Finally some good news locally. Our theme parks and other entertainment options are able to open in early July with reduced capacity, mainly outdoor venues, masks, and distancing. They haven’t been open since the Fall of 2019. So excited to have places to go again. First stop, minigolf for the kids. Then a waterpark.
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Not us. I’d appreciate you sending some of that cool weather this way! It was so hot today we had a fire to celebrate:
We’re doing great here pandemic-wise and life was back to normal. I guess this is what they call “out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
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It does! The orange skies at sunset and sunrise are so pretty, if a little eerie.
I’d be happier if there weren’t evacuations & closures nearby, though. 
There’s still a little snow on the plateau between us and the fire so that’ good. We’ve had helicopters with water tanks going overhead this afternoon, which is kind of cool to see.
And I’m also worried for the firefighters. They lost one this past month, a smokejumper from Cody. It’s shaping up to be a bad season, and it’s only June. Tomorrow there will be record highs.
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Numbers on bus seats have disappeared overnight & they are packing them in from CSR. Pic is from post this morning on FB group for CSR.
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Wow!
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I can’t Z1 these posts! Ugh, you’d hope we’d get a pause on the rest of the disasters at some point…
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Ugh!
I am not ready for that.
I was hoping there would be some lessons learned but I guess not.
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Speaking of fires, I got a pic yesterday while driving of the smoke from the huge chemical plant fire in northern IL, if anyone saw that on the news. This was from about 40 miles northeast of the fire and about 10 hrs after it started. Still tons of smoke today, as they’re letting it burn out slowly to avoid spraying water at it and having spill off into the adjacent river. Amazingly no death or even serious injury.
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That fire looked terrifying on the news. It really is remarkable there were no injuries.
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And research continues.
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Found out today my BIL has tested positive . He’s at home with a fever, chills and SOB. He’s a medic with 20 years experience and is working in the ER of a hospital and has been throughout this whole pandemic. He chose not to get the vaccine because it was “experimental”.
My husband and I dodged a bullet since we were supposed to see him this past weekend but had to cancel. Thank goodness as DD7 can’t be vaccinated!!
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I’m sorry your BIL is sick and hope he gets well soon.
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2 things I learned today: 1) Maryland governor is lifting all of the restrictions on July 1, as the state of emergency will be over. I don’t like this b/c it said that there won’t be a mask mandate in schools, and my DD9 will probably still be ineligible for the vaccine when school starts…but, I know that all remains to be seen. 2) More in the Adventures in Awkwardness, we’ve been talking to a relative about a visit, and she seems to think we’re going to be eating in indoor restaurants. I’ve already decided that’s something we have to save for when DD9 is vaccinated. I know we just have to talk to her and explain it, but we’re not there yet b/c we don’t even have firm travel dates…still, hearing her go on about restaurants she wants to take us to…ugh. I so hate being awkward! I know that bringing the food back to her apt to eat isn’t nearly as fun, but I do still want to see her. She’s been almost 100% isolating for 1.5 years b/c she started early b/c of her health.
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I’ve had to have many similar conversations with family and friends (had one today). It is tough, but most are understanding.
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I felt so bad for DS9 today. I plan on finally seeing my grandmother, who is in a nursing home, in the next few weeks. I asked my older 2 if one of them wanted to come along, since we haven’t seen her in over a 1 1/2 years. Only 2 people can come at a time. DS9 wanted to go, but he can’t since he is not vaccinated. I just don’t want to take the chance. He was so upset and talked about how he hated wearing masks. I told him he would be in the next group to get the vaccine and they were testing as we speak. (I had looked into the trials for him, but it is too much traveling for us to be able to do it). He wanted us to promise that we would sign him up immediately when he was allowed to get it. We promised we would, especially since we are heading to DW after Thanksgiving. He seemed better after that. I also told him we would make a trip to see my grandmother as well. I hope this trial goes well and they get this vaccine out for these kids. I don’t think they realize at all how hard it is for them.
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Our busses and subways have been looking like that in NYC for a while now.
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It really is. We are 5 months from the DS11s aging into it regardless. And I really wish they’d let us just make the choice as parents at this point. Their anatomy is not going to change significantly in 5 months, so the only reason they wouldn’t get it is if they had a significant finding for 12+ year olds between now and then, which is extraordinarily unlikely.
Our school district is saying masks optional for the fall at this point. And they are saying they will only provide a remote option if the child has a documented high risk medical condition from a very short list. I get making masks optional for vaccinated people, but for an entire population that is ineligible to be vaccinated? In a setting that is compulsory?
Not that I want more remote learning. I want in person learning with the appropriate protocols to keep spread to a minimum. I am struggling to see why that isn’t being promoted more.
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Our school is planning on mask optional as well, but remote is for anyone who wants it. At this point, I’m just kind of whatever about it. A lot has changed very quickly and a lot could change in a couple of months. There could be more cases and the state says that masks are mandated for the unvaccinated at school. Or maybe cases will go so low it won’t matter. Cases keep dropping in this area and the percentage vaccinated is slowly going up. I know Texas is in a different situation than in here in PA.
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