Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

IllinoisLady

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. -Helen Keller

IllinoisLady

Going out later for a walk today. Got over to my friend's in town so she could have her bath. She is able to do it all herself, but I'm there as a just in case person. While she is busy with the bath, I tidy the kitchen, wash some dishes and I fed the outdoor kitties as well today. I have loved being a bit more of a homebody and getting to do things here. The place needs plenty of attentions and since Dh is restricted too I'm not getting called away to drive him somewhere. He has his truck but most of the time would rather I do the driving.

Our temps should be okay for the week and I think no rain is expected. You just never know for sure though. Hope in a couple of weeks it may warm enough that I can start doing my car again. Been hard to keep up with the arm issues, but I'm pretty much on track now I think.

Hope you are all going to have a fantastic day.

karen1956

Petite - I have. not had a cleaning lady in many, many years - I got a thing on my door for a deep cleaning services - under any other circumstances, I would have jumped to have a deep cleaning but now is not the time to have a stranger in my house.

Stay well and stay safe

IllinoisLady

The real joy of life is in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of doing it, apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of duty. It is the real living of life with the feeling of freedom and self-expression. Play is the business of childhood, and its continuation in later years is the prolongation of youth. -Walter Rauschenbusch

IllinoisLady

Good news here ( though I worry about accuracy ) is that I think the covid count in our county is low --maybe a couple. You know what they say though -- where's there is smoke, there is fire. I am hearing it second hand, but I actually do think we are a group of fairly small communities around here and are likely safer in that way. I do worry about going places -- we all know if we ourselves are practicing trying to keep the rules and guidelines as much as possible but can't be sure about others.

I worry about going to my friend's since I am having to do my own shopping still and while we don't get around anyone ( closest is when we are in line to pay ) I fear giving it to someone else as much as getting it myself.

Went for a nice walk yesterday. It remains very nice here. Warm and no rain though a bit overcast this morning. Hope we do get some sun later. So, I do have plenty to do around here.

Hope you all stay well and happy.

Anneb1149

Good morning,

I am doing okay with the self isolating for the most part. Because of the gallbladder attack, I started self isolating 2 weeks before they told us too. I am setting a goal each day, and yesterday my goal was to file everything that was sitting on top of the file cabinet. It had to be 10-12" high. Now I have to take each file and decide what needs to stay and what doesn't. My hope is to scan most of it on to my computer to get rid of all the paper.

Tracy's exMIL and I are very good friends. She called about 3 Sun afternoon saying Tracy wasn't answering her phone. I said she was taking a nap, could I help? She said Tracy had some stuff to give her. I asked what stuff, and she hesitated a moment, then said "some paper towels, some wipes, masks and some hand sanitizer" as if maybe I wasn't supposed to know. I had no problem at all and said I would see if I could find it. Of course I couldn't find it and had to wake Tracy up. Tracy has gotten it from work, having permission from her corporate office to take some home. Jeanne's plan was just to pull in the driveway, have one us hand her the stuff and leave. Didn't quite work for either of us, so we visited for about a half hour. She stood outside her car, and I sat on the front porch, and it was so good to see and talk to a friend.

My son, who is a teacher is no longer calling every afternoon on his way home from work, because he isn't working. He does call every time he is alone in his car, and he's the only one who does. My daughter in GA just started a new job recently and is now working from home, but she usually texts me a few times a week. My daughter in Lake Placid doesn't call unless she needs something, and my youngest son doesn't all or text much at all. I accepted a Facebook challenge last night to post a picture of me and he saw that, and responded that he loves me.

My plan is to set up a Zoom conference with all of them once a week.

I am sitting here, typing, which is not helping me accomplish my goal for today, so I better get moving.

Hoping you all het some good fresh air today,

Anne

Betrayal

Day four of overcast skies but no rain as of yet. Had two days of rain followed by one with intermittent sun and thunderstorms. It poured at times and the thunder had the poor dog cringing behind the couch. Really want to garden but it is too muddy.

We are still living in a damaged house. The initial damage was tree related on Halloween and there has been one delay after another to effect the restoration. Of course, when they finally do get the permits (nearly 5 months later) we go into a state of lockdown. I am still winnowing through the attic contents but the last of the items came down yesterday. There is minor damage to several bedrooms rooms upstairs so today I am planning on packing up some knickknacks from one room (has ceiling damage) and clearing the closet in another (has ceiling damage in closet). We are able to live in the rooms currently but know this will change when restoration reaches these rooms. The master bedroom was destroyed as was the attic area above it. It was raining so damage was also done to the living room and straight through to the finished basement. Right now the living room is a sorting area and temporary storage for items to be donated to Purple Heart and some items to be returned to the attic someday. So every day (during the week) I have a goal so I do not become overwhelmed by chaos. We have run out of storage areas within the house since we had to pack up all master bedroom and living room items. The master bedroom furniture is at a refinishers, half my clothing is at a cleaners since it was contaminated by insulation the workers dragged into the closet (yes, they opened the closet door and dragged it in) or contaminated when they took drawers out of the dresser, the living room furniture was sent offsite for climate controlled storage, and the garage is the major storage area for attic items. The basement also has boxes of items from the master bedroom.

We had a nursery plant 7 5 foot junipers this week where the trees used to be. The former garden there was destroyed and it looked awful. I had spent years putting in perennials and am hoping the lily of the valley will sprout again. Fingers crossed that the lilac my now deceased Dad gave me will spring back from the damage it sustained. It had been uprooted so I replanted it and I did see some leaf buds the other day. My plan now is to plant native plants between the junipers and make it a self-sustaining area. It is at the foot of our slate patio and serves as a breaks between us and the neighbors. While our houses are not close, it was too open now.

So I am off to pack up the (former daughter's) bedroom knickknacks that are on shelves near the damaged ceiling. Have a good day.

ChiSandy

Judy, I am following Dr. Anthony Fauci's advice: social distancing; Lysol-ing doorknobs, handles and frequently-touched metal & plastic surfaces/fixtures, and plastic, glass or glossy cardboard packaging and then wiping them down (washing hands after); waiting until delivery-persons have dropped off your stuff and are at least 10' away; cleaning & wiping off takeout containers and putting the food in pans to cook and plates to eat--and of course discarding the containers & the bags they came in; and frequent 20-second hand washing (if you are tired of "Happy Birthday/How Old Are You Now," the first verse and chorus of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"--or "I Gotta Wash My Hands"--is 20 sec. long, as are two choruses of Foo Fighters' "Hero," as suggested Sunday night by its leader Dave Grohl. I timed it, and he's correct). Wash upon arising, after handling anything that came from outside your home or apt., going to the bathroom, tooth care (brushing, flossing, removing & re-inserting dentures or orthodontic appliances), before eating & after loading the dishwasher or taking out the trash or compost, and at bedtime. Wash produce as you are about to use or eat it.

If you do the above (plus now wear a surgical mask &/or a folded scarf covering your nose & mouth when you go outside to where you may encounter others), you should be fine. There is a YouTube video of a family practice doc (a rather beefy guy, if you ask me) in Grand Rapids, MI on why and how you should use "sterile surgical technique" for every food item coming into your house--whether delivered, drive-thru, or purchased in-store. He says you should clear off and disinfect a table, put a stripe of tape down the center, and thereby create a "dirty" and a "clean" area. He put all the food items on the "dirty" side, and household storage containers on the "clean" side.

He demonstrated taking a box of cereal, Lysol-ing it, then removing the inner bag and discarding the box. Then he disinfected the outer wrapper of a loaf of bread, opened the inner wrapper, and poured (!) the bread into a large Tupperware bowl (I didn't see a lid). Next, a bag of potato chips--which he sprayed with Lysol & wiped down. Next was a mesh sack each of oranges & plums. He went to his double sink--one half of which was filled with soapy water. He dumped the fruit into the soapy water and said to wait several minutes--then take each piece of fruit and wash it with more soap & water over the empty half of the sink for 20 seconds before wiping it down and putting it in a disinfected bowl or basket. (Keeping track of the time yet)? Then, as to takeout (he called it "foraging for food"), he pulled out two fast-food paper bags. He extracted from one a cheeseburger and from the other a burrito. For each item, he held it over a plate, undid the paper wrapping or clamshell box, and dumped it onto said plate. For good measure, he suggested microwaving them. (If I get a takeout salad, no way can I do that). He also said you need to disinfect frozen food packaging before putting the items into--and extracting them from--the freezer.

According to my husband--who is a 70-yr cardiologist still practicing and seeing non-critical patients (now mostly by phone & computer)--that is more than a little extreme. (I can't even get him to take off his shoes when he gets home, much less strip down, shower and change clothes or into PJs). He and his colleagues--one a pulmonologist and the other an infectious-disease specialist--believe that those non-ED or non-ICU docs with healthy immune systems practicing only the Fauci guidelines may accidentally get repeated minuscule nano-exposure and eventually build immunity (much like those 18th-century Scottish milkmaids who developed immunity to cowpox & smallpox). That FP from Grand Rapids, seeing patients of all ages and all ailments, may also have developed an immunity by now--or not. At this point, many more of us may have been exposed, without symptoms, and will not develop symptoms. Still, common-sense caution can't hurt.

The problem with such extreme sterile measures taken by someone not infected can result in an immune system that is naive and susceptible to the first drug-resistant bug that comes along. An historical example: the N. American natives who caught smallpox after accepting the Dutch & English settlers' gift of trinkets & blankets that were (unbeknownst to the donors) contaminated with smallpox. The settlers had developed a "herd immunity" in Europe, but since smallpox did not yet exist in the Western Hemisphere the natives' immune systems were sucker-punched by a microbe they'd never encountered. Revisionist historians contend that the settlers knew exactly what they were doing, with the goal of genocide. Hogwash: Edward Jenner's discovery in Scotland of smallpox (cowpox, actually) and that "vaccinating" people with a tiny bit of the bug (the Latin root of the word "vaccine" means "cow") came nearly 200 years after that first wave of settlers on our shores--and because news still traveled slowly across the pond in England (by relay to town criers and newspaper publishers), a large slice of the populace over there never learned of it till years--maybe decades--later. Germ theory, and knowledge of how diseases spread, was in its infancy--heck, in utero--in the early 1600s.

Oh, and I am not about to take medical advice from a somewhat obese doctor who eats sugar-laden dry cereal, potato chips, white bread, and junky fast food. If coronavirus doesn't kill him, his arteries or Type 2 diabetes will.

I am about to bundle up and drop Gordy's passport--plus a package of dinner napkins, a roll of paper towels, and an asthma inhaler (I have three, with my next refill of three more just two weeks away)--off on his porch. I will phone him to let him know I'm there, then descend his outside stairs and talk to him--he on the porch or his open front hall, me on the sidewalk.

IllinoisLady

Wow Sandy that is a whole lot of time fiddling with all sorts of food. I think common sense caution should be used and I feel like I do and I'll have to hope that I get it right. I did not the idea of washing fruit in soap and water and it seems to me that I read ( disclaimer because I don't recall if it was a nutritionist or agricultural person ) saying that wasn't a good idea. A long cool or lukewarm rinse was fine but I think the idea was that soap or bleach or things like that could possibly get into some of the fruits or veggie's. I think some stores did or maybe still do sell something ( I've never looked for it ) that can be used to clean or scrub fruits and vegetables. As a kid most people around us had gardens and as kids we often picked a carrot or tomato, knocked the big dirt off and brushed the rest ( we thought we did anyway ) off by hand, and ate it right then and there standing in the garden. Glad to hear you are able to look askance somewhat too.

Saw in our news today that there actually are two cases of covid in our county. Not a lot of identifiers were given, but what was there sure didn't sound like our town. So, we are still okay here for now. Talked to an older couple down the road from us today. They are doing what shopping they do in counties that have no ( hmmm) cases as yet. I tend to think since groups of people aren't happening, as well as some distance in stores ( could be a bit more as far as I'm concerned ) and I don't think extensive testing by any stretch is going on, that it is more likely that infected people are not yet numerous here and that so far we are doing enough for the most part to be safe. I always used the cart wipes at the stores and likely more thoroughly now than ever. We will shop locally as long as they have what we need. I don't think I would feel any safer elsewhere. Our Walmart did put in an option to order on line and pick it up so that is an option if things should change drastically here.

Fingers crossed.

ChiSandy

Hey, at least your grocery stores still have cart wipes--none of ours do. We are on our own--I carry a little bottle of Purell (haven't had to resort to the wipes yet), a few alcohol wipes (from my housekeeper's mega-stash for her DH's glucose monitoring & insulin shots), and a pair of nitrile gloves (size S) from a restaurant supply store, which gloves I discard upon getting home. (When I run out, I will use plastic sandwich bags). The frozen custard parlor on the corner (which lets only one customer at a time inside) says that nobody will be allowed to touch the door handle bare-handed, and must don nitrile gloves upon entering. Good thing custard doesn't float my boat, and I don't eat sugar-sweetened things any more. (I keep real ice cream & sorbet on hand for Bob, and keto ice cream for me). Anyway, tonight was the first time in almost two weeks I've left my house for anything other than a 1-mile fitness walk (and it'll probably be at least another two weeks before I do so again). And tomorrow I will surgical-mask when I go out walking--will aim for a mile & a half. (My housekeeper brought us a few from the V.A. before her monthlong+ vacation, and Bob has some in his car--when he gets to any facility, he is handed one before he can proceed).

Tonight it was so good seeing Gordy, Leslie and the pooch (Dot, their Jack Russell-cattle dog mix). I loaded up a trash bag with mail for him (passport and another letter from the State Dept.--probably the Real ID passport card), as well as a roll each of TP and paper towels, a package of dinner napkins, a bottle each of acetaminophen (Walgreen's is out) and generic Mucinex, a bottle of Nasacort allergy spray, and an albuterol inhaler--I don't know how many he can afford at a time, nor how many his insurer will pay for and how often he can refill. I drove there, parked, phoned that I'd arrived, and put the bag on their porch. Then, once I'd descended to the sidewalk, he came out and Leslie opened the front door. It was great talking with them, but it broke my heart that I couldn't hug my only baby. I am so relieved they work online from home.

Our housekeeper actually looks forward to having to drop off & pick up her DH at the V.A. for dialysis, because now that she's not coming to us for awhile, it gets her out of the house for something other than shopping. She went to a Costco in the west suburb near her house during the "seniors hour," but the line was all the way out the door to the far end of the parking lot--in a drizzle, no less. So she bided her time in her car till the line shortened--and when she got inside she encountered a huge pallet of 30-roll packs of TP--one to a customer, with an employee placing it in the cart. One elderly customer pulled a bottle of Purell and some baby wipes out of his pocket, carefully wiped down his cart, and gave the cart to her before getting another for himself. (Paying it forward--there are so many good people in this world). And when Bob finished at Union Health (all tele-visits) for the day, he went to a nearby S. Loop Costco, waltzed right in, and was similarly endowed with a 30-roll pack of TP, plus a bottle of vodka (which was what he'd gone in for anyway). He was so excited to get the TP that he forgot to look for the things I'd asked for. But we're set with the essentials for a few more weeks.

I was going to give a concert on Zoom--but I found out the platform has been hacked, and business meetings and virtual happy-hours have been "crashed" by pornographers. Sorry, but my songs don't work with even tasteful erotica, much less gross smut.

Speaking of erotica, this week the NYTimes, in its "Forgotten No More" obit section, published a belated obit of my acquaintance Kate Worley, author of the first erotic (and feminist) graphic novel series "Omaha the Cat Dancer." (A song of mine ended up on the associated picture-disc LP and CD versions--the latter never got replicated, alas--made by Kate's and fellow MN-StF members' rock band). I met her over 35 years ago, when my two married bandmates (and BFFs) and I went to Worldcon in Chicago, and played folk and rock--rather than "filk"--in a song circle run by MN-StF (Minneapolis-St. Paul Science Fiction Society) members who included that band. We were inducted as members, invited to their annual convention Minicon, and were Musician Guests of Honor in 1985. Kate had a lovely alto voice and was an excellent, innovative, and courageous author. The owner of a comic bookstore in far south suburban (on the IL-IN state line) Lansing, IL, was arrested and fined for selling "Omaha." (The case was dismissed).

petite1

Good morning, ladies. I agree with cleaning items from the store. We started doing that with the last trip my husband made to the store. He said they had 6' marks in the floor for people waiting to check out. He said only about 5 people were in the store.

I have been working on projects and making lists of what to get accomplished each day. I added swimming to my exercise routine. The pool was up to 74 degrees. We do not have a heater. Since a cold front moved in last night, I probably will have to wait a few days.

Speaking of swimsuits. I read on the swimsuit thread about Landsend swim shirts. I bought one and love it. My scar runs from the top left quadrant to my underarm. It is visible with normal sleeveless tops and the like. The shirt also has UV protection.

Not time to start my list. Everyone, stay safe.

carolehalston

Betrayal, I am so sorry for the ordeal you are experiencing. Reading your post made me grateful for being able to "shelter" in our house.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and was glad to see that Winn Dixie has installed plexi glass shields separating the checkout employees from customers at the cash registers. A great idea. The only location in the store that was a little congested was a section of the produce department. We should be ok on grocery supplies for another week.

A cool front came through bringing cool temperatures today. I plan to play golf with another woman and we both will walk using our push carts. I will play nine holes and maybe a few more if my stamina holds up. By walking I save the cart fee and also don't take any chances using a club cart. The cart barn workers are sanitizing the carts so they're probably safe. Normally I play 18 holes when I ride. It's nice to be outdoors but the down side is the pollen. As Rosanna Dana said, It's always something!

Yesterday I FINALLY finished pruning the giant azalea bed. Now I can move on to three other azalea beds that aren't as big but aren't small either. I used to be quite the gardener and enjoyed planning the beds and creating them. We have a two-acre yard which accommodated large beds.

Jackie, I suspect there will be more testing positive for the virus as more testing is done.

MCBaker

I went to the PO yesterday to mail some masks to my brother in California. The PO also has a shield, hanging down from the ceiling. I tried to peek around the edge because it obstructed the sound. Can't hear if neither lipreading nor hearing unobstructed sound. Downloaded Otter last night, tested it against CC on TV and it was almost identical.

Busy making more cloth masks.

IllinoisLady

However humble our circumstances or undramatic our talents, our true purpose has been revealed. We were meant to be this person at this time and place. Not only for ourselves, but for you and other people—we were meant to make this particular contribution to the world. And so we must do it well. Do it with faith and with patience, with all our strength and passion. And in so doing discover who we really are. - Marjorie Holmes

CindyNY

Betrayal- you've got a full plate! I think you're going about it the correct way, one day at a time, getting done what you can. I would hope they could figure out how to get to work on your house. In Albany, NY I think emergency type home repairs can be done, just not with a full crew on site. Hoping PA would do the same. Wishing you the best!

We're still in FL, Gov here is not real responsive. Spring breakers partied on, $$$, and he let them. He's closing the borders a day late and many dollars short. Projections say FL peak will be in early May. Sing the song: should I stay or should I go now...

Have a great day ladies!

CindyNY

FL Gov has announced a 30 day state wide lockdown. Decision made for me, we'll be staying. LOL Mind you I have to laugh, it's so stressful I need to find the humor. HUGS to all...6 feet away hugs.

ChiSandy

Just saw that the FL Gov. has come to his senses and issued a stay-home order. He had to, because the state const. doesn't let local officials do that unless he does it first. Here in Chicago, the CPD has had to break up 700+ gatherings of stupid selfish people--who don't know (or don't give a s--t) that they are eventually infecting everyone.

I had mentioned on another thread (and on Nextdoor) that $50 worth (plus $10 shipping) of coffee beans I ordered had been misdelivered--wrong street, middle digits of address mixed up--by the USPS, which UPS hires for "SurePost" deliveries. The "Proof of Delivery"--which I checked after getting the e-mail from UPS at 6pm that it had been delivered at 4:10--said "dropped at mailbox." I don't HAVE a mailbox! (The next-block-over neighbor who received it by mistake drove it over & dropped it off half an hour after I posted it, and I immediately mentioned that and thanked him in person & online--as well as following it up with an apology for flying off the handle, even using the words "mea culpa").

I'd gotten really livid (my fatal mistake was using that word) because it was the last straw: this sort of stuff has been going on for over a decade, ever since the Postal Service was spun off as a separate entity and slashed its staff--the workload doubled, and most employees who could qualify for early retirement on pension quit. I suggested that either the deliveryman was a liar, or perhaps many of the remaining delivery people (UPS and sometimes FedEx too) might be illiterate or dyslexic, and wondered that since being able to read letters & numbers on package labels & mail is a bona fide occupational qualification for delivery persons, whether the ADA prevents employers from firing employees whose disabilities render them unable to do their jobs properly. (I mentioned it was a hypothetical, and asked on Nextdoor "just curious--any employment lawyers here?").

Well, you'd think I had posted something bigoted or racist. People (except those who've also experienced what I have over the past few years) jumped down my throat--calling me everything from Marie Antoinette to a self-centered "First World Problems" snob (a code: Nextdoor no longer lets anyone use the term "white people problems"). How dare I get angry over incompetence during a pandemic? Don't I know that delivery persons have kids at home they're worried about?

Well, what if that had been a check, a time-sensitive bill (nonpayment of which could lead to a loss of insurance--which it actually did once for me), or meds? Because there's a pandemic, should I be calm and okay with the functional equivalent of flushing $60 down the toilet? It's one thing if all deliveries were to be prohibited; but till then, sorry, but the pandemic should not suddenly be a blanket excuse for sloppy incompetence that's been going on for years. Still, after I explained and apologized multiple times and pleaded that people a) read entire threads before hitting "Reply" and b) stop beating this dead and decomposing horse, people who hadn't previously entered the fray before jumped in after reading only my first post, judgmentally insulting me.

I think that many people are so bored at home they have nothing better to do than hide behind their computers and play the "neighborhood scold." But I also think that many people who reside online--even in better times--are a touch "on the spectrum," taking things out of context without reading the whole post, much less the thread. Over on Facebook, the lack of a sense of humor/irony or even inability to recognize metaphors--both hallmarks of Asperger's--is on full display and has been for quite a while.

CindyNY

ChiSandy- I don't drink coffee, but even I know not to get between a woman and her coffee! Hopefully all's well that ends well.

keywestfan

Sandy,
You touched on so much on my mind in these interesting times. One that got to me was the naive immune system. Reminded me of my adored cousin Joanny who died of polio when she was 18 and I was 12. She got it on Wednesday and died on Sunday, the day she was supposed to leave for college. My aunts and mother who were all very close blamed their sister, Joanny's mother, for protecting her too much, never letting her go out or go to school if any of her friends had even the sniffles and making her dress too warmly.
From the sad to the trivial. I've been clomped onto Amazon, to figure out what to do about my four weeks old gel manicure. I ordered gel nail polish remover and fingernail clips by which you clip cotton balls soaked in acetone to your nails and then a scraper to scrape the softened gel off. Never did I ever think I would be doing this. My manicure lady wants me to take an Uber to her home in Vernon Hills so she can do it for me. As if...
We can walk now in the garden with all the dogs and the sneezing people, many of whom don't distance. I got an email from a friend who suggests using a thong for a mask.I do have one in puce, but... Gil and I each have a mask from when we were going to San Francisco and there was all the smoke from California forest fires. But we haven't worn them. No residents here do and I feel shy about it, which could cost me my life, I suppose. Will get over my like fifth grade regressive embarrassment issues and wear it tomorrow.

I've been thinking of our former Glencoe house with its elliptical and no other people and the beautiful Glencoe streets we could have walked without the idiot psychiatrist who lives here and keeps obliviously bumping into me on the narrow garden path instead of moving onto the grass to get past me. He's probably shedding virus droplets. It can be dangerous living here.

There is a very informative, basically calming,You tube,from a front line ICU NY pulmonologist at Cornell Weil on how easy it is to not get infected-" NYC Front Lines Doctor..."

Also we can't grocery shop and most stores are not delivering until well into April. Gil's son in law, who's 71, drove from Antioch to go to Whole Foods and Sam's Club to buy us food. Have a jar of French's Mustard now bigger than my head.

Since we are not allowed out I can't go to Walgreens to pick up my low dose Klonopin. I use a third to a half with 3 mg of Melatonin to sleep. They won't deliver so I have to figure my way around this. May ask my DIL to pick it up and drive it 10 miles to here, but don't really want to.

For some reason, I seem to have no time to read anything or watch anything unrelated to the virus. Though we saw the movie in San Francisco Thanksgiving before last, right before bed I'm rewatching 'By the Sea' on Netflix with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. They are so beautiful and I drift off to sleep after 15 minutes wishing I were young and by the sea.

jud

Wren44

I've decided to wear my folded bandana to go out. I think it works better than some masks because it has 6 layers after folding. I have a N95 mask that I was given years ago to leave the clinic after being tested for whooping cough. I think I only wore it until I managed to get out of the building. I've even wondered if it could be sterilized enough for a medical person to use. If so, I would donate it.

keywestfan

Sandy... I just called Walgreens. They will FedEx the Klonopin to me. I was surprised

carolehalston

Watching the news, which is almost entirely devoted to the virus, makes me anxious. With all the wear versus don't wear discussion of face masks, I will wear a dust mask from dh's workshop when I make another trip out shopping.

Yesterday was a perfect day for walking and playing golf. I and another woman walked the entire golf course but I stopped playing after the fifteenth hole. To my surprise I wasn't even exhausted and did household chores when I got home. I probably walked at least four miles.

My washing machine definitely isn't working properly. I am watching UTube videos for diagnosing the problem. It spins and fills with water but it balks at performing the Wash cycle.

petite1

Good morning, Ladies. As mentioned by several of you, Florida is going to shut down at midnight. It doesn't make much difference to me since I have barely gone out of the house since March 9. I do have to sign papers for the closing on mom's house. That is about a 2 hour drive and I am hoping there is not any traffic with people working from home. Sad as it is, it seems like closure. For my brother, it is the only house he knew. He is younger and was an infant when our parents bought it. Lots of memories. Well, time to shower, dress and head South.

CindyNY

Petite1- you should be able to "sign" papers for the closing online via your computer. When we purchased in FL we were back on the road "signing" everything from a hotel room on our computer. This would avoid close contact with others. Unless for your closure you need to do this, which I'd understand.

Wren44

I read in the paper today that the inventor of the N-95 mask system thinks blue shop towels are a good material for a homemade mask. We use them in art to mop up paint, so I have some. I folded one into 4 layers and could still breathe through it, so I'm going to give it a try. They are some kind of nonwoven material that is washable. They come out of the laundry in a wad, but can be smoothed out and dried. I've never tried putting one in the dryer, so don't know how that would be. I do wash the ones used for paint and air dry to be reused. They were in the automotive dept at my store, 2 rolls to a package. Medium blue color.

Petite, Signing the papers will probably be bittersweet. Good to have it finished, but will feel very final. Hugs to you and your brother. I've never lived in a house long enough to develop an attachment, but I can understand it if it's the only house you've ever known.

IllinoisLady

I am optimistic and confident in all that I do. I affirm only the best for myself and others. I am the creator of my life and my world. I meet daily challenges gracefully and with complete confidence. I fill my mind with positive, nurturing, and healing thoughts. -Alice Potter

I believe that if you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you will hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience. This is the sure way to win victories over inner defeat. It is the way a humble person meets life or death. -Eddie Rickenbacker

IllinoisLady

We are getting pretty much non-stop virus information and stories here too. Especially with the fact that we run through a lot of news channels. We have cable tv so we can find a variety of other programs but watch one detective type show along with HGTV and that keeps us going. Have to go into one of our other towns to pick up ( we call them when we get there and someone will bring it out ) Bills' medicine -- out big black Lab. We can't get him groomed either right now which helps him with the warmer weather coming. If my daughter were here ( Pet Groomer ) but we will have to hope our Doggie Den is open soon.

One bonus for going -- the gas there is $1.67 a gallon so I'll get it while I'm there. We fill/refill our tanks when we are at 1/2 a tank so its time. Our gas is $1.97 right now so as long as I have the opportunity -- I'll save the 30 Cents a gal, and thanks. I'll be able to get Dh out for a bit so his cabin fever doesn't get to him too bad. He is starting to get used to it a bit. Maybe by the time things are better he may be much better too.

Hope you all have a good day.

karen1956

Petite - my husband signed the papers on the closing of his late mother's house in Denver and the house is in Columbus. You shouldn't have to go in person.

Went to the grocery and left the bags outside, brought the items in, put on a dish towel and wiped everything with clorox wipes and washed the fruit with soap and water. Dish towel went into washing machine.

Everyone stay safe and stay healthy.

IllinoisLady

for fun:

Reader425

A benefit of quarantine with DH home is that I've so far managed to work out 4 out of 5 days so far. He likes to watch a show late afternoon that does not interest me so I've gotten into a better routine of outdoor walking around rhe lake or a Leslie Sansone video on You Tube. Today was a 30 minute miracle miles set/video. I'm not particularly good or fast but I'm doing it. 👍🙂