This picture is from yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Marion, one of my neighbours, came along to ask for our gardener’s phone number. Peter gave her the number. I showed Marion in the computer the photos that we had taken on Monday morning at the lake.
Here is another photo that I tried to shoot with my camera from the computer screen. It shows part of that beautiful playground near the lake.
Marion asked me whether I still felt to be in a celebratory mood. “Very much so,” was my reply. Tuesday morning was a lovely morning: Wonderful sunshine, the air felt balmy. When Marion arrived we had already finished our morning tea outside in front of the house.
A little bit of ice-ream cake had still been left from Sunday. Peter and I enjoyed this before we had our cup of morning tea.
I wore this hat sitting outside in the sun.I had tried the hat on in the bathroom to see what it looked like.Before I got dressed I had taken another picture in the bathroom. My aim was to take a picture of the flowers when I noticed I could also be seen in the mirror!Later I took a picture stepping back a bit – but surprise, surprise: the mirror did still catch me!Looking through my birthday cards again and again I felt I wanted to take a picture of them.
These are the names of the ladies who gave me these beautiful flowers. Joan came a bit later after work. Her name is missing on the card. Anyhow these are the flowers I received from the ladies on Monday. Aren’t they beautiful?
So Tuesday morning I went around enjoying all the flowers. I kept shifting them to different places and took pictures of them from different angles. I just love taking pictures of beautiful things!
Here you can see Peter in the kitchen busily fixing the curtain rod.
Breakfast Time
Sparkling Apple Juice for LunchSalad for LunchThis in Lunch
Here is this week’s TIME magazine. On page 14 it says:
ON A HUMID MID-SEPTEMBER NIGHT, SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY ARRIVED AT THE ROYAL PALACE ON SAUDI ARABIA’S RED SEA COAST TO BEG THE FAVOR OF A KING
The writer of this article says that Abdula bin Abdulazis is perhaps the most powerful man in the Middle East.
It is said in this article that the U.S. has built a fragile web of alliances to fight ISIS. The question is being asked: WILL THIS SHAKY GROUP OF PARTNERS HOLD?
I, Uta, ask myself, how can we as ordinary citizens possibly grasp all the complications? It’s of no use working myself up, right? But I still want to know as much as possible where we are at at present.
Back to my flowers. Here is another glance at them:
Under the above picture it says: Diplomatic dance Kerry leaves a photo op with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, on Sept.11
auntyutaEditYea, busily taking pictures, Berlioz. As you know, I love doing this! Reply
giselzitroneEditEinen glücklichen Mittwoch liebe Ute so schöne Bilder und viele Blumen meinen Glückwunsch noch nachträglich und viel Gesundheit und Glück war sicher viel Arbeit für dich.Ja vom Fernsehen hatte ich auch mal versucht Bilder zu machen wahren aber nicht so schön.Ich wünsche dir noch einen glücklichen schönen Tag und alles liebe und Glück von mir.Gruß und Freundschaft.GislindeReply
auntyutaEditNein, Gislinde, war nicht viel Arbeit für mich. Die Gäste kamen nur zum Nachmittags Kaffee. Caroline und Peter sahen nach der Küche und besorgten das Einschenken während ich wie die Königing mit meinen Gästen am Tisch sass! Wie du siehst, bin ich ordentlich verwöhnt worden und die vielen Blumengeschenke machten mich sehr glücklich. Es war ein ganz besonderer Geburtstag der sich über mehrere Tage erstreckte. Nun bin ich offiziel im fortgeschrittenen Alter. Hat aber auch seine guten Seiten, finde ich. Hab vielen Dank für deine lieben Glückwünsche, liebe Gislinde. Herzliche Grüsse, Uta. Reply
catterelEditLovely pictures of what sounds like a lovely birthday. Btw only vampires don’t have a reflection in the mirror Reply
auntyuta Well, Cat, now there is proof that I am not a vampire! He, he Reply
Here is one answer to me that I received 2 days ago:
Aunty, it’s typical of all coronaviruses (the main viruses that cause colds) and flu viruses to continually mutate. As they mutate, the illnesses they cause become less severe. This usually means they become more contagious – mainly because people are less sick and are more likely to be active and mingle among other people.
All the evidence suggests this is true of Delta variant. Although it’s more contagious, the illness it causes is much milder. A year’s worth of data shows the the Wuhan virus itself tends to cause very mild illness in people under 65 without underlying health conditions. It also shows that people over 65 or those with underlying health conditions can be successfully treated as outpatients with early treatments. The mainstream media is trying very hard to conceal these facts because the goal is to scare the wits out of people to get them to take these dangerous experimental vaccines..
today 55 years ago you were born. When I heard the good news in the early hours of that day in 1957 I cried with happiness for you and your Mum. I wish you were still here so I could congratulate you for the good life that you lived, despite fate having given you a massive hurdle to overcome. But you did it !!! You put us all to shame with your zest for life. This zest for life you shared with the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe whose birthday you shared too. Here is what he wrote and you will understand, because you felt the same:
“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
Wasn’t that you? You spread the “good climate” and shared your attitude to life with the rest of us. Your birth and your life was a gift to us from the creator as the meaning of your name is “God gives Strength”. When we chose your name we must have subconsciously foreseen what would become of you.Your life was a gift to us. Thank you for having been Gabriele, our Gaby. We love and remember you for the rest of our lives.
A beautiful life
This is a blog that Peter wrote in 2012 and I copied it in memory of Gaby and Peter.
Approval Signifies Key Achievement for Public Health
Immediate Release:August 23, 2021
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.
“The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”
Since Dec. 11, 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has been available under EUA in individuals 16 years of age and older, and the authorization was expanded to include those 12 through 15 years of age on May 10, 2021. EUAs can be used by the FDA during public health emergencies to provide access to medical products that may be effective in preventing, diagnosing, or treating a disease, provided that the FDA determines that the known and potential benefits of a product, when used to prevent, diagnose, or treat the disease, outweigh the known and potential risks of the product.
FDA-approved vaccines undergo the agency’s standard process for reviewing the quality, safety and effectiveness of medical products. For all vaccines, the FDA evaluates data and information included in the manufacturer’s submission of a biologics license application (BLA). A BLA is a comprehensive document that is submitted to the agency providing very specific requirements. For Comirnaty, the BLA builds on the extensive data and information previously submitted that supported the EUA, such as preclinical and clinical data and information, as well as details of the manufacturing process, vaccine testing results to ensure vaccine quality, and inspections of the sites where the vaccine is made. The agency conducts its own analyses of the information in the BLA to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective and meets the FDA’s standards for approval.
Comirnaty contains messenger RNA (mRNA), a kind of genetic material. The mRNA is used by the body to make a mimic of one of the proteins in the virus that causes COVID-19. The result of a person receiving this vaccine is that their immune system will ultimately react defensively to the virus that causes COVID-19. The mRNA in Comirnaty is only present in the body for a short time and is not incorporated into – nor does it alter – an individual’s genetic material. Comirnaty has the same formulation as the EUA vaccine and is administered as a series of two doses, three weeks apart.
“Our scientific and medical experts conducted an incredibly thorough and thoughtful evaluation of this vaccine. We evaluated scientific data and information included in hundreds of thousands of pages, conducted our own analyses of Comirnaty’s safety and effectiveness, and performed a detailed assessment of the manufacturing processes, including inspections of the manufacturing facilities,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “We have not lost sight that the COVID-19 public health crisis continues in the U.S. and that the public is counting on safe and effective vaccines. The public and medical community can be confident that although we approved this vaccine expeditiously, it was fully in keeping with our existing high standards for vaccines in the U.S.”
FDA Evaluation of Safety and Effectiveness Data for Approval for 16 Years of Age and Older
The first EUA, issued Dec. 11, for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for individuals 16 years of age and older was based on safety and effectiveness data from a randomized, controlled, blinded ongoing clinical trial of thousands of individuals.
To support the FDA’s approval decision today, the FDA reviewed updated data from the clinical trial which supported the EUA and included a longer duration of follow-up in a larger clinical trial population.
Specifically, in the FDA’s review for approval, the agency analyzed effectiveness data from approximately 20,000 vaccine and 20,000 placebo recipients ages 16 and older who did not have evidence of the COVID-19 virus infection within a week of receiving the second dose. The safety of Comirnaty was evaluated in approximately 22,000 people who received the vaccine and 22,000 people who received a placebo 16 years of age and older.
Based on results from the clinical trial, the vaccine was 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease.
More than half of the clinical trial participants were followed for safety outcomes for at least four months after the second dose. Overall, approximately 12,000 recipients have been followed for at least 6 months.
The most commonly reported side effects by those clinical trial participants who received Comirnaty were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, chills, and fever. The vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19 and potentially serious outcomes including hospitalization and death.
Additionally, the FDA conducted a rigorous evaluation of the post-authorization safety surveillance data pertaining to myocarditis and pericarditis following administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has determined that the data demonstrate increased risks, particularly within the seven days following the second dose. The observed risk is higher among males under 40 years of age compared to females and older males. The observed risk is highest in males 12 through 17 years of age. Available data from short-term follow-up suggest that most individuals have had resolution of symptoms. However, some individuals required intensive care support. Information is not yet available about potential long-term health outcomes. The Comirnaty Prescribing Information includes a warning about these risks.
Ongoing Safety Monitoring
The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have monitoring systems in place to ensure that any safety concerns continue to be identified and evaluated in a timely manner. In addition, the FDA is requiring the company to conduct postmarketing studies to further assess the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with Comirnaty. These studies will include an evaluation of long-term outcomes among individuals who develop myocarditis following vaccination with Comirnaty. In addition, although not FDA requirements, the company has committed to additional post-marketing safety studies, including conducting a pregnancy registry study to evaluate pregnancy and infant outcomes after receipt of Comirnaty during pregnancy.
The FDA granted this application Priority Review. The approval was granted to BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
The MIT community is driven by a shared purpose: to make a better world through education, research, and innovation. We are fun and quirky, elite but not elitist, inventive and artistic, obsessed with numbers, and welcoming to talented people regardless of where they come from.
MIT’s motto is “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand,” signifying the fusion of academic knowledge with practical purpose.
People flocked to the beaches of Tel Aviv when Israel almost completely reopened.(Reuters: Amir Cohen)
Life is set to be very different once 80 per cent of Australians are vaccinated — but one country has shown the dangers of being too confident and throwing out the rest of the COVID toolkit.
Key points:
Israel recently had to reimpose restrictions following a huge surge in COVID-19 cases
The vast majority of new cases were unvaccinated children
Experts say the resurgence proves the vaccine cannot be relied upon alone
“You would still have to respect some rules that exist around vaccinations, around social distancing, around mask wearing [once 80 per cent target is met],” she said.
But Israel, which has almost the same population as Sydney, reopened completely after reaching the 80 per cent mark — and took one giant step backwards.
In recent months, Israel has reopened businesses, schools and event venues, lifting nearly all restrictions.(ABC News: Phil Hemingway)
Israel shot to an early lead in the race to vaccinate, inoculating its citizens at an eye-watering pace to deliver the world’s fastest vaccine rollout.
Around 78 per cent of the eligible population are now fully vaccinated, just shy of the 80 per cent target set for Australia to start to open up.
But in recent weeks Israel has been hit by a surprise resurgence of COVID-19, with seven-day average daily case numbers surging past 6,500 this week.
Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett from Deakin University has been paying close attention to Israel’s experience with COVID-19 and said the new surge of infections was”disappointing”, as it quashed many people’s hopes of a return to normality.
Professor Catherine Bennett, Deakin’s chair of Epidemiology.(ABC News: Peter Drought)
“Everyone would have loved for the story to be a great one where you could live normally and all would be well,” she said.
“They had gone to the future we hoped might be possible… but that was pre-Delta.”
So what went wrong for Israel? Two months ago it appeared the country had all but conquered the virus.
Seven-day average case numbers had toppled from a peak of more than 8,500 in January to a mere handful by June after a successful vaccination campaign, and health authorities were jubilant.
The death rate had also dropped, from an average of over 65 a day in January to near zero by late June, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
People take part in an annual gay pride parade in Tel Aviv on June 25.(Reuters)
Residents celebrated no longer having to wear a mask or socially distance.Some even travelled overseas, although they were encouraged not to.
But within weeks the Delta variant had entered the country, initially emerging in schools.
“The vast majority of those infected are unvaccinated children. There are also vaccinated individuals [and] the severe cases are among older adults 60 years of age and older,” a statement from Israel’s Ministry of Health said.
Elderly residents who had previously received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine began reporting serious symptoms after contracting the virus, sparking concerns that vaccine effectiveness was wearing off, according to Israeli epidemiologist Nadav Davidovitch.
Professor Davidovitch, who works at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University and is a member of the national expert committee on COVID-19, said Israel had false confidence.
“People were celebrating the end of COVID and this was probably too early,” he said.
Israel learns hard lessons of Delta
Since the explosion of cases, Israel has had to backtrack.
Masks have been reintroduced indoors, and the “green pass” was recently re-imposed, requiring residents to prove their vaccination status before entering certain venues.
‘Green passes’ are required upon entry to facilities like gyms.(Reuters: Ronen Zvulun)
Three weeks ago, Israel began offering third Pfizer shots to the elderly and health care workers, and 1 million booster shots have since been administered.
Israel has also tried incentives such as free beer to win over the hesitant, with more than 1 million people still holding out on receiving the vaccine.
As for calling another lockdown, Professor Davidovitch said the government would resist it for as long as possible.
“For me, lockdowns are only when you’re failing.”
Nadav Davidovitch is an epidemiologist and public health physician in Israel.(Supplied)
He said the main indicator would be if the hospitals were overrun, and said that, fortunately, admissions had halved following the vaccination rollout.
The death rate is also much lower, despite the surging cases.
As of August 17, the seven-day average daily death rate was 19, compared to a seven day average of 65 deaths a day at the peak of Israel’s outbreak in January.
Professor Catherine Bennett said that was one small comfort, but the warning to Australia was clear.
“We know from Israel that opening up completely and [the virus] getting away from you is a problem,” she said.
“Israel relied completely on the vaccine, Australia [should not] do that.”
A man walks past people taking part in a silent disco event in Tel Aviv.(Reuters: Amir Cohen )
Professor Bennett said Australia was more likely to retain some public health safety measures such as testing, tracing and isolating, even after it reached its 80 per cent vaccination target.
“We can’t get to 80 per cent and expect things to magically change if our case numbers are too high.”
As for when complete freedom will be restored, Professor Bennett suggested it might be a slow process.
“If we suppress transmission by two thirds around the world, we might not see another variant emerge as quickly as we saw Delta, which means vaccines targeting Delta will work for longer,” she said.
“This means we will progressively grind it down to a level we won’t see new variants … and the ideal situation is in a year’s time we can treat COVID-19 like other infections such as the measles,” she said.
I love early mornings. Waking up early always seems exciting to me. Here in Australia the nights are getting rather cold now as we are approaching winter. These days when I wake up at five it is still dark outside. Sometimes I think it is better not to get up straight away. So I may tell myself to stay in bed for one more hour or so. Occasionally I am still a bit tired and go back to sleep after a little while. But usually I stay awake the whole time, lying in bed thinking about what I plan for the day or perhaps saying a few prayers. Often I remember my childhood prayers!
The family I grew up in was not very religious. During my whole childhood I remember being taken to church only once. This was for a service on Christmas Eve in 1943. Lots of familiar Christmas songs were being sung then. I thought this was wonderful!
Now what about prayers? Strangely enough there are some childhood prayers that I often remember when I wake up early in the morning. Then I am that child again who was being told to say these prayers before going to sleep.
The first prayer I learned was just saying that I am small and my heart is pure with only Jesus in it.
When I was a bit older I learned another prayer. saying that I was tired, closing my eyes and asking the Lord to watch over my bed.
Mum also told me to ask God for the protection of all my loved ones. In the reciting of all the names there was always Dad included who was on the Eastern Front at this time of WW II.
Here are the prayers as I remember them in German:
“Ich bin klein, mein Herz ist rein; soll niemand drin wohnen als Jesus allein.”
or
“Müde bin ich geh’ zur Ruh schliesse beide Augen zu. Vater lass die Augen dein über meinem Bette sein.”
And I would say:
“Lieber Gott, behüte Mutti und Vati, Bodo und Peter, Tante Ilse, die Omi und Renate und alle die ich lieb habe.”
berlioz1935 EditYou have been busy Aunty Uta.Reply
giselzitrone EditEinen glücklichen Mittwoch liebe Ute so schöne Bilder und viele Blumen meinen Glückwunsch noch nachträglich und viel Gesundheit und Glück war sicher viel Arbeit für dich.Ja vom Fernsehen hatte ich auch mal versucht Bilder zu machen wahren aber nicht so schön.Ich wünsche dir noch einen glücklichen schönen Tag und alles liebe und Glück von mir.Gruß und Freundschaft.GislindeReply
auntyuta EditNein, Gislinde, war nicht viel Arbeit für mich. Die Gäste kamen nur zum Nachmittags Kaffee. Caroline und Peter sahen nach der Küche und besorgten das Einschenken während ich wie die Königing mit meinen Gästen am Tisch sass! Wie du siehst, bin ich ordentlich verwöhnt worden und die vielen Blumengeschenke machten mich sehr glücklich. Es war ein ganz besonderer Geburtstag der sich über mehrere Tage erstreckte. Nun bin ich offiziel im fortgeschrittenen Alter. Hat aber auch seine guten Seiten, finde ich. Hab vielen Dank für deine lieben Glückwünsche, liebe Gislinde. Herzliche Grüsse, Uta. Reply
catterel EditLovely pictures of what sounds like a lovely birthday. Btw only vampires don’t have a reflection in the mirror Reply
rangewriter EditHappy belated birthday. You are as lovely as your flowers.Reply
AuntyUta 
