Nodding in

[pameladean]

The COVID test has about seven minutes left before I will read it. David and I are going to my mom's, which is also my brother's, for the holiday. We used to have larger gatherings, but my mom is very COVID-averse (she's 92, so yeah) and also had such a bad reaction to a COVID shot in 2021 that she won't get any more, so she's essentially unvaccinated at this point, so we don't bring anybody with us, even though they could test too. I don't feel the tests are quite good enough to push her about taking more risk.

ANYWAY, my reading list is overflowing with good wishes, so I thought I would return them all. I hope where you are today and what you are doing are where and what you wish them to be. We could not get any mincemeat, so I've made an apple pie. I had ideas about cookies, but ran out of time.

It is raining here and plans to go on doing so. It was raining, and it was going to rain. I don't see any blackbirds, and NO WONDER. Yesterday I went out in my raincoat and continued the task of edging the back sidewalk so the new (battery-powered, hooray!) snowblower will actually fit through it. We'd thought the path was 19 inches wide, and it had narrowed to more like 12; but as it turns out it's two feet wide, and much sunken. Anyway, I never expected to be out in the rain in 50-degree weather, edging a sidewalk with a sharpened shovel on Christmas Eve in Minnesota.

Test is negative, must run. It has been A Summer and I hope to do a catch-up post soon.

Love and joy to you all.

Pamela

Comments

[redbird]

I think you're right about the tests, since false negatives are more common than false positives.

[pameladean]

We do test twice 24-48 hours apart to address that, but it's still not remotely perfect. P.

[graydon]

It's raining here, too, complete with spectral chill fog. There are several more days of that in the forecast and then it might freeze, but I find I no longer believe such predictions. They are too much coloured by the temperature shifts of former days.

With respect to bad vaccine reactions; the COVID spike protein is a mast cell activator, so many people have MCAS symptoms as a result of vaccination and feel protractedly terrible. Taking antihistamines ahead of time can prevent the bad reaction to vaccination. Which is not necessarily something you want to argue with your mother in any case (if she's willing to stay in, the risk of being present somewhere one can be vaccinated is plausibly higher than of staying in), but might be a useful thing to know in other circumstances.

All best wishes for you and yours, and most particularly that it's a Christmas dinner memorable for entirely good reasons.

[pameladean]

It is generally useful information! She can't take Benadryl (neither can I), but there are other antihistamines. She is willing to stay in but I am not sure it's really good for her.

P.

[graydon]

It's a wretched set of tradeoffs.

Apparently the rule is to take Benadryl fifteen minutes beforehand, and the modern H1 antihistamines about three hours beforehand. (I say apparently out of concern for the accuracy of memory, on the one hand, and a complete lack of experience with the Benadryl approach, on the other. Loratadine works fine should one happen to be me.)

[pameladean]

I'm so glad you found what works. I will suggest this approach, and maybe if it's combined with Novavax it might be acceptable. P.

[graydon]

Here's hoping!

[halfmoon_mollie1]

So many folks I know have tested positive you and your mother are smart. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas dinner and that this week between Christmas and New Year are good to you.

[pameladean]

I wish the same to you.

We had a nice time with pleasant traditional food and a purring cat (not part of the dinner, but part of the company).

P.

[athenais]

It's been chilly but pretty normal temps for northern California Christmas here. And we are going to a much-reduced New Year's Eve party next weekend for which we will test before attending. Modern times, modern times.

[pameladean]

I never expected my camera roll to contain so many COVID test results.

We generally test twice 48 hours apart, as the tests are more accurate serially than singly. Though that can get expensive, at least right now several kinds of free tests are available.

I hope your party is good!

P.

[sartorias]

Good for negative tests!

[pameladean]

I feel I should never expect that outcome, so it's always a release of tension. P.

[kore]

Yay for negative tests!....altho yeah, I think you're right and there are more false negatives than false positives. Friends of mine talk about testing and retesting. But yay for you and your family being careful, too!

The covid vaccines laid me out flat every time (every vaccine does that, gee thanks immune system) but that was NOTHING compared to actual covid. Being sick lasted for like two weeks and then the sequelae are happening to this day. Ugh.

[pameladean]

We do test twice before visiting my family, and before visiting the few other people we visit. I keep hearing thrice is better, but that's expensive. So would COVID be, yes.

I'm so sorry you had such a bad and continuing COVID experience.

My mother's reaction to the vaccine was really protracted and extreme. She tested negative for actual COVID and flu on a visit to the emergency room for hydration about a month later. Nobody really had any theories about what was going on.

P.

[vr_trakowski]

May all the blessings of the season be yours!

Unrelated, but do you want a Bluesky code? I have several. I've looked for you there but haven't found you.

[davidgoldfarb]

She's @ pameladean. bsky. social. I've got her on my follow list.
(Edited because DW seems to want to turn the original @ to a link...that goes to a non-working page.)

[pameladean]

Oh, that's really kind! But I am actually there, @ pameladean.bsky.social. Eliminate the space, DW does something weird without it.


P.

[pameladean]

Oh, thanks, David! P.

[vr_trakowski]

Ooh, thanks! *side-eyes Bluesky search* I don't get on Twitter much any more.

[asakiyume]

My dad is the same age as your mom; I totally feel you!

I hope the visit went well. Here's hoping for good things in 2024!

[wild_patience]

I'm glad your test was negative. Love and joy to you, too. Our celebration was somewhat smaller than planned. My 82-year-old brother-in-law came down with RSV last week and my sister, who is still symptom-free, is home with him. He's doing better, but the doctor said as long as he's still coughing, he's contagious. My hubby and I were thankfully able to get our RSV shots at the beginning of the month. It's a price shot - $325 - and our insurance doesn't offer it at this time, but they reimbursed us, probably due to our age.

[ljgeoff]

Yay for visiting family! I saw my mom and dad, too - they're both in their late 80s and doing well.

The UP was also wet and foggy. But a sudden stratospheric warming is taking place, which will flick the polar vortex into a mad romp through the midwest. So your snowblower prep is a good idea!

[pameladean]

We are all ready. The previous snowblower died after last winter, and who could possibly blame it?

I'm glad your parents are doing well!

P.