Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you’re all safe and well. Today’s post will be the last Family Friday, at least for now. There’s only so much more ranting I can do about ignorant, selfish people who eschew health guidelines. Not really much is changing here in Alabama with the news being a mixed bag of good and bad. The good: numbers are still down and Governor Ivey extended the mask mandate. Since the original mandate was put in place July 16th, the percentage of positive COVID-19 cases have declined from 17% to 8%. The bad: Many of the outbreaks are centered around colleges and universities where students are ignoring guidelines. Not helping are things like the University of Alabama ordering its professors to not inform students if a classmate has tested positive.
For this week’s positivity I’d like to share this ingenious invention from Allen Pan. I swear if he gets all the bugs out I’d consider buying one of these!
Let me know how you’re doing, and have a nice weekend everyone!
Hi everyone. I apologize for this being a shorter than usual post, but I’m a bit under the weather, so I’m trying to give my eyes a break. Without further ado, here’s how Alabama is doing.
As scary as the numbers still are, confirmed cases have been declining and now hospitalizations and deaths are decreasing. While this is good news, with more schools going back in session, crowds of college students holding parties ignoring guidelines, and Labor Day coming up, we are not out of the woods yet.
For this week’s positivity I’d like to share this flashback to the 1980s. I hope it brings a smile to your face and sets your toes a-tappin’.
Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a good week and you are all safe and well. Here’s how things are going in Alabama.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 now number 101,496 with another 4,061 classified as probable. From last week, that’s 8,094 more people who have tested positive. Deaths have increased to 1,821 which means 167 more Alabamians have lost their lives. And finally, hospitalizations now number 12,456.
There’s A LOT of confusion regarding the numbers right now. Apparently there have been independent labs performing tests and not reporting the results to the department of health. They also keep saying there’s been a backlog of cases, which isn’t helping the confusion. So, I kind of feel like we’re all at this hold your breath and wait and see moment. More schools will be opening between now and after Labor Day. Football season is just starting. Mask wearing is still a battle. My friend Pete over at https://beetleypete.com currently has a historical serial called Vera’s Life posting everyday. It started in 1924 London, and we’re now up to WWII and the Blitz. Looking at what people willingly sacrificed to survive makes me look at anti-maskers who scream about their lives. Their liberty. Their rights. Pete’s story is a reminder of what true sacrifice is.
For this week’s positivity, meet young Anthony Madu and hear his inspirational story.
This was quite the week huh? As if an ongoing pandemic wasn’t enough, a good portion of East Coast of the U.S. had to deal with Hurricane Isaias. Are you starting to get the impression that the Powers That Be are seriously ticked off at the human race? Here’s how things are going in Alabama.
There are now 93,402 Alabamians who have tested positive for Covid-19 and 1,654 who have died. In the last seven days that’s 7,640 new cases and 89 more deaths. After two days of semi good news of having under 1,000 new cases each day, yesterday we jumped back up to 1,626. So, that’s disappointing. But, as Mr. Trump says: “It is what it is.” Sorry for the sarcasm.
Two school districts reopened today with three more to follow tomorrow. Most districts however are holding off until the end of August or after Labor Day, in order to give schools and teachers more time to prepare. Hopefully things go well, but I’m quite nervous about this.
On Monday, armed with my trusty mask, I ventured out to change my driver’s license to reflect that I’m now a resident of Alabama. While I was waiting in my socially distanced chair, there was one guy about four seats down from me who had his mask dangling around his neck and persisted in sighing repeatedly. He then informed me that he was waiting to take the test for carrying hazardous waste for the fifth time that day. Yep. You read that right. He failed it four times! I don’t know if I’m being harsh but isn’t that a test that if you fail it twice, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to take it again for say, at least six months?
Except for the stress, my outing was completely worth it as I now have a proper Alabama driver’s license AND I’m registered to vote!
Now I just need to figure out the absentee ballot system here, because unless the pandemic situation improves I don’t fancy voting in person in November.
For this week’s positivity I found this cool new video from the folks on the International Space Station that I think will make you all smile.
So, that all the news that’s fit to print from me this week. I hope you and yours are all still safe and sound from both the pandemic and the wild weather. Let me know how you’re doing in the comments.
Happy Friday Everyone! Do you believe this is the last day of July? Here’s how things are going in Alabama.
As of Thursday evening, there are 85,762 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,565 deaths. From last week, positives have risen by 13,066 and at least 208 more people have tragically passed away. On Monday hospitalizations in the state broke a new record with 1,599. There is talk of pop-up hospitals perhaps at some point being needed and medical professionals are saying the next two weeks are critical. Our governor has extended our “Safer At Home” orders until August 31. These orders include mandated masks in most public settings as well as second grade through high school classrooms. While I’d say the majority of Alabamians are using their heads, there are still many who are listening to the wrong “leaders” and not following state or federal guidelines. For instance, a small church in Strawberry, Alabama recently had a multi-day revival. Well, now at least 40 attendees have gotten sick. But they not only have no regrets, they’d do it again.
What else can I say?
For this week’s positivity I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Quentin J. Lee, one of the coolest school principals in AL. Check this out!
Well, I’m off to beat my negative thoughts into submission. I hope you and yours are safe and well. Please let me know how you’re doing in the comments.
Because I think right now calls for extra hugs, here are some more!
Bonjour, mes amis. Comment allez-vous? Sorry. I’ve been refreshing my high school French on Duolingo the last several weeks and I think I’m getting carried away. Anyway, another week has breezed by and here how things are going in Alabama.
As you can see from the graphic above, as of yesterday there are now 72,696 confirmed cases and 1,357 deaths. From last week that’s an increase from last week of 12,538 more people who have tested positive, and 157 more victims who have tragically succumbed. As I noted last week, there is a mask mandate now in place throughout the state until July 31, so it will be interesting to see what effect this has on future numbers. I’ve got to tell you though, my husband stopped by a convenience store down the street from us last night to grab a bottle of laundry detergent for me, and out of the 8-10 people in there, only he and one other customer were wearing masks. And even more infuriating, the store worker behind the counter wasn’t wearing one!
Given that Mr. Trump and “leaders” Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, and Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp, still can’t seem to admit that masks would work if EVERYONE wore one, I suppose this isn’t surprise. I swear, the next time I hear Mr. Stable Genius say that if we didn’t test as much, the numbers wouldn’t be as high, I‘m going to…
Sigh. Well, I can’t control other people’s behavior, just my own. I’ve been really trying to let go of my anger and frustration.
It’s an ongoing process so I’ll let you know how it goes.😏
For this week’s positivity I’ve selected the following musical number from the late, great, Judy Garland.
So, that’s it for me Mesdames et Messieurs. Let me know how you’re all doing!
Happy Friday everyone. I wish the news from Alabama that I’ll be sharing was better, but it’s not. There are now 60,158 confirmed cases and at least 1,200 lives have been lost to this horrible virus. From last week that’s a jump of 11,570 new cases and 158 deaths. You know things are getting dire when your conservative Republican Governor issues a statewide mask mandate after meeting with Dr. Birx Wednesday. News just broke also that in our city the water park and all city pools and aquatic centers are to be closed for the summer.
There is some good news though in that the death rate has dropped from its high of just over 4% in May, to 2% in July. The pessimist in wonders how long that will last though.
I haven’t been out much except for walking, but I’ve noticed more people going in and out of stores with masks. Except for The Outback restaurant down the street where my husband and I were a bit shocked to see last night their parking lot packed with only a few mask wearers. Have I mentioned I really don’t understand people sometimes?
For this week’s positivity Banksy has struck again, this time on the London Underground with some coronavirus-inspired artwork titled If You Mask, You Don’t Get. Check this out.
You may have noticed near the end, the mysterious masked artist also spray painted the words I get lockdown and then But I get up again. On his Instagram page Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping then starts playing. I’m including their original video becauseI challenge anyone not to be smiling by the end.
So, that’s it for me Ladies and Gentlemen. How are all of you doing?
Happy Friday my WP friends. I hope all of you have stayed safe and well this week. Here’s how things are going in Alabama.
As of yesterday, July 9, 2020, confirmed cases of coronavirus stand at 48,588 confirmed cases, with 1,042 deaths. That’s a difference of 8,984 new cases and 81 more people who have tragically lost their lives. We seem to be breaking multiple records. There were 2,164 new cases in the last 24 hours. Statewide, hospitalizations are skyrocketing and 88% of ICU beds are full, leaving only 202 beds available statewide.
Our apartment manager told me this morning that our city has officially been designated a hotspot. As such, in addition to the precautions they’ve already taken, masks are mandated in the management office, and only one person is allowed in at a time. I’ve taken to using the laundry room before 8:00 a.m. in order to finish up before others come in. Even my mask-eschewing, social distancing negating neighbor who I told you about a few weeks ago, is now admitting we need to take this more seriously. Of course he also said I have to give credit to Trump for instituting lockdowns, but it’s progress. Baby steps right?
I just keep thinking, hoping this will eventually pass. In the meantime I’m trying to keep my anxiety at bay with my daily walking, swimming, and French lessons on Duolingo. There’s also a Lowe’s about a mile away from us and their garden center is outside, so my hubby and I are thinking of taking a walk (with our masks), and getting a couple of African violets.
For this week’s positivity…Well, to tell you the truth I‘ve been a bit down this week and had the dickens of a time finding something that spoke to me. And then I stumbled upon this news story about Sacramento’s two-year-old Brody Alexzandr who has been named Tiny Hawk, by his legions of fans. Check this out!
So, that’s it for me. Let me know how y’all are doing!
A Happy Friday to all my fellow bloggers! I hope you’re all safe and well. Here’s how things are in hot and steamy Alabama. As of yesterday, July 2nd, there were 39,604 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 961 deaths. Since last week that’s 6,397 more people who have tested positive and tragically 65 more souls have lost their lives.
The Alabama Department of Health has this new map displayed on their website which shows how each county is doing. As you can see except for a few exceptions, cases are sharply rising across the state. Even more frightening, Alabama has 9 cities that are on the top 50 list of places that are hotspots or in danger of becoming one. My own city is now on that list and I’m trying not to panic. Up until now, while our area has seen increasing cases, it’s been slow and there’s only been 4 deaths. Seeing us on a national list is like a bucket of ice water in the face. Things not helping: people still wearing masks sporadically, and Alabama college students throwing “COVID-19 Parties” to see who can get infected. Yep. You read that right. Parties are being held in Tuscaloosa where people buy tickets. The first person to be confirmed by a doctor to have coronavirus wins the money from the ticket sales. Not to sound harsh, but the phrase “too stupid to live,” springs to mind. The Governor is extending our “Safer at Home” guidelines, but she’s not issuing any more restrictions. She’s also not mandating masks, although a couple of harder hit cities like Mobile and Birmingham are. Beyond that, there’s not much to say. I made it to the doctors and got the prescriptions I needed, and now my husband and I are going back to strictly self-isolating.
Okay. Mental shake.
For this week’s positivity I’m sharing this video of Jimmy Fallon, the cast of Hamilton, and the Roots singing one of my favorite songs from the musical, Helpless. Even if you’re not a Hamilton fan (I can’t even imagine!) I think this will make you smile.
Wow! Another Friday. Is it me or are they coming faster and faster? I hope all of you and yours are safe and well. Here’s how things are going in Alabama as of Thursday evening, June 25, 2020. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased in the past week from 27,796 to 33,206. That’s 5,410 more people. There are now 896 people who have died, which is an increase of 95 people from June 19. Over the last 24 hours alone, the state has seen a record increase with over 1,100 new cases. Hospitalizations also continue to rise and 82% of ICU beds across the state are full. Several states are now requiring residents and travelers from highly infectious states like Alabama, be quarantined for two weeks. We’re still under an amended “Safer at Home” order, but that expires next Friday, and right now no one knows what Governor Ivey will do. I’m guessing she’ll extend the order, but we’ll see. I’m happy to say that more people seem to be wearing masks. My husband and I had to run several errands over the last couple of days, and there were definitely more people wearing face coverings than not. I’m so relieved to see this, especially as I have to finally go to the doctor’s next week as I’m almost out of my medication. It seems like people are finally waking up in my neck of the woods, which is more than I can say for these lovely folks in Palm Beach County, Florida who have some issues with the new mandatory mask mandate set forth by their Board of Commissioners as there’s a spike in cases there:
Oh my. Here’s the rest of the testimony of the first woman. She appears to be alluding to Pizzagate, among other far-right conspiracy theories. pic.twitter.com/J10IB3AXTY
I’ll give you a moment to recover from watching that. A new study shows that if everyone wore a mask, 30,000 lives would be saved between now and October. But when we have political leaders from Mr. Trump on down, who are being intentionally negligent, it’s doubtful that will happen. Tragically, the United States has become a cautionary tale.
For this week’s positivity I’d like to share this 2014 music video from Playing For Change which has been seeking to inspire and bring people together through music, since 2005. I hope this version of Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry Be Happy brings a smile to your face and sets your feet to tappin’.
By Hook Or By Book 
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