Back from vacation and an update on my left hand

Long time, no write!

A combination of trying to rest my wrist and going on vacation for over two weeks has caused me to stop blogging. All of it was much needed.

My wrist felt good until the end of my trip. I laundered my wrist splint, so I went out without wearing it so it could air-dry. 

I visited the Aquarium Restaurant in Nashville. There's a huge aquarium smack in the middle, so you dine and watch the fish, sharks, stingrays, and more swim. I was looking right up at the aquarium by walking over to it after I was done eating. The base had this slant going upwards and the floor was sticky. I had a slight misstep and needed to balance myself with my left hand that I rested against the glass. So, my hand hurt again. Stupid, sticky floor!

I will say that my left hand's range of motion is much better, but I do need to take it easy and wear my splint all the time. I have a backup splint now, so I should be fine. Here's hoping.

It was a half-step back, but I'm still going forward.

Nashville was so much fun. It was extremely hot and humid, with temperatures at least 31°C and higher.

I hope you are all doing well!

Rules and guidelines on masking in the US

The hotel in which I stayed in the United States is a part of a large chain. The official wording on its clean policy is that for guests staying at its US hotels, you do not need to wear a mask at the hotel if you are fully vaccinated. Staff are required to wear face masks.

As a cautious Canadian, I threw that guest policy out the window. I am fully vaccinated. I got my booster shot on Thursday. All is well. I have a sore arm. That's it. I'm boring that way. I'll take boring any day!

Whether I was heading downstairs to the kitchen area to fetch breakfast to take up to my room or doing laundry, I wore a mask. Heading to and from my room? I had a mask on.

As for staff, housekeeping never had masks on. When I headed to my room to check in back in late November of last year, I had to walk by two housekeeping staff without their masks. Luckily, I had mine on.

I'd say that 50% of the time, staff at this hotel had face masks on. The front desk was much better at it.

What I am trying to get at is that there are rules and guidelines on wearing masks, but they aren't enforced. We are still in a pandemic. Not wearing a mask in a public area is ridiculous these days, vaccinated or not.

The moral of this story is to mask up, to protect yourself and others from the various COVID-19 variants that are out there.

Rare Monday night outing

On Monday night, I went out to get a free meal at a cool Mexican-Latin-America eatery. The food was amazing. I'll definitely need to return for more.

The place is owned by a husband-and-wife team. They were so warm and welcoming.

It was raining all night. It felt soothing driving through the rain heading over there and then home.

I did stop to get some bubble tea after eating dinner. It was the perfect way to end my outing.

Thoughts about my vacation as it winds down

Today's my last vacation day before I head back to work.

I feel that a two-week vacation is perfect. It's not too long. It's not too short. I feel well-rested and relaxed. It's great.

I am not looking forward to reading and sifting through a bunch of work e-mails. We'll see how crazy all of that is when Monday comes.

In the meantime, I'm listening to some relaxing music before I hit the sack.

Spending some relaxing time at home

I spent Thursday relaxing at home. It was raining out and I simply didn't feel like doing anything.

It's all good. This staycation has truly been so relaxing.

Staying cool and enjoying my staycation

I spent Tuesday at home. It was hot, hazy, and humid outside. I simply wanted to be in a cool environment.

I spent most of my day writing. It felt great.

This staycation has been pretty good. I will miss it when it's over. For now, I'm enjoying it.

Last day of vacation

I spent a casual, relaxed last day of my vacation. I went out briefly to fetch a kebob dinner deal. You buy one dinner and get another for free. There was a lot of food. I needed a nap afterwards.

I start my day at 7 am for a four-hour conference call. Tuning into the first hour should allow me to get through my inbox of e-mails. Oh, joy!

Being on vacation is the weekend every day

The weekend is here! Being on vacation feels like every day is the weekend. I will miss my vacation. It has been relaxing and nice so far.

I had the best apple and pineapple fritters on Thursday. I finished them off on Friday. Should I get more? I want to, but will wait it out. I don't want to overdose of them. They are that yummy.

Being a panelist and on vacation

I had a fun evening being a panelist in a Zoom meeting. I am normally an attendee. It was different being on the opposite side. I had a good time and enjoyed being with cool people.

My vacation is going well. I slept in till 9:30 am. That's late for me.

I went out briefly to pick up an order that I had placed over the weekend. I also got some bubble tea.

It has been relaxing. I love it.

Cooking and week 2 of vacation

I spent Sunday cooking. I like taking leftovers from Christmas and making other yummy meals out of them.

I made turkey stew for lunch and salted caramel French toast for breakfast. I am pleased with how they turned out.

My first week of vacation is over. I have one more week to go. It goes by quickly, but I am enjoying the downtime.

Broken hot water tank

On Wednesday night, I went downstairs to the basement to do some laundry. There was warm water on the floor. Luckily, I had caught it early. My hot water tank had a leak.

A nice water tank expert came over on Thursday to inspect the tank. I need a new one. He's returning later today to swap my old tank with a new one.

For the last couple of days, I have been using cold water to shower. I was oddly fine washing my hair and showering the first night. A few hours ago, it felt too cold. I did take breaks.

I will say that I like cold showers. I feel so relaxed afterwards, which I wasn't expecting!

Sleep on weekends

I slept well last night. Here's hoping that I can repeat.

I slept better on weekends. It's likely because I am not thinking about work. I don't have to start at a specific time. It's casual. It's good.

Relaxed thanks to a day off from work

I had a good day off. It was much needed.

My car has snow tires. This morning, it was 17C. The temperature dropped throughout the day. It's now 6C. My timing is spot as far as getting them installed.

Two more workdays are left before the weekend. I can't wait.

Good day with a crumbling memory

Monday was great. I vacuumed and washed my car. I also filled it up with gas.

I managed to pick up food from the two places that I had in mind in downtown Toronto I also visited my old neighbourhood.

I feel like my past is crumbling as the years go by. As I passed by the apartment building where I spent my first nineteen years of life, two men were destroying the concrete front steps. I am sure that they've been there for decades, well before I was alive.

I felt completely relaxed being a tourist in my hometown. I should do this excursion more often when I have a day off.

This weekend and the upcoming long weekend

This weekend has been good. I feel relaxed and content.

This Saturday, I have made plans to see a friend. I haven't seen her since early March. I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

It's a long weekend coming up. Yay!

Sodastream machine and my beverage centre

On Saturday, I picked up my new Sodastream Fizzi One Touch machine that I had already paid for online.

I love it. I have made root beer and raspberry mint beverages so far.

The instructions that you get from Sodastream on using your machine are like those from IKEA. They are all diagrams. One reason for pictures is that companies save on translation.

Well, I still needed to go online to watch a Sodastream video on how to use it. I'm good now!

I have decided to create a beverage centre on the top floor of my home. It occupied a small corner of my den. I spend a lot of time working from home on this floor. It makes sense that I house my Keurig (I need to dust it off, as I can't remember when I last used it!) and Sodastream machines. I also bought a stand for my K-cups years ago that can come out of its box.

I have a small kitchen, so having these machines on the counter takes up way too much space. I typically bring my iced tea and beverages upstairs anyway, so having these machines up there makes sense to me.

My long weekend is coming to a close. It was nice taking it easy and relaxing.

Yoga, a sore knee, and self-spanking

The other day, I did a relaxing yoga session online. I had tightness on the left side of my neck going in, but the session eliminated it.

Last night, I ended up with soreness in my right knee. I can't tell whether it was due to doing yoga or if I overexerted it in some fashion after that. It was uncomfortable trying to sleep and walking first thing in the morning was tough.

My knee is much better now. Perhaps walking out the pain and joint throughout the day has helped.

I am looking forward to the a long weekend. I got a wonderful suggestion to self-spank this weekend. I like this idea.

Rescheduled dental appointment and relaxing

I was supposed to have my bi-annual dental appointment next week. My dentist's office is still closed. Instead, my appointment has been rescheduled to sometime in November.

I am relieved. My electric toothbrush that I've had for the past three months has been doing a great job.

On Sunday, I spent the day cooking and relaxing. It was great.

I'm relaxing now before I head to bed. I got a bit tense last hour. I'm still trying to figure out what is making me anxious. I'm now thinking that it's not work-related.

Long weekend is over and I am relaxed

This long weekend went by quickly. I frankly didn't do a whole lot. I played it by ear. It was nice to simply relax.

I enjoyed cooking over the weekend. I also attended a photography session online on Monday night.

Sadly, the next two weeks at work will be busy. We'll see how things unfold.

Have a great week ahead!

Eye update and relaxes after decluttering

On Friday, I visited my ophthalmologist. I haven't seen him for five months, which is a good sign.

I called earlier in the week to find out whether my appointment was still on. In a pandemic, sitting in a waiting room to get an injection in my eye is not the ideal situation. The woman at the clinic speaking to me over the phone indicated that safety precautions were top priority.

I asked about seating in the waiting room. Each row has four seats. I told her that I didn't feel comfortable if someone sat next to me. She said that they have measures to space people out. She also said that only patients who needed injections or were emergencies were being accepted. I felt better and went with it.

I was asked to wear a mask when I dropped by the clinic. I let her know that I didn't have one (I have since ordered one, which came in the mail after my appointment), and used a scarf instead. It worked well.

Sure enough, staff were great making sure that everything was sanitized. My regular diagnostic tests were streamlined down to my right eye, which had the issue.

My ophthalmologist was in good spirits. He said that he'd evaluate my eye in another five months and will likely stop injections. So, it is possible that last Friday was my last injection, which I am grateful.

I am fortunate that my blood vessel burst hasn't recurred. I bounced back nicely and my eyesight is practically back to what is used to be.

Switching gears a bit, I have been reorganizing my bedroom and decluttering. It's therapeutic. I feel relaxed and accomplished.