While I appreciate the stores attempting to cater to seniors with special hours; they don't realize that not all seniors are up and about first thing in the morning. I'm not awake enough to drive before 10 am.

Me either, butterflybabe! Well, maybe by 9:00! But hubby is up at the crack of dawn and he has gone a couple of times.

I ventured out into the cold cruel world for the first time in 9 days today. Scored $300 of groceries including 4 bottles of wine and two boxes of facial tissues! We also have the best thing going in our little town. A fresh produce stand gets wholesale produce down in St. Louis in the morning and brings it out here about an hour west. You pull up in your vehicle, they come out and take your order, shop for you and then bring it out and load in your car. I got apples, potatoes, cucumbers, green grapes, green onions, grape tomatoes and some Cajun peanuts for about $20. Gave them a big fat tip! Their produce is head and shoulders above the grocery store too.

According to my brother, all the old people shop early in the morning. (He's one of them!) Since he does my shopping for me and I don't know what is in the stores these days, I'm having trouble figuring out what to put on my list. He wouldn't know what might be a suitable substitution and doesn't pay attention to prices sometimes, even when I write down on the list what the sale price is supposed to be. A couple of weeks ago Strawberries and Blueberries were on sale, 2 for $3.00 which I wrote on my list. He came home with a 6 oz pack of Organic Blueberries that cost me $3.99!!! But, beggars can't be choosers so they say

I encouraged my husband to use his cell phone to call if he has questions. He’s been doing our shopping and this works well for us.

We just got back from the grocery store and have enough for a couple of weeks now. The store was quite well stocked with the exception of paper towels and toilet paper, of which there was none at all. I did manage to snag some toilet paper from Amazon a week ago, so I guess now I will be on the hunt for paper towels. Happily there was bottled water this time around; the last time we were in there it was all gone.

We also managed to get home and put it all away before a really big hailstorm started, so all in all I consider this outing a success.

Yikes! That's unnerving. I spent some time just outside of Fresno and know how those storms just whip up out of nowhere.

Indeed they do, TM! The weather has been as variable here the past couple of months as it was when I was living in Denver - one day it is seventy degrees and then a few days later it's snowing. Keeps things interesting.

At least our weather has settled down. It's gloomy today, but those awful winter winds we get have finally stopped for the season. Sometimes it feels as though our house is going to blow away.

We have... wait for it... SUNSHINE today! Amazing how it lifts your mood...

Wen to the pharmacy today. What an odd experience. They weren't letting anyone into the store. Instead, they made us line up outside, 6 feet apart, and asked us to come forward one at a time. They passed the medications and the cash machine through the barred door.

The streets are empty. A couple of restaurants are open, but that won't last. There's nobody in them. The only place that's doing a roaring business is the Starbuck's drive-through, and sadly, I am not a Starbucks fan. My coffee shop, a small independent business, is shuttered.

My hairdresser just texted me asking if I wanted her to mix my hair colour and drop it on my doorstep.

Really brings home just what strange times we are living in.

Here in Rockland, Ontario, the restaurants that will last are those that can provide Take-out and or Delivery services.
I went to a Jean Coutu pharmacy and they Six Packs toilet paper and Six packs of Tissue paper, only One pack each per customer, but hey, that is Great considering other stores were out of stock. I also learned that although some of our major stores were Out of these items, if you asked at the Cash, they would get a worker bring you a pack of toilet paper.

Hey agatha I'm not a Starbucks fan neither, are there no Tim Hortons in your neck of the woods?

No, we have no Tim's here, either. I'm not a big fan, anyway.

I'm afraid I'm a transplanted Vancouver coffee snob

We get coffee from a local roaster Collectivo and they sell online.

They're way better than Starbucks, just my opinion on that. Starbucks always taste burned to me. Collectivo's coffees are rich and smooth.

I highly suggest Blue Healer for a daily drinker. I get 5lbs bags of the coarse grind delivered. If you like a richer blend, their Black and Tan is chocolaty and has great body. I'll occasionally brew up a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of the two, when I want something a little richer than the Blue Healer.


TM

I'm going to have to check Collectivo out. I've been getting coffees from Black Rifle Coffee Company. They are quite pricey, but it's supposedly a bunch of vets and they do try to do community assistance.

I buy my coffee at Costco. It's the Level Ground Ethiopian, and it's only roasted for Costco. The Level Ground website has another Ethiopian, but they tell me it isn't the same roast, and it does taste different.

Not sure if you can get it in the USA, but it's a lovely chocolatey medium roast with no bitterness.

I love my coffee. It's one of my little rituals in the morning, my Ethiopian made in a stainless steel insulated French Press.

When we are all "sheltering in place" it's the little things like a really good cup or two of coffee in the morning that make the day start off right! Hubby and I ordered take out tonight from another restaurant in our little town - prime rib dinners! They were very busy and hubby made sure to leave them a big fat tip. We broke out a couple bottles of wine here at home and had a fine dinner.

I think I've only had prime rib one time in my whole life.

As for coffee, I like flavored, and order from Flying Bean. Also drink Folgers every other pot. The only thing I could ever drink from Starbucks was the Hazelnut Frapuccino.

A great relief for us yesterday. A very good friend who is a nurse on the front lines in our local hospital tested negative for COVID-19. He is only 55, but had a heart attack several years ago, so when one of the ER doctors tested positive, he was able to get tested. They no longer have any PPE, so he was definitely exposed. Whew, because we need him!

And another great relief for us this morning! A friend brought us 12 giant rolls of toilet paper! His daughter had forgotten to uncheck the auto-ship at Amazon for a long time and she has boatloads. Who know TP would ever be a commodity valuable as gold! We were good to go for a week or two, but what a great gesture!

Our neighbourhood friends, involving six or seven houses, have agreed to help each other out if one of us experiences a shortage of anything. One thing about small-city life is that you have more of an immediate community, and this is when it becomes most important.

Absolutely true, hagatha. Our small community is rocking it!

Yup, totally agree and exactly the reason we moved out of the city into farm country, and it's a decision I don't think I'll ever regret. I was raised with a farm field right across the street as a kid, then ended up moving smack into the city since my job was geared for larger corporations. So glad that technology allows me to work from home, cuz I've got the farm fields right next door again and some great neighbors

That's not to say I didn't have some great neighbors in the city, I just like being in the country better.

I'm originally from Toronto, but moved to Vancouver to live with the Spousal Unit in '82. Vancouver is a stunning city and a foodie heaven, but it got staggeringly busy and the traffic was beyond belief by the time we moved here. No regrets, though as I age I will probably end up in Victoria, which is a lovely smallish city, and also foodie heaven.

We love Campbell River and our house on the water. My husband's health problems would have been much harder to bear in West Vancouver. Here we have a dozen friends within shouting distance.

At my work, we're doing our best. 12 icu beds, 11 with covid-19 patients. 49 patients in total at both our locations.
Several people i know have or have had the disease in varying degrees.
Toilet paper and keukenrol supplies in the store seem to be improving now most people have enough to last thru the rest of the year (seems like it).

We're supporting our restaurant by take out.. they do curb side so we don't even have to go in and they have the best ribs around... loving my ribs!!! We're going to have ribs every Friday and no I won't get tired of them :-)

Do you work in a clinical setting? This must be very stressful.