I read this morning that approximately 10 days out from the first vaccine it becomes approximately 90% effective, and two weeks after the second dose it reaches the 95% effectiveness. I am still planning to shop during stores' quietest times, but it means that my sense of dread will diminish.

Yesterday I conducted an oatmeal cooking experiment. I usually set up the small 75-watt 1-quart crock pot overnight and by morning it's perfect. I forgot to set it up, and the rice cooker was still out, so I followed my 1:2 recipe (oats to water) plus salt and chopped dates. (The cooker recipe book has you measuring with their plastic cup for oats and a regular cup for water.) It came out very good, but there was a 30 minute wait. The best part of this is little to no crust on the bottom of the pot, as always happens when it cooks on the stove. The crock pot method ends up with a small crusty ring around the very top edge of the oats. The crockpot means it's ready when I want to eat, but if I need to cook it in another manner, I'll use the rice cooker instead of a stovetop method.

I had a cactus rooting on the windowsill that was put in a pot over the weekend, and now I need to attend to the pothos plant on top of my Hoosier Kitchen near the back window. It has very long vines with few leaves, and I'll cut off some of them and root them. The plant itself needs to be repotted. Spring may still be a distance off for planting in the yard, but I can tend to some of the house plants until then.

Dorothy, I envy you having a basement, even as disreputable as you make yours sound at the moment. Most of the houses here are put up on concrete slabs, that then shift and crack. I'm near a creek so the water table might be an issue, but one I'd be willing to tackle.

Charmion, I hope you're feeling better. I hope Michelle and Pete are continuing their progress, Dorothy and R continue to rebound after the legal issue that weighed them down was lifted, and that Alice is on the mend. Jon has told us he's well enough to move back into his own room (that is wonderful, back in your own space!) and I recently rearranged my bedroom furniture back to their old positions before the knee replacement meant I needed a clear path for the walker. Donuel always has a few projects underway - I hope they're working out well. It's almost spring in a new year with an effective vaccine starting to make the rounds - here's hoping 2021 is a truly excellent year for all!