RECIPES

Thursday 15 April 2021

Tis the Season for Flu Jabs

 

With winter approaching, the season for having a Flu Jab has come around again.  I had mine last evening, for protection against the three main influenza strains that are currently circulating.

I never even left my car!  All I had to do was turn up at my appointment time, check in with the attendant at the entrance, drive up to the nurses’ station (set up in the carpark) and hey presto, all done.  Park up and wait for twenty minutes, then head home.  All very straight forward.

We had an incredible thunderstorm early afternoon yesterday.  There was a lot more lightning than we usually get and the thunder was almost continuous.  I like to count between the flash and the sound to estimate how far away it is (a remnant of my childhood, no idea if it works or not!), but it was too much on top of us to do that. 

We had a short very heavy shower of rain with the storm but that was all – not nearly as much rain as I expected.

Our cats are usually fine with storms but this time they both were upset.  Millie hid in a dark corner, and Mittens raced around trying to find a way to escape.  It must be difficult for animals, not understanding the cause of frighteningly loud noises and flashes of light.  Humans have the logic process to help us deal with them.


A different thunderstorm, but you get the idea


Wishing everyone an enjoyable day 😊

Margaret.


35 comments:

  1. Glad you got your flu jab. Heading towards winter here too. The nights are cooler, first sign of winter. That sounds like a thunderstorm we had a couple of years ago. There were only a couple of seconds between each lightning and the thunder was continuous for 2-3 hours. First time ever I've experienced such weather. It was incredible.

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    1. Yes, it really was an amazing storm - thankfully it didn't seem to cause any damage anywhere.

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  2. You are before us with the flu jabs. Next it will be the covid ones.

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  3. We rarely have severe thunderstorms here but I remember the ones we had when I was growing up on the prairies. Ear-splitting thunder and often hard rain. Poor animals get so frightened by all the noise.

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    1. There was so much electricity in the air it actually gave me a headache. Thankfully storms like that don't happen too often.

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  4. I heard somewhere the air pressure gets to the animals as well, Grace my old cat always hides on our stairs, which are in the middle of the house and have no windows. As yet we have not had any storms which frighten Purdy, she will sit and look out the window through them. As a gardener I am hoping for rain, my water supplies are lower than I like with summer coming, we do live in a drier area of UK.

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    1. I can imagine air pressure having that effect. Hope you get some good Garden Rain soon.

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  5. I was taught the same thing to count in between thunder and lightnings to know how far it is.
    I don’t like thunder at all frightens me.
    Wish you a good day

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    1. I don't mind thunder, but I do prefer it when it is a little more distant from me!

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  6. Hello,
    The sky looks beautiful, even with the storm approaching. One of my dogs used to hide during a thunder storm.
    Take care, have a great day!

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    1. I felt sorry for my brother's dog Rusty - he must have been absolutely terrified as he doesn't even like the sound of rain, let alone thunder.

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  7. I had my annual flu shot back in October (our fall, of course), as I have done every year since I turned fifty. I have known humans who should be able understand the science of storms show fear of them, so it's not hard to sympathize with the reaction of other animals.

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    1. We have to wait until we are 65 to receive the flu jab, unless you have an underlying health issue. Susceptible people can also have a pneumonia jab, but that it not offered to the general public.

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  8. We are working on the Covid jabs. My husband’s is next week and I am a week later. I had the flu shot last fall though.

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    1. Hope you get your shots without any problems. Ours are meant to roll out (for seniors) in the second half of next month.

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  9. I love that photo...we used to have a dig that was terrified of storms. Now my granddog Delta does not like them and hates fireworks!

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    1. Oh yes, both our cats and the neighbour's dog heartily dislike fireworks!

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  10. Por aquí también hemos tenido tormentas. Un beso.

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  11. We've had so many jabs this year and still two more to come. We've had the flu shot and one for pneumonia, part one of covid. Waiting for covid no 2 and a herpes zoster shot. Thank goodness our chemist has a light hand.
    We were taught to count between the thunder and lightening too, and I still do.
    Have a good healthy winter

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    1. Your poor arms will be looking like a pin cushion!
      I had that herpes vaccine a couple of years ago - it didn't stop me getting shingles again last year, but they never developed into much and were soon gone. I was happy with that :)

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  12. Hooray for the flu jab, being so easy.

    Those are some storms, from the look of that photo. Wow!!!!!

    Poor kitties.....

    💛🌼🌻🌼💛

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    1. I was most impressed with how well organized the staff were. Everything progressed very smoothly.

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  13. I make sure I get the flu shot every year. So now I am wondering if we will have to get a Covid shot every year too? I love a good thunderstorm, but a violent storm can do so much damage. A bad storm last year blew my grandchildren's trampoline up in the air and bent it completely out of shape.

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    1. It sounds like we will probably have to have a "top up" every year, a bit like the flu shot. Must have been frightening having the trampoline take off like that.

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  14. Down there in New Zealand you are so fortunate to be able to focus on flu jabs when up here in England it's all about COVID-19 jabs, saving lives and reducing the pressure on our hospitals.

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    1. We have been fortunate so far in not having to worry about Covid. However, I am still looking forward to receiving the vaccine when it gets offered to us (which should be next month).

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  15. I love the idea of a drive through vaccine site. Never made any sense to me to draw people into crowded spaces to get their vaccine! I too feel sorry for animals during times of loud noises. All you can do is try to comfort them.

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    1. Crowding together to receive a vaccine does seem rather ironic, doesn't it. Our testing stations are also drive through (although I have never yet been to one).
      It took quite a bit to settle Mittens down as she was so terrified. Millie found herself a dark corner and actually ended up going to sleep there.

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  16. wow the flu vaccination you had sounds like a new thing, maybe they are treating it like covid.

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    1. I thought it was a great idea, and did wonder if they were "practicing" to see if they could do covid the same way.

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  17. Good how organized it all is with the shot.

    We do that, too, count between flashes, Oh I so wish we´d get a thunderstorm I love that!

    Here still too cold for Spring, at least the sun is shining, have a great day x

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    1. Sometimes we have our coldest weather in spring (it gets wettest in winter). Enjoy your day too :)

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  18. I bet they will do the same thing for the covid vaccination. Good thing that you got your flu shot overwith:)

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Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx