Staying the Course -- November 17, 2020

[Superbob]

Happy New Week, Coursers! At the moment, I don't have anything particularly chipper or inspiring to start the week with, but thought I would put a starter here so hopefully another Courser will come along with something uplifting.

I'm headed to the dentist shortly to have the first of four appointments to install a removable appliance to fill a tooth gap. That's one of the perils of old age -- your teeth start falling out. Hard to be in a good mood about that but hopefully this will help a tad with appearance, for vanity's sake.

Next week we had made reservations for four at a little restaurant that offers as fine a Thanksgiving buffet feast as you might imagine. Reluctantly, I am cancelling it and we will just buy a prepared meal from a local grocer. I'm not particularly Covid-paranoid, but I see no way people can navigate around a table of culinary delights without taking on an increased risk of infection, given the spike in virus strikes.

So those are my two not-so-super downers. Looking forward to what others have to report.

Cheers,
Superbob

 

[tom in MO]

Well we will probably have just the three of us for Thanksgiving, maybe a fourth. Some of the more difficult guests won't be invited due to covid However, it is the first family holiday since my son-in-law passed on so it will be different. We don't have much family in KC and always have the celebration at home, so the biggest risk will be shopping this weekend. Not too hard to stay 6' away or <15 min total time if you plan. My daughter doesn't like turkey, so we've been talking about pork, chicken or lasagna, but we've got a buffalo pot roast in the freezer.

Our mayor just limited gatherings to 10 people, but I don't think many will be changing their plans. We'll probably get some BBQ takeout this weekend to "scratch the itch" before Thanksgiving. Some have started quarantining ahead of Thanksgiving to protect Grandparents.

Take care!

 

[dornole]

Will be just our household for Thanksgiving but 6 of us live together so moderately festive. My son at college will stay on campus in his apartment. The situation here in the upper Midwest is really not good. Not worth it for one meal of which he only eats the dinner rolls anyway lol

 

[Superbob]

Will be just our household for Thanksgiving but 6 of us live together so moderately festive. My son at college will stay on campus in his apartment. The situation here in the upper Midwest is really not good. Not worth it for one meal of which he only eats the dinner rolls anyway lol

Understand the Seven Dwarfs have been instructed they can gather only in groups of six. Happy isn't one of them.

(Borrowed that from a funny meme making the 'Net rounds.) Not to be political, but just as a practical matter, how do the jurisdictions decreeing a limit on family members gathered for Thanksgiving feasting propose to enforce the ukase?

 

[Superman]

Understand the Seven Dwarfs have been instructed they can gather only in groups of six. Happy isn't one of them.

(Borrowed that from a funny meme making the 'Net rounds.) Not to be political, but just as a practical matter, how do the jurisdictions decreeing a limit on family members gathered for Thanksgiving feasting propose to enforce the ukase?

Sounds funny, but they were limiting restaurants to six around here. My wife and I have five kids. We didn’t bother testing it, but made some jokes about it around the house.

 

[Superman]

I have a couple big days coming up prior to worrying about Thanksgiving.

First - tomorrow marks 30 years of ticking away since my first open heart surgery way back in 1990. Time flies. Back in October was 11 years since I joined this forum just prior to my second open heart. Superbob was among the first to offer a warm welcome back then. Went nearly 20 years prior thinking this was just a rare my problem.

Monday, I leave my mid-40’s and join what has to be called my late 40’s. Turning 48. Guess I’ll make a great long term case study of life on Warfarin. Of course I’m trailing our good friend @dick0236 in total time (by a long shot!); but I have a 14 year head start on him at age started. Time will tell. It always does.

Anyway, my wife got an awesome portrait lens for the camera for my birthday. A new 85mm f/2; which I’m excited to make the kids suffer through! Should be fun!

Our oldest is coming home from his first semester of college Tuesday as well. By all accounts, it was a success. A couple more exams and a tidy stack of credits are in the books!

Keep on keeping on, everyone!

Oh, and we’ll have a pretty full house for Thanksgiving, but that’s daily life around here. Going to set up a webcam dinner via FaceTime with relatives. We’ll be at our own homes but visiting.

 

[dornole]

Where we are, a lot of spread is family and friend gatherings in homes, so really all they can do is appeal to people’s sense of sacrifice and duty to their neighbors. This is easy for me to do because my sister is a doctor and I see how close to the edge she is coping with this. She feels like a lot of providers do - like her life and her patients’ lives are expendable so people can socialize, or not wear a mask, and it is discouraging and painful to her. She is a veteran so she says “it’s gonna be a military style Thanksgiving, by myself, away from family, that’s all - I know how to do that.” Better a Zoom Thanksgiving than an ICU Christmas. I am encouraged by the vaccine news and really hope we can hang on just a little longer to put this behind us.

 

[skeptic49]

Just finished two weeks of routine checkups, CT scan, echo, meetings with my surgeon and cardio. At just about six years out everything is fine and the gradients are excellent. Surgeon estimates the lifespan of the valve at 10 to 15 years, and suggested that TAVR would likely be a good option if I eventually need it. Thanksgiving will be just the two of us as Philly is returning to restrictions with rapidly escalating infections. I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday anyway.

 

[jcgtok17]

Great updates all. Glad to hear you are doing well, given the C-19 circumstances. Tokyo has had a better experience than most with the pandemic, but we are all keeping a mindful eye and practicing good etiquette (100% masks adherence here, social distancing and hand washing). Thanksgiving with friends and a modest head count of 7. Turkey, potatoes (gravy), Brussel sprouts, squash (walnut crumble top), brown beans (a first for me), stuffing, a pecan pie to finish. No Christmas travel so headed to Okinawa Club Med for some scuba diving.