The Chaos Diaries - 4/28/20

I'll be glad when I no longer have reason to do another Chaos Diaries post, but the foreseeable future looks bleak, so here we are again.

Not sure if you've heard, but farmers are getting hit hard by this shutdown crap.  People aren't visiting restaurants, so that whole section of their market isn't buying produce and meat.  Individuals aren't buying fresh produce very much right now either.  Not sure about the meat, but I bought a freezer full early in the month, so it's not like I'm contributing to their sales right now either.  And when meat sales go down, the grain to feed those cows see sales tank.  It's a vicious cascade.  I won't be able to judge availability for myself until the next time I hit Walmart, which'll be either next week or the week after.

In Michigan, Halfwit decided it was okay to do some things outside, but everyone has to wear face masks.  Mom has been getting in her car, driving it to the back of her apartment complex to get her mail and then driving back to her parking space.  Other than that, and one short trip to the office to take care of pressing issues, she hasn't left her apartment for over a month.  Her library is closed, so no books for her - which is a definite hardship for a woman who regularly picked up a bag of 20-30 books from the library.  I'm tempted to box up a bunch of books to mail to her, except she has nowhere to store books and no way to donate them to anyone else.  I really wish she was open to the idea of an ereader, but she's not.

Our mailman is now wearing surgical gloves to deliver mail.  The thing about surgical gloves is that you should change them frequently.  As in, if he was doing it conscientiously, between each mailbox he touches.  Otherwise, the germs he picks up from one mailbox travels with him to the next mailbox, and so on so on.  Purell your hands, my friends.  If you're really concerned about the spread of germs to yourself and others, it's the way to go.  And if you can't find hand sanitizer, alcohol.  And if you can't find alcohol, just don't touch your face until you're somewhere you can wash your hands.

Personally, I hate hand sanitizers.  They're hard on my skin and I have this neurotic thing about dry hands.  But I use the stuff every time I go out.  When I get home, I wash the crap off and then lotion the hell out of my hands.  Oh, the stuff we have to roll with these days.  Let's not even get into my neuroses about having something covering my mouth.  I haven't been anywhere where a mask is required.  I dread that day.  I mean, I know rationally that I won't suffocate, but I still feel like I'm going to suffocate.  Imagine trying to make it through a grocery shopping trip while feeling that you're going to suffocate the whole time.  Yep.  Dread it.  Mightily.

All in all, we're still all fine here.  Owl is getting a little lonesome for the outside world - mainly shopping, I think, since she's keeping in touch with her friends online and taking walks.  I have shot appointment on Friday.  I really need to call the doctor's office to see if they have any rules in place so I know ahead of time whether to bring a mask or wait in my car or what have you.  Hell, I'd be willing to wait on their back porch and have the nurse poke me in the doorway.

On the bright side, Hubs and Owl are getting a chance to connect that they never had when Hubs was working.  Gotta find the bright sides in all of this.  They're there somewhere.

Got any bright sides for me today?  How are things going where you are?  Have you been to the store lately?  How's the produce and meat selection where you're at?

Oh, I forgot to mention... During this chaos crap, my internet is obscenely slow, so if you don't see me on FB, your blogs, etc., I'm wading along as best as I can and I'll get there when the internet allows me to.  This also goes for approving comments, since it's hit or miss whether Gmail will come up at all.  Blerg.