Hands

 Insomnia let up for a moment and then returned with a vengeance a few nights ago. It reminds me of Pa in The Long Winter who says of the series of blizzards, that they only let up long enough to spit on their hands. That's how this insomnia is: It only lets up long enough to spit on its hands. 

Speaking of hands:

I am an old hand at weathering insomnia. It's just before three in the morning now, and I've got plenty to occupy myself. 

I've been doing some embroidery on kitchen towels recently, using the iron-on patterns I bought a few years ago in an online sale from Colonial Patterns. I had stopped doing much hand sewing and needlework a couple of months ago because of pain in my thumbs and wrists, but recently it's been much better so I'm working my way through my unused patterns. Yesterday I finished a run of ladies in hoop skirts doing various domestic things. When I finished those, I asked Dave for some input and he suggested squirrels or bees, so I picked the bees.

While I work I've been rewatching (mostly listening though) to the first season of The Blacklist. It's a good series and I started watching it years ago, though I stopped watching around season three or four when it started to get repetitive. I've forgotten much of the details, though I remain charmed by James Spader's character and also by the woman who plays Mr. Kaplan (my favorite of all the peripheral characters). 

What else has been going on?

I started (re-started) physical therapy at a new place. I had an evaluation on Thursday and it went well. I'm looking forward to another session this Thursday. 

I also have a physical this week. I haven't done that in about two years because of Covid last year and the year prior I'm not sure what my excuse was. That will be good to get out of the way. I also need to schedule a mammogram and pap smear soon. And get in a visit to the dentist as well. 

Sigh.

I'm still very cautious about going to the doctor (or anywhere really). I feel like people are starting to act as though Covid is over, but it is far from over and continuing to take precautions is still absolutely necessary. I follow a lot of healthcare professionals on social media and they all report that they are starting to see an upswing in hospitalized Covid patients. They report that it's not as bad as it was before in terms of sheer numbers of patients, but the patients they are seeing are younger and much, much sicker. 

Covid killed off the easy victims early--elderly, people with comorbidities--and with vaccinations the number of cases are dropping. But rest assured, the virus only let up long enough to spit on its hands, and now it will start in on the more difficult victims--younger, seemingly healthier, those who had Covid previously and thought they could get away with not getting vaccinated but who are now being reinfected with new variants. 

It's far from over.