A good experience with PennMedicine

My compliments to Penn Medicine. I called to schedule my yearly mammogram on Monday and got an appointment for Wednesday at the new (I still think of it as new) medical building on Woodview Road in Jennersville. After I registered at the check-in desk, I barely had time to chat with a friend who also happened to be in the waiting area when they called me back to the radiology area. The mammogram tech, Sandy, was efficient and kind. And less than 24 hours later my results (negative!) appeared on the myPennMedicine portal -- no more waiting for the mailed form letter.

Highly recommended.

Not six feet apart

A young couple I know have decided it's time to start their family. They recently announced "their" pregnancy with a funny post on social media showing an ultrasound scan and a photo of a onesie bearing the message: "My parents did not practice social distancing."

Toadstools in the lawn

Another oddity of this summer: the toadstools that are springing up randomly on the lawn. I've never seen so many! Is it the fact that fungal spores are floating around in the air here in "mushroom country"?

When I mentioned this to a friend (a Chester County native who now lives in Florida), he said the toadstools in the lawn are definitely not a novelty down there. In fact, he has a hard time keeping up with them: "If you don't pull them first thing in the AM, we develop giant fairy rings with hundreds of them. Out of control! I had one about 30 feet across in my yard for a while."

An unexpected benefit

Doing my sweat-fest exercise class via Zoom on the back deck has had an unexpected benefit: I no longer mind the heat quite so much. I just guzzle a lot of cold water and douse myself with the garden hose. In previous summers, I was miserable and cranky during heat waves, retreating to air conditioning and merely existing until the weather cooled off.

Heat tolerance is definitely not a problem for a Marshallton friend who cares for a variety of livestock. Mucking out stalls even in steamy weather, she says, is infinitely better than when it's below freezing.