Golden Oldies Pickleball

Sunday our pickleball club hosted another 55+ community for a fun fall social event. Our club had gone to Trilogy in June, and everyone had so much fun that we decided to have another event. Jim was in charge, and he did a wonderful job. The event ran smoothly, we had beautiful weather, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Following three hours of play, we met at our Celebration Cabin for a boxed meal and fellowship. It was nice to be on the courts with people our own age as opposed to those 10-20 years younger. Some day they will understand that we just move differently at our age. Here are a few photos from the event.

Imagery/Trilogy Social

Wednesday Jim and I got our flu shots. Honestly, it is the first time either of us has gotten this shot. We never get the flu, so it didn't make sense to get a vaccine and get sick from that. However with Baby Dub on the way, we want to make sure we are protected so we don't take any virus to her when we visit. Our daughter-in-law hasn't told anyone they need to get the shot, but she is encouraging visitors to do so. The shot itself was fairly painless, and other than a sore arm neither of us had any side effects from the vaccine. With that shot, I am 100% up-to-date on all my vaccinations. Jim still has a couple more to go, including DPT and shingles. But one has to wonder about getting all of these shots around the same time, considering all the Covid shots and boosters we have received. These are uncharted waters for sure.

Saturday night is the Mount Holly Lantern Parade, and our community has an entry for the second year in a row. Last year we took first place in the Community category with our minions. I'm not sure how we will fare this year since we up-cycled the minions, readying them for space as the theme is "It is written in the stars." I think there are about 25 of us who will be walking and carrying minions, stars and the Imagery banner. Whether we win or not, it has been a fun project to work on again. I'll post photos after the event.

Getting a Boost

booster shot

Yesterday my husband and I received the Pfizer Covid-19 booster shot. As soon as we heard it was recommended and approved for those age 65 and over, we scheduled our appointments at Walgreens. We arrived a few minutes early, filled out the paperwork, and quickly received our shots. The pharmacist did a great job, and I barely felt the injection.

So far we are doing well. Neither one of us has a fever, but our injection arms are pretty sore today. I was thinking of the irony of the fact that my left arm was finally pain-free following my frozen shoulder surgery a couple months ago, and now it hurts due to the shot! I will definitely take a couple days of arm pain to avoid getting Covid, that's for sure. 

All these break through cases (vaccinated people who are getting the Delta variant of Covid despite their vaccines) are pretty nerve-wracking. I know that vaccinated folks are pretty unlikely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid, but I don't want to get it in the first place. Who knows what the long-term repercussions will be from having the virus in your system?

As of yesterday in the United States, 213,752,856 people or 65% of the population have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. Overall, 185,265,610 people or 56% of the population have been fully vaccinated. We are still so far from the 70% vaccination rate goal.

In terms of the booster shot, over 2.8 million Americans had received the shot as of a couple days ago. Nearly 1 million have appointments scheduled to get their third dose. Keep in mind that as of right now, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for its booster. Those who received the Moderna series or the Johnson & Johnson single shot are still having to wait for government approval of boosters.

With so many people in the U.S. refusing to be vaccinated at all, despite the rising numbers of deaths in unvaccinated people, all we can do is take the steps to protect ourselves. Hopefully the third shot will help keep our defenses in place so that, in addition to good hygiene and mask wearing, we can remain virus-free.

Labor Coviday

This past weekend we celebrated Labor Day weekend in the United States. Typically marking the end of summer in the eyes of many people, the weekend is normally packed with activities. Due to Covid, those activities were outdoors again this year. 

The weekend was pretty full with pickleball Friday morning followed by a street fest in downtown Mount Holly, complete with a live band and food trucks. It was a beautiful evening to sit in our chairs on Main Street. Saturday morning Jim and I put our kayaks in on Mountain Island Lake at 7:00. We wanted to catch the sunrise as well as the steam rising up off the water. We captured both, and had the lake pretty much to ourselves at that hour. It was my first time kayaking since my shoulder surgery, and it went well.

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

Saturday night was the monthly game night with two other neighbors, and the weather was so nice that we were able to play outdoors on a patio. Sunday night was mixed doubles pickleball here on the community courts, and Monday night we attended an outdoor concert here.

The down side of the weekend was that we learned over a dozen members of our community currently have Covid. It appears to have come from a large indoor gathering held here last weekend, at which no one was masked. While our county does not have a mask mandate for indoor activities, the CDC has said people should wear a mask indoors if they are not able to socially distance. We do not attend any large events indoors, and even with small ones I always wear my mask. Because of a delay in relaying information about the outbreak, many more people have been exposed. It is unfortunate that no one was warned before the holiday weekend. It's too soon to tell how many residents will be impacted by this.

Speaking of Covid, things continue to get worse here and around the world. It seems like new variants pop up each week, and it sounds like the latest - MU - may be resistant to our vaccinations. The government is very close to recommending a booster shot beginning September 20th. I won't hesitate to get it. 

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers: North Carolina has had 1.26 million cases and 14,848 deaths. In the United States there have been 40.2 million cases and 650,000 deaths. Worldwide there have been 219 million cases and 4.5 million deaths. The numbers are grim, there are still too many unvaccinated people in the US, and false information continues to be spread on social media. I'm not sure what it will take to get us to the goal of a 70% vaccination rate.

Covid Update - From Zero to Sixty

face masks

On May 13th the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) did an about-face on their previous recommendations regarding Covid-19 and the wearing of masks. It announced that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice physical distancing in virtually all indoor and outdoor settings. The exception is that masks will still be required on buses, planes, and trains. The CDC suggests that unvaccinated people and those with a weakened immune system should still wear masks, however.

This announcement caught many people by surprise, considering that we had all been told that masks would be necessary until the country reached herd immunity through 70-85% of the population receiving vaccinations. The country as of May 14th stands at a 36.2% vaccination rate. So why the sudden turn around? There is no way to tell who has had a vaccine and who hasn't, and quite frankly the unvaccinated people were the ones less likely to wear masks in the first place. 

It did not take long for North Carolina Governor Cooper to follow suit. He has been more conservative than many of the other governors, so the fact that he immediately jumped on the CDC's bandwagon was surprising to me. On May 14th he announced that the state will remove its indoor mask mandate for most settings. Additionally, the state will lift all mass gathering limits and social distancing requirements. 

It is true that North Carolina's vaccination rate is better than the US average. To date, the state has administered over 7.7 million doses. 51% percent of those 18 and up are at least partially vaccinated, and 46% percent of those 18 and up have been fully vaccinated. That is still a far cry from the number needed for herd immunity.

Again, time will tell if this is the right decision at this particular point in time. For now I will continue to wear a mask when going into crowds, whether indoors or out. And the irony will be that while I am vaccinated, it will appear to everyone else that I am not since I will be masked. Better safe than sorry. I've avoided Covid for this long - I want to keep it that way.

Jim's Shot in the Arm

Bojangles Coliseum

Jim turned 65 earlier this month, and I was able to schedule his first Covid-19 vaccination on March 6th. He was not able to get an appointment where I went until mid-April, so I went through a neighboring county to sign him up. The vaccines are being given out in multiple locations in that county, but his was at the Bojangles Coliseum. It is not set up as a drive through, which is unfortunate, but inside the building people were spread out and masked. He checked in, filled out a form, and was quickly taken back for his injection. Fifteen minutes later we were on our way home. His arm was a little sore the next day, but he had no other side effects at all.

Like me, he received the Pfizer vaccine, so the wait between shots is 3 weeks. He will return on March 30th for his second vaccination. I think we will rest a little easier once we are both fully vaccinated. We have been super careful in our activities, but not everyone has done the same. So you never know where you might be exposed to Covid. I have to say, it has not been too much of a hardship to stay at home when we can wake up to views like the one we were treated to this morning. Heaven painted a canvas in our backyard.

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

Covid-19 Vaccine #2 Update

 

a new dawn

It has been three days since I received my second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. As with the first shot, the injection site was sore for a couple of days. Saturday morning when I woke up I felt a little nauseous and I thought, "Uh oh!" Vaccine side effects generally start within a day or two of receiving the shot, and are most common after the second shot. But once I got up and had breakfast, the sensation went away. As I mentioned after the last shot, the tetanus and shingles shots that I have received in the past were way worse than this one in terms of side effects.

Perhaps we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. So often through this pandemic it has seemed as though we we sensing some light, but then something came along and made the tunnel longer. But it does appear that we can be cautiously optimistic this time.

Covid-19 Update

Covid-19 vaccine

Today is a Covid big news day here. First of all, I got my second vaccination this morning through Atrium Health. Their drive through system is the best. You never have to leave your car, and they have it down to a fine science. While there were a few more cars in line than when I went for my first shot, it moved quickly. Again, the most time-consuming part is waiting the 15 minutes after the shot to make sure you don't have an adverse reaction. To say that I am relieved to receive both doses is an understatement! I realize I still have to take the usual precautions - wear a mask in public, socially distance, and wash my hands frequently - but I feel like I have given myself every chance to avoid getting Covid. Now I am eager for Jim to be protected. He turns 65 on Tuesday, and I am hopeful that we will be able to get him scheduled for his first shot quickly. 

The second big thing to happen is that Governor Cooper is removing the Modified Stay at Home order, which required people to stay at home and businesses to be closed between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., effective as of 5:00 p.m. today. The number of people who can gather indoors increased from 10 to 25, while outdoor gatherings remain at 50 in attendance. Other attendance restrictions eased a bit as well, but these are the ones which affect most people. North Carolina's numbers for positive Covid tests and cases as well as hospitalizations due to Covid are trending downwards, so that is why he is easing restrictions.

Here are the current Covid statistics: North Carolina has had 858,000 cases and 11,162 deaths. In the United States there have been 28.4 million cases and 508,000 deaths. Worldwide there have been 113 million cases and 2.5 million deaths.

It's great that the numbers are trending downwards, but we really need everyone to remain vigilant. Hopefully people won't go crazy just because they are vaccinated. It can't be stressed enough that we need to follow the same safety protocols as before we got the shots in order to have a chance at containing and hopefully defeating this beast.

Covid-19 Vaccine Update

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

It has been three days since I received my first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination. My injection site arm was a little sore Friday and Saturday, but by Sunday that had totally gone away. I experienced no other reactions from the shot. The most serious, of course, would be an anaphylactic reaction, which is why they have you wait 15 minutes following the injection as that is the time period during which such a reaction most likely will occur. 

Some people experience swelling at the site of the shot, which honestly normally happens to me. Other common side effects are fever, chills, tiredness and headaches. While I am feeling very fortunate that I didn't experience any of those things, I do know that it is more common for them to occur following the second shot. But I'll count my blessings that the first one went so smoothly.

That's a Shot in the Arm!

seeing the light

The federal government a couple days ago announced that the Covid-19 vaccine can now be administered to anyone 65 and older. The states were still in group 1b, which was for folks age 75 and older. This is one of the few times when I am excited about my age as I turned 65 last fall.

Today I was able to register online with one of the major health care systems in the area, even though it is not the system my primary care doctor is in. The system crashed many times due to user overload, but once I got through the process I was able to go ahead and book my appointment. It took some trial and error because each time I picked an appointment, by the time I verified my information the time slot would no longer be available. I prevailed, though, and I will receive my first shot on February 5th.

I cannot begin to express how uplifting this development is to me and my friends who have secured a date to receive their first vaccination. For the first time we can actually see a little light at the end of the tunnel we have been stuck in since last March.

Jim is not eligible yet as he doesn't turn 65 for a couple months. By then I will have hopefully received both doses of the vaccine. It is only the second time that I have been happy about being older than him (the first becoming eligible for Medicare). I pray that soon everyone will have access to this life-saving vaccine, and we can wipe Covid-19 off the face of the earth.