Yeah, as I expected, I feel pretty good this morning. The headaches and body aches were already getting better last night when I went to bed.

Very few people here at the beach are wearing masks inside. I still am, of course.

Got up for sunrise this morning. Lovely. And there was a dolphin, so... sunrise complete! Also, sandpipers are freaking adorable with their little running leggies.

That sounds absolutely lovely, JenP. Now I need to get to the beach! And yes, the sandpipers are ridiculously cute.

Today is the birthday of brenda m! Happy birthday to Brenda! Also, while I was offline traveling I missed yesterday's birthday for Kate P. I hope that it was a wonderful day. May you both have a wonderful year filled with love and joy.

Got in last night. Have to clear a zillion emails, unpack, and so forth. I jumped to the end to post, but I will read the recent posts, which are open in another tab. Weekend posting is so light that won't take long. I'm sure you are anxious to hear the travel adventures, so those are forthcoming too!

Glad you made it in safely, Laura!

Happy Birthday, Brenda! Happy Birthday +1, Kate!

Sitting by the window doing some work -- you know that thing where you have your laptop and keyboard in a new place, and you see the actual state of them, which you usually ignore? Yeah. Yuck. Time for some procrasticleaning.

Happy birthday, Brenda!

Happy belated, Kate!

After it dumped four inches of rain on us yesterday, I was expecting more this week, but apparently that's it for now. Blue skies, baby.

The COVID-19 numbers in SF are down to almost the place they were in late June when the mask mandates were briefly eased. Because the vax rates are so high, and they're rolling out both boosters and young kid vaccinations, I expect they'll ease the mask mandates again soon.

I'm hopeful we won't get another surge after Thanksgiving when people travel. We should be getting closer to the point where most people have either been vaccinated or had the disease. I think if they just rolled out the quick, at-home tests (as they've done in Europe) we should be at a place where it's all more manageable. Knock wood.

Y'all have inspired me to schedule my flu shot!

I don't think I'm eligible for a Covid booster yet. Still have to figure out the shingles one...

That’s so wild david! Numbers are still high here despite high vaccination rates (though the numbers are going down and are lower than a lot of places, they’re nowhere near what they were in June!) but today we do start requiring vaccine cards to dine in and go to bars (some places were already requiring) so maybe that will help?

Happy birthday, brenda!

I need to find out when I can get a booster.

I need to get my flu shot. When I get back I guess.

askye, all adults who received J&J as their original shot can get a booster two months after that original shot. J&J recipients do not need an underlying condition to get a booster. The doctors I've paid attention to all seeem to recommend that people who originally received J&J get a booster from either Pfizer or Moderna, if available, but boosting with J&J is better than no boost at all.

People 65+ who received Pfizer or Moderna for their original vaccine series can get the booster six months from the date of their second shot.

People under 65 who received Pfizer or Moderna for their first series can get a booster six months from the date of their second shot, [link] if they qualify [underlying conditions etc., which is a pretty broad category that includes overweight (not just obese), former smokers etc] : [link] ).

Also, you can get your flu shot on the same day you get your Covid booster. I chose to get my flu shot first (this past Friday), and am going to book my Covid booster appointment ASAP.

Edit: My Moderna booster is booked for Friday. I've seen some indications that people who had Moderna might see a gain in antibodies if they boost with Pfizer (and vice versa), but it's not yet peer reviewed, and I've seen other doctors say if you got Moderna, stick with it. Between finding and booking an appointment close to me, it just seemed simpler to go with Moderna again.

Saturday was a busy but fun day, spent in Memphis for a young cousin's birthday party. I ended up mostly acting as my namesake for two playful dogs' wrestling matches, and narc'd on the visiting one when she grabbed a plastic toy to chew on. I also took Mom to what was supposed to be one of the city's best BBQ joints for take-out, but I no longer trust the taste of the people recommending it. I've had better pulled pork sandwiches from gas station food counters.

I woke up to a text message from my neighbor that he was in the hospital after coughing up blood all over our back deck, but it turned out to be an excessively bloody cut on his tongue rather than something more serious.

Oh thank goodness, Matt. How scary (I meant the blood, but realize this also applies to pulled pork sandwiches from gas station food counters).