Tag: flu shot

Posted on

Flu Shots, Sneaky Ankles, and the Run That Got Away

Written August 23, 2025

Hello Dear Readers,

We kicked off the day like responsible adults—breakfast in, arms out. A wild flu shot appointment appeared (via text), and before I could finish my coffee, my wife had already hunted down a Saturday slot and rearranged her morning like a logistical wizard. When it comes to passports, vaccines, or anything semi-bureaucratic, she moves fast—like a ninja with a calendar.

Her motto? “If it’s gotta get done, get it done before you forget it exists.” She runs her to-do list like a triage nurse: How long will it take? How important is it? Will we regret this tomorrow? Efficiency is her love language.

Now, thanks to my kidney condition, I’m still on the VIP list for anything labeled high risk, so vaccinations are non-negotiable. COVID or flu—if it can mess with my kidneys, it’s gotta go. That’s why I still rock my mask like it’s 2020. No shame, only immune system preservation.

When we arrived, the place was a ghost town. Not a single soul in line—just us and the vaccine squad. We were in and out faster than you can say “seasonal influenza.” A little paperwork for me, a quick arm jab (left for her, dealer’s choice for me), and boom—another year, another vaccine crossed off the list.

Back home, the weather still looked like a polite Canadian fall day, so I laced up and set out for my heroic weekly 10k. But by 5k, my ankle started acting like it was auditioning for a drama series—wobbly, weak, and full of attitude. Add to that a sluggish pace, 30 seconds slower than usual, and let’s just say the motivation train ran out of steam somewhere around 7.5k.

I pulled the plug. No medals today, just wisdom: don’t ignore your body, and maybe don’t trust new shoes until they’ve earned it.

Posted on

Waffles, Vaccines, and Apple Sauce: A Cozy Weekend Tradition

Written October 27, 2024

Hello Dear Readers,

Last night, my wife requested waffles for breakfast, so today, instead of cereal, I made a couple of waffles for us to enjoy. 

Shortly after moving to Tennessee, I made waffles every Sunday for a while, but it resulted in my wife and I gaining more weight than we wanted. So, we stopped eating waffles every Sunday but still enjoyed it occasionally.  

My wife and I awoke today to soreness centered on our vaccination points. Yesterday, we got two vaccines: a COVID booster and this year’s flu shot. The soreness seems to be impacting my ability to mix waffles.

We usually eat our waffles with blueberries. I love blueberries, and I eat them every day. Blueberries are one of the foods recommended for people like me with a kidney condition, so I eat a little portion of them every day. Blueberries go with waffles very well. We sometimes eat applesauce with our waffles. Unfortunately, we have no more applesauce left from last year. The applesauce we made yesterday is too new to consume. We have maple syrup, so our waffle will still be good. 

Speaking of our applesauce, the applesauce marathon was successful; we peeled, cut, and cooked 3 bushels of apples and made around 7 gallons of applesauce. We canned it into several quart and pint jars and divided them between us, but it’s less applesauce than we’ve made in previous years, so we might make another batch after Christmas. 

While my wife and I don’t eat that much applesauce, my sister’s household eats much more and might want more after a few months.  Perhaps dividing the year’s applesauce into two batches will become our new preferred strategy, as we were all tired by the end of the day, and processing another bushel of apples would have added at least another hour or two. 

One concern is that apples may be hard to find or too expensive to buy in large enough quantities that late in the year. We’ll have to see how the later batch goes to determine whether this strategy is viable. 

I enjoy making waffles and applesauce despite the work we need to put into them. I love seeing my family happy with what I or we produce, which makes me happy.