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Mine is a good day, today the end of my daughter and son in laws COVID quarantine they’ve been out together to walk their oh so cute dog and today is the second anniversary of them bringing her home from the Dogs Trust. They have snow which she thinks is put there just for her. There are also small signs that spring is on its way our bird nest boxes are being investigated, two male Blackbirds are having regular morning punch ups along the back fence and the daffodils are in bud one seems determined to be first to flower I will try for a photo when it does. CA

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1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

Mine is a good day, today the end of my daughter and son in laws COVID quarantine

So good to hear that. And it sounds as if they are doing okay, being out with the dog.

 

You mention the daffodils. My neighbour happened to point out to me today that the stalks have grown to a good height already in the flower bed in our back yard. After our few days of frost I am sure they will soon show their leaves and little buds.

 

We now have a dusting of snow that will stay on the ground as the night will be really cold.

 

notamermaid

 

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16 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 

I hope football players and other professionals are not put on a vaccination priority list because they are essential workers for the moral of the common people. Weirder things have happened.

The Australian cricket team requested priority vaccinations before their upcoming tour of India so far, that request had been declined so the cricketers have refused to go. At this stage, the Indian government has offered to vaccinate them so that the cricket can go ahead. 

 

I would have thought it might be better if the Indian government worried more about vaccinating their own people. 

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7 hours ago, djh1959 said:

The Australian cricket team requested priority vaccinations before their upcoming tour of India so far, that request had been declined so the cricketers have refused to go. At this stage, the Indian government has offered to vaccinate them so that the cricket can go ahead. 

 

I would have thought it might be better if the Indian government worried more about vaccinating their own people. 

This.

 

Many have mentioned that private companies (like cruise lines) cannot buy vaccine (only governments)   to inoculate their employees, but I fear that professional athletes will be allowed to "skip ahead in line" because they are somehow deemed "essential".

 

Disclosure:  I am a HUGE sports fan, yet do not support vaccinating professional athletes first.  We finally got my 90 yr old mother vaccinated---my siblings and I lost sleep over the fear that Mom could catch COVID before she could get a vaccine.

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45 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

This.

 

Many have mentioned that private companies (like cruise lines) cannot buy vaccine (only governments)   to inoculate their employees, but I fear that professional athletes will be allowed to "skip ahead in line" because they are somehow deemed "essential".

 

Disclosure:  I am a HUGE sports fan, yet do not support vaccinating professional athletes first.  We finally got my 90 yr old mother vaccinated---my siblings and I lost sleep over the fear that Mom could catch COVID before she could get a vaccine.

 

It's like the Hockey League... a lot of Canadians weren't overly happy that they got to travel (mind you, Cdn. teams in Canada only) and play while we were in various lockdowns.  Yes, it's worked out for them so far (up here at least, I know the American teams are having problems), but it will be interesting to see how people react if something happens.

 

Glad you got your Mom vaccinated.  Long Term Care Homes here are done, next step is retirement homes (where you pay to stay), then hopefully by March they will start on seniors living on their own.  Then maybe both sets of my parents may get theirs.  

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We are to have our coldest week of the year this coming week.  It will get below freezing.  Rare for this part of Texas but usually does happen once or twice a year.  We came here from Nebraska to get away from the cold.  It might reach zero in Nebraska today I heard.  Ready for it to bounce back up to the 60s in about 10 days.

 

Vaccines continue here in the over 65 or high risk groups. 
 

I’ve been researching our next river cruise although is might not be until 2023 when we think this covid mess is quiet and I retire.  I’d like to do France, both north and south or Bucharest to Budapest and also the Mississippi right close to home on Viking.  We have done Budapest to Amsterdam but wouldn’t mine returning to Budapest.  We’d also like to get to Prague.  It’s great to have so many choices!

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8 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

We are to have our coldest week of the year this coming week.  It will get below freezing.  Rare for this part of Texas but usually does happen once or twice a year.  We came here from Nebraska to get away from the cold.  It might reach zero in Nebraska today I heard.  Ready for it to bounce back up to the 60s in about 10 days.

It was -18 in Lincoln today (for the low). It is now 6. This week is brutal. Plus, we have had about 30" of snow in the past 2 weeks. 

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A few notes on yesterday's debate. The lock down has been extended till 7 March, not 14 March as was the idea. Kindergartens and primary schools can open earlier if the individual states which to do so. Hairdressers can open again on 1 March, but must limit the number of customers by having only appointments. The 50 incidence rule for further opening has gone, now it is 35. This may be difficult to achieve soon. Today my state Rhineland-Palatinate is at 55, the lowest of all the states. Thuringia on the other hand stands at 106, that is the highest. All rules as regards mask wearing and social distancing remain the same.

 

Night before last was the coldest we have had this winter so far. It was down to minus 26.7 Celsius somewhere in Thuringia.

 

Bright and sunny in the Rhine valley today.

 

notamermaid

 

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Usually around this time we drive up to Ottawa to see the ice sculptures, and watch the skaters on the canal.  Due to Covid, their Winterlude Carnival has been forced to go online.  

 

If anyone is interested here is a link to the sculptures, since they are "online" people from across the country were able to participate.

 

https://mashable.com/article/viral-bookshop-sign-fiction-predictions/?fbclid=IwAR05TOgXmNxzHlv6QmcJm11e2u6jiM7O7R7CQXs-y3g0MkewD0grHNxAcjg

 

We are having a bit of a cold snap here, but it will be over by Monday.  I feel for those out west, with temps feeling in the -50's (don't forget, -40 is the same in F as well as C).  I hear that all of Canada was below 0C yesterday, probably going to be that way for a couple of days.  This is a rarity, as usually the lower mainland in BC gets cool, but not as cold as it is now.

 

Our covid #"s are going down, areas next to us are back to open, we should open next Monday or Tuesday.  They are saying there will be one more major outbreak possibly in April, but hopefully by then the vaccines will be available for those seniors in their own homes, and those in homes will be finished both batches.

 

Take care all...

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1 hour ago, acwmom said:

Vaccine #2 received today! Neither snow or ice were going to stop us. 

Robin

Congrats🙂

 

I have no clue as to when I will be even get my first shot.......

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7 hours ago, acwmom said:

Vaccine #2 received today! Neither snow or ice were going to stop us. 

Robin

Congrats!

 

In the last month I have moved from the top of 1b to the bottom of 1b with my state changing priorities....... No clue when I will get my vaccination. Other counties in my state are vaccinating people in my class/priority but my county is last to advance between groups.

 

We are going to have really bad weather conditions (snow and -15 degree temps wind chill probably -25) this weekend and they are doing a mass vaccination clinic for those 75 and older in an area that is difficult for people to get to. I am tempted to show up because I know they are going to have a ton of no-shows to see if they have any vaccines they have to use or throw away.

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Here in Melbourne, Australia, we have gone back into a Stage 4 lockdown.  At this stage it is only for five days, but last time it was for six weeks and went for 115 days, so I am not feeling confident.

 

To me it is somewhat of an overreaction as we only have a total of 19 cases, but the state government has gone into a panic as apparently it is the "dreaded UK" version.

 

For the next five days, only essential shops can be open.  We can't travel more than 5km from home, no visitors whatsoever, we can only leave the house for food, exercise for a maximum of 2 hours or medical care.

 

It is a bitter blow to our businesses that were just starting to get back on track.  Of course this is Valentine's Day weekend and restaurants were booked out and had no doubt ordered truckloads of fresh food.  They are now not allowed to open.  We have the Australia Open going on currently.  The lockdown starts at midnight tonight, so massive crowds are watching the tennis this evening, but no crowds tomorrow.  The tennis will continue as apparently tennis players are "essential".

 

I can't work out why this so terrifying UK strain apparently will not affect the 30,000 at the tennis tonight, but will tomorrow.

 

At least it isn't freezing cold, that is about the only good thing here right now.

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U.K. strain, South African strain, KENT strain this will carry on again and again and again the vaccines will have to evolve again and again and again because this is what bugs and vaccines have to do to survive. Doesn’t it seem to be just a little bit like the flue for which we have a different vaccination every year! I’m beginning to feel that the U.K. is being blamed for this just because our boffins are on the ball and recognising and cataloguing the different strains I’d be happier if they, for instance called them COVID-19.1.2.3 etc. My rant for the day. CA

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6 hours ago, djh1959 said:

Here in Melbourne, Australia, we have gone back into a Stage 4 lockdown.  At this stage it is only for five days, but last time it was for six weeks and went for 115 days, so I am not feeling confident.

 

 

It is a bitter blow to our businesses that were just starting to get back on track.  Of course this is Valentine's Day weekend and restaurants were booked out and had no doubt ordered truckloads of fresh food.  They are now not allowed to open. 

Are your restaurants not allowed to open for take-out?  That is the one thing they have kept common here, even in zones which were moving into lockdown.  Also, they allowed them to sell bottles of wine or beer (previously you were only allowed to purchase while eating in the restaurant) and that will be permanent now, even once they are fully up and running.  Great for the restaurants, as they sometimes charge up to 300% per bottle of wine over what you would buy it in the store, so they can re-coup some of the money back.  Of course, it's up to you to pay it, but it at least gives the choice.

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21 hours ago, acwmom said:

Vaccine #2 received today! Neither snow or ice were going to stop us. 

Robin

Congratulations!  My second shot is on Tuesday, a day when major snow is forecasted.  I'll get there no matter the weather is like!

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9 minutes ago, KathyK13 said:

Congratulations!  My second shot is on Tuesday, a day when major snow is forecasted.  I'll get there no matter the weather is like!

We were afraid ours might be canceled due to the snow we have gotten this week, but roads were clear by yesterday morning. A little achy and foggy this morning, but none of the side effects that some have reported after the 2nd dose, thankfully.

Good luck with yours!

Robin

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Bad news coming from Austria, there is an outbreak of the South Africa variant: https://www.dw.com/en/can-austria-contain-virus-variant-from-south-africa/av-56545431

 

Germany by the way has put the Czech Republic and Austria on the list of virus variant areas, reintroducing border checks and restrictions on travel: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-reinstate-border-controls-with-czech-republic-and-austria/a-56548704

 

Variants are of major concern and when you are put on the list you are banned from entering Germany. You are not even allowed in for funerals.

 

Try and keep that variant out of your country at all costs, people, or it could potentially keep you from entering your river cruise country for even longer...

 

notamermaid

 

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17 hours ago, Daisi said:

Are your restaurants not allowed to open for take-out?  That is the one thing they have kept common here, even in zones which were moving into lockdown.

Yes, our restaurants are still open for take out.  To my knowledge though, they are not allowed to sell alcohol, although bottle shops are still open.

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In North Texas (a tad North of Dallas) our numbers are slowly dropping, but not that much.  Vaccines in our county were moving pretty swiftly until our Severe winter weather (not usual for Texas at all).  We have stayed at 32 degrees C (0 Grad) since Tuesday)  the last several had a high of 25 degrees.  Today will get some freezing rain (not much) for the big event on Sunday 2-6 inches of snow (maybe more) in blizzard like conditions.  The low temperatures will be in the single digits for Monday morning and Tuesday morning, maybe our 0.

 

Most vaccine sites and covid testing sites are closed as we have a stiff wind with the low temperatures.  So good news, we still stay home and more people will with the weather so nasty, and since driving in snow is not a good thing for Texans. As you all may of heard, Thursday in Ft. Worth due to some freezing areas on the Highways we had a very deadly 100 car pile up (6 deaths).  Hopefully more people  stay home this weekend.

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Governor of MA has stopped shipping vaccine to hospitals and private practices, preferring to supply mega vaccinations sites, such as sports stadia.  Some in the state are one hour away from such sites, and many elderly are not used to driving very far.  Pharmacies, strangely, are still getting vaccine, though I wouldn't call them a "mass vaccination site" (money talks).  Once there, waiting in line out in the cold is a possibility.  Poorly thought out and a popular governor is taking lots of heat as a result.

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We continue to be in the winter tundra. By Monday - we will have a high of -6 F and -22 F for the low. Today the high is 4 F and it is currently -4.

 

I remember 3 years ago, we had a cold week at Christmas but I don't remember ever in my life having -22 F temps.

 

I seem to be in a negative mood - COVID sucks, winter sucks, etc.... I think I am just sick of not going anywhere, doing anything, seeing friends, etc....

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1 minute ago, sharkster77 said:

Governor of MA has stopped shipping vaccine to hospitals and private practices, preferring to supply mega vaccinations sites, such as sports stadia.  Some in the state are one hour away from such sites, and many elderly are not used to driving very far. 

We are doing mass vaccination sites also. The one at my county is an arena where basketball games are played and where concerts such as Elton John has performed... It is really cold, we have probably 4' of snow on the ground which when scooped is in 7' piles everywhere and they are picking a location that seniors are not familiar with to get their vaccines.

 

Going to your doctor makes perfect sense to me. They know their patients ages, their high risks, etc...

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