Sheltering – the New Covid Shopping Needs

April 19, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Toilet Paper? Passé. Hand sanitizer? Soap and water work very well. Yeast? Bread and baking aren’t as easy or fun as YouTube makes it look. Jigsaw puzzles and coffee? Stocked up.

The latest things flying off the shelves are hair products and exercise equipment. Some people are even trying the No Poo look if they aren’t shampooing their hair as much. If you don’t see other people…the theory is sebum glands readjust and don’t produce as much oil. Warning: there is a transition period. Exercise equipment? Well, you just can’t go out to the gym now, can you?

Barbells are big sellers. Some gyms are renting stationary bikes so that you can sweat and stay in shape in your home. Shelter at home; exercise at home. Some trainers stream their routines so that clients can work out just as they had pre-covid, only now they do it by themselves, in front of the tv.

People are coping by taking action. There isn’t much you can do about the virus except wash your hands, stay home, and avoid any place where you might run into people. These are such passive ways of dealing with the danger of the pandemic. Shopping for “survival” needs is a more active way of trying to maintain control.

At night when I’m supposed to be sleeping, the surreal images and messages of covid 19 invade my thoughts. Then I become anxious, worrying I should be wiping down this, bleaching that, or maybe completely withdrawing from the world.

It turns out some of my fears are foundation-less. The clothes you wear are porous and don’t hold viruses well. Those that might fall onto a coat or other clothing likely last at most 24 hours. The fat component of their capsule breaks down. Unless you are a frontline worker. Regular laundering will get rid of any covid.

Newspapers, books, etc. that come into the house are quite safe. The virus transfer to their surfaces is small and they don’t last. If you’re worried, leave the cardboard or paper products for 24 hours and you’re sure.

Outdoors little currents of air carry droplet-containing particles away from you. When walking or jogging, you set up these little eddies and the virus doesn’t get a chance to settle. Stay six feet away from others and you’re safe.

Your shoes? Wiping them down just spreads bacteria, fecal particles (you were outside) and other organic “stuff” around. Sneakers and footwear like that can be laundered.

It looks as though the pandemic will last a while so if people cope with exercise (or the purchase of exercise equipment), with less hair washing, and more baking, good for them. The main thing is that they’re coping. As for me?? I think I’ll have a nap.

Sheltering- and complaining

April 17, 2020April 17, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Cobble Hill Jigsaw Puzzles?? Hair products?? Coffee?? Nail technicians? Hair stylists. All things that are in short supply or who’s non-essential designations cause inconveniences. When will things be back to normal? The short answer is not for quite a while. Patience.

Cobble Hill makes good quality jigsaw puzzles and in these days of self-isolation, can’t keep up with demand. An old and simple pastime is popular again. Hair products fly off the shelves because people are reduced to, gasp, looking after their own grooming. It is a skill and if you were dependent on the professionals, you could be sporting a new look. It’s a similar situation with nails, manicures and pedicures. Coffee is in even more demand because people working at home can have it when they want, sip on it, even as they work.

I’m old so it made me reflect. When I was a kid on the farm, in winter we’d get snowed in for weeks at a time. The groceries were what Mum had canned or preserved. No one complained; we weren’t hungry and it was what we knew. There was no electricity, at first no central heating (there was the woodpile and the coal shed storing fuel for the heating my Dad kept going), no telephone. We may have had a battery operated radio. Mum cooked, cleaned, looked after us kids. Dad went out to feed and water the livestock. Any spare time in the evening might be spent reading or in Mum’s case knitting. Any of these activities were by the light of the coal oil (kerosene) lamp. It was cold in winter and cold in the poorly insulated houses. Water was carried in by the bucketful.

I am not reflecting on my childhood with any kind of regret. It was great and no one felt deprived. When we could get together, people visited, they got out the fiddle or accordion and created music, they cooked food for guests. Community gathering were events but they didn’t occur often. My brother (now deceased for a while) and I often reminisced about how good times were.

I confess. I have felt the isolation, too, and may not have handled it as well as I could. Sharp objects in the kitchen glint with a certain attraction when Gary and I are there together. He announces everything he is going to do. Everything. This is the man who couldn’t stand his freedom infringed upon when we first married.

Cobble Hill Puzzles? I confess. I’ve done some 100 piece on-line versions and they take me half an hour. Cross genius off my resume. Hair? Not a problem for me. Nails, nope. Coffee; oh, I do like coffee. Seeing friends and family; definitely miss that. If I think of the isolation for my mum and dad, I have to stop whining. Things could be worse and the pandemic will be over. Just not for a while.

Sheltering – A Date Afternoon

April 16, 2020 ~ Linda ~ Leave a comment

Movie? Romantic Restaurant Meal? Friends Over? The options have narrowed; all but essential businesses are shut down and restaurants are curbside and takeout only.

Stay home. Hunker down. Self-isolate. But a drive and a walk in the country? Allowed and when you live in rural Alberta, there are places where chances of running into another soul are slight. Yesterday we did just that and it was a date afternoon that the dogs could take part in, too. A quiet walk in the country.

Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Not to discourage anyone but the excuse for the walk was to scout a possible wilderness site for a lunch when the weather at last warms up. Yesterday the wind was strong and bitter. Even the 0 to +1 temperature felt cold. We wore out winter coats and were glad of them.

Our drive took us into an area of “heritage rangeland.” It is an arid place where trees are twisted and dwarfed. The wind has scoured the land, scooping out depressions in the sandy soil. The snow and ice persist and the ground is rough. We park and head out, Gary scanning for the best lunch spot that might be out of the wind and exposed to the sun.

Our Jack Russell runs eagerly over the rugged terrain, casting for the scent of gophers or mice. There are none but she is not discouraged. My little guy (under 10 pounds) picks his way gamely through the ground cedar, short shrubs, and dead burr plants. Gary spies 2 or three possible sites for our next date afternoon and asks which I prefer. In all honestly, they’re equally bleak. We get back to the truck and the decision is left for another day.

Glamourous? No. Exciting? No. Costly? No. Date afternoon despite the chill, the desolate landscape, and the wet feet (mine), was still a success. That bitter wind? Cleared the cobwebs and made the cab of the truck warm by comparison. Brown, depressed scenery? Made you appreciate the tenacity of the wildlife that survives; there was plenty of tracks. Sooo… no movie, no candlelit dinner, no visits – but one day soon, a romantic al fresco date lunch. A simple outing to anticipate.