Covid-19

[lisa c]

I think I love Preppers! In my head, I’m one of them, in reality not great at follow-through. Trudging uphill to the drugstore, berating myself, I realized that sometimes there isn’t enough room in a place to keep a large rolling stock of personal paper products, food, baked goods - and who knows? Some people in places like NYC have the tiniest apartments and tiniest refrigerators ever.

My Dad, (1924) a Depression Era kid always had about 10 5lb bags of sugar in the cupboard, and a big tall closet of paper products and 3liter sodas. I don’t know where he hid his Heinz ketchup and Spaghettios...

Mom (1929) mocked this, but she had 13 sets of china. She liked pretty things, and had 6 kids. She thought we should have choices, and couldn’t get rid of family pieces.
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Me, Saturday, Lincoln Ave, makeshift mask, after getting the Death-Ray glare from my next-door-apt neighbor, who was in a hazmat suit. I kid you not. He has Steve McQueen eyes. That glare froze my blood, and ok, hurt my feelings. Because, I don’t qualify for a real mask, or a hazmat suit, you know?

Sorry, you can’t see my pearls.

Drug store and groc stocked up, but - oh noooooooo, bakery closed until end of the month. That’s ok, we want people to survive, we love our bakers, and all other community workers.

[CathyKeshi]

Wow, be safe Lisa C. My mother-in-law, a depression child, had an oil drum container in the upstairs closet; she kept it filled with bags of sugar, safe in case a mouse wandered in. Whenever ANYONE went to the supermarket, they got a coupon to buy more sugar. I mean, she'd chase you down in the street, yelling "Don't forget the sugar coupon!" Her husband used 7 spoons of sugar in his coffee, with every meal. Can you say supersaturated solution LOL? When I washed the dishes, there was undissolved sugar sludge in the bottom of every cup. I managed to track down some supplies and new curtains, online but it took 4 days of searching and verifying, cancelling and changing orders to be sure I wasn't ordering something from far away, backordered and not likely to arrive before August ... or never.

[AzFlyGirl]

Thank you ladies for your sense of humor. You had me laughing with these post. Lisa C and Cathy K, your humor is stellar and had this stressed girl laughing so hard my eyes were tearing up. Cathy K what I would give....for a good ole Philly onion and potato perogies right now !! Yummy !

In my area, you go to the grocery store and so many shelves are bare. Not much in the protein department, no chicken, beef, pork, eggs or dried beans to be found. Even pasta shelves are empty !! Do not even go into paper goods aisle...empty ! After roving through the grocery store, I came home with what I could find and made the best of it. Cannot find raw chicken but they had quite a few rotisserie chickens available. And in the meat department, only thing I saw worth purchasing was italian sausage, quite a bit still left. Thank goodness I love to cooking, as I made three big stock pots of great soups with my finds. Lucky I stock my pantry pretty well normally, so had items I could use. Looked through my repertoire of hundreds of recipes and make something delish ! Thank goodness, cooking schools were my initial way of learning about a city and meeting new people, whenever this airline nomad moved to another city during my career. With the rotisserie chickens , I made a big batch of chicken and tortellini soup, and a big pot of chicken and wild rice soup. (Red I know you are familiar with that soup!!) Froze many packages of individual servings in the freezer. And with the italian sausage, I made a stock pot of Italian lentil and sausage stew, as well as a great Putanesca sauce for pasta. Again freezing many package in the freezer. Easy to find salad greens, so now soup and salad are the staple. And a good pasta once a week. I enjoy soups and stews, so I am a happy camper and making the best of it.

Work is stressful. With the pandemic, no one knows where this situation is headed, and it is hitting the my industry pretty hard. Harder than I have seen in the 40 years of my career ! We are not allowed to wear mask or gloves. (go figure right!!) Wash my hands as often as I can, and take ever precaution I am able to. I am dealing with at least 500 people a day ! Doing all I can to keep myself safe and so far I am good, as are my colleagues. On my days off doing the self isolation and taking a couple of extra vacation days here and there where I am able to stay home. I have a feeling though, there will be some extended time off coming up shortly. Already there are radically reduced schedules, down 70 percent, and some carriers have already started laying off people, or this week several have completely shut down all air service for at least a month. Not a bad idea really, and maybe the answer regarding the spread, short term here ! So we will see what happens. meanwhile I count my blessings each morning, try to be as safe as I can, enjoy my pearls.......and now enjoying some great healthy dinner each day ! Ladies wishing you Godspeed during these difficult times right now. Stay safe and well.

[jshepherd]

Hisano and I moved her parents in two weeks ago just before the run on grocery stores. They aren't leaving for any reason, and I'm staying at home too. Hisano moved into the office to handle all production and fulfillment and the rest of the team is now remote.

I've heard from friends in Asia and from Jacques Branellec just last night. Jacques is working to get supplies to the farms but is under lock down restrictions in Manila. They have been locked down for two weeks and he is struggling to keep their 1200 fed and safe and are unsure whether they will be continue with all their farms if this continues much longer.

[Pearl Dreams]

This virus is showing us how fragile what we think of as "normal life" is, and indeed life itself. Prayers for M. Branellec and all those on the farms who need provisions....

[JerseyPearl]

Wow everyone, be safe and be smart! I love the humor, as we all need to lift spirits. I am the "designated hitter" in my family for trips to the grocery, as I know the layouts and can get in and out quickly. NJ is now #2 next to NY for cases, but I think that's primarily due to an increase in the ability of the state to test. In my family, we are operating on 2 weeks between all excursions to the grocery, drug, and other essential stops. Do what you think makes sense, but do it with listening to the public health officials.

[lisa c]

You guys are my sanity and snickers.

The boss of the building called today; she’s calling everyone to check-in, and reassure us that we’re ok, and that the ‘plant’ manager said there’s nothing scary or unusual going on in the building. So the hazmat outfit guy is just exercising ‘care’.

At first as she was speaking I thought “uh oh, does she read PG? am I in trouble?”, but no.

She’s calling everyone, and I was the first person to pick up. That must be spooky, to be making safety calls and get no pickups.

[lisa c]

I would like to post this for the sake of fairness. Why close the liquor stores, as non-essential, and keep cdb (or is it cbd) stores open? It just seems a bit lopsided, but hey, what do I know. I do know you make tinctures, tisanes and extracts with sherry, and vodka, not cibbledibble.

and there should be no spitting on people, dammit! It’s gross, wrongheaded, shameful.

[Pearl Dreams]

Are they closing liquor stores in your area, Lisa? In CT they kept them open because of people with alcohol addictions... stopping cold turkey can be dangerous for some.

For some reason in CT they consider it essential to supply coffee to the populace. I suppose one can't make coffee at home?

[lisa c]

I’ll have to check. I’m getting 3 papers now, and regional information is running together in my head; The Times, The Globe and the local. There are no package stores within walking distance and I’m not interested in hopping a bus to check it out.

Edit - supposedly yes, package stores as well as bars and restaurants closed after the 16th, according to order by gov Wolfe, statewide.
I don’t think it took though, because I googled, and 2 stores said “closing soon, 9pm”.

Geez, I never considered the cold turkey angle. I just wanted to make cooking extracts with the vodka, and cook with a really good sipping sherry, neither of which will I do. Sigh. Ennui. And have a glug of white wine, on the occasion. Sigh.

edit - well, now for sure I won’t be dabbling in making extracts, that’s not even vodka in the freezer! It’s limoncello. And I hope sherry ages well, I have 2 of them, 1 dry, 1creamy, both nuttily nuanced. ArrArrArrr. Oh, I found 1 cute little Apple brandy, it’s gotten super-smooth over the last 2 years! Wow, 50ml, over 2 years, what’s the math? Errr, it smells like apple bubble gum, but tastes nothing like. Huh.

Life in the fast lane, cleaning out cupboards.
i feel so superfluous......

[Pearl Dreams]

I recommend this thread on PS for comic relief!

https://www.pricescope.com/community...thread.255509/

[Katbran]

Well every business here is now closed with a couple of exceptions. No gatherings at home allowed, weddings only 5 people total ( including bride and groom and celebrant) funerals - 10 people total. 90% of all domestic flights cancelled, no international allowed for the past couple of weeks. Beaches are closed now as people were being stupid. Open houses for Real Estate have to be by appointment. Everything is going online. So other than going to the grocery store... why bother .... or the Drug Store.... not much to do. I went out today for the first time in 5 days. Geeez it felt weird .. I was so paranoid lol

But fortunately we have jumped on this pretty early and with luck we won't be shut down for the 6 months the government is saying. So many businesses will be lost. I'm hoping that a couple of months will see the curve flatten.

[KarinK]

Lisa, you should have hit the bank on the way with that outfit

I really don't get the shortage of food in the US. If people would just slow their fear a tiny fraction, they would know there is enough for everyone. Only thing I didn't find in my local supermarket yesterday was eggs. It was only crazy for a day or two.

The sun here in Dublin is taunting everyone by shining THREE days in a row now. They added restrictions yesterday including closing non-essential shops, but they had already almost all closed. Thank goodness I discovered that one of my local coffee shops, one of those with good latte, is still open for take-away and that is still allowed. So I get my daily espresso fix still. And that is why you need to keep those open too!

About to head out for a brisk walk (exercise is permitted) to a large park about 20 min from where we live that I haven't visited yet.

Take care!!

Editing to say that I didn't mean to sound flippant about the coffee shop. They are taking as good care of their staff as they possibly can by not letting anyone inside. They have set up a large table on either side of the doorway so that they have 6'' distance to anyone and only take card. Any risk is on the customer and that's a personal choice. I would fully understand if they closed. As it is, I am happy to both still get my 'espresso based milk drink break' and be able to support a small independant coffee shop.

[Pearl Dreams]

KarinK,

Here is why I wrote what I wrote. It's personal, for us.

My daughter lives with us. She works at a coffee shop and is exasperated that she has to work at a drive-through window and was told that she is not allowed to wear a mask lest it scare the customers. (This was Monday afternoon, after she had been wearing a mask all day and had been praised by many customers for being smart and wearing a mask! Not one customer complained.)

The manager told her that there is no way she could catch the virus from customers in their cars 3 feet away from her, talking directly at her face. I'm just shaking my head at the level of ignorance of that manager.

Her job poses a risk to my husband and me as we are in our mid-60s / mid-70s and both have chronic health problems. She can't afford to quit but wishes they would be obliged to close so that she could collect unemployment and stop putting us at risk. At 24 she is an adult but is in no way ready to lose her parents.

I get that people like their coffee, but I don't wish to possibly become gravely ill or even die just because people want coffee from a drive-thru. It just doesn't seem like an "essential service" to me-- and minimum wage is not exactly hazard pay.

As to personal choice...for the customers, sure, but the employees don't feel like they have a choice. Being unemployed without collecting unemployment pay is not a choice for most people.

It sounds like the coffee shop you frequent is being more sensible.. .6 feet of separation is better, of course.

I took the time to write this so that any readers who go to drive-thrus for coffee would think twice.
My daughter adds: Also for food. Most people can prepare food at home. If only those who really need to use the drive-thru do it, the risk is lower for the employees and their families.

And if you use a drive-thru, consider wearing a mask yourself-- to protect the employees. You may be the one carrying the virus, unbeknownst to you.

Edited to add: My husband works in manufacturing and his shop is also considered "essential." As of today all employees are required [edit: I misunderstood. Masks are not required, just recommended, and are being provided, for now. I think their supply is small so I have ordered fabric masks on Etsy for him.]

[CathyKeshi]

Jeremy, it's good to hear you and Hisano's parents are safe and isolated; what a good idea to bring them in weeks ago. We pray Hisano and all your team remain safe and well; you are in our hearts along with all our pearl friends. Breaks my heart to hear what Jacques B. and his beloved team workers are going through, and on top of cyclones and all the other challenges of pearl farming. Please convey our worry and regard; if there is a way to help, please pass along. The same good will and concern goes out for all our pearl growers far away. We're supporting Doctors Without Borders, on Mikey's wise recommendation. It at least feels like we're helping a tiny bit, when so many of the ways we usually would help are cut off by isolation.

Please take care all.