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Old 11-20-2019, 04:20 PM   #841
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The drought continues, but some rain and/or snow is predicted. We've had a little, but not much since early summer.

I found three cracks in the fiberglass/gelcoat finish in the Nash. There are repair kits for that (around $40-45 compared to a fiberglass guy estimated $550). He said he thought it was repaired at the factory and they didn't do a good enough job, It seem Nash and AF used to have delimitation problems, but they have been doing better in recent years. I will contact Nash and make a claim and ee if they will do anything after the warranty has expired. There seems to be a consensus that Northwood Mfg. does not have the quality it did before the founder retired and put his son in charge.

I am working on replacement of a bathroom countertop, backsplash, new vessel sink and faucet and I am about half as fast as I was a few years ago. I wasn't all that fast then. But my cousin-in law-in law, about a year younger than me, has been in surgery all day at the Mayo Clinic to fix his discarding aorta (second time) and his esophagus also (they are next to each other). The pain from tile setting is better than that.

Every once a while an old thread returns and I see names I haven't seen in years. I wonder who has disappeared, died or sold their trailer. Remember Canoestream? Wasn't that his Forum name, though I think his real name was Bob? I saw Aage and found he has been posting on one music-oriented thread for a couple of years and that's pretty much it, but may still be a mod. There are others, but I can't remember their Forum names. A women who wrote very well and her Forum name had "summer" in it. I'll probably remember more later.

two months to the next knee surgery. Can;t say I'm looking forward to it.
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Old 12-30-2019, 10:13 AM   #842
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I made it through Christmas and soon everything but the pagan tree will remain. I hope to keep it until July 4th, but Barb just won't agree to that. But since she has another knee job in a couple of weeks, if I can defend the tree until then, she will be helpless for a while, and I might make it to well into February. I know a Christmas tree was a long ago German pagan custom, but have no idea why people want to bring trees inside.

I wrote back in November that I had problems with the fiberglass side of the Nash. I eventually wrote a letter to the CEO of Northwood Mfg. Today I got a call from someone there and they will pick up the trailer, take it to the factory in Oregon, fix it, probably replacing the entire side and then return it. We'll wait until March to do that to avoid the worst of winter and get it back to me by our scheduled trip to Utah at the end of April. This is the way this company used to act years ago, but their reputation had suffered for a while, and it looks time they have a new CEO, so 5things are looking good.

We've made it this far into winter (after living in Colorado for 40+ years, winter starts in September) and haven't even gotten a cold for many months. Some years we have had lingering colds, something we never got when we lived in a more isolated area and were younger. After severe drought, then many wet months, then drought, now we are having normal precipitation—so now "normal" is extreme and extreme is normal. I finished the latest remodeling project and except for minor fixes, will be caretaking for a while and then get back to remodeling in the spring. December was an active month with parties, dinners, shopping, visiting, and a few weeks of rest before surgery would be nice, but rest never quite comes. My cousin-in-law who has had many problems with his aorta is back at the Mayo Clinic and it seems that though the last operation was successful in that he didn't die, there have been subsequent problems with infection, possible leaking, stomach upset and I am sure periods of depression and exhaustion, his attitude has been pretty good, but things are not looking good from here. After we got there last text from his wife, we just stopped talking for a while, agreed things are very grim and got back to our day. I have been waiting for a time when Cliff and his wife could be feeling well enough to visit here. Now I don't know....
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Old 12-30-2019, 12:24 PM   #843
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Just finishing up a Christmas road trip sans AS to Denver to welcome new granddaughter.

Have seen multiple AS headed north from the Texas panhandle so I guess more than a few people are now considering it as a four season camper

While no white Christmas in Denver, we did get to enjoy a few inches of the white stuff on Saturday. Delayed departure until Sunday to make sure Raton Pass was clear for us in our flat lander Tundra and it was clear sailing in dry roads.

Hope Barb’s next surgery goes well!

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Old 12-30-2019, 04:03 PM   #844
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Dana, thanks for your good wishes.

We did have snow on Xmas. Ratón Pass can be challenge sometimes.
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Old 01-16-2020, 10:34 AM   #845
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Barb had her second knee surgery on Tuesday. Everything went well and her recovery (day 2 post surgery today) is far better than last time. Hard to predict these things, but several factors may be the reason: we know better how to deal with it, one leg can be easier to do the replacement (her other leg was injured 13 months ago when she fell, so there may have been more damage inside), and she has one strong leg to count on rather than one. There is much less pain and she is getting around pretty well for less than 48 hours after surgery was completed. This is the day the surgical pain meds have worn off and today and tomorrow are supposed to be the worst days during recovery. Maybe later in the say more pain, but so far everything is under control. She starts PT next Monday, but if she continues to do well, maybe she can go out into town beforehand to get her out of the house for a few hours.

I did wake up with a sore throat today and feared that was coming on for the last two days. The good thing is that it didn't happen a week ago because that could have resulted in Barb getting a cold and delaying everything. So far the other cold symptoms have not appeared and we're hoping this passes quickly like colds used to until we got older.

Last night we finally slept more—the two nighst before I got a total of maybe 7 or 8 hours—worrying before we went to the hospital was one problem keeping me awake, but not Barb. The night in the hospital with lights, beepers, nurses coming in and out, make for a bad night. The nurses were all wonderful. I expect there to be at least one with a bad attitude, but every one was very nicer and did their jobs well. But being home is wonderful and we took a long nap after lunch yesterday and slept much better last night. Although severe pain can come at any time for a few weeks, we are very encouraged and it feels like a great weight has been lifted getting to this point after more than a year of worry and pain and limits since Barb's fall. I may be too elated today and know there's a lot work ahead, but spring will come and some road trips will happen.
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Old 01-16-2020, 02:45 PM   #846
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Originally Posted by Gene View Post
Barb had her second knee surgery on Tuesday. Everything went well and her recovery (day 2 post surgery today) is far better than last time. Hard to predict these things, but several factors may be the reason: we know better how to deal with it, one leg can be easier to do the replacement (her other leg was injured 13 months ago when she fell, so there may have been more damage inside), and she has one strong leg to count on rather than one. There is much less pain and she is getting around pretty well for less than 48 hours after surgery was completed. This is the day the surgical pain meds have worn off and today and tomorrow are supposed to be the worst days during recovery. Maybe later in the say more pain, but so far everything is under control. She starts PT next Monday, but if she continues to do well, maybe she can go out into town beforehand to get her out of the house for a few hours.

I did wake up with a sore throat today and feared that was coming on for the last two days. The good thing is that it didn't happen a week ago because that could have resulted in Barb getting a cold and delaying everything. So far the other cold symptoms have not appeared and we're hoping this passes quickly like colds used to until we got older.

Last night we finally slept more—the two nighst before I got a total of maybe 7 or 8 hours—worrying before we went to the hospital was one problem keeping me awake, but not Barb. The night in the hospital with lights, beepers, nurses coming in and out, make for a bad night. The nurses were all wonderful. I expect there to be at least one with a bad attitude, but every one was very nicer and did their jobs well. But being home is wonderful and we took a long nap after lunch yesterday and slept much better last night. Although severe pain can come at any time for a few weeks, we are very encouraged and it feels like a great weight has been lifted getting to this point after more than a year of worry and pain and limits since Barb's fall. I may be too elated today and know there's a lot work ahead, but spring will come and some road trips will happen.


Wishing Barb a speedy and full recovery from her surgery and quick healing of your sore throat!

Dana
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Old 01-16-2020, 03:21 PM   #847
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Thanks Dana.
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Old 01-16-2020, 11:46 PM   #848
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Hi, I hope having all of that surgery behind you is a good feeling. Hopefully, traveling will be enabled for all of us this year. Right now we are limited to day trips and some of those have proven to be too much for Lee. Best wishes for Barb.
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Old 01-17-2020, 01:17 PM   #849
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We are very glad Bob to have the knee jobs past us and I assume in about a month we will take a night or two away to feel liberated. I am also thinking about our two weeks in Bluff, Utah, starting late April. However, today is also very present. Up and down, over and over as I get stuff for Barb, make meals, follow her when she walks, etc. The weather is really unsettled today with winds blowing through the attic from the vents—that and the changing air pressure just create more anxiety. It is just like the last time, but better, however, "better' isn't all that great, but gladly, better.

Sorry to hear Lee is still having problems. I recall she walks a lot now, but I guess sitting in a truck is hard for her. We got some cushions from Costco for butt exhaustion and maybe they would help her. Barb had problems for about 6 weeks sitting in a car or truck for more than an hour, but Lee's back is apparently not responding well yet. We send our best to her and hope that speeds healing.

A cold front blew (literately) through this morning and we got a little snow and a lot of unsettling feelings from wind and a dropping barometer. We have what contractors call a "cold attic", so we hear the wind in the "great" room as the vents for the microwave and stove channel noise into the house. Not sure how to solve that one, but it sure gets old after a while. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often.
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Old 01-17-2020, 10:30 PM   #850
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Hi, Gene; we have those cushions from Costco. Long drives in the Lincoln with those hard leather seats was killing me. Leather seats with heat and cooling are harder than normal seats, at least in this period of Lincolns. And that is one more reason for cloth seats in my F-150. My 1996 Ford Explorer Sport had the best [cloth] seats of any vehicle that I have ever owned. I also bring my Costco cushion with me for air flights, especially the long ones that go with cruise ships.

I did, by request, buy a Costco cushion for Lee and recently bought a Costco back rest for her too. We haven't tried the back rest in the car yet. Due to the height and ride, Lee's BMW doesn't get used at all. The F-150 gets little use. And the Lincoln is Lee's choice for all of our local drives.
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Old 01-18-2020, 10:44 AM   #851
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Bob, there is a lot of variation between different manufacturers' seats. Toyota seats are pretty firm, but that may only be on the trucks and truck baed SUV's. We first softened the seats with sheepskins with a backing that did help, but after several years, cushions were necessary. The new to us 2017 Subaru Forester has heated seats, but we haven't had to use the cushions yet. Not good to use cushions on them if the heater is on; it'll burn it out. Have you looked into a medical evaluation with other docs or alternative medicine for Lee? From our experience, we know active people struggle with the limits of injuries and aging. I guess if you are couch potato, you don't really care if you have to be one, but we hate sitting around all the time.

My sore ankle may be more serious than I wanted it to be. It may be a month ago it started to hurt and swelled just below the inside of the ankle bone (I don't know if there is an "ankle bone" but the part that sticks out). I have been wearing an ankle brace for a couple of weeks and that helps me walk without a limp. It got a little better, then no more improvement. I want to be able to hike when we go to Bluff alongside Barb's bionic knees, but maybe this time I'll be the cripple. I guess I have to see the doctor and get an x-ray.

Barb is now past the two most painful days (## 3 and 4) after the surgical pain meds wear off and now she will get steadily better with less pain (hopefully) if there are no complications. She is already a few days ahead of her last recovery. I feel exhausted from watching her, helping her, sleeping badly because she has to take meds at 2 am and the alarm wakes me up, getting up and down over and over. That will pass. I am hoping she is ready to go out for brunch tomorrow, but that may be too soon. Each day we walk around the house a little more and on Monday PT starts.
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Old 02-15-2020, 05:01 PM   #852
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One month after surgery, and Barb's mobility is better than for the first knee, but because she has had to take blood thinners for months, she got a lot more bruising and thus more pain. She may have more adhesions too. So we have struggled more this time and sleep deprivation has been an issue. Since this was her right leg, she hasn't been able to drive on her own and we hope to try it around the neighborhood this weekend. After that it will be another week before she can go out on her own—pain spasms in your right leg are not something you want to have when you are driving. Since we expected this to be easier than the first time, if only because we'd had experience, progress has been discouraging, but we are progressing and sleep is getting easier. I'm getting to be a better cook with more experience. I cooked for myself for years, but she took over years ago while I remodeled three houses.

It has been a dreary winter with lots of clouds, not much snow and periods of bitter cold. I have to take the trailer down our icy driveway soon and have it ready to be transported to Oregon for repairs courtesy of Northwood Mfg. Hope to have a clear driveway by the end of this month, but we go from extreme drought to lots and lots of snow without much warning. I hope we can take a few days out of town by the end of this month and Barb will be pain free soon. Two months for our trip to Utah, but I figure coronavirus will be here by then and everything may shut down. As an old person with asthma, I am a target and am quite worried about that. While I don't trust the statistics from China, it is what we have. The mortality rate is around 2.25% and that is far, far more than flu.

Been busy all day and nap time seems to call.
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Old 03-01-2020, 05:30 PM   #853
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We've been looking forward to getting out of town at the end of April to go to Bluff with trailer and also to have a few days in Ouray in mid-March (just driving the new to us Subaru). But, COVID-19 may change that for us and many others. Old people are the target and I have asthma, so I am quite nervous and may spend the next few months under the bed hiding from nasty germs. Numbers out of China a few weeks ago indicated 80% of fatalities were from people 60 and older; 20% of fatals were 80 and older. There are not that many 80 year olds, so that may have benign lot of people. Statistics are not reliable and the fatality rate is hard to discern. S. Korea seems to have the lowest fatality rate of any country with a substantial number of cases. Countries where this is politicized have very unreliable numbers to report.

It looks like CDC and HHS have screwed this up. HHS sent people into the quarantine areas without any training and proper attire and CDC, formerly the worldwide gold standard, has been weakened and screwed up the test kit thing. So the virus is out and seemingly spreading in Washington state and elsewhere. I asked one of my docs (a pulmonologist) a few days ago about local preparations and he seemed resigned to it not going well and opined the antiviral drugs like Tamifu will be used up in less than a day because there are not enough being produced.

The local government people assured us everything is under control, but these are people who have done a poor job governing everything else. I have had pneumonia once when I had the flu several years ago and not having enough air is quite scary and not something I wish to experience ever again. There do not seem to be enough machines to help breathing and I doubt there are enough oxygen tanks either. Maybe I should try to get the virus right away so I can get good drugs, a nice hospital room before they aren't available and oxygen before they set up tents with hundreds of beds crammed in so you can listen to people dying or gasping for air around you. Having read about the 1918-19 flu pandemic, things went very badly and although we have better medicine now, we may resort to much of the same—closing down everywhere people congregate including campgrounds, restaurants and rapid transit with many people quarantined. We are stocking up on foods that keep well and are healthy. We want to improve our resistance to disease. I expect if transportation systems break down, fresh fruit and veggies will be hard to get. 50,000,000 people may have died in 1918-19 and there were a lot less people then and much less ability to move about the world quickly. So far, the mortality rate may be similar or worse and there are billions more people now, so fatals could be in the hundreds of millions. But in remote areas in 1918-19, schools were closed for weeks and weeks and gatherings of people were banned. Then people traveled by train and managed to spread the flu everywhere. We don't seem to have improved much since then despite warnings for decades this would come some day.

The best that seems to be able to be done now is put it off as long as possible through limiting the spread of the disease and hoping for either a vaccine (completely different estimates of when one will be available are all I can find) or some antiviral drugs that can limit the severity of the disease.

Not looking to be a good year.
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Old 03-01-2020, 05:54 PM   #854
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Hi, Gene; You have two marks against you with your age and your Asthma. You and Barb need to play it safe until this thing dies down. We went to our Asian market yesterday even though we thought it might be best to stay at home. One Chinese couple were wearing medical masks. Everyone else was just normal, so it didn't feel unsafe to us. We are cautious anyway. We were in a store several months ago and a woman started sneezing, so I backed away. The lady saw my reaction and told my wife, "don't worry, it's not contagious" I've heard that before and I trust no-one.

We were hoping to do some traveling this year, but not sure now.
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Old 03-01-2020, 06:21 PM   #855
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Why don’t you plan a road trip to the middle of nowhere? I figure it’s safer to be on the road than in a major populated city. Yes, you’ll be touching gas nozzles to fill up but I am certain you can glove up or wash hands great after?

Just a thought.

My wife and I do have the upper hand of being in our mid to late 30s. We still have to head into the PNW to see her family. Grandma is hospice care and we gotta see her while she’s still with us.

Travel safe. Get a mask if you haven’t already.
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Old 03-07-2020, 02:45 PM   #856
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We have been talking about what to do. Traveling to remote areas is nice and going to SW Utah is certainly remote, but the campground would still be filled with people from all over and the restaurants could be bad places to go. There is a patient two counties away and I-70 will bring someone here who will spread it. The local authorities seem complacent. We are told to not go to the doctor or hospitals and just call. Tests are hard to get. Everything I read and heard indicates the intensive and infectious care units will be quickly overwhelmed, most health care people will get the virus because they are with contagious patients all day and they will run out of equipment and drugs quickly. I looked at the numbers and the few studies available and many, many could die. I get info from a doctor we know socially and what docs are seeing is pretty scary. The lack of ventilators and protective gear and training and COVID-19 tests is daunting. This could be with us just like flu is for the rest of our lives. The virus attaches to a receptor in our lungs' air sacs and inhibits breathing O2 in and CO2 out. Multiorgan failure is being observed and one Italian hospital had three of ten critically ill patients with kidney failure. In China, critically ill patients had a 49% mortality rate. People who had caught the disease in their 70's had a mortality rate of 8% and 80 and up it was 14.7%. People with lung issues, hypertension, etc., had a higher death rate.

Statistics are poor and we don't know whether various countries are suppressing information to make their citizens feel good and the leadership look good.. Life will change a lot very soon. I have read about how the 1918-19 flu changed things for everyone for quite a while and we have not advanced a lot since then. Warnings have been made for decades that a pandemic like this was coming some day and that it would probably be a coronavirus and start in China. In fact, latest thought on the so-called Spanish Flu was it came from China. Few countries, including the US and Canada seem prepared.

Fortunately we live 10 miles from downtown on a mesa top and all our neighbors are several hundred yards away. We plan to go to the grocery store early in the day when they are relatively empty and keep hand sanitizer in the car and wipe the controls down. Barb is recovering more quickly now from knee surgery, so we are actually sleeping at night and hopefully our immune systems are working better. Just about everyone we know is 60 or older and we wonder how many will not make it.

I think we will get stir crazy pretty quickly. But we can drive somewhere pretty around here and be alone and relax.

Gene
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Old 03-07-2020, 03:36 PM   #857
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Thanks for good discussion. We have similar issues floating around.

Happy trails,

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Old 03-07-2020, 05:26 PM   #858
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Hi Gene,
I drove a Corona back when I worked at Alternative Automotive on Cottage St, damn thing was always breaking down, lets hope the same happens with this one.

Spirits up everyone...🙏

Bob
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Old 03-07-2020, 06:27 PM   #859
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Ordinary surgical masks are not capable of stopping a virus. Microbes, yes, viruses are so small it is like trying to block them with a tennis racquet held in front of the face.
If you HAVE a cold, flu or this virus, then a mask will prevent YOU from spreading spittle while coughing or sneezing - that is good. "Cough into your sleeve" is advice I have also seen.... uh? No. IMO, use a handkerchief and wash it with bleach in the water or use a big paper towel and spray it with a bleach based cleaner before burning or.disposing of it. Worry about giving it to others may be the best way to avoid getting it.
Pray for the homeless.. they will die in droves from weakened immune systems due to poor nutrition, alcohol and drug abuse and mental illnesses.
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Old 03-11-2020, 05:25 PM   #860
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We are adjusting our ways. We have stopped going to various social events that we always go too. Life may get lonely, but we have each other. Going to the grocery stores is a challenge. We take some wipes at the entrance, clean off the shopping cart handles and try to keep some distance from people. When we leave, more wipes and clean off our hands. Many others do not bother. Wash hands when we can. Trying to not touch our faces is really difficult. As soon as I think of it, something itches.

I have more emails from a critical care listserv usually only seen by doctors and the plight of the doctors in Italy is scary and their courage is moving. Italy it appears has in the past few days triaged—anyone over 60 does not get care or ventilators. They are saving the younger ones when they can. While this is a practical response, I wonder when and if this approach will come here. We are weeks away from really scary numbers in North America. The increase is exponential, so the curve will keep increasing until either every place is quarantined or we run out of people to get infected. The curve has started to decline in China, perhaps because it is such a regimented and dictator-controlled society, they can isolate large groups of people. I am amazed how many people are refusing to believe the seriousness of this and I suppose natural selection will take care of them, but they can still infect the rest of us on their way out.

It seems the word everywhere is to stay calm and do not panic. That is good advice, but unfortunately they are not telling people the worst case scenarios; maybe not the best case scenarios either. It seems like there is some sort of agreement around here to suppress the worst of it because we can't handle it. No doubt people get scared and start spouting crazy stuff, but if the possible outcomes are not publicized, when they happen no one will believe what the authorities have to say. In the US somewhere between 130,000,000 and 220,000,000 people may get the disease and 20% of them will have a serious version. Telling people most of them will get a mild form ignores the 20% (26 M to 44 M) who will get the serious version. The best we know is in China people over 60 accounted for 80% of deaths and in Italy people 80 and up who have the disease have a mortality rate of 42%. S. Korea has a mortality of around .7% and China is 3.4%. Maybe we should move to S. Korea. None of this is hard to find out, but the media won't publish most of it. The strain in Italy and Iran may be a mutation that is more deadly. But Italy is a country with a low birth rate and a lot of seniors, so that may account for their higher overall mortality rate.

There are plenty of stories about how attempts to get test kits approved has been extremely difficult and how authorities haven't taken this seriously. If there is any attempt to vastly increase the production of ventilators, I haven't seen it. Because of shortage of ventilators, there will be a lot of surgeries postponed and people with other diseases will not be able to get treatment because hospitals will be turned into intensive or critical care wards if they have the supplies and equipment. You can't have major surgery with being totally sedated without a ventilator to keep you breathing.

I have seen four docs for various ills in the past 10 days and they either seem resigned or complacent. I told an orthopedist today he'd better study up on infectious diseases. The good news is that Barb is done with physical therapy and her recovery in the past two weeks has been extraordinary. We had weeks of pain and poor sleep, but we are well past that and now can fret over Covid-19 instead.

It is imposible to find alcohol based hand sanitizer and N95 masks. A friend gave me two of the masks and we'll save them for when we really need them. I checked on Amazon and a lot of the offers sound phony and prices are high.

We cancelled our short trip to Ouray next week and I don't know whether we will take our two week trip to Bluff, Utah at the end of April. We will live in our portable house and bring our food, but it is not total isolation. In two weeks, the number of cases in the US will be in the many thousands, probably tens of thousands and mortality will increase too. There is a two week or so lag in mortality because it appears to take that long to kill.

Looking on the bright side, there must be some great deals on Corona beer. y summer there may be some good deals on used RV's. If you want to really go crazy, watch Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (1957). It is on Turner Classic Movies fairly frequently.. It is about the black plague during the dark ages where half of Europe may have died. At the same time the wheat crop was infected with ergot, a substance that creates hallucinations and is similar to LSD. The famous scene is of Max Von Sydow playing chess with the grim reaper. Max lost the game a few days ago and died at the age of 90. Watching that movie may be too much for me right now.

Take care.
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The Airstream is sold; a 2016 Nash 24M replaced it.
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