With Easter just a couple weeks away, I have an idea for those of you that are putting together Easter baskets. At Christmas, my family on my mom’s side always does a funny gift exchange – last Christmas, our theme was things that were introduced the year you were born. That’s it’s own whole story since the family group ranges in age from pre-school to in the 90s! But I found fun toys launched the year I was born – and they might be a fun option for your Easter basket joy!
Have you seen these World’s Smallest Toys? They’re adorable – and they’re actually functional! Here’s a link to the store for them on Amazon, but I’ve seen them in all sorts of brick & mortar stores so they shouldn’t be too hard to find in time for Easter.
As of yesterday, there were 15 confirmed cases of measles in Chicago this year. In a city of more than 2.75 million people, that doesn’t seem like a lot – but measles are extremely contagious and spreads via airborne virus.
Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, it wasn’t uncommon for an epidemic of measles every 2-3 years – and measles killed an estimate 2.6 million people per year.
So what is measles? It’s a respiratory tract infection characterized by a high fever, cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes and a rash that spreads over the whole body. In addition, about 10% of people who contract measles will have ear infections and another 10% will suffer from diarrhea. So it’s not pleasant!
If you’re unvaccinated and contract measles, you have a 20% chance of needing to be hospitalized. Other complications can include pneumonia, encephalitis and even death.
In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. (defined as no disease transmission for more than 12 month) thanks to a highly effective vaccination program. However, in recent years the percentage of children receiving the vaccine has been dropping. for the 2022-23 school year, national coverage for the measles vaccine was at 93% – 2% lower than what is needed to achieve herd immunity. Theories on the drop all center around impact from the Covid pandemic and range from timing issues for wellness visits being disrupted to vaccine fatigue. Misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine is also contributing to the drop.
The good news? For those of us who have had the 2-dose measles vaccine, we should be covered for life. Children should receive their first dose of the vaccine when they are between 12 and 15 months old with the second dose administered when they are between 4-6 years old. Did you miss getting a vaccine as a child? Adults can also be vaccinated – see your healthcare provider for timing for the 2 shots.
Measles is a serious disease that at minimum could cause you a couple weeks of misery – or send you to the hospital with complications that aren’t great. So make sure you and your kids are covered as the disease is making a bit of a comeback! Want to learn more? Check out these links:
My family will tell you that they rarely see me without yarn in my lap. I’ve been crocheting since I was 7 years old and it’s definitely my favorite hobby. There’s something very soothing about the yarn flowing through my fingers – and unlike my profession, at the end of an hour, I have something physical to show for my work.
After the holidays, I saw a post on a neighborhood Facebook page asking if anybody was interested in forming a crochet club. We had a bit of a false start, but another lady and I have now started a group that is meeting the second Saturday of each month at our local library to crochet together. At our last count, there are 19 members of the group now at all ability levels. We’re still kind of figuring out what we want to do with our meet ups, but I’ve been focusing on teaching people who are new to crochet.
If you are really unfamiliar with crochet, it is done with a hook – not two straight needles. That would be knitting. Crochet has one open loop at any given time but knitting can have hundreds of open loops. Here’s a fun fact – unlike knitting, crochet cannot be duplicated by a machine. So if someone has made you a crochet item, it’s very special!
The great thing about crochet is that it is really easy to get started – you can do it for less than $10 because really all you need is a ball of yarn and a hook. I’d suggest starting with some cheap acrylic yarn in a 4 weight (the wrapper on the yarn will have a number on it – 4 is a mid-weight yarn) and a size H hook. Then it’s just a matter of learning basic stitches and practice so your tension is even.
The basic stitches (and their pattern abbreviations) are listed below in ascending order of the length of the stitch:
Chain (CH) – used as the foundation in most projects and to provide spaces or transitions in a piece.
Slip Stitch (Sl St) – think of this sort of like a slip knot that joins rounds. Slip stitches can also be used to help you move from one section of a piece to another without the need to cut the yarn as well as for a decorative effect.
Single Crochet (SC) – creates a dense fabric with no holes. Single crochet should probably be the first stitch you learn because all other stitches build on the mechanics of this stitch. It’s used for everything from stuffed animals to blankets to wearables.
Half Double Crochet (HDC) – creates a dense and sturdy fabric again with no holes.
Double Crochet (DC) – this stitch is less dense so the fabric created is much more pliable but because of the length of the stitch, there are “spaces” created between stitches.
Triple Crochet (TR) – this stitch is the longest of the basic stitches and is generally used for a really open, flowy fabric or for decorative effect.
Once you have all the basic stitches mastered, it’s just a matter of mixing them to create practically anything! Here are some resources to learn crochet – try it, it’s addictive!!!!
Given how slow my job search is going, I think it’s time to return to the real format for Learn or Do – so starting today, I’m going back to the original themed content by day and cutting back on the focus on job search. I feel like it has gotten repetitive – and that’s BORING! LOL!
So it’s apropos that today is Monday – it’s the first day of return to format which fulfills the Monday theme of firsts. So let’s remember as well, that the original purpose of this blog was to try to prompt my readers (and myself) to learn or do something new every day.
So here’s a fun first I bet you didn’t know – on March 18, 1662, the first public bus service started in Paris. The bus service was called Carosses a Cinq Sous and was meant to try to relieve traffic in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. Famous mathematician Blaise Pascal was one of the instigators for the service – who better than a mathematician to recognize the problems of traffic?
There were 5 routes for the carriages with a published schedule. The carriages were staffed by a driver and a footman and could carry up to 8 passengers. However, soldiers, pages, and other liveried men were barred from riding in the carriages “to assure the greater comfort and freedom of the bourgeois and meritous classes.” Remember, Europe of the 1600’s was very class stratified so as unfair as this might seem to us today, it was a fact of life then.
Want to know more about Carosses a Cinq Sous or Blaise Pascal? Check out these links!
Welcome to Wellness Wednesday! Today, I took my cats to the vet for annual shots. It’s important for them to stay healthy too right?
They’re getting rabies shots as well as the combination Vaccine FVRCP for feline distemper. What is feline distemper? Well, it’s very contagious and can be fatal so we don’t want it!
Symptoms of feline distemper can range from mild to severe and may include the following:
Lethargy.
Depression.
Vomiting.
Diarrhea.
Painful abdomen (when touched or may appear tense and distended without touching)
Dehydration.
Weight loss.
Rough or unkempt hair coat.
Want to know more about annual vaccines for cats? Check out these links:
The boys did really well – and on the way home, Gus got his first ever puppachino from Starbucks (and pretty much shut down the store with all the staff in the drive thru window looking at him!)
I submitted 3 quality applications yesterday and networked around 2 applications from last week. It’s still slow going but I’m nothing if not persistent. I read that a job search is as much a numbers game as anything these days. So my goal is to source at least 1 good job lead each day and network on at least 1 job. Those numbers seem low? Well, I assure you it can take a full morning to read the job boards, find appropriate job listings for what you want, edit your resume for the role, write a cover letter and then submit the application. Some days it’s exhilarating – some days, not so much.
I’m not whining about it. Really. I did one of those silly quizzes at New Years that “revealed” your key words for 2024. Mine were Patience, Purpose and Trust. I’m using this as sort of a mantra. I’m working on finding a new purpose for my life but it takes patience and trust to know it’s all going to work out OK.
So I’m feeling better physically after the flu and getting back to my household to-do list too. I finished patching a spot in the wall that I may have cracked with over exuberant vacuuming yesterday so today, the painting is going to actually begin. Wish me luck!
Once again, my computer is running updates. Wonder how long it will take today? At least I completed my certification for unemployment before I started them. I’m finally getting unemployment after nearly 2 months of trying to prove my identity to the State of Illinois.
Early in the Covid lockdown, I got a letter that I had applied for unemployment – needless to say, that was a fraudulent claim. I reported it and did all the paperwork saying it was fraud at the time. But that apparently didn’t matter. Now that I have an actual claim, I’ve had to jump through crazy hoops to prove I’m me. Back in January, when I was filing the claim, I couldn’t get into the online pages to put in my direct deposit information because of the identity issue. So I uploaded copies of my driver’s license, my Social Security card and a utility bill as they directed me. Then the “fun” started.
After a couple of weeks, I still hadn’t been cleared for direct deposit so as directed, I uploaded two more utility bills to prove my address. And then I was cleared for direct deposit. Except they didn’t approve me for payment.
So over the last couple of weeks, I have called multiple times, uploaded a copy of my passport and a third set of utility bills and filed an appeal to find out why my adjudicator denied my claim. And by the way, I never got any documentation from my adjudicator with a reason why my claim was being denied. Friday, I finally received a payment even though I still have nothing saying anything about the adjudication or my appeal – but it’s 1 week short of what it should be. UGH!!!!!!!!! So I guess the calls need to start again.
Here’s what I don’t understand – just how do people manage to get fraudulent payments?
After my week of not doing much on the job search in the wake of the flu, I have tons to do this week. I cannot tell you how the job listings piled up in my in-box – and I really have to read them if I don’t want to miss a good lead right?
My outplacement coach sent me a new version of my resume. And so did the Ladders. Resume rules are SO confusing. My outplacement coach’s writers completely contradict the resume review at the Ladders. And I bet if I sent my resume to LinkedIn, they’d have even more contradictions. If someone tells you they have the definitive template for a resume, tell them you have a bridge for them to buy first. From what I can tell, the best thing you can do is pick a template, make sure you use keywords from the job description and hope for the best.
I also need to follow up on the HR screener interview I had last week. They told me I’d hear about next steps by the end of last week. And I’m getting crickets… I would really LOVE the role too…
I dreamed about my job at Walgreens again last night. So frustrating to dream about work and wake to not working! I think we can safely say, this is a down day in the old job search so pardon me while I go give it my best to turn it around!
Learn Or Do 