Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Fat Tuesday (but not in Venice)


It’s been a good day. I tottered out for my walk, appalled at how feeble I felt. Fruity Knitting turned up – now that the horrors of the holidays are past, Every Second Tuesday comes around pleasantly often. And today’s is a good one – Countess Ablaze. An interesting woman, and the yarn she dyes is beyond beautiful.

But the best news, at least as far as knitting is concerned, is that I have finished the first half of the Cameron Shawl edging, and picked up the stitches for the two borders which belong with it, and knit the plain rows at the top of the borders, counting furiously and inserting markers. Now I am tiptoeing very careful through the first pattern row. I am surprised at how easily it all went. Is something going to turn out to be wrong with my plan of knitting the borders outside-in instead of inside-out as the pattern intends? We’ll soon see. Here’s a bit of it, while I was knitting the first row back after picking up the loops:


Comments

Yes, Tamar, it’s clear that a fever is one of the first signs of the Coronavirus. We had a passage on the news just now which would have been a comic turn in less serious circumstances: an Iranian official making an announcement on the subject, while the official at his elbow repeatedly wiped his brow. He had it. The same news broadcast said that the death rate is about 1-in-5. That’s rather a lot.

Jane, I, too, am looking forward to the Suffolk Vicar’s Lenten meditations. Here’s the link. I can’t quite see how you’re meant to sign up. Just write to him, I guess. I seem to have been automatically carried over from last year.

Other

Here’s today’s avocado picture. Not good, but still not quite dead.



6 comments:

  1. Jean, one in five seems unlikely, unless that figure was cited for a localized outbreak. What I have read is that the mortality rate is around 2%, which seems low until one is told that this was the mortality rate for the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918 and that, in the US, the annual mortality rate in a normal flu year is around 0.1%. This information is from weekend reporting from The NY Times.

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  2. If I get the virus I am a goner for sure with all the other thngs I have got wrong, but, I don't get out much which is an advantage.
    I suspect the avocado of gently rallying - those leaves look somehow stronger, and a better colour.

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  3. I had an email from the Suffolk vicar to say we'd be automatically carried over from last year unless we notified him otherwise.

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  4. In Omaha, NE they are testing treatment options since they have 14 people that have been brought to their containment facility that were infected elsewhere. In an interview today talking about who was eligible for the experimental treatments, the doctor said "Kalil noted that between 80% and 90% percent of people with the disease have mild cases."

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  5. =Tamar3:03 PM

    Over halfway - Well done! The lace is lovely already.

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  6. If you email the suffold vicar (Andrew Dotchin)
    he will add you to his email list, which must be impressive by now! Otherwise they are posted on his blog (Jean's given the link) or he's also on Twitter.
    I reckon I'm a goner too if this virus comes my way - I was going to say I'd cross that bridge when I came to it, but that's a bit close to the bone! I visit six schools per week teaching piano - first whisper of anything and I'm planning to sty well away. They can have their lessons by Skype (if I knew how it works!)
    I watched a 'cleverly' video where they put over-ripe banana and coffee grounds and eggs shells and water into a blender and put teaspoonfuls of the resulting horrible gloop to a dying daisy pot plant - a gerbera maybe? - if the video is to be believed it sprang back into life. Would your avocado enjoy some coffee grounds and banana gloop?

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