A small flare and easing back into work

It seems the cumulative stress got me in a small flare last week.   I’d like to say I was smart and took a day or two to slow down into putter mode.. Nope I doubled down and made my self sick enough to be completely miserable for a couple of days of feeling awful physically and emotionally.  My body basically said “I quit” and all my my plans became nothing more than words on my note pad.  I do a good job working around my physical limitations most of the time but combining stacking a wood pile in 100+ F. heat was not in my plan and I did not adjust my expectations/ goals optimally.  Living in what is basically “Crisis Mode” all the time is not good for people.  Much like a soldier, kept on “FULL ALERT” 24/7.  Anyone’s performance will degrade after a couple of weeks and now it has been over 130 days/ 4 months of masking up and constant updates and daily contradictions on dealing with the Wu-Flu. I’m disabled military so I don’t have to worry about paying my mortgage and I don’t have kids in school.  My stressors are lower compared to many people, but my body just shut down and stopped for a few days.

What seem to help me bounce back was to stop everything for a day and eat very light bland meals of soup, scrambled eggs and toast, plus drink lots of water.  I started feeling better and started just getting some of the basic house keeping chore caught up like laundry and cleaning the big bathroom.  Today, I move and stacked 4 wheel barrows worth of wood. It might sound like a lot but it is not a lot of stacked firewood.  I take comfort in that I don’t have to stack that little bit of wood in the future.  I guesstimate I have stacked more than half of the total firewood delivery. It’s going to be close if I can stack all of this wood under the carport or if I’ll have to stack the firewood in the “kennel area” wood racks.  I will have to fix the ” kennel” wood rack area but all of that wood has seasoned for over 18 months and is mostly Doug fir or hardwoods like cherry and apple. I don’t want to bury those wood racks in “green” fire wood of any sort.

I got the first coat of enamel paint to protect the wood of my garden cart/raised bed mini garden.  I drilled the drainage holes and I think adding a little bit of landscape cloth to hold the dirt but allow water drainage would the right move for the cart.  This little (mobile raised garden) is a prototype.  I’m not a carpenter, I’m just slapping materials together to see if the project can work, at relatively low cost and can be practical for me.  The enamel paint is to protect the wood (frame) from water damage. The landscape cloth is to protect the plants from any out gassing of the paint as well as hold soil in the bed while allowing for water drainage. I will be using enamel paint to protect the 2×4 frame but what will hold the sides of soil is Cedar Fence wood. Cedar has great water and insect resistant properties. While I can’t stop all insects I can pick woods that are rot resistant.

I’m becoming a big fan of using 30% vinegar as a safe weed killer.  Now I have a more soil that is alkali, so adding some acid based products is not going to kill the soil like Round up. In my weed killing experience for tough weeds you need to use the 30% vinegar for weeds like morning glory, and it seems “cheat” grass.  This vinegar seems to work on most broad leaf weeds like dandelions,  some thistle plants and some plants like cheat grass.  If you are spraying weeds you need to use 30% strength.  I tried using 20% strength vinegar on the weeds and it did not kill most  weeds While I was not impressed with the 20% vinegar as a weed killer. I used it to clean some windows that were covered in hard water stains. These are crappy quality aluminum frame windows that have not been cleaned in at least 10 years and sprayed with “irrigation water” for over 15 years.  I won’t say the windows are perfectly clear but the first vinegar wash made the old windows much clearer.

My steps to clean off window hard water stains:

1. Spray 20% vinegar on the glass and see if it clears up the glass.
2. Use paper towels to clean the glass.  DID NOT WORK.
3. Spray again with vinegar and use a squeegee and cotton cloth to clean glass.  Results were better but I need a mild abrasive to clean the glass
4.  Use a type of “Magic eraser” sponge with the vinegar spray and water to wipe it clean.

Windows are not perfectly clear but I can see though the glass of the cleaned windows and now I see how badly the porch windows have a bad hard mineral build up. I don’t expect the old windows to be perfectly clear.  I just want to see through them and now I can effectively clean those windows. Not big deal cleaning a few porch windows but I’m making things better my home.

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Bathroom painted and added one A/C unit

I wimped out and the 95-100 degree F. heat in the last week and foretasted for at least another 10-14 days made me install the portable/window A/C units.  If it cooled at night to the low 60’s I could probably get by but at night it is in the 70’s and my fans can’t cool the house enough with over night at that temperature to keep the house comfortable during the day.  last year I built a little wooden frame to help the portable A/C unit air intake fit the window opening.  I added a bit of thermal barrier that looks like bubble wrap encased in something like Mylar.   This an easy to use thermal barrier for insulating for odd shaped spaces.

If any of you have used one of the  “portable” A/C units the hose is a beast to deal with and the little plastic bracing that comes with is mediocre at best. I made a little wood frame that fit my window and had thermal barrier that covered all of the window opening.  An A/C unit in a window is not effective if the open window lets in hot air. I used many “colorful metaphors” getting that bit of wood frame work correct last year. This year it took me less than 5 minutes to install the window outside air intake for the A/C unit.  I literally took me longer to roll the unit in place, plug it in,that it took me to install the little thermal barrier wood frame for the window.  Perhaps it is just me but I tend to be caught off guard when something I to work/build to make life easier, actually makes a job quicker or  works much easier than I anticipated. I tend to get a bit anxious as it should not be this easy…

I painted the small bathroom without taping off the edges and overall, it went well.  I have been wanting to paint a semi-gloss paint in the bathroom to make it easier to clean the walls. I do have few spots to touch up but doing the “cut out” /trim work first seemed to work good for me. The blue paint dried darker than I anticipated, but I’m very happy with the results of the paint job.  Now the paint looks good and I’m noticing the rest of the bathroom does not look so good.  I spend some time pondering why a person would work so hard to not make something lasting or simply go cheap. Well  I have been there and done that ,so I should not be all high and mighty about peoples choices because I don’ know why the made the choices they make. That is okay   just because I don’t understand peoples choices  does not make them bad/evil people.  Just different and different can be a good choice,

I seem to be adapting to summer heat better this year

This year’s spring/summer transition was very mild and lasted over a couple of months (May June) to what I consider the normal/abrupt transition from spring to the heat starting in May.  Sure got some hot 95-100 F. days but it cooled down to around 85 F and the nights cooled off to 60-65 degrees F.  Now SW Idaho is getting back up to several days in a row of 95-100 degrees F. weather like most summers in a desert.

Most of you know I cut down a huge but dying shade producing tree in May. While the tree did keep the front yard cooler, I don’t think it helped keep the house cooler. Adding the new siding and windows seems to be what is keeping the house cooler the last couple of years not shade trees.  I got the window blinds hung better and they do make a difference on how fast the hose warms up.  So I have been proactive on closing the blinds and curtains when the sun hit the windows in the heat of the day.  Also the vinyl siding I had installed does not seem to absorb heat like the old wood siding, but I there is a thin layer of reflective insulation and another air pocket between the old siding and new siding that seems to insulate the house in both hot and cold weather.

Perhaps I got used to having a warmer house in winter using a wood stove that could get very warm or I slowly got used to having a warmer house this summer.  Last summer I’d  have to install the Air Conditioner if the temp. was over 75-78 degrees F. especially if it was during sleeping time.  I have not install any Air conditioners this summer though I do have them on standby if I need them to sleep.  I did not acclimatize so much to temperature outdoors as I acclimatized to the temperature indoors without using Air Conditioning. I have a basement and I use fans to spread that cool air around part of the house. I use a lot of window fans to not only blow in cool air but try and suck out hot air in the house. I have 3 ceiling fans to circulate air and I live in a low humidity desert so I know 90 degrees in Georgia with 90-100% humidity is nothing like 100 degrees F. in Idaho with 30% humidity. I was stationed by the Army in Augusta GA during a heat wave and that was a sneak peak into Hell if Cervantes was correct. 😉

Speaking for myself I did not install the Air Conditioning units to save money on my electric bill. My “central air unit” is old and costly.  Installing a couple of small window Air conditioners was cheaper than repairing/replacing an old AC unit.  What I have found is I did not need to acclimatize my self to the out doors.  I needed to find my own comfort zone indoors.  It becomes relative standing on rock at 100 degrees F. is hot and walking into your home that is 75-78 degrees F. is very cool in comparison.

Speaking for myself, I have learned I don’t need a a cold room that is 68 degrees F. to get a good nights sleep.  I can use fans to circulate air and be comfortable and save a ton of money on my electric bill.  By not using my little A/C units in my house I’ve become more acclimatized to hot weather outside my house. Because my home is my sanctuary. Do you find yourself setting the temp. in your home based on that the government tells you what is appropriate?  You pay your bills for what you use and the government should have no say about the comfort level you are allowed.

Last but not least I made some of the artisan bread and using the vent fan  over the oven and the house did not get all hot. Gosh I have been buying store bought bread and I forgot how good home made bread tastes.

I’m now using the face shield rather than the N95 masks and at least it is working good for me as I have a physical barrier and I’m not getting accosted for not wearing a mask.  I masked up in March because I was in a vulnerable group.  I hate masks because it feels like living in a sauna in July.  But I have to protect me and no one else is responsible for my life but me. I was pro flatten the curve, protect the vulnerable and yes the covid positive rate would increase, but you would think people are dying in the streets via MSM media! Most people are not even getting that sick, let a lone dying in the streets.

Use common sense in protecting yourself.  Most Covid Official responses are politicized. If you are in a vulnerable group wear a mask or at least a face shield if you can’t handle a social group of people, stay home. If you are at risk no one is forcing you to go to a bar!  If you are depending on other people to protect you from this virus. You are an idiot!  I’m at risk person and I have worn a mask since March. I asked no one to not spread the virus to me.  I have move to a transparent face shield rather than a mask. Because I hate the N95 mask and I think the shield is a good compromise.  Is it perfect? NO! Stop snitching on people. Educate and be a good role model.  I say a “good” role model and not a perfect role model.

 

If you don’t cover your nose with a mask you don’t understand the purpose of the mask. If you remove the mask to speak you don’t understand the purpose of the mask. No one is obliged to make you feel safe.

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Got some plant starts, seeds and shopping

I cant start all of the plants I want to have from seed as many of my seeds are a lot older than I thought and are not germinating. If you have gone to many seed suppliers you know they have sold out of many of the seeds or the shipping time is so long you will miss the “Prime Time” of planting or starting seeds. Two or three weeks in Spring time planting season can be critical to starting your garden.

I got Sun gold cherry tomato and early red tomato.  Most of my pepper seeds seemed to be old so I got a yellow and red bell pepper along with two tomitillo plants.  If you want tomitillos you must have at least 2 plants for cross pollination.  I have bought new seeds and have started them but those seeds are still waiting to germinate so I’m adding more store bought plants just in case my starters are a bust.

I was a little disappointed in people I saw shopping in Fred Meyer’s today.  I’m guessing about 10% of the people I saw had on masks of any sort and very few were wearing any kind of protective eye wear. Many people seemed to be browsing the store rather than having a list of items to get and get out as quickly as possible.  The parking lot seemed about average for a Saturday and while people were not panic shopping they did seem complacent about the Wu-Flu.  There was no tissue paper or paper towels but plenty of hand sanitizer in small 2-4 oz bottles.  Pet supply shelves were hit hard but it looked like most people were buying mostly mid quality/cost pet foods.  There was plenty of the very cheap and more expensive wet and dry pet food on the selves.  I bought the last bag of 12 pound store brand of dry cat food that is 38% protein. My cats are doing great with cat food and I mix it with a 31% protein mix I get from the local farm store.  My cats also get a half a can of wet cat food every night.

A new thing at my local Fred Meyer is cashiers not handling reusable bags.  I love reusable shopping bags when I use my walker shopping but I know those cloth bags could hold bacteria and viruses so I shifted over to the more rigid plastic coated bags because I could spray (Lysol) sanitize the bag. This bag is coming into my home so I’ll do everything I can to keep the virus outside my home.

I asked the cashier if she could handle the bag and the store policy was no.  Okay can you let me bag my stuff after you ring it up?  YES!  Great, the cashier follows store policy and I can use my easy to sanitize bag for groceries.  I don’t know where the plastic bags most stores use are made but it is probably China or a place whit with WU-Flu so this is a win-win for stopping extra contamination.  Cashiers should not need to be the experts about the virus or be attacked by customers that feel a mild inconvenience is an assault on their rights as a consumer. 

I know wearing a mask properly is annoying it feels like breathing into a very sauna at best. You have to adjust your googles or glasses from fogging up. Putting on gloves and using hand sanitizer is not fun and all that hand washing can dry and crack your skin.  Don’t go out shopping unless you want to put up with masking up, wearing gloves and sanitizing everything when you get home.  I’m not telling you not to go shopping but the cashiers and workers in stores deserve customers that are willing to mask up in the stores. Even if wearing a mask is annoying to you.

Get over what other people do, you can be the little hero the wears a mask out shopping! Be nice to the cashier and people keeping stores open and relatively safe with extra cleaning. It is those cashiers, truckers, janitors along with doctors nurses, CNA and cleaning staff that are heroes.  Farmers, gardeners and handyman of all sorts are the heroes keeping this economy going.

The elites hate that they are behind the power curve and are not all that important to peoples daily lives and the people are starting to realize it. I like to think that people given good info will do the right thing.  But most people don’t get good info and don’t do much research on there own.  I’m not an expert, just a former Army Field Sanitation NCO that learned a bit about the spread of disease. The answers are simple for a pandemic.  They just are not easy for people.

Really it should be a simple if not easy process:

1. Isolate all countries and stop travel and shipping.  This is brutal to trade but a 1-2 week level of stoppage should be enough to mitigate the virus.
2. Stop all flights for 1-2 weeks. All nations take the hit equally and then slowly open flights to those countries that get control of the amount of people using hospital’s care.
3. Give a USA open for business order but allow states and cities to modify that order locally.
4. This is crazy but give people good info and let them decide the level of risk they will accept.  I know this idea will drive the state and local governments crazy to let people decide risk/reward.
5. I think most people are ignorant about this virus. The Government at all levels has failed to educate the people.  Getting a cold or the normal flu does not make you a bad person. Most likely you will get the Wuflu and have flu like symptoms.  The pneumonia  part of the Wu flu is when stuff gets scary.

Bend the curve stop the spread of the flu and that is easy:

1. Wear a mask and glasses to stop the spread.
2. Social distancing will help
3. Add a few vitamins and mineral to your diet. Vitamin C and Zinc, D3 seem to help fighting all flu viruses.
4. Stay on your property and work on that garden. I’m sorry for folks that live in High- Density areas and are dependent on mass transit. This should show you the government won’t save you and you are on your own.
5. You better hope those farmers have a good harvest and plenty of farm animals are grown for meat and the truckers are allowed into cities to feed you.
6. Nine meals from anarchy…

 

Earthquake, snow and new seeds to start

It has been wild the last couple of days here at Casa de Chaos!  A 6.5 earthquake hit about 120 miles from my place the other day and I had no idea what had happened.  All I heard was a very loud bang/boom noise and my flat screen TV was wobbling a little bit.  I though for a moment that the big elm tree in my yard had hit my neighbor’s house or a large branch had hit my roof.  I did not know that some earthquakes have a booming sound that accompanies the quake.

The tree is fine for the moment but I called up Tucker’s Timbers my local wood supplier to have them come and cut down that old elm.  It’s been a good tree but she is dying and splitting through the trunk.  The tree roots are starting to come through the lawn and not holding the tree strong with a deep root system.  I want to keep the stump and make a flower planting area in the middle of the stump and leave a border area of wood for something like a patio table/bar for sitting around this summer.  Perhaps add a large shade umbrella to help with the loss of that big shade tree.

It is Spring time in Idaho and we got some of that pellet/”corn” snow today.  It is over 43 degrees F. so the snow can’t stick but it adds to my feeling of a long winter if not a cold winter for SW Idaho.  We have had snowfall every month this 2019/2020 winter going back to Sept. of 2019!  Thank goodness it was not a cold winter.

I have trying to start plants indoors using some older seeds and it does not seem to be working out well. I’m new at doing this and my spot could use a heat mat to maintain a consistent warm temperature.  I bought a lot of new seeds to try in another starting box this week.  I have time as the frost date here is about May 10th.  That will give the older starts more time to grow and the new plant startsshould be ready to plant in about 6 weeks.

I have some root crops to plant next week in two of the raised beds.  One bed will get covered with frost cloth and the other bed in clear poly sheeting like a mini-green house. That should give me a good idea what bed works best for early cool weather crops.

Last but not least I took a couple of n95 masks over to a few neighbors that were at home.  I explained how to sanitize them in a low heat oven of at least 167 degrees F. for 30 minutes.  Now that I can safely and easily sanitize my masks for the Wu-Flu/Covid 19 virus. I can safely share out a few masks with my neighbors.

I’m don’t have enough masks to give away to first responders.  I do have a few masks to share with my local network of people that may have missed getting masks in January.  I think everyone must start wearing masks of some sort even a bandana and sunglasses will protect you and the people around you better than nothing.  Canyon county now has community spread infections and this flu spreads even if you don’t feel sick.  So that means you assume everyone is infected including yourself.  Allergy season is starting and you can have both allergies and the flu. Without a mask you are potentially spreading  those tiny flu virus particles with every sniffle, sneeze and cough!

I gave myself a rule:  If I go out in public, I have to wear my mask and glasses/goggles. Wearing a N95 mask is annoying and bit unpleasant, so it is very easy for me to find a reason not to go out in the public or shopping unless I  must get something I need like seeds for the garden.  Goodness knows I have plenty of jobs that need to get done inside and outside of my house that I don’t need to wear a mask!

 

New ways to sanitize masks from MIT!

The Corona virus/Covid -19 can be eliminated or rendered (dead) with your oven set to warm/200 degrees F. for 30 minutes.  Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees F.  place the masks on a tray for 30 minutes and all virus particles on the mask are now inert/dead!  This great news for people that have a limited number of masks on hand.  Your masks can now be effective protection and reused a few times as long as the basic structure of the mask stays in good shape.  If a mask gets very dirty or the fabric starts to break down after use, toss the used mask in the trash.

Your mask should not catch on fire in a warm oven as it takes over 450 degrees of heat to get paper to burn.  I would use an oven safe pan like a pie pan to hold your masks and not place the mask directly on your oven grates/racks.  Using a gas/propane oven to sanitize masks might be an issue as gas ovens use an open flame but I think you should be okay as long as you pre-heat the oven and place the masks in an oven safe pan far from the gas flame.  Even a toaster oven on the WARM setting should work if the oven can maintain at least 170 degrees F. for 30 minutes.

There is some research that suggests 60 minutes under UV light might neutralize the virus. It is early days for this research and I can’t confirm that UV light kills the virus off of surfaces like a N95 mask.  I’m very excited to see a way to re-use masks and that a normal oven can neutralize any viruses on a mask.  I have a few masks on hand and knowing I can reuse my masks safely means I can give the neighbors a mask or two to help keep them safe and limit the spread of the Wu-Flu if they did not get masks a couple of months ago.

Most people will keep touching their face. I’ve probably reduced touching my nose, mouth and around my eyes about 25-50% less than I did in February and I still touch my face a lot!  ( I bet your nose itches now) LOL!   I don’t worry about my face touches at home as I am making my home a “Safe Zone”.  I spritz the mail box with a bleach solution, wash down the door handles and light switches with a anti viral/anti-bacterial cleaner. I need to add gloves to my shopping gear to minimize the potential of bringing the virus home. Because many people cough sneeze in stores and don’t wear a mask!  I have bought some plastic coated reusable bags that are easy to sanitize with a little Lysol/bleach spray.  I have only one person I interact with closely, that person uses a mask in public, and does not have a “cold/Flu/Allergies” so I’m not going doing a “Total Lock down” at this time.

What I’m doing my shopping to stop the spread of the virus. I don’t drive with a mask on as my vehicle is a bit of a safe zone because it is not used more than 1-2 times a week at most for shopping.

1.  I clean my glasses before driving and before I go into the store I use hand sanitizer then put on my mask.
2. After leaving the store I use hand sanitizer before I remove my mask and glasses and the wash my glasses.  I don’t know why but my nose seems to get all leaky after wearing the mask so I use a tissue to wipe my nose and hand sanitize again.
3. It basically the same steps for every store I go to when shopping.
4. When I get home I put away groceries, the mask gets sanitized, the grocery bags get a sanitizing spray and the glasses get a wash.  This is probably a weak point as I should spray everything with sanitizer before it comes in the house.

I don’t think you have to go all OCD cleaning everything all the time. A few spritzes with bleach, using a good anti-bacterial/anti-viral cleaner 2-3 times a week in your home cleaning, washing hands a few more times per day should be adequate for making the home a virus free safe space.  Getting out in the yard and doing some work growing garden is good and talking over a fence to a neighbor is a good thing!  I never cared for the High people density life-style of people that live in Urban areas.  I’m not sure how those people will cope with a Stay at home Orders that last over two weeks.

 

 

Canyon county Idaho has a “community spread” case of the Wu-Flu

We have had a few deaths here in Idaho and the rate of infection is growing fast from 3 cases to over 100 cases in less than a couple of weeks.  I am very glad I have started wearing my masks during shopping trips last week. You can’t outrun this virus you have to take steps to limit your exposure as much as you can by staying home, wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer and keeping extra social distance when you have to go out among the public.  Now I wear glasses and they provide some protection for my eyes, but if you go out add sun glasses, goggles of some sort to protect your eyes from any coughs and sneezing people in the public.

News from the CDC!  Us serfs should wear mask to limit the spread of the Corona virus!  A bandana and sunglasses will give you some protection if an infected person coughs or sneezes at you and your coughs and sneeze particles will be limited by wearing a mask. People catch the Corona virus can be exposing people for days and not know they are because they don’t feel sick, don’t have a fever, cough or even the sniffles.  If you have Spring allergies, you can also have the Corona virus and spread it even if you don’t feel sick.  Wear some sort of mask and eye protection not only to protect yourself but to protect people in your community!   Perhaps Idaho is different but I did not have people stare or mock me for wearing a mask.  In fact a couple of cashiers thanked me for wearing a mask on my last shopping trip.

My skin was destroyed by all the extra hand washing I was doing the last 6 weeks. Cracked, drying or scaly skin is not good in Pandemic situation so I stopped washing my hands a 20 times a day, used less liquid soap per washing and added a skin cream/lotion to my hands and arms.  Good news!  It only took a couple of days for my skin to recover from drying out and getting scaly.  If you are staying home and you are keeping the house clean, you probably don’t need to go all OCD about hand washing.  Wash your hands before prepping food, eating food and after you use the bathroom should be enough to be clean/safe and your skin won’t get dry and cracked.

Every day, average people must do what they can to stop the spread of the virus. Stay home/self quarantine if you can, especially if you are in a high risk group.  If you have to go shopping wear a mask and some sort of eye protection and have a list of the items you need so you can limit your exposure.  Spray down your door knobs, mail box and clean your house so it is a safe place/sanctuary for you not to worry about the virus.  If you have not done it before set up an online bill pay for utilities, internet and other monthly payments.  I don’t like auto pays because what I need each month can change, but I think online bill pay and banking can be great for convenience and keeping people safe.

Internet and cell phone service may get a little glitchy as many people are working from home, home schooling and bingeing on Netflix and playing games.  Give the companies a little bit of time (2-4 weeks) to rework the data and voice traffic demands.  This virus is not going away in a couple of weeks.  Life will change in the USA and the economy will tank as Corana virus is a flock of black swans hitting the world economy.   Start thinking about how you will live in this new economy.  Sending your children off to child day care or a school will bring this virus into your home.  Schools are human petri-dishes of infections.  Spring break is now Summer break but kids can be asymptomatic carriers of this flu that might kill grandma/pa.  Start thinking about what you will do stop the spread, not only through April but into September.

I could be wrong and the Wu-Flu disappears in July and never comes back. How many family members, neighbors are you willing to risk because you did not like wearing a mask, goggles, or look like a goof? Masks are uncomfortable, I don’t want to wear safety goggles.  I’ll look silly to other people.  Those sentiments are correct and you will probably get infected and infect others close to you and in your neighborhood.

If I am wrong about wearing masks and goggles I may look a bit silly.  If I’m correct that wearing masks and goggles stop the spread of this virus in the USA. Everyone is a hero that masks up and shows the world how to stop this pandemic!  If you are out in the public wear a mask to protect yourself and protect others because you don’t know if you are an asymptomatic carrier or if other people are an asymptomatic carriers.

People are getting tense, stressed and frustrated around here (SW Idaho)

I admit that I’m one of those people getting frustrated because I’m not seeing much in the way of social distancing. I stopped at the Family Dollar because Mom wanted a comforter she saw on Friday.  The parking lot wasn’t full and the amount of people in the store did not seem excessive when I got in the check out line.  Things changed quickly and the checkout line started stacking up behind me and no one was keeping any real “social” distance.  Many people were in and out of the store searching for toilet paper, wipes or other items that had sold out and leaving empty handed.  Some of the shelves were empty but there were plenty of OTC meds, cleaning supplies heck even some milk, beer and wine on the shelves.

It was like people had tunnel vision to get one or two items. If that item wasn’t available they were off to another store.  This is why I think you need to make a list of all the items you want to buy/have at home.  Every time you go shopping you are taking a risk. I think it is better to try and get as many items on your list at any one store, rather than focus on getting one or two items but going into many different stores.  I was committed to the check out line but while I was at the store I picked up some red pepper flake, a 15 pack of beer along with Mom’s bedspread set. I wanted the red pepper flake and the beer was just a spur of the moment purchase that might become important if I have to keep dealing with idiots.

I have been tempted to carry a small spray bottle of water to spray people who don’t understand the concept of social distance in lines or other gathering spots.  A bit like spritzing your cat or dog when the pet goes where they should not!  I wonder if people would learn that the spray bottle of water droplet is sort of like if someone is coughing or sneezing on them and their grocery items?  The only reasons I am holding back is either I’d get arrested or sued.  So if you are out shopping, assume someone has a spray bottle of water or germs and keep your distance of 6 feet/2 yards or 2 meters.

I had a little tickle in my throat like I might be coming down with a cold on Sunday so my tolerance of idiots was very low. I got my humidifier fired up with a few drops of tea tree oil.  Today I got out and cut some wood for kindling and opened up the doors to get more fresh air moving through the house. The tickle is almost gone. Getting out in the sunshine, opening the house up to fresh air really helped boost my spirits as well as feeling much better physically.  I’m taking a B complex with vitamin C, a mineral compound of calcium, Magnesium and Zinc and I’m adding a some more D3 to that mix.  Be careful with vitamins and minerals as some are fat soluble like D3/calcium that you can overdose on.  B and C vitamins are water soluble so if you take a little to much you can pee away most of the vitamin your body does not use. Do your research because more of a good thing can become toxic in a larger dose.

I have to hit the bank on Tuesday and want to stock up on twenty and fifty dollar bills to have on hand.  I have one case lot sale Rain checks I want to buy.($20.00 cost) With the Stock market going crazy and many people out of work/laid off I think we are heading into economic recession if not something worse for the next few weeks.  I want to have some cash in $10, $20 and $50 dollar bills on hand.  I’m leaving some money in the bank for buying stuff online like e-books or it there are items I want to order online.  I don’t think you should try and screw anyone but there will probably be businesses that will start having sales on goods/services that will need some “cash flow” to keep going during economic hard times.  This can be a WIN/WIN for you and the business.  You get stuff done and the business keeps enough cash flow to pay employees and themselves during this economic hiccup.

Almost 70 degrees F. and started cleaning up the raised beds

It was a cloudy day but very warm for the first week of March.  It is staying above freezing at night, so starting a fire in the evening heats the house for a warm morning wake up temp.  My fire wood  use is much lower this month.  That will save my existing firewood pile just in case getting wood deliveries goes a little sideways this year.  I think I have enough fire wood for next winter already on hand.  I will feel much better about the wood pile if I could add another four cords stacked up and ready to burn.  Using the Carport area for fire wood has been great. I think it will help give me more time to stack wood deliveries as the wood will be under some overhead cover and protected from rain.  The little split Doug fir/kindling box seemed to work out but I need to be more proactive getting the box filled by fall.

I finally got started cleaning up two of the raised garden beds with the most leftover plants from last year.  The beds looked a bit ignored and abandoned but I found many onions have reseeded themselves and I have some lettuce that is coming back though a few leaves got frost nipped.  I’m rotating the crops in the beds as I had one large bed and 3 beds stay fallow.  I neglected those beds last year because I was doing all that fire wood stacking during gardening “Prime Time”.  I’m going to be optimistic and say all those raised beds needed to rest and it was all part of my plan.   I filled up one garbage can full of grape vines and yard trash so it was a good week.

Gardens of any sort will be a thing when people start to realize the supply chain of goods into the west start having hiccups in the delivery systems.  Things won’t just  get expensive.  Some items won’t be available at any price.  That is okay as you can substitute items or stock up  ahead of time.  The time to stock up on some items has been limited but not impossible.  I am a news geek/fiend and I was a bit concerned around the second week in January.  While I had stocked up for the 2014 Ebola scare with masks and Tyvek suits when I could afford to buy those products I was not panic buying.  I knew what I could afford to spend and bought what I could afford.

Poor people (I’m considered poor via government standards) had the month February to get a couple bottles of bleach, canned goods, rice , beans and other basic supplies.  Most people in the USA had plenty of time to do some stocking up without cleaning out the local grocery shelves. Stop wasting your money buying bottled water!  Tap water will flow and if you don’t like the taste buy a PUR/ Brita water filter.  Power/ electricity  or gas pumps are not going to stop working in the few weeks.  Even if the water supply gets a bit iffy for safe drinking water you can boil water of add a few drops of chlorine bleach to make safe drinking water.

I think the Supply chain will take a major hit and many of the goods/products will be in short supply for a few months.  Clothing items for example might be in short supply in stores.  Electronic items or even major appliances might go up in cost or be in short supply.  That is the Higher cost items going a bit harder to get.  There will be pain as the Globalist economy setup is taking a big hit in the markets.  Many people are whining about how life is getting less convenient for them.  That is life and “stuff happens”.

I suggest stocking up on “herbals” for basic home remedies.  I had no idea so many of the pharmaceuticals  have been off shored to China and India.  I don’t blame any country declaring all medical items will go to local citizens first. We might see anti-anxiety meds start to dry up.  That is not a good thing as some people can have a psychotic break when the Zoloft or other medications are unavailable.

In a way, I’m optimistic that people will learn the Globalist maximize short term profit over long term sustainability will get a look by people.  Yes that is a very optimistic mindset on me.  The data from the Corona virus/Covid 19 looks like about 80% of people will have flu like symptoms and recover.  I have a compromised immune system so I will probably be in the 20% of very ill if I catch the corona virus.  My Mom has Fybro and at 70+ years old is an at risk person to this flu.   I have read about many people on the internet that seem to hope boomers die as that means kids can buy a home cheap…?  It could be a meme but is disturbing to me.

Six potential cases under observation in Idaho and I saw people stocking up!

I don’t there is a safe area against the Corona Virus other than trying to make your own safe space.  I did a little shopping for sales and to see how the local Fred Meyers store and how people were reacting.  Over all it seemed business as usual at 11:00 AM and mostly retired/and Moms shopping at the store.  There was a good sale on store brand Toilet Paper (30 rolls for $9.99) and a few people had shopping carts with 2 of those packages. The shelf was about half empty of that TP, but the rest of the aisle was full of National brand toilet paper and paper towels.  I did not see any panic buying like what is happening on the west coast.  No full cart of bottled water nor ravaged meat, dairy or produce departments.  I checked and the  n95 and P100 masks were gone.

Idaho has a historical prepping population among the long time residents.  Some is because of the weather, or religious based like the Mormon’s 1 year of supplies.  While we have a lot of newcomers the concept of preparing does move through communities via osmosis or cultural contamination.

I picked up some petit sirloin steaks for $2.99 a pound, a case of wet cat food,  another can of coffee and snack crackers, Ritz and Triscuits.   I lived on my food storage for about 6-8 weeks and I really missed having salty snacks.  I now have an air popper for popcorn and 10 pounds of popcorn but I really love salty snack crackers.  For you it might be a sugary treat or chocolate that is your little “comfort snack”.   I don’t have a sweet tooth but even I like a Snickers bar or Butterfinger once in awhile.  I have a small bucket full of “fun size” candy bars just for that occasional craving.  Get a few comfort food items for everyone in your family.  While you may not be able to buy soda, chips or chocolate bars while in quarantine.  You can get a small stock pile of snacks that can be special treats. Speaking for myself, just knowing I have a bit of chocolate or popcorn or crackers on hand makes me feel better and less likely to get a little crazy because I have a choice about eating the snack or saving it for later.

I’d say at this point assume you are going to among infected people every time you leave home.  I don’t think you need to go out in the public in a full HAZMAT suit but you will want to create some social distance (personal space) of a a couple of meters or about 6 feet.  Yes washing your hands a lot and being aware how much you touch your face is great advise for even mitigating against the normal FLU/Common cold.  If you have allergies, the sniffles, sneeze or cough wear a mask to contain the droplets! Have Cotton hankies that can be sanitize with washing and bleach if you don’t have masks.  Wear glasses to help protect your eyes from any spray via cough/sneeze.  Is it perfect protection? Of course not but if you keep that 6 foot social distance you should be okay.

PPE or personal Protective equipment is a bit like a locking your home’s door.  It is a second layer of defense against the virus after your personal hand washing, social distancing and building up your immune system. I started topping off my PPE in mid January and it was hit or miss getting stuff by the first of Feb. Don’t panic now as you have missed the best time to buy.  80% of people with corona virus tend to experience the FLU and recover. Supporting the patients with fluids, soup and treat the symptoms is probably good for the WU-FLU and probably better care than you can get in the hospital for mild cases.   We are past implementing the best thing in the USA via the national/federal government, some states are stepping up and doing better than the CDC or HHS.  You are on your own and you must decide what is best for your family and what risks you will take with your health. We will have to watch re-infections and wait and see if there is an auto-immune response like Giulliame-Barre/CIDP.  I have CIDP from a pneumonia infection several years ago and it is chronic condition.  It is not the end of the world as I live a pretty good life despite the fact I have some physical limitations.  I have flares some people never have flares. It’s just a bit hit and miss with an over zealous immune response to any disease.