Covid-19 Discussions and Stories

[BakerAunt]

I think that Covid-19 needs its own thread. I'd been thinking of starting one after reading that camping supply places are selling out of freeze-dried food, and nuts.com claims to have had a spike in sales. I've been bemused by Bon Appetit and Epicurious sites having stories about stocking your pantry and even on a meal plan for two weeks that can be cooked out of the pantry.

I'm bemused because I always have plenty of staples on hand, much to my husband's occasional exasperation. One of my friends who was also a stocker-upper described it as living with "siege mentality." Of course, I did live through riots in Los Angeles, earthquakes, and major power outages from storms, but the fact is that I stock up when items are on sale. When I was working, it was handy to cut down on the grocery trips and to have easily cooked ingredients on hand. I also would freeze spaghetti sauce and the occasional casserole. Now that I live in a place where winter can bring (it didn't this year) major snow, and we are more than thirty minutes from larger grocery stores, I follow the same practice. So, if we were quarantined, or had to stay home, we would manage quite nicely for at least a month and probably longer, although I'd miss the fresh fruit and vegetables and milk.

Emergency preparedness just makes good sense.

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[chocomouse]

I shop only once every two-three weeks. We could eat out of the freezer for months if we had to, and if the timing was right, I'd have salad ingredients growing under gro-lights, or in the garden. When it is planting time in early June, I'll decide if I should cut back on the size of the vegetable garden (that's the plan as of today) or continue to plant an excess for storage. And right now, I have only about 5 pounds of AP flour left from my 50 pound bag, so I'd have to get creative with the baking, but at least I could use up the odds and ends of flours I do have on hand. When I shopped on Monday, on my list was hand-sanitizer, Lysol wipes, and toilet paper. The cleaning/sanitation supplies shelves were empty - not a single item that would meet the requirements for Covid cleanliness. There were only only a few packages of toilet paper (and I was not buying that for any Covid purpose!).

I just learned about an hour ago that our Stitches Convention in Hartford next week is cancelled. So I no longer need the hand sanitizer or wipes. I hope that everyone in our Nebraska Kitchen is finding what they need to stay healthy.

[Mike Nolan]

We could eat out of the freezer and pantry for quite a while, too, though the menu might get kind of boring without fresh fruit, vegetables, meats and dairy. But I think we could make sure we get all 9 essential proteins and other important nutrients.

[Joan Simpson]

We have a well stocked pantry too and could go quite awhile if needed.

[Mike Nolan]

I went to the grocery store this evening and they were basically out of toilet paper. I didn't check for things like hand sanitizer, but I suspect it was in low supply as well.

Fortunately, the things I was looking for were not in short supply.

[skeptic7]

One of the grocery stores was out of King Arthur Flour on Monday and yesterday. I have some supplies available so I'd be good for a week or two but I am used to be able to buy groceries weekly if not more so I don't really keep track of supplies. I probably have things I should eat up but what would you do with pint jars of peaches canned with brandy? This was a joke 15 years ago, I was reading about Civil War Soldier drinking the brandy and throwing away the peaches. I had at that time friends who reenacted historical events and wanted to see if I could get someone to do this. They knew some Civil War reenactors and pointed out this wouldn't work. Any Union troup historically would eat the peaches as a Southern delicacy. Also almost all the reenactors are men and can only do one thing at a time. So if they started out drinking the brandy they would continue eating until the jar was empty and then remember they were suppose to throw away the peaches.
The stores around here have plenty of toilet paper but sanitizer is in short supply.

[Mike Nolan]

There was plenty of toilet paper at the stores when I was there a couple of days ago, too, but not last night. It doesn't take a lot of people to clean a store out of something if they start buying it in much larger quantities than normal. A friend of ours was at a different grocery store yesterday and she said people were buying it by the cart-full.

Our house has 6 bathrooms, so we tend to buy 2-3 packages at a time in normal times.

[chocomouse]

The yarn convention I was going to be vending at next weekend has been cancelled, so I no longer need the hand sanitizer or wipes. I run the cash register in the booth, so hoping to stay healthy while handling thousands of dollars worth of cash and credit cards. The small container of sanitizer that I carry in my purse and rarely use will last me another year, or maybe come in handy at our next show in May.

[Mike Nolan]

Hand sanitizers haven't been proven to be all that effective against covid-19, good old soap and water is still better.

[chocomouse]

I'd so much prefer to use soap and water - I hate hand sanitizers, and never use them. But I would be on the market floor, a considerable distance from the nearest handwashing facility, and will have a constant stream of attendees handing me products to be bagged and money/credit cards. I haven't figured out how to wash, rinse, and dry my hands between sales. I just read that customer service reps at a local credit union will be wearing gloves for all transactions. I'm relieved this show has been cancelled, and am hoping things settle down a bit before the next one in May.

[Mike Nolan]

When I went to the grocery store Tuesday, the checker was wearing surgical gloves.

[skeptic7]

I hope the May Sheep and Wool show isn't canceled. Even if you could rig a portable water dispenser for washing your hands there would be a problem cleaning up the dirty water and paper towels afterwards. I did see a cute method for doing that. I'll see if I can find this on the internet.
My martial arts seminar in Jersey City has been canceled, its relatively small perhaps 30-40 people.

[BakerAunt]

I am very glad that I'm retired. My former university has told the students not to return after spring break, which will be extended for a week, then classes go online. Changing teaching delivery method in the middle of a semester, especially for people who have not used that mode before is not simple.

[Mike Nolan]

My wife works with professors helping them with online instruction, she's going to be pretty busy the next few weeks. Nebraska has called off classes next week. The following week is spring break and then the rest of the semester will have all classes online.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Interesting move by Canlis Restaurant in Seattle. Canlis is a well known, long established, fine dining restaurant.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by aaronatthedoublef.

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