I don’t care at this point, because last week I thought we were going to be paying $800/week month (what even is time any more?) for a service we weren’t able to use due to the virus, found out on Friday that I can pay $3/week for April at least, and now know that other people who were probably stressed as fuck about all of this can either go to work with a burden removed or keep their kids home, also with burden removed. RELIEF.
So theoretically we are probably in the “profiting” category, with fairly stable income, but not really feeling like it yet. Economic crash could always convince Ponder’s work to cut staff again.
I know there were massive concerns about this happening to the NFP childcare sector (I know much less about corporate childcare, though that’s what Ewok has attended so far - we didn’t like our local NFP centre).
I’ve read a few things now stating that studies show Chicago’s cases are going to peak 2 weeks from now and that means if you catch it today, you’ll be hitting the bad-enough-to-require-hospitalization stage right as the hospitals run out of capacity/doctors/PPE/etc. So therefore we shouldn’t even go to the grocery store right now.
WELP. Boyfriend went yesterday. But I’ve cancelled my Aldi stockup plans. What sucks about this is that we’re nearly out of fresh produce - we have 2 apples, a mostly full bag of potatoes, 2 onions and about half of a bell pepper. That is it. That… is going to be tough.
(ETA: Also some somewhat wilted spring mix. I don’t have anything to put on salad though, so I’ll be eating it plain.)
I signed up for Imperfect Produce but they cannot deliver until the 13th. I am literally drooling over the idea of picking out random produce that will show up at my door, though. Here, delivery of any form has been completely inaccessible, there are no slots available ever and if you do get lucky and manage to grab one, then more often than not it is cancelled right before they were supposed to show up, my friends tell me. So I haven’t had the online grocery experience yet. It feels so decadent! Like right now I’m fantasizing about oranges (which last time I had Imperfect produce they always had lots of). I don’t even like oranges that much!
I suggest looking outside your normal avenues for food delivery right now. Any farms that do CSAs you can look up? What about this?: https://www.nicholsfarm.com/store It says their next delivery is Saturday.
That’s what I ended up doing, and it worked out really well!
The csas I have found online don’t start delivering until June. I’ll look into that one - though one advantage of Imperfect Produce is you can choose what you get. So you don’t end up with , like, more kale than 2 people can reasonably consume in a week, and a ton of radishes and nothing else. And they so rarely have any fruit. (I am getting my 10 lbs of Michigan blueberries in July again though!)
I read an article the other day that our big farmers market here is going virtual, but the signup link was bad so that is on my list to investigate further. I think Nichols sells there, actually.
ETA: Oof. Nichols is $$$. Sigh. That is why I didn’t have Boyfriend do the whole foodshop at the Jewel. Aldi is 1/2 to 2/3 the price and we really need to start being mindful about the food budget since he now has no income. But in retrospect I should’ve had him pick up some fruit and veg too. We were focused on “just grab what you absolutely need so you can eat and then GTFO.”
Got an email from our neighborhood association. On Friday they’re saying we should all step out onto our porches, front stoops, sidewalks, etc. to hang out. This neighborhood’s really mixed - some blocks are all SFHs with big porches that are much farther than 6’ apart. Other blocks are multiple apartment buildings that are pretty smooshed together with no porch or outdoor space, and if the whole building empties out onto the sidewalk there won’t be space to maintain social distance.
Considering that the cops are STILL having to disperse crowds from the lake despite it being closed for a week (people are tearing down the police tape and moving barricades), I feel like this is just encouraging people to gather.
Probably it is sent from someone who has enough space and hasn’t really scoped out the higher density housing and didn’t think to put a caveat? It sounds well intentioned, and like you said, mixed bag of housing.
Can you think of a positive way to respond which honours the good intent and identifies ways to stay safe?
Someone got out while we were doing garbage, and nice neighbour stepped out to leave for work. When I explained that I was trying to recapture percy cat while baby wearing, he offered to help. And I could say yes, because just charging at the cat, if he doesn’t know you will encourage rapid retreat to the apartment .
Then neighbour and I chatted a bit. His family is doing well and kids aren’t trying to kill each other any more than usual.
Now that I think about it, I believe our landlord is now on the neighborhood association board. He is a decent person and I think I can bring this up. I mean, at least say “hey dumbasses, remember to still stay 6 ft apart and do not congregate in groups!”
Like, I can sit on my front stoop and be 6 ft away from other buildings.However, the stoop is shared with my downstairs neighbor and the stoop isn’t 6 feet wide so we both can’t be out there… stuff like that. No one’s considering that.
So, while cooped up with extra “time” (haha!), I’ve been considering the question of face masks. Apologies if this has been discussed before.
I am completely not considering N95 or surgical masks…or any other type that can be used effectively by first responders/medical staff. We’ve already given any we had away to those folks and wouldn’t think of acquiring any while there was a shortage for front-line workers.
I do, however, have a lot of cloth and sewing supplies. The scientific community seems to have a fairly deep divide on the subject of homemade masks for the general public. Do they provide any significant level of protection? (FWIW, I have some training with donning PPE due to work in medical research). A second consideration I have is that we do have quite a bit of family sensitivity to pollution. In a world where travel becomes possible again, we’re likely to travel internationally for business reasons. Perhaps someone who has been to or lived in Asia can answer: are homemade masks effective against pollution in terms of personal comfort? Like, does one feel better from a respiratory standpoint while wearing them in areas with particulate pollution? Additionally, are they able to increase comfort when exposed to irritants such as cigarette smoke?
I’m considering whether it would be worth making a stock of homemade masks that can be washed/reused now both in terms of potentially using them now for the rare shopping trip and in terms of having them handy later for travel. Uses for travel would include: fitting in with/being respectful of local customs for mask wearing, reducing irritation from pollution, infection control (assuming they are reasonably effective).
Pretty sure homemade masks do nothing against irritants of any kind. As I understand it, the reason to maybe use them is that they are “better than nothing” at reducing transmission.
My understanding is that you don’t wear cloth masks for infection control or for particulate protection; the weave is too open for that. My personal experience with wearing a cloth bandanna during wildfire season definitely corroborates that – there’s a big difference between an N95 and a bandanna. The bandanna is just kind of a psychological salve, not anything else.
However, cloth masks (not mask covers, to extend the lifespan of PPE, but masks) are useful for keeping you from touching your face while you’re out and about, and also are useful in reminding people to keep 6 feet away.
THere’s been a thing starting where every Thursday at 8, everyone goes to their doorways and claps to thank the NHS and almost every house on my street was out tonight - it’s such a lovely way to feel less alone.
I went grocery shopping this morning right when the store opened. There weren’t very many people there which was nice. Some had gloves and masks on, most didn’t. They now have shields between you and the cashiers and tape on the floor marking 6’ distances. They clean all carts when they come in also. Seems like they are doing all they can, I was impressed. There was no sanitizer or antibacterial soap, but there was some tp. I’m sure it didn’t last long though as it was early yet. I got all the food I wanted, nothing was out. Won’t have to go again for a couple weeks.
And well.ca advertises their telehealth partners too, which is an interesting option.
I know I’ve been struggling with needing medical help and being encouraged to delay, and I think others are delaying too…so telehealth options are a good way to access at least partial care. I’m thinking about trying one of the apps and reporting back to a friend who is struggling with her anxiety and had to pause therapy, and is a single parent and can’t really do phone c as Los the only evening her therapy place does therapy.
I don’t have good general resources beyond “check out Psychology Today listings,” because so much varies by state and insurer. BUT I know that many therapists are moving to tele appointments – I’ve now had two Zoom therapy appointments. It’s not the same but it’s definitely still worth it. So, for folks seeking out therapy, they can likely still find a therapist who will take them on.
Afaik all the usual mental health hotlines are still working in the US, since they were typically remote staffed anyways.
