comfort in their time of need. This is a man who spent his political career as a bureaucrat and political operative and only became Governor because of Pence leaving for the Trump ticket. He was appointed Lt. Gov. when Pence ditched his first Lt, so became Governor without every being elected.
So, apparently he now has national aspirations, as why else would he be in Israel. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
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Deborah said on May 26, 2021 at 11:34 am
I’m going to have to change my abbreviation for Little Bird, now that LB = Lauren Boebert.
I can go without meat for many days but cheese and eggs, no siree I can’t do without those. I keep wanting to try those fake burgers that you can get now that are supposed to taste a lot more like real burgers, but I keep passing them by when I’m at the grocery store for some reason. S’s Dr wants him to get lean roast beef every once in a while so that he gets more protein. I’ve asked him to ask his Dr if he can just get protein supplements instead. Don’t get me wrong I like meat and poultry from time to time, we eat more chicken than red meat. I don’t eat fish much anymore because I can’t find any that tastes as good as the fresh fish my dad bought off the boat on his way home from work and grilled, when I was a kid in Miami.
Dorothy, I had not heard of not using wooden utensils when cooking for someone with celiac disease, but then I don’t know anyone who has it, so it’s not something I have researched.
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2021 at 11:57 am
Deborah it’s the worry about cross contamination – that’s why he asked me not to use them when cooking for him. Even washing the wooden ones in the dish pan or the dishwasher might not be enough to keep any contact with gluten out of future preparations. So I use metal or plastic ones instead.
I learned that even store bought raw chicken might have some gluten in it. It could be the chickens ate grain with gluten. So he buys free-range organic to avoid gluten in chicken. Sometimes whole chickens or turkeys have been brined in liquid that has trace amounts of gluten. I found that out at Thanksgiving.
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Beobachter said on May 26, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Dorothy@6, current good TV:
* Hacks, with Jean Smart
* Girls5eva, if you liked 30Rock and/or Kimmy Schmidt
* In Treatment, season 4 has good reviews
* Ted Lasso, season 2 returns 23-July.
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2021 at 12:06 pm
How fun are these!?!?!
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/DeborahTomasello/nestle-your-tootsies-crossword-socks
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Suzanne said on May 26, 2021 at 12:14 pm
I read in the paper this morning that Holcomb is in Israel and wondered why. How does Indiana keep electing people who worry about everyone, everywhere except Hoosiers? And Holcomb is one of the better ones. Rep Jim Banks is now obsessed with finding out if the corona virus came from a lab in Wuhan because that’s what he is hearing from OAN, Newsmax and Breitbart.
We eat less meat than we used to but I could never be vegan. I’d go mad with no cheese or eggs, especially cheese. And my morning joe with no half-n-half would be a sad thing indeed!
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Dorothy, are there others in your extended family with celiac disease? It’s an inherited trait that many in my family have, but not me, fortunately.
Son’s GF has lots of food allergy issues, which she’s been exploring with her doctor. The worst is the corn, which includes corn syrup and all kinds of other ingredients in prepared food. They’ve been going out long enough that he’s learned what to look for and can guide us when she’s coming over. But it can be very tricky.
Another mass shooting, in San Jose. How many does that make this year?
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Sherri said on May 26, 2021 at 1:02 pm
I’m never giving up bacon. I don’t have to eat it often, but I’m never giving it up.
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2021 at 1:07 pm
Sherri, I just ate a BLT sandwich made with turkey bacon, and I’ll say this, it smells great while it’s cooking.
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bb said on May 26, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Congrats to Nancy. Just saw that your article on Ed Martell is the basis of a story posted last night in the WaPo. How does that work, anyway? Do they have to get your permission? Offer you a $5 Starbucks card? Send you an invite to their Christmas party?
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beb said on May 26, 2021 at 3:18 pm
I’m exhausted by the daily rounds of shootings — 2, 3, 4 dead, dozens wounded. I;s like, now that Covid has finally let us get out of the house the desire to kill somebody has crept up to take Covid’s place.
I’m the worst offender about it but I suspect that portion control is a lot more important to good health that going fat-free, paleo, vegetarian or vegan. You look at people in the 30s and they are all skinny as heck. You’d think they were starving or something. Compared to today they were.
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Sherri said on May 26, 2021 at 3:54 pm
Julie, I eat turkey bacon more often than I eat real bacon, and if I cook it until it’s close to burned, it’s tolerable, but it’s not bacon. An egg white scramble is fine, but adding even one yolk makes it so much better. There’s little good to be said about ground turkey.
I eat these things because I need a lot of lean protein to sustain my lifting,
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Deborah said on May 26, 2021 at 4:20 pm
I can’t imagine a BLT with turkey bacon. Now I’m hungry for a real bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich on toast.
But we’re just having frozen pizza tonight because we have so much to do today, cooking dinner is too much of a hassle.
L Bird is making a bunch of food today for a picnic in Abiquiu with friends tomorrow. She’s making a chicken salad with pesto, homemade aioli and sundried tomatoes, I think there’s some onion in there too. A Mediterranean chicken salad if you will. I bought a loaf of ciabatta bread (my contribution). L Bird is also blanching green beans and making a dip for those. Someone else is bringing a fruit salad or fruit of some kind and another person is bringing a surprise dessert. Now I’m wondering if that’s going to be enough food for everyone, hmmmm?
Ok back to work getting thick, woody vines off of the chain link fence. Ugh.
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Bitter Scribe said on May 26, 2021 at 4:22 pm
But you look at the nutritional information on the package and think, this is healthy? Who knows what’s in that stuff?
The point of the Impossible Burger etc. is not health, exactly. The IB has just as much fat and sodium as a regular burger (but no cholesterol, for whatever that’s worth). The IB and similar products are for people who want to avoid meat for whatever reason but still want hamburgers. Which just seems weird, but like Nancy, I’m not going to judge.
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Scout said on May 26, 2021 at 4:25 pm
After practically being at death’s door with Diverticulitis complicated by gallstones two years ago, I went vegan after 12 years of being “just” a vegetarian. I have never felt better and things have come a hella long way with fake cheeze since the last time I tried. Plus, after a few years of eating fake burgers they become the real thing to you. That said, pizza will never be the same. I now just eat it with no cheeze instead of fake mozz. Give me a woodfired crust with good sauce and roasted veggies and I’m happy. There are multitudinous vegan recipe sites on the web and we eat really well.
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2021 at 4:42 pm
Yep I heard celiac was an inherited disease but I know of no one else in my family who has it or had it. Maybe it’s from my husband’s side of the family? They are all dead so I can’t ask anyone! His cousin is 6 years older than we are, and she does not have it and neither do her two kids. Maybe my father-in-law’s side of the family…?
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David C said on May 26, 2021 at 4:42 pm
My wife has the corn thing too, Julie. It’s probably worse than gluten as far as all the things it’s hidden in. Subsidized corn makes it cheap to use in everything. She doesn’t have celiac but is also sensitive to gluten. She isn’t to the point that we have to be as careful about our meat. As it is, she doesn’t eat any baked goods because of it.
The company I work for lets us go maskless if prove we’re vaccinated. Proof is the state’s online vaccination record not the easily forged card. When we prove vaccination we get a sticker on our badges. But anti-vaxxers being anti-vaxxers (or wingnuts being wingnuts) someone counterfeited the sticker so today we had to had our stickers replaced with one with a hologram. I wonder if whoever did it was fired.
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2021 at 7:03 pm
You’ll notice I wrote that turkey bacon smells great while it’s cooking, not that it tastes like bacon. Big difference!
One of the alternate meats we tried came with each burger individually packaged in its own little plastic cocoon. It couldn’t be recycled either, not that any plastic is good. It’s presented as such a healthy choice, but it’s not at all healthy for the planet.
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SusanG said on May 26, 2021 at 7:16 pm
The vegan diet has lots of healthy things, but isincomplete nutrition. That’s why vegans end up taking so many supplements or add fish to their diet.
Wendy’s chili is gluten free.
I follow Adam Carroll and his “The Bad Food Bible.”
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Food-Bible-How-Sinfully-ebook/dp/B01MYZJO4W/ref=sr_1_1
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SusanG said on May 26, 2021 at 7:23 pm
Oops, big mistake. It’s Aaron Carroll, not Adam. Anyway, he’s informative and funny.
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LAMary said on May 26, 2021 at 8:12 pm
Columbus turkey bacon is good. No one would mistake it for piggy bacon but it’s tasty. Honest.
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Heather said on May 26, 2021 at 9:15 pm
Love bacon but I notice that since I had my gallbladder removed, eating even a little too much makes me nauseated and worse, so I gotta be careful. My system can’t handle that kind of fat much anymore, apparently.
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Deborah said on May 26, 2021 at 9:16 pm
I missed the Super Flower Blood Moon this morning, I woke up at 3:30am which is pretty typical for me and was hoping I would wake up again around 5 which is also typical, but of course I slept through it. S got up and watched it in Abiquiu but said it was a little vague because of clouds. I’ve watched videos of it online, not the same thing of course. Sorry I missed it. I find things like that a big deal. Another thing about my cataract surgery is that I can see the stars so much better, don’t need glasses at all to do so.
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2021 at 9:27 pm
Columbus turkey bacon, from Costco. That’s the one in our frig and my tummy.
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Dexter Friend said on May 27, 2021 at 3:32 am
Consuela from Family Guy would say, regarding turkey bacon, “no…no…no no no…”
Lake Huron is mentioned today. I was just telling my still-working brother about the beauty of Tawas City. I have been there just a few times but always loved it. His boss and a crew of factory inspectors are there now. Brother has never been.
Well, I have a possible deal brewing to trade off the Chevy I am sick of. One thing I never developed was a hatred of minivans. You all have heard it, young drivers despise them, men hate them, even many young couples with kids abhor them. I love them. I followed their development through the 1980s and when Ford premiered their Aerostar I rented one for a weekend and drove up to Mackinac and over the bridge. I loved it. Now most gotsta have an SUV, which, I hate. God, it’s great to be an American and not have to drive a Lada. So, in keeping with my own hatred, that being making car payments, I am close to closing on a really clean Honda Odyssey. Yeah, I am retired UAW, but fuck, the International must think I’m dead; my Solidarity monthly magazine was cut off from me many years ago. The factory I toiled in for 30 years is shuttered forever, sold down the river. I feel disconnected, by a long way, from that corporation as well as the union.
Also, while scanning the obits, I noticed a woman has passed, just one year older than me. She was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam. That is where I was based during my year in Vietnam. I thought that that notice was likely as hell the first time the city of Nha Trang was ever mentioned in that newspaper. For the record, it’s now a world-famous resort, beautiful beaches. No more goddam rockets and mortars in the air, no more Cobra gunship helicopters…all long gone.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on May 27, 2021 at 7:19 am
Dexter, thanks for the reminder that even the damndest things and places can get better. As for Nancy’s query up top, I am so far behind the curve on so many matters it almost gives me liberty to just quit trying to keep up. I’m trying to find that sort of Zen. But darn it, winning the Vax-a-million drawing last night in Ohio would have helped. Oh well, three more tries ahead.
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alex said on May 27, 2021 at 9:26 am
Surprised Vax-a-million even stood a chance in the Ohio legislature when I see what anti-vax nuttery is going on in Indiana.
Here, the legislature stripped the governor and local health officials of emergency powers during a health crisis and then overrode the governor’s veto. Now, in a totally hypocritical move, they’re demanding that the governor write an executive order prohibiting universities from requiring that students be vaccinated.
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Suzanne said on May 27, 2021 at 11:07 am
The IN legislature has become unhinged. One of our kids went to IU about 10 years ago. She had to prove that she had had a meningitis vaccine to live in the dorm. Where was the legislature screaming about that?
The IN GOP truly has become a pro-life death cult.
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nancy said on May 27, 2021 at 11:54 am
Alex, I see the Indiana Policy Review, perhaps unsatisfied with its current lineup of elderly white guys, has added an anti-vax woman to the “adjunct scholars” lineup. So far she’s following the memo from HQ: Using the VAERS database to “just ask questions,” etc. It’s maddening. We’re really going backward, and in the case of Indiana, I didn’t think they had much more room to do so.
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Deborah said on May 27, 2021 at 12:16 pm
I do not understand how the supposed “party of life” can be so hypocritically opposed to abortion (some even if the life of the mother is endangered), are against saving lives from Covid with the vaccine, are ridiculously pro guns (even though thousands die from those every year) etc etc etc etc. I don’t get it. If the are so enthralled with TIFG why don’t they credit him with getting the vaccine very quickly, and then go flocking to get them?
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JodiP said on May 27, 2021 at 12:36 pm
Sicne I mentioned my boss issues recently, I want to share an update about my no good, terrible, horrible boss. We met today and she apologized many times for her harsh tone and not listening. I gave her very honest feedback about what this hellscape has been like. At one point I said, I could talk for two hours about instances of when you have shamed and castigated me. She actually listened. She promised to do better. I let her know it’s going to be a while before I think it’s real because the harm has gone deep. I am a little stunned. This isn’t the first time she has likely had to do this, so I will never really trust her again.
In other, more dismal news, I just turned on the heat.
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beb said on May 27, 2021 at 12:50 pm
Republican controlled state legislatures are all going nuts. This stuff in Indiana where the leg’ banned asked for proof of covid vaccination. In Arizona the legislature there has removed most of the election powers from the secretary of state, currently a Democrat, but only through the end of her term. Complaints in Ohio about the vacs-a-lottery, a surprisingly effective bribe to get people vaccinated. And all the states that want the crazy election “Ninja” audit their already audited election results. Were they always this crazy or have they become desperate after Trump lost?
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Jeff Borden said on May 27, 2021 at 12:58 pm
I strongly dislike one-party rule regardless of who it benefits. Illinois is a fiscal mess with hugely underfunded pensions entirely because the Democratic Party controls everything here. Corruption here is so outrageous and ingrained that we chuckle ruefully whenever some powerful poobah or another is caught by the feds in a scam. We’re all waiting for the downfall of a shitty little prick named Mike Madigan, the most powerful Democrat in the state but one who finally has stuck his well-shod foot into a bear trap.
What our state legislature DOESN’T do is fret about transgender bathrooms, critical race theory or cultural marxism. Our GA doesn’t give carte blanche to every gun nut in the state by allowing open carry without permit or training or allowing concealed carry permits to be used as voter ID but not student ID cards. It’s easy to register and cast a ballot here without having to jump through various hoops. These are all major issues in many GOP states.
So, at base, I’ll put up with the corruption and cronyism rather than the rightwing tomfoolery I see across the state lines in Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin.
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LAMary said on May 27, 2021 at 1:00 pm
Oh, Jodi. Been there, done that. The boss who belittled and castigated me and other employees got fired but he left a mark. He was replaced by someone just as bad but in a sneaky, dishonest way. Same results. She got fired too. Next guy was incompetent but at least he left us alone.
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Julie Robinson said on May 27, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Jeff B, my mom is the beneficiary of one of those pensions. She worked for the library for 36 years, but the first 20 were part time, and her pension is huge. Not only that, she has an amazing Medicare supplement policy and spends less than $100 out of pocket per year. I’m happy for her to finally have the financial security she never had as a younger woman, but yikes, they are Cadillac benefits. She always gets mad at tax time because in Illinois her pension wasn’t taxable, but in Indiana it is.
Our unemployed son went to the doc (thanks, Obamacare!) and his arm hasn’t healed yet, so for the next six weeks he’s not allowed to lift anything heavier than a bottle of water. Dominant arm of course. On the way home his truck overheated, so he rented a scooter and that stopped working too. Oy veh.
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Dorothy said on May 27, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Julie I must have missed something. Why is your son’s arm in need of healing?
Speaking of arms, has anyone here ever suffered from a ‘frozen shoulder’? I do not have one (saw the orthopedic doc yesterday) but I have what could be a lead up to it. I’m going to get physical therapy for some shoulder issue that manifests in pain in the arm. At least in my case that’s where I feel it. She called it ‘capsultis’. X-rays did not show any arthritis, which is great, but this pain issue could indicate arthritis is just starting to form. I’m glad I sought help for it before it got much worse.
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Deggjr said on May 27, 2021 at 1:57 pm
The VAERS data, as it turns out, is an active query system that anyone can access. It also turns out that anyone can enter data into the VAERS database. There is no data validation process.
A SIL sent me a report from VAERS; “Look at all these problems! And they are probably underreported.” Maybe, or every record in VAERS is made up. No one can tell.
The VAERS punchline is the caveats on the output results page and now on the site. First paragraph:
“VAERS accepts reports of adverse events and reactions that occur following vaccination. Healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public can submit reports to VAERS. While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This creates specific limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind.”
VAERS=Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System https://wonder.cdc.gov/vaers.html
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Julie Robinson said on May 27, 2021 at 2:05 pm
Dorothy, I’m on my way out–can write about shoulder issues later if no one else answers you. Matt bought himself new rollerblades and broke his arm the first time he bladed.
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LAMary said on May 27, 2021 at 2:52 pm
Dorothy, do you use a mouse a lot in your job? I have/had a similar issue. Shoulder hurts, somewhat limited range of motion, and pain in other parts of my arm. I had it a few years ago and physical therapy helped. I have it again now and I’m doing the same exercises they gave me 5 years ago. They told me it was angle of arm and the small moves of my right hand that did it. It’s not carpal tunnel but it can be just as painful. I found that making a point of switching hands and and doing stuff like kneading dough, working the dirt with my hands when I plant things, massaging my dog..you get the picture.. helps. The software I usually work with is all about clicking, not typing. That’s the problem.
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Julie Robinson said on May 27, 2021 at 5:38 pm
Dorothy, capsulitis and frozen shoulder are on a continuum but they both refer to the same place in your shoulder. My physical therapist showed me a triangular area inside the joint that should be as open as possible. If it’s pinched shut, that’s what leads to problems.
The shoulder joint is possibly the weakest joint in the body, which is why no one should ever grab a little kid by the arm to drag them someplace. My shoulder woes come from a fall on the ice while at work which I tried to ignore at first, then got a whole lot worse. But the good thing was that all my treatment was covered under workman’s comp. If this is from repetitive stress, as Mary suggests, it could also fall under workman’s comp.
The therapists worked first on my posture, slumping or rolling your shoulders forward make that little triangular space even smaller. Then I learned pain relief exercises and others for muscle strengthening. The at home therapy used TheraBands, pillows and towels, no fancy equipment necessary. It took a couple of hours a day to do all the repetitions.
I was lucky enough to have great therapists who emphasized stopping an exercise if it caused me pain. At the next session they would find a different way to accomplish the same thing, without pain. If whoever you go to suggests working through the pain, leave and find someone else.
Jodi and Mary, I was working under a boss like what you describe when this happened, and time away helped me understand I needed to leave the job. I know that’s not always an option, but it took me several years to heal from the damage this lady inflicted on me.
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LAMary said on May 27, 2021 at 6:00 pm
I just had what I think was a good interview. Fingers crossed. It’s six months temp but a nice hourly rate. Keep a good thought for me. 100 percent remote,good company, totally in my wheelhouse.
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Dorothy said on May 27, 2021 at 6:19 pm
Thanks for sharing, Mary & Julie. I don’t have an appt. to see the physical therapist until June 16 and I’ll try not to overdue asking Uncle Google for advice about exercises. I’ll wait and see what the therapist tells me and go from there. It does not hurt me on a regular basis, but I cannot bring my right arm behind my back very far, for the motion of unhooking one’s bra. You ladies know what I mean. I can do it fine with my left hand, but the right? forget it. And since I’m a tummy sleeper, if I lay with my head facing left, my left hand is up near my face. But the right arm is flat beside me. That feels uncomfortable pretty often. I have to wiggle it a bit until I get it in a non-hurting position. I was sitting up in bed a couple weeks ago, reading, and put my arm casually behind my head, elbow bent, and Lord how that hurt!
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Julie Robinson said on May 27, 2021 at 7:14 pm
The bra trick was the first thing my doc asked me. I sure wouldn’t diagnose you or try to give you exercises online, but just standing up straight with your shoulders back, and aligning your head with your spine might help just a bit.
Mary, I’m holding you in the light.
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Dorothy said on May 27, 2021 at 8:21 pm
Mary I forgot to say that I have no hand pain whatsoever. At home I do not use a mouse, and I’ve been working from home most of the past year. You know I do knit a lot, and I’m right handed. I have had basal joint arthroplasty in both of my thumb joints – both were done years ago before I moved to Dayton. My thumbs do not bother me anymore, thank goodness.
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Marybeth said on May 28, 2021 at 1:18 am
Julie, it is really damaging. You work hard, get praised, get a lot done well, and some asshat arrives and starts putting you down and threatening you. This guy would talk crap about me to my colleagues within earshot.
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Dexter Friend said on May 28, 2021 at 1:42 am
Yeah, JodiP, I had to turn the heat on here also. Rain came and it got cold. I just ran the furnace about ten minutes to ward of the chill. Tomorrow night it’s going down to 46F.
I drove the Chevy Impala to talk to the car lot man. He offered exactly what I had in mind for a trade-in for the Honda Odyssey. Being rid of that car was a great weight off me. I did not want to dump a thousand dollars and surely more for repairs into a car I hated. The fact it was Carla Lee’s car was not a factor, or so I thought. But the relief of not having to drive that car ever again makes me think that my driving it was throwing me into a sort of subconscious light depression. Helifino. The used Odyssey is sweet. Clean, smooth running…and it’ll get a test as I am visiting 2 of my daughters in Commercial Point on Saturday. Lori flew in on Spirit Airlines early Thursday. For me, it’s about a 370 mile round-trip.
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A. Riley said on May 28, 2021 at 2:30 am
I’m with JeffB above. The Illinois lege is a cesspool but it’s a fairly *sane* cesspool. Graft will always be with us, but thank God we don’t have flocks of fascist or fundie wingnuts seizing power in Springfield. How have we evaded that so far? All I can imagine is that the remnants of the old Chicago machine still throw enough weight around to keep things normal.
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Deborah said on May 28, 2021 at 7:37 am
I had shoulder pain well over 20 years ago, it lasted for a long time, I never went to the Dr about it but I figured it out. It was when I finally got a roller travel bag that it eventually stopped hurting. I was traveling a lot for work and always used a bag that I slung over my shoulder. Just thinking about it now makes my shoulder sore.
The other night my wrists were killing me and then I realized I’d been spending a lot of time hacking thick woody vines off of a chain link fence, I stopped that and after just a day or two, no sore wrists. I’m too old for that.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on May 28, 2021 at 8:05 am
Kneading dough is good for what ails almost anyone.
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susan said on May 28, 2021 at 10:05 am
Eating baked dough is even more salubrious.
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Andrea said on May 28, 2021 at 10:53 am
@JeffB and others. I do not disagree that IL finances are in a shambles but will dispute that it is the result of one-party rule. It was actually a bipartisan fuck up. Dave McKinney’s explainer in Crain’s a few years back maps the whole thing and I think it is a helpful piece. We have actually only had Dems in total control of the GA (veto-proof majorities) plus the Governorship for just the last two years.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/static/section/pensions.html
Since that piece was published, Republican Bruce Rauner’s childish all out war with the Democrats certainly did not help matters. Under Quinn we were slowly making our pension payments. Then the enhanced income tax was allowed to sunset and Rauner held the budget, human services, and higher ed hostage for his war on the unions. If anything, he succeeded in wedding the Democratic party to the unions even tighter. It was only when IL was about to be declared in junk bond territory that the budget impasse was resolved.
Democrats absolutely own a share of the fiscal horror show that is our state, but by no means do they own the whole. Republicans who have responsibility include Thompson, Edgar, Pate Phillips, George Ryan, and Bruce Rauner.
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