Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Yet Another Rainy Tuesday

Another mostly cloudy day, with intermittent showers, but, there was some glorious sunshine in the afternoon and early evening.

I slept in, this morning, after staying up worrying till the early morning hours: did I do the right thing, doing that last grocery shopping?  Was risking getting the virus worth the extra few items I bought? Should I have bought a container of milk to give to my friend?  What if I have to self-isolate for more than 2-3 weeks and it goes on for 3-4 months?  I have enough food, but, do I have enough kitty litter for Dancer?   Would the two buckets I have be enough?  (Each bucket usually lasts at least a month.)  Why didn't I buy at least another bucket when I was at the pet store getting these two buckets?  I had thought about it, but, why didn't I do it?  Should I risk going to the pet store to get more?

The kitty litter situation bothered me more than anything else.  I have enough food for quite a while, but, Dancer might not like shredded newspapers in his litter box if I were to run out of kitty litter!  "Meow?  What am I to do with this shredded paper, Mummy?  You know I can't read!"  Besides, I don't subscribe to a daily newspaper and the weekly grocery ads wouldn't amount to much.  But, I wasn't sure how advisable it would be for me to go to the pet store for his litter, either.

Finally, I texted my friend M and asked him if he could do me a favor and pick up two more buckets of kitty litter, should he pass by the pet supplies store when he is out and about, and I would reimburse him.  I told him that there wasn't a hurry, as I had enough for now, but, if he could pick some up at his convenience, I'd appreciate it.  He said OK and asked if there was anything else I needed, but, I said no.  He called me back, later in the evening, to verify that I didn't need the litter by tonight and said he'll get it for me on Friday.  He is a blessing to me!

Just getting that done made me feel better about the whole situation.  I probably won't need to keep so much kitty litter on hand, but, it's one less thing to worry about!

It was drizzling when I went out to bring my trash cans in, later in the morning.  There was some rain water pooled inside them and I managed to up-end the bins and get most of the water out.

Neighbor T called to check with me and neighbor S called to ask if I needed anything.  I assured both that I was doing OK.  Neighbor S also told me to keep up with the piano practicing and try some of the other pieces in the book; if there are any questions about those pieces, to call her and she will try to coach me over the phone!

I opened a new box of tea, today.  My last box of 100 tea bags lasted me from February 2 till now, so roughly six weeks.  I am so glad I stocked up with six boxes of tea when I did!

Usually, when my daughter came home from work, she would call me to say she's home and we'd talk on the phone for a bit.  She'd tell me all about her day at work and ask me how my day was and so forth.  The first day she worked from home, she didn't call me at the end of her work day as she was already at home; later, when we video chatted, I told her that I missed her phone call.  After that, she calls me every day, when she is finished with work for the day and we talk about our days.  So, she called me, this evening, too, and we chatted for a bit.  It was her first full day of sheltering in place and she said her colleagues have set up a way to check in on each other and one of her supervisors had emailed her to ask her how she was doing and to let her know if she needed anything.

Later in the evening, I chatted with friend R and with Aunt C. 

I wasn't all that productive today, either, but, I did two loads of laundry, remade my bed, and did the dishes.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The blessing of caring friends
- Rain for the garden
- Sunshine in the afternoon
- Video chatting with my daughter
- Fresh fruit from the garden

My joyful activity today was knitting.

How was your Tuesday?  Have you been second guessing yourself when it comes to stocking up?  How are you adjusting to the changing circumstances? 


18 comments:

  1. We order our kitty litter from Chewy.com and have it delivered to our house. We do it because we use a special kind and it's cheaper that way than buying it in the stores. But we love the convenience of it. If need be, that is something you could consider. I'm sure there are other places that do that to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Live and Learn. Yes, I checked the store website and I can order it to be delivered! I just didn't think to check it before I panicked! I generally don't order stuff online so that option rarely occurs to me!

      Delete
  2. It’s very nice of M to get you kitty litter.

    Yesterday I spent time reading and doing redwork embroidery. I also started writing labs in case we go online.

    I have a follow up appointment on Friday for blood results. I can’t decide if I should go. I wish they could just give me the numbers over the phone. Sigh...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it's very kind of M to help me out. Especially since now I've found out that I can order it to be delivered! I just didn't think about that option!

      I'm glad you are spending some time relaxing, although it is a good idea to prepare for online classes; I think most universities and colleges will do online classes at least till Fall semester.

      I suppose they can't give you the blood test results over the phone due to privacy concerns (how will they know it is the patient who is calling?). Hopefully, going in to get the results won't expose you to anything dangerous. May you be safe.

      Delete
  3. I'm glad you managed to get the cat litter. What a nice friend you have! My son went to get some for his cat and couldn't find a lot of it! He's not sure his cat will like what he did pick up. You know how fussy they can be!

    I'm glad your daughter is doing okay. Mine isn't isolated, but she is working from home. Her company set it up a couple of weeks ago when things first started. She usually has so many days she can work from home each quarter so there wasn't a lot of extra they had to do. She's finding it a little difficult as her dogs are excited to have her home lol. Luckily she's all stocked up on dog food as a while back (way before this) they found out that the dog food the dogs were on was being discontinued so they bought a lot of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, M hasn't been able to buy any, yet. We'll see if he can get some on Friday. If he can't, I found out that I can order it directly from the company, so, I might have to go that route, instead.

      I'm glad to hear that your daughter is able to work from home and isn't isolated, yet. Good that she's stocked up on dog food, too. Yes, I expect the dogs think she should play with them if she's home! :)

      Delete
  4. I am glad that your friend M is going to pick up more kitty litter for you. That's a big worry off of your mind and you can relax knowing you've prepared as much as you can.

    I was thinking how much harder this would all be without the communication abilities of the internet and our phones. It helps not to feel so cut off.

    Take Care
    Debra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Debra. I'm glad, too, that M is going to get more kitty litter for me. If not, however, I have just realized that I can order it to be delivered. Wish I had thought of that before I panicked!

      Oh, it is such a blessing to be able to communicate over the phones and internet! Hopefully, we'll be able to continue to have those services!

      Delete
  5. It's so easy to second guess your own actions and worry yourself isn't it? You advised your daughter to shop while she still could so your last minute shop was you following your own advice. I had much the same panic this morning because I decided to do a final skip run while it was still possible and then had a bit of a moment when I got home, asking myself if it had been worth the risk ... which it was. I had no contact with anyone so the risk was low and potentially smelly bags of garden waste have been disposed of.

    I'm glad to read that you have a supply of tea to keep you going. One of my neighbours gave me a jar of coffee this morning because she knew I liked my coffee which was kind of her so I have loads in reserve now!

    Take care Bless x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Eileen; yes, I was following my own advice! Except, I am in a higher risk category than she is. I have to venture out one more time, today, to get my taxes done. But, I should be able to stay home for the next several weeks, after that.

      I'm glad you were able to do your skip run. As long as you didn't come into close contact with others, it should be fine.

      I'm glad your neighbor gave you a jar of coffee; you, too, seem to have kind neighbors. Yes, I'm stocked up on tea, sugar, and the tinned milk I use! If necessary, I can order the tea to be delivered (provided they have a stock!); in fact, I might do that, before I come to the end of my current stock!

      Delete
  6. I'm glad you solved the kitty litter problem and that your kind friend will be able to get those extra buckets soon. You did well to stock up on tea. Nothing like a good cuppa to put things in perspective!

    I woke up just before 7.30 am as I had decided I was not going to set the alarm to go grocery shopping. I could wait for another day, but I decided I would go to the store anyway, even if I would be too late for the seniors' hour, as we are a small town. There were hardly any cars in the parking lot so I went in and the store had few people in there. I got a variety of items and then went to the other store for what was not available in the first. Again there were few people and we tended to avoid the same aisle if someone was heading down. I used credit cards to avoid handling cash, and used hand sanitizer. Now I will stay home as I think I could concoct something nutritious for a month at least, but I wish I liked cooking! DS and family live in the capital and are going to get a grocery delivery on Friday to avoid going out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I feel a bit silly now, because I've found out that I can order the kitty litter to be delivered!

      Yes, glad to have a supply of tea!

      I am glad that you were able to get your grocery shopping done, after all, and the stores were not too crowded. Good to hear that DS and family will get the groceries delivered. I think I might look into that service, myself, in the future. We shall see.

      Delete
  7. Am I second guessing my supplies? Constantly, but I am determined not to go out yet to the shops. I am pretty sure that if the self isolation advisory continues for any length of time, there will be solutions made available to us. I realised this morning that I don't have a lot of butter and that I need to conserve it. So, I saved the pork fat(rendered lard) from the pork roast I cooked last night and put it in the fridge to use for frying my omelettes in the morning. I will use it for most of my frying and sauteing now, instead of butter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you are being very wise and doing the right thing avoiding the shops, Susan. Substituting the lard for butter is a great idea! I've a container of bacon grease saved from the last time I cooked some bacon - I try not to use too much of it due to cholesterol concerns (I generally use oil for frying and so forth), but, I can use it instead of butter for scrambling eggs, if needed.

      I am staying home from tomorrow (today, I had to go out to get my taxes done and to mail daughter her forms).

      Delete
  8. Stay safe, Bless.
    I didn’t think about kitty litter. My cat Alex is picky. If there’s something new in the litter box, he’ll give me these exasperated looks until he finally gives up and goes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Akasha. I tried one other kind of litter for Dancer, one time and he was OK with it, but, I didn't like it as it didn't clump as well. I was able to get more kitty litter, today, thanks to my friend M, so, I feel a lot more prepared, now!

      Delete
  9. It's a good feeling to have what you need. I'm glad that your neighbor will pick up the kitty litter for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is, Stephenie. I can now shelter in place, knowing I really don't need to go out for anything else for the next several weeks. Hopefully, by then, things would have improved.

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. Thank you.