Any change to future emergency preps? [Archive]

flowerseverywhere

4-27-20, 4:15am

Here we are in the middle of the pandemic. We can get most supplies we need, especially if you are willing to get up early. Also, we are in a mid-populated area. Not too rural but rural enough to have farms close to us. Populated enough to be close to hospitals and several within thirty minutes affiliated with major Universities. We also are approaching hurricane season, although between floods, pandemics, drought, earthquakes, snow and ice events etc. no one is immune from having to be self reliant.

In light of everything what would you do differently in the future to prepare? Once this deadly very contagious virus made the news in January/feb before the run on stores and lockdowns, is there anything you could have done to be better prepared?

Yppej

4-27-20, 5:35am

More stocking up on items where the supply chain may get broken that I like to buy in store. My job went to no dress code for the duration but I only have 2 pairs of jeans that fit and I like to try on clothes, for example.

Will see if my hairdresser, who also works as a home health aide, would put on her scrubs and do private cuts of masked customers.

Not prepay for home heating oil at a lock in price that may crash.

Make sure if I ever switch jobs it is to another essential industry.

happystuff

4-27-20, 7:07am

Be downsized in a more efficient/smaller house; more savings; better stocked in foods and necessities - although we are doing okay in this regard.

razz

4-27-20, 8:06am

Life's experiences prepare each of us.

Having gone through lean times at different earlier points in my life, I was prepared for most of what has unfolded. Family has chuckled at my need for a stash of supplies, shopping for bargains, food preservation each year and general simplicity of life. I don't hoard but I have on hand what I need, most of the time.

I love the opportunities for extra experiences when finances are more abundant, eg, travel, theatre, indulgence when shopping. It is always within a careful limit.

Have to chuckle though - my stash of lentils did dehydrate excessively with storage so now I have to soak them overnight and then cook. They are still somewhat firm but tasty with a chewable texture like a burger.

Preparation is more a mental effort than physical resources, IMHO, a need to decide what is enough and what is optional.

happystuff

4-27-20, 9:01am

Preparation is more a mental effort than physical resources, IMHO, a need to decide what is enough and what is optional.

+1 Well said!

herbgeek

4-27-20, 10:14am

I was mostly well prepared- but that's a way of life when you live in the sticks. I tend to have a lot on hand and purchase more items while I still have some left in stock, as opposed to waiting until I am out to buy more. I had plenty of food, but low on paper products (specifically paper towels and tissues- I had plenty of TP) and alcohol. The Trader Joe's I've been using has beer but no wine. We live extravagantly here folks, and finally finished the last of the boxed wine. ;) Luckily the local liquor store has curbside pickup but its a 3 day wait to get stuff.

I would have like to have had more frozen veggies, as they were the first to disappear. I was in the process of working down my extra freezer so that I can defrost it one of these days. This has not been a hardship at all, because my local Trader Joe's has plenty of fresh veggies.

iris lilies

4-27-20, 10:27am

I would not change any scheduling of future pandemics because I like that it came on right at the beginning of gardening season. We have been rolling in fresh spinach, green onions and leeks, now rhubarb, and other things will be coming on soon.

Gardnr

4-27-20, 11:30am

We would have been OK for quite awhile. I usually stock up TP first week of April so that was a bit challenging-took me 4 tries in 6d to get a pack-just in time.

We were shut down when I usually do my garden start up shopping. The greenhouse is not up and nothing is started. I have ordered plants from an organic farm that is 35miles away. We will drive out there May 8 for "curbside" pickup.

I get free-range eggs from a RN that I worked with as do many of us there. One other RN and I take turns driving out there to pick them up so I continue to get my fresh 2dz every Wednesday. Those chickens don't care about 'rona.:~)

So really, I wouldn't have done anything differently if I'd had warning except grabbing garden supplies early!

Tradd

4-27-20, 11:30am

I had let my stash get rather low. This time around, because I knew what was going on in China due to work (int'l shipping), I stocked up about a week before most everyone else. While I know many people had issues finding bread at the beginning, I was alright on that as I always have 2-3 loaves in the freezer.

bae

4-27-20, 11:31am

I'm pretty happy with the level of preparedness I had going into this. I had already used as my baseline level "being ready to be at the far end of the supply chain after a major earthquake for 12 months", so this is not as bad as that, so far.

Things I'd change:

- More on-site veggie production. My mother's home is 8 minutes away from here by bicycle, and has lots of raised beds, a huge greenhouse, a chicken coop and run, lots of productive fruit trees, and plenty of room for expansion, but in this particular crisis I'm not visiting there much, as she is in a high risk group, and I am a first responder - I'd hate to kill her to drop by for veggies every day. I'm setting up a few boxes on my deck to grow herbs and salad greens, and some indoors growing areas as well - low volume, but enough to provide happiness to what I cook.

- My baseline preparedness was assuming there'd be two of us in this home, with some overlapping/complimentary skills. Due to my recent divorce, it's just me, and some of the skills/tools/raw materials that walked out the door have yet to be replaced. (See my recent request for sewing machine advice). Working on that. Humans are social creatures, while you *can* do every needful thing yourself, it's so much easier as a team. The peculiarities of this particular event prevent having random friends/family outside the immediate household participating as a team much.

- I got caught at the beginning of this with both of my powered seagoing vessels down for repair, and have not remedied that. I could finish up the repairs on one of them at least by myself, and I have sail/human powered vessels that would provide transport if necessary - in this particular crisis I'm not really moving around much, so it's not a huge issue yet. I won't make this mistake in the future though - one boat out of service at a time :-)

Tradd

4-27-20, 11:35am

Something I'm glad I did was make sure I had plenty of writing materials and hard copy books, as well as eBooks.

I have friends who rely on going to the library for hard copy books every week or two and they were caught very short. Some switched to eBooks from the library for the first time, others ordered used books online or started trading books with friends.

Added: I'm big on writing letters and notes. Have a stash of writing paper and note cards, so I've been sending out a couple of letters or cards a week. The recipients are primarily seniors, and they are glad to get them.

iris lilies

4-27-20, 12:03pm

Frankly, I am glad my beloved bulldog died when he did, end of January, and from a clearly defined end of life disease.

If I had to be shuttling him around to vets and specialists, I would have been anxious.yes they all have precautions. But still, I wouldn’t want to be out and about at that rate.

My current foster dog needed drugs last week, but our rescue director brought them to my house.

so once again, I would schedule the next pandemic similarly to the timing of this one.

Teacher Terry

4-27-20, 12:44pm

Since we always shop just once a month we were fine. When I saw what was happening in China we went earlier than usual.

Simplemind

4-27-20, 2:25pm

iris lilies

4-27-20, 3:06pm

We were already set pretty well but I have to admit, with all my training with years of scenarios, I was still not great with having the depth of supplies that I should have. We do have a fully stocked RV so that is kind of a kit on wheels. I now actually have my stock for the next wave or earthquake or whatever.
I listened as people talked about hoarders being a problem not understanding the bigger picture. TP has been pretty plentiful but now the shelves are starting to look bare no matter what time of the day you go. I'm glad some of the stores are limiting. I actually bartered with a friend the other day who had been to several stores and couldn't find canned tomatoes to save her life (and chili recipe). I traded for a can of pumpkin and I'm making bread with it at the moment. We doubled our garden space so we will be rolling in veggies this summer and I plan on making tons of tomato sauce.
Tomatoes are a staple in our house. I guess that’s why we had a three year supply I’ve been using up over the past nine months. Some of them were canned, if you were in salsa form, they were a couple containers of pasta sauce already cooked down from lots of tomatoes, and there are tons of frozen tomatoes.

Realistically, I’m glad I didn’t know this virus was coming because it would’ve caused me to continue to keep so much stuff in our freezer. That stuff needs to be used up it is years old.

I probably will buy lots of locally grown tomatoes this year though and freeze them.

JaneV2.0

4-27-20, 5:03pm

I'm aiming for pretty much full redundancy at this point. I've never been a minimalist, and this just sealed the deal.
I was low on isopropyl alcohol and had no antiseptic wipes when this started--or masks. I think I'm toppped up now.

ApatheticNoMore

4-27-20, 5:14pm

Yea minimalism as an idea, talk about things that will go into the trashbin of history after this.

(of course this doesn't mean keeping stuff one can never imagine EVER using, although one might be wrong even there! But minimalism as an idea is pretty dead now I think).

iris lilies

4-27-20, 5:20pm

I still don’t have antiseptic wipes. I did put a box of plastic gloves in my car I case I have to go someplace unexpected, but my trips outside of my house to where other humans live or hang are few and known. We always have bleach and I.alchohol arpund.

we have “masks” in that we have construction masks, but I haven’t worn one because I haven’t been to the grocery store in weeks, DH goes. He says he wears a masks, I don’t check him.

Periodically I wipe down car steering wheels, door handles, shift knobs and etc with bleach solution.

JaneV2.0

4-27-20, 8:16pm

Tiny particle filters finally showed up, suitable for tucking into pocketed masks. My masks don't have pockets, but I can add them. Unnecessary precautions probably, since I practice what you might call "extreme social distancing." :confused:

jp1

4-27-20, 9:28pm

Because we left for vacation on 3/13 and then the shutdown of San Francisco happened during the following week I got caught short of library books. My sister sent me her old kindle, but the library's selection of kindle ebooks is way more limited than their selection of dead tree books. I'd made a quick trip to the library right before we left, but in hindsight I should've picked up a bunch more books.

And like Iris Lily I'm glad we put my cat to sleep back in November. The vet was able to do it at our home, which was awesome. (well, as awesome as it could be when one is euthanizing a pet...) If we were doing it now we'd have to go to the vet's office, hand him over, and they would take care of it without us being there with him.

Like others I will also stock up on nonperishable stuff more. We still have two full bottles of rubbing alcohol and I've been able to get more peroxide, but hand sanitizer is still just simply never available. We still have half a case of toilet paper because we had luckily bought a case at costco at the beginning of february. Since SO was going to target today I suggested getting more if it was available, so he got two 6 roll packages. He thought I was nuts to suggest it but I'd rather not have to run around trying to find some if we're still locked down in a couple of months. (SO is more like Teacher Terry's husband, not all that nervous about all this. Even though he's more at risk of serious covid illness than I am he's fine with being out and about. I get stressed out when i go out.)

ToomuchStuff

4-28-20, 12:19am

I wish I could cut my own hair. I am feeling like I need to break out a polyester leisure suit.

flowerseverywhere

4-28-20, 1:06am

Like most here, I was very well prepared. It made no sense to me that a virus would not spread around the world the way planes were flying everywhere.
Now that we are starting the reopening I plan on stocking up more. Our stores are now very well stocked. It is way too early here to open. In the last month over 50,000 people died and most of us were locked up at home. I expect we haven’t seen the worst of it now that things are opening up.
Also, I have been experimenting with vegetarian recipes and I will continue that. I’m doing great with my garden. Beans, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and zucchini are producing. Enough that we can eat several fresh things a day. I even planted a lemon tree but that will take a while.

My next challenge is to figure out how to store and organize More efficiently.

I am a quilter so I’ve been using up my fabric stash and it’s convinced me if I can sew for hours a day for five weeks and still have many quilts left to do, I do not need one more piece of fabric.
We have stacks of books. I volunteer at the library used bookstore and bought a lot at .50 and $1. A few David Mccollough and Nathaniel Philbrick books and you are set for weeks.

Next up, making headbands to get my hair out of my face. I’m also considering an Instapot.

ApatheticNoMore

4-28-20, 1:16am

Truthfully though I have enough. I haven't really been short on anything. I haven't really suffered for want of anything. Not even TP, I've worried my fair share about it (a worry really noone needs added to their worries) given how hard it is to find, but found it here and there that it's enough.

So more peace of mind if I had more supplies sure, but truth is I have enough. Sanitizer no not readily found, but soap is, and for most things that's enough too. There were a few things I wish I had bought before the whole world shut down and became dangerous indefinitely, but those are more big purchases than emergency preps.

happystuff

4-28-20, 7:35am

But minimalism as an idea is pretty dead now I think.

I disagree. I'm still trying to declutter and get to a more minimalistic level of living. As I'm reducing and re-organizing, I'm finding that I have more than enough of some stocked items and a clearer picture of what I need more of. So, yes, I think minimalism is still alive and kicking - at least at my house.

JaneV2.0

4-28-20, 9:53am

...
Next up, making headbands to get my hair out of my face. I’m also considering an Instapot.

Oh, do get an Instant Pot. You won't be sorry, if I'm any indicator.

I'm glad I bought hand soap every time I ran across a deal; I should have done the same thing with alcohol. But I'm stocked up now.

Alan

4-28-20, 10:23am

I wish I could cut my own hair. I am feeling like I need to break out a polyester leisure suit.
I've been cutting my own hair for years and even cut my grandson's hair yesterday.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/94518464_10218030420058181_4758297523100057600_n.j pg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=110474&_nc_ohc=rT87vSfmBYQAX_ir4xf&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=a5729069c108fae8e6c331e64f0af6e9&oe=5ECDA016

iris lilies

4-28-20, 11:09am

Oh, do get an Instant Pot. You won't be sorry, if I'm any indicator.

I'm glad I bought hand soap every time I ran across a deal; I should have done the same thing with alcohol. But I'm stocked up now.
Hated mine, pitched it. I had to fight with the lid every time I wanted to use it.

Appliances that are smarter than I am do not get to live in my house.

ToomuchStuff

4-28-20, 11:54am

I've been cutting my own hair for years and even cut my grandson's hair yesterday.

Any recommendations? I actually found some clippers, right before this happened (bought them because a friend was looking, though he picked up a pair the same day). I still need the shaver part.

Alan

4-28-20, 12:06pm

Any recommendations? I actually found some clippers, right before this happened (bought them because a friend was looking, though he picked up a pair the same day). I still need the shaver part.
I use a 20+ year old Wahl clipper with various sized comb attachments.

catherine

4-28-20, 12:08pm

Masks. in the event of another pandemic, I hope I'll have saved my newly acquired masks. Like bae, I am without a sewing machine right now, but really could have used one to make masks for me and DH/DS. I tried the no-sew kind and they didn't work for me.

So, a couple of weeks ago I asked my DD/DSIL if they had considered making masks as a business opportunity, and they jumped on it. They delivered 13 masks to us last weekend. Having a mask that was breathable, fit well, and didn't look like I was trying to hold up the supermarket actually lifted my spirits while shopping inside the store.

I also miss my typical cases-on-hand of Costco diced tomatoes, beans and tomato paste. Our local store has been great, but limited.

We are rethinking our small garden to include more edibles and fewer flowers. I feel more of a sense of urgency to can stuff.

I'm not concerned about my hair because it's usually long enough to pony tail or bun.

But I do value technology and the opportunity to enjoy plays, FaceTime, Zoom, YouTube videos done in people's homes, podcasts, and online classes.

I think about essentials like batteries and first-aid items. I need to be better prepared with those things.

Teacher Terry

4-28-20, 12:47pm

We are still decluttering too. I have a crockpot and that’s good enough.

ApatheticNoMore

4-28-20, 12:48pm

I threw away masks in decluttering before the pandemic even. Because I didn't think I'd ever need them. i wonder if I even know what I need (in terms of things that is).

JaneV2.0

4-28-20, 1:21pm

Hated mine, pitched it. I had to fight with the lid every time I wanted to use it.

Appliances that are smarter than I am do not get to live in my house.

I think you suspected the lid was defective; so it wasn't that smart ;). Mine has been humming along without a hitch. four times a week for six years. And I have backups. Pandemic preparedness for the win.

catherine

4-28-20, 2:19pm

I disagree. I'm still trying to declutter and get to a more minimalistic level of living. As I'm reducing and re-organizing, I'm finding that I have more than enough of some stocked items and a clearer picture of what I need more of. So, yes, I think minimalism is still alive and kicking - at least at my house.

I guess it depends on how you define minimalism. I still lean towards minimalism. I don't like having more than I need at this point in my life. The question is, what do I need? I think that, except for the few things I mentioned (masks, emergency radio, a few more cases of pantry items I use all the time) I am no less minimalist than I was before. That said, I know now I could never do without a backyard storage shed, and I could never live in a house smaller than the one I'm in now, which is pretty small by today's standards.

rosarugosa

4-28-20, 3:18pm

While I was never even close to running out of toilet paper, the very thought horrified me greatly, and I'm sure I'll keep even more of an inventory in the future. It's easy to find it in my area now, and I am so happy to see it in the stores. I've always been one to sweat the small stuff, so maybe we are all going to die, but as long as there are adequate TP reserves, "what me worry?"
I do think I'll be inclined to stock a little bit more than previously with a lot of non-perishables, especially items where we want something very specific that isn't found just anywhere.

ApatheticNoMore

4-28-20, 3:29pm

I still think much is projected fear, as I haven't run out of anything, and had a small (not huge) stash of TP going in, which definitely helped, but this was not months upon months of the stuff, and yea horrifying thought! :0!

Paper towels may never come back, they are convenient but not an absolute necessity of course (I used to think I owned too many real towels, now: so I have 30 towels of various sizes or something, so what? :)). More masks would be good. I will second guess my decluttering for the rest of my life on that one maybe always asking "am I really really sure I won't need this someday?". But mostly there is enough. Of every exact food one might want immediately, sometimes not, but stores are much better stocked now than a few weeks ago and there was always plenty of good food.

Are things ideal? I never thought I'd be running my work life off of a REFURBISHED computer I bought as a spare (factory refurbished), without the fastest internet, but oh well, if all seems to work and all slowness experienced seems to be on the network because all my coworkers complain about it too. Go figure.

catherine

4-28-20, 4:02pm

Brady

4-28-20, 4:46pm

Try a subscription and you'll never run out! And when there is a panic, my subscription service stops selling to outside people so they can continue to sell to their regulars. I just got another case of 52 rolls.

I feel like we'll see a huge movement to that kind of thing in the near future. It was happening anyway, but COVID will probably accelerate it. I think it's just generally a good way to simplify too, although buying a backup stock and then starting your subscription so you almost never have to tap into the backup is probably best for true preparedness (in the situation where a subscription company goes under, etc.).

bae

4-28-20, 4:53pm

I feel like we'll see a huge movement to that kind of thing in the near future. It was happening anyway, but COVID will probably accelerate it. I think it's just generally a good way to simplify too, although buying a backup stock and then starting your subscription so you almost never have to tap into the backup is probably best for true preparedness

I was already getting most of my routine supplies this way. I live in a remote spot, and the local stores tend to sell very small packages at high prices of the boring things like TP, paper towels, napkins, pantry items. Much of the year their stocking is aimed at the tourist or summer home owner, who doesn't need huge bottles of ketchup and such.

My house also has way too much storage space. So, I routinely order in volume, generally a 3/6/9/12 month supply of some things. Paper products in particular - I have one closet that is the "paper closet" with all that sort of stuff in it. And sometime in January the large supply showed up, before the current disaster got rolling.

I used to joke when talking with "preppers" who were going on about how much food, or ammo, or fuel oil they had stashed away that the true measure of preparedness was how much TP they had. Who knew years ago that wasn't just a joke?

Brady

4-28-20, 7:18pm

I was already getting most of my routine supplies this way. I live in a remote spot, and the local stores tend to sell very small packages at high prices of the boring things like TP, paper towels, napkins, pantry items. Much of the year their stocking is aimed at the tourist or summer home owner, who doesn't need huge bottles of ketchup and such.

My house also has way too much storage space. So, I routinely order in volume, generally a 3/6/9/12 month supply of some things. Paper products in particular - I have one closet that is the "paper closet" with all that sort of stuff in it. And sometime in January the large supply showed up, before the current disaster got rolling.

I used to joke when talking with "preppers" who were going on about how much food, or ammo, or fuel oil they had stashed away that the true measure of preparedness was how much TP they had. Who knew years ago that wasn't just a joke?

Man, that is the way to go for a lot of reasons if you have that ability, especially considering the storage space. If I was going to store that much stuff I'd need to be crazy organized about it, something I don't really have time for (although I probably should make time for it now).

I'm definitely going to start systematizing my basic supplies in that way soon though.

jp1

4-28-20, 10:23pm

Since CA is continuing shelter in place for another month I went to the butcher today and bought enough stuff for us to have 16 meals. If we had a bigger freezer I’d have bought more but at least that’s one less place I need to go over the next month.

Going forward we’ll probably continue to do this since we tend to eat the same stuff over and over so having it on hand probably makes sense in the new reality.

ApatheticNoMore

4-29-20, 12:06am

I've tried my best to figure out what is going to happen here. Shelter in place is in effect until here mid May, I think San Francisco extended it but nowhere in southern CA has, so then who knows. Policy isn't even being made at the state level at this point. so it's not even that CA even has a policy, I mean there are some guidelines Newsom is trying to follow, but all shelter in place is local.

bae

4-29-20, 12:32am

I'm planning on sheltering-in-place for the foreseeable future. I would prefer to avoid the second and third waves of this.

flowerseverywhere

4-29-20, 6:38am

I'm planning on sheltering-in-place for the foreseeable future. I would prefer to avoid the second and third waves of this.
I so agree. We’ve done a crappy job with testing and organizing medical responses and equipment. The way it’s going we are setting things up to get exponentially worse. Forcing people to go into factory meat plants? Letting people get haircuts, massages, go to gyms and tattoos? The next big wave may not be in the fall but in a month or so when things really have spread around.

Things are opening all around me. Too fast, too soon. I was riding my bike the other day and saw a lot of evidence of social distancing collapsing. I believe experts like Dr Fauci. For years experts have been warning us.

almost everyone around me (almost all over 65) still go into big box grocery stores frequently. We have curbside pickup available for free. Why wouldn’t you do that? Fewer people in the store is fewer people employees have to interact with. Fewer chances to be sneezed on. Smaller crowds up and down the aisle. They can’t make it any easier. Plus more people are employed more safely as this is more labor intensive.

I go out in the car about once a week. The parking lot at the pharmacies, grocers and open stores like Lowe’s are full near me. A shooting range and gun store is open and always has lots of cars. Of course you need food, and home repair stuff, but is all this absolutely necessary during a pandemic? What is the value of life?

JaneV2.0

4-29-20, 9:32am

I'm planning on sheltering-in-place for the foreseeable future. I would prefer to avoid the second and third waves of this.

I'm with you. This isn't hard for me; I'll wait to see how it develops.

Teacher Terry

4-29-20, 1:44pm

This is getting very old for us as extroverts. No clue yet when we will start opening. I am looking forward to eating in a restaurant. We are being very careful and am rarely in a store. However, as contagious as the virus is it appears eventually all will get it.

iris lilies

4-29-20, 2:13pm

...And like Iris Lily I'm glad we put my cat to sleep back in November. The vet was able to do it at our home, which was awesome. (well, as awesome as it could be when one is euthanizing a pet...) If we were doing it now we'd have to go to the vet's office, hand him over, and they would take care of it without us being there with him...
.)

well sh..t sh..t sh..t. This scenario may be taking place here soon. I think its the end of the line for my 18 year old incontinent cat. Will update later.

bae

4-29-20, 2:58pm

However, as contagious as the virus is it appears eventually all will get it.

My goal is to postpone that day for myself until:

a) the healthcare system isn't as stressed
b) there are better therapies available
c) ideally there is a vaccine

jp1

4-29-20, 3:03pm

My goal is to postpone that day for myself until:

a) the healthcare system isn't as stressed
b) there are better therapies available
c) ideally there is a vaccine

That is my goal as well. Additionally, because this virus is so new we just don't know what the long-term effects of it are.

Teacher Terry

4-29-20, 3:27pm

I don’t think a vaccine will be one and done. If it’s like the flu vaccine then it’s effectiveness will vary every year. I am in no rush to get it either. Just trying to be realistic.

bae

4-29-20, 3:42pm

I'm with you. This isn't hard for me; I'll wait to see how it develops.

The only tricky thing is I was just developing a relationship with a very nice person in January, who alas lives on a different island.

We came up with some schemes for remote date-nights during The Recent Disaster Event - watching movies we started at the same time while MST3K-commenting on them via texts, joint Skype cooking projects, and so on. And after a suitably-long quarantine period, we have recently virtually "joined" our two households as one contagion-unit, so visits between our homes are possible, if managed carefully.

catherine

4-29-20, 4:09pm

The only tricky thing is I was just developing a relationship with a very nice person in January, who alas lives on a different island.

We came up with some schemes for remote date-nights during The Recent Disaster Event - watching movies we started at the same time while MST3K-commenting on them via texts, joint Skype cooking projects, and so on. And after a suitably-long quarantine period, we have recently virtually "joined" our two households as one contagion-unit, so visits between our homes are possible, if managed carefully.

That scene in When Harry Met Sally when they are both split-screen in their own beds watching Casablanca together comes to mind. So romantic. :)

JaneV2.0

4-29-20, 5:26pm

The only tricky thing is I was just developing a relationship with a very nice person in January, who alas lives on a different island.

We came up with some schemes for remote date-nights during The Recent Disaster Event - watching movies we started at the same time while MST3K-commenting on them via texts, joint Skype cooking projects, and so on. And after a suitably-long quarantine period, we have recently virtually "joined" our two households as one contagion-unit, so visits between our homes are possible, if managed carefully.

Where there's a will, there's a way. I believe this scourge will change us, make us more creative and more resilient.

Yppej

4-29-20, 6:17pm

Yes flowerseverywhere, lots of seniors out and about. The local traffic reports feature backups around supermarkets during senior hours. There is no longer a rush hour for commuters. My mother is one of these. She has been to 3 stores so far this week. She will not let me or my brother go for her, but insists on shopping herself. She said she had planned on hitting sales at 3 additional stores so she thinks she is being good. I think senior hours and masks have given people a false sense of safety.

flowerseverywhere

4-30-20, 6:00am

Nice for you Bae. Three recent widows I know have done he same. They are terribly lonely and getting together yet staying safely apart to watch a movie, talk or eat their brown bag lunches has eased a lot of their kids worry. We all have social needs.

Florida partially opens up Monday, although I gotta say every week people have become way less quarantined. We’ve decided to proceed as usual and see how it plays out. We don’t have to go anywhere so why put others at risk.