How Are You Social Distancing?

[Whiskadoodle]

I returned to my own house this weekend. 20 minute walk half-way around the lake. Left the cat at SO's. I miss her already. Not very many walkers out.

Brought home some books to exchange for some un-read ones. I am my own library, I guess.

I think SO and I spent at least 3 hours on the phone different times today, so there really is no separation anxiety there. Speaker phones are great features.

It's not really spring yet. I am pacing about doing some yard work/ garden stuff. I would like the ground to get a little warmer and the air too so all one needed to wear outside is a hoody. And pants, of course. It's nearly 6:00, time to take off day pajamas and put on night pajamas.

 

[larry_stewart]

Im an essential worker, so I go into work reduced hours, seeing only emergencies and primarily referring them out for advanced procedures.

When home, im home. My outside activity is the garden, inside activity is cooking,cames, movies ...

We have quite q bit of food so going shopping is limited ( just fresh produce which I go off hours to limit the crowds).

Masks, sanitizers, one car is for work only, the other one is for everything else ( shopping..any store runs I have to do)

My wife is high risk, so I have to be extra careful.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I've been teleworking for almost 4 weeks now. Only go out for groceries and to take trash and recycling to the dump once a week. Otherwise we stay home. We didn't go out much to begin with so that aspect has not impacted us much. We've talked to the neighbors across the fence on either side of us. We are keep watch on each other.

Been keeping busy with cooking and now working in the yard and garden. The biggest impact is that my weekend trips to ride rollercoasters have been postponed for a while and we had to reschedule our trip to Hawaii from the end of this month to the end of July. So I won't be ziplining on my birthday like I had hoped.

And the dogs are very happy Daddy is home all day. More outside time and more treats.

 

[larry_stewart]

The biggest impact is that my weekend trips to ride rollercoasters have been postponed for a while and we had to reschedule our trip to Hawaii from the end of this month to the end of July. So I won't be ziplining on my birthday like I had hoped.

Yeah, I dont do the rollercoaster thing, but I attend a bunch of shows and concerts ( which I buy the tickets way in advance). So everything has been cancelled or postponed.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have 6 high-end crossbows, 3 for the front doir, and 3 for the back door. They are all controlled on x-y gimbals, with a program I wrote for my B.S. degree senior project, a computer controlled tracking syste. That project came out best in class (not kidding).

The crossbows are targeted at a focal point 10 feet from either door, and shoot bolts at 455 fps. The accuracy puts the bolts in a half inh circle.

Of course there is a video camera that lets me see who is coming towards my house, and an overide that I can use to temporarily disable the system. There are warnig signs, as well as an audible mrssage that activates when the intruder gets within 20 feet of the sensors.

Ok, though I really did build the elactronics, srnsor array, and hardware. And did write the program for a tracking unit that worked perfectly for my senior project in me B.S. EET couse, the crossbow scenario, thogh doable, is nt real. But it eas fun to write this post.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Chief, hope your mail delivery person is an invisible ninja warrior.

The Jr's are both laid off. They pulled the kids from day care too, since DIL read about some small child developed coronavirus illness. Their household is a wee bit chaotic. They are still paying daycare at a reduced rate, at least for now, to keep their enrollment active.

They sent a facebook vid this a.m. 3 yo marching around the house in his winter boots, and a Batman cape singing at the top of his lungs-- " Who, Who let the dogs out. " on continuous repeat.

SO and I both ordered groceries for delivery this coming Saturday. She is receiving a Costco order today ordered last week We will have to sort out what groceries go where. What I ordered will be delivered to SO's as that is our primary landing pad. I will have to worry about transferring whatever to my house some later date. Non perishable, so no matter. SO is immune compromised and precautionary and will not go anywhere nor does she allow anyone in her house. That would include me if I come into contact with anyone.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I've been teleworking for almost 4 weeks now. Only go out for groceries and to take trash and recycling to the dump once a week. Otherwise we stay home. We didn't go out much to begin with so that aspect has not impacted us much. We've talked to the neighbors across the fence on either side of us. We are keep watch on each other.

Been keeping busy with cooking and now working in the yard and garden. The biggest impact is that my weekend trips to ride rollercoasters have been postponed for a while and we had to reschedule our trip to Hawaii from the end of this month to the end of July. So I won't be ziplining on my birthday like I had hoped.

And the dogs are very happy Daddy is home all day. More outside time and more treats.

Aloha Dave!
Where had you folks planned on going in Hawaii, may I ask?
We decided not to go home (Oahu as in Kaneohe Girl In AZ) back
in January because some of the other nonsense that has been
going over there, and we're sure glad that we did.
I think we'll wait for next year and see what shakes out....

 

[DaveSoMD]

The plan was to go to our timeshare on the Big Island in Waikalo the first week and spend time there. Then go to Oahu for another week. We stay in Honolulu on Waikiki beach. I was going to go ziplining at on Oahu for my Birthday and check out the breweries. Lol. Last year I went parasailing for the first time.

Aloha Dave!
Where had you folks planned on going in Hawaii, may I ask?
We decided not to go home (Oahu as in Kaneohe Girl In AZ) back
in January because some of the other nonsense that has been
going over there, and we're sure glad that we did.
I think we'll wait for next year and see what shakes out....

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

With everyone wearing masks, this would be the perfect time for an armed robbery! No one would be suspicious until the guns came out, then it would be too late.

 

[Linda0818]

I'm doing basically what most everyone else is doing - only going to the market when I absolutely have to (most of my purchasing has been online) and going to work only 2 days a week. Thanks to my boss insisting he's an 'essential business', but he's not. However, it's just the two of us at the office right now, so hopefully we're okay.

I don't think we should be working at all because right now I'm frightened of going out more than I have to. I have high blood pressure and I'm diabetic. But that doesn't seem to matter to my boss. What I should do is literally refuse to go in. Where I live, our county is one of those with the most cases and of our county, the zip code I live in has the most cases.

I don't want to go out to work, but my boss is insisting

 

[Cheryl J]

Ugh, Linda. I feel bad for those who have to work and cannot work from home. My daughter has been teleworking from home for a month now - I'm not too affected because I'm kind of a homebody anyway. But I sure do miss my local family, grands, and close neighbors.

Practicing social distancing as well as best I can. I'm working on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle that is set up on the dining room table. Having meals on a wooden TV tray in the living room. Gotta do what ya gotta do. Funny...I've pretty much ignored the flower pots on the patio that I cut back last winter...now they are abundantly growing and flowering like crazy.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Today I went provision foraging again, first time in 11 days that I've done so.
There was no one about!
I had my mask and wore it, but ...

I did go next door the other day to sit on Mrs. Nextdoor-Neighbor's patio to chat and drink some wine, do ya know some one had themselves a little kitten about it!?
We were more than six feet apart, we were outside, we did not come in contact in any way, for some reason it went around how awful we are...

Anywhos ...
DH had to see the Doc today... they did a TeleMed Appointment - like Skype or FaceTime, so very cool! Now THAT'S what I call Social Distancing!
DH asked me after his all of 5 minute Doctor's Appointment that he didn't even have to leave the house for,
"Why Can't I do this all the time? Why is it that they only NOW dreamt this up?"




Life as we know or knew it as, is evolving every day, changing, adapting.
For the foreseeable future there will be no more:
Sporting Events
Large Social Gatherings, Publicly nor Privately
Concerts
Lectures
Plays
Sit Down Restaurants
Art Galleries
...

 

[taxlady]

Today I went provision foraging again, first time in 11 days that I've done so.
There was no one about!
I had my mask and wore it, but ...

I did go next door the other day to sit on Mrs. Nextdoor-Neighbor's patio to chat and drink some wine, do ya know some one had themselves a little kitten about it!?
We were more than six feet apart, we were outside, we did not come in contact in any way, for some reason it went around how awful we are...

Anywhos ...
DH had to see the Doc today... they did a TeleMed Appointment - like Skype or FaceTime, so very cool! Now THAT'S what I call Social Distancing!
DH asked me after his all of 5 minute Doctor's Appointment that he didn't even have to leave the house for,
"Why Can't I do this all the time? Why is it that they only NOW dreamt this up?"

View attachment 40240


Life as we know or knew it as, is evolving every day, changing, adapting.
For the foreseeable future there will be no more:
Sporting Events
Large Social Gatherings, Publicly nor Privately
Concerts
Lectures
Plays
Sit Down Restaurants
Art Galleries
...

Distance medicine has been around for remote communities and special circumstances for quite a while. I think the reason most doctors didn't want to do it was because of billing issues. I don't think insurance companies were willing to pay for that. I know that billing issues are the main reason that doctors here won't answer questions by email and usually won't even give out their email address.

 

[taxlady]

We haven't left the house since the 12th of March, except to take recycling and garbage to the curb and pick up mail at the community mailbox, not much farther away. The one time there was someone else around, it was no effort for my DH to stay much more than two metres away. Other than that, our only face to face interaction with humans is for deliveries of meals or groceries. We open the door and step back. We manage to get the stuff without getting within 2 metres of the delivery person. And one of our friends has brought us some groceries that I wanted that I can't get from the stores I get deliveries from. He also brought us a tank of propane for our grill. The first time, he had the groceries in the trunk of his car and opened the trunk for DH to take out. The second time, he put the propane tank in our backyard. We did have a short convo at distance. I emailed him the money for the groceries and for the propane. That's it for us for social distancing. Also, the rules here in Quebec have gotten really, really stringent.

 

[Linda0818]

My cousin sent me this. Some of you may have already seen it, but figured I'd share. Some of them gave me a good chuckle.

• Half of us are going to come out of this quarantine as amazing cooks. The other half will come out with a drinking problem.
• I used to spin that toilet paper like I was on Wheel of Fortune. Now I turn it like I'm cracking a safe.
• I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.
• Still haven't decided where to go for Easter ----- The Living Room or The Bedroom
• PSA: every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.
• Homeschooling is going well. 2 students suspended for fighting and 1 teacher fired for drinking on the job.
• I don't think anyone expected that when we changed the clocks we'd go from Standard Time to the Twilight Zone
• This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came into my house, told my dog..... we laughed a lot.
• So, after this quarantine.....will the producers of My 600 Pound Life just find me or do I find them?
• Quarantine Day 5: Went to this restaurant called THE KITCHEN. You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. I have no clue how this place is still in business.
• My body has absorbed so much soap and disinfectant lately that when I pee it cleans the toilet.
• Day 5 of Homeschooling: One of these little monsters called in a bomb threat.
• I'm so excited --- it's time to take out the garbage. What should I wear?
• Classified Ad: Single man with toilet paper seeks woman with hand sanitizer for good clean fun.
• Day 6 of Homeschooling: My child just said "I hope I don't have the same teacher next year"... I'm offended.
• Better 6 feet apart than 6 feet under

 

[GotGarlic]

Distance medicine has been around for remote communities and special circumstances for quite a while. I think the reason most doctors didn't want to do it was because of billing issues. I don't think insurance companies were willing to pay for that. I know that billing issues are the main reason that doctors here won't answer questions by email and usually won't even give out their email address.

There are guidelines that require doctors to see patients in person from time to time, especially if the patient has pre-existing conditions and takes medication. They can't check vital statistics or perform examinations remotely, so there's no way to have a complete annual exam. Most med dosages are based on weight, blood pressure, etc. I don't think it would be a good idea to depend on patients to report their own vitals accurately.

So that's why, imo [emoji2]

 

[GotGarlic]

... I know that billing issues are the main reason that doctors here won't answer questions by email and usually won't even give out their email address.

Are you sure about that? Here in the US, there's a very strict law governing patient privacy. It was passed around 20 years ago when it was much easier to hack email and medical facilities were sued. Since then, most doctors' offices, hospitals, etc., use their own patient portals (there are two primary ones, that I'm aware of) to communicate with patients, which are much more secure; you can even see the doctors' notes from your appointments and get test results. They're often integrated with the patient electronic medical records system, so questions trigger a task for the doctor, and if he or she is on vacation or something, they can designate someone to manage their patients' needs. I think it's much more efficient than communicating through email.

 

[Katie H]

Took a visit to our area Kroger on Tuesday.

I was suited up like an astronaut. Gloves, mask and shoes that will NOT make it into the house.

I was pleased to see that nearly ALL customers were masked in some way, along with the staff of the store. I would have been hard pressed to count those who didn't have protection.

Additionally, the store had taken the precaution of placing "coming and going" arrows on the floor of the aisles to prevent customers from meeting each other as they shopped.

There were plexiglss barriers at the prescription counter to protect both the employees and the customer.

I am happy to say that our Kroger store has taken wonderful steps to keep us all safe.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Today I went provision foraging again, first time in 11 days that I've done so...

I managed to go 20 days! I was getting antsy the last week, since I rarely go a full week without hitting up at least one grocery store.

(posted Saturday, 4-4)...My plan is to shop next week Tuesday, running my I-395 route from Market Basket to Price Chopper to Aldi, all just a hop off the interstate. After that, I should be good till the end of April.

Katie, you nailed it with the astronaut comparison! I went shopping yesterday for what I hope is the last time until next month. What an ordeal! I planned on going to three stores, so I made three different looking masks, one for each store. After a short nap in the wee hours of the morning, I gathered masks, gloves, a snack bag with germ-killing wipes, had a cup of tea while dressing and making myself presentable (I wasn't hungry to eat since we had eaten dinner our usual late time). Once in the car at 5:45 AM , I headed to the northern-most store, Market Basket. Got there about 6:05 for "Senior Hours (6-7)". There was a socially-distanced appropriate line outside of the store - maybe 50-60 people waiting there turn to go in. Since the first group of shoppers was already in the store, I circled back through what looked to be a half-filled lot and headed south to the next store, Price Chopper (terribly misnamed, since their prices are high) and found a parking lot with a lot fewer cars and no line. Managed to spend around $50 in less than half an hour, checked out, and headed to the car - all while wearing mask and gloves. Got all my shopping done during their same 6-7 Senior Hours. Once I returned the cart to the store, I peeled the gloves off correctly, returned to the car, and hopped in. Pulled the first mask off and placed it into its "dirty mask" bag, pulled out a wipe, and cleaned any surface I might have touched starting with thoroughly cleaning my hands. Back on the road, I figured I had enough time to head home and store part of what I bought since Aldi wasn't opening for Senior Hours until 8:30. When I got out of the car I got a fresh wipe and cleansed all touched surfaces on the outside of the car, plus cleaned off the handle inside of the tailgate. Left shelf stable items in the garage for the suggested 3 day product quarantine, took the perishables into the house, and put them on the designated "dirty half" of my kitchen work table. Wiped everything down, let it air dry, and stored in fridge. *phew* Headed back out to Aldi, but first stopped at the corner coffee shop for a cuppa - supporting a local business. I got to Aldi just as they were opening their doors and got right in. After spending $111, did the glove/mask/wipe procedure all over again. Stopped back at Price Chopper for a back-up box of wine (their beer/wine section didn't open until 9) and a bag of bread flour. I also got a tub of ice cream. I was going to get it at Aldi, but it seems the bulk of their shoppers find it to be their comfort food. Again with the glove/mask/wipes. Headed back home for the duration until I run out of food. Did the fresh-food clean-down again. After everything was tucked in safely I peeled all my outer clothing off and left it on hooks in the garage, ran upstairs to grab fresh clothes...no, I didn't. Instead I went straight to my nightgown again. Crawled into bed for an about three hour nap, then got up and put all fresh clothes on. After all that, I still managed to make supper.And I put fresh sheets on the bed and a clean nightgown on after my shower. I'm beat today. Guess I should grab all the cloth bags and my clothes and clean up all the fabric that might have creepy-crawlies on them.

If I end up getting sick (or, worse, bringing the bug home to Himself), I'll be majorly annoyed. Meanwhile, it's back to 14 days of social distancing for us - only 6' air kisses and no hugs. Gotta keep my guy safe.

 

[Beachgirl]

It has been pretty easy for us here.. we live on the 8th floor of a 12 floor condo building in Mazatlan Mexico. Most of the snow birds have flown back to America and Canada. We do have a few neighbors who decided to stick around for various reasons but not many.

The pool is still open but the bar, the saunas,hot tub, lounge and other public areas are closed. The Mexican beaches are all closed and being guarded by life guards, police and military guys. Easter is the busiest time of year here in town but with the beaches and hotel closed NO ONE IS HERE. It's very quiet.

We've been home for over two weeks and our friends here have also been alone for two weeks so.. Friday we are doing dinner together. We have a large kitchen table and will sit spread apart. They will bring food from their condo and I fix some here for us. It'll be nice to see people again. Hubby and I are pretty much hermits and we like it that way though being forced to be a hermit is different than choosing to be one. I feel a little trapped but... we have a nice deck to sit on and a beautiful view out our window to gaze at. Pelicans fly by all the time and that makes us smile.

Keep safe, keep healthy and keep happy!

Smiles, Trish