Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Post #3238: Vaccination Week
I know that summertime is not really here yet (we still have June-uary to get through), but the last few days have been turning towards summer and it’s a very welcome change after a coldish April.
I’m having a hard time separating the days from each other lately. It seems to me that the last month has gone by in a single block of time and I’m not sure how that’s happened. It seems sudden that the days are really long, the garden demands daily watering, and it’s light enough in the mornings to consider going for a run before work (to beat the heat). I suppose this is why I document here, so that I have a record even during the times when I am not paying that much attention.
The most exciting thing that’s happened in the last week is that we got vaccinated on Sunday! First shot of Moderna is done, and while we did have some side effects (sore arm, exhaustion), I’m feeling back to normal and much better about the future. Apparently 50% of the province has now had their first shot, with a lot of people still in the queue to receive theirs. I won’t be surprised if that number is 60% by the end of the month and that is trending towards herd immunity and a resumption of normal life by the fall when we all get our second shots. Though many people have reported feeling relieved at getting their vaccination shot, I have to admit that my reaction in the hour that followed was more one of frustration. We’ve been waiting so long, and some part of me wanted things to be different *right away*. But of course, they weren’t and so we went back home and our lives have continued along in quarantine, something that I’m definitely reaching the end of my patience with.
My workouts this week were definitely impacted by the shot. I didn’t have one at all on Monday. Tuesday I went for a run and my app showed me that I “worked harder than normal” (according to heart rate) even though my pace was significantly slower. I’ve managed to get through the last two days of strength workouts, but only by taking maximum rests in between sets. It’s interesting because in my daily life, I don’t feel much of a different in energy levels, but in my workouts I’ve noticed a downshift. It’s not something I’m concerned about because I know that as my immune system processes the input, things will return fully to normal.
I don’t have any new weaving to show off this week since I’ve been winding some new warps and working on re-tying the treadles on my Berga Savonia loom (for the billionth time – my approach keeps changing). I am looking at investing in a bit of equipment to assist the tie-up since I’ve never met a loom that has a more awkward position for the treadle tie-up (you literally have to sit in the loom, under the beamed warp in order to reach the lamms and treadles). You can see from this picture, a tall person would be very cramped (you have to sit on the back of the treadles underneath the warp which you can see running across the top as a white line)! But even for a short person like me, my hips do not like being scrunched up in there for too long. There is a system called the 20+ which changes the tie-up position from inside the loom to the back of the loom. It’s called the 20+ because it’s said to add twenty years to your weaving life. A lot of people end up leaving weaving because it’s too hard to get under the loom, down on the floor as they age. This device brings the tie-up to the back of the loom so that the weaver can sit on a stool and do the tie-up with more ease. I love everything about the Berga Savonia loom except its treadle tie-up, so it seems like a no-brainer to sort that out and make my weaving life easier – once I save up the money I’m going for it.
It’s Brian’s birthday today and so I’m skipping out of work early and have planned a picnic at the beach for this afternoon. Though it’s a bit windy, the weather seems to require that we get away from our desks to enjoy it and I’ve planned super-yummy foods to take with us, including mini-apple pies, pesto pasta salad, and ham and brie sandwiches. He’s turning 49 today and our hope is that by his real milestone birthday next year, we’ll be able to throw some kind of great party – but for this year we’ll enjoy what we have available which is miles of beautiful beaches and good weather. Can’t really complain about that.
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Red Cedar 
Haha 20+ years to your weaving life. Maybe a bit like the vaccine? We just got AstraZeneca, the only option for people 50+ in Australia right now. Similar side effects – exhaustion and feeling a bit ‘off.’