Day #15
It's truly amazing how much the world has changed in a couple of weeks. I was telling the kids that it was hard to believe that two weeks ago we were picking out new track shoes for Wesley and new glasses for Greta. We went to Jason's Deli and had a nice lunch and then had our teeth cleaned at the dentist. It feels like that happened months ago, rather than weeks.
Now our dentist has closed. The shoes sit in their box because track and school has been cancelled. Can't even take the shoes back because the store has been closed.
The country pretty much shut down. Non-essential businesses have closed and the ones that are open have changed their practices in some way or another. Our vet clinic has closed the lobby and you call when you arrive and sit in your car until your turn. Then someone comes to your car and collects your pet and it's taken into the clinic. All correspondences are done over the cell phone. You even pay over the phone. Many retail stores, that are still open, will only deliver things to your car. Restaurants have closed with many now only offering take out or delivery. One story out of Seattle said out of work strippers were delivering food topless, that made me chuckle. Call me crazy but we are avoiding all food except for meals made at home. I want to keep my favorite restaurants in business but I'm not taking the chance of the cook being infected.
Our governor issued a stay-at-home order over the weekend so non-essential businesses are now closed. According to friends on social media most of the state hasn't gotten the memo yet and stores like Lowes and Wal-Mart have been packed with people that are tired of staying home. In our little town people are seen clustered together talking and kids are playing basketball in groups. I feel like until it hits our community these people won't figure it out. Some sobering predictions came out of the White House today that predict 100-200K people could die in our country alone (that was a "best case scenario"). Needless to say this was a "can't stop watching the news day". It was raining out, what else is there to do?
I found hope in an interview with the CEO of Starbucks. He said they are
just now slowly reopening the Starbucks over in China after being
closed for 9 weeks. He said we are on week 2, so if all goes well we
could possibly be reopening the country in 7 weeks. I find comfort in
that number. We can do 7 more weeks.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Thursday, March 26, 2020
The Corona Chronicles entry #4
Day #11
Yesterday was a good day. I kept the tv off. I didn't get online but twice. I put on my boots and went and tilled up the earth to prepare to plant a big box of strawberry crowns that showed up a few days ago. I forgot I even ordered them back in February. They were to ship when it was time to plant them. I was happy to see them on the porch! What a great time to grow fresh food in my back yard.
I'm planning a giant vegetable and flower garden this year. The kids will be involved in every step so they learn the value of growing their own food. We haven't grown a large garden in years because they do take a lot of work and are difficult to leave for summer vacation. We figure this year would be a good year for one since we haven't planned a vacation and aren't sure we are even going to take one.
I'm trying to not talk about what is happening in our world with my kids. They are fully aware but I don't get too deep into it. They are 10 and 12 years old and old enough to know and understand but they don't need to worry. They need to be kids and not be burdened with major problems. After the teacher parade the other day I noticed Greta was withdrawn. I asked her what was wrong and she said nothing and went to her room with tears in her eyes. I went and laid down next to her and we chatted. She wouldn't fully open up but I understood her tears and sadness. We all feel that way off and on. It was fun to see the teachers but it also made it all the more real...and sad.
Keeping the kids busy has also been important. I'm trying to come up with fun things to keep them learning and happy. They collected snails out of the koi pond and wanted to set up a small aquarium that they could keep them in. So now we have an aquarium full of snails in Greta's room. I spent a large part of my childhood crouched next to a pond fishing out snails so it brought back memories. I told them to go search for snail eggs in a slimy mass. Sure enough after 10 minutes Greta comes running up to me with a leaf full of slimy snail eggs (that is also now in the aquarium so we can watch them emerge).
Yesterday was a good day. I kept the tv off. I didn't get online but twice. I put on my boots and went and tilled up the earth to prepare to plant a big box of strawberry crowns that showed up a few days ago. I forgot I even ordered them back in February. They were to ship when it was time to plant them. I was happy to see them on the porch! What a great time to grow fresh food in my back yard.
I'm planning a giant vegetable and flower garden this year. The kids will be involved in every step so they learn the value of growing their own food. We haven't grown a large garden in years because they do take a lot of work and are difficult to leave for summer vacation. We figure this year would be a good year for one since we haven't planned a vacation and aren't sure we are even going to take one.
I'm trying to not talk about what is happening in our world with my kids. They are fully aware but I don't get too deep into it. They are 10 and 12 years old and old enough to know and understand but they don't need to worry. They need to be kids and not be burdened with major problems. After the teacher parade the other day I noticed Greta was withdrawn. I asked her what was wrong and she said nothing and went to her room with tears in her eyes. I went and laid down next to her and we chatted. She wouldn't fully open up but I understood her tears and sadness. We all feel that way off and on. It was fun to see the teachers but it also made it all the more real...and sad.
Keeping the kids busy has also been important. I'm trying to come up with fun things to keep them learning and happy. They collected snails out of the koi pond and wanted to set up a small aquarium that they could keep them in. So now we have an aquarium full of snails in Greta's room. I spent a large part of my childhood crouched next to a pond fishing out snails so it brought back memories. I told them to go search for snail eggs in a slimy mass. Sure enough after 10 minutes Greta comes running up to me with a leaf full of slimy snail eggs (that is also now in the aquarium so we can watch them emerge).
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
The Corona Chronicles entry #3
Day #10
It's difficult to not look at the news all day. I find myself wandering over to the computer and sitting down to just see if anything new is being reported. There is new information coming out about the coronavirus hourly. It can be all consuming. Then it leads to more worry and the cycle continues. I've decided I needed to stop the random internet searches. I don't turn on the tv in the morning anymore to watch the Today Show with all the news anchors broadcasting from their houses. It just isn't healthy for me.
I decided I needed a different sort of outlet. You'd think sculpting would be that but I just can't get motivated to return to my job just yet. I'll get there. I think once we figure out online learning for the kids I'll feel good about going to a quiet room and sculpting. I've got a list of orders, I can only assume they still want their dogs sculpted. In these strange financial times I can see buying sculptures being pretty low on the list of necessities. So instead of looking at the news for hours on end I've decided to start playing video games. It's a great way to distract your mind. There was a game that I'd been wanting to play for awhile but it needed a second player. So Wesley and I have been playing this Playstation 3 game for a couple of weeks off and on. It's a "capture the flag" style game and it's done a fabulous job of keeping my mind off of the happenings in the world. And it's a great way to spend time with my son!
We've been trying to focus on the good things that are going on rather than the bad. Yesterday we drove into town, parked and stood on the corner and watched all the teachers in the elementary school drive by and wave to all the kids. It was a teacher parade meant to raise the spirits of the kids and parents and it did just that. It all made me get choked up. Not sure why, but my emotions are all over the place so I'm blaming that. I read the following today and it raised my spirits and I hope it does yours too.
It's difficult to not look at the news all day. I find myself wandering over to the computer and sitting down to just see if anything new is being reported. There is new information coming out about the coronavirus hourly. It can be all consuming. Then it leads to more worry and the cycle continues. I've decided I needed to stop the random internet searches. I don't turn on the tv in the morning anymore to watch the Today Show with all the news anchors broadcasting from their houses. It just isn't healthy for me.
I decided I needed a different sort of outlet. You'd think sculpting would be that but I just can't get motivated to return to my job just yet. I'll get there. I think once we figure out online learning for the kids I'll feel good about going to a quiet room and sculpting. I've got a list of orders, I can only assume they still want their dogs sculpted. In these strange financial times I can see buying sculptures being pretty low on the list of necessities. So instead of looking at the news for hours on end I've decided to start playing video games. It's a great way to distract your mind. There was a game that I'd been wanting to play for awhile but it needed a second player. So Wesley and I have been playing this Playstation 3 game for a couple of weeks off and on. It's a "capture the flag" style game and it's done a fabulous job of keeping my mind off of the happenings in the world. And it's a great way to spend time with my son!
We've been trying to focus on the good things that are going on rather than the bad. Yesterday we drove into town, parked and stood on the corner and watched all the teachers in the elementary school drive by and wave to all the kids. It was a teacher parade meant to raise the spirits of the kids and parents and it did just that. It all made me get choked up. Not sure why, but my emotions are all over the place so I'm blaming that. I read the following today and it raised my spirits and I hope it does yours too.
My heart is heavy... but my infamous saying is Everything happens for a reason and only a season ... so here we are and yet...
The reports are that... the truckers are getting supplies to the stores.
People are stocking the shelves all night and letting old people shop first.
Carnival Cruise line told Trump “We can match those big Navy Hospital ships with some fully staffed cruise ships”
GM said hold our cars and watch this; we can make those ventilators where we were making cars starting next week.
Clothing companies and individuals are making homemade masks for the medical community.
Restaurants and schools said, We’ve got kitchens and staff; we can feed kids.”
Churches are holding on-line services and taking care of their members and community.
NBA basketball players said, “Hold our basketballs while we write checks to pay the arena staff.”
Construction companies said, “Here are some masks for the medical staff and doctors”.
Breweries are making sanitizer out of the left-over ingredients.
Neighbors are encouraging each other by putting up signs, decorating
windows for scavenger hunts, singing together and playing music for each
other.
It’s only a short season of life.. press on. Love your people and never stop having Faith.
I’m here for anyone, for anything! I’m thankful we can come together as one.
We have a wonderful country and an amazing God.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
The Corona Chronicles entry #2
Day #9
I feel like I could write all day about what is happening. It's surreal in a way. I haven't mentioned on here yet that we lost our big black lab Cody back in January. He lived to a nice old age and his health declined to the point that his quality of life was not good. We made the tough decision to put him to sleep on January 21st. Ever since then it's been so quiet around here. The two boston terriers have been pretty mellow, perhaps they are not in their puppy phase anymore (they will be 4 this summer). I started taking peeks at craigslist pet page looking for puppies. I didn't have a good idea of what I wanted, I just knew I didn't want another boston right now (two is plenty!). I wanted more of a laid back breed, perhaps a mutt kind of like Chance. I didn't want a big dog as they do a number on hardwood floors. So one day I found a litter of pups that just called my name. One little guy in particular reminded me so much of Chance that I contacted the owner and scheduled a time to drive the 7 hours round trip to pick him up.
Little Cooper (he's often referred to as Mini Cooper) is such a doll. He was 7 weeks old when we got him and he'll be 3 months old March 27th. He's half shih tzu (his dad) and half border collie (mom). He's long with short legs and giant paws. The vet said he'll be interested to see what he looks like when he's grown. He's brought out the "puppy" in the two boston terriers. He and Winston will play for hours, chewing on each other and racing around the house. Beanie has done a good job of teaching him what is and isn't allowed.
I'm thankful that we have him right now. He's such a joy and brings a smile to our faces with his silly antics. I kid that I'm too busy cleaning up urine to worry about much else that's going on in the world. I figure if we are all sheltering in place what better time to have a puppy? I wish everyone would consider this and clean out the shelters. Instead many people are panicking and dropping their pets off at shelters because of the unknown. Can pets contract the virus? No. But it doesn't stop people from worrying.
The pup has been on a certain puppy food that he's been doing well on. It's only sold at Petsmart (it's their brand of puppy food). I'm supposed to keep him on it for the first year of life. I went to buy a large bag to get us through and the shelves are bare. Everyone is buying loads of extra dog food (pet food in general). I had to go home and order a bag online, pay for it and have it shipped to the store for pick up.
It's one thing to have enough food to feed your family for a month or longer, but to keep your pets fed too is another story. In our case having enough extra pet food to feed the goats, horses, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbit, cockatiels and cats takes planning! We have plenty of hay and the grass is greening up so that's good.
This could have easily happened in January which would have been, in my opinion, a hundred times worse. Going outside and soaking up the warm sun, jumping on the trampoline, going for a jog or planting a garden is food for the soul. Something we all need.
Take care.
I feel like I could write all day about what is happening. It's surreal in a way. I haven't mentioned on here yet that we lost our big black lab Cody back in January. He lived to a nice old age and his health declined to the point that his quality of life was not good. We made the tough decision to put him to sleep on January 21st. Ever since then it's been so quiet around here. The two boston terriers have been pretty mellow, perhaps they are not in their puppy phase anymore (they will be 4 this summer). I started taking peeks at craigslist pet page looking for puppies. I didn't have a good idea of what I wanted, I just knew I didn't want another boston right now (two is plenty!). I wanted more of a laid back breed, perhaps a mutt kind of like Chance. I didn't want a big dog as they do a number on hardwood floors. So one day I found a litter of pups that just called my name. One little guy in particular reminded me so much of Chance that I contacted the owner and scheduled a time to drive the 7 hours round trip to pick him up.
Little Cooper (he's often referred to as Mini Cooper) is such a doll. He was 7 weeks old when we got him and he'll be 3 months old March 27th. He's half shih tzu (his dad) and half border collie (mom). He's long with short legs and giant paws. The vet said he'll be interested to see what he looks like when he's grown. He's brought out the "puppy" in the two boston terriers. He and Winston will play for hours, chewing on each other and racing around the house. Beanie has done a good job of teaching him what is and isn't allowed.
I'm thankful that we have him right now. He's such a joy and brings a smile to our faces with his silly antics. I kid that I'm too busy cleaning up urine to worry about much else that's going on in the world. I figure if we are all sheltering in place what better time to have a puppy? I wish everyone would consider this and clean out the shelters. Instead many people are panicking and dropping their pets off at shelters because of the unknown. Can pets contract the virus? No. But it doesn't stop people from worrying.
The pup has been on a certain puppy food that he's been doing well on. It's only sold at Petsmart (it's their brand of puppy food). I'm supposed to keep him on it for the first year of life. I went to buy a large bag to get us through and the shelves are bare. Everyone is buying loads of extra dog food (pet food in general). I had to go home and order a bag online, pay for it and have it shipped to the store for pick up.
It's one thing to have enough food to feed your family for a month or longer, but to keep your pets fed too is another story. In our case having enough extra pet food to feed the goats, horses, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbit, cockatiels and cats takes planning! We have plenty of hay and the grass is greening up so that's good.
This could have easily happened in January which would have been, in my opinion, a hundred times worse. Going outside and soaking up the warm sun, jumping on the trampoline, going for a jog or planting a garden is food for the soul. Something we all need.
Take care.
Monday, March 23, 2020
The Corona Chronicles entry #1
Day #8
Boy has a lot changed since my last blog post back in February. The world is upside down. People wearing masks and gloves to go to the grocery store. The death toll today stands at 16,500. I fear this number is just the beginning. We are staying home, Sean is working from home (as he has been since November because mold was found in their building). The kids are home for spring break and we just found out last Tuesday that their school has been closed down for the remainder of the school year. We will attempt online learning starting next Monday.
I know this has been very tough on many people. Business are shutting their doors and sending workers home, some unpaid. People that live paycheck to paycheck are very worried. Individuals that are used to going out and socializing daily are ordered to stay home. Many people don't cook and rely on eating out. Most restaurants are closed with only the drive through open. Sean and I really enjoyed our weekly lunch date before all of this happened but we are curtailing that activity. I just don't trust other people to make my food right now. This virus can go undetected in healthy individuals and they can transmit it. It's frightening. I worry the most about the elderly, my elderly church friends who are home alone. I pray this doesn't last as long as I fear it will.
The media has done a pretty good job of painting a bleak and desperate picture of what is happening in the world right now. I'm not blaming them, it's an accurate picture. I just feel it's overwhelming the amount of information, articles and statistics that are being thrown at me every time I turn on the tv or log onto the computer. I have not wanted to leave my house out of pure fear of catching this horrible virus but I needed to get to the grocery store one last time before hunkering down. I researched when the store was opening and decided to be there bright and early and try and beat the crowds. So yesterday I woke up at 5:45 so I could be there right around 6 when they opened. It was dark and raining which I also thought would be a good way to keep people away. Boy was I wrong. Many cars were already in the parking lot when I arrived. There were a mob of people just standing outside each entrance waiting for them to open doors. They opened the doors and these people rush in and went straight for the toilet paper and bread. This store had limited many products to only one per person, so there was actually some left when I finally wheeled my cart over to each section. Although getting only one loaf of bread kind of sucked. I piled my cart high and feel like I have enough meals to easily last my family a month. I'm sure we will run out of fresh fruit after two weeks but canned fruit and applesauce to get us through.
I like to think of myself as sort of a prepper. Several years ago I was very into it. Did lots of research. I set up a pantry in the basement. I collected canned goods, bottle water, medicine and all sorts of survival gear. What I didn't do a good job of over the years was rotating out the canned goods, flour and sugar. It was too much work to lug all of the groceries down stairs and rotate up the older food and replace with the new food. So a lot of the food down there is past its expiration date. I wish I had done a better job right about now. Luckily I'd been slowly building up that pantry again after I read about how quickly the coronavirus was spreading in China. I felt pretty good about our food supply until I read about how the peak of cases could be as far as 30 days out or more for the US. I thought how much I'd like to hunker down and not leave the house, even for fresh fruit or milk. I also feel quite the burden of being the main food buyer and meal maker. Like, if I mess this up and don't buy enough food I'm going to be out there when this virus is every where. In the air (I read it can remain in the air for up to 3 hours) and on surfaces. It's strange, I've never experienced food anxiety before now.
This strange time we are in right now is something we've all never experienced. It's a completely new situation that we are navigating. I think journal entries will be good to have, to look back and read to my grandchildren one day. Take care.
Boy has a lot changed since my last blog post back in February. The world is upside down. People wearing masks and gloves to go to the grocery store. The death toll today stands at 16,500. I fear this number is just the beginning. We are staying home, Sean is working from home (as he has been since November because mold was found in their building). The kids are home for spring break and we just found out last Tuesday that their school has been closed down for the remainder of the school year. We will attempt online learning starting next Monday.
I know this has been very tough on many people. Business are shutting their doors and sending workers home, some unpaid. People that live paycheck to paycheck are very worried. Individuals that are used to going out and socializing daily are ordered to stay home. Many people don't cook and rely on eating out. Most restaurants are closed with only the drive through open. Sean and I really enjoyed our weekly lunch date before all of this happened but we are curtailing that activity. I just don't trust other people to make my food right now. This virus can go undetected in healthy individuals and they can transmit it. It's frightening. I worry the most about the elderly, my elderly church friends who are home alone. I pray this doesn't last as long as I fear it will.
The media has done a pretty good job of painting a bleak and desperate picture of what is happening in the world right now. I'm not blaming them, it's an accurate picture. I just feel it's overwhelming the amount of information, articles and statistics that are being thrown at me every time I turn on the tv or log onto the computer. I have not wanted to leave my house out of pure fear of catching this horrible virus but I needed to get to the grocery store one last time before hunkering down. I researched when the store was opening and decided to be there bright and early and try and beat the crowds. So yesterday I woke up at 5:45 so I could be there right around 6 when they opened. It was dark and raining which I also thought would be a good way to keep people away. Boy was I wrong. Many cars were already in the parking lot when I arrived. There were a mob of people just standing outside each entrance waiting for them to open doors. They opened the doors and these people rush in and went straight for the toilet paper and bread. This store had limited many products to only one per person, so there was actually some left when I finally wheeled my cart over to each section. Although getting only one loaf of bread kind of sucked. I piled my cart high and feel like I have enough meals to easily last my family a month. I'm sure we will run out of fresh fruit after two weeks but canned fruit and applesauce to get us through.
I like to think of myself as sort of a prepper. Several years ago I was very into it. Did lots of research. I set up a pantry in the basement. I collected canned goods, bottle water, medicine and all sorts of survival gear. What I didn't do a good job of over the years was rotating out the canned goods, flour and sugar. It was too much work to lug all of the groceries down stairs and rotate up the older food and replace with the new food. So a lot of the food down there is past its expiration date. I wish I had done a better job right about now. Luckily I'd been slowly building up that pantry again after I read about how quickly the coronavirus was spreading in China. I felt pretty good about our food supply until I read about how the peak of cases could be as far as 30 days out or more for the US. I thought how much I'd like to hunker down and not leave the house, even for fresh fruit or milk. I also feel quite the burden of being the main food buyer and meal maker. Like, if I mess this up and don't buy enough food I'm going to be out there when this virus is every where. In the air (I read it can remain in the air for up to 3 hours) and on surfaces. It's strange, I've never experienced food anxiety before now.
This strange time we are in right now is something we've all never experienced. It's a completely new situation that we are navigating. I think journal entries will be good to have, to look back and read to my grandchildren one day. Take care.
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