How's your week going- Week of November 16th

[ProudTVJunkie]

How is everyone doing? Like everywhere else, our Covid #s are spiking. We haven't seen infection rates this high since last spring. The health department said they've seen a a lot of cases that stemmed from people getting together over Halloween, and they are worried about Thanksgiving.

My cousins invited us over for Thanksgiving, and we declined. It worries me that they seem to believe that as long as it is just their families (with spouses and multiple kids who all have school and sports) that there isn't a big risk. I just hope they all stay healthy.

My daughter went back to school today. She said that three kids who would normally be on her bus decided to go virtual instead. The buses are already half empty so that they kids can keep their distance, but I figure more space between them is always a good thing.

On a cheerier note, the Hindu temple in our town has some very pretty Diwali decorations. I'd take pictures but I don't think my cell phone will do the lights justice.

I hope everyone else's week is starting off okay. Even if it's not, please check in and let us know.

[tycho657]

I had my 2nd prep back procedure this morning. The next one will be the actual Lumbar block procedure on one side then 2 weeks later they will do the other side. I just hope it actually helps. I am tired of my back issues. It is interesting going into an outpatient surgery building and seeing how they do things.
Our numbers here in AZ are going crazy again like everywhere else. The few places I go people seems to be wearing masks. 
Tomorrow my friend and I will try to kayak down the Salt River from the dam release of water area  to the other end where we went before. This time of year they usually shut off the water. With it being 89 tomorrow I guess the Salt River Project electric company decided they needed more water to produce a little extra power for the AC units firing up again. I was so excited to think we might be able to do this. I thought we would have to wait until next May. We will hopefully see the Salt River Wild Horses, a river otter or 2, a bald eagle, Maybe a heron, and other fun nature things. It will be nice to escape reality for a day. 
Please people stay safe. 

[ProudTVJunkie]

Ugh! My daughter was just invited to a friend's birthday. They say they're keeping it small, but it's going to be about 15 people total (family and friends) coming from 7 to 10 different households.

So, I'm saying no because I didn't just cancel my family Thanksgiving to keep everyone safe to send her to spend the afternoon with people I don't even know. With the way the virus is spreading right now, I can't believe people are still planning things like this. Obviously, my daughter is very disappointed I said no. I hate Covid.

[geezer2008]

We feel the same Christine. EVERYTHING is being affected and a government with blinders on is not helping us get past this.

  We are putting up Xmas this week. Why not?  We need to help ourselves feel better and we enjoy the Season.  No get togethers for Thanksgiving. Just Zooming and a meal from our SIL which is nice of him to do.

We went out to shop a little yesterday. We only do big box stores, mask, distance, and wear disposable gloves. We also do it in small doses to keep exposure down. We also do drive-thru dining. LOL, who ever thought that would become exciting??

Happy safe week all  

[DrvrTrnr]

Our governor has been MIA since AZ went for Biden. His mishandling of the virus is coming home to roost. He won't authorize a mask mandate in spite of our awful numbers. We have two wacko congressional representatives, one who is still calling the virus a hoax, and the other says requiring a mask is tyranny. Unbelievable!

Our immediate family is small (2 daughters, a SIL and a BF) so we're going to have Thanksgiving dinner together. We've been around these people for several months and feel safe being together. At least the day will feel a little more normal.

People in our neighborhood are decorating for Christmas already. Our next door neighbor put up their lights Sunday. We usually put up our lights and wreath the day after Thanksgiving. It's still unusually warm for this time of year (in the 80s), so it feels odd getting ready for Christmas.

I hope some here can celebrate with a family member or two, wearing masks if necessary.

[tycho657]

We were able to do the whole 10 miles trip down the river. The lady who gave me directions was not very good. She went down before us with 2 friends but they didn't wait to make sure we went the right was. She said stay right but when we got to the 1st choice the right path didn't look like it had enough water so we went left. Well left is where "pinball" rapids are located. We actually went down 2 or 3 before the big one. When we both got down safely my friend said "Hey Mom can we do that again with a big smile". She loved it!! It was very fun. And it did get the heart racing a bit. It took up 4 hrs 30 min with a nice break for lunch along the way. My old fat body was a challenge to get in and out of the kayak. We saw the Salt River Wild horses all along the river. They love the grass in the river. They are fun to watch. They will stick their whole head into the water and come out with a mouth pull of grass. We saw groups of 3 or 4 and 2 large groups of 10-12. We saw many herons and various other birds. I kept my eye out for an eagle or 2 but did not see any today. No River Otters either. 
This was such a nice respite from the current things going on in the world. I love that I can find this 10 min down the road. Here is one picture of the front of my kayak as I approach a small rapids. We were told to stay right on the top part of the river. HOwever, when we got to the first choice the right path didn't look like it sent thru and had very little water so we both decided to go left. Well, that is where "Pinball" rapids are located. We now know we can do the most challenging part of the river so we were very happy.

[DrvrTrnr]

Teresa, my SIL's favorite drive in AZ is through the Salt River Canyon. If your picture is any indication, I can see why. We've not done that drive, but have driven the Apache Trail.