Well I’ve stumbled across a few Latin phrases after 43 years in the legal biz, a few which I’ve committed to memory, but it doesn’t really impress folks much when you throw around res ipsa loquitur or ipso facto … so I keep them in my back pocket just in case I want to appear extra smart. Trust me, there are a lot of trite things that fill my brain and take up valuable real estate there; no wonder I forget what I went downstairs for sometimes.
Lots of Latin phrases roll off our tongue in everyday conversation like per se or a few of my favorites are carpe diem (seize the day) and caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). We could fill this post with common Latin phrases ad infinitum (forever) but for today the topic is “tempus fugit” (time flies).
This post was borne out of my original intent to write about this fellow, a/k/a “Joe”:
It is a story that took on legs after I went from discussing the restoration of Joe the Monkey to delving into the past wherein I began some serious time traveling.
Before I sat down to write this post, I was thinking about just how many vintage items, besides Joe, are in this house (not counting me of course).
While the clock with the words Tempus Fugit is not that old – I bought it for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary in 1978 – the time pieces, a wristwatch and pendant watch, belonged to my mom and they were gifts from my father, likely during their courtship – they would have been married 70 years on June 11th.
The prayer book and prayer cards are the most-vintage items of the mementos I have. The prayer book has held up well, with the only damage being that the outer layer of the book’s spine is missing.
Mom made her communion, some 90 years ago and is pictured here by herself and with my grandparents on that day.
Moms Don’t Tolerate Monkey Business!
(At least my mom didn’t.) Though I have often sung the praises of my late mother throughout the pendency of this blog, while growing up, it was Mom who wore the disciplinarian pants in the household. During my formative years I was “Daddy’s Little Princess” and in his eyes I could do no wrong, BUT Mom kept a close rein on what I could and couldn’t do. Oh yes, I had a few spankings from Mom’s hand in my day when I pushed my luck a wee bit too far with her, but, since I was an only child and raised so strictly, believe me, those instances were few and far between.
In the past, I’ve written about the “Momisms” that were dispensed. There were always words to the wise, plenty of advice and the inevitable “I told you so” which lasted well into adulthood. I’m sure you got the same lines about “monkey see – monkey do” or “if everyone else jumps off a bridge, do you have to follow?” Yes, Mom was always dispensing a ton of advice and I knew to toe the line, because if I went down any other path, I’d hear about it, or feel it on my bum.
So why is today’s post mostly about “monkeying around” anyway?
After I published my Christmastime post about my favorite childhood doll “Tilda Jane” (click here for that post in case you missed it), there were a lot of fun comments from fellow bloggers and readers alike. I no longer have any of my own dolls, nor Mom’s dolls, although through the years she often told me she wished she had saved her Shirley Temple for me.
There is, however, an honorable mention, an asterisk regarding one vintage toy. “Joe” is a felt monkey Mom hand crafted when she was a patient at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. Mom spent four long years at that hospital, as well as Thistletown, a branch of the HSC which was a long-term care facility for kids.
She was only 11 years old when she was struck down by a car on July 11, 1937. She would have 42 operations in her lifetime, all orthopedic but one … the C-section which was me.
Mom was very ill the first year and in a body cast. She was in a ward with other sick children, some who had polio. To occupy their minds, those young patients had arts and crafts, like leatherwork and constructing animals from felt, like this bendable felt monkey which Mom named Joe.
Joe sat in a corner atop the loveseat … that is, before my collection of teddy bears began encroaching into more rooms. One day, I noticed Joe was missing from his usual spot. When I asked Mom where he was, her answer was “I put Joe away in a drawer until you move some of those bears around.” Then she added “one day when you’re at the craft store, buy some brown felt and wire … that monkey is missing a tail.”
I used to sew all my own clothes back in the 70s before tall clothing was available, plus I dabbled in lots of crafts in my day, so I knew I had felt on hand and meekly responded with “okay” but I never got this simple task accomplished.
It was actually Mom who started me on the teddy bear collection when we were at the mall and she bought me a cute bear in the early 80s. As a youngster I was allergic to stuffed animals, so I grew up with zero plush toys. Mom would later rue the day she bought that teddy bear, as 51 would follow until I called it quits as to stuffed bruins. Some bears I bought, but most were gifts. Mom said “thank goodness” to ending the teddy bear collection, then turned around and purchased a cute monkey while we were at the Hallmark card store a few months later.
She suggested I name it “Linda” – well Mom was full of monkeyshines sometimes, but then she sarcastically added “you’ll find a place for YOUR monkey; meanwhile MY monkey is in the drawer, awaiting a tail.” Well that comment stung just a bit.
The tail must be fixed, or the tale cannot be told.
Flash forward to that December 19, 2022 post and in the Comments section, I committed myself to restoring Joe to his former self and in doing so I knew I would create a Mother’s Day post as well. I had about five months to whip Mom’s monkey into shape – no worries!
After the flurry of comments, that very same evening, I retrieved Joe from the drawer where he’d been tucked away a few decades, then studied him anew. Admittedly, the years had not been kind to him. Although ol’ Joe had no wrinkles to show his old age, where his legs bent, the fabric had begun to pull apart. Hmm – was that even fixable?
Then, I turned him over – sigh. How would I fix the tail dilemma?
For a split second, I toyed with the idea of finding a similar-sized monkey and swapping tails à la Tilda Jane’s head-swapping adventure. Heck, Amazon has about everything you desire, right? So, I perused Amazon for possible “fixer-uppers for a tired and worn monkey” but came away with no magic monkey fixes, (unless I wanted to dress up like a monkey – um, no thanks). So I ordered brown pipe cleaners and a dark brown waterproof magic marker and those fixin’s have been in the closet in the Amazon bag until Mother’s Day grew near.
Sewing was a passion for me once upon a time.
When I was a little girl, Mom borrowed my grandmother’s Singer treadle sewing machine and made a few dresses for me and my dolls, notably Tilda Jane. I remember a black/gray and white dress with a bright red sash was “our” favorite. We even had matching fuzzy pink cardigans with pearl buttons Mom knit for us. Since I expressed an interest in sewing, I got a children’s sewing machine for Christmas. It was beige, made by Singer and sewed like a regular sewing machine but used no bobbin, so seams could not tolerate too much strain or they would burst.
I would like to imagine I looked like this little girl from a vintage card site (Vintage Greeting Card Art on Facebook).
When I suddenly shot up to 5’9” tall in the early 70s, sewing my own clothes became a necessity, or else I would look like I wore my younger sister’s duds. I got a regular sewing machine in a console and matching chair in the early 70s and sewed for many years thereafter. I was not good at hand sewing, however, so Mom would baste in sleeves and zippers for me and, as each project was completed, she’d hem it and sew on the buttons. She often said “I hope you don’t take credit for sewing this from start to finish when I do all the hand sewing.”
Here was one of my creations, circa 1975, with me standing with my short parents and even shorter grandmother.
The weather was so-so, so sew-sew I did to get ‘er done.
We’ve had a few rainy weekends, so, amid a little fanfare, it was time to get the photos done for this post.
First, I grabbed my old sewing basket and got everything together for my project.
Here is Joe before. You can see the wear marks where his legs were bent. It appears his “innards” were some type of shredded flannel.
I decided to document the repair.
The easiest fix would be twisting eight brown craft pipe cleaners together and attaching them to Joe.
I wasn’t crazy about that look so decided to use them INSIDE the felt, chastising myself by saying “Linda, if you’re going to do this, you’ll do it right!”
(Hmm – talk about vintage … that red tomato pin cushion I got for 8th grade Home Ec class, circa 1968.)
After a few (okay seven) unsuccessful attempts to thread the sewing needle, I was sure Mom was looking down and laughing. Flashing back I could picture her sitting at the kitchen table ready for a hand-sewing session, saying “Linda why don’t you make yourself useful and thread this needle for me – your eyes are younger than mine.” Well, I tried to thread that needle’s eye with my glasses off, then on. In the process I bent the needle threader … finally, success and you can bet I used the longest piece of thread so I didn’t have to repeat that exercise again!
Finally the tail was done and sewn on – no, I didn’t just use a safety pin. Ol’ Joe was ready for the final touches.
I uncapped the magic marker – it smelled so badly I was sure I’d keel over from the fumes before I finished the touch-ups, but when they were done, he looked great. If only I could be revitalized so easily!
I estimate Joe to be at least 85 years old. I don’t know exactly when Mom crafted him, but I suspect around age 12-13. I posed Joe with Linda for this post.
Finally I returned Joe to his rightful spot, after about 30+ years of hibernation. I hope Mom is looking down and Joe passes muster.
Happy Mother’s Day to you if it applies!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a charming story about good old Joe! Fifty one bears……and how many eagles? Can’t have a picnic without a eagle!
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Yes, I hope I did Old Joe proud and restored him to the condition he was in 85 years ago. I was happy to do this. I’m going to write about my bears … I say that every year that I’ll do a special post at Christmas time and show the pics of the collection plus I have a ceramic Christmas tree of bears and a tapestry jacket with bears all over it (it matches the tree). Nope, no eagles unfortunately.
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85 eh,……..Joey boy is getting up there. No wonder he lost his tail!
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I was curious where it went – you’d have thought that my mom would have said why it was missing. Did someone grab him by the tail and swing him around?
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that kind of “injury” is from a dog swinging It but you never had a dog. Maybe your parrot?
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No, no dog and the birds never came out of their cage – I wish I’d asked my mom what happened?
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You did a wonderful restoration of Joe. I’m sure your mom would be proud. I also had a favorite toy monkey when I was a kid. He’s long gone, though.
I’m thinking about my mom on Mother’s Day too. And my kids. Bill and I are in South Africa (waiting to board an airplane). It will be the first Mother’s Day since I became a mother that I won’t see ANY of my kids!
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Thank you Laurie – I knew after the Tilda Jane post back at Christmastime, this would be a fun follow-up post to do for Mother’s Day. You and Bill are world travelers – I’ve lost count of how many destinations you’ve visited after Bill retired and I’m envious about all of them. I know you always get together with some of your kids/grandchildren … you’ll have to combine Mother’s Day and Father’s Day instead! Safe travels to you!
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“Happy Mother’s. Day to You! 👧
Really interested & Inspired this story write you. Iam soure your mother would be proud. Very nice story title “Tempus Fugit”!
So you good look pic with parents & grandmother. Wonderful you sharing all memories. Nice collection of teddy bear… Beautiful all Black & white photography. Beautiful the time pieces, a gold wristwatch and pendant watch, belonged to gift . Nice prayer book & prayer cards are the most vintage item of the mementos. Be you sew red tomato, your’s dress.
Very nice you sharing your’s mother’s knowledge & experience, I like it’s, Linda!
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Glad you liked this post Raj. I like stepping back in time every so often, especially at a holiday, to share some memories. It helps that I have all the family photo albums and my mom kept scrapbooks from when I was a child, so I always have pictures or objects to add to my posts. The watches actually work, but the wristwatch was running slow. I thought about having it repaired but the numbers are so tiny, I have to bring the watch up close to my face to read it. 🙂
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Really i like much it’s post. You shareing your mother’s memories that’s you remember my mother.
Thanks Lind❤️
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I have really enjoyed reading this.
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Thank you Anne. I am like you in a way, as every so often, between all of our nature posts, we both sneak in something out of the ordinary.
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you did do it right he looks great Linda.
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Thank you Andy – I was hoping Old Joe looked good enough for a close-up!
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very nice
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You did it! Joe has been restored! I’m so proud of you. I enjoyed all the words and photos. Great job!
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Thank you Anne! It was fun putting this post together, just like the Tilda Jane post. I originally only intended to write about Joe, then the idea to include more vintage items seemed like a good addition. I have a leather wallet my mom made and also some egg covers that are felt chicken heads that keep your boiled egg(s) hot. They are cute and at large right now, or I would have included them in this post. Finally, Joe has his tail restored and is in his rightful place once again
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Restoration is therapeutic.
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I know many Latin phrases thanks to being an English Lit major. Yours made me smile. Tilda Jane was your doll’s name? I had Elizabeth Jane. Your mother’s story is one of determination and dealing with a lot of pain. You did Joe a good turn by putting him together again. I’m sure he appreciates it.
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Thanks Ally! I had Lit courses too, but never learned any Latin. I studied French for years, starting as a child in Canada where it was mandatory, then no French in high school due to millage issues, but took French all through college, but do not speak/write it now. We even had a class where we communicated only in French. I would love to take a refresher class or learn with Babbel. We both had unique names for our dolls. Mine I learned was from a children’s book, authored by a Canadian woman, a contemporary of L.M. Montgomery who wrote the “Anne of Green Gables” series. My mom had a tough life … there are many things I wish I could have done to make it better for her, including the wish that I had put Joe back together again when she asked the *first* time.
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If you try Babbel I’ll be interested in your experience. I tried to relearn Spanish which is what I took in high school and college, but used Duolingo. Maybe I wasn’t in the right head space, but it didn’t spark my love of languages again.
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I have heard of Duolingo. Babbel has a free offer right now, but I didn’t want to commit (despite their ad saying you just spend 15 minutes a day to learn a new language … I don’t see that happening in 15 minutes especially if you’ve never studied that language before – learning the vocabulary is one thing, but learning the genders of words is another.) Laurie (Meditations in Motion) was studying Portuguese and I believe she used Babbel. She and Bill were going to Portugal after enjoying that Camino Real Walk in Spain in 2018 or 2019, then COVID hit, so they didn’t travel for awhile and I don’t think she resumed the lessons.
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So wonderful that you still had the monkey your mom made all those years ago. Loved hearing the story of this and of the repairs, plus all the photos. 🙂
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Thank you ghostmmnc! I am glad that you enjoyed this “tale of a tail” – it was only fitting I put Joe back together again, after my mom restored my favorite doll back Tilda Jane back to “near normal” by swapping heads with another doll since I unfortunately held Tilda Jane by her feet and repeatedly scraped her head on the ground. I am blessed to be the keeper of all the family albums, even all the old photos kept by my grandparents, by virtue of being an only child. The best thing I ever did was digitize those old photos to use in my blog.
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Excellent! At least you do have all the photos and things. I have lots of my parents, and grandparents things, plus all the old photos, too. 🙂
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It is great – I have used a lot of their pictures, plus pictures of mementos in my blog. We are lucky to have such treasures.
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I enjoyed reading about the “tale” of Joe. So glad he is repaired and back in his rightful spot to enjoy for years to come.
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Thank you Rebecca! This was a fun post to write to follow-up on my Christmastime Tilda Jane post. Once his ink was dry and the magic marker fumes were all gone, Joe was finally returned to his rightful spot again!
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What wonderful stories and memories! I love the two monkeys, glad you fixed Joe. I had a bear collection too but have gotten rid of a lot of them and now I also have monkeys lol. We seem to have a lot in common including that red pin cushion!
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Glad you enjoyed another trip down memory lane Susan. My monkey is very soft and the hair is kind of punk looking because it was from the Ty brand “Punkie” collection and its name was “Zig Zag” – I personally like “Linda” better than “Zig Zag”. 🙂 We do have a lot in common and the first time I saw Trum I thought of these two monkeys. I think they still sell the red tomato pin cushions … wouldn’t you like to be the inventor of this? That person is probably a millionaire (if not billionaire) by now!
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Great job on Joe! You are/were quite a bit taller than anyone in your family! That picture highlights that! Nice outfit!
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Thank you Kate! I could have asked you how to tackle fixing him up as you are a seamstress – I remember all the window treatments you showed us in past posts. I am no whiz at hand sewing, believe me, so I was happy to have my mom do those tedious parts of making your own clothes. That was one of my favorite outfits – it was actually a heavy polyester material, an almost bumpy feeling. My father said his mother was tall, so that’s where I get my height. My father was 5′ 3″ and my mother 5′ 2″ and my grandmother even shorter than Mom. I usually had my head cut off in most pictures!
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What a wonderful story about you and your mom and Joe. It was fun to read and brought up some memories of my own childhood. My stuffy collection was not as focused as your’s and they all belonged in my room. Mom had some of her own but it was really later in life before we both started collecting Boyd’s, both stuffies and figurines. She had more bears but loved my mooses enough to start collecting some of them. I still have more cows than I should considering how many I sold. But none so unique as Joe. I think your repairs worked very well and do honor to your mom’s work.
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Thank you Zazzy – I am both happy you liked this story and that it brought back some nice memories for you. I love Boyd’s Bears and only had the smaller stuffed bears, a few of the resin bears (some fun pieces like Ms Griz, a secretary who thought she was the boss and Ms. Griz one who stands on the scales in her bathrobe and the bathroom scale reads “Oh no!”). I have a Fourth of July pin – Boyd’s was making resin pins for a while. I have no idea why Boyd’s stopped making stuffed and resin critters – I thought they were so cute. The moose and cows sound cute – I didn’t see those as I only focused on the bears. I was really all about bears once I started collecting them. My mom bought me a Boyd’s bear ceramic Christmas tree one Christmas – the bears are climbing all over the tree with a bear angel on the top and then a tapestry jacket was another Christmas present which has the same Christmas bear tree only on a jacket. I want to do a post about my bear collection – maybe this year. I keep putting it off as I never put up Christmas decorations anymore. I am glad I put Joe back together again and I did shove the bears aside a bit to give him his place of honor again. P.S. I am not the world’s best housekeeper and dusting all those bears is a real bear!
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You’re such a great storyteller, Linda, what a wonderful post! The old photos and treasures are fun to see. Congratulations on Joe’s revival. You did a great job, I’m sure your mom is smiling and I bet grinning extra because you cleverly used a magic marker too! And, I’ll let you in on a little secret, every time a mom says a comment to their offspring that stings, trust me, the sting hurts even more to the mom that said it. 🤗😉
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Glad you liked this story about Joe’s revival Shelley! It began as a short “Ode to Joe” and kind of evolved into a story about vintage things – it was fun to do this post and even to repair Joe, though I hand-sew like I cook and keep house … believe me, there is lots of room for improvement! 🙂 Well, that is good to know about how moms’ comments sting them as well, because I can still hear the disappointment in my mom’s voice … I do wish I’d made Joe whole again a few decades before I did.
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The story as you told it was meant to be. It also gave you something to challenge your skills, that’s always a good thing to do as we age. What’s your next DIY project to share?
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I already have an idea for next Mother’s Day bubbling around in my brain. 🙂 Gee, for DIY projects … I can’t think of any. I really used to be into arts and crafts when I was younger (my 20s-30s). I once bought unfinished country furniture to use outside in the garden – it took me all Winter to paint, do a little Tole painting, then weatherproof a pout chair and milk stool. Then I liked it so well, I didn’t want the elements to ruin those items, so I put them in the garage or under the patio roof every time it rained and also overnight. I was crazy about the garden back then. Then I planted all the silk flowers in pots, a wagon and a pair of Wellies. I need to expand my horizons again!
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Ugh. I feel you on the lack of tall clothes; I’m 5’11”. I sewed some of my own clothes but spent most of my teenage years dressing like a middle-aged woman since it was easier to find tall clothes for adults.
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Oh 5’11’ would have been difficult Linda so I share your pain … my height was/is mostly in my legs and my inseam when I bought pants/jeans was/is 34 inches. And back then capris or cropped-type pants were not in style – now you can get away with pants not touching your ankles – back then, you looked like you were waiting for the floods. I get what you mean about the clothing. We had a Lane Bryant store which specialized in larger womens’ apparel, but they had an area of clothing for tall women. Because I was not long-waisted, just long legs, the pants would not fit right and they did not have a great selection either.
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I totally understand. My height is all in my legs as well; I need a 35 inch inseam which can still be hard to find. I tend to stick to certain brands for jeans/slacks since I know they have what I need.
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When I still worked on site, I finally resorted to flats for pantsuits and dress pants. I always liked a little bit of a heel, but the “tall length” pants not only fit funny in the waist and rise, but they were way too long. So I bought regular length and just went to flats. I remember when cuffed pants were in style … woo hoo, clip the stitches holding the cuff and you got yourself some extra inches of fabric! Gloria Vanderbilt jeans were the best fit for me.
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Back in the day, J C Penney had a separate catalog for tall women and that’s where I purchased most of my jeans and work pants. I was crushed when they discontinued it. Old Navy’s online store now has jeans with a 36 inseam so they are my go-to. Duluth Trading is where I get shorts and cargo pants.
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I don’t remember a tall catalog at J C Penney, but I do remember I could wear the tall-sized Jacqueline Ferrar pants which fit perfectly and that same brand of jackets and coats that fit well too. I have never shopped at Old Navy … I will give that a whirl when I go to buy jeans. Thanks for that tip. I like Duluth Trading and have bought items from them in the past.
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What a wonderful way to pay tribute to your mother by restoring her monkey. You did a great job. Kudos!
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Thank you Ruth – I have always felt guilty for not doing it sooner. It was such a small thing and my mother did not ask for much of me to be honest. So, the Tilda Jane story is what made me think it would be a great idea. I am not as handy with a needle and thread as you are and it has been many years since I saw down at the sewing machine. It was 1983 – I sewed a cover and seed catcher for our parakeet Joey – too bad he did not live a long time afterward to use it. I made it with no pattern, French terry bright blue on one side and a calico print on the other side.
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I think you are better at that than you admit.
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Time sure does fly… Your mother endured so much in her life — I’m glad you took the time to thoughtfully fix Joe’s tail. It must have given you some sense of closure, peace and connection with your mom. The new tail looks great! I had one of those red tomato pin cushions, too. 🙂
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Yes, time goes by too quickly sometimes Barbara. In musing how I was going to write this post about Joe’s history and making him whole again, I decided to include other vintage items, making the post a lot longer, but it was fun to include these vintage items as well. Yes, it did give me peace about closure – I wish I’d done this before now though. My mom really didn’t ask much of me. My mom sure did endure a lot in her life. Getting hit by a car at age 11 changed her life forever. She was always in pain and kept a stiff upper lip as much as possible, but I know she was getting exasperated toward the end. I think we all had to buy the tomato pin cushion for Home Ec class. It was on the “class supply list” and I remember going to buy my sewing supplies at J.C. Penney. They once had a fabric/sewing department. That store is long gone now.
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What makes this an interesting read for me, Linda, is that I never had sisters. Yes, I will never forget the little stuffed lamb I had in my first few years (bringing me a ton of comfort each night when I went to bed). But boys quickly grow out of that stuff and then it’s all about building models from kits, and everything we did in the Boy Scouts. I have a single box of mementos from those days. Perhaps I should have a look through it to be sure nothing needs fixing 🙂
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Dave, I am a keeper, not a thrower … it works to my advantage for writing blog posts, but cuts down on available closet space. I have already thought about next year’s Mother’s Day post – more mementos, some of my own. Even *my* treasured things are vintage now! It helps that I got all the family albums and my mom put things from my youth into scrapbooks nice and orderly. You should go into your box of mementos and see if anything needs fixing and/or write about them sometime.
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That was a wonderful post Linda! Loved all the photos, esp. of your mother in her first communion dress. I have a similar one of my mom. You did a good job – Joe looks great. I had one of those pin cushions too. I’d write more, but I’m sick right now – went to a funeral on Wed, (my dad’s sister – aunt 101yr) and picked up a bug at the luncheon after. I’m testing for Covid every day, so far negative, so more likely to be a stomach bug based on symptoms but some are covid like like runny nose and headache. It’s been a long time since I’ve been sick and I feel miserable. Mom is okay so far, fingers crossed. Too sick to even read much.
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Glad you liked the post Joni and that’s interesting that you have a similar photo of your mom making her communion. And, since our moms were the same age, I’ll bet they are very similar. This post morphed from just “revitalizing” Joe to writing about other vintage items and kind of took off. Wow, I’m sorry to hear you picked up a bug and glad so far it is not Covid and that your mom is not sick … that part is good too. I hope it is not Covid and just a virus, but I’d be worried too. I hope you feel better soon. Longevity runs in your family on both sides … 101 years old is a ripe old age. After reading your e-mail (which I apologize for not responding to you yet) and your link you sent me about an additional Covid shot, I stewed over whether to get it. I scheduled and unscheduled it online several times and finally went yesterday – Covid is still around so I just got it. When I got to the pharmacy, the pharmacist accessed my vaccination record through the Wayne County Health Department and said “you’re overdue for a tetanus shot.” I can’t remember when I got it, but my mom was still here and I got it as my boss was cleaning gutters and made a misstep and fell down the roof, scraping his bare legs on the shingles, so he went to the Health Department to get a tetanus shot. I think my mom said “you should have a booster – you work out in the yard.” So I agreed, then the pharmacist said “you’ve never had your Hep-A series either – you should get that too.” I said I really didn’t want to get three vaccinations on one day as Covid boosters always give me flu-like symptoms. She said “none of these are live viruses, so no worries – I once got six vaccines at one time!” We no longer pay for vaccinations under Medicare – that just happened recently, as before for the pneumonia series and shingles series I had to pay a co-pay of $53.00 for each shot. So I agreed. I have to go back for part two of the Hep-A shot in six month. Last night I was sitting here about 7:30 p.m. and could not keep my eyes open and started feeling a bit queasy. Like you, I never get sick, so it hits me hard. I was in bed before 8:30 and slept the clock around and all day today, I still feel tired and still not like myself. I was going to work outside tomorrow, but both arms are sore and stiff (two shots in one arm, one in the other), so I guess I will do the pruning/yard cleanup over the long holiday but it will be in the 80s again. Hope you’re better soon.
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I wonder why they didn’t give you the Twinrix (Hep A&B) shot…..not important really unless you end up in a third world hospital with poor health standards,as it’s blood borne. I need Tetanus too, as I garden too, but have been putting it off as pharmacies don’t do that here, and I have to book at the doctors. I think you were tired after the other Moderna vaccines too, weren’t you? You do what’s best for you – I’d be more inclined if we hadn’t had the side effects. I feel better today, the nausea is gone, a bit fatigued, and I need frequent naps. I tested negative again on Day 3 but I just googled and they said the tests aren’t all that accurate on the new variants and I should be swabbing my throat, cheeks etc as well as nose. I have no sore throat symptoms and drippy nose has stopped. Mom is okay so far. IMO no person should ever get 6 vaccines at once!
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She didn’t offer a choice on the Hep-A shot but I’d have rather had the A and B to save having more shots down the road! Yes I was very tired, especially after the Covid boosters, not the original shot though and especially that Bivalent shot I had September 24th as I had it with the flu shot. It just zonked me out and yes, I had flu-like symptoms. I had a box of Goldfish crackers here because last time I felt nauseous and ate them for a day, just Goldfish crackers and water. I told her I have to space any Covid or other vaccine out 48 hours from my allergy shots and since I suspended my allergy shots for the Winter months, (since they no longer do walk-ins and due to the “Tripledemic” they were expecting), I now have to go 28 more weeks in a row to get to maintenance level again. I started back April 3rd. Stupid … this was the third Winter doing this and I did my own schedule and went every week for a month or so, then every two weeks, then every three weeks. Sorry, I don’t agree with that, but this year I’m not suspending them for Winter. I never missed a shot because before it was walk-ins, except once a year you had to schedule an appointment for a yearly visit with the doctor (a five-minute visit to discuss how the shots were working … I started shots in 1975, stopped in 1995 when the first allergist was retiring and HE said I could stop and allergies returned nine years later). You wonder why I feel like do about doctors … a lot of my reasons come from my mom’s doctors … I liked and respected only two of them of the group. So,
… about five or so years ago we had a lot of deaths (several hundred plus) in Michigan alone due to Hepatitis … unsafe food handling because food handlers in restaurants, deli counters, baked goods counters, etc. didn’t wash their hands after using the restroom. I have not eaten out or bought anything from a deli or a bakery counter since then. Maybe I’m over-protective, but …. I was waiting on a store clerk to unbox soap at Meijer and chatting with her during the period of time with the Hepatitis outbreak and she told me her daughter was an E.R. nurse and told her about people in the E.R. with Hepatitis from eating out (fast food mostly) and she said both her and her daughter refused to eat out anymore. I took my cue from them, even before Covid. I am glad you feel better and I have a package of six Government-issued Covid tests unopened … I don’t know how to use them. I figured I’d read the info if I had to use them and they have long expiration dates. I stupidly thought you had to do nose swabs for all of them like in the beginning. Good your mom has no Covid symptoms either. I finally feel like myself this afternoon but my arms are still sore. I signed off here early again last night and went to bed at 9:15. I did walk this morning – our Memorial Day parade was today and traffic from the main street is diverted down my street from 10:00 a.m. to about 3:00 p.m., so rather than get caught in that jam, I just walked to the Park and didn’t take the car for a run. The weekend is suddenly over. I was sitting here just now and a mosquito landed on my hand! It is enough to worry about the ticks and every trip to the Park involves doing a tick check, a goose poop check, now before I enter the house, I have to do a mosquito check – that would be impossible as it might be in my hair.
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The Covid Rapid test I have is a nasal swab, and the instructions would be complicated for an older person but if you read the card carefully the steps are fairly straight forward. It is very similar to the strep throat swabs we learned to do at work just before I retired, with a buffer solution. But the articles I googled said to swab the cheeks and throat, as well as the nose so I did that today and it was negative again, on Day 4. I slept very poorly last night, stomach pain probably ulcer again from stress and stuffy nose and just generally unwell, and have been very draggy today, and have a slight fever tonight, so it’s lingering on. Mom is still okay, thank god. Does your local Dept. of Health not do restaurant inspections? There was a restaurant here where 150 people got sick eating a chicken dish and the restaurant got closed down. I only get takeout from 3 or 4 restaurants, MacDonalds, Swiss Chalet chicken, chinese food and the same Italian pizza place which has been in business for 40 years. I have seen a few of those no-see-um’s in the house so they must have overwintered somewhere and hatched out again, so far they are leaving me alone. Haven’t seen any mosquitoes yet, but if it stays rainy and humid they’ll come. I still managed to do laundry and cook mom a chicken dinner today so we have leftovers for a while but I’m beat. The last episode of Tom Jones was tonight and it was beyond stupid.
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That’s good you continue to get a good report and it’s not Covid and okay for your mom as well. Did anyone else at the funeral get sick or you are not in touch with those folks otherwise? I am fine today … but I feel it was a bit of a wasted weekend. It had to be the Covid booster was the culprit.
Well Googling that question tells me that they do inspect restaurants in Wayne County, but our Hep-A outbreak was mostly food handlers not washing their hands. I can remember one of the last times my mom and I ate at Chili’s or Applebees and saw a sign in the restroom that said “employees remember to wash your hands” … first, I would have thought they used a separate restroom. Hmm. A high school friend worked at Big Boy the Summer after we graduated high school before she went away to Ferris State (she wanted to be a pharmacist). First or second day on the job she dropped a sandwich on the kitchen floor (Slim Jim I believe). She told us she was all aflutter, thought they’d fire her or take it out of her pay – nope “scoop it up and put it back on the plate” – she was appalled and so were we because in high school we often went on a weekend night to Big Boys for dinner, then next door to the show. The diner was very clean – we had to display our food handlers card (received after a TB test) on a bulletin board so people could see them and along with waiting on customers, each 8-hour shift (they were open 24 hours) we had to clean the creamer inside, shake machine inside – sterilize both and wipe down everything with vinegar and water solution. Deliveries, we had to stand by the door to ensure no flies came in. The owner now, (a different name and it’s a sandwich shop), leaves the front door open in nice weather and no screen. My manager would flip out when it was fish fly season … the diner was painted white and since it was open all night, the fish flies would be attracted to the white and the light and attach themselves to the walls … he’d be out there with a broom when I arrived at work. The fishflies only did that about a week, but he didn’t want them coming into the diner.
It was hot here today and I had the A/C checkup today and there is a problem with the condensate drain apparatus and has to be replaced … $850.00 and that’s with my discount as I’m a “Gold Plan Member” (signing up for furnace and A/C checks which is $200.00/year). The 10-year warranty ended in June 2022.
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I hope they can get it replaced soon as it’s supposed to be hot next week!
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They are saying this is the driest May on record. They have replaced it and hopefully good to go for a long time. It’s always something!
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What a beautiful post with so many memories. I will not complain again after reading what your mom went through as a child. That monkey is SO special and what a great repair job Linda. Thank you for sharing such a personal and emotional post about your mom!
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Thank you Diane – I’m glad you enjoyed this post and you do have your own share of medical issues which are not trivial and cause you chronic pain. Because my mom had so many medical issues at an early age, which orthopedic issues lasted until her dying day, I am empathetic to anyone who deals with chronic pain. I know I am blessed with good health so far in my 67 years and I do not take it for granted. Isn’t it amazing how good that Joe the Monkey looks for being 85 years old? I was glad I could put him back together again … now to just keep him from getting dusty living in this house without a great housekeeper!
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“if everyone else jumps off a bridge…” True classic! Lovely repair job!
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You probably heard the same line, only in German. 🙂 I think every kid heard that line growing up! Thank you Jeanine – I was pleased as my hand sewing skills are nothing special!
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This was a lovely story about your mother and you. That monkey looks a lot like Curious George, but I looked him up and he didn’t come out until 1939, so perhaps the resemblance is coincidental. However the design came about, you did a great job on the resto, and gave us all a great tail tale.
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Thank you JP – I thought you might like this retrospective, with its few Latin phrases thrown in, all which you likely knew from law school, even before your “lawyering days”. I’m pretty amazed that Joe looked that good for 85 years and I went down a rabbit hole discovering other vintage items to include in this post. Mom’s prayer book and cards have held up pretty well and I have her rosary too, but I don’t know how old it was, so I didn’t include it in the post. Joe’s tail was not a tall tale, but a small tale but I’m glad I got to tell it.
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