Landing on My Feet

 I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. It seems like so much has happened.  

One of the biggest was the COVID-19 pandemic.  It wasn't that long after I moved the pandemic hit New York State hard. We had to quarantine at home and wear masks when outside. Many businesses had to close. Aisles in grocery stores were one-way. We had to stay six feet away from everyone.  My habit of shopping in the evening turned out to be a good safe guard.

Pandemic quarantine and PTSD was not a good combination.  I found out my primary care physician dropped me with no notice.  It was very difficult finding a new physician when practices were not accepting new patients. Doctor's visits by video and phone became vital and I took advantage of that until I could find a physician. I got counseling over the phone. I developed pandemic-related insomnia.  

YouTube became very interesting during the pandemic.  Bondi Vet from Australia posted a new, long episode every week highlighting cases their vets handled.  It introduced handsome vet Chris Brown and the reptile park.  The Prehistory Guys began their series on Britain before the Romans invaded.  I found Morgan Gold's Gold Shaw Farm, about a man forsaking the business world to start a farm in Vermont. I discovered Britain's gardening series Ground Force and Love Your Garden.  I bet you didn't know gardening shows could be funny. It almost matched the excitement of watching each Time Team episode for the first time.

Living in the 2020 apartment, I discovered that I was allergic to the chemical used to soften the water at the apartment complex. I had never lived with softened water. My one experience was that it didn't taste good.  Living with it gave me terrible indigestion, poor digestion and made me feel like a balloon ready to burst. It made my eyes swell and gave me double vision. I had to buy six gallons of water a week to prepare food, drink, and give the cats water.  It was just as well my lease wasn't renewed.  

In one year, the rental scene had changed quite a lot.  The monthly rent was at least 100 dollars more a month.  Companies were still buying up buildings and raising rents.  They wanted first and last months rent, security deposit and they wanted the rent only to be 30 percent of the tenant's salary.  I don't think I even know people who had that kind of salary. The choices I had were abysmal. One was in a building a stone's throw from the railroad track, and it was a busy route.  It was also along the river. As a believer in Global Warming, I didn't think that was a safe choice, let alone noisy. Two others were small basement apartments, one in downtown Albany, the other a few blocks away where later there were be some shootings. I do not like city life to begin with.

Fortunately I was working from home and could move anywhere in the country.  Realistically I could only look within easy commute from where I was living.  The closest areas were already hit with climbing rents so it still wasn't a sure thing.  One evening I saw an apartment advertised on Facebook and knew I had to be the first one to see it.  It was in Gloversville, about an hour's drive away.  I had never been there but knew of the place.  I drove up the main street. There were handsome brick and stone commercial buildings downtown.  It was a small downtown that had definitely had seen better days and there were empty storefronts.  It looked as though the city was trying and making some progress.  There were a lot of Victorian houses.  

I was looking for a Victorian house in an area that was just on the edge of a commercial area.  Most of the commerce were service industries now.  I was the first one to be shown the apartment. It was a first floor apartment with tall windows that made it light.  It had a front and back porch on the side.  The neighbor had a garden that I could see from the living room and knew my cats would love watching it. I could have my cats with no extra fees. The windows, the furnace, the heating system,  the appliances and the bathroom were all new.  It turned out later the walls had been insulated too.  There was a living room, dining room, a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a large closet in the living room and one behind the kitchen. There was yard all around the house, especially in the back.  There were two driveways and a garage in back. I could walk to the laundry mat and to the supermarket.  It was also easy to walk to the pharmacy, post office, and businesses downtown. There was a daily bus system that went to the community college and to Amsterdam. I knew my car wasn't going to last much longer.  There was no reason so say no, so I didn't. That was over two years ago now.  The COVID-1 relief payments definitely helped pay for the move.

Gloversville is like the village I lived in, if it had gotten a little bigger. The majority of the houses are Victorian. I've never seen a place with so many porches.  There's usually green space around the buildings, if not generous yards.  Mine is just big enough. I feel comfortable here.  The people are friendlier here, too.  There is one odd thing.  Usually, when I am walking anywhere and I'm at a corner waiting to cross, people will stop and motion for me to cross, no matter what color the light.  I always wait on the sidewalk, never in the crosswalk. 

I obtained all the COVID-19 vaccines. The first shot made me sore and fatigued.  The second shot made me feel inebriated.  I didn't have a reaction to the booster.  I never developed COVID, but in the spring of 2022 I developed shingles on the left side of my head.  I had to be different. I had a mild case, but the pain in my ear was incredible, as was the fatigue.  The medicine worked. I had residual pain but didn't want to take any analgesic that made me tired. I researched and made up an immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory tea that not only eliminated the pain, but helped my allergies and my digestion was well.  It tasted good, too. This year I discovered it's also leveling out my cholesterol levels.  

I tried getting the shingles vaccine after the fact as a friend's doctor told her to do.  I had an allergic reaction to it.  The area got very red and swollen.  I discovered the vaccine used the same chemical that was used to soften the water in Niskayuna.  What were the chances? My tea is safer.