Taste Like Chicken Spring Weekend 3/21-22

Becky, I guess it's a comfort that the hematomas are just a normal course of the surgery you had. LOL on docs not understanding the limitations of country life. I hope what you found on Amazon works well. Delivery on Sunday?? Shoulder is ok as long as nothing bumps it in the wrong place and I don't try to wear a bra, which hits that very tender spot. I did manage to do time on the treadmill and lift weights this morning pretty much without pain.

Interesting ration photo, Linda. Those are just the foods that were rationed, correct? For example, I don't see any bread or flour there, so were you supposed to spread jam on your bacon? I also see no fruits or veggies. Also not one bit of fiber of any kind. I listened to Gov. Cuomo (didn't listen to the Prez--not much new or true there anyway) and heard about the closures Sorry that our Liz is considered an "essential service". Thanks for mentioning the census. I have been meaning to do that all week but it's still sitting here in my "to do" pile. Probably good to do the Instacart. Will they deliver or do you need to pick up. Nobody delivers here. Does True Wine have just wines? I'm out of a lot of the alcohol I use for herbal preparations and am going to have to break down and go to the liquor store. The clerks get a kick out of me because I'm more interested in the alcohol % than a specific brand or product. I will get the "high test" Everclear and probably some 120-140 proof Vodka if I can find it. I wish I could find a higher % brandy because I prefer to use it. Best of luck to DB. I heard something about some states wanting to use VA facilities. But, given the age of a lot of veterans, I have a feeling they are going to have an influx of Covid-19 patients at some point in the very near future. Good luck to DSIL and hubby. So unfortunate that you won't be able to physically spend time with them as they are passing through. Enjoy the puzzle.

Kathy, did your governor close all the beaches? I saw Val Demmings on TV this morning and she said that's what was being recommended by the FL congressional caucus. My cousin lives in Cape Coral and she said theirs were closed. Are you still unseasonably warm? We're about 20 degrees cooler than we were yesterday at this time and it's cloudy. I liked yesterday much better. I wish we were 70s for the highs year round.

What did you and Iggy end up doing today, Chele? How's your weather? Cornell has migrated their bird ID, Merlin, to an app, so I downloaded it this morning. Then I set out to identify the bird that I thought was a starling and turns out it's a brown cowbird. So we have stopped chasing it away from the feeder. I wish it was warm enough to have the windows open so we could hear the birds sing. Arya perks up when she hears them.

I heard from Liz this morning and she said to send her best. She had 2 calls with senior management before she emailed me and said the PPE shortage is very critical. She wrote, "We are the epicenter now and procedures and protocols are what will see us through; along with those who care about us." So, please keep sending good thoughts her way. I'm very happy that, while she is in the middle of the fray, she is not on the front lines.

We have a clean bed and have instituted a new procedure of taking off clothes immediately upon entering the house if we have been out of the house and in contact with any other humans. These clothes go in a special hamper and my goal is to wash them weekly, even if there aren't that many of them. Might be overkill, but you never know. I also worked some with herbs and essential oils. I was just about out of my thieves' oil blend, which is critical right now. I also made small batches of elecampane and Siberian ginseng tinctures that won't be ready for about a month. I just went online to where I ordered herbs from yesterday because I had hoped to get a few more that I should have ordered. They have now suspended ordering in an effort to catch up. So I won't be getting my supplies any time soon.

Linda, interesting on the rations. I would think most people had a vegetable garden back then and a lot of people probably had chickens to add some extra food. I'm guessing a lot of bartering went on for supplies.

Karen, thanks for the start and the update on Liz. I'm also glad that she's not on the front lines, although she's pretty close to it. I just got the census yesterday, but threw out the envelope, set it aside, and washed my hands. I'll look at it next week. The governor closed Broward and Palm Beach County beaches. I just saw where an attorney filed a lawsuit to get the governor to close all of the beaches. Many of the mayors in the beach towns have closed their local beaches, but I really don't know what the governor's issue is. He should've shut down spring break instead of just giving a useless verbal warning to go home! Orange County now has a curfew from 11pm to 5am. It's very warm here and is supposed to stay that way for a few days. It cools off at night a little more than summertime and it's not as humid yet.

My Publix delivery was through Instacart. It was pretty easy and quick, so I need to take a look and see what other stores they have. Good idea on the clothes. I think a lot of the liquor stores will do curbside delivery or maybe you could call ahead and have them have the order ready for you to pickup. I just got an email from Michael's saying they're doing curbside delivery so you can keep crafting. Okay, that's really not an essential service right now!

Waving to all and hope you have a good Saturday.

Glad everyone is doing relatively okay. Just passing through. Feeling down and trying to fight it. On my way to the bike cave to get some endorphins. Iggy is doing much better mentally than I am, so I am trying to hide it, because once he gets down it is harder for him to come back than me. It is hard for me to admit that everything is not hunky dory.

I just ordered disposable gloves from Walmart-the food variety, not the medical variety, just so I feel comfortable with Iggy at least going out and getting gas in the gas cans. They should be here Thursday. I can’t lift the 20 liter cans once they are full or I would go.

Anyway, take care.

Linda, if you want to get ahead of D&G, you might want to check out this website that was sent to me by one of my fellow master gardeners: covidactnow.org/. I think the grocery stores and pharmacies will be open regardless, so you may be ok with just 1-2 months of your meds. Perhaps just as well you didn't know about DSIL until later.Did you get the jigsaw puzzle finished? Sorry you have such activity in the neighborhood and that Micki will be difficult if he can't be in physical contact with the neighbors. That's how Phoebe was. Definitely put chocolate on the list for tomorrow. Will it be Sees or something generic from the pharmacy? Thanks for the tip about Total Wine. The last time I was in one was probably 10 or 12 years ago and it was nothing but wine, or at least the one I went to. I did check the Knoxville TW that is about 5 minutes from Osteo and they do have "the hard stuff" but either their selection is limited or stock is low due to the weekend. I think I can get things that will work and stock may be better by the time I order on Wednesday, but one of the vodkas I want is out of stock and the other they don't carry. When dealing with herbs, you have to get the alcohol % just right and you can always dilute stronger stuff (I can get Everclear 190 here), but if it's lower % the medicine won't be as strong. 

I forgot you mentioned the foot/ankle swelling, Becky. Definitely not normal. Is it better today? Problem with all that water is more trips to the bana. I hope you'll be able to get grocery deliveries soon. Odd that the pick up dates for HEB are so far out. Most of them around here are next day if not sooner. Like Kathy, I was wondering if TX beaches were closed. They sure weren't last week, at least at South Padre.

Chele, "relatively okay" is all any of us can claim to be these days. We all just need to get through it, or at least the most difficult part until the potential strain on the healthcare system abates. We've been using gardening gloves to pump gas and they go straight in the washer as soon as we get home. I heard some lines in a Dan Fogelberg song that really described the way I'm feeling right now: "I'm moving so fast now it doesn't seem true" and "I'm getting closer but I don't know what to". I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and I just wish it would hurry up and do it so I can create what ever the new normal is going to be.

We don't have much going on around us, Kathy, so our neighborhood feels about the same as usual for this time of year. I did see some photos of downtown Sevierville from earlier today and the streets were pretty deserted, which was not what I saw on Thursday coming home. Sunday morning/early afternoon is one of the mass exodus days for all the tourists. So either they all left or are staying over and just weren't on the roads mid-morning. I may need to check out that Meditation Cafe on the GDT board. Thanks for the recommendation.

Nothing from Liz today. I hope she is getting some R&R. At least she won't have much traffic to fight tomorrow, with everyone staying at home in NYC. There was a petition to our governor to make that happen here as well. I don't see that happening, so I think we're on our own. Dale is going to the state park tomorrow and will do an Aldi run as well. I finally broke down and rearranged the herb section in the pantry today and found a couple bags of herbs I didn't know I had. So I should be good for some of the tinctures I need to make when I replenish my alcohol stash on Thursday. Tomorrow is cleaning and laundry for me.