I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 28 years, disabled daughter, adult son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!Being in the state with the highest death rate to Covid-19 has been interesting and to be truthful, worrisome. We had a diagnosis in my county today. It was someone who had gone to the hospital. My daughter went to the hospital within that period of time, with my husband. Closer every day.
There's a lot of little things that have been going on since people started dying, but those things are now becoming bigger and I think we might be looking at a hard quarantine soon in King county (they've been under a soft one). And maybe a soft one where I live soon. Fortunately DH can work from home if it comes to it.
My credit union emailed a list of assurances and rules today. They are providing hand sanitizer at every ATM and teller window. That their tellers are going to be wearing gloves (that's going to be fun to watch them try to count money with gloves on), telling sick employees to stay home, performing environmental cleaning and sanitizing high-touch locations including counter tops, ATMs and door handles, asking patrons to use pens or gloves at ATM's and to use hand sanitizer before and after using the credit union. They have never issued any such notice before, but things are getting a little scary in parts of Washington and we have community spread.
Most of the grocery stores have always had hand sanitizer wipes by the entry doors and the meat counter, but now they have it by the deli, the bakery, the pharmacy, and the freezer area. The two stores that never had hand sanitizer at least now have it by the doors.
We vote by mail in my state and for the last week they have been telling us not to lick our envelopes. Actually, they are telling us not to lick any envelopes, but to use a damp sponge to moisten it. They are telling us not to shake hands with anyone and to wash our hands after handling money or at least use sanitizer and when we can to use debit and credit cards so that you aren't having to hand something to a clerk and get back what they touched.
The CDC told our state specifically to be ready for quarantine and to prepare by stocking up on food, water, and medicine a week ago, although those that waited this long are probably out of luck on a lot of items. Our county has also encouraged stocking up. The paper aisles are empty of many supplies. The CDC has told us to get extra prescriptions right now if we can. We are also being told to avoid large gatherings of people.
I know that a lot of people are not worried about this and are brushing it off, maybe because their state has not been hit very hard or they just don't believe it. I have always believed in being prepared and this is something that saved us when DH was out of work for 10 months a couple years back. We barely had to buy food at all and it helped so much. I don't have that level of preps anymore, but we can easily get through 3 months if this turns out to be worse than currently thought.
I would encourage everyone to have at least two weeks' worth of food in the house right now beyond what you normally have. What's the worst that can happen if this doesn't hit you hard? You'll have food that you can eat and not have to go shopping as soon. And if it does hit hard, you won't have to go out during the worst of it so you can feed yourself.
The trick is to try to be prepared, but not panicked and alert, but not alarmed. Just food for thought.
Observations and Gentle Encouragement to Be Prepared in the Face of Covid-19
March 11th, 2020 at 01:47 am
March 11th, 2020 at 11:40 am 1583926823
March 11th, 2020 at 01:58 pm 1583935092
I wrote here about "The Plague" many years ago, an intestinal virus we all got, forcing a self quarantine. I am thinking back to that experience to make preparations for this one.
March 11th, 2020 at 07:54 pm 1583956451
March 11th, 2020 at 09:12 pm 1583961169
We did our weekly shopping and at the local Kroger, there were some empty spots on the toilet paper shelves. There was still some product, but areas were bare. No hand sanitizer at Aldi or Kroger. So far, I'm not seeing a run on canned goods, but wonder if that will be the case as well.
We normally keep a stockpile of food because my parents ingrained into me that you should have some on hand in case of bad weather or an emergency. I didn't buy anything today I normally wouldn't have. I did buy a couple of weird things since it is still winter like -- Kroger had charcoal on sale. I always like to keep a bag on hand and I had used the last of it last fall. So, I bought a bag. Not planning on grilling out anytime soon, but it was on sale, so I got it.
March 13th, 2020 at 03:12 am 1584069162
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March 15th, 2020 at 06:06 am 1584252397
Reading on the forum many people are skeptical I admit I was. I'm now bracing for the worst. I know my family is pretty good because we are young and healthy. But at the same time we could easily be transmitters making it worse.
I think we could go a month if I needed but I need an extra package of dog food.