Another lovely day in Oklahoma. . .

[leebee]

I got my first dose of the vaccine this morning! DH was scheduled for today but I didn't have an appointment until Saturday. However, a friend who is volunteering at the center where they are giving the shots said as I have an appointment this week, if I showed up with DH, they'd change my appointment. Sure enough, they did. We were in and out in 50 minutes, and that included waiting in line to get in, then me waiting in a very slow line to have my appointment changed, and of course they make you wait 15 mins post-injection. I think DH's total time was a little under 30 mins, but of course he waited for me (I had the keys to the car, hahaha)! All in all it went very well!

 

[Micca]

Good news Leebee! DW and I are all vaxxed up, and it's a "load off" so to speak. Not because we're stopping masks/distancing/and washing hands, it's just much less stressful. BTW the vaccine location was phenomenal! It was probably the best organized event I've ever witnessed. 10 minutes in & out + the 15 minutes to wait, everyone super friendly.

 

[NFLDERS]

Note to self: Check the weather forecast before Ebiking! -5C and 62km wind gusts, not favored!

Also, wait until after 10am for my allergies..

 

[NFLDERS]

Good news Leebee! DW and I are all vaxxed up, and it's a "load off" so to speak. Not because we're stopping masks/distancing/and washing hands, it's just much less stressful. BTW the vaccine location was phenomenal! It was probably the best organized event I've ever witnessed. 10 minutes in & out + the 15 minutes to wait, everyone super friendly.

Congrats! So good to read. We look forward to our vaccinations, but they will more than likely be late summer.. sigh.

 

[Micca]

OK, I just have to go on about how well executed this vax procedure went because we were blown away. It was held in a church which was roughly the size of a basketball arena. There were greeters in the parking lot welcoming everyone and pointing out the doors to the entrance. Just inside, more greeters with cheerful "Good morning!" and "Welcome!" They directed us to a line where volunteers once again welcomed newly arriving people in the line, explaining that they'll just have a few questions before proceeding to the vaccination area. That took about two minutes and we were directed to stand in another line until called. You can guess...there were volunteers cheerfully chit chatting with us, sort of keeping us company until it was time to move to the next spot. Again, it was only minute or so.


Inside the vaccination pavilion there were 20-25 tables setup, each staffed by a nurse. The workers were all so friendly and upbeat. They asked how we'd been doing, any issues, etc. On the second shot the nurse very casually mentioned that we should expect some mild side effects but not to worry and the effects would pass within a day or so. After the shot, volunteers were saying "Congratulations!" while directing us to a seating area to wait the 15 minutes. During the 15 minutes, volunteers passed by to make small talk and making sure everyone was feeling ok. One guy actually thanked us for agreeing to wait the 15 minutes, explaining that many folks gave it a couple of minutes and bailed out.


As we exited volunteers thanked us for coming, have a wonderful day, etc. DW and I returned to the car and almost simultaneously said "That was incredible! These people should run...EVERYTHING!" DW said she'd almost go back for another shot just to be around so many nice people. It was Disney-level friendly executed with military precision.

I hope it goes so smoothly for everyone

 

[Dan Murphy]

It was Disney-level friendly executed with military precision.

As I was reading that, Ron, I was going to reply that that sounds like it was like the way Disney does it.

I had the same experience with my shots, both times. The center, massive in size, was run by the National Guard. So professional, so courteous and helpful, so quick.

Marie, who has been on the fence in getting hers, finally agreed to go ahead and get them. I was able to get her signed up for next week for her first shot.

 

[leebee]

Marie, who has been on the fence in getting hers, finally agreed to go ahead and get them. I was able to get her signed up for next week for her first shot.

I'm glad Marie's decided to have the vaccinations. I am trying to support my sister while she makes her decision. I am so worried that she won't do it! She's 55, has cerebral palsy, had stage 4 colon cancer (twenty four years ago), is diabetic, is immunosuppressed, has lymphedema, has liver and kidney damage from untreated mono when she was in college as well as chemo, and although she works from home, her husband doesn't, so while he is UBER careful, who knows what he might be exposed to, and inadvertently expose her. I think it helped her to know that the flu vaccine, which people swear by and have religiously, has an overall efficacy of 44% across the years. Also, she realized she is worried about long-term effects, but didn't realize that those kinds of studies take 5 or 10 YEARS; I asked her if she's willing to mask and distance that long! I think getting the vaccine is a personal decision. For some of us, it was an easy decision to make; for others, not so much. I'm glad Marie is getting her vaccination; it must be a load off your mind, Dan.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm glad Marie's decided to have the vaccinations. I am trying to support my sister while she makes her decision. I am so worried that she won't do it! She's 55, has cerebral palsy, had stage 4 colon cancer (twenty four years ago), is diabetic, is immunosuppressed, has lymphedema, has liver and kidney damage from untreated mono when she was in college as well as chemo, and although she works from home, her husband doesn't, so while he is UBER careful, who knows what he might be exposed to, and inadvertently expose her. I think it helped her to know that the flu vaccine, which people swear by and have religiously, has an overall efficacy of 44% across the years. Also, she realized she is worried about long-term effects, but didn't realize that those kinds of studies take 5 or 10 YEARS; I asked her if she's willing to mask and distance that long! I think getting the vaccine is a personal decision. For some of us, it was an easy decision to make; for others, not so much. I'm glad Marie is getting her vaccination; it must be a load off your mind, Dan.

Thanks, leebee. I do feel so good about it.

Wow, your sister is the definition of a survivor for sure. God bless.

 

[ronandannette]

Well, here in the dawn light of the last official day of winter, I heard the honking of a flock of Canada geese flying north. That's got to be a good sign of something, right?

 

[Micca]

Well, here in the dawn light of the last official day of winter, I heard the honking of a flock of Canada geese flying north. That's got to be a good sign of something, right?

Provided you have covering for your car

 

[ronandannette]

Provided you have covering for your car

Probably not an issue; those suckers fly extremely high and always seem to be off at a great distance.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Probably not an issue; those suckers fly extremely high and always seem to be off at a great distance.

.....except in the willamette Valley of Oregon...those &%#@, I mean suckers are consider rats and are public health nusicance. The problem is there are several varities of the geese, they don't leave oregon, so I will call them Oregonian Geese that are protected, with them all being gray,black and white, hard to tell part. They invaded public parks, when harrased to leave athletic fields they crap on take off,,,,which is where the cars are parked. they destroy wheat fields. ....Yes I am sure another lovely day in Oklamoma to see geese headed back north, I remember them from the 70s in the night skies flying in the fall,,,such a nice sound. But something happened and now they are the pigeons of NYC.....but hey, we have opossum from the CCC workers from the south and nutria from WW2 fur farms, starlings from NYC central park....but they are trying to keep the Zebras out of Oregon. Freeway signs....Keep the Zebras out of Oregon

 

[NFLDERS]

.....except in the willamette Valley of Oregon...those &%#@, I mean suckers are consider rats and are public health nusicance. The problem is there are several varities of the geese, they don't leave oregon, so I will call them Oregonian Geese that are protected, with them all being gray,black and white, hard to tell part. They invaded public parks, when harrased to leave athletic fields they crap on take off,,,,which is where the cars are parked. they destroy wheat fields. ....Yes I am sure another lovely day in Oklamoma to see geese headed back north, I remember them from the 70s in the night skies flying in the fall,,,such a nice sound. But something happened and now they are the pigeons of NYC.....but hey, we have opossum from the CCC workers from the south and nutria from WW2 fur farms, starlings from NYC central park....but they are trying to keep the Zebras out of Oregon. Freeway signs....Keep the Zebras out of Oregon

This screen print graces one of my livingrm walls, what else can I say..

 

[chickapin parterre]

no print followed your post....so I will think of zebras

This screen print graces one of my livingrm walls, what can I say..

 

[NFLDERS]

HAPPY 69th! to me..

 

[Micca]

Happy Birthday Jane!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

P.S. I love your new bike!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Joining in on the vaccine talk . . . DH and I were vaccinated last week via the children's hospital where our DD is a patient. We're too young for the county phases, but this hospital wants as many staff and parents vaccinated as quickly as possible so they have their own policies. I have never looked forward to a shot so much! It was such a relief. We had the J&J vaccine, so we are done. I followed the nurse's advice to work that arm as much as possible after the shot, so I headed straight to the barn and spent a few hours there. Either I was lucky, or she was right because I experienced no arm pain. Had a low grade fever and a sore throat for a few hours on day one, but the worst part for me was the mental fatigue and reduced reflexes or processing functionality on day 2. I was very fuzzy-headed the whole second day, and even simple tasks left me frustrated.

DH had the typical symptoms: headache, chills, possible low grade fever (though he didn't take his temp, so I can't say for sure - just thinking possibly since he was very chilled). These lasted about about 1-1/2 days starting the night of day 1. His arm hurt slightly but not bad - more like a 2 out of 10.

DD is irritated that she cannot receive a vaccine yet, but her hospital said they would start on patients soon. They are waiting on trials for the youngest patients, but I suspect they will use their next allotment of pfizer to vaccinate the 16 and up patients. DD would fall under that. I hope they receive it soon because it was so easy and comfortable (familiar?) to receive the vaccination there. If they don't receive it very soon, though, it sounds like DD will be able to receive the vaccine via the state starting April 5. There are talks of opening it up to anyone 16 and up at that time. I don't know if that is official or if it is just a possibility, but I have her signed up for notifications just in case. I will be so happy for us to all be vaccinated whenever that happens!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Great minds, posting at the same time! We're going to do SSR. OKW is tempting due to room size but SSR is walking distance to Disney Springs. We'll probably only do one park day (Epcot is having the Flower/Garden show and I want to do the food booths!) but plan on hopefully spending time pool side and eating/drinking good things at the Springs, so SSR seems to be the best choice (although we are waitlisted at BWV- but probably won't happen with a 5 night trip in April- it's pretty soon).

DD and I loved SSR when we had our girls' trip there. It was so beautiful and peaceful. The staff was wonderful - kind, cheerful, and helpful. We loved it so much that I had trouble deciding between SSR and AKV when we decided to purchase DVC. The other 2/3 of us had no trouble casting their votes, though, so in the end AKV won out. But, we all agreed that it is nice to also have the option to stay at SSR. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Happy Birthday, Jane!!

Looks like fun on the new E-bike.

HAPPY 69th! to me.. View attachment 564708