A little of this, a little of that
A few things happened the past couple of weeks. I'll start with a couple of the better things, including one of the most important little creatures in our City of Seattle world.
First, a couple of weeks ago we went to Alki Beach for lunch where they were having the Polar Plunge. This 108 ft. buoyant beauty, who is a Seattle Fire Department fireboat named Leschi, was also there. She put on an aquatic exhibition for the crowds that was too far away for us to capture. However after showing off for them, she spent a fair amount of time just bobbing about the Southern end of Alki where we were, allowing us to do a photo shoot with her before she returned to the downtown side of the bay.
I was able to obtain this photo of her in action during another event. Credit below the photo.
Photo used in accordance with the rules on the website credited below:
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
We got new furniture this past Tuesday! Gracie promptly claimed the chair, but has tried out the sofa and loveseat too. Mainly, she goes where we go, but she was very cute checking out the chair. I wish I could have captured it all, but you gotta admit, she's cute no matter what!
Last Saturday's abrupt pre-dawn awakening was greatly unappreciated. She came in at 4:00 a.m. harshly kneading my muscles and mercilessly trampling the back of my throat. And the sinus pressure...
Sick.
Oh, so sick.
As I sat on the couch with my cozy, chevron-textured fleece blanket and a steamy cup of coffee in hand, my attempts to feel human were failing. TV reports were announcing newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, followed shortly by the somber declaration that the first related deaths in the United States had taken place about 15 miles from my home.
I pulled out my laptop and the searching began. Do I have it? Don't I have it? If I do have it, how dangerous is it... really?
I would spend the remainder of the weekend sick and learning of new developments; more cases, more deaths, more and more information. Some of the details seemed to be conflicting, even from the same source, some of it was downplayed, some of it was doomsday-ish. Who and what do I believe?
What's confusing to me is that the CDC says that 80% of those who get it have "mild" symptoms. OK, great! If I do have it, I most likely have nothing to worry about. Right?
Oh, but wait! Even though 80% of cases are mild, cities are purchasing and setting up quarantine facilities and the government is sending out task forces and elected officials to plan and prepare.
So what is the concern - or not the concern... really? If thousands more people die of the flu even though there's a vaccine for it, and there are no quarantines or advice to work from home if possible and people don't run out buying up all the water and toilet paper in town for flu threats, then why this??? What makes this so much MORE serious, when far fewer people have died from it? Have you wondered about this? I certainly have - and it makes no sense to me.
There's a lot of options in response. I could ignore this, conspiracy-theorize it, say it's nothing at all, say it's the end of civilization, freak out, lock myself in the house, read a gazillion reports and every word on the CDC and my local area public health website... okay, admittedly I did read those gazillion reports and etc. that I mentioned last. Then I decided that with all the contradiction over just how much we should or shouldn't be concerned, I finally decided I just need to relax, but be informed and take reasonable precautions, like washing my hands even more than I used to, and being more aware of touching my face, especially when I'm in public, avoid eating out and going anywhere with large crowds for now. Beyond that, the only other thing I can do is trust that whatever happens, God will always be there for me, and leave it at that.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, I do not/did not have Coronavirus... or if I did, it was mild. Either way, I'm very much alive and recovering well. I did have to take off work for three days in addition to my two weekend days, and I was very sick, but as far as I know, it was not COVID-19 and not life-threatening.
On another note, I was able to capture these beautiful treats during a couple of my mornings at home. It's not often you get to see a bird and a plane in the same sunrise.
What gifts did you encounter in the past few weeks. I'd love to hear about them in the comments! Have a fabulous week!