Right now

Right now...* 

*(an occasional (mostly monthly) meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"). (Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first "The Current" post, here.)

Pandemic diary/update:  March 11th marked Month #24 (heading into #25) -- two full years, now going on three -- of living with the COVID-19 pandemic. (I reflected that day on what's better now -- and what's not.) 

Following in the footsteps of several other provinces, ALL capacity restrictions AND vaccine passport requirements were lifted on March 1st here in Ontario (two weeks earlier than planned/previously announced -- which was probably waaaaayyyyy too early in the first place, but anyway...). Mask mandates were removed in most public places as of March 21st, including in schools (right as students returned from spring break), and will be lifted entirely by the end of April -- even though many doctors advised waiting a couple more weeks to see if spring break/spring break travel had any impact on the numbers. (Apparently vaccinations for children aged 5-11 increased almost 25% during spring break week, after the end of school mask mandates was announced!) 

(NOT) coincidentally, we have a provincial election coming up on June 2nd.  

Use of anti-virals (Paxlovid) to combat the virus is still very limited here.  Distribution of free rapid tests was supposed to end next week but (with cases rising rapidly once again) has been extended to July 31st, and the Ontario Health Coalition is calling for a return to wider free PCR testing, arguing that the government's restrictions are a breach of the Canada Health Act.   

I am left feeling rather defenseless, discouraged -- and very apprehensive. (As The Globe & Mail's health columnist, Andre Picard, wrote recently, "With public restrictions all but gone, we’re left to fight COVID-19 on our own.") It feels like it's just me, my vaccines and my own good judgment protecting me now -- hoping for (but not assured of) the same from others. Certainly not the provincial government. :p  Needless to say, dh & I plan to remain masked and socially distanced for a while yet... 

And... surprise!! (not)  It's a little more than a week since mask mandates were lifted (and since spring break ended), and our numbers (the ones the government will admit to, anyway...) are once again on the rise. (Some are calling this wave #6 -- this article too -- but frankly, I've lost count.)  Anecdotally -- based on social media posts from friends and others -- I've heard of more people coming down with covid this past month (and certainly the past 3-4 months) than any other time during the pandemic -- fully vaxxed people, too. (BlogTO has noticed too.) Lots of photos of positive covid tests in my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. Covid is reported to be rampant in local schools and on kids' hockey teams right now. 

“The new variant is not the main culprit. It’s us. It’s people just dropping their guards and increasing their high-risk contacts, such as gathering with others indoors without masks,” said science table member Dr. Peter Juni in the Toronto Star yesterday. 

Here are the numbers from March. (I've used numbers from both CBC News's pandemic tracker for Ontario and The Toronto Star -- mostly the Star this time around -- which may differ slightly, albeit not substantially.) 

• There were 1,176 new cases reported in Ontario on March 1st, and 3,139 on March 31st, an increase of 24.9% over the previous week. PCR testing has been dramatically restricted since January, and so these numbers cannot be considered an accurate assessment of how widespread COVID-19 is right now. Many doctors have advised the actual numbers are likely 10 to 20 times higher than what's being officially reported. 
• Test positivity rates have increased, from 10% on March 1st to 16% on March 31st. 
• Hospitalizations are on the rise again: there were 915 on March 1st, as few as 597 on March 20th, but 807 on March 31st, up 20.8% from the previous week. 
• There were 278 ICU beds filled on March 1st, and 166 on March 31st -- an overall decline from the beginning of the month, but up just slightly from the previous week.  
• There were 17 deaths reported on March 1st and a blip/peak of 78 on March 11th. There were 6 on March 31st, with a seven-day average of 9.6, up 13.6% from the previous week. 

As of March 31st, with a population of just over 14 million, Ontario has logged 1,159,470 (officially counted) cases of covid and more than 12,427 deaths. (The death numbers are actually lower than they were in February -- the government recently "reclassified" some deaths, resulting in a lower overall total.)  For Canada as a whole (population 38 million), those numbers are 3,460,272 and 37,506, respectively. 

As of yesterday, 90% of Ontarians have had at least one shot and 86.5% are fully vaccinated (including those aged 5 & under, who are not yet eligible). Canada-wide, 82% of people are fully vaccinated. ("Fully vaccinated" = two doses, although some believe that definition should change to include boosters/third doses.)  Uptake on third doses/boosters has been slow -- just under half of Canadians have them -- and fourth shots are only just starting to be offered, mostly to older &/or immunocompromised people. 

On the personal pandemic front:  On top of dh's weekly trips to the supermarket for groceries and for occasional takeout lunches & dinners: 

• We spent a nice chunk of time with Little Great-Nephew at BIL & SIL's this month (5 weekday morning visits, and 2 Saturday night visits, both of which included time spent with some combination of one or both nephews & their wives). (The last time we saw him, he said "Bye, Lori!" to me as we were leaving. "How about 'Bye, Sam'??" said poor dh, who actually plays with him far more than I do. Nope!  lol  MADE MY DAY.)  
• We visited the local bookstore twice (once since mask mandates were dropped -- I'd estimate approximately 2/3 to 3/4 of the people there still had them on), the supermarket (together) once and the drugstore/pharmacy twice. 
• We went for haircuts on March 6th in our old community, with stops at the cemetery to visit Katie, a local food store we used to frequent, and a bank ABM for cash. 
• I had a colonoscopy on March 24th (my second) at a clinic near our condo building...  
• ...followed by a mammogram on March 29th, at another local clinic. (Not as fancy as the one I used to go to downtown, but perfectly adequate, and the equipment looked almost brand new. I was in & out in under 45 minutes.) 

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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 5 books in March (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads, & tagged  "2022 books").   

• "Recipe for a Perfect Wife" by Karma Brown  (an upcoming pick for my "Clever Name" book club, which I might have picked up even without that prompt). (My review) 
• "All the Queen's Men" by S.J. Bennett. (My review.) 
• "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt (Gateway Women book club March/April selection). (My review.)  
• "Run Towards the Danger" by Sarah Polley.  (My review.) 
• "Charlotte Fairlie" (also known as "The Fair Isle" and "Blow the Wind Southerly") by D.E. Stevenson (group read with my DES online fan group, after my initial read in December). (My review.) 

This brings me to 16 books read so far in 2022 -- 36% of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books.  I am (for the moment, anyway) 5 books ahead of schedule. :)

Current read(s): 

• "The House of the Deer" by D.E. Stevenson (next read for my DES online fan group) 
• "The Story Girl" by L.M. Montgomery (group read with my LMM Readathon group on Facebook, scheduled to run through mid-April).   
• "The Menopause Manifesto" by Dr. Jen Gunter. 

Coming up: 

(Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and this is a great place for me to keep track of what I should read next, lol.) 

• My "Clever Name" book club went on hiatus until after Christmas, and still hasn't started up again. The organizer has had a tough/busy winter and I am not about to ask her if/when we'll be resuming. So in the meantime, I've removed the upcoming books I haven't read yet from this list.  (Should we start up again, I'll bring them back.) 
• For my D.E. Stevenson fan group (no set timeframes, but these are the next ones we've agreed to read after we finish the current book, in order):  
• "Anna and her Daughters" 
• "Sarah Morris Remembers" 
• For the Gateway Women book club: 
• "The Man Who Died Twice" by Richard Osman (May -- already read & reviewed here).
• "The Woman in the Photograph" by Stephanie Butland (June -- unfortunately, not available in Canada yet, it seems...  :(  ) 
• "These Precious Days" by Ann Patchett (July) 

Also: within the private online Gateway Women community, we've formed a group to discuss Jody Day's book, "Living the Life Unexpected," one chapter per month, in a live Zoom call. (There are actually two groups -- one that's more conducive to UK/European/Australasian time zones, and one for North Americans.) Our third call, discussing Chapter 3, was last Sunday afternoon. Completing all 12 chapters will take us a full year.  If/when we complete the full 12 chapters, I'll count it as another re-read. :)  

A few recently purchased titles (in digital format, mostly discounted or purchased with points):  

• "Putin's World" by Angela Stent
• "Winter is Coming" by Garry Kasparov 
• "Raising Our Hands" by Jenna Arnold
• "Moneyland" by Oliver Bullough
• "The Trouble With White Women" by Kyla Schuller
• "Baggage" by Alan Cumming
• "Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies" by Tara Schuster 
• "The Little Friend" by Donna Tartt 
• "The Betrayal of Anne Frank" by Rosemary Sullivan 
• "The Windsor Diaries 1940-45" by Alathea Fitzalan Howard

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Watching: The news from Ukraine. :(

The world figure skating championships from France, last weekend.  Really strange not to have the Russians there (but appropriate, under the circumstances) -- but wonderful to see the other skaters have their chances to shine -- especially the Ukrainians, who managed to make it there, despite what's happening in their country right now. The Ukrainian ice dance team withdrew from the competition before the final free skate, citing lack of preparation (understandable!) -- but not before performing a memorable program in the rhythm dance segment, clad in simple yellow & blue T-shirts, the colours of their country's flag. At the end, they embraced and cried as the audience rose and cheered them for several minutes. The CBC commentator, ice dance coach Carol Lane, was choking back tears, and so was I.  

The Oscars on Monday night (even though I haven't been in a movie theatre since January 2020). 

(This one could also fall under "Listening," lol.)  Dh & I REALLY enjoyed watching "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine," a documentary released last year about one of the great bands of Canadian classic rock. It was shown on national TV one Saturday night this past month. We were out, but PVRd it and watched it a few days later. What a time trip!! :)  By the end -- when the band reunited in 2019 for a special one-off surprise set at a superfan gathering -- I had tears in my eyes and a huge smile on my face. You could not be a Canadian growing up in the 1970s and 80s and not know who Triumph was (and they did pretty well in the States too)... and while neither dh nor I ever saw them in concert, they were certainly part of the soundtrack of our lives back then -- we both enjoyed their music then and have only grown to appreciate them more as the years have gone by. Dh recommended them to our nephews, and now Younger Nephew in particular is a big fan too.  :)  

Listening:  Some great podcasts, including several episodes from a new podcast, "New Legacy Radio" with Christine Erickson. Worth checking out! 

Eating/Drinking: I had to modify my diet for a few days later this month, in preparation for my second colonoscopy: low fibre, no seeds, no red food dyes. I was eating lots of chicken, rice, rye toast and vanilla yogurt. ;) And then a day of clear liquids, including Gatorade. Glad to be back to more regular eating! 

(I weighed myself the weekend before the procedure, before I started the liquids only regime and then again the morning after. The number on the scale remained the same... at least it didn't go up...!) 

Coke & potato chips on Oscar night. Popcorn is traditional and appropriate, of course ;)  -- but also hard on the teeth. I've broken two teeth in the past 25-30 years on popcorn kernels, and while I still love it and eat it (especially at the movies), I have cut back some. Even with our dental plan, dental work is expensive...! 

Buying (besides books, lol):   A few things for Little Great-Nephew's Easter basket, including a book and a package of sidewalk chalk. (Chocolate to come!  lol) 

Wearing: Short-sleeved T-shirts  (and no cardigans) around the house occasionally, on the milder days we had in March. (Not enough of them, though... capris & sandals are probably at least another month away...!) 

Trying: To get a few things done around the house that don't get done regularly -- e.g., cleaning the dishwasher filter (did you know they had one??), soaking the shower head in vinegar to get rid of hard water deposits, cleaning out the vanities/cupboards underneath both bathroom sinks, etc.. I can't wait for the nicer weather, so I can clean my balcony doors/windows!! -- they are filthy!!  

Wanting: To visit the nearby art gallery where I have a membership soon, to take in a couple of new and continuing exhibits (before they close later this spring/summer). We haven't been there since just before the pandemic began. :( 

Enjoying: Opening the balcony door part way (and leaving it open!) for the first time this year on March 17th, when temperatures reached 17C/63F! (and again yesterday, same temperature). (Alas, both isolated one-day events -- the temperatures promptly plunged again. But it was nice while it lasted -- a brief, heady taste of spring...!) 

Noticing:  More sunsets, now that they don't come quite so early, with the time change earlier this month! 

Wondering:  Whether Little Great-Nephew will have any memory of our visits to see him at Nonna's house when he gets older?  (I can remember a few snippets of things from when I was 2, but everyone tells me I have a very good memory.) 

Prioritizing: Getting to bed earlier, until I can get my sleep schedule straightened out again!  I've been constantly tired since the time change, earlier this month! (Colonoscopy prep did not help, either!)  

Waiting: For the results on the biopsies of the three small polyps removed during my recent colonoscopy. The doctor assured me everything was fine, but of course we won't know for absolutely sure until we get the results. 

Also waiting for the results of my recent mammogram. 

And for my sister to get her proposed vacation schedule approved by her bosses at work, so that we can plan a trip west this summer to visit her and my parents.  I like to time our visits around her vacations when we can, so that we can spend some time together and (from a practical standpoint) so that she & her partner can pick us up and drop us off at the airport (saving us the hassle & expense of renting a car, or from having my elderly parents take us). We most often go in mid/late July, around my dad's birthday, but Sis thinks late August is probably more likely this year. (Which would be closer to HER 60th birthday in September -- mwahahahaha....!). I know dh would like to try driving out there again some day (as we did in summer 2016), but probably not while the pandemic is still going strong. At any rate, no need to worry about booking plane tickets until at least June-ish, I think. 

Hoping:  To stay safe from covid, in the face of rising cases (again!)... that the summer will be better... (??)

Appreciating: The miracles of modern technology -- keeping us entertained, informed, in contact with friends & family, and so many other things, especially during this pandemic. 

Loving: That moment when the weekly housecleaning is done, I'm showered and sitting down (at last!) in the easy chair with a cup of tea and a cookie by my side and laptop in my lap, and can finally relax!  (Happening later this afternoon, lol.)  

Feeling: Apprehensive about the complete lack of public health measures, data or other guidance as we face the likelihood of another covid surge. Impatient for winter to be over./Looking forward to spring, nicer weather, and getting out of the house more!