Monday, May 3 Deaths 2,502 (+1) New cases 540
M went out early and got three fat rainbow trout. Wow! There was a momentary difficulty when the assistant in the meat department had a little trouble wrapping them securely, but otherwise it was pretty easy. E then went and picked out a bunch of fruits and vegetables from the Co-op. So did we have deluxe fish dinner? No. The fish are marinating (drinking red wine) for tomorrow; we had leftover spinach lasagna and it was great.
E is not happy with the condition of her foot, but has agreed to accept the advice of a podiatrist, an MRI clinic, and an infectious disease specialist. Nobody knows for certain, but the MRI seems to indicate a bone infection in the great toe. The remedy is to undergo daily infusions of antibiotics for 4-6 weeks. Whew! With much trepidation, she had her first infusion today and was relieved to find it not nearly as bad as she had expected. A lot of her relief was due to the cheerful and caring nurses and the view from the window at the infusion center.
In other news, we have rearranged the living room and we don’t think we like it. Still, we were able to watch TV with the new arrangement. We learned that Melek’s real name is Mevre and that she apparently used to meet with Kerim Solmaz every Friday in the months before he was attacked. It certainly looks like they were lovers, but something tells us that eventually we will find that there is an innocent explanation for these meetings.
Tuesday, May 4 Deaths 2,508 (+6) New cases 748
Eve had her second infusion today, but before that we made a return to Rittner Creek Park. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed seeing the place in a different season.
B and B came to dinner to help with the trout. It was good to catch up with them. They’re leaving tomorrow for a trip down to California to see family.
Wednesday, May 5 Deaths 2,509 (+1) New cases 808
E had her PICC insertion today, a long drawn-out affair as it happened. It took a long time because the first attempt was off target, so the procedure had to be redone. Ugh. Also, the computer in the treatment room was an in-patient specialist and got very grumpy when expected to deal with the fact that E was an out-patient. At that point another medical device in the room began flashing a ‘low battery’ warning, perhaps out of sympathy. E did survive, however, and is behaving normally–if you can call it that.
Thursday, May 6 Deaths 2,514 (+5) New cases 763
Another day, another infusion. The PICC, as unpleasant as it was to have fitted, is doing its job well. It makes the infusion process easier and E says it is amazingly comfortable all things considered. Scheduling the daily sessions remains an issue.
M spent the morning futzing with his Rube Goldberg irrigation system and then went out and bought some all terrain tires for the truck along with a roast chicken for dinner. No, it was not a chicken he ran over with his new tires, but one from the M.o.C. deli.
And somewhere along the way, we found a place to hang our Turkish oil painting. It had been on the floor leaning against a wall ever since the TV was mounted in the space where it used to hang. Its one of our favorite souvenirs, a moon so bright it’s blinding.
Friday, May 7 Deaths 2,522 (+8) New cases 844
E had a Zoom appointment with her doctor today, short and easy. The doctor said to carry on with the infusion treatments. It seems like there’s not much else she could say at this point. E then had to go to a real appointment to get the day’s infusion. M stayed home and set up his new HomePod so he can tell Siri to play things in stereo.
After her medical morning, E was well enough to go to the Patissier and get breakfast treats for tomorrow. Then the two of us took a load of things to the Humane Society Thrift Shop and got some lattes on the way home. Then it was time for travel plans. We now have tickets for our trip east next August. Whew. Dinner was falafel sandwiches with tahini sauce, cucumbers, tomato, and lettuce. Gin on the side.
For TV we watched more of 20 Minutes. We’re up to Episode 49 of 59 and things are moving a lot faster lately–not necessarily getting anywhere, but at least moving faster. For one thing, Kerim is out of his coma and is able to engage in communication of a frustratingly cryptic kind. For another, Melek’s husband Ali had sex with Raven, who has long been smitten with him. Ali had been resisting, but when he became convinced that Melek had been having an affair with Kerim, one thing led to another. And now Ali is really mad at Raven. How could she have done it, slept with a married man? Raven finds this a little peculiar. Don’t we all. And the next day when Raven was kidnapped by the bad guys and the Cat asked Ali to help rescue her, Ali refused. What a dud character he is. We in the audience, fortunately, are more on top of things than Ali. We know that Melek and Kerim share a terrible secret and that the secret is not that they were having an affair. They’re both acting like it’s much worse than that.
Saturday, May 8 Deaths 2,528 (+7) New cases 833
A quiet and uneventful day. Nice croissant breakfast, then after a bit E went for her infusion. While she sat there, a talkative nurse told her stories about goings on in the hospital during the COVID crisis. Apparently there was a certain amount of tension stemming from disagreements about the best ways of coping with the pandemic. Resignations ensued.
E also went shopping and came back with a couple of spring blouses with sleeves loose enough to go around the plumbing connection on her upper arm. M puttered, cleaning out a drawer and finishing a Jacqueline Winspear novel that E finished last week. In that novel, which is set in 1939, the murder weapon is a handgun called the Ruby. The Ruby was a real gun. It was based on an American model–the FN Browning 1905 Vest Pocket semi-automatic. Although real Vest Pockets were made in the U.S., several other versions were manufactured in Europe under license. These were given the name Ruby and were used by many European armies in both world wars. Winspear mentions that in England the Ruby was sometimes referred to as a “Browning” because it was a Browning design. All well and good. Winspear had done some research. But every time she mentions the Ruby, she calls it a revolver. The Ruby was/is not a revolver. We are not saying that Winspear had to call it an semi-automatic; she could have used a general word like pistol or handgun; but calling it a revolver is a terrible sin for the writer of a mystery novel. Where was her editor?! This novel had about ten references to a ‘Ruby revolver’ and by the seventh or eighth M was bordering on hysterical rage. (Nothing odd about that, eh?) You might wonder how M even knows anything about this. Well, as it happens, he has a minor interest in John Browning because Browning spent most of his life in Ogden, Utah. The FN Browning 1905 Vest Pocket was almost certainly designed in his workshop there, as were many of the most famous guns of the last century.
Sunday, May 9 Deaths 2,530 (+2) New cases 610
We went to up to Portland for Mothers Day. Andrea had invited us to brunch. (Andrea knows that E loves the whole idea of holiday celebration by means of a nice brunch.) We went to a place called The Hammond Kitchen and Craft Bar. They specialize in exotic cocktails and E had a creamy sweet one. She thinks it probably had a huge number of calories, but not too much alcohol, which was about right. The food was very fine. E had quinoa yam cakes with roasted red pepper sauce and vegetables, some deviled eggs, and for dessert a bit of shared rhubarb strawberry tart. Before we left E got to open several nice very gifts. From there, we all went down to sit by the river for a while. Beautiful weather. All in all, E was very pleased.
Hoping E is better soon and all infusions go well and easy!!