Pandemic Diary — February 15 to 21

(Türkce versiyonunu görmek için aşağı kaydırın.)

Monday, February 15   Deaths  2,137 (+0)   New cases  184

A second day of zero COVID deaths reported. Reports are for the previous day, so that means that both Saturday and Sunday were zero. It makes you wonder if this is a reporting anomaly. New case totals and test positive numbers remain low. 

Our day was busy but mostly routine: grocery shopping, exercise class, correspondence, etc. We had a short walk, but conditions were fairly nasty–40 degrees with wind-driven rain. We’re getting tired of rain, which seems to go on and on. Every unpaved inch of ground is saturated and puddles form in every low spot. It doesn’t help that up until seventy-odd years ago our neighborhood was most probably a wetland. 

We’re having a minor insect invasion in our otherwise perfect home. (Some exclusions apply.) We have been seeing small moths flitting here and there, a few tiny ants in the kitchen, and one black fly buzzing around. We do not feel merciful toward these invaders and the death toll is mounting. E has ended the lives of four moths and three ants. M has accounted for two moths and the fly. 

Tuesday, February 16   Deaths  2,138 (+1)   New cases  411

A mix of rain and sunshine today with warming temperatures. Our neighborhood walk was pleasant and M did an hour of garden work before a shower chased him inside. E did her yoga class and got some sewing done. M disposed of another moth but he is having a hard time catching up with E, whose score today is three more moths and one more ant. She was very satisfied to get the ant. She says it was the that got away from her yesterday–a claim which is difficult to verify.

We are floundering around trying to find something else to watch on TV. We tried to watch a Turkish series called 20 Minutes, which stars one of favorite Turkish actors, Tuba Büyüküstün, who played Elif in Kara Para Aşk. But 20 Minutes is so grim! Too grim. Then we tried to watch another Turkish series called Woman (Kadın), which some of our friends in Spain are watching. It’s also being shown here on Netflix, but it is in Turkish with Spanish subtitles! We tried that for a while and it kinda worked, but it was really hard and just too culturally confusing. So tonight we tried out an episode of A French Village on Prime. It’s good–and it has English subtitles. But it’s French and we missed our Turkish cultural exposure. So we’re still thinking. 

Wednesday, February 17   Deaths  2,143 (+5)   New cases  473

Another day much like the last. First, M works on his article and E sews. Second, the sun comes out and both work in the garden. Then the sun goes away. M lies down. E goes to the fabric store, navigates the insane complexity of their pricing structure, and eventually gets a package of seam binding and one spool of thread at “regular” prices, two “free” spools of thread, and a piece of flannel fabric for 88 cents. 

But wait, here’s something new. A package arrives. Quick, let’s see who it’s for. It’s addressed to E. M tells her it’s probably just a lump of coal or something, but E knows better. It’s a box of Godiva truffles and the card inside says it is for E and M from the Andees. Fine folks, these Andees, both of them credits to their clans.

Although E is now “eligible” to be vaccinated, sign up for her group has yet to be activated, as far as she can see. Frustrating. 

Thursday, February 18   Deaths  2,149 (+6)   New cases  466

8:00: FaceTime tertulia with R and J. They tell us about having paella and tapas here in town at FireWorks. We tell them about finding Godiva chocolates on our doorstep. Then we compare notes on lugubrious Eastern European national songs. 

9:00 — E has Zoom exercise class.

9:30 — M goes to get a haircut.

10:30 — E goes to the dentist. She decides to walk despite the threat of rain.

11:30 — E goes to Winco and picks up some Grape Nuts.

12:00 — E arrives home in a pouring rain. She is cozy in her coat. The Winco bag is soggy, but the Grape Nuts are fine. M is impressed by the Grape Nuts but wants to know why she didn’t also pick up some butter. 

12:15 — M fetches lunch from Burgerville.

1:00 — M and E rest from their labors.

2:45 — M starts making pickles

3:45 — Pickles!

After dinner we stumbled upon something new to watch on Netflix. It’s a British film called The Dig. It is about an archeological discovery in Suffolk in 1939 and stars Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. We found it immediately absorbing. It’s a little slow and a little long, so we decided to save some for tomorrow. 

Friday, February 19   Deaths  2,149 (+0)   New cases  492

Today is the 330th day of the Pandemic Diary database. Time for another chart. Over the last ten days, the average daily COVID death toll in Oregon was 11.8. This compares with 7.4  during the previous period, so it’s not great news. but nor is it terrible.

The data in the last ten days was strikingly uneven. Two of the days, 2/12 and 2/13, had some of the highest totals of the entire pandemic. On three other days, 2/14, 2/15, and 2/19, zero deaths were reported. 

For E and M, today was a more relaxed day than some. After breakfast we took a long walk in the rain. It was quite a nice rain: small drops, not too many of them, and no wind to blow them around. It buoyed our spirits. When we arrived home the rain obligingly stopped for a bit and E went out to the garden to trim last year’s stalks off of the sedum. When she finished that, she got a shovel and whacked up a couple of pumpkins that had been sitting out in our new prairie since Halloween. As soon as she finished, a bluejay went after the seeds she had exposed. Its method was to stuff its craw with four or five seeds and then fly off and bury them one at a time in various parts of the yard. We know that bird won’t find all of them and E is a little dismayed at the thought of having pumpkin plants all over the place. We shall see.

While E worked in the real world, M worked elsewhere, in the video world of Need For Speed: No Limits. Just today he finally got to the point where he could stage up his SRT Viper GTS. This means that he will be able to make more progress in Car Series and also compete successfully in Level 5 Tuner Trials, which will lead to acquiring the parts needed to increase the speed, acceleration and nitro performance of his Porsche Carrera so as to continue progressing in the The Campaign. This, in turn, will open the way to earning more blueprints to allow yet more stage-ups to the Viper, which, in the long run will surpass the Porsche’s performance and allow for yet more progress in The Campaign. That’s if M doesn’t die first. If you’re too cheap to make in-app purchases, this is a very long-view game.

After all that, we both needed a break so we shared a fish stick for lunch.That wasn’t quite enough, so M had a quesadilla and E finished off some faro salad and a hard boiled egg. In the afternoon E did Zoom yoga and M worked on his article. 

In the evening we finished watching The Dig, which was quite satisfying. We have also discovered a number of other TV things of interest. First, there are many episodes The Number One Ladies Detective Agency on YouTube. Second, we have found a Turkish series called İstanbul Kırımızisi. The plot looks interesting and one of the actors is good old Tuba Büyüküstün. Thirdly, Season 4 of Outlander is now on Netflix. E has never seen any of Outlander. We are not sure if she would like it. Does anyone have an opinion on this? 

Saturday, February 20   Deaths  2,154 (+5)   New cases  536

E was annoyed again this morning by our state public health authorities. She heard one of them on the radio going on about how the vaccination program is flowing right along and everyone who qualifies for shots is getting them, etc., etc. This, she says, is a blatant lie. If it were true, she would have gotten at least a first vaccine by now. 

But then she again went out to walk Pepper and chase rainbows and then got herself a latte from Tried and True, which she says has the best coffee in town. There’s nothing like a dog, a rainbow, and a coffee and to improve one’s mood.

RETRACTION: We must report an error in the January 28th entry of the Diary. On that date we discovered that our John Deere tractor had been attacked and overturned. We were quick to blame a nearby plant shoot, which we identified as a crocus. As can be seen here, it was not a gigantic crocus at all but rather a humongous snowdrop. We regret the error.

We are fortunate, of course, that we did not file an insurance claim based on the crocus damage clause in our homeowners policy. We could have been arrested for fraud. We could have been imprisoned…in which case both of us might have gotten our vaccinations by now.

Sunday, February 21   Deaths  2,155 (+1)   New cases  111

Cloudy but dry today. M mowed the lawn. E went for a walk. We planned plans and listed lists for another trip to Bend. At 4:00 we had a Zoom meeting with E’s brothers back east. All three of the crew back there–brother #1, brother #2, and sister-in-law–have gotten their first vaccinations. J the Elder says he felt poorly for three days after he got his shot but is now doing fine. J the Younger is trying to bear up under the pressures of walking on the beach and putting his feet up to watch the sunset.

On TV we watched the ‘season finale’  of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS. E was annoyed by the whole idea of Helen’s engagement and last minute decision not to marry what’s his name. None of that was in the book. It was inconsistent with everything we know about her character. And the scene where James finds her alone in the church still in her wedding dress was just stupid. Judging by the woodenness of the dialogue, even the writers who created it knew how dumb it was. This reminds us of the bad old days when you could pretty much just assume that any movie or TV adaptation of a novel was going to be junk. 

Pandemi Günlüğü

Pazartesi, 15 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,137 (+0)  Yeni vakalar: 184

Sıfır ölümle başka bir gün bildirildi. Iyi ama garib. Virüs hafta sonları çalışmıyor mu? 

Günümüz meşgul ama rutin bir işti: market alışverişi, egzersiz dersleri, yazışma vb. Biraz yürüdük ama hava kötüydü…soğuk, yağmur ve güçlü rüzgar. Burada her şey çok ıslak. Her santim toprak doymuş ve bahçemizden su birikintiler oluşuyor.

Evimizde küçük bir böcek istilası var: küçük güveler, minik karıncalar ve bir bara sinek. Merhamitli değiliz. E dört güvenin ve üç karıncanın hayatına son verdi. M sadece iki güveyi öldürdü ama anyı samanda sineğe de bir son verdi. 

Salı, 16 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,138 (+1)  Yeni vakalar: 411

Bugün yağmur ve güneşin karışımı. Güzel. Mahallede yürüyüşümüz keyifli geçti. M yağmur onu içeri kovalamadan bahçede bir saat çalıştı. E yoga yaptı ve sonra biraz dikiş yaptı. 

Televizyonda  izlemek yeni bir şey arıyoruz. Kadın adlı bir Türk dizisini izlemeye çalıştık. İspanya’da popüler ve oradaki bazı arkadaşlarımız izliyor. ABD’de Netflix’te ama İspanyolca altyazıları var! Bu hem dilsel hem de kültürel açıdan gerçekten zordu. Çok fazla. Sonra 20 Dakika adlı başka bir Türk dizisini denedik. Kara Para Aşkında Tuba Büyüküstün’ü sevdik. Ama 20 Dakika karanlık ve dertlerle dolu. Bu gece Amazon Prime’da Bir Fransız Köyü adlı bir dizi denedik. İyi bir dizi ama Türk dili ve kültürü dersimiz özlüyoruz. Hala düşünüyoruz.

Çarşamba, 17 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,146 (+6)  Yeni vakalar: 473

Başka bir gün geçen gün gibi. İlk olarak, M yazı projesi üzerinde çalışıyor ve E dikiş dikiyor. İkincisi, güneş geliyor ve ikisi de bahçede çalışıyorlar. Sonra bulutlar geliyor. Normal. Sıkıcı. 

Fakat bekle! İşte yeni bir şey. Bir paket geliyor. Nedir? M, muhtemelen bir parça kömür olduğunu söylüyor. Ama E daha iyisini biliyor. The Andees’den bir kutu Godiva çikolatası. Andees iyi insanlardır. 

Perşembe, 18 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,149 (+6)  Yeni vakalar: 466

8:00 — R ve J ile FaceTime görüşmesi. Godiva Chocolate, İspanyol yemekleri ve küstah Doğu Avrupa ulusal şarkıları hakkında konuştuk.

9:00 — E’nin Zoom egzeresiz sınıfi.

9:30 — M’in saç kesimi randevusu. 

10:30 — E’nin dişçi randevusu. Oraya yürüyerek gitmeye karar verdi.

11:30 — E Winco’ya gitti ve bir kutu Grape Nuts aldı.

12:00 — E eve geldi. Çok yağmur yağıyordu ama E’nin yağmurluğu iyi. M etkilendi. “O iyi bir işçi,” diyor.

12:15 — M Burgerville’den öğle yemeği aldı.

1:00 — Emeklerimizden dinlendik.

2:45 — M turşuluk sebzeler yapmaya başlar.

3:45 — Turşu sebzeler bitti.

Cuma, 19 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,149 (+0)  Yeni vakalar: 492

Bugün salgın haberciliğimizin 330. günü. İşte başka bir grafik. Ortalama günlük ölümler 7,4’ten 11,8’e yükseldi. Harika bir haber değil. Rakamlar tuhaftı. On ikinci ve on üçüncü iki günde çok fazla ölüm oldu. On dördüncü, on beşinci ve on dokuzunda sıfır ölüm vardı. 

Bizim için rahat bir gündü. Yağmurda uzun bir yürüyüşe çıktık. Yağmur güzel. Küçük damlaları. Çok fazla damla değil. Ruzgar yok. Yağmur durkuktan sonra E bahçede çalıştı ve M bir video oyunu oynadı. Need for Speed adında bir araba yarışı oyunu. M’nin kullanıcı adı Canavar’dır. 

Akşam The Dig izlemeyi bitirdik. Oldukça tatmin ediciydi. İzlemek istediğimiz daha çok programımız var. Biri İstanbul Kırımızisi değeri Bir Numaralı Bayanlar Dedektiflik Bürosu.  

Cumartesi, 20 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,xxx  (+0)  Yeni vakalar: xxx

GERI ÇEKME: 28 Ocak girdimizde bir hata oluştu. Traktörümüzün saldırıya uğradığını ve devrildiğini bildirdik. Tehlikeli bir yabani çiğdemi suçladık. Bu fotoğraf onun çiğdem olmadığını gösteriyor. Dev bir Kardelen’di. Hatadan dolayı üzgünüz.

Pazar, 21 Şubat        Oregon’daki ölümler: 2,155 (+1)  Yeni vakalar: 111

Bugün hava bulutlu ama kuru. M çimleri biçti. E yürüyüşe çıktı. Saat dörtte Zoom’dan E’nin kardeşleriyle konuştuk. Erkek kardeş 1 kendisinin ve karısının ilk çekimlerini yaptıklarını. Atıştan sonra üç gün boyunca kötü hissettiler, ama şimdi iyiler. Erkek dardeş 2 sahilde yürüyor ve sonra ayağını kaldırıp gün batımını izliyor. Ne kadar zor iş!

All Creatures Great and Small’ın bir bölümünü izledik. E sinirlendi çünkü yazarlar kitaplarda olmayan büyük bir sahne eklediler. “Aptal”  “Gereksiz” “Bunu neden yapıyorlar?”