how about drinking?

Morning gals! She wants a wig! Yeah, I've thought about it too! I mean some of these gals have the cutest style, and would LOVE a wig that I could just throw on, fluff up, and hit the road! I used to have a couple, and I don't know why I ever got rid of them......!

I still use hot-rollers every morning, even if we don't go anywhere... just because I scare myself when I look in the mirror if I don't do my face and hair! I still color it every few months, and I think it's because my Mom always did, and I started coloring it when I was about 25... a couple years ago.... NO Cammi, don't say a word! But I don't wear high-heels anymore, Hah!

Let's research this Cammi... We can google & Amazon, and go to the dollar store... maybe THEY sell wigs? We could get one like Jennifer Lopez did... at the Inauguration ? Only hers was probably... hers?....I never DID have thick hair... least only on my arms... Hah!

Okay wait! Have you guys ever had that Matcha Green Tea Latte' from Starbucks? It doesn't have alcohol, but we could fix THAT problem up real quick! I get mine "sweetened"... I even bought my own little "whisker".. battery operated! Cammi, don't say a word! Lorrie, make her mind!

Lori, my spoiled city-girl cluelessness is showing: 9 miles in a foot of snow (predicted) is nothing like your odysseys in two feet of it.

Kim, could very well be the "administration fee" for the shots as the reason that nursing home declined to have Walgreens come out--it's part of a corner-cutting notoriously tightfisted chain all over the Midwest. It wouldn't be each patient's Medicare (in most cases for the longer-term ones, Medicaid) that would have to pay it, but the home itself, perhaps on a per-patient basis.

We don't qualify for the stimulus, but Gordy & Leslie do. They file their taxes separately but use the same preparer/software. Both got the first round of $600 direct-deposited. This time Leslie got hers but Gordy still hasn't.

Jazzy, the second-shot side effects are (in)famous by now: fever, aches, chills, etc. But that's because during the interim between shots, the mRNA is teaching the body to make the spike protein so that it can recognize it as an "invader" and start producing antibodies. By the time shot #2 rolls around, you're chock full of antibodies (about 50-60% protected at that point); when the mRNA is injected, the immune system recognizes it as the, uh, "messenger" that delivered that spike protein and proceeds to unleash the new antibodies on it. That 24 hrs. of faux-flu (not unlike what I got after a Zometa infusion, only the latter produced a higher fever, made my hair & bones hurt, and lasted 3 days) means the shots are working exactly as designed. If you don't want to tough out that reaction for 24 hrs, then wait till the side effects hit and only then take acetaminophen--you don't want to take it beforehand because if the painkiller works you won't know if the vaccine is working; and you don't want to take aspirin or an NSAID because they're anti-inflammatory but you don't want to inhibit the "inflammation" that produces the immune response side effects. Bob began getting a 100.4F fever, muscle aches and a slight headache the morning after the second shot; by dinnertime I finally got him to take two Tylenol and 2-3 hrs. later the fever and aches were gone. If you get anything more than an injection-site reaction/sore arm after the first shot, you likely have some antibodies from a prior exposure (maybe even asymptomatic).

Oh, forgot this. This is not my DH hand, but this is what it's doing. See the hollow look in the web part?

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Saturday! Lovely sunny ayem here, hoping the sun stays out today. Well, it finally happened. 3 positive COViD cases in the school district, one in the middle school and 2 in the High School. None caught at school, all caught in the community. Now a couple of the school nurses have first hand knowledge of the whole reporting, contact tracing and notification, and form filling and submitting process for the Maine CDC, Maine Dept of Education, Federal CDC, and Maine DHHS/Public Health Departments. Everyone is stepping up attention to the masking/distancing/hand sanitizing/etc in hopes that the county won't go Yellow, let alone Red, but the community prevalence is climbing and the chances are getting more real every day. Time will tell, I guess. I'm sure Sadie wouldn't mind my working from home at all.

Cammy Cat--I haven't seen the invite. I'm not sure I'd want a newbie to hear my story, so much went wrong from the very beginning and there were so many "We've never seen that kind of reaction before" instances, and lost records and such that it would be terrifying. To this day I say I survived bc TREATMENT, not the disease. As to you getting a wig, if that's what you want, go for it. No reason that I can think of why you shouldn't. Nothing wrong with wanting to look good when you go out.

Chevy--The Matcha Green Tea Latte sounds pretty good, especially with some "sweetener"!

Chi--The Federal Program where the nursing homes are partnering with a pharmacy like Walgreens specifies that the Fed provide the vaccine, the pharmacy gives it at no cost to the nursing home residents or staff. In states that agreed to participate in the program each nursing home was required to sign up with either CVS or Walgreens back in November. The pharmacies are the ones setting the calendar, nursing homes can only call and ask when their time is scheduled.Fed saves Medicare money by not having to pay admin fees and I think the Pharmacies get a tax break and immunity from liability for any vaccine injuries.

Cammy Cat--keep taking the tylenol #3 and morphine. The inflammatory response is a different branch of the immune system, you will still make antibodies, but you might not feel the effects due to the tylenol. There is a small chance you won't have quite as strong a response to the shot, but you should still have a response, and that can be the difference between getting sick and not getting sick, or getting severely sick and just getting sick.

The Tipsy Gypsy cocktail

4 (750-ml) bottles dry rosé wine

3 cups blood-orange juice

½ cup Tuaca (brandy liqueur)

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 pint fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries

Blood-orange-flavored sparkling water

Orange slices, cut into fourths, for garnish

Lime slices, cut into fourths, for garnish

Extra raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Instructions: Evenly divide the rosé, juices, Tuaca and raspberries or strawberries between 2 large pitchers or jars. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally, allowing flavors to develop. Before transferring to drink dispenser, strain out the fruit (it will have broken down in the alcohol overnight). At serving time, pour over ice in glasses, top with a splash of sparkling water and garnish with citrus and a raspberry or strawberry.

From <https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food/article/Recipe-The-Tipsy-Gypsy-cocktail-14408998.php>

"How terribly strange to be 70"--Simon & Garfunkel, "Old Friends/Bookends." When the song came out, they were still in their late 20s/early 30s (I was 19). 70 sounded so old back then!

The card you get after your first shot (issued by the CDC) only gives the date, brand, and place your shot was administered. Some sites will make the second appt. while you're there being observed after the first shot. But Bob was simply given a date to call his hospital to get the second-shot appt. I did notice that when I applied for an appt. at Walgreen's, there were boxes to check for "first shot" or "second shot." Don't recall whether it was before or after making the appt. itself. You might want to ask while there--wouldn't hurt to contact other potential sources of vaccines just in case. My providers' systems are still not vaccinating 1b (NorthShore issued a press release that it is as of Mon. 1/25, and that patients would get an e-mail or portal message about it. No such communication yet in my inbox--mail or portal).

Last night with Thai/Japanese takeout, I had the remainder of the GH Mumm "RSRV" Champagne, and Bob had a 1998 (!) Joseph Prum (Rheinpfalz) riesling spatlese trocken. Looked darker golden when I Coravined it to see if it was still drinkable--and it was. Off-dry (so too sweet for me to take a chance on it) with a typical "petrol" riesling aroma, not at all the telltale oxidized "nose."

Dinner tonight at Mon Ami Gabi--we reserved in the tent, though as of today limited indoor dining is now permitted in Chicago. Whatever I order as my entree I will definitely start with a flute of the best Champagne they're pouring by the glass. Will also indulge in any free dessert they give me (share it with Bob, of course). Made a SpotHero parking res. for a lot/garage up the street--hope there's still room there when we arrive. (My one "reservation" about SpotHero reservations, though it's never happened to me before because I've always used it for large "system" self-park garages). Bob considers valet parking safe again so long as we drive home masked, catty-corner, with windows cracked, wipe down any surfaces the attendant has touched, and then handwash like crazy when we get home. But it's moot: the restaurant's valet is temporarily unavailable due to construction at the motor/main entrance.

Sandy,

Many Happy Returns of the Day. I. will raise my glass to you this evening and will send all my good wishes for the future.

Jane

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

DsOTD: with appetizer & soup, Canard-Duchène Champagne; with cassoulet, Guigal Côtes du Rhone 2018. Water & coffee for the rest of the week.

WELCOME TO THE 70'S

Good Morning, loungettes! Happy Sunday Funday! Going to Mom's in a bit, she wants me to help with moving some furniture and measuring for an area rug. She's bribing me with a home cooked dinner, not that I really need any bribing. This should be an interesting experience. Any bets how many times the couch gets moved today? I'm thinking 4.

The F*k Dry January box was a bit of disappointment. I was thinking there would be 30 different drinks, but there are only 6: mojito, watermelon vodka soda, margarita, moscow mule, Paloma, gin & Tonic. So far I've tried the Watermelon Vodka Soda, mojito and margarita.So all are pretty good. I've got one box in the fridge, and the other two put away for later.

Wind chill warning up for today, temps in single numbers, pretty stiff breeze blowing. Welcome to winter!

Librarian--Sounds like it's a good thing DH has you to keep him on track. Volunteering at a vaccination clinic is probably one of the safest things to do these days, everyone will be paying attention to all the protocols and PPE use. I can't believe the Dr';s office isn't mailing out forms, or having them done online as much as possible! So crazy.

Chi-Happy Birthday!Many Happy Returns!

Morning, Illi!

Morning, jhl!

Welcome jreymamaof3--welcome to the club no one wants to join. Pull up a bar stool and tell us about yourself if you'd like.

Morning, Cammy Cat!

CHILL OUT MARTINI

Ingredients

• Ice Cubes
• ⅔ Part Absolut Vodka
• ⅔ Part Malibu Rum
• ⅔ Part Cream Liqueur
• ⅔ Part Orange Juice

How to mix

Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

From <https://www.absolutdrinks.com/en/drinks/chill-out-martini/>

Gordy & Leslie are doing as well as can be expected. As a teacher, Leslie will be vaccinated starting 2/22 (she teaches HS--online for now--but grades 9-12 don't have a start date yet). 2 miles south, a couple of days after special needs & pre-K opened up to in-person lesrning a COVID cluster broke out. I know how hard it is for parents to have their kids learn from home; but even if I weren't a second-generation union member (AFofM), I'm on the side of the teachers' union: it's just not safe. 60% of parents here agree. CPS keeps showing the same few photos of a social-distanced classroom (by now, stock footage), but teachers are reporting windows that don't open, empty hand-sanitizer dispensers, desks still close together, etc.

They're staying put for now--the waterbug situation improved dramatically after they tossed out their large Keuring (eggs in the reservoir) with a fill-it-up-by-the-cup dorm-room model they can wash out and cover. (And it's becoming safe again to have masked exterminators visit). The tenants upstairs are still noisy (music all night, ADHD/autism spectrum kid riding his trike & scooter in the house) but the rent is ok, the location wonderful, and the one-car garage a precious resource with a major snowstorm about to hit tomorrow into Tues. morning. They're saving up and looking around for something they can buy w/o too much physical maintenance and allows pets--perhaps a townhouse--in a decent neighborhood with covered parking.

Not gonna drink tonight, with whatever leftovers: the 1/2 glass ea. of Champagne & Côtes du Rhone last night (plus all that food--even if I ate less than half my entree & dessert) brought me to the brink of acid reflux; had to get back up, take the other half of a Xanax tab and some more CBD/CBN tincture, and watch a couple of shows I'd DVRed before I got sleepy enough to go back to sleep at 6:30am--slept till the kitties woke me to be fed at 11:45, then took a nap till my cousin in NY woke me up to wish me happy birthday and touch base on stuff, when I hung up it was 3:15 and I had to feed His & Her Majesties again. Bob had gone out at 1:30 (just after I headed upstairs to nap) to bring back brunch from a neighborhood tavern & bakery, which I nuked (well, not the salad) and ate. I'm stuffed, and will be till at least 8pm. Here we are at almost 5pm, and I'm on only my second cuppa Joe. So that (or seltzer) is my DOTD.

Beaver - I like Syrah or Shiraz but most of them are out of my price range - which is $10-20. So I'm drinking some good Cabs, a Tempranillo I quite like, some old vine ZIn, and a Garnacha or two. But I'll check Total Wine for the Cass since Paso Robles produces good wines.

Beaver - Oh what fun. I'd love that volunteer job. Yeah, I looked at their web site, but I do make exceptions for special occasions so I'll keep my eyes out. My recent 'everyday' cab is "Carson Ridge" from Paso Robles. I also had a Paso Ranches zin that was quite good.

I know you're a little far out, but I wanted to share that FINALLY we might be getting a Houston BCO group together (not that we can actually get together yet). I've been fortunate to meet a number of members around the country and it was always such fun. I've been following the Hill Country group for a long time & considered driving to Austin or New Braunfels - but am excited that we might do something here finally. Of course saying "here" encompasses from Woodville & Dayton to Chappell Hill and clear down to Bay City. The link is below if it appeals.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/84/topics...

Hi gals, no exciting DOTD today as I had a bad headache/migraine last evening and had to medicate....don't like to mix them. So tomorrow i think a nice Baileys coffee might be just the thing since snow is in the forecasr. Here it's usually just hysteria and toilet paper hoarding, not real snow but we'll see.

Minus, you said Hill Country and it reminded me of when I traveled there for work in the 90s. We ate at a barbecue place in some kind of barn. They just plopped the food on a big tray. It was great and a fun experience. Very Texan.

All, I love reading your stories. They encourage me. My cat jumped on me the other day and scratched my radiated boob. I was almost sick with worry but it seem to be okay. It's nice to have like-minded ladies who get it. The smallest things can create concern that didn't before BC.

Happy Monday all, including BDL (Bourbon drinking lurker ). 😉☕🍷 Stay well.