I want text, damn it

I signed up for what Massachusetts told me would be covid-19-related texts about a week ago. So far, there have been several "the governor is giving a press conference at 3:00" and one "we're moving into phase 2 on Monday."

On the state website, they have videos of the press conferences, and that's it. No summaries of the information provided, not even a one-line description of whether there's anything there other than the latest numbers from their "COVID dashboard."

After weeks of annoyance (first at the website, then at the text messaging bot), someone reacted to a satirical article story by saying "I'm frustrated with him but eh. not in my control." In the course of saying "so am I, in particular for this reason," and decided I was frustrated enough to email them about it.

It only occurs to me now that the same government agency that wants us to get all our information from them about video is basically unreachable except by email or a web form in which to type plain text. (They've gone from almost never answering the phone, to having it answered with a very long recorded message, and then terminating the call without offering to take a message.)

three things make a post

I now have two tomato cages, and am not sure I can use both of them, given the size of the planter I put the first tomato plant in. I think I'll transplant the second tomato into a smaller container, that being what I have anyway, put one tomato cage in the ground around the planter, and then see. Maybe it will be useful for the cucumber plants and/or trellis.

I have been coughing a little, and my upper respiratory tract seemed a little clogged earlier, so I should stay home for at least a few days, and wear a mask even in the garden, because I might encounter a neighbor. The chances of me being sick right now, with COVID-19 or anything else, are low, but I will be careful for at least a little while.

I emailed my doctor yesterday, saying I'd like to see her in person rather than as telemedicine last week, for specific reasons, but at this point I would double-check whether "coughing 4 days ago" is sufficient reason for them not to want to see me in person. If so, I won't be getting that second dose of the hepatitis A vaccine within six months of the first, and maybe try to get in to see her in person as a separate appointment for the wrist.

My order of interesting teas from Camellia Sinensis arrived today. Those are for a distributed/socially distant tea tasting Jo put together, for which everyone ordered one tea the same and one or more other teas, hoping for some variety. After talking this over with cattitude I ordered five different teas, spending enough so I could get free shipping. (This doesn't exactly save money, but it means I get more for what I do spend.)

The teas:

• Si Ji Chun (this and the Jin Die are the two teas everyone got, for the tasting)
• Jin Die
• Chai Camellia organic (I selected this from among the several chai options because it has cardamom)
• Dragon pearls (I wanted some last month, and discovered we didn't have any)
• Pu Er Shou 2011 Butang
• Maple tea (black tea and maple sugar, because why not?)

Wednesday has mostly been reading short fiction

Specifically, I have been reading stories (and book excerpts) that are part of Jo Walton's New Decameron project. Last weekend, I also read a book:

Outcrossing, by Celia Lake, is a romance set in a magical 1920s England, with both the Great War and the "Naples plague" epidemic as recent and important to the characters. The story has people trying to find/regain their places, literal as well as figurative; another big piece of the plot is smuggling. It's also a romance, but interesting on other levels than whether/how the female and male protagonists will get together as a couple.

I enjoyed this, though I expect that a book with a recent pandemic in the background would have felt different if I wasn't reading it during the coronavirus pandemic. "Celia Lake" is the pseudonym of a friend of mine, which is how I found out she was giving this book away as a diversion during the current pandemic.