Friday, March 26, 2021

Von Trapp Tulip

 

Our local supplier of Tulips is the Von Trapp Family.
(Yes, those Von Trapps.)
https://www.vontrappflowers.shop/



41 comments:

  1. This may not have been yesterday's story, but PMG! ***
    Heather Cox Richardson Mar 26
    There is only one story today.

    It is not the coronavirus pandemic, although 547,000 of us have died of Covid-19, and a study today suggested that we could have avoided nearly 400,000 deaths if we had adopted masks and social distancing early on.
    ***

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  2. I toodled over to my doctor's office (in the same building as our hospital) for my annual physical. Aside from social distancing and masks, things are just about back to normal. He ordered a bone density test (now routine for males 75+). He also zapped some possibly precancerous spots on my face with liquid nitrogen.

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    1. I'm glad you got that taken care of Alan. Can't be too careful (as you well know).

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  3. New York Times: “Biden administration officials are anticipating the supply of coronavirus vaccine to outstrip U.S. demand by mid-May if not sooner.”

    “Whether to keep, modify or redirect those orders is a question with significant implications, not just for the nation’s efforts to contain the virus but also for how soon the pandemic can be brought to an end.”

    Axios: U.S. sets new vaccine record with 3.4 million doses administered in one day.

    [I wonder if they might encourage the vaccine reluctant to cooperate by announcing that from June 1st the vaccinations will no longer be free. . .]

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    1. Better yet, fine all non-homebound who do not get vaccinated.

      Sis says there is serious talk of vaccinating the homebound with J&J. Good news, as it means Mom can get hers and possibly me too. J&J is made with aborted fetal tissue. ICK! Still, even the Church says the gravity of the situation is such that you should take whatever vaccine you can get. That's some comfort. The idea still gives me the creeps, but getting the vaccine will certainly give me peace of mind.

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    2. I expect that is propaganda, Cat. The vaccine was probably developed using "fetal stem cells," which (according to the textbook I read for continuing education a few years back) do not come from fetuses, but rather from cultures of somatic cells that have been tricked into reverting to pluripotential stem cells that in many ways mimic fetal stem cells.

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    3. "Misinformation" would be a better choice of word than "propaganda." My apologies.

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    4. Also the deification of the fetus is out of control. I miscarried at eight weeks and my OB/GYN threw the fetus in the common garbage right in front of me.

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    5. Hope you're right, Alan.

      Oh, Susan, that's just horrible! My mother had three miscarriages through the years and they distressed her almost as much as the stillbirth of my brother. She sometimes spoke of having to flush the miscarried fetus down the toilet. It's maybe not a baby but it's not nothing either.

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    6. Fetal Tissue Wasn't Used to Create J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
      www.healthline.com › health-news › no-fetal-tissue-was...
      Mar 18, 2021 — Fetal tissues were not used in the creation or production of the Johnson ... to insist that pharmaceutical companies stop using abortion-derived cell lines, given the ... The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, has made more ...

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    7. Lost a baby at 13 weeks, and it was hard hard hard. I did eventually flush him, because the alternative, matchbox in garden was too bizarre. Prayer is a good assist. And he still haunts me every year on his projected birth date.

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    8. I love all of you for your caring responses to this concern.

      There are no fetal cells at all in the J&J vaccine. Back in the 70's and 80's some fetal cells from an elective abortion were used to create some cell lines. These are cells that were created originally from fetal cells, but that now have gone through so many generations of cells that there is nothing in these of the original. I do not like the feeling of it, myself; and it should give us ethical pause. But it certainly seems more respectful to use the cells for good rather than throw the cells away altogether. I think of it more like organ donation on a very tiny scale. It is, after all, the parent who makes the decision in the moment as to whether to allow organ donation when a child dies. It's not as though there's a black market on fetuses involved.

      And, Cat, the Catholic Church says it's okay to take the J&J vaccine. Get one of the others if you are able and want to. But if you have reason to take J&J, it's all good. And you DO have reason.

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    9. Yes, it is a comfort that the Church says that the gravity of the situation is such, it is one's duty to take which ever vaccine one can.

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    10. Duty? That's good. It seems they are on the same page as Martin Luther, probably for the same philosophical/logical reasons.

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  4. Replies
    1. I hope it's a very long line; lots of potential there.

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    2. One point I haven't heard much discussion of is what happens to the investigation when Vance leaves. Apparently, he does not plan to run again; so, that may place time constraints on the investigation. Yet we keep hearing about further expansion. It just causes me to wonder.

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    3. His second in command will be taking his place and is deeply involved in the prosecution, as I recall.

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  5. French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers [Click] “Raw-milk product normally sold only to restaurants or visitors to Cîteaux Abbey is marketed online.” Now is your chance! Link included in article. Looks very good, and won a silver medal!

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    1. I'd *love* to help, but I can't eat two wheels of cheese. Not willing to pay $27 apiece x 2 plus shipping either. But if I were still part of a local food coop, I'd see about it...! I did share their plight with others, though.

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  6. VTcases: 18,498-18,215 = 283 !
    2913 active cases !
    224 deaths(+1)
    Recovered 15,361(83%)
    Hospital:26(+1) ICU:4(-2)
    Tests 351,385 (+913)

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    1. Positivity Rate up to 1.7%
      Death Rate holding at 1.2%
      More than 100 new cases are here in Chittenden County.

      Dr. Levine gives the Positivity Rate as 1.8%
      He reports also that the vast majority of new cases are in the 20 to 29 age group.
      Only 4 of the new cases were in the age group 65+.

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  7. We reached 100 million vaccinations today and mine was one of them!

    It was sunny on my way to the site, rainy as I came out. Got to my car and there was a big roll of thunder. (Severe thunderstorm warning.) Headed straight home, getting all the green lights, but a few miles from home I got detoured up dirt roads full of deep mud ruts (and one very stuck delivery truck) with *blinding* rain pouring sideways! Made it home, at last. Now to take it easy for a few days!

    Turns out the detour was because an electrical pole got struck by lightning and caught fire. Wil is pretty sure he heard the bolt hit. Heh.

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    1. My nurse, Amy, was great.

      I brought along a double batch of brownies as well as carrot and celery sticks for the nurses (all in single serving ziplock bags).

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  8. CDC ‘deeply concerned’ about rising Covid cases as vaccinations accelerate [Click] “Most recent weekly average shows 7% increase in Covid infections in US from previous week, at about 57,000 cases a day.”

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    1. I would pay more attention to hospitalizations, which still seem to be reasonably good news.

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    2. Daily new cases in Illinois have now crept back over 2,000 per day. I don't like this trend, although it doesn't really amount to a surge.

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  9. And on a brighter note:

    How Wartime Victory Houses Shaped Modern Toronto [Click] This could provide a model for California and other places suffering from a lack of affordable housing.

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  10. COVID-19 Is Different Now [Click] “The coronavirus is changing. So is the disease it causes.”

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  11. Re the tulip photo at the beginning of the thread-- when I was visiting my Dutch relatives up in NW Washington, I learned that a lot of tulips are grown there (by Dutch farmers, often in polders) and sent to Holland, because the dominant wholesale houses are there. So some Dutch tulip bulbs, direct from Holland, are actually from Washington.

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    1. How silly is that?! You'd think in the age of zero carbon footprint, that this would change.

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