#News

Update: Giving COVID a KNOCK-OUT Punch Around Here!

/ Marcia Meara / 27 Comments

Just HAD to take a moment to let you know that Mark is cleared to return to work tomorrow. Yep! He has prevailed! Retest was negative, so there’s ONE down, and one to go. 

As for me, my symptoms are almost totally gone, so I think I’m probably going to prevail, too, though I won’t know for sure until I get tested. I’m waiting the required 10 days quarantine, then will test to be SURE it’s safe for me to get back to giving my wildlife talks. But I’m feeling 99.9% sure I’m going to be okay, too, thanks to having gotten both shots weeks ago. As someone with three strikes against them health-wise, in addition to my age, I have no doubt that without the vaccine, I’d probably have ended up in the hospital, and likely intubated.   If you are hesitant about being vaccinated, I hope you’ll give it more consideration now. It can and does save lives, even if it’s not perfect, yet.

I’m still resting, taking it easy, AND isolating/quarantining here at home, but I feel more and more optimistic every day that I’ll come through this just like Mark has!

Thanks again for all your well wishes, prayers, love, and support! You guys ROCK!

A Very Quick Update

/ Marcia Meara / 38 Comments


I think I’ll just get the bad news done and over with. Yesterday, I started exhibiting the same mild COVID symptoms Mark had on Friday night/Saturday morning. (I’m not surprised, given that he slept right next to me the night he woke up sick.)

The good news is, I feel better today than I did yesterday, so I’m hoping mine will follow the same route his has. (He’s decided he’s done with being shut inside, and yesterday expanded his quarantine to our fairly large, fenced in back yard, where he proceeded to get his hourly FitBit steps and did some weeding! Don’t worry. He’s not taking his evening walks around the neighborhood, or going anywhere else. )

Since we’ve been quarantined in the same house for six days now, even though in separate areas, and with masks, I think it was inevitable that I’d get this. And since my symptoms are slightly better today than yesterday, I’m going to give this another day or two before deciding what I want to do. If they increase in severity AT ALL, I will make immediate arrangements to get the infusion, though we’re not sure it changed anything for Mark. Still, if I’m not slowly improving, I won’t take a chance, and will get it.

Back to the bad news. I’m going to take ten days off from blogging for the duration of the rest of my quarantine, starting from yesterday, so I’ll be scarce around the blog. Sorry, but I want to conserve my energy while I’m fighting this infection. I do have a Ten Things guest  posts already scheduled for next week. (And every other Wednesday into November), so you can all look forward to that. HOPEFULLY, I’ll feel well enough to comment by then, though I doubt I’ll be originating any new posts for the ten days I’m quarantined.

Just so you know, I plan to beat the living daylights outta this NO MATTER WHAT! I still have way too many things to do yet before I’m ready to quit. 😉 So look for me around August 8, if not sooner. And thanks again for all your wonderful support! I LOVE our blogging community! ❤ ❤ ❤

An Update, and a Some Big News!

/ Marcia Meara / 51 Comments

Just a quick update to let you know that Mark received the infusion today and is feeling fine. No side effects so far, and the folks who took care of him said this would be a double protection that his symptoms wouldn’t get much worse than they are now, which is negligible. And I’m still fine, too, knock wood.

And now for the really big news. My son, Jason, turned fifty years old today! FIFTY! I was looking through old pictures and came across this one of he and my daughter, Erin, some time ago, quite a few years before either was married or had started a family. Looking at it, it’s hard for me to get my head around the fact that my son is … still choking, here … FIFTY today! Holy guacamole! My how time flies when you’re having fun, eh?

And Jason, in case you’re reading this (not really likely, but you never know) 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
WE LOVE YOU!!

Brief Update on the Meara COVID Situation

/ Marcia Meara / 45 Comments

Just want to thank each and every one of you who’ve commented here or emailed me with encouraging words, support, prayers, positive thoughts, and  kind messages. You’ll never know just how much I’ve appreciated every single one of them. 

It’s only been a bit over 48 hours since Mark noticed the first symptoms Friday night, and got the bad news Saturday morning, but so far, the news is good. His symptoms have lessened a bit each day, and right now, he isn’t coughing or running a fever. He’s tired and napping off and on during the day, but that’s to be expected.

As for myself, I still feel fine. (Or as fine as I usually do, anyway, since I have a few health issues I’m always addressing.) In other words, I’m not feeling like I even need to be tested at this point, though I’m definitely staying HOME just in case. No need to endanger anyone else until I know for sure I’m not going to get sick.

So basically, all good news, and we are very hopeful that Mark’s symptoms will not get much worse, if they worsen at all. And hopefully, I’ll never get ANY. I do think we have our vaccinations to credit for his lack of serious progression to date, and hopefully, this is going to end well for both of us.

Thanks again for being such wonderful, supportive folks. You are appreciated and LOVED more than you know!

 

A Bit of Bad News

/ Marcia Meara / 57 Comments

Well, folks, Life has thrown us a curveball once again, and it includes some pretty bad news, I’m afraid. My husband Mark tested positive for COVID this morning, and I’m still trying to get my head around what all this might mean. 

The good news is:

  1. We’ve both had our shots, which can mean milder cases with less severe symptoms for many people.
  2. They are setting him up to receive the IV medication that can also reduce the severity of symptoms. 
  3. Mark is incredibly healthy for his age (72) and almost never gets sick. (I think it’s been at least ten years since his last common cold.)
  4. He only developed symptoms last night, which we hope means I may not come down with this, too.
  5. He’s now isolated in the master bedroom for 10 to 14 days, depending on what other symptoms, if any, he develops. Again, this may help keep me safe.

The Bad News is:

  1. It’s COVID. Who really knows what will happen now?

I’m letting you know this is going on because I have no idea at all what the next week or two will bring for either of us, and if I disappear for a bit, you’ll know why. I WILL try to keep you updated as to how things are progressing. And all positive thoughts, prayers, healing energy, wizardly magic, and plain ol’ best wishes will be gratefully accepted in the meantime. 

Thanks!! And please, STAY SAFE out there! 🤗 ❤

Whew! We Were Spared!!

/ Marcia Meara / 40 Comments

NOTE: Just after I posted this, Elsa made landfall near Cedar Key. (A good distance north of us. 65mph winds, and from the map, it looks as though Gainesville (where my son lives) is now being hit by those eastern bands. We are “officially” in the clear here.) 

Just a quick note to let you know that Hurricane Elsa was once again downgraded to a tropical storm, and didn’t come ashore yet. It barely missed a direct hit on Tampa, apparently, and has continued northward up the coast.

Here, we were greeted by torrential rains  from one of the wicked eastern bands at 6:00am this morning , but any serious wind must have blown through overnight. Thus far, we seem to have escaped any damage, and I think my son & family did, as well, though an hour or two ago, they were getting a LOT of heavy rain. But nothing dire.

I believe we are out of Elsa’s reach now, unless she does a sudden U-turn, but please keep the folks still in her path in your thoughts and prayers. It can gain strength again before finally touching land, and even as a tropical storm, can cause a lot of wind and flood damage. 

And a HUGE thank you for all the well wishes, prayers, positive thoughts, and encouragement. It really helped me deal with the prepareation and stress involved over the last couple of day. I’m going to try to catch up with some comments, but bear with me if it takes a while. In the meantime, I must say, you guys ROCK!

One More Week!

/ Marcia Meara / 20 Comments

After much deliberation, dithering around, and mind changing, I’ve finally decided to extend my blog break one more week. I’ve gotten a lot of stuff done that I’d fallen way behind on, both on our house projects, and our garden clean-up/replant. I’ve also made good headway on my PowerPoint presentations coming up this year. And I’ve even written a bit, too, finishing CH 6 and most of CH 7 of my WIP. 

Yeah, I’d hoped to write more, but I realized that some of these other chores were keeping me away from doing so, and by clearing a few more off my To Do list, I’m actually making a lot more time for writing ahead. 

I know most of you will fully understand this decision, and I hope you won’t forget me while I’m gone. If you do, I’m totally gonna blame Diana and Sally. They encouraged me to take more time if I needed to, so it’s obviously on them!
😀 😀 😀 

I’ll be back here on The Write Stuff May 31, if nothing dreadful happens to keep me away. And just so you know, I’ve missed ALL of you more than you can imagine. I’m looking forward to my return!

In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, and STAY HAPPY! See you soon! 🤗

#ReblogAlert – This Week on Story Empire!

/ Marcia Meara / 6 Comments

Hi, Folks! Still on my blogging break, but I figured I could take a couple of minutes to share this week’s posts from Story Empire. I haven’t had a chance to read them yet, but I’m pretty sure there’s good stuff here. (There always IS!) So check these out when you get a chance:

MONDAY: Harmony Kent continues her series on dialogue with a post entitled Don’t Talk Like That: Talking Heads. You can check it out HERE.

WEDNESDAY: D. L. Finn discusses Writing and Emotions,  a subject that always resonates with me. Check out her post HERE.

FRIDAY: Craig Boyack’s post entitled Vella, Anyone?, discusses one of Amazon’s newest ideas, Kindle Vella, designed for publishing serialized stories.  See what Craig has to say HERE.

And there you have the Story Empire posts for the week. When I return from my blogging break, I’ll be reading and commenting on these, too, but I didn’t want you guys to wait that long. Enjoy! 

#CatchingUp and Taking Some Time Off – #AlertTheMedia

/ Marcia Meara / 55 Comments

Yes, it’s true! I’m taking some time off. For the very first time in nearly 20 years of blogging, I’ve decided I’m never, EVER going to get caught up, or even find time to finish my current WIP, if I don’t take some time off from my blog. I need a few uninterrupted days to sit down and WRITE for a change. Plus, we’ve been working very hard on some deferred maintenance issues with our house and yard, and I need a few days to focus on that before the temps get even higher than the 92 degrees that are already upon us here in Florida. 

With this in mind, I’m not going to be available on The Write Stuff for the next two weeks, so my usual bi-weekly features (#MondayMeme, #GuestDayTuesday, #ThorsDaySmile, and #FirstlineFriday) will be on hiatus, too. And I probably won’t be able to do much in the way of sharing while I’m officially gone, though if I can squeeze a reblog or two in, I will. 

This is NOT an easy thing for me to do, being addicted to blogging as I am. I mean, I don’t even take weekends off!  Ever! I will miss ALL of you while I’m working on other things, but I think I’ll return feeling much better for the break and the chance to dig out from under the heap of things I’m behind on. 

I know you’ll all understand and will forgive me for missing some posts on your blogs, but just know that if I didn’t feel it was necessary, I wouldn’t do it. Thanks, and you guys behave yourselves while I’m away. (No talking about me behind my back! 😀 )

(NOTE: I will still be checking my email daily, so if you need me for anything, you can always reach me that way. )

See you in two weeks! 

 

#Special Guest – #SpecialSale – #SubjectA36 by Teri Polen

/ Marcia Meara / 29 Comments

Teri Polen has some great news for you folks today! Be sure
to take advantage of this one!
***

Thanks so much, Marcia, for allowing me to do some book promotion on your blog! My most recent release, Subject A36, will be on sale for $0.99 TOMORROW ONLY! I’m currently hard at work on the sequel, which will be released in 2021. Below are the blurb and Amazon link – but remember, don’t click on it until tomorrow!

If genetic engineering could guarantee you and your family perfect health and unparalleled beauty, would you pay top dollar for it? Would you kill for it?

Residents of the Colony would. And do.

Only the Insurgents can stop them.

Seventeen-year-old Asher Solomon is a premier operative with the Insurgents. He and his team have rescued countless hostages, saving them from painful deaths in Colony labs as desirable genetic traits are stripped from their bodies.

He’s also suffered more losses than anyone should have to.

Then Asher gets intel that might give his people the upper hand. The Colony is searching for Subject A36. If the Insurgents determine the subject’s identity first, they might be able to turn the tide of the war.

Asher and his team embark on their riskiest mission ever, and the stakes have never been higher. But even if he survives the physical dangers, the devastating secrets he uncovers might destroy him.

Amazon Purchase Link


Author Teri Polen

Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy.  The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium.  She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat.  Her first novel, Sarah, a YA horror/thriller, was a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.  Visit her online at www.teripolen.com

Contact Links:
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