I’ve also noticed a quicker turnaround at the doctor’s offie. Part may be due to me scheduling first thing in the morning appointments for many visits, but some have been early afternoon appointments. I hope that trend continues.
Tonight we went to our 1st live theater performance since early 2019! They have everyone bring vax card or proof of negative covid test for admittance. Theater was only 40-50% full and everyone was masked and didn’t congregate at any time. Performance was musical Oliver! It was very well done and something we had really missed during covid. There was one 15 minute intermission. It started at 7:30 and ended by 10.
It felt about as safe as we are getting these days—safer than indoor dining in restaurants.
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We’ve gone to watch two movies at the theater (Jungle Cruise and No Time to Die). Both times we picked a matinee during the week and both times there were 4-5 other people in the theater with us and no one sitting close by. We had masks with us, but the sign said only unvaxxed needed to wear them. We’re vaxxed and didn’t feel the need. It felt completely safe, and yes, safer than the train trip we took back in August. If we picked up anything from that, we never felt it.
Us too. Our movie time is in Tuesday night. Usually we see the flashback movie, but sometimes the blockbuster. We ALMOST had a private viewing of No Time to Die. Another couple slipped in during the last preview. I’d Saturday typically there are 4 other people in the theater with us. H has been there by himself, but I haven’t been so lucky. Another bonus - movies are half price on Tuesdays!
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We’re in NC now… anyone wanting to try extremely good Eastern NC style BBQ not that far off I 95 should try Marty’s in Wilson, NC. For those familiar with the area, Marty’s is Bill’s reincarnated after Bill Ellis died and Bill’s, itself, closed.
It’s not right off I 95, so use a mapping system to get you there, but it’s also not far off I 95.
Be prepared for crowds. They really need a larger place. They have a drive thru that works like a charm if you are ok eating in your car (or hotel, like we did). The drive thru line is also long (even when we got there at 4:30), but being BBQ and already cooked sides, it doesn’t take as long as it seems it would to get through it. Like Chick Fil A, they have someone outside taking your order so it’s ready when you reach the window. I guess it shows the locals like it and will easily keep it in business for us. We appreciate that!
Tomorrow morning it will be Ray’s for breakfast - another favorite of H’s that I love too. (H spent most of his youth near here.)
Then we’ll be on to our NC son’s place.
We’re going to a Broadway show and sitting in the SNL audience in December. Looking forward to getting back to doing fun things.
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We’ve just returned from 10 days in Sicily and Rome. Where we traveled, the government/people are very careful about vaccinations – they check Vax Passports before entering restaurants and restaurant workers are both masked, and I believe, vaxxed. Plus, we often ate outdoors and even had an outdoor wine tasting in an open market. Great fun.
We have couples over for dinner and are going to have dinner at the palatial home of a friend with two couples (6 people in total). We are avoiding big indoor gatherings of any kind. No movies, plays. We are skipping an indoor wedding reception today (though we ate outdoors at another one two weeks ago). We have gone to art museums (mostly ShawWife).
I shopped yesterday at a local grocery store and 3/4 customers and 0 staff were masked. Today I went to Costco and I think all staff and all customers were masked, IIRC.
We will be flying to SF to have Thanksgiving with ShawSon and ShawD. They and their SOs and one of ShawSon’s friends live in a house in a family neighborhood in the city. I will have some business meetings as well.
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I was all set to go to a NYC museum tomorrow for the first time since the pandemic began, but then we remembered it’s the NYC Marathon and the whole area will be a zoo. So it will have to wait till next weekend. I went to the art museum at Cornell a month ago and it was lovely to finally be looking at art in person. Instagram and Facebook just aren’t the same, though my feeds are curated to give me pretty much non-stop art!
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No longer being reported.
H and I went to see a Titian exhibit at the Gardener Museum in Boston in September. It was the first time we’d been to a museum since COVID lockdown. Entry was very controlled and everyone was masked. There was a wait, but peope were spaced six feet apart. I felt pretty comfortable. It was a small exhibit (all in one large gallery) and probably a better experience than many other art exhibits we’ve experienced because it wasn’t crowded. This was the first time we were inside with a large group of people.
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Today is the first day we went to church since the pandemic really began. It’s my son’s church and he was teaching the adult Sunday School class, so we went to that too.
It felt good to be back inside and I’ll admit to loving a church that is diverse and really feels like they are trying to do their best at following God’s will with no politics really involved.
A few were masked, most (including us) weren’t. No social distancing. One lady was coughing, but our son told us she was coughing more last week, had already had Covid in the pre-vaccine era, and regardless of whether she had a cold now or something else, was likely no longer contagious.
We’ll see how things go. I feel, like with our Amtrak trip, that we are really trusting our vaccines at this point.
It felt good to be inside a church again with fellow believers, but we’re also definitely set on changing churches back home. I’d love if we could find one like his, but I’m not sure they exist where we live.
Wow. I’ve been going to church inside for a year and a half. There have been no reported cases from our church.
There have been a lot at the church we used to attend, including some extra severe survivals and deaths. We’re still getting prayer requests for some each week.
It’s also a very Red group of people, so doesn’t fit us at all in this day of polarization.
Our son showed us this opinion piece of how the church has gotten divided. (Note to Readers: Only Evangelical Christians are likely to be interested in it, and if so, scroll down to take the test first, then read the article):
I’m a 4. H is a 3. Our church has many in the 1 category. The article seems to hit the nail on the head that it’s difficult to be together any longer. I need to find a Type C church, or at least one where people are willing to keep politics out of our religious lives (which is more like our son’s church).
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Maybe you should have said “Only Evangelical Christians are likely to be interested in it”.
I am Catholic and your wording, along with the article, implies that I (and Episcopalians, for that matter) are not Christian—we are!!
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Fixed to reflect that. Quite honestly, I hadn’t noticed, but FWIW, I most definitely consider Catholics (and other groups) to be Christian, but realize the other end of the spectrum often doesn’t. Considering Christian means “following Christ,” it boggles my mind that they don’t.
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Interesting article!
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@Creekland , thank you for doing that. It gets to me when some play the “I’m more Christian than you are” card, and your postings have never reflected that attitude.
For example, I attended a Catholic university, and when some talk about “Christian schools”, they only refer places like Liberty, Wheaton, etc.
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I think it was here we were talking about doctors’ appointments and wait times. I noticed a spot on my back I am concerned about. There’s one dermatologist in town. H is a regular customer and younger S went over the summer. Fastest they can see me is February 4th. Joy. I am on the cancellation list at least, and I’ll take anything. H said that he would swap with me if I wanted. He has an appointment in December, but he always has tons of spots that seem more worrisome to me (that turn out to be nothing) . He has all the risk factors. I do not. So wait I will.
I told H to make a dermatologist appt as soon as we get home due to some new, raised spots that don’t look like bug bites and have been around for a little while now (aka, haven’t gone away). We were musing last night wondering how long it will take to actually get an appt.
I hope things work out well for you @ClassicMom98
Within the last 15 minutes as we were saying good-bye to my son I told him to enjoy the health of his youth while he has it. I recall my elders telling me that a few moons ago. It’s probably on our checklist as parents/grandparents for things we do.
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Wow, my dermatologist has long backups for full body scans, but if you have a spot you are concerned about she sees you within a week or two. They take my spots pretty seriously since I had a melanoma removed many years ago. Plus a couple of carcinomas as well. Hope you get a cancellation appointment soon.