Back in the game

The past month has been a blur. The hospital command center opened, then I got sick, and now I’m finally mostly healthy.

I was off work for 2 weeks for Influenza A and its aftermath (suffice to say that prednisone was required, and I’m still coughing though much less). I returned to work on Monday March 30, and was touched by the number of coworkers who took the time to welcome me back, make sure I was healthy enough to return, express that they’d missed me, etc. I’m working unusual hours – mostly command center, last week was 2 days and 2 evenings there plus a day at my desk; this week will be 4 evenings, and we will evaluate the need for ongoing evening shift later this week.

Given my health and the hours spent at work where we valiantly try for but cannot fully achieve social distance, I’ve concluded that I need to be especially vigilant with all other social distancing – so I’m religiously taking my lunch to work, and reached out to a friend to do grocery shopping for me (thank you Toni!). I learned that making a list for someone else to shop from is far more complicated and detailed than making a list for myself. When it’s just me I simply write down the item and know that I will evaluate the available items for features, brand, ingredients and price in the moment. When someone else is doing the shopping it’s important to provide a few more details, and I learned interesting things about my pantry such as the white wine vinegar container is 16 ounces (about .5 liter).

A quick glance at social media reveals that people are coming out of the woodwork to sew facemasks. I received my first one last through work (made by the surgery medical director’s wife), and two different local friends have generously made me masks and mask-holding headbands with buttons for the ear elastic to attach to which prevents chafing – it’s a first world problem but a huge deal for staff who are wearing facemasks for 12-hour shifts. Many, many thanks to Sue and Roseanne for gifting me their handiwork!

I’ve been trying to “support the local economy” by doing at least one purchase per week. I’ve bought a restaurant gift certificate, placed an order of books from Powell’s (an iconic independent bookstore that occupies a full block downtown and is usually open 365 days per year), bought some fun socks and some lotion and soap from local companies. I have a few ideas for upcoming weeks though I welcome suggestions from local friends, and as my health improves, I will consider take-out food from local restaurants (preferably not chains). Although I continue to buy the few things from Amazon that I regularly purchase from them, I am avoiding buying anything else from them at this time.

Yesterday I prepared Passover food. No, I don’t really celebrate the holiday, and even in a usual year my current tradition is sharing a meal (which does not bear even a faint resemblance to the tradition known as a seder) with family and friends. Since I’ve been cooking rather than eating out these days, I decided to make some holiday foods (no, not gefilte fish!): matzo ball soup, tzimmes (the tz is the same sound as the zz in pizza; it’s pronounced tzim-miss), and charoses (it starts with a hard H, as in the toast “l’chaim”; Ha-row-sis). I made the by following the instructions on the Manischewitz box. My mother always made tzimmes for any Jewish holiday (both out of tradition and knowing how much I like it), it contains grated carrots and yams with a touch of brown sugar which is then microwaved for 20 minutes. Many of my Portland geocaching friends are familiar with charoses as I’ve made it for some pot lucks; my version uses apples, walnuts, honey and grape juice. Traditionally it’s made with wine but making a “virgin” version lets me take it to work. Did I mention how much I appreciate my food processor? Without the food processor both tzimmes and charoses would take a long time to make, with it the time from start to finish for both dishes is about 40 minutes, including the cooking time.  On my way to work today I will drop some matzo ball soup and tzimmes up for my father so he can reheat them (but not charoses because cold food shouldn’t be shared these days).

I’m pleased to say that I’m finally healthy enough to exercise a bit, and I reached 10,000+ steps both Sunday and yesterday for the first time since early March. On Sunday I walked across the county line to the nearby cemetery which has lovely views and was not at all crowded. Yesterday I rode my exercise bike while watching the first half of a soccer match replay. And I’ve been walking around the house almost any time I’m on the phone which, in these days of social distancing, has been a lot more than usual. Speaking of which it’s time to hop on the bike again for a before-work, before-delivery ride in the hopes that I can again reach 10,000+ steps today.

I hope everyone is staying home (unless you’re an “essential” worker) and staying safe.