Weekly Bread #215

Don’t confuse me with the facts, please. My head hurts. It has been 2 1/2 weeks and I am still congested and woke up again last night with a coughing fit after the 4 hour generic NyQuil wore off. I am taking Mucinex during the day time and sucking on Halls cough drops. That all works to keep me feeling marginal rather than terrible, which is good I suppose. The spicy chicken soup my sweet neighbors made for me helps the most.

The test pic above was from 3 days ago. I tested again yesterday and the “T” line didn’t show, but the “C” (control) line was almost invisible so I am not sure if the expired test worked. It doesn’t matter really. My doctor has told me that I likely am not contagious anymore and could probably go out, “and live my life” AND that wearing a mask around other people for awhile anyway would be safer just in case I am contagious. Masking while coughing and sneezing doesn’t sound very practical to me, though, so I am still staying home for now.

I am hoping to feel well enough tomorrow to go on a short hike. No need to mask up outdoors, it’s my energy level that needs to be ready to hike. I have done the stationary bike some days, but it isn’t the same as the great outdoors. I am sick of being sick, but not at all sure that positive thinking will cure me. We will see. One day, one week, and one life at a time. It is all any of us can really handle.

This week I gained back one of the almost 3 pounds I lost last week, but my 3 month average is now a flat line. Flattening the curve is a good thing, both with covid and weight management.

L’Chaim

Average weight this week was up 1.1 pounds for a total loss of 147.7.

Weekly Bread #214

Well, five days wasn’t enough. I am now at day 10 of covid and still testing positive. According to the guidelines, I could stop quarantining, but it doesn’t seem safe to really be around other people yet, even if I am wearing a good mask. I think I will wait until I get at least one negative test. This virus is ugly enough that I really don’t want anyone else to get it. My symptoms weren’t what I would call “mild” although they met the definition. I could breathe just fine despite the aching head and whole body really. The sore throat woke me up at night and the coughing fits really haven’t been fun at all. I’d hate to think what would have happened if I wasn’t completely boosted and if I hadn’t gotten the prescription for paxlovid. The med left a nasty taste in my mouth, but I think it helped. Never lost my sense of smell. My symptoms are all getting better, but they are a little bouncy. Better one day, then worse, but the overall trend line is a good one at least.

I hate being sick. It has been a long time. I didn’t even have a cold for 3 years, and covid is a lot worse than a cold.

I also haven’t been on a hike for 10 days, and I missed a minister’s retreat I was really looking forward to attending.

It’s been depressing being at home and not feeling well. Whine. I have situational depression, clearly, a negative attitude about being positive for Covid.

And I also know I am lucky – especially lucky to have waited this long to catch it. Now there are vaccines and treatments that do work. It still isn’t anything to sneeze at, (although it makes me sneeze) but it isn’t as deadly as it could have been. I hope to be back on the trails soon and that the only thing positive will be my attitude.

In the past, I probably would have comforted myself by overeating. Somehow that didn’t happen and I actually lost weight this week. Maybe my sick body burned a few extra calories? Maybe my appetite was down because I didn’t feel good? I did continue to log and I was careful not to overdo it, knowing that I wasn’t getting much exercise, but a small increase would have been more expected. 2.8 pounds is rather a lot to lose in a week.

L’Chaim

Average weight this week was down 2.8 pounds for a total loss of 148.8.

Weekly Bread #213

No, I wasn’t hit by a falling tree this week, although I saw a lot of evidence of trees that had fallen earlier across the trails. I try not to hike in wind storms or heavy rain, and so I reduce the odds of being felled by a tree, but it could still happen.

When the pandemic first stated, and those few years seem like decades, I was very careful. I stayed home (except for hiking/walking outdoors) and ordered everything I needed for delivery. Then the vaccines came and of course I got them as soon as I could. Boosters too, all of them. I ventured out to stores, friend’s homes, church and restaurants. Last week we even went to a play. Through all this “getting back to normal” I said that I knew I would eventually get COVID anyway. Everybody would, and most of the people I knew already had. Since they were all vaccinated, the cases were all mild based on their reports. But deep down, I never really believed it would happen to me.

Thursday afternoon, my chest felt tight and congested. I had a headache and a runny nose. Took a home COVID test the next day even though all the ones I had were expired. They should still work OK right? Negative. Ah, I thought, just a bad cold. I must have forgotten what colds are like.

Yesterday my symptoms were the same, but sort of worse, plus I was super tired and had a really bad cough. Test #2 came back positive, not terribly surprising. I got right on the Kaiser webpage, reported my test result, and did an e-screening for a prescription for Paxlovid. My son picked it up for me last night. I hope it helps; it is supposed to.

So, yeah, a metaphorical tree has actually hit me and also blocked the trail for at least 5 days of quarantine. I had planned to go to a 2 day ministers retreat on Tuesday and am so sad to miss it. It has been way too long since I have seen some of those very dear colleagues. Ah, well, maybe next time.

Planning is just that, planning. Things change and we have to adapt. Climb over the tree across the path, go around it, or just turn around and come back after the trail crew has had a chance to clear it. I will just hunker down for the next few days, waiting for this virus to finish having its way with me. I am not spending any energy on why or where I picked up the bug. My spouse has it too. We are telling people we have seen recently about our positive status, but the why and where aren’t important. We really were going to get it eventually, even if I didn’t really believe it. Ah, wouldn’t it be something to be immune to every bad thing life can throw at us? Not there, none of us, about anything, but with grace, we recover and go on, hoping the trail and our journey will continue and we will find more joy along the way.

L’Chaim

Average weight this week was up .8 pounds for a total loss of 146.

Weekly Bread #212

It snowed on the mountains around the bay this week, including Mount Tam which I have climbed. In this photo from a ridge trail in the Marin Headlands I was able to take this pic of Angel Island with Mt Diablo in the far distance. The devil mountain is the one with snow on top, go figure. I have hiked to the top of Angel island, but not Mt. Diablo. It is on my to do list to hike, but I think I once drove to the top decades ago, so it is a place I have been at least.

There are always mountains to climb. New ones as well as old. I like looking at ones I have been on top of. Mount Tam was over my left shoulder in this picture. I also like looking across from a ridge at other trails I have hiked. Life is a journey too. If we hike the same ones often, we know where we are. It is good to look back at other places we have been. The irises are out again, in the same places I found them last year. Bulb plants are like that. Spring is coming, I think, I hope. The earth can help keep our hope alive in the stormiest of winters. I know where to find some wild iris.

L’Chaim

Average weight this week was down .8 pounds for a total loss of 146.8