Tacoma Flu Free Snow With David, Theo & Ruby

Yesterday I emailed asking if David, Theo and Ruby had taken their parental units to Seattle over the weekend to join the thousands of Puget Sounders walking through the new Highway 99 tunnel, along with one last walk on the Alaskan Viaduct.

I opined that I assumed a tunnel walk through had not taken place, because I had received no photo documentation of such.

Soon thereafter I received a reply from one of David, Theo and Ruby's maternal parental units, stationed at the time in Olympia, telling me that no tunnel walk through by David and the twins had happened, due to the twin's time being taken up working on recovering from a bad bout of the flu, with Theo's flu bout made worse with Strep Throat.

David, Theo and Ruby had been shot with this year's flu vaccine, and then, apparently, managed to find a flu strain not stopped by this year's vaccine.

In the initial reply to the tunnel inquiry I was told some snow photo documentation would be forth coming.

A short time later that photo documentation came forth, as promised.

Above is one of those photos, a time tunnel compilation photo showing David, Theo and Ruby on a sled several winters ago, next to a photo I am assuming was taken during the current bout of Tacoma and the rest of the lowlands of Western Washington being colored white.

And below is video documenting, I assume, Theo and Ruby back healthy enough to sled down a hill with big brother David...

A Quick Recovery From Allergic Misery Has Me Heading Towards Fort Worth's Tandy Hills

In the picture you are looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at the hot tub where this morning I had myself a mighty fine hydrotherapy session.

Having a myself a mighty fine hydrotherapy session would seem to indicate that I am feeling much better, with my allergic woes no longer making me so woefully miserable.

For today and tomorrow the Pollen Level Predictors had predicted that the Pollen Level would be EXTREME.

However, by early evening, yesterday, I found myself suddenly feeling much less plugged up.

I do not remember such a quick turnaround from a woeful misery since early in the last decade of the last century when for about two weeks I thought I was right on the edge of being a flu fatality, when I woke up one morning to find myself back feeling totally okay.

I remember that flu recovery morning as if it were yesterday. I had not eaten much for two weeks, had lost a lot of weight. The recovery morning I phoned my favorite feeding crew and arranged to drive 30 miles north, to Bellingham, to the Dickinson's Buffet, that being the location of the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had the pleasure of being pleased by.

This latest recovery morning I won't be driving up to Bellingham to a buffet, or anywhere else for a buffet. Although allergic woes do do some appetite stifling, it only lasted for a couple days, not long enough to require a buffet to make up for lost calories.

With this latest temperature drop to barely above freezing I am thinking I would greatly enjoy doing some fast hill hiking on the Tandy Hills today.

So it is written, so will it be.....

The Flu Has Spencer Jack Jumping Like A Grasshopper

Spencer Jack Under A Grandma White Blanket

Last night Spencer Jack's Grandma Cindy emailed me with further documentation that Spencer is being well covered by Grandma blankets whilst he is sick with the flu.

This is what Grandma Cindy had to tell me...

Here is Spencer keeping warm under a blanket made by his Great Great Grandma Dorothy White.  (My mom’s mom)  So Great Great Grandma Vera and Grandma White are keeping him warm.  Cindy

And now this morning I heard from Spencer Jack's dad that Spencer is now in recovery mode.....

Spencer is feeling much better.  It has been 2 days of hell. But now he's recovering.  His girl friend Brittney, myself and Spencer Jack had previously planned a trip to Stevens Pass today to play in the snow. We did such last year on MLK day. But trying to be good parental units, we may alter our plans tomorrow.

Spencer Jack's dad sent a video, along with the email telling me that Spencer is feeling a lot better. The video seems to provide evidence that Spencer has recovered enough to head to higher elevations for some fun in the snow....

Spencer Jack Has The Flu Which Has Me Thinking About Spencer's Great Great Grandma Vera

Bad news from Spencer Jack's dad, he being my Favorite Nephew Jason, telling me that Spencer has come down with a bad bout of the flu. The flu is hardest on little kids and elderly people, such as myself.

This is what FN Jason had to say....

Your favorite Great Nephew Spencer Jack has fallen victim to this year's flu bug. The little guy was quite cold, despite sporting a high fever all night. I had to dig out one of Grandma Vera's hand made blankets. I kept two of these one of a kind knittings. I believe FN Joe still has some of her stocking caps that he uses for wintertime fishing.  

Grandma Vera was my mom's mom.

Grandma had really bad arthritis as long as I can remember, resulting in gnarled hands that were very painful. Keeping busy with her hands kept the arthritis partially at bay. So, Grandma Vera was a crocheting machine, churning out big afghans and knitted caps, among other things.

Grandma would see a hatless kid walking by on a snowy, cold Lynden, Washington winter day and go give the kid one of her knitted caps. This eventually had Grandma's signature knitted caps on a lot of Lynden kid's heads.

A couple weeks ago, during our first Texas cold snap of the year, I went exploring in my walk-in closet to find my stash of Grandma Vera knitted caps. I found 4 of them.

I did not have to go hunting to find my Grandma Vera afghans. I have 4 of them, stored in another closet, until I need one, like the one you see via the picture, currently on the bed in my slumber chamber.

Grandma Vera would be so pleased to know her legacy of yarn products lives on, covering Spencer Jack, born 4 or 5 years after his Great Great Grandma Vera died at age, if I remember right, 94.

I last saw Grandma Vera in 2002, if I remember right. I don't remember why the aforementioned FN Joey and I were up in Bellingham, but we were, so we stopped in for a visit with Grandma Vera in her 3rd floor apartment in her assisted living place.

When we left, on the way back to the parking lot, Joey told me Grandma would be at her window waving at us. And so she was. This was the last time I ever saw my Grandma Vera.

I just got hit with a very rare wave of feeling very sad.

This Morning I Have Self Diagnosed The Flu As Being My Current Ailment

I read this morning that this flu season's flu epidemic has come on earlier and stronger than is the norm.

Of late every time I talk to my mom I get asked if I've gotten a flu shot yet.

The answer to that question remains, currently, no.

But, this morning, reading about the flu symptoms, I am thinking that it is Influenza which I have been dealing with for the past 20 days or so. All the symptoms match.

Only the version of the flu I have been experiencing is very mild.

I think maybe I have some sort of immunity to the flu which may lessen the severity of a fresh flu virus invasion.

Way back in the 1990s I had the worst case of the flu I have ever experienced. Sickest I have ever been. My skin turned a greenish gray color. I had the shakes, a bad fever, my ears were plugged, I had trouble breathing,  I could not eat, had trouble sleeping.

A living hell.

Then came a Friday morning, after being miserable for I don't know how many days, I woke up and found myself totally symptom free, feeling totally normal.

And really really hungry.

To deal with that hunger I drove up to Bellingham, to the Dickinson's Buffet, because I had an overwhelming craving for their macaroni and cheese and fried chicken.

Currently I know of several people in the D/FW zone who are being made miserable by flu-like symptoms, including Miss Puerto Rico, Elsie Hotpepper, Delores Del Rio and Miss Connie. I may be forgetting a few due to the brain befuddlement that accompanies this ailment.

A Real Lulu

I just got a call from Lulu, in high umbrage mode, being pretty much incoherent. She just got back from her doctor who diagnosed her with Walking Pneumonia and prescribed all sorts of meds and an inhaler.

Last night Lulu somehow managed enough strength to write something in her Blog. But, she did not have the strength or presence of mind to realize she posted twice, the second one slightly different than the first.

When she called this morning I mentioned her double post. As she hacked away, likely blowing all sorts of bad stuff on her computer, she looked at her Blog and claimed to not see the double post. At great effort, on my part, I got her to focus long enough to see the extra post. Lulu then said she did not have the strength to fix it and asked if I would fix it for her.

And so I did. And when I fixed it I added the drawing of a sick person you see above. So, Lulu gets home from the doctors, and before she even takes her meds or sucks on her inhaler, she checks her Blog. She saw the drawing you see above and apparently this caused a major apoplectic fit. So, she called me demanding I stop whatever I'm doing and fix this at once. I told her to just go delete it herself. She claimed she couldn't figure it out. It would have taken way too long to help Lulu locate the delete button on her keyboard, so I just removed it myself.

Now, I guess I should be a bit more tolerant of Lulu's currently amped up eccentricity, what with her pretty much currently knocking on Heaven's Door. And it is not like I don't know she is extremely, almost pathologically, high maintenance. And it did give me something to blog about.

Speaking of Lulu's chronic illnesses. A few months ago Lulu and her first husband went to Maui. Lulu was sick when they left. He got sick there. It was the flu. They cut their vacation short, by what logic I've never understood. It would seem to be easier to be sick in a tropical paradise than in Tacoma in winter. So, Lulu had to push her so-weak-he-could-not-walk first husband through the airport in a wheelchair.

It is not known how many people Lulu and her first husband made sick by getting on a plane in such a contagious condition. They could easily have started an epidemic. Now that is something to get into a state of high umbrage over, sick people going out in public making other people sick. But to work yourself up to a state of upset over a little cartoon of a sick person, well, I really don't know what to say.

It is a wonderment to me that Lulu is not sicker due to what she eats when she's ailing. As in it is all chocolate derivatives. Primarily hot fudge sundaes, hot cocoa and s'mores. Lulu does not make her s'mores in the Girl Scout fashion over a fire. What she does is roast the marshmallow over the flames of her gas range top, sticking the marshmallow on a fork, getting it nice and toasty and then slapping it on graham cracker with a huge chunk of chocolate. I have seen this process repeated up to 6 times in one feeding.

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To change the subject from Lulu, which is always a welcome relief, my Internet connection was uncooperative for a couple hours today. The problem was my router. It is so annoying to feel so dependent on something and to feel like it's such a major thing when you can't connect to the Internet. It's like some sort of addiction. I don't think it is healthy. And the trend line is ever worse. Like years ago when I went up north first thing I'd do was set up the computer wherever I was staying so I could do email and work on websites. Then about 4 years ago I started lugging a laptop with me, which is not easy, particularly switching planes involving long walks through an airport, carrying a big carry-on and the laptop. Or using the restroom facilities. Try standing at a urinal with heavy items hanging off your back and neck.

I flew north right after Katrina, leaving D/FW late, like 10pm. The plane was full, to my surprise. with Katrina refugees. I was seated next to a refugee mom and one of her kids. The two older kids sat behind us. They were heading to Bremerton to her sister's. We switched planes in Vegas. Previously this had always involved moving to a plane at most 2 gates over. This time the gate was way at the other end of the airport. And the moving sidewalks were not working. I'd asked if she'd like help getting to the next plane, not knowing we'd be hiking what seemed miles.

So, I was carrying my big backpack and my laptop and one of the kid's bags. I had one kid with me. He and I moved fast, got separated from the mom and the other kids. Went back and found them. They had to stop because the little girl had to throw up. Made it to the gate. Benefit of helping, she watched my stuff while I used the restroom facilities.

We got to Seattle at 3am. As soon as we landed I called Lulu (Oh Good God, we are back to Lulu) to make sure she was heading to get me. I got her voice mail. I helped the Katrina victims get to baggage claim, helped them get all their giant duffel bags. I had not reached Lulu and the refugee had not reached her sister.

Gradually the airport emptied til we were all alone, just me and the refugees. Finally Lulu called, said she'd slept through the alarm, that she was 20 minutes away. Eventually, after what seemed hours, Lulu drove up. I gave the Katrina refugee my cell number and told her to call if her sister did not show up. I took over driving from Lulu and drove to my sister's house in Kent. My sister was on vacation at Yosemite, the keys were hidden in the BBQ out back. Lulu drove away and I pretty much passed out from exhaustion, vowing to never travel with that damn laptop again.

I've been back 3 times since. With the laptop.