Monday, October 26 Deaths 655 (+2) Cases 42,436 (+335)
Erken kalktık (We got up early) so as to have a time for a little more study before Turkish class. Class went pretty well. Çarşamba ekimdeki son dersimiz. (Wednesday is our last class in October.) We need to decide in the next day or two whether to continue for another month. We’re conflicted.
Tuesday, October 27 Deaths 664 (+9) Cases 42,808 (+372)
Wednesday, October 28 Deaths 671 (+7) Cases 43,228 (+420)
Beautiful weather this week, very cold nights and mornings but warm afternoons. We decided to seize the day and change tertulia from the breakfast hour to happy hour. J and R brought pastries and we supplied tea and a bottle of Bordeaux on our patio. Nice.
We had our last Turkish lesson of the month today and talked to the teacher about continuing. We’d like to continue but three hours per week is too much for us. So we’re thinking of maybe changing to just one hour a week if the school can work that out. Today we learned how to say Kendine iyi bak–Take good care of yourself–a useful notion for these times.
Thursday, October 29 Deaths 673 (+2) Cases 43,793 (+565)
M went for a drive today, taking Highway 22 from Stayton to Santiam Junction. That stretch includes the towns of Mill City, Gates and Detroit Lake, which were all in the path of the Beachie Creek fire. (Video news report here, including an account of how it felt to be evacuating with burning trees on both sides of the road.) Here are some scenes from that area today. This is the town of Detroit Lake.
The fire spread very fast in the 40-50 mph wind. This fire truck was caught in it, perhaps while the crew was trying save this building. The left side of the truck looks fine; the right side, not so much. The sideways lean comes from the fact that the tires on the right side are gone while those on the driver’s side are intact. M felt a little ghoulish taking pictures of all this misfortune. Not that there weren’t plenty of other people there doing the same thing…
About 45 minutes after leaving Detroit Lake, M found somehow found himself 50 miles further east waiting in line outside the Sisters Bakery. So he pretty much had to go in and get something. Fifteen minutes later, he made these notes:
Sisters, Oregon 1:20 P.M. Chocolate donut? Check. Fritter for tomorrow? Check. Half cup of caffeinated coffee? Check. Full tank of premium gas? Check. Is the Mackenzie Pass highway around here somewhere? Oh yeah.
The last time M went over MacKenzie pass he was in the Jaguar. That car handled the road competently, but it was really too big for the tight, narrow curves. On the other hand, there were no bicyclists on the road that day. This day there were just enough cyclists to make M very cautious. You have to just assume someone’s going to be there every time you go around a blind curve–and all the curves are blind to some degree or other. Doesn’t mean you can’t go a little fast, but you’re constantly recalculating based on angles of vision.
When an exhausted M got home, he found E in the living room doing yet another Zoom class.
Friday, October 30 Deaths 675 (+2) Cases 44,349 (+556)
There have been over 1,100 new COVID cases reported over the last two days. The Oregon Department of Education has announced new metrics for school re-openings. Some districts will be able meet standards now, but many more have a long way to go.
Saturday, October 31 Deaths 689 (+14) Cases 44,932 (+583)
Fourteen COVID deaths reported today, a new daily record. The youngest victim was 66. All had underlying conditions.
We did a number of errands today, some of which involved going downtown. The weather was nice and lots of people were out and about. Everyone was masked, but with so many people on the sidewalks, we didn’t feel all that comfortable, even outside. Paranoid maybe, but there it is. We did not linger.
We learned that the Habitat for Humanity store has reopened on a limited basis and is accepting donations. We have a couple of largish items that we have been saving for them. Donations are accepted by appointment. E made us one for Thursday.
Sunday, November 1 Deaths 691 (+2) Cases 45,429 (+497)
This is the 220th day of the Pandemic Diary database. During the last ten days, the daily COVID death rate average was 4.5 per day. This is slightly lower that the previous period, a welcome change after forty straight days of steadily increasing rates.
It got down to 28 degrees last night, but today is sunny and warm. Nov. 1 is the first day of our annual respite from the horror that is Daylight Saving Time. Must enjoy it while we can. M is doing DIY today: mini towel bar in the kitchen, light fixtures for illuminating the new pantry cupboard in the garage, building a lightweight storage rack to go on top of new pantry cupboard. Still to come is the installation of the solar powered light for the interior of the equipment shed plus the assembly and testing of the new cordless pruning gizmo. Project mania. It will pass.
E is doing good again today by taking care of dog Pepper for a few hours while new furniture is being delivered at his owner’s house. The dog is very active, always nervous. E is tired.