Issue #53 Germy Germs And The Newsletter Hits A Milestone
A little longer than usual today.
And…
Well, it finally happened.
Just when we thought we were past all this, the Easter Bunny brought us Covid.
The hubby went down first and, despite all attempts at keeping our distance, I followed soon after.
The truth is, all the precautions in the world won’t help much if you were probably both exposed to the same carrier at the same time.
We will never know where it came from. The days of contact tracing are long gone and the risk of getting Covid is something we all just live with now.
And, frankly, it was our turn. We might have been just a little cocky navigating our lives recently due to the fact that, until now, we were in the tiny population of “novids”. (That’s a slang term going around for Covid virgins like us.)
At first, I did my best Mother Teresa impersonation and brought the hubby lots of tea and soup and such – willing myself to be fine. By day three I gave up and we were each on our own.
That’s probably one of the worst aspects of both being sick at the same time – two patients and no Florence Nightingale in the wings.
Our jobs are mostly solitary, remote, and home-based, so work continued because that’s what self-employed people do.
We took lots of naps and occasionally stuck our heads out from under the covers to check emails.
Hubby wrote, penciled, inked and turned in comic strips (I’ll be curious to review these later and see if they actually make any sense) and I colored comics and taught remote harp lessons while trying not to cough. (Or faint.)
We did take full advantage of the situation to get some respite from vacuuming and other annoying housekeeping chores. (The resulting dog-hair covered house is something I will continue to turn a blind eye to for a while. Don’t judge me.)
All has turned out OK we think. We are mostly back to normal.
I would probably not even have mentioned any of this in a newsletter except that I feel a sort of public service announcement obligation.
1 – Just because Covid isn’t in the news much anymore doesn’t mean it’s gone. Our pharmacy is out of Paxlovid and has it on back order. I suspect that indicates a current wave is driving a shortage.
2 – Choosing your level of exposure to other people in social situations is still worth some thought and possible masking.
3 – Vaccinations are probably still a good idea, especially if you have underlying health conditions. What we experienced – even though it was considered mild – is no joke. We will probably feel the effects of this for along time.
End of sermon.
I leave you now as I go in search of some chocolate.
I pray I can taste it.
Copyright© 2024 Anne Morse Hambrock All rights reserved.
Substack
I am moving the newsletter to a different host called Substack.
Some of you will already know what it is but for those of you who don’t, it’s a sort of combination website/blog/newsletter platform.
I am moving for a couple of reasons.
First, lately Mailchimp has been glitching a bit on me and some of the newsletters are bouncing and even unsubscribing folks who didn’t want to unsubscribe. I suspect some sort of automated bot thing.
Second, I am trying to expand my audience and this move will allow readers who are already on Substack to find me more easily.
It should not mean any significant change for you – supposedly I can just move over my mailing list seamlessly and the only thing you might notice is that the hosting address you get my emails from will be different.
This may mean that the first newsletter or two gets stuck in your spam filter by accident – hopefully not – but if suddenly you are not getting anything from me on Mondays, please reach out at anne@anneandgod.com and we will get things sorted.
I want to be very clear about something.
I want to be very clear about something.
Substack has a service where creators can charge a subscription fee.
I have no plans to do this.
I want to keep this newsletter completely free.
I might, at some point, create a tip jar for anyone who wants to support my creative work but such a thing will always be completely voluntary and I won’t be mentioning it much or pushing you towards a paying model.
One other thing – the name at the top of my Substack will not be Anne & God anymore. Not right now anyway. I’m going to try “Anne The Passive-Aggressive Poet” (see above image) and see where that gets me.
The Newsletter Is One Year Old!
Last week I missed the fact that, almost exactly a year ago, I crawled out of a self imposed exile from writing and launched this newsletter. Thank you for everyone who reads it - I hope it brightens your day!
Rhubarb Is Back
The rhubarb, which is usually at about the “sprout” stage this time of year, is already on its way to dog gobbling proportions. Stay tuned.
What I Did During The Eclipse
I pay about as much attention to eclipses as I do to passing clouds. The sun goes away for a bit. I get it. I’m over it.
Instead, I watched my dog do this.
Keep The Messages Coming!
A big “thank you” to all of you who have messaged me commented or hit “like” after reading my poems and commentary!
I appreciate the feedback and knowing how often I have struck a chord with your lives.
Archives
Remember, you can always hit the “archives” tab to see more or catch up on posts you may have missed.
