Marge Piercy

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Catch Up and Collapse

After all the house emergencies of last week, this week I had to do all the work I was supposed to do last week plus what has to be done this week – including reading each poem a couple of times and annotating them for the workshop on ZOOM this Sunday.  I also planned out the rest of the two hour event.

Dale and I sent out poems to zines and went on working on my bibliography, which had gotten out of date.  It’s a long boring project to get it current.  I started the first tomatoes in the storeroom as soon as the eggplants and the always pokey peppers finally germinated and could go upstairs – not out to the greenhouse for a fairly long while.  These first tomatoes were the paste tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes, also Brussels sprouts and summer savory.  I should start majoram but couldn’t find the seeds for it. 

I have to get used to watching the temperature in the greenhouse frequently during the day.  The seedlings out there so far are hardy, but they could still freeze to death; however, the major danger during the day is cooking under the strong sun.  I have to make sure that doesn’t happen, but my powers of concentration get in the way.  When I’m working, I hear nothing and even the cats can’t distract me.  So, it’s an ongoing problem.

Friday the cats had to go to the vet in Orleans.  Thursday, I had my second shot of Moderna from Outer Cape Health Services in Wellfleet.  Within three hours, hell set in.  Fever, chills, every bit of body  hurting.  Couldn’t eat o0r sleep; wracked by a violent cough.  It lasted although lessening through Saturday.  I’m writing this Sunday, a date late. Today I’m still weak but able to function and I hope carry on the ZOOM workshop this afternoon. 

Woody has been stuck with all his chores and then all of mine.  I feel a new  pity and sympathy with everyone who actually gets the virus.  Get any vaccine you can anyplace you can as quickly as you can.  You don’t want to experience this disease and it’s a hell of a painful way to die.