LOL the idea of going to a crowded IHOP as one of your first outings after so long just cracks me up. Especially if you don’t like coffee and you’re avoiding dessert! In pre-pandemic days, I would end up at IHOP for various reasons, and it just is not very appealing to me. I would love to go out to a nice restaurant, but I am not going to be comfortable with eating inside for a while, I expect. When I get the vaccine, I will be eager to start with outside dining, and then gradually get used to be around people again! but someplace crowded and busy like that will not be the first place I go.
I won’t be washing my hands as much 
3 Likes
I will wear some of the clothes and shoes that have been gathering dust. I’ve basically lived in sneakers, slippers, and sandals. Enough of “s” footwear!
I recently discovered that our local IHOP does an excellent job on carry out breakfast - ready quickly and they’re at my car before I have a chance to call and say I’m there. But their outdoor dining is a few tables in the parking lot in a heavily trafficked area. We have plenty of breakfast places with much nicer outdoor ambiance. Dining out (doors) is high on my list - I want to get a few meals without any kitchen activity before Passover.
3 Likes
deb, I ’d tell in laws I would welcome them, but I’ll be staying in a hotel. Seriously, I’ve had 2 vaccines, but I’d never ask my kids to yet accept me as a visitor. Stupid and reckless.
2 Likes
I am going to quarantine for a week and then I am babysitting my new granddaughter next weekend. I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t vaccinated.
11 Likes
I’m going to mingle with other family members who are fully vaccinated. That appeals to me much more than dining out. I’ve been missing it a lot! My sister and goddaughter and nephew in law are all fully vaccinated and we all sort of share a bubble anyway since my mom has been going back and forth between our homes all year.
2 Likes
Actually, I feel that Covid has made me much more aware of hygiene – and I plan to keep on washing my hands. I am kind of enjoying the collateral benefit of not experiencing colds & flu this year.
8 Likes
I’ve planned a trip to Minnesota the last week of March to see my father. He’s 91 and in a care facility. I haven’t seen him since we made a road trip in August. He’s fully vaccinated and so am I. He has declined a lot in the past year, both physically and mentally, and the isolation and lack of stimulation under lockdown have not been good for him at all. I decided to fly rather than drive. I will take a direct flight from Newark to Minneapolis to minimize hanging around in airports, and I will rent a car to go the rest of the way. I know there are risks, but I have decided that they are worth it. I am wearing masks and socially distancing, but I am encouraged by reports from Israel and from the Mayo Clinic (ironically in the town I will be going to) that the vaccines do seem to protect against transmission.
My daughter is getting married on May 1 in Boston (very small wedding) and although he talks about coming, I do not think he is physically capable of making the trip. By going to see him, I am telling him that he will not be isolated from family. I need to see him and we do not have time to wait until everything is perfectly safe and opened up. We just don’t.
13 Likes
I haven’t worn my wedding and engagement rings since April because I am constantly washing my hands, and water got caught under the rings and caused blisters. I keep my nails cut really short (no nice manicure). I have gone through a dozen tubes of Gold Bond Healing Hand Cream. I am looking forward to a break!
3 Likes
I will be fully vaccinated this week. I’m going to then make appointments 2 weeks out for hair, manicure and pedicure. I cannot wait!! And, I am planning a lot of travel the rest of the year, but to somewhat isolated places so I only have to worry about the plane rides.
8 Likes
Well, 2 weeks out, we are taking the folding rocking chair to the reupholsterer to see what he recommends about this chair that we have decided is the perfect size for all of us. It’s the Goldilocks chair—just right for all 4 of us and our smaller home.
We got the chair at the bargain price if $20 but will likely spend some $$$ fixing it up. We are happy to do so. The guy we are going to use has been doing this reupholstering for 40+ years and has scaled back to only 7 hrs/day. He redid the furniture in the Iolani Palace—lovely pieces!
1 Like
Two weeks out. We returned to shopping in stores, went to the restaurant ( outdoor dining), and went on a weekend getaway. We still wear masks and follow protocol as always but it’s a relief not to be afraid that any person getting close to you is going to kill you. Now I can catch up on chores that involve going to places and interacting with other people. We still very careful because we have family members who are not vaccinated yet
5 Likes
I am fully vaccinated. Should I visit a niece who is a nurse on a COVID floor? She is also (of course) fully vaccinated. After visiting her is it safe to then visit unvaccinated people? I am in a quandary because it’s so hard to evaluate the risks? I may upset my sister if I bow out of this trip.
@TatinG i can’t answer your question about your trip.
But no one should make you feel guilty if you don’t feel comfortable with a situation. Even your sister! And I understand that sister guilt all too keenly.
1 Like
It is reasonably safe for both of you since both of you are fully vaccinated. (Of course, either of you could be in the unlucky 5%, but even the unlucky 5% tend to get milder cases and not die.)
If you believe that the vaccine substantially reduces asymptomatic transmission, then visiting unvaccinated people (all from one household) is reasonably safe. If you do not believe that is the case, then such a visit could risk unknowingly giving the virus to the unvaccinated people.
1 Like
Apparently, from what I’ve read, scientists have not determined whether the vaccine provides mucosal immunity. That is, the vaccine may prevent the vaccinated person from getting a severe case but does not prevent the vaccinated person from harboring the virus in their nose and therefore potentially passing it on to the unvaccinated.
1 Like
Yes, that is what some ongoing studies are trying to determine, since that is currently unknown.
Maybe it’s your wording, @ucbalumnus , but I don’t think this is a matter of “belief.” It is or it isn’t risky for others. We don’t know which yet, though evidence is pointing to reduction of asymptomatic transmission. But either way, belief doesn’t change whatever the actual fact is.
Well, H and I took my fully vaccinated + 14 days mom to Costco audio so she could get her hearing aids adjusted for the 1st time since 2018! She can hear MUCH better now. We also picked up a few things while we were there—total time was only about 30 minutes!
6 Likes
There was an interest article in the paper today about the flu. Or lack of the flu. Last year there were something like 3000 people hospitalized for the flu in Colorado, and about 150 died. This year? 27 people hospitalized (deaths not reported yet as those go through CDC). No children so far.
Of course this is all attributable to more flu shots, masks, hand washing and no hand shaking, staying home.
I hope those habits are here to stay.
5 Likes