kochleffel

There is a small Hindu ashram about two blocks away. I've visited recently, but I don't know what they do for Diwali. They are oriented toward Vishnu, not Lakshmi, but Wikipedia says that some strains of Hinduism associate Diwali with Vishnu, too. Dinner tonight will be sautéed cod with leftover sweet potato and radicchio, plus maybe watermelon since I seem to have a seedless mini one.

The expiration dates of many test kits were extended. There is a website where they can be looked up, but I don't have the URL handy.

Emed requires using the Binax AG test (not the Binax Now that you can buy at a pharmacy), purchased either from them or from Optum. Optum sells them in smaller quantities, but I recommend having at least one extra test in case one is defective, which happened to me in Greece this year (Emed replaced it, after I got home). There are online services that will proctor and certify tests from kits that you already have.

I taught a Hebrew class for adults this morning, then went to the grocery store, had lunch, and napped with the Junior Cat. I slept very soundly and when she woke me at 2:30 I thought it was 2:30 AM. Now I'm baking sweet potatoes for a version of the stuffed sweet potatoes we had in the Daily not very long ago. Radicchio salad with it. I'm still planning the visit to Canyonlands and Arches in the spring. There is no shuttle required or offered at those parks, but this year Arches had timed tickets for most of the season. Bryce Canyon and Zion, which I don't plan to visit in the same trip, have shuttles -- optional but recommended at Bryce Canyon for hikers who would park all day at a trailhead, and required at Zion on the Scenic Drive. Zion and Bryce are too far from Moab to visit from there, and I don't imagine making this a long enough trip to shift base.

Fran's memorial service was yesterday afternoon at her church. I was ill and didn't attend; I also missed the service in the synagogue yesterday morning. According to reports, it was a shock: the pastor delivered a long, fire-and-brimstone sermon, condemning the listeners for sin. I don't know the custom of that church or whether that is typical at a funeral, although I've never heard of it anywhere else. About 25 people from the synagogue attended and some wondered whether it was special for them. Fran was an exceptionally kind and generous person, which made it even more unexpected. To my taste, Oregon produces the best red Pinot Noir in the world, and I don't think I've ever drunk a white Pinot Noir from Oregon.

I had a great time on the Norwegian Jade in May.

The acupuncturist thought that I needed treatment today more for stress than for my foot, and proceeded accordingly. It seems to have helped. A lot of the stress is from uproar at work, about things that I can't change (really, no one can). There's also some healthier stress from things that I can deal with and I'm making progress on them, just not as quickly as is needed. If I go to Canyonlands, it can't be until the last week in April. Until July I can never travel during the middle of the month, and Passover is in April. We may also hold a large public event at the end of April or beginning of May, which could delay it further, or derail it altogether. That uncertainty is not helping the stress and the volunteer leadership is not hurrying to resolve the question.

With so many Dailyites affected by severe storms or fires, I thought I'd post an article about provisioning your pantry for such emergencies: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-stock-pantry-for-emergency-hurricane_l_634ec33de4b0b7f89f5b173e. This is probably common knowledge in the most vulnerable areas. When I lived in Los Angeles I was always prepared for 3 or 4 days, as is recommended in case of an earthquake, and I took care to use everything after a few months and restock. Where I live now, prolonged electrical outage isn't as likely, but I have a propane stove and a way to charge my phone (but not run appliances -- it's the portable jump-starter for the car). What I most need to stock up for is heavy snow, since ordinarily I don't have a lot of food in the house.

A second antigen test was negative, needed because of an acupuncture appointment later today. I would try kaldereta in a restaurant but would be unlikely to make it at home. Washington Chardonnay is always OK with me although I slightly prefer Sauvignon Blanc. I don't think I would enjoy the cocktail.

Thanks! But I can't find anything on the NPS websites indicating that buses are ever required, or available, at Canyonlands or Arches. Arches does use timed tickets for most of the season, but says that shuttles were considered and rejected. The Canyonlands website warns that when Arches closes the entrance, it increases crowding at Canyonlands. Might you have been thinking of Zion or Bryce Canyon? I'm ordering a hiking guidebook. By spring I should be OK for moderate hiking, but more difficult trails are in the past for me.

Thanks. The park websites mention crowds, apparently starting as soon in the spring as the weather isn't freezing.

Tested myself today at noon, negative. Others who could have been exposed at the same time have also tested negative. Yesterday's Misfits order included chard again, so I'll probably cook it this evening. No idea what I'll have with it. As usual, pears weren't ripe, so fruit for now is mandarins or watermelon. Maybe tomorrow I can buy apples, which are an important crop in New York. I'm still thinking about a winter vacation--I didn't have one in 2021 or 2022, for the obvious reason, and missed it a lot. I was in the Caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam in January 2020, before the shutdown. It seems likely, however, that there will be a covid upsurge during the winter, likely peaking right after Christmas and New Year's, which puts me off travel then. One area I do want to visit is Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, but not at that time of year; the end of April would be better.

When I was getting a test at a pharmacy in Greece this spring, after we completed the paperwork at the counter, the clerk took me outside and swabbed my nose in the street so that I wouldn't be unmasked indoors.

I'm sort of surprised that it did anything at all. When I was a kid, our old-fashioned family doctor gave a paper packet of so-called muscle relaxers -- actually sugar pills -- to any patient who reported back pain or a musculoskeletal problem. This wasn't because he suspected drug-seeking, but because he suspected malingering. I come from a family of hypochrondriacs, some of whom were actually sick but not in the ways that they thought, so I saw plenty of this. Thank you. The reason for testing tomorrow is that I have an acupuncture appointment on Thursday that I would need to cancel.

That combination would be fine for breakfast, imo.

Mine is Swedish meatballs, although it's complicated to make them kosher.

I was told last night that I had been exposed to covid earlier in the day, based on an antigen test, but since then the person has received a negative PCR test, so I don't know what to think. I came to the office this afternoon in order to compile material for a board meeting tonight, thinking that I'd be alone in the building, but two volunteers have since arrived, although they're working on something outdoors. There is laundry equipment in the building and I'm running a load since I'm no closer to having a new washing machine. I'll test myself tomorrow at noon, 48 hours after the exposure, and repeat the test later in the week. I would go home now, except that another volunteer has an appointment for a phone conversation in 20 minutes.

I'd like to visit both the Kirkwall and Lerwick (Shetland), but I don't envision its happening anytime soon. Arugula pizza would be OK but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to get it. I liked the arugula salad that I've had twice in the Pinnacle Grill on sea days. It seemed to be made with juvenile arugula.

When I was at Santorini with NCL, the daily newsletter warned strongly against either walking down the stairs or riding a donkey, saying that both were very dangerous. I didn't have a long wait for the cable car.

I remember that, too.

I used the software in 2013 when I was having surgery on short notice and realized that my will was far out of date and intended for a different state, with too little time to have a lawyer draw it up. The downside, in my state, is that if it's also sworn before a notary, it's self-proving; since we didn't do that, the witnesses could be required to appear in court before it could enter probate. One is older than I am.

My friend and co-worker died last night around 10:00 p.m. She was about a year younger than I am, and the diagnosis was made only two weeks ago. * * * The Junior Cat is not sure whether she qualifies as a Global Cat, as she is from Massachusetts. She is still annoyed by not receiving any kippers on Yom Kippur. I was at the synagogue early this morning to receive donations for our rummage sale next month, because the volunteers who decreed that donations would start this morning seemed to have no intention of actually being there to let donors into the building. In fact, about seven were there by the time I had to leave to teach a class on I Kings. But I still don't know whether they'll be there on the remaining Sundays, and starting next week I teach at 9:30 a.m.

A word about Nexus: for holders of U.S. passports it also provides Global Entry, but the specific advantage of Nexus is that it provides quick crossing of the U.S.-Canada border in both directions. This means that applications have to be approved by both countries. The U.S. CBP is phasing out Automated Passport Control in favor of facial recognition, which I've already experienced at Newark and Detroit airports and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. However, the Mobile Passport app can be used at many ports of entry, including preclearance at Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. I made the stuffed sweet potato dish from (I think) Thursday's FR&D and liked it. I also cooked the last asparagus, which I ate, and the last green beans, which I chilled for tomorrow. I haven't received an update about Fran since yesterday afternoon, when she was conscious, breathing with the help of a BIPAP machine and frequently removing the mask to give funeral instructions (no funeral, just committal service, with a memorial later if people want to hold one). However, she was giving these instructions to the rabbi whom I work with, and although Fran has worked at the synagogue for almost 15 years, she is Christian. As I understand it, when the BIPAP is insufficient, she won't be intubated; it will be disconnected and more sedation administered. The hospital would allow her to discontinue sooner if she chooses. The palliative-care specialist is a friend of both of us. This morning the lectionary in the synagogue, for the Sabbath in Sukkot, included Ecclesiastes: Utter futility!—said Koheleth— Utter futility! All is futile! What real value is there for a man In all the gains he makes beneath the sun? One generation goes, another comes, But the earth remains the same forever.

I will make a version of yesterday's meal suggestion either tonight or tomorrow, but first I need to boil all the remaining green beans. Instead of cooking them yesterday, I roasted cauliflower. Both of today's suggestions would be OK with me if someone else made them. I learned a little while ago that a co-worker who has been in and out of hospital several times recently is now in ICU and not expected to live past Sunday or Monday. If you're inclined to pray, her name is Fran.

From reading Cruise Critic, you could get the impression that everyone sails in the Haven (or whatever is similar on other cruise lines), which is obviously not true. I think that those who sail in suites might cruise more frequently than average, and certainly seem to post about it a lot. It's the same, BTW, on FlyerTalk, a frequent-flyer site. From the posts, one would think that most passengers fly in business or first.