Verdant for Now in Everyday Ramblings

My favorite color of azalea is becoming more popular. Charity wanted more up in our weekly walk as the gym has been closed for two weeks (enhanced Covid restrictions due to still high case counts) and so we trekked up into the land of the big wealthy homes in the heights yesterday. It was a lovely walk even though we could barely see half the mountains for the clouds and haze.

We ran into the woman who I adopted Carlo and Diego from six years ½ years ago. I knew one of the not so high-end places up there had an association with the non-profit that brings animals that need homes into the city from rural areas for people like me, (dedicated city dwellers) but had never seen her there before.

The place, it is called The Pixie Project, is about 50 times less depressing than the Humane Society where I got Stella all those years ago. They even have a kitten room that if you like cats is, irresistible. She vaguely remembered them and wanted me to send a picture and a note to her staff about how they are thriving because she knows they will remember my two.

Charity was wearing shorts. Charity pretty much always wears shorts if she can. It was windy and cool when we left but the effort warmed us up. The gardens up in the hills are remarkable, almost all professionally tended and it was a rhododendron extravaganza. The colors get in your head and stay there like a lovely soothing song.

She commented about 2/3rds of the way through that I was making her laugh. A few walks ago she noted that I was talking only about dark stuff. I do thrive in spring. There is something about all the verdant green that makes me happy.

Of course, my sinuses are inflamed. And we are now officially in a drought. And the virus is still here, quite evidently. But still, I am happy. Diego is feeling so much better. He is still chronically ill and yet we are managing it. He put all the weight he lost back on and now we need to think about a little more activity and slightly less food.

Carlo (who is a gray tuxedo) has indicated lately that he likes the color pink. It must have something to so with the color spectrum cats see. I have boxes of toys all over the place and recently he picked this florescent pink beer pong ball out from the box and has been playing with it. Kes brought up some pink tissue paper. His other favorite toy is this fluffy worm thing on a cord off a stick. I do have a bright pink worm.

Who knew? Carlo is remarkably active for a 9(ish) year old cat.

I had pre-ordered the audiobook version of Michael Lewis’s book The Premonition about how our pandemic has so far been handled here in the U.S. It came out Tuesday and I downloaded it and listened to the whole thing in two days. It is paced like a thriller, very propulsive. He is so gifted at finding unsung odd ducks, highlighting them and then telling a story. The book is wildly engaging.

But it was also rushed. And he takes sides in a way that shines light on his featured characters. He focuses more on what people were and are doing to make a difference and less on the unfolding disaster we all just lived through. It is not big picture, nor is it micro focused. It is mostly a polemic in condemnation of what had become of both the CDC and the patchwork mess of Public Health here in America.

One of his heroes works at the VA. That made me happy because I think the VA does not get anywhere near enough credit for the work they do. And what they have to teach us. He is still there. I was looking at the senior staff in Public Health there and the Trump administration decimated it. There are so many vacant positions.

I know from having to figure out how to fax things to labs after all our fax machines had been surplused even two years ago, how privacy requirements have been the excuse for many health care related centers to use to not update or upgrade their equipment. You end up having a big fail, when you need to scale something like we have needed to. But there are wins too.

Our big vaccination center is now open to walk ins with no appointment.

We stopped by the closed gym yesterday and they are reopening today with limited capacity and appointments. Charity is thrilled.

Now all we need to do is learn an effective rain dance. I know there are some ancient yogic rituals for bringing the rain as well… hmmm.

Last updated May 07, 2021