Oracne's Brain Radio

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times by Lucy Lethbridge is the sort of nonfiction which intersperses selected summations and quotes from memoirs and diaries with the census and labor statistics, so it was more of an armchair journey than an academic slog. I thought I would be most interested in the Edwardian material but it turned out I was more fascinated by the slow decrease and eventual near-disappearance of servanting as a lifelong career and social class; I also was intrigued by specialized modern agencies that provide factotums and butlers to the very rich, or for special occasions. I want to read more about that; let me know if you have any recommendations. Someone should write a contemporary with a butler protagonist, perhaps falling in love with a bodyguard or a chef.

I seem to be doing more reading on my vacation that writing; I did not buckle down at all on Tuesday and Wednesday. Instead, those days involved a lot of Flight Rising and reading. However, I am catching up on household chores, and yesterday I went out and jogged. The other mornings I've gone out and walked. Our mornings are currently cold (thirty Farenheit this morning) but the trees are blooming and look beautiful as they exhale pollen everywhere. Zyrtec is my friend; I dislike the dry, stuffy feeling it causes in my nose and sinuses, but my other choice is my nose running like a faucet for the duration.

The front wall work proceeded yesterday, and today the front stairs are being demolished in preparation for the new stairs. I look forward to not having that one step that is much higher than the others, always requiring a Hup! from me when I'm carrying heavy groceries.

I received some gift cards for my birthday, and I've spent some of the bounty on Shakespeare DVDs: Macbeth with Christopher Eccleston, and the second "Hollow Crown" set with both Henry VI plays and Richard III. I barely spend any time watching my vast collection of DVDs, which annoys me a bit. Mainly what annoys me is how much money I spent in the past on things I don't watch any more, which I can't do anything about, so, onwards, time to watch more. I've never seen Henry VI, so that will be fun! And I'm in the mood for Shakespeare after reading the Judi Dench book.

Wow, I haven't posted in days. I used most of my energy for the dayjob this week, but saved some for pre-breakfast jog/walk on Monday and Thursday; I'm up to nine blocks of jog, five blocks of walk. This morning, though, I really didn't want to get up when I first woke, so I dozed until almost eight before dragging myself out and going to exercise; I wasn't feeling it, but I did it anyway, in the hope things would improve. Except I felt really slow and heavy, stopping to breathe a couple times, and after five blocks, I realized maybe I needed to eat because I sure didn't think I could continue in any useful way.

I went home and ate breakfast, then digested a little, then went out again and finished my route, still feeling a bit heavy and slow, but of course now my stomach was full. I didn't have that feeling of "not sure I can do this" after I ate.

I'm not sure what was up, unless sleeping longer meant my blood sugar was lower than usual. I hope I'm not getting sick. I don't feel any other signs of illness. Next Saturday, maybe I'll leave my alarm on so it's the same time as usual. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal on Monday. I'll be interested to see if my next A1C, in a month or so, is the same or not. If it continues, I'll have a snack before jogging.

On the good side, I think my leg strength is increasing; I was having soreness in the little muscles at the top of my thighs relating to balance, and that seems to have abated. I tend to feel a little distance from my legs after a while, which I used to get on the treadmill as well; I think it's my equivalent of runner's high, unless I'm just numb from whacking all my weight onto my small feet. The cushiony shoes I wear help a lot.

It was just barely above freezing earlier this week, which meant I pulled out my new wool neck gaiter to breathe through, and wore two layers on top to jog, and a cap. Given my exercise is currently less than half an hour, I stayed warm enough but everything felt more difficult until I started to get warmer. I'll be experimenting with various degrees of clothing as the degrees of temperature drop. I have a fleece vest that will be useful, and need to dig out an old pair of gloves I have that are meant for outdoor exercise. I've assembled light layers and already bought a base layer suitable for exercise a few months back. I am not going to attempt snow or ice, though. Too much chance of falling and breaking something.

Last night, I dreamt I was running, but the dream running was fast and effortless; in the dream, I thought "wow, I'm almost to the bridge and I ran the whole way!" In the dream, there was a cool bridge with great views, and I was going to take a breather and a photo there.

( I also had a grief dream. )

I had lunch with friends on both of my office days this week. First was a long-time friend who also works for the same School as I now do. Second was my former colleague and trainee, who I talked into applying for a job with my new department, which would be a considerable salary increase for her. I think she'd be good at this job, though of course it isn't up to me. As I pointed out, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I am trying to stay in touch with the people I liked from my old job, and forge new relationships with them. I am still friends with a couple of people from my first job at the university. This morning, I texted someone who joined my team shortly before I left, whom I liked a lot; we both live in the same neighborhood and are going to try and meet up and see how it goes.

Other things I did this week: I made a to do list; I have to get back to the lawyer about my will. I read and wrote up my November TBR Challenge book, to post in my pro blog. I made apple crisp. I moved the bathroom windowsill plants into my bedroom because we turned on the heat and there's a radiator under that windowsill. The foundation work under our front room is started, and we're paying the down payment (I have just enough for my share; unless something unexpected happens, it won't be as expensive as we originally feared).

Runners: how often do you replace your shoes? Do you go by time or distance? Since I'm only putting about a mile and half on mine three times a week, I don't expect to wear them out quickly, but are there warning signs that mean it's time to get new ones?

My previous pair of Brooks Glycerines, I wore until the bottom layer of the sole wore off and they were too slick to walk in. This pair, I did wear for walking around in cities a few times, but mostly saved them for the gym, so they are in pretty good shape despite being elderly as running shoes go.

I had the second of two Prevnar pneumonia vaccines yesterday around noon. On my walk home (warm, humid, sunny) I stopped to get half-and-half for coffee and belatedly decided I wanted my favorite lime popsicles. This was a good choice. I was already feeling the shot a little by the time I got home, so I ate a popsicle and a couple protein balls and drank water. I checked my temperature a bit after that and was running a low-grade fever. I had a popsicle. By three pm I was woozy enough to go and lie down. It took me a while to fall asleep, but when I awoke it was seven pm, and I only woke up because my new phone chimed a calendar alert. Dazedly, I turned off still more notifications because Do Not Want.

I drank down an entire glass of water, ate chicken and bok choy, steamed together in the microwave, then more water and another popsicle. We watched a little bit more of The Great Kenyan Bakeoff; I agree with C. that after seeing this one and the South African one, based on the personalities alone, I would prefer to visit Kenya.

My arm is still a little sore this morning, but I feel okay and was able to get my laundry done. I will likely watch some panels from the Nebulas this afternoon; I really only need to watch the couple relating to Romance (because of the Steering Committee), so we'll see how I feel about sitting in front of a monitor longer than that.

In my quest to lower my ratio of carbohydrates to protein and fat, for blood sugar control, I revisited the Peanut Butter Balls I used to make with my mom (and later with niblings). Because I won't be able to give up sweets sustainably.

In my family recipe, we would thoroughly mix (sweetened) peanut butter, honey, and dried powdered milk together in a bowl, roll the mixture into little balls, and chill them in a buttered (it would have been margarined, then!) glass Corning Ware pie dish in the fridge. I don't recall us ever using measurements, just eyeballing. I went googling and found various similar recipes.

I ended up pulling elements from both memory and the internet.

3/4 cup peanut butter (plain old Peter Pan creamy, not natural, because that's what I had open)
1/2 cup dried powdered milk
1/4 cup honey (the last of the buckwheat, plus some clover)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
a pinch of salt

I then rolled the balls in whole raw flax seeds before chilling, which was a little messy...I think I can just incorporate flax or sesame or chia or whatever directly into the mix without making it too dry, and won't be dripping flax seeds as much. The balls felt softer than I remember. I think I could add more dry ingredients, no problem.

Things I want to try:
--adding sesame seeds or roasted salted peanuts
--freezing the balls (not sure how that would affect some of the add-ins, but I know peanut butter/milk/honey works)
--substituting date syrup or tart pomegranate molasses for honey, a different taste profile
--using peanut butter with no sugar added, and adding cayenne and/or salt
--adding Grape Nuts cereal, because the only thing crunchier than Grape Nuts, is rocks! (TM me)
--adding Nutella or similar, though that would up the sugar content - I saw recipes adding chocolate chips, but I feel like those would be hard lumps and now what I want.

If you try this, I would love to hear about your experimentation!

Much quotidiana follows!

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Also this morning, a friend was working on her exercise schedule and texted me about it, so I've now added three short walks onto my morning schedule, starting Monday - not sure if we will talk on the phone while doing so, or just do mutual texting accountability, as we are in different states. Monday and Tuesday I work from home for sure, so these walks will replace me working on a puzzle during the time I would otherwise spend walking to the office. I'll try leaving earlier for work on Friday, then add a little extra walking so I don't get to the office too early.

She mentioned Iyengar and Yin yoga to me: anybody have any recs for examples of those, that I could maybe find on YouTube?

Influenza 1918: The Worst Pandemic in American History by Lynette Iezzoni is copyright 1999, which is its most salient point so far as my reading went. (I have a couple of much more recent books on this topic in the To Be Read pile.) So, Worst Pandemic Ever? Anyway! This book was written as a companion to "Influenza 1918," a PBS tv documentary broadcast as part of The American Experience series. It focuses, as you might imagine, on the United States. There were some first person accounts, mostly from people who were children in 1918, and reference to Katherine Anne Porter's story "Pale Horse, Pale Rider." Philadelphia had a chapter pretty much to itself, given the carnage there likely following on the several huge Liberty Loan parades/rallies in late September. The author does a good job of explaining why and how doctors and scientists had little recourse: viruses had not yet been discovered, and everyone thought influenza was caused by a bacterium, which meant all the varying attempts at vaccines were futile. Masking happened, but masks were made of surgical gauze, which cannot stop viruses. And of course the United States had recently entered World War One, and though thousands upon thousands of soldiers were dying in Army camps, jam-packed troopships to Europe did not stop because the need for soldiers was considered a higher priority.

What I noticed again and again were the parallels between reactions to the Influenza pandemic then and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic now. People complained bitterly about mask mandates; some schools closed, others didn't; people tried all types of folk remedies to try and prevent transmission and death; bodies piled up and there was a shortage of coffins. In the final chapter, the author summarizes how viral transmission was identified, advances in Flu vaccines, and how viruses shift and drift. "The question is not if another deadly shift will occur, but when," (p. 214); she doesn't mention coronaviruses, but does describe how interactions between humans and animals constantly contribute to new viral mutations, just as we're are currently experiencing firsthand. So, it's not the most up-to-date book on the topic, but I definitely feel it has lessons to impart.

As a final note, there was one incorrect fact which really annoyed me: "...Philadelphia City Hall, although capped with a statue of the city's venerable architect, Benjamin Franklin...," (page 133). No. The statue at the very top of City Hall is William Penn, please and thank you.

I get to leave dayjob in less than an hour for the joy of getting my flu shot! I also want to ask the pharmacist about the bivalent covid vaccines, and how to schedule them.

Then I'm heading home; I plan to attend a Zoom memorial for my college professor who passed away recently.

I have not yet seen this week's episode of She-Hulk, plus Thor: Love and Thunder is now available to stream, and then after that, the "Assembled" documentary for same. So there will be television happening.

Saturday afternoon is the monthly meeting of the Romance Steering Committee; it only lasts an hour, though.

I need to start reading my TBR Challenge book.

Hopefully, I won't be too sore from the flu shot. I usually tolerate it pretty well.

1. The temperature was only in the mid-seventies Farenheit this morning, but the humidity was above sixty percent, so it was like breathing through a wet towel. At least it wasn't one of those "open your pores" hot towels. I wore a loose dress with bike shorts underneath and a gym bra that I hoped would dry quicker than a regular one, but hasn't really, sigh. For the office chill, which I will start feeling eventually, I brought along a scarf in addition to the cardigan I leave in my desk cabinet. There's a moderate chance of rain right when I'll be walking home.

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Over twenty-four hours after the second Moderna booster, I ended up feeling a little achy yesterday evening, which a standard dose of anti-inflammatory took care of. Taking the day off from work was a good choice.

I had napped all Friday afternoon, so am not sure when the aches started. In the evening, C. and I watched the first two episodes of "Moon Knight," which she hadn't yet seen, and then "The Eternals," which she hadn't seen, either. I was awake a little longer than usual, probably because of my long nap.

I woke up feeling fine this morning and proceeded to haul laundry downstairs and start making banana bread, at which point I realized my hands were shaky and I'd probably overdone it. But those two tasks were in progress, so I finished them and then settled down to sitting in the living room and reading fanfiction for the rest of the day. The shakiness went away after I ate more and sat down; I guess I was just on my feet for too long while my immune system was doing its thing. I can fold and put away my laundry tomorrow.

I'm planning to try and go to bed early. I slept more than usual with all four shots, so it's not a surprising side effect.

I'm getting another covid vaccine booster this afternoon, on my lunch hour; I don't know if it will be a major help to my immune system or a minor one, but I won't find that out if I don't do it.

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