March 2021 Chat Thread

[3piggles]

I hope you get a lot of writing done over your Easter break, but take some time for yourself, too. You need to recharge your battery.

We've had weather like that, rain with the sun shining, or a mini blizzard of snow while it's sunny. Keeps life interesting

Ooh, glad you had some people who could answer your questions. That's so much better than no supervision at all.

[bazookagoof]

Well, today was miserable with the weather! We had temps in the 30's (Fahrenheit) and lots of chilly rain & snow. There was a strong wind blowing which I could feel through the open sections of the trailers at work. Luckily, the weather will be cloudy and in the 40's for the remainder of the week. 

[3piggles]

I think that weather went north of us, as all we got was bitter cold and gusty winds. Today was just as cold, but without the winds, not too bad. Sorry you had to get effected by it at work You're not a cold lover as I am Better weather for the rest of the week, for you

We're headed it a bit of a warm up, and while I love cold, I can do without bitter cold and wind chill factors well below 0.

[bazookagoof]

Mar 16, 2021 19:25:04 GMT 3piggles said:

 Sorry you had to get effected by it at work You're not a cold lover as I am Better weather for the rest of the week, for you

The worst part of it was working up a sweat while freezing simultaneously. That feeling is very uncomfortable for me. Today was not much better; I still need a winter coat but can't take it off during work even though I'm inside. Still, like you said the temperature will rise again soon so this is not a permanent situation. 

[3piggles]

Perhaps rather than a winter coat, a winter vest would be better. Hubby has one he wears until it gets really cold outside. He can wear it over a flannel shirt, or a shirt and thermal top, whatever best suits the day ahead, knowing he'll be a bit cold to start, and maybe a bit warm to finish, but just right for most of the day. Some come with zip out linings, but he just has one he can zip up or unzip, depending on the temp.

I know that getting all sweaty, then getting cold feeling, and no, it's not a good one. That's actually demanding more from your body than is normal, which is why people get chills, etc. It's not really any colder, but your body is just working harder to keep up with the changes.

[bazookagoof]

I usually start out zipped up, then unzip the coat as I get warmer. I think they've turned off the heat in the building, or at least turned it down. I have not had this sort of problem before; generally I can work and not get overly sweaty in these conditions. The outside temps are in the low 40's, so it shouldn't be so hostile, yet the trailers are quite cold recently. 


If the warmer weather stays, then I'll plan to experiment with different clothing in the fall. Last week when it was in the 60's I wore a light jacket which I removed when I got too warm, and it was no issue. 

[3piggles]

I hope the temp gets sorted. It's a hard enough job, physically, without adding that to it.

The Kalenchoe is in full bloom. Looking beautiful.

[Bean]

Beautiful! Here we're just tripping over trays of seedlings indoors - nothing pretty! Things are starting to brighten up outside though, there's much more colour around.

[3piggles]

I've been in the tripping over state, before, so totally understand

[Bean]

I planted a load of bulbs in the lawn by the back of the house, so we could look out through the patio doors and see some spring colour (I bought them and kept forgetting to put them in, so it was a bit of a rush job before the ground froze!). Anyway, it was a great idea in theory, but I forgot to leave a path clear for us to walk through, so now they've poked through, you either have to veer off to the side to get to the bottom of the garden, or if you're less mindful, trample the crocuses!

The kids are all back at school here and secondary school pupils are doing covid tests at home twice a week. It's pretty straightforward to do but with that and inputting the results on the government website, fairly time consuming! It does seem to have picked up a few asymptomatic cases though. I'm not sure how long they're planning to do it for.

[3piggles]

Once the crocuses have gone by, you can move them. No problem. For now, you have a great bunch of crocuses blooming

There are people who had the virus, and have long-term side effects. It was on the news that these people seem to be benefiting from being vaccinated, with the vaccine reducing the side effects by 45-75%. I have a friend in Cambridgeshire who was one of the first to get the virus, before doctors even knew what it was. Her first long term side effect was losing her sense of taste/smell. After a year, that changed to everything smelling and tasty disgusting. I don't know if she's been vaccinated. She's not elderly or anything, so no idea what the vaccination schedule is for her age group. I'm hoping the vaccine will give her some relief from those side effects. Great way to lose weight, just not a healthy way to lose weight

Most of our schools are back in session, but still doing hybrid classes, as there are children with health issues that preclude them from taking the risk of being in the classroom with the other children. Also, the UK variant of the virus seems to be hitting the younger people, including children, rather than the elderly, as the basic virus did. So any children with potential health risks are staying out of the classroom and off the school buses.

Another interesting issue has arisen from the government funding of meals for school children, during the pandemic. The original issues was that some children only eat a decent meal at school, and only on weekdays. All school districts in the US have a form parents have to complete, for their children to be approved for subsidized breakfasts and lunches, and that was waived under the pandemic funding plan. Now the government is requesting the completed forms to know how many students need additional funding sent to which school districts, and none of the parents filled out the forms, because the need for the completed form was waived. One school district said they were having all parents fill out the form, even if they didn't need subsidized meals, just to get their numbers up, since so few seem willing to bother completing. The apathy appalls me I guess the trumpholes figure, if parents can't afford to feed their children, they shouldn't have had any children Hopefully, that issue will get sorted, before funding returns to normal.

[Bean]

I heard that a few people who had a long term loss of taste/ smell had found it returned after having the vaccine? Could just be random, but it's interesting. But yes, long covid seems pretty rife over here (although I do know many people who have fully recovered), I think the main issues seem to be breathing issues and overwhelming fatigue. It still looks like we have a very long road ahead of us.

I hope the funding issues are worked out so that those who need it get the help. It shows the worst in people when they want to use a situation like this as an excuse to try to take help away from those who need it.

The clocks changed last night, but I totally forgot, so I woke up thinking I'd slept for an hour longer than normal (from checking my phone clock which updates automatically) and then when I got downstairs I got confused as it was suddenly really early again! Then I realised so went back to bed with my cup of tea!

[3piggles]

We changed a while back, and I think this is the first year it didn't have a negative effect on me. My alarm went off at 6 a.m. new time, and I was still up and ready to go. Nice to have the time to go back to bed with your tea

I don't think much is made of the long haulers over here, which is a problem, because they probably feel very isolated, not knowing how many people are suffering from the same problems My friend said the vaccine didn't change anything. Her side effects had already changed from no sense of taste or smell, to everything smelling rotten and rancid. I just hope the second shot helps her.

The funding issue is more one of government agencies not talking to each other. Sadly, often the case in a country as big as ours. The pandemic relief payments are one branch of government. The funding for underprivileged children getting food at school is another branch of government. I really hope the two start talking, and soon. I'm not sure when the school food budget would be effected, as we have another stimulus package, now, and I don't know when that expires.

Hubby had a great time grilling out, yesterday. We have the new grate ordered for one grill, and will order new flavor bars for the other one, if we think we need to. Now that the flavor bars are a lot cleaner, they seem to be working fine. He bought more grill cleaner, too, so once the rain stops, I can do another round of cleaning. I can't believe how dirty he let the grills get He doesn't think about those things, just about the job immediately in front of him.

[Bean]

We're terrible with putting our BBQ away after we've used it and it's only when we come to use it again that we think about cleaning it, by which time all the grease is welded on! It's just the last thing on our mind at the end of a nice evening, especially if we've had people over. Maybe one day we'll learn too!

I always think that the symptom of losing taste/ smell and having everything taste rancid would be so difficult. Especially during lockdowns when making and enjoying nice food was one of the only pleasures that was left open to us.

We're now back to being able to meet people outdoors (including private gardens), in groups of up to 6. Quite a change from the last few months!

[3piggles]

When I was pregnant, the smell of roasting pork made me nauseas. Of course, we had filled our freezer with every imaginable cut of pork, before I got pregnant, so I had to cook it periodically, anyway. Glad that didn't stay with me!

Most times the grill can be cleaned by cranking to cooking temp up to high, closing the lid and letting it burn off for a few minutes. Vic always says he's done that, but the grill condition says otherwise! I will start making sure he does it, so we can keep the grill grates clean. The outside still needs to be cleans, which he just doesn't think to do. Sort of like how his cleaning up the kitchen after dinner means loading the dishwasher, but he never washes the counters or the stove. Just doesn't even think of it. I want to be more involved in the grilling this summer, so will have more chances to clean the outside of the grill, even if I do it early in the morning.

We lost electricity for several hours, earlier. It's back, and the high winds are supposed to stop in about an hour. We went from 99% humidity yesterday, with the rain, to 37% humidity today, with all the wind. Blew that dry, cold front right in, lol Going to be a bit chilly for our early walk, and for swimming, but at will be sunny. We spent much of the afternoon chasing covers to grills, mowers, snow blowers, etc., and stuffing them in a trash can until the wind stopped. Vic said some of the wind gusts were so strong, they moved the bikes. He was watching the bikes get moved.

Glad you're able to get together in small groups, even if outside, again. It's so hard to live life on Zoom, or through texting. Hopefully the vaccinations will help us all get life back on track. A lot of US companies don't plan to go back to the old in-office work schedules, saying they got better results, more productivity, from employees working from home. It also greatly reduced the commuting congestion and smog, but also greatly reduced the tolls collected from commuters. We'll see how well it works. Obviously, not all workers who were working from home have ideal conditions for doing that, and can return to in-office working, once they're fully vaccinated. It also means a lot of huge companies are closing whole buildings, which saves the companies a lot of money, and hopefully keeps the costs for their goods or services reasonable.

[Bean]

I know a few people who have been given the green light to work remotely on a permanent basis if they want to, for at least part of the time. It really suits some people, especially people who have along commute or who have childcare responsibilities.

It was the smell of anything deep frying that made me gag when I was pregnant - just walking past a food stand turned my stomach! At least it was easy to avoid at home anyway.

We're due a glorious day today - sunny and 21c. I think we're back to cold and rainy the day after so we shall make the most of it!

[3piggles]

Your weather sounds like ours. About 15C today, but going into warm days/cold nights(in the teens F), with more rain interspersed. One day, we're supposed to get up to an inch of rain, which I hope we get, because our deficit/drought is getting larger. We got .8" of rain Sunday, so need a whole lot more. We are physically located in an area that tends not to get most of the local rains. They split and go around us. We need more to land here, and less to go elsewhere.

This house is two houses down from me, on my side of the street. It sold in one day, had a bidding war, and sold for over $230K. We're interested in doing something similar with the back yard, as no matter what we do, the back yard will never grow great grass. Instead of the patio, I'd like to do boardwalks. That way we can remove any part that needs to be removed, should the propane line need to be replaces, or the electrical to the generator. If nothing else, the boardwalks give us a way to get the project done quickly, and because the boardwalks aren't permanent, shouldn't increase our taxes as much as any built-ins. They're patio includes the generator and the propane line, so should either need to be dug up, the patio would be destroyed. We can also extend the boardwalks to under the clothes line, so no snakes hanging out the clothes with me

www.zillow.com/homedetails/22-Pine-St-Epsom-NH-03234/126137733_zpid/

[bazookagoof]

We've had nice weather these past few days, but Wednesday and Thursday are going to be miserable with lows in the 20's and highs only in the 40's!  I have to drag out my winter coat for work and keep it on all day. Friday should be somewhat better, with the temperature going into the mid-50's. 

[Bean]

The forecast has changed and we're getting another day of warm sunshine before it turns cold, so I shall make the most of it!

3piggles, was there supposed to be a link in your post (to the house)? I can't find it. Glad it's given you some good ideas for your garden.

[3piggles]

Rain tonight into early tomorrow, but I don't think tomorrow is supposed to be terrible. Cold mornings, but nothing like the bitter cold we had before. I'm still putting on my boots and winter coat to put out the bird feeders in the morning. Since we get whatever weather Baz gets, a couple of days later, I know what's coming.

I added the link to the house, in my last post. Sorry about that.