Hellooooo out there! How about a Section VII roll call?

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I'm following glennagirls suit today.  She's dealing with some family issues and will need your prayers and good wishes.

So much has been going on that has been affecting all our lives, whether it covid, mother nature running amok, political unrest, personal problems and so much more. It doesn't make for a lot of inspiration to write MFU right now, does it?

I know a few of us are experiencing stress and upset. All we can do is keep each other in mind and do a lot of praying.

I've been under lockdown since March (like many of you) with only quick forays out to the grocery store and pharmacy. The solitude isn't overwhelming, most of the time. Sometimes I have cabin fever; there's a few places I could go hang out but I find that unappealing. I think it's human companionship that I miss.  I miss going to the pub twice a month to play Irish trad music. We tried a Zoom session, but it just didn't work.

I'm dealing more health issues, or I should say greater issues. Many of you know I'm diabetic but you may not know that I have chronic kidney disease. It was decided it was time for me to see a nephrologist. So now lots more tests and bloodwork in the near future.  I'm buckling down on my diet as I haven't been as careful as I should.

My diet will now be quite minimalistic with so many foods that I absolutely have to avoid. Sigh.  I'll manage, but it's going to be a lot of work.

So now that I've filled you in a little bit on my trials and tribulations, how about you? What's going on with you? Good things, bad things?  Why not comment and let us know how you all are?

Comments

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

My spouse (larger half) and I have been in Covid lock down since March (but we hadn't really gone anywhere since January so it's really been since about then). We live in a semi rural area on the Washington coast (less than a mile from the beach). We are lucky in that we have to walk our retired racing greyhounds daily so we do get out in nature for about an hour each day. I have used the time to try and lose weight I gained due to some medication (21 lbs so far!). I have a twice rescheduled doctor appointment next month that I can hopefully keep (speech therapist due to problems from my brain surgery three years ago). I'm waiting for things to open up a bit in Oregon so I can finally reschedule an appointment for another tattoo (# 14). Reading fan fiction has been a wonderful diversion. All in all we are doing well (despite losing some friends due to the virus).

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear you lost some friends to this fiendish virus. We almost lost a cousin, but thank God she recovered.

Congratulations of the weight loss, not easy while under lockdown. Good luck with the appointments and the new tat! Stay well and safe! Good to hear from you.

[tinturtle]

Hi. I haven’t been very active on LJ until recently, and I have never written any MFU fic. I am here, too, though.

This year has been life-threateningly horrible for me healthwise. (I will leave it at that.) Reading MFU fanfic has done a lot to cheer me up, so my grateful thanks to all of you authors.

[hypatia-66.livejournal.com]

Life hasn't changed much since all this started, except that I have writer's block. I've hardly written anything in the last six months. However, fifteen years of retirement turned out to be quite good preparation for lockdown. I enjoyed lockdown because I could wander round York, this very attractive little medieval city, entirely alone, and in miraculously clean air. Now that everyone's back in their cars, the air is full of fumes again. Since lockdown was lifted, visitor numbers are increasing - not back to the 8 million a year, praise be! - because the streets are very narrow inside the city walls, people have given up even trying to keep their distance. It's bad enough to make a trip to the open market unpleasantly and dangerously crowded.

The worst thing, of course, is having to avoid desirable contact with others. That means lectures, concerts, opera, and theatre are out of bounds, and we can only visit friends if they have gardens - and then only in good weather. What's autumn and winter going to be like?

I stopped listening to the news some time ago because of Brexit. After ten years in power, our incompetent government of brexiteers is equally incompetent about Covid. As a natural pessimist, I tend to assume the worst and am relieved when it doesn't happen... This time, any the light at the end of the tunnel might well turn out to be the lights of an incoming train.

May I wish our American cousins a better future after November.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see you made a roll call for us. I'm spending most of my time trying to keep up with the changing conditions with my cousin and his wife. I spent the night at their house last night, keeping an eye on him as he is weak from the cancer. Hopefully the home health aide from the hospital will be coming sooner than later..
Now I'm off to the hospital to take some things to the patient, while the other patient is in the care of our CNA helper, a real God send for everyone.
Real Life makes peripheral issues very non-essential.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Well, better might be relative. It's either more terrorism from the socialist Antifa trouble makers if Trump wins, or an unacceptable agenda of events if he doesn't.
We seem to living out a version of Orwell's 1984.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Nothing like a dose of reality to put life in perspective. Lots of prayers being sent your way my friend!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

That was an eye opener!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Life was on the rebound while human beings just stopped doing what they do...fresher air, wild animals out and about more, even in the oceans. And then we start to muck it up all over again. Hopefully there's no incoming trains coming anyone's way around the world. Stay safe@

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I wish there was more fanfic for you to read. Sadly, many of us are experiencing writer's block. I'm sure being stuck at home and in a rut has a lot to do with it. Hope your health has improved! Hang in there and stay safe!

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to you on the weight loss! I keep finding it. :-(

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

I hope your health issues are improving! Sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

Lots of prayers coming your way from me too!

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

Is the walk open along the walls? I would be getting my walk there daily! :-)

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear your health isn't at its best right now; hoping you feel better soon!

[hypatia-66.livejournal.com]

Hi,

Sounds like you've been here? Yes the walls are open but it's only one way - clockwise I think. Not very convenient if you want to go the other way and the walkways are much too narrow for overtaking and keeping an appropriate distance, so I'm not including the walls among my various regular walks. York has huge areas of public open ground called strays (London ones are called 'commons'), round the outside of the walled city. Great for walks - flowers, grass, trees, cleaner air - and for keeping away from others.

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

I have had the pleasure of visiting York and absolutely loved it! We stayed in a holiday rental right outside the city gate and had lots of lovely walks. We went in 2011 to see the Mallard being pulled into York by the Harry Potter train. :-) That is the wettest I have ever been in my life!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! And thank you for keeping up the with ABC challenge. I plan on reading your story once I'm done with mine. It's been a struggle, but I'm determined to finish it.

[hypatia-66.livejournal.com]

That's very nice to hear. Glad you enjoyed your visit. Where was your holiday rental? The gates in the walls are called bars, by the way, and in fact we call the city walls the 'bar walls'. 'Gate' here means street because it comes from the city's Scandinavian past - it's what streets are called in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Hope you'll come again!

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Good luck with your writing!

The project has been fun, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eager to wrap it up and declare it finished! I definitely did have a few moments of "uhh.... what do I do now?" but managed to get past those, thankfully!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling the same way, eager to wrap it up...but I still have a way to go. I keep having those 'uhh' moments too!

I'm glad you joined in with the challenge. I think everyone is having writer's block. Let's face it, life has thrown us some pretty big curves in 2020 with more to come I'm sure. I find it hard to concentrate most of the time. It's been tough being on lockdown by myself. Watching more telly and DVD's than anything else. I've even tried re-engaging my artistic side after so many years and have tried my hand at drawing and soon, some pastel and painting work.

Looking at my old (and I mean OLD artwork, I am beginning to get a twinge of inspiration. Just a twinge, mind you!

Thanks for the luck!

[sidhe-uaine42.livejournal.com]

I'm getting nightly "cat scans" from The Trio, plus I have a special type of mammogram to look forward to (I might have another needle biopsy to look forward to due to "abnormal" lymph nodes in the right breast area) plus I'm looking forward to another visit with my cardiologist (they don't know why I'm showing signs of cardiac arrhythmia since there doesn't seem to be any other signs of a heart attack) and I'm waiting for a "go-ahead" for a blood draw to check my a1cs (I can't do the finger sticks because my blood coagulates too quickly to even get a strip ready for my daily checks.)

My podiatrist saw me last month and I have another appointment next month to deal with my d@mn feet, plus I'm going to have to get my d@mn throat checked along with get my ears cleaned (again!) Oh, and my weekly "check under the hood"/"bonnet" that I now do over the telephone...

I wish that my neighbors would wear their masks properly or not at all (they'll have their masks dangling off of one ear/covering just the mouth/hanging below the chin/etc.) I can understand if the person has survived a stroke or if the person is "hearing-impaired", but the particular people I'm kvetching about aren't.

I do my own shopping, but I miss prolonged human interactions with people I don't need to "talk down" to or deal with translating in my head to-from Russian, which I'm weak in (IK would have a blast chatting with several of my neighbors in his first language!) My university has limited the class sizes and aren't allowing any auditors or "visitors" into said classes due to the bloody coronavirus (they're also limiting all club activities due to the same.)

I need to change my university password (which means getting in contact with the people in charge of the computer labs on campus to do so [it's an annual "ritual" that's "required". *rolleyes*].)