NEW YEAR TO COME AND ADDEDUM TO LAST WEEK'S POST

 Before this weeks' post a followup –

I finally found the rest of the Christmas ornament hooks I wrote about last week (about 5 times more hooks than we used on the tree).  I always store things logically – problem is the logic is often forgotten.  I have two open plastic boxes under part of my teddy bear village which I keep various small items which are used at different times during the year – such as little park benches, chairs, tables…  I had been turning the idea of what would I consider a logical place to put the tree hooks under the circumstances of last year.  The idea entered my head that I have a bear in an airplane attached to the tree in the village (so he doesn't fall off and it looks like he is flying around the tree) with Christmas tree hooks and I did that since last year.  Yep, the hooks were in one of the brown baskets.  So the teddy bear village Christmas tree is decorated, but, sitting here the night before New Year's Eve, the rest of the village is only partly set up for the “Winter Festival” - okay it is called that instead of the “Christmas Festival” so it can be left up after Christmas.  Things keep happening.  


Now this week's post -

Of course a New Year's post is needed at this time.  I don't believe in making resolutions – they tend to be too big and grand and one does not carry through one feels like a failure.  Those of you who read my blog on an ongoing basis know that I believe that each day is a start of a new year.  

I like to work with the idea of trying to do something better, not making resolutions.  Pick something – relatively small and think how can you do better at dealing with it.  It may be organizing related or family relationship related, or work related or just something that you do or don't do which drives you crazy.  Decide that you will try to do better – and see what you can do about it.  Small steps – not big jumps.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

May the year to come be better for all of us.  

Please keep separate with your immediate family and wear your masks and gloves for awhile longer so you and I and most of us will be here a year from now and will be looking at back at 2020 at the end of 2021 thinking “Thank goodness Covid 19 ended this past year and we can all be together safely.”

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS - MISSING HOOKS?

 This past week, I have been dealing with the inside the house Christmas decorations.  Just to refresh your memories – last year time got away from me and 3 days before Christmas I told my husband that we were not going to have our decorations up – particularly not our Christmas trees.  He was actually glad to hear me say this as he had realized it the week before and was afraid to mention it – if he had I would have been bound and determined to get it all set up.  I ended up taking out the small tabletop tree we set normally setup in our studio and decorate with some of the ornaments we have made over the decades, and setting it up on husband's weaving work table which is in our dining room.  I store our ornaments in 4 boxes starting with the nicest ones and ending with the fill in ones.  I pulled about 25 ornaments out of the nicest ones (and had the most sentimental value) and used them on the tree.   Nothing was cleared out of the room from his weaving – basically the loom room never became the living room and the little tree sat in the midst of the weaving.  In the days after Christmas I did take out some of my small stuffed Christmas/Chanukah animals and put them on the sofa and my Christmas teddy bear village was setup after Christmas (I don't think it has ever gone up before Christmas Eve) but that was it.  My husband reassured that “next year” we would get everything setup again.

Well it is next year.  Since we are stuck in the house due to the corona virus we really want to decorate and take our minds off of it and other miseries of this year.  I put out a good deal of the small decorations and then started on the trees over the weekend.   It was all going well.  I have to set up all 3 trees at the same time as the ornaments we have made are shared between the two and ornaments we have received from our membership in Colonial Williamsburg are split between the main tree and one in our dining room.  Both the studio tree and the dining room tree are due to having too many of the same type of ornaments on the main tree – and this being a way to have all of the ornaments out while not overwhelming the tree with them.  (My teddy bear village was started in much same the way – I set up a small tree with some of the teddy bear ornaments from the main tree and the village grew from that.  

I was putting ornaments on the main tree – running into the studio to put some there – and doing well.  My husband had been helping me, but had to go to work on the computer.  I suddenly realized that I was almost out of hooks.  I should have some in the first box and some in one of the later boxes – and I had not found the second bag of them.  As I was about to start the fill in layers – glass balls in various colors that I stick behind the main ornaments wherever there is an empty spot and then some small ornaments and icicles I put over the ornament also to fill in – and I had no more hooks – I also had never found any of the longer hooks and had 3 nice ornaments sitting there waiting for the longer hooks.   I have now being looking for two days for the missing ornament hooks.  Today I went through the boxes of ornaments for the teddy village looking for the hooks for same – figuring that perhaps somehow I stored the hooks together last year since the main tree had not been set up.  NONE there either!  

Not being able to finish the main tree makes me sad enough, but not being able to decorate the teddy village tree – well, is heart breaking.  In addition to not going out shopping this year due to the pandemic, I use soft hooks that are not sold around here – I buy them when we go to Pennsylvania on trips, so it is not a case of run out and buy some more.  I guess I will end up using paper clips to hang ornaments – but the reason I like the soft ones I they can be made shorted and longer as needed as they bend easier and then can go back to how they were.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

I again wish all a happy holiday of the season – whether yours is Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza or my teddy bears holiday of the winter solstice.
Let us all work hard to stay well so that, hopefully long before, this time next year life will be back to normal and we can worry about the normal petty problems of the holidays instead of trying to make sure we survive Covid-19.  Let is be in our rear window long before then.

CARS, MAIL, HOLIDAY DECORATING, AND YET MORE TURKEY

 Well, we have had leftovers from Thanksgiving twice again this week – did have to add some side dishes and we are almost out of turkey gravy – he doesn't like the jarred gravy, only the canned and we have one jar left and one package mix.  What is left at this point will likely be used in a soup or a turkey pot pie.  Last week I asked husband what we should we make for Christmas Eve and for Christmas Day dinners – I suggested ham.  (I know he does not like home cooked roast beef.)  Nooo, he wants turkey – again.  

I have set up some of the Christmas decorations in the kitchen, dining room and hall after storing my (much fewer) Thanksgiving decorations.  Husband has finished his weaving project and we stored his big loom folded up in our studio.  I still have some small items to put away and have not figured out what I will do with his (heavy, wooden) gate leg table.  I am working on ideas.  

We were planning to go food shopping next week, but due to rising number of corona virus cases and fear of people clearing the food store shelves, refrigerators and freezers again we have moved up the shopping trip to tomorrow.  I inventoried the food in the freezers and fridge, as well as canned, bottled, jarred and packaged foods.  I entered the counts in a computer spreadsheet.  Tonight we sat down and went through the list – we change the number of items we have of each item to how many we should buy and deleted the items we are not buying – whether because we have plenty or do not want the item again.  I then printed out the list to use while shopping.  

We discussed the idea of splitting the shopping into 2 trips into the store (my idea).  We end up with a huge number of items when we shop these days (as we try not to shop more often than monthly and have made a month and a half between trips sometimes) and it  hard to deal with all of it in the shopping cart and then ringing it up (we prefer self checkout even before Covid-19) and bagging it and getting all the bags into the cart.  My suggestion was that we go through the store and buy all the items which are not refrigerated or frozen, then ring it up and bag up and take it out to the car.  We will then go back into the store and buy the remaining item and repeat the process.  While it may take a little longer, it will be easier to deal with ringing up and bagging the items this way.

Tonight we made a trip to the gas station (less people, if any, around late night) and filled our van's tank as well as two gas cans for our snow-blower.  There has been talk on and off of snow coming and we figure we would be rather be ready and not need it, then not be ready. When we got into our van and husband started it and released the parking brake – the brake light did not go off and the brake pedal was at the bottom.  Earlier in the year our mechanic told us we are not driving the van enough and for the brakes, as well as the engine, it needs to be driven more.   We used it as we needed it for the gas cans, but no one was around and husband drove very slowly and carefully.  

The main reason we out tonight is to post outgoing mail – yes, we normally do that on Sunday nights.  We have an Etsy site of some of our craft items.  We have most of the inventory not listed now as we don't want to have to go to the Post Office to ship items out.  We left listed items which are mailed with regular postage in a regular manila envelope as they can be dropped in the outgoing mail box and downloads.  After all this time since the pandemic and stay at home started, we sold our first item of the year and had to mail it out to the customer.  (We did also have one download this year.)  So as long as we had to go to mail same, I paid the bills for the week and we mailed them out also – unless something comes up we won't have to go out Sunday night to post mail.

With all of this excitement I did not get a chance to post until rather late – around 2 am on what is actually Thursday not Wednesday night, hence the shortness of this post.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

As we head into the holidays, please continue to be careful – wear a mask, avoid crowds and so on as we wait for vaccines to be made available.  It is more important that we all are still here when we can again live life normally.  Take advantage of the time you are stuck in the house to go through various items and see what you can get rid of.  Straighten up a small area  - and then another.  Use the time you are stuck in the house to get some decluttering and organizing done.  One step at a time is all takes.  

For those who like me celebrate it – A happy Chanukah – may your candles shine brightly.

THANKSGIVING IN A YEAR WHICH IS NOT NORMAL

 First, a big OOOPS – and an apology.  For the first time since I started this blog in October 2015, I missed posting last week.  I may have otherwise posted a day (maybe 2 days once) late, I have not missed any other full week.  Even worse, I did not realize that I did so.  I was starting to write this post and since it about Thanksgiving last week, I looked to see what I posted about our holiday last week – and there was no post for last week.

I have mentioned before that husband and I used to have both our families for Thanksgiving dinner from 1984 through 2008.  I have probably mentioned that since we are of different religions Thanksgiving was the only family type holiday that both families wanted us to come to them for dinner.  (Meaning his family for Christmas, mine for Chanukah, his family for Easter, mine for Passover – plus mine for other Jewish holidays which are big family meal occasions.)  The first several years we generally ended up with husband's family for Thanksgiving.  

But in 1984 we decided to try something different – both families would come to us for dinner.  My husband thought the idea was crazy.  We lived in a small 3 room apartment and between the 2 families (including grandparents)  and us there were  about a dozen people (his sister and brother in law were on their honeymoon).  I had thought it all out.  His parents had 2 large folding tables – we could set up the 2 tables as one running the length of the living room.   My good china, glasses, silverplateware served 14.  (The china pattern was discontinued after we started buying it and we bought 2 extra settings in case anything broke.)  It could work if we borrowed some extra folding chairs in addition to the tables.

But the menu?  Surveys taken in the U.S. of what people have for Thanksgiving dinner all sounded the same - “turkey and all the fixings” until people were pressed in later surveys about which “fixings” they have.  It was then discovered that while turkey was generally a given (short of vegetarians or such) the side dishes varied greatly by the part of the country people were from, as well as their ethnic backgrounds – some even had chicken instead of turkey.  While my in-laws had been going out for Thanksgiving dinner for a number of years, when they had the dinner at home of course there was a macaroni with tomato sauce course and Italian pastries for dinner.  My family when Thanksgiving was at home would have chicken soup and then turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies... My family though, for some time had been going out to a kosher deli for Thanksgiving dinner as an aunt was kosher.  Since mom would make a turkey for dinner (with lots of leftovers for other meals) a couple of times a year, when confronted with dinner in a kosher deli – my sisters and I went for corned beef sandwiches as we did not get them as often as turkey.  So compromise was needed in the dinner menu.  We settled on a traditional menu – turkey, corn, green beans, stuffing – I think the first year was the year I tried to make my own stuffing which included chestnuts which I had never cooked before – mashed potatoes, and I baked pies for dessert.  Somehow it all worked and worked well, so we continued making the Thanksgiving dinner.  We moved into our house during October – finishing up October 31 and still made Thanksgiving dinner in our newly bought house.  There were adjustments – dining room would not hold the two long tables end to end or next to each other, so we built a setup of plywood which clamped to our old kitchen table (which was in the dining room as it was too large for our small kitchen) to make a large, square table.  (Eventually we bought a dining room table which fit 14 if we squeezed in.)  Nieces and a nephew joined our number along the way.  Once or twice husband's best friend from high school joined us.  Husband's sister's mother-in-law joined us.

The annual dinner came to an end the year we had bed bugs.  Of course that year we could not have anyone as the house had been recently treated for the bugs and was in disarray (real disarray – sofa cushions and such all over the floor clothing, towels and fabric out – all due to the treatment) and we did not have the families in for Thanksgiving and we went to an inexpensive restaurant for our dinner.  Since then we have not felt comfortable having people in the house as we cannot deal with having bedbugs ever again and terrified of getting them.  After a few years of going out for Thanksgiving dinner, we started cooking dinner for ourselves.  

This year was a challenge.  Our dining room table was covered with the excess canned, bottled, jarred, and packaged foods we have due to the pandemic.  Husband suggested we eat at the kitchen table this year.  I pointed out to him (and after the holiday he agreed) that we needed the kitchen table for carving, filling bowls, storing items waiting to be used as we have very little counters pace and only 1/3 of it (about 30 inches long) would be available to use.

So I had to clear off my work table in our studio (dining room is on one of the kitchen – studio on the other side) and move all the food there.  Two evenings work – but everything was going well.  I even managed to put out my Thanksgiving decorations (not all of them are bears) including paper ones my niece made for me decades ago (she is 30 now).  

By now the setup is repetitive – I know which bowls and platters I will use for serving which food.  I know I need to add one board to our dining room so it is large enough to hold the bowls and platters.  I baked the pies the night before.  I got up early (well, for us) on Thanksgiving and took the turkey out of the refrigerator and turned on the oven to preheat.  Back to sleep for an hour and then down again to put the turkey in the oven and then back to bed again.  Everything was going according to plan – as it always does.  Each item being cooked at the time it needed to be – or so I thought.  

The turkey had come out and cooled off.  We were almost ready to eat.  Husband asked me where the mashed potatoes were – uh oh!  Normally I make mashed potatoes from scratch and use boxed stuffing mix.  This year as we are avoiding buying fresh produce due to the corona virus and not wanting to get items which were unwrapped when purchased and had been touched by others we had decided to go with instant mashed potatoes.  Well, at least they and the boxed stuffing were quick to make when we realized I had not made them – and while we were waiting for the water for each to boil – husband noticed that we had not heated up the (canned) gravy.  Yes, there is a reason I was so disorganized this year – actually 2 reasons – I had not bothered to periodically check my list of what I was making.  (I keep the list each year for each holiday dinner I make in a spiral notebook – I filled it front to back and am now using it back to front – the list was there, I just did not look.) The other reason – while this year husband is bored from staying in so that we don't get Covid-19 and decided to help. In telling him what I needed him to do, I lost track of what I was doing.  

Of course it was a great meal anyway.  So far we have leftovers for dinner 3 times and he had a turkey sandwich once.  2 people, one turkey is a lot of leftovers including turkey broth made with the carcass late Thanksgiving dinner.  

Every item used was washed that night & air dried in 3 groupings, some help with drying on the first 2 groupings.  The dining room was back to its prior state by the next day.  The good china, etc, was put away by then also.  

I have spent the week since clearing up what was around in the dining room before we started – reenacting items not stored in their box benches, stuff from my family house sitting on extra chairs as we did not know where to put it.  Small amount of stuff to go back out to our RV as we brought them to use them in the house in the past year.  Excess pans and racks which had been removed from the oven over the past year.  Dented food cans that husband still not will get rid of and we want to keep away from the ones in the studio that are okay to use are in a line under one of the box benches in the dining room.  3 large boxes of food still in dining room – I will try to move them to the studio, but need to move things from the living room there first or we will not be able to put the tree and other decorations in the living room.  If worse comes to worse, the food boxes can stay in the dining room (perhaps a table cloth over them?)  Yes, the dining room is back in better organization than it was before the holiday so that I can decorate it for Christmas.  

Next I start on the living room.  Husband has until the middle of December to use it as his “loom room” for his weaving (our agreement is he gets it from mid January to mid December as his loom room and I get the other month for Christmas decorating), but I can get started moving out his inventory and the large DVD chest (latter stores in the dining room for the holiday against the side wall and he made it on wheels so it is relatively easy to move) in the interim.  Since last year we did not get around to decorating in the house – I know if we don't this year, we may never do so again.  

Outdoor lights went up the day after Thanksgiving.  We found ourselves short 4 strands of lights  - they had expired last year or in the interim – one set only half the bulbs lit.  We did not want to the store (as we go out rarely these months for health safety) so decided to work with what we had.  Our the trees on each end each have only 2 strands not 3, the bush next to one tree has only the lights from that tree traveling over its top on its way to the electric outlet.  On the other end – we normally wrap red lights (with white wires) around the white post of our mail box – this year instead those lights are on the bush in front of the mail box.  On the other side of the front steps (back towards that first tree) are the remaining set of lights.  Not bad considering.  Our door wreath lights with batteries and is up on its magnetic hook (left from last year) and is lit up.  The battery candle lights are in the front windows on their timers.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

This year we need the holidays – whichever holiday or holidays one celebrates this time of year – more than ever to try to spark some joy (and a bit of almost normalcy) in our lives.  If one can not put up/set up everything one normally does, we must do our best with what we can setup.  It is a year like no other in the memory of most of us.  We must try to do what we can to make our holidays as normal as we can while staying distant and safe so we will be here for next year's holidays and celebrations.  

NOTE -

When I went to publish this post – I found  I had written a post last week – but since it duplicates part of this weeks post – I have deleted it. 

COVID 19 # 27 - A WEEK WHEN EVERY DAY THERE IS SOMETHING TO DO - OUTSIDE THE HOUSE OR SOMEONE COMING IN

 We are having a busy week of it - for the first time since early March.  We have been staying home better than 90% of the time. But a variety of circumstances has hit us all at once.

Since husband has felt comfortable enough, we have been going out late on Sunday nights to post the outgoing mail for the week if we have same.  We are still not going to the post office for this or to check mail at our PO Box, but he drove around until he found a USPS mail collection box in a quiet enough area that he felt comfortable to go to - and even so we go only go after 11 pm at night.  So Sunday night we went and mailed out our mail for the week.  We received a call from the commander of our reenactment that he had a check from an event that some members of the unit actually attended.  He has had the check for about a month - his wife gave birth to their first child about the same time, so his mind is elsewhere - and the group which put on the event contacted him that we need to deposit the check - NOW - or the funding will be lost.  So he left the check in our mail box on Tuesday and we drove again to the USPS collection box and mailed out a deposit which included the check (and some other checks for the unit the past several weeks).

We are entitled to a discount on our real estate taxes due to our age.  We need to file the paperwork by the end of the year with our county.  We don’t like to file it at the last minute.  Two years ago there was a problem with the county and we were not sure if they had the paperwork - we had mailed it by Certified Mail, but there was a telephone mixup and they had called every property owner in the county to say they had not received their paperwork, instead of just those who had previously filed the paperwork and had not filed, so last year we dropped the paperwork in person to get a receipt directly from them that they had our paperwork.  Since we each have an extremely small business (both of which lose money generally) we have to file extra papers - this year’s paperwork was 157 pages - it takes some time to assemble it all - this year I started early as I was looking for something to do during the year - and I had the paperwork finished.  We have debating over the past several months - it is Covid-19 safer to go into the post office and mail it by Certified Mail to the County and hope it gets to right office or drive to the County office building and drop it off in person this year.  As we debated this we received a notice that due to the pandemic and the need to distance from others they would open late on a handful of Tuesday nights and open on many Sunday and Saturday mornings for the paperwork to be dropped off to help those concerned about going out in public, as well as there would parking spaces in their normally (during the day) overcrowded parking lot (last year husband dropped me off at the building and drove to a department store and sat in their parking lot as we could not park at the County building).  So, our decision was made - we would drop it off on Tuesday night.  Deciding it would be a lot more crowded in December - we figured to drop it off in November.  Last week was the first of the two Tuesdays for this month - but then we had to go to the doctor the next day, so decided that going out 2 days in a row was too big a risk (ha, ha in retrospect over this week). Of course one has to go through a metal scanner, so I prepared ahead - cell phone in a small plastic zip bag, wallet in another - and I brought a pen -just in case I needed to sign in as I would not want to touch a pen others have touched.  My keys I left with husband in the car.We drove there last night - there was one person ahead of me and one other came in after me - good choice.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we have an appointment to replace the tires on our car - we were told by our mechanic earlier this year that they woulld not survive the cold of this winter.  Costco has them on sale so we called and made an appointment for tomorrow.  Boy, this was getting exhausting for how our life has been this year!  

And - on Friday, we have an appointment for the phone company to change our phones from copper wire to cable - something we don’t want - both because the copper wire is more reliable and keeps working on the many times our electricity goes out for days in storms and - really - change it right now? I wouldn’t let family in the house and I have to let in someone from the phone company who has been in other houses and may have the corona virus (let alone my fear of his having bedbugs on him since we had same)?!!!  But if we don’t do this NOW they will cut off our service except to call 911 and them.

Husband realized yesterday that we need to food shop in general - our once monthly food shopping these months - and also saw people panic shopping again on TV.  (Back in early March he insisted on panic buying a large package of toilet paper, one of paper towels and every bottle of liquid hand soap he could find.  Did we need them - no, but I figured they will go not bad and if makes him feel better...  Last week I put out the last 2 rolls of the toilet paper in the package that was already in the house when we did this as spares - means about another month before they will be used, I still have not started and will not for awhile the paper towels or the liquid hand soap - a later purchases of bars of hand soap has had 2 bars started, so I pointed all of this out to him to prevent his running out to buy more of all this.) Plus Thanksgiving is next week.  We used to make Thanksgiving dinner for our two families, but since we had bed bugs, we just make it for ourselves.  I had printed out the recipes for what we usually make and added the items needed for same to the shopping list.  

So today we ventured out to buy food.  It was 25F here - a surprise drop in temperature.  Food shopping these days has a procedure that my husband came up with to keep us safe.  Of course we wear masks and gloves - but we also spray the cart before using it - he pushes the cart, I “touch the food”...  I have a listing of where which food is in the store - but of course that is my laptop which had to go for repair ( which is actually back - but still “sitting” before we touch it) and I had to wing it on this older laptop so foods were out of order.  People were out panic shopping so there were a lot more people there than has been, but by the end of our shopping (a few hours worth) there was no wait at checkout.  In the middle of bringing the food to our porch and wiping it down with alcohol before bringing it into the house - the cold of the weather hit me and I apparently had hypothermia according to husband.  He dealt with most of what was left to bring in other than some canned/bottled items that he left in the car overnight.  (And tomorrow before we take the car for tires - we have to deal with what was left.)  

Tomorrow (Thursday) after moving the food to our van as temporary measure, we will go and have the new tires installed.  We then go to the store where we have been buying our turkeys for Thanksgiving  - one of their 2 locations here is near where we are going for tires - they start selling their fresh turkeys tomorrow and then we will deal with wiping down and bringing the turkey and the rest of today’s food.  

Then the telephone person will be here on Friday.

Saturday, we will again go out and pick up Chinese food

So after not even going out once a week or seeing another person once a week (sometimes we see and wave to a neighbor though) we have 8 days in a row of being out or having someone in our house.  These days this much too scary!  


THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Well, what has to be done has to be done somehow.  Hopefully we will survive the week and neither of us will have contracted Covid- 19.  I hope all of you do also. 

COVID 19 #26 - PLAN NOW FOR THANKSGIVING APART FOR THIS YEAR

 Well, Thanksgiving is coming (in the U.S.A.) in 2 weeks.   Yes, family is important, but family staying well and alive is more important.  Please don't have (or go to) a big family gathering this year.  Have a dinner with those in your household.  

How about a long distance (or short distance if family lives nearby) extended family celebration on Zoom– perhaps even set up a monitor (yes, this would be exception to the “no TV, no computers,no phones at Thanksgiving dinner rule)  where everyone having dinner at your house can see the screen and have your extended family members do the same.  Make an agreement for what time to have dinner which works for everyone – then all can share dinner across the Internet and still be safe.  

Have Aunt Mary send a copy of her secret recipe for her pumpkin pie (will you find out that she uses the one on the can of canned pumpkin?).  Have Cousin Susie her recipe for the stuffing and so on.  Everyone can make the dishes for their family (or not as they choose – perhaps Uncle Dave adds a bit too much “fun” in his rum cake?).  If everyone has the same foods it will seem like everyone is eating together.  Or, just let everyone make the dinner they want – perhaps next year your sister-in-law's vegetable soup (a dish I always make for Thanksgiving) will be the new family favorite that no one has had before, but when she made it for the dinner she and your brother had with their children – it looked soooo good and her children asked for more – yes, more vegetables  - and then you will all asking her for the recipe.  

The holiday is something which can be celebrated across the miles -  or across the street – so that all stay safe and well.  I am sure that you all would prefer for grandpa Jack to be with you at future Thanksgiving dinners than this be his last one due to his catching Covid-19 from someone at the dinner.  

My husband and I used to have both families at our home for Thanksgiving dinner – it was “our” holiday.  10 years ago we had bed bugs – we have not have family join us for the holiday since.  I still cook the same foods for the two of us – just a bit less than I made for the families.  I set up the dining room with the “good” china and silverware.  I use smaller serving bowls than before, but we have a nice holiday.  We do this annually now – and I only suggesting your family and friends have this one Thanksgiving apart – so that hopefully you will all be alive and well for next Thanksgiving to be together again.  

I am writing this column now – 2 weeks before the holiday so that you have time to plan with your extended family to have your holiday apart, while still joining together in some way over the distance so all will survive the corona virus and are here to be there for next year.  

Me, I have to figure out what to do with the all the extra canned goods, bottle, jars, and packages which are currently residing on my dining room table – taking up the entire table plus there are 3 huge plastic boxes of foods,which might attract vermin if it was just out, stacked next to the table.   I figure I have to clear up my studio worktable and move the food from the dining room table onto it.  (This will also allow me to decorate the dining room for Christmas afterward which I never had a chance to do last year.)  Husband has said to have the dinner in the kitchen,but I know from the past we need the kitchen table for related things – such as carving the turkey.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

For the Jewish holiday of Passover one of the prayers is “Next year, may we all be in Jerusalem” - for Thanksgiving let us all stay apart and safe and say “Next next Thanksgiving may we all be at Aunt Anne's” (or wherever you normally celebrate Thanksgiving) and survive this pandemic to do so.  

A little planning is all that is needed.

Let us also remember on this Veteran's Day all of those brave people who have fought to protect their country in the various wars which threatened our country as well as, including those in other countries who share the memory of Armistice Day when World War I (the Great War) had it truce.  If not for them we would not be living in the world we have now (meaning of course the good things of our world.)  Tell a veteran (or two) that you appreciate their service.

DEAD COMPUTER PROBLEMS LIVE ON

 We had telephoned about my dead computer Tuesday afternoon, eastern US time.  The box to send the computer to them was to come 2 day UPS.  The company is located in California, so it was even earlier in the day there when I was told it would be sent so I expected it to be here on Thursday - 2 days later.  The weather here was a rather nasty on Thursday - raining and windy due to Hurricane Zeta down south.   I have mentioned (ad nauseam) that we have problems with delivery of items by every carrier ever used.  We kept looking out of the front door and windows for the box - hopefully it would left on our steps, but often packages are left at the foot of our (short) driveway next to the sidewalk -nothing there.  As the day grew later we became more concerned that perhaps it had been left and had blown away so I telephoned the warranty company and got the tracking number (which I had expected them to email to us when the package went out).  The box was enroute through the worst of the area Delta was coming through and would be here on Friday - it was still rather close to where it had started its trip.  Taking a chance that the box would be left on our front steps rather at then at the foot of the driveway and knowing the remnants of Delta would be coming through our area all day Friday we left a large note on the inside of the glass storm door asking that it be left inside our side door (on a small porch) with arrows showing where we meant.  I checked when we woke and dressed on Friday -nothing in front of door, in porch or on driveway (as far as we could see) - if the box was left outside it would drenched and unusable.  When we went to cook dinner we found the box in the side porch (I had the curtain on the window next to my desk open the entire we were in the office and had not seen it delivered).  At least it was finally here and dry. 

We had hoped to turn it around and send it back by Friday - first as we wanted it back as soon as possible and also because the return shipping label had time limit - but that was not to be.   When I had set up the claim I was told I could not call for pickup and had to bring it into UPS - I had asked as we REALLY did not want to go out for this (or basically anything) and I explained that to the employee.  Since these days we don’t normally open “mail” until 4 days later we did not rush to open the box as it would not be going out until Monday anyway, the first time it could be sent.  When we opened it Sunday night to pack the laptop it said we could call for pickup - oh, well, that would delay it another day.  We packed it up - we made 2 plastic tape labels for the computer and two for the cord - one label on each had our names and the other had the case number we were given - if the computer and/or cord was separated from the paperwork we wanted to make sure it would be obvious whose they were.  We were extremely concerned about going to UPS - last time we had to deal with something there the place was wall to wall to people waiting and took hours - not a situation we want to be in right now.  Luckily it was empty when we went there.  We checked today (Wednesday) and the computer is still enroute.  Hopefully they will actually have it tomorrow.

I still cannot sign into the newspaper to read it on my laptop.  I can sign in my desktop and husband can sign in on his cell phone (latter done as a test as he does not read the newspaper and gets annoyed when I read him “tidbits” from it - he is a TV news person.  We figured perhaps the problem is that this laptop is Windows XP, so husband brought down and tried to sign into his Win 10 laptop and could not sign into the newspaper either.  Makes no sense to us.  I am reading the newspaper on my desktop when I have a chance during the day. 

My embroidery club has been holding its meetings online - show what one has made (yes, show and tell) discuss business - such as needing a larger room to meet in next time we meet in person so we can space out, etc.  I had forgotten that the meeting was today until I heard from the group president.  After I heard from her I was going to use husband’s desktop computer (mine has no microphone, speakers or camera - it was custom built for me by husband and other than Zoom meetings, which were unheard of by us until Covid-19 stay at home started, have no use for them.  But as I was using my little, old laptop I noticed it had a camera and a symbol for microphone, so making sure that they both turned on I planned to use my laptop for the meeting this morning.  Husband showed me where to plug in his microphone and camera on his desktop - just in case.

I woke up this morning, dressed and turned on my little laptop.  It worked!  I signed into the Zoom site and got into the meeting and saw everyone - m o v i n g  v e r y   s l o w l y - okay, I can deal with that.  I said hello.  I then realized that I could not hear them - something was wrong with the speakers.  (Husband later reminded me when I told him of my adventure that I keep my speakers in my laptops on mute - oops, my fault.)  So I plugged in his camera and his microphone and turned on his desktop computer.  I then had to sign into my email address to get the invitation to the meeting - an email address which is not in his computer (I checked in case it was).  I put in my email address on the appropriate page and entered my password as I remembered it.  Nope.  Tried again.  Nope.  I then turned on my desktop (so at this point I now have 3 computers turned on trying to sign into Zoom and join the meeting) to get the password as it shows there - I had the correct password.  Time kept passing. We get a 40 minute free session from Zoom, sometimes extra minutes are given - I looked at the clock and the 40 minutes had run out.  So I shut everything down and went back to bed.  I later sent an email to the group explaining what had happened.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK-

Make sure you have good lists of current usernames and passwords.  If you are going to use a device or a feature of your computer (or any other electronic device) when time will be of the essence to use it - and you don’t want to look like an idiot that doesn’t know what you are doing (especially since they consider me the computer “expert”) make sure you do a trial run before you actually need to use that feature or device to make sure it is working , turned on and that you know what you are doing.   As we go along with the Covid-19 situation we are using computers and other devices differently than normal and may need a bit of practice doing so.  Yeah, I had thought of doing a quick Zoom session with husband to make sure the laptop would work and run fast enough - but never did get around to it.

I hope that all who have been in the path of Hurricane Zeta and their families and friends are safe and well and the same to those in the paths of the various fires and other weather problems. 

TO BACK UP OR NOT TO BACK UP, THAT SHOULD NEVER BE THE QUESTION!

 A late post, my apologies.  Today I will point out the importance and urgency of backing up one’s computer.  Yes, these two subjects are related.

I normally write my posts using my laptop computer. It is relatively new - bought in December 2018.  It is Windows 10 and I complain about a lot about it.  But over the almost 2 years I have had it I have “moved in” and gotten used to it more or less.  

I have a desktop computer upstairs in our office (which just to mention, no real need to do so, is Windows 7).  I don’t like change and often say that change, especially unwanted change, is never good.  I keep my laptop in the kitchen to use in the evening and I use it also when going to out to clients for work - it’s intended purpose, but has been rare use of it this year due to the Covid 19 shutdowns and limitations, as I went to my business client in January and February only - she has been closed since then and taxes were prepared by having clients mail their information to me.  

I am VERY good about backing up my computers and my data.  Husband usually thinks I go overboard.  When he realized I was backing up my laptop also he sort of gave me a “yeah, well, I guess so” about it.

I keep my data on flash drives - you know, those little stick things. I back up the data after each session at the computer onto alternating additional flash drives - I call then A and B to keep track.  At the end of each week I do another data backup onto a weekly backup flash drive -this one I have 6 of each the data backups and overwrite the oldest one each week - I do this because i had a problem with my calendar data once and did not realize it until I had overwritten both the A and B backup drives with the bad data.  

In more recent years, and more important to this saga, I started backing up my entire computer completely to two external hard drives in addition to my data backups. I back up around the 15th of the month (too many things to do at month’s end and start) onto one of the external hard drives. I will back up, say February 15, 2020 for the month of January in a file labeled as 2020 Q1.  I will then back up by updating that file on March 15 and again on April 15, starting a new file for second quarter on May 15. I do this with both my desktop and my laptop computer.

I also make a backup onto the other external hard drive quarterly - so at about the same time I make the monthly backup on April 15 (and so on) I also make an all new backup for the quarter to the other external hard drive. My husband thinks that all of this overkill.

And now the reason I mention all of this -

This past Sunday I used my laptop computer as normal to read the newspaper (we normally get the print edition, but, due to the Corona virus, we did not want the physical paper in the house each day, and are entitled to the online version, so I have reading same - I do not particularly like reading it this way, but as I have learned, at least I was able to read the paper), and I was able to start reading my Monday comics early, play a bit of Solitaire (I swear the computer cheats) and then shut it down to go to bed.

Monday evening after dinner I set up my laptop to read the newspaper.  It would not turn on.  The power indicator light was dark.  The light next to the power button did not come on when I pushed it (over and over again).  Nothing - dead - D E A D - dead. Battery should have been fully charged and even that did not help.  Husband took it upstairs to see what he could do.  He tried a variety of things.  Unlike my other, older laptops it does not have removable battery - normal thing for them would be to remove the battery, while it was not plugged in  and see if doing so and replacing the battery restarted it.  He found online a way to do this with my computer and it did not work.

So on Tuesday I telephoned the store I bought it from (store gives a second year warranty included so it is still covered) and the information was taken and I have to send it to them for repair.  Scares the heck out of me both because of our general problems with deliveries to the house (normally would have it come back to our PO Box, but since we are not picking mail, I cannot do that) and the fact that all of my passwords, appointment book, etc are in it and not on separate data due to the need for them to be on the computer itself and will be available to them to see when they get it running again.

Now, I understand that there is a check list for the employees to follow, but some sense is needed. My computer will not start - she told me I should make a back up - how the heck does one do that when the computer will not start - I pointed this out to her and said that I did have 2 backups about a week old.  (And my data is backed up daily so I have that as my last session on the computer.)  We then received the list of photos we had to take of the computer and email to them - first one, as well as several of the others requested was to be taken with the computer turned on?  A photo of the problem - well here it is a blank screen - and we also took photos of the power lights not on.  My husband had checked the electric cord with a voltage meter, so we know it is not the cord.

We were told that the box they were sending to us for us to use to send the laptop to them was coming by UPS 2 day.  I sit here on the night of the second day after I called and still do not have it.  It should come tomorrow by 9 pm.  Today it was pouring and windy here.  Tomorrow the remnants of Hurricane Zeta will passing through - presuming the box is dropped on our front steps or driveway as is normal it may blow away as well as possibly getting soaked.  

In the ensuing time - I went to sign in on my older laptop (a Windows XP) to read the newspaper on Tuesday night.  Uh oh!  I have never done so before on it - and my password list from my laptop is ..... in a notepad file in the computer!!  I finally found a piece of paper on which I had written down the sign in and password and tried to sign into the newspaper - it does not work.  It works on husband’s cell phone and it works on my desktop computer, but not on my old laptop!  

Last evening when I should have posted to all of you, I could not - as I did not the password to do so.  Today, I copied out the passwords from my desktop computer onto a flash drive and will make a copy of them - and here I am.


THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If you do not do so - start backing up your computer as soon as possible.  One never knows when one will need it, as I so recently found out.  We have also used backups in the past when something has gone wrong in one of our computers.  And back up your data also and more often.  More than one back up, as I do, is a good idea -just in case.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER -

If you are able to vote in the U.S. - VOTE!!  It is a privilege to be able to do so and this year more than ever, a few votes one way or the other can make a big difference. I say this not knowing if those of you out there lean the same way as I do and I very well might be sending more votes to the candidate I do not choose, but it is everyone’s right to choose and to vote and voting is a right which should not be taken lightly.  

While speaking by telephone with my 91 year old mother a week ago, after we greeted each other, she told me that she had gotten her vote by mail ballot (she can not go out of her assisted living this year to vote) and her residence had an employee assigned to collect the completed vote by mail forms and bring them to their local polling place for the residents. She then made sure my husband and I had plans to vote - we did so already - as she knows the importance of voting.  (And I am not sure that her national votes will not offset mine, but we all have the right to vote and should exercise that right.)






       

COVID-19 # 25 MUST BRING OWN BAGS SHOPPING NOW - HOW MANY WILL BRING BAGS WITH CORONA VIRUS ON THEM?

 Well, another week gone by – I hope everyone is hanging in and not going completely crazy while staying at home for this long – for us it is since basically the start of March, though we were not told to do so by our Governor until later in the month.  More recently we have been going out to run errands more and more – lately seemingly once a week, occasionally twice a week for something or other, with food being about once a month unless we are out for something else in, say, Walmart, where there is also food.  Last week we went out to get a renewal of Diabetes supplies and since we go to Walmart,, also filled in a (very) few food items as long as we were in Walmart.  Tomorrow we are going food shopping.

Shopping in general now has a new challenge here.  March 1 a law went into effect in our state that stores (in most cases) can not distribute “one use” plastic bags.  They can distribute papers bags and charge for same – in some counties/cities they are required to charge a 5 cents fee for the paper bags.  So, almost immediately after this law went into effect the Corona Virus panic set it in.  People of course did not know about or remember the law coming into affect (despite news on TV and in print talking about it) and showed up to panic food shop without bags – what a mess and confusion.  When we went food shopping mid March I brought 3 of the old “one time use” shopping bags shoved in the back pockets of my jeans, and two of the large, zippered bags that had been for sale for one to buy and use instead.  (One supermarket had offered a trade in the week before March 1 – bring in a one time use bag and get one of these zippered bags in exchange free, so husband and I had each done so.)  In the middle of March (just after our shopping “spree” the law was on a halt – I had thought it was due to good sense, in a pandemic do we really want people bringing bags from home into stores – was my logic.  But no, there had been a court case against the law – that it was illegal.  The case was finally heard and the plaintiffs lost, so now we must bring bags when shopping for our items.  In normal times this would be a pain to remember with trips back out to the car where we always have some of the “one time use” bags, but now it is a bigger problem as when we go food shopping we end up with 8 or 9 paper bags (which hold more) of food and remember to bring them with us.  All of the articles about the law are so helpful about remembering to bring bags –

    Put them in your purse – how large a purse does someone have to fit in 8 or 9 paper bags and what about people like me who do not use a purse.

    Put them by the door – where? on my stove? And we have been known to forget things hung from the door knob so we don't forget them.

    Keep them in your car – have to remember to bring them back out to the car and need them in all cars, and then of course with this idea and the prior one – once the bags are in the car – one has to remember to take them out of the car when one goes into the store.  

Well, the shopping list is made and printed out – and we will be going tomorrow to the supermarket.  We will see what will happen.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Understand, I get the idea of using less and appreciate it, but in general it is a problem and even more so right now, when  items from one's home should not be coming into stores as they may be contaminated with Covid-19 and then are put where other people will have to put their bags to load their food orders into them.  

FACING SILLY FEARS AND GETTING THINGS DONE

 Over the decades I have developed an aversion to the telephone phone.   We tend to get very few phone calls other than spam calls or calls from companies we deal with who annoy us about something.  I mean very few phone calls – less than 10 or maybe even 5, a month.  If the phone rings we freeze in place until we hear on the answering machine who is calling.  One problem is that I have learned if something is going on with my mom my sister will send a text unless it is a serious urgent matter – then she calls so that adds to the problem.  I also do not like making phone calls – needed ones or personal ones.  

I currently have a number of calls which have to be made.  I started earlier this week on Tuesday with a call I should have made in late September.  I telephoned our doctor's office and made an appointment for us to have flu shots.  Yes, we know one can go to a chain pharmacy and have the shots, but husband is needlephobic and the last time he had a shot (over 40 years ago) he passed out.  So he was worried about both the lack of privacy when getting a shot at a chain pharmacy and also if he passed out they might call an ambulance and he did not want that.  So the doctor's office it was.  Neither of us has had a flu shot before.  As always, he over read up about the shots making him more concerned. We are very concerned about going out in general, let alone a doctor's office due to Covid-19, but that was the very reason we decided to get the flu vaccine.  We went today.  We were told to wait in our car and telephone when we were there.  We presumed that we would wait in the car and then go into the doctor's office which would be empty of other patients – or perhaps one going in or out.  We were surprised that when we were called to come in there were about 15 people spaced out around the waiting room (it also serves a second doctor).  Luckily the shots went well.

I also have to call – since last month – the post office where our box is located.  I need to check with the very nice fellow I have been speaking with there about if our missing our bank statements were returned to the banks due to printed notations on them – related to letting the sender know if the address changed.  I also want to talk to him as we have now had 3 items returned to the senders – two items mailed to our businesses by our state tax department and one from a credit card company and figure out why these items were returned (and what else might also have been returned).  In addition we had actually gone to the post office late one Sunday night to see if the missing mail was in the box.  It was not, but 4 pieces of mail which should have been forwarded were.  I keep putting off this call, but I really have to get it done with.  

My embroidery chapter will be renewing its meeting room next month – though the rooms are closed and we do not know when they will reopen.  The chapter president who, unlike husband and me – has been going out – when to look at meeting room in a different park which she heard was larger.  Our room has been getting a bit tight and with the idea of maybe needing to social distance on our return (hopefully some time next year) to physical meetings, she had gone to look for other rooms from the same park system and found one.  She is not a resident of the area served by these parks and I am.  She and the woman in charge of the meeting rooms have been conversing by email and including me.  I suddenly realized that the form has to be notarized which means a trip, in person, to the bank - uh oh!  So I emailed the woman from the parks department and asked if there was going to be any allowance on the notarization this year, pointing out that they have my notarized signature from several past years and I was still residing in the same house.  (I am swearing that I am resident of the township.)  She sent an email back asking to talk to me on the phone.  I told her I would call tomorrow.  My stomach is turning over with dread, not over what she will say, but making the actual call.  (My neighbor works in real estate, if I do need the notarization, I will ask if she is notary, if not, I will have to deal with going to the bank for same.)

I have other papers on my desk that I need to make phone calls for, but forget what they are.

Plus Sunday nights I try to call my mom while I am cooking dinner.  I generally cook a frozen dinner on Sunday nights and do not need to do anything while it cooking.  Mom tends to call me at dinner time – generally just as I am about to start cooking on a night that I have to be active to cook the dinner and it is a problem.  So, I have taken to calling her either on Friday nights (I make a similar type of dinner then) or Sunday nights.  Mom either does not hear the phone, does not have enough time to get to the phone before it stops ringing. It rings 4 times and then either the voice mail from the assisted living residence or the answering machine put in by family for her answers.  I have taken to calling her several times in a time in a row to let it keep ringing longer, but even then she often does not answer.  I know she is okay because if she was not, my sister would have been contacted and she would called me.  

Now, I have been very good at calling banks to check that deposits (both mailed by me and automatic) have been received and also checking how much and when payments are due on credit cards and other bills as I currently mailing out payments sooner than normal and do not always have the bill in hand when I need to pay it – or since incoming mail is problematic these days since the corona virus stay at home started and we had to have the mail forwarded from our box to our house, to check that I am correct that nothing is due on the bill.  It seems to be the actual talking to someone that upsets me.  (I learned in the first months of stay at home to call about balances due and such late night as fewer people are calling then.  In early April one bill I kept calling about and the calls were not even  accepted to wait, I was able to reach the company (for a live person) at 12:15 am. )

I especially do not like make telephone calls when my husband is in the room.  He will tell me what to say and correct me (when I am not wrong) if he hears me making calls, so I have to make them when he is elsewhere in the house – which is not often these months.)

So I have been barely getting work done this week – too  busy putting off making the telephone calls.  Hence why this post is out a day late.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Everyone has something they REALLY hate to do.  We all know that we have to do them and get them done with or the problem will be even bigger.  What do you hate to do?

COVID 19 # 24 FOOD - STORING IT, KEEPING TRACK OF IT, AND USING IT IN TIME

 Another week, another post.  I had an idea this morning for the post, but by tonight it is gone.  So let me tell you how we are dealing with food right now as we only go out once a month to a month and a half to food shop (and did not shop from mid March to Mid May at all).

Husband, as I have mentioned, is a panicker.  To allay his fears we  now have, since the start of the corona virus, more food, toilet paper, paper towels, soap, dish soap, laundry soap, denture adhesive than we can use in several years.  My dining room table is covered in unopened canned, jarred, and bottled food and packets in gallon sized plastic boxes.  I have two huge plastic boxes that we normally use for food storage under my side of the kitchen table.  We also use these same types of boxes in the house for other storage.  I donated one of my bear figure storage boxes and he donated two of his woven items storage boxes to “the cause” and they are in the dining room filled with food.  

As with anything organizing what is where is important.  In our case we also want to make sure that we do not attract ants or mice – both of which we have had problems with in the past, so any food that is not in sealed glass, hard plastic or metal container is put in a plastic box – whether a large package in the huge boxes or the individual packages in the gallon containers.  

I covered the dining room table with heavy towels to protect it from damage – I want to use it as nice looking table again one day.  Cans, bottles, and jars are arranged in lines by what they are – a line of each type of soup cans (and the different lines of soup are next to each other), a line of canned tomatoes, a line of canned beans... or sometimes small groupings – 4 cans of evaporated milk (was 6 cans originally) sitting in 2 rows of 2 cans, and so on.  There are also gallon sized plastic containers (recycled large ice cream containers) stacked 2 high in a grouping on the far corner of the table.  These have things such as packets of ramen noodles (husband has me has me add half a package to half a can of soup for lunch sometimes) in two of them (ordered online from Walmart – we got a LOT of ramen packages).  One has packages of husband's instant grits (my apologies to anyone from the South) and another has packets of my instant oatmeal.  ½ cup containers of applesauce in another.  Powered milk packets in one container and powdered mash potatoes packets in another.  A quick circle of the table – okay cannot actually fully circle the table as there is stuff from my family home to be sorted through and excess baking pans on the far side of the table on the floor – lets one see how much we have of various items and find what we are looking for.  

The three large boxes on the floor in the dining room (stacked to save room) contain items such as fresh(ish) bread that is currently being used (we buy several loaves, start use one loaf, then usually start the second before it has to frozen and any loaves past two are frozen right away when we bring them home.  This includes white bread, rye bread, hot dog rolls and burger rolls.  There are also some packages of snack cakes that we bought.  Items that come multiple in a package and are individually wrapped are removed from their outer package – so the individual snack cakes are in the box, the boxes that, say 8 of them, came in was tossed and never came into the house – chances are no one has touched the inner packages or at least not just before we bought them are in a plastic bag with the bread.  Cookies are also in this box and some other individual items.  The next box down holds things such as boxes of cake mix, stuffing mixes, dry cereal, and two largeish cardboard containers of raisins.  The bottom box holds macaroni – both the boxes of spaghetti , penne, elbows and bow ties and the packaged macaroni and cheese boxes.  (Husband ordered the first three from Bjs in his big order from them, he told me 4 boxes of each were coming – 8 boxes of each came – so they will take awhile to use up.)

In the pantry closet in the kitchen I keep started macaronis in glass canning jars and other started packages of food in either hard plastic locking boxes, old Chinese soup containers, or other glass canning jars.  (I used to can.)  

We have do not have a huge refrigerator  (18 cubic foot) or freezer.  We have the small freezer on the top of the refrigerator and a dorm fridge sized freezer in the basement (from when we used to grow vegetables in the back yard and froze them for the winter).  

Mostly I can see the items in the refrigerator but I try to deal in a way that makes sense and I can remember.  We got this refrigerator a year ago.  It does not have what is normally called “a snack drawer”.  I kept the bin for ice from the old refrigerator, which went from back to front of the old refrigerator's freezer so it is well sized.  I put it in the right side of the refrigerator's top shelf and we use it for smaller items – currently it is being used to hold cold cuts and cheeses so they are together – and I can take them all out for lunch if husband is not sure what he wants by just pulling the bin out of the refrigerator.  We may have to root through the bin a bit to find which item husband wants, but they are all in there (unless they were hanging around too long had to be frozen).  

Shortly after we bought the refrigerator I bought a largeish plastic bin that looks woven, so it has openings around the four sides, to use to store small items in the freezer.  This works well.  It may be heavy, but I can take it out and see all of the smaller items in it easily to keep track of them.  

So now everything has a home – but how do I remember what is where?  I have been writing up lists of what is in each freezer (don't do so for non- cold items or for refrigerator items, at least not so far).  There are 4 lists.  Two are for the downstairs freezer and two are for the upstairs/refrigerator freezer.  One of each list is called “meat”, but it actually should be entrees – I list what meats, frozen entrees, and things such as frozen ravioli and tortellini or leftovers on these lists.  The other two lists are the upstairs “other” and basement “other” list.  This is where I list foods such as frozen vegetables, breads, and so on.

Of course maintaining the lists is important.  Since we are shopping in large quantities (husband almost passes out when he sees the huge amount on the receipts) I redo the lists when I shop each time and try to make sure to cross off or change the count of used items as I take items out – or move them from up to down list or the reverse if items have to moved.  We shopped last week and I have not yet had a chance to go through the freezers and make new lists so I am still working off the old ones.  This allows me to know what I have downstairs without having to run down the stairs to see what there is and lets me know that somewhere in the refrigerator's freezer is 2 more hot dogs.  

I have two other lists on the refrigerator also.  One is the list of “meals”, sort of a home menu.  If I ask husband what he wants for dinner and he says “what do we have” I can read him the list (my hand writing is not always readable by me, so I won't make him try to read it).  The second one is a shopping list.  Any suggestions we come up with or see we are running out of I add to this list.  (I periodically copy the items into the spreadsheet program file I started in my laptop since being home for Covid-19.)

I should mention that there are sections of food – especially cans, jars, bottles, and packaged items – which we have not used up the items we bought months ago when the pandemic started or soon after it did.  It may be years before we can use up all that we have.  We try even harder than normal to keep track of the dates on packages so food does not go bad.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Buying food that you need to have in the house if you are not food shopping often these days is a good thing, but you have to keep track of what you have to figure out what you need to buy and you need to keep track of dates on packages and also of when you started using a package as food in opened packages often go bad faster than in still sealed packages.  (We learned that we really need to buy mozzerella and ricotta cheeses in smaller packages as they both go bad too quickly when the package is open.)    

TODAY IS A START OF A NEW YEAR - DON'T WAIT FOR JANUARY 1

 It is time for my annual mention that a new year starts every day.  Everyone decides at the end of the common (Gregorian) calendar year  - December 31 – to make resolutions – to lose weight, to go back to school, and for most reading this list – to get organized, get rid of the clutter in the house and clean the house.  

But every day starts a new year and can be used the opening to make a resolution or attempt to make a permanent change in our lives.  Over the past week it was the start of the Jewish new year. The Jewish (religious) calendar starts with a holiday called Rosh Hashanah, which in literal translation means head of the year.  We eat sweet things to look forward to a sweet year to come.  It is followed 10 days later (which are called the Days of Awe) by another holiday called Yom Kippur (which means Day of Atonement).  It is a period in which Jewish people look back at the year which has passed and pray forgiveness for their “sins” – large and small and then fast on Yom Kippur and spend the day (in normal years) in the synagogue praying and asking forgiveness of God – having already spent the 10 days asking forgiveness of those around them for sins, slights, and related against those around them.  We also ask God to write us into the Book of Life for a good year to come (and boy do we all need that right now).  Understand that we are making resolutions to be better in the year to come – same as one makes resolutions to do so for December 31.  

The Chinese calendar's new year is between January 21 and February 20 – like the Jewish new year the day varies over different dates in the common calendar as the number of days in these calendars is not 365 as they are lunar calendar (12 months of 28 days each) with no annual adjustment for the difference between in the number of days between the lunar and solar calendars.  (We have leap months instead of leap days, an extra month added every so many years.)

Similarly the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar – in this case there is no adjustment for the difference between lunar and solar calendars so dates and holidays in the Islamic calendar as it rotates through it's 12 month cycle will annually fall at different times during the year.  

Okay, I know – you did not expect a class in calendars, but my point in this is that one does not have to wait for January 1 to decide that THIS is when you are going to make a change in your life – any day of the year can be your new year to make a resolution to change something about your life and start getting rid of clutter and getting organized  - and yes, even start doing better at the dreaded cleaning.  

Pick something to start with – it may not be what bothers you (or your loved about you) the most, but pick something and start doing it – today.  I won't say, as many do, that doing something on a regular basis makes it a habit, but instead each day deal with what you have picked to do.  When you get to the point where you think you have it control – it is another day and pick something else to do.

Right now – in the middle of writing this post I have to run down to the laundry (I heard it beep) and transfer the clothing to the dryer and throw in our Covid-19 face masks to wash in a separate load.  I will be right back, don't go away….  Okay, I am back.  

So don't wait for January 1 – start now by doing one thing new or change how you do something now – today is the start of a new year (and of course you can instead start tomorrow if you need to plan – it is the start of a new year also).  After all, you are probably home due to the corona virus pandemic anyway – might as well get something organized and get some rid of some unneeded stuff.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Our lives are very different than they were last year at this time.  Take the gift (and yes, every day of life is a gift) of the time you have and do SOME THING with it.  Work on getting organized – or ignore organizing to spend quality time with those you love.  

As I posted last week, my husband has recently decided that we should take a walk at a local park.  I would much rather be home getting work done, but I understand his need to go out and do something, anything.  It is just the two of us (and all the others also out walking or fishing or sitting or playing) as walk – not briskly, but not just strolling around the park.  Of course I have things waiting for me to do, but being with him and doing something he feels he needs to do is more important at this time.  We have all been reminded of what a precious gift life is.  Let us not waste our time here and do something for or with and spend time with those we love.

 

WORKING ON PAPEWORK EARLY TO SAVE MONEY ON REAL ESTATE TAXES - OOPS A WEEK LATE

My apologies - this post was written for and I thought I posted it on September 16.  While posting my September 23 post, I found this was still marked as draft -

  I am working on paperwork for a real estate credit that husband and I are entitled since we are over 65 and have an income on the low side.  This paperwork has to be filled in and filed annually.  Last year's filing ran something like 125 pages.  This is due to change they made last year.  We have to provide proof of all our business income and expenses.  The paperwork was crazy before this requirement, but with it….

At least this year I knew these extra records would be needed, so before I put away our financial records from 2019 I pulled out and scanned the needed paperwork into the computer – or at least I thought I did all of it.  I even made sure that the expenses for our two extremely small businesses added up to the tax return numbers which came from my computer software.  

The form to fill in and mail (or drop off) with the papers needed came and I started, slowly putting it all together.  I have combined various sections of what is needed with cover pages for each in my computer as pdf files.  It should not be hard, I had already scanned in the papers – right?  

General proof of income – 1099s and such, no problem.  Medical expenses (we can subtract this from our income in the calculation)  I had most of them ready – we have to have printouts, they do not accept paid bills or copies of checks that paid them as proof.  I had contacted and have this printouts from our medical insurance companies which is most of the expense.  In normal years we go into our pharmacy and they hand us printouts and we also bought eyeglasses last year and had planned to do same with the optician.  But this is not a normal year.  The optician is mailing the copies of our records, I still have to telephone our pharmacy about same.  

I had moved on to putting together the information from our businesses.  I thought I had it all – I had scanned them into the computer and just needed to finish assembling them.  But, neither business' receipts match the computer records of what they should be.  They are small amounts, but this process is so crazy – they may disallow the $1.90 here or the $20 there.  Hopefully if they do it will not affect the exemption amount by much.

Imagine having to put together all the expenses just from your car and having to make copies of all of them.  In this case I have to also give a breakdown of how much is from miles driven for husband's business and how many much for miles driven for mine and apportion the cost of each expense (which was already done for our income taxes).  How many small credit card receipts for gas do you end up with in a year?

While the cut off date to file this form and supporting paperwork is January 2, 2021, I don't like to wait until the last minute to deal with it.  Last year when we needed to go and bring in the paperwork to the county offices was when husband needed to get teeth added to his upper denture (also includeable as a medical expense for IRS and for this) and we ended up having the impression of his teeth taken and then driving to the county office – where he would have had to wait in the car anyway (no place to park), but in this case did not want to go in within without his teeth also.  So, since we are stuck in the house due to the corona virus pandemic anyway, I have been working on putting all this together and filing in the forms since August.  

We were discussing how we file the paperwork.  We used to mail to the county by certified mail.  In 2018 we mailed in the 2017 information for the 2019 taxes  (yes, it is terribly confusing) by mail as usual.  Then we received a month or so later a robo phone call from the county executive that we had not filed the papers!  I tried calling the office  - but the answering machine basically said “we are too busy to talk to you, don't bother us”  When I called again later in the day added to that message was “and don't try to come in here as there is no parking”.  This last part being true and has been decades, which was why husband dropped me off and waited in the car.   In a panic we reprinted and assembled everything to bring it to them.  In the interim a story on the news was that they were suppose to send the call to a few people who had filed in the past and had not yet filed, but they sent to every property owner in the county.  Unsure of if we were in the group whose paperwork had not been received, we drove to the office and I waited in their waiting room.  Luckily by the time we went there a couple of days after the call – the lines were no longer 5 hours long as they were the day after the mistaken calls.  They did have our paperwork.  

Last year we decided we go there (as we did) and turn in the paperwork in person and receive a receipt from them for it and did so.  We planned to continue to do so.  But we are now trying to decide since we are not going out due to Covid 19 – do we venture into the post office (that we don't go to, even overnight) to pick up our mail or do we go to the county office where I will wait my turn for what might be hours – but we will know for sure that they have our paperwork?  (Yes, the difference in what we pay in property taxes, especially the school taxes, with and without the exemption is enough to make it worthwhile.)  

Hopefully I will soon be done with the paperwork and we can decide which we will do and when.  I am guessing the early in the season for this, the fewer people who will be waiting, so I will try to finish as quickly as I can.  I did send an email to the head of the department and asked if they will have drive-up windows for this as they did for people to come in and pay the property taxes.  I don't figure they will or even that I will get an answer.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Use the time you are stuck in the house to get work done.  I have been catching up all sorts of paperwork and household chores that I have put off, well, for years since I am home.  Our shower soon might be even clean enough to actually not worry about getting dirtier when one takes one.  :-)

My thoughts and prayers both to those in the United States west where there are terrible fires and those in the southeast who have been going through yet another major hurricane this week.

COVID 19 #23 TAKING TIME OFF - IT'S A WALK IN THE PARK

 Husband does not like being in the house all time and has been getting very antsy about it.  He saw a post online of friends (a married couple that we went to college with) walking in a local park.  It started him thinking.  

He decided that if went for a walk in a park in the afternoon (we don't do mornings, especially now) during the week while children are in school and people are ate work, there would not be a big crowd of people at the park.  

He at first talked about the park our friends had been in, then decided he wanted to go a nearby park that he went to as a teenager and in his 20s to fish – not that he planned to fish.  I have been to this park with him before and as it was so important to him we would go.  We took our masks and my bug band (I get bitten by bugs when I go out and this was a park) and set off.  

There were a number of people at the park – it is also sort of a boat marina – but not overcrowded.  The sky was very overcast which might have cut back on the number of people out that day.  We spent about an hour there walking around and it made him rather happy to be out and about.

We watched boats out on the water.  Some people were fishing off the pier – when he would fish here, he would fish off the beach – that is not longer allowed.  We walked the path through the park.  There were benches along the path (not that we would sit on one right now) and as we walked I noticed that they had small plaques on them – not large ones – the sort that makes me think the town “sold” the benches – meaning these plaques placed on them – as a fund raiser for the park.  We read a couple of them as walked along, on our way back we stopped read most of them.  A lot of them were placed there by people who must come and sit there and sit there often or in memory of someone who did so from what was written on them.  One of them had an Irish flag taped to it.  

There is a fitness trail along the path and we looked at the various things to do for it along the way.  Even if we might otherwise be tempted to try some of the exercises suggested, we were too concerned about Covid-19 to touch any of it.  One of the things to do involved two high parallel bars – not sure if to hang from and chin up or hang from and walk across with one's hands – but it would be impossible for either us to do either as there was no way, even with jumping up, either of us could reach the bars.  

There was a paved spot in the park and husband was curious what it was.  I looked and noticed a small hilly area adjacent to it and commented that it must be an amphitheater – not remembering one from when he was there before, he was not sure so we went there and he agreed that it must be one.  

People there mostly had masks had on and had them on properly covering their nose and mouth.  They also mostly kept their 6 feet distance – other than mom's with children in carriages who would walk next to each other and take up the entire width of the path with no way to pass them when one was behind them or when was one was approaching them from the front.  We ended up walking onto the grass to pass a few of these pairs.  

It was a nice quiet day out.  He feels he needs to get out and walk more – so tomorrow we are going to the park our friends went to and take a walk there.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Well, as much as I like to stay in, I guess we do need to get out and have some exercise.

Have others been getting out for exercise also?  What have you been doing?

COVID 19 #22 STORING AND LISTING FOOD SO YOU CAN FIND IT IN THE FREEZER

 Last week I told you about our food shopping trip.  One thing I have to do at some point not too long after we go food shopping is write up new lists of what we have in the freezers so we use it all up and don't let anything go to waste by lack of memory.  

Everything that had to be was pushed into a freezer when we got home – other than a few items that were not frozen and could stay for a bit in the refrigerator, but needed to be frozen for longer time storage – such as fresh meat that will not be eaten for awhile.  I was not able when we got home to put a number of things in the freezer that makes more sense – meaning I try to keep packages that we pull out the items one or two at time in the upstairs freezer in the refrigerator – such as a package of hamburgers – so I have to run downstairs when we have same and pull out one burger for each of us – or just one for husband if I am eating something else.

Last Friday night I boiled the chicken we had bought.  Half of it was to be used for a Brunswick stew for Sunday night and the other half to be frozen for later use either in another of same or some other dish.  Since it takes quite awhile to cook the stew and the chicken meat has to cool down between being being cooked and being pulled off the bones for the stew, I often boil the chicken in advance so this is not unusual.  My plan was to make the actual stew Sunday afternoon.  I have to keep an eye on the stew while it is cooking so I also planned to do several chores downstairs at the same time so I would be nearby to check the stew and give it a stir every now and then.  

One of the things I planned to so was make new lists of what is in the freezers and see if I could switch anything around between the two so items I need to have in the kitchen are there and not down in the basement.  

I had cut a sheet of paper into 4 list shaped pieces across the width.  I used unused paper for this so there was nothing on the back of the lists to dirty the refrigerator door.  (I normally reuse paper that has been printed on and was an error, was something some website printed multiple pages when I only needed one part, and so forth- the back of the pages and often part of the front have no printing and it makes great scrap paper – full sheets or cut up.)

First I went to the basement to make a list for down there and see if I could juggle anything around to move some larger items (like second container of ice cream) to the basement freezer to have room in the upstairs freezer for the items I would prefer to keep up there for convenience.  This was not to be. I brought 2 pieces of the paper cut to make lists and a pencil – and a large towel that we have using to cover the kitchen table when we bring in new food items to let the alcohol they were rubbed with to kill any Covid 19 on the items.  I had to take things out of the freezer downstairs shelf by shelf to see what was there – there are 3 shelves and I put this on the floor so the food is not sitting on the floor itself.  I mark one list basement (or B) and “meat” on its top.  The second one is also marked on top for the basement and as “other”.  Technically not everything on the “meat” list is meat – it actually means main dish type item.  The “other” list is vegetables, bread, and so on that is not a main dish.  I rearranged the freezer so things fit it into better and listed the items on the papers.  

We have been buying what I call “frozen box meals” - by this I mean those meals intended for a family that are popped into the oven, cook an hour or so and are a main course and often also the vegetables and starch are mixed into the entree – examples of this is a prepared lasagna, turkey bake, and things such as small meatloaves or Salisbury steaks – these latter two need to have the side dishes cooked separately for them. We buy 2 each of a few kinds of each and have them Friday and Sunday nights when we used to go out for dinner in the normal days before the corona virus.  I stacked them so that the same dishes were together with the older ones on top of the newer ones so that when I take one – it is the older one.  

We have a few items which take up more room than they should for what they are.  Back in May husband ordered a 5 pound bag of frozen corn and a bag about the same size of french fries from BJs when we ordered from them.  I am maybe halfway through the bag of corn and it takes up a lot of room.  I just finally opened the bag of french fries – we also had 2 normal sized bags of french fries that we had to use up first before opening this one.  Add to that husband bought a bag of meatballs when we went to Walmart back in May and it was almost the size – and he does not like them.  So after one dinner from them, they were sitting in the freezer taking up space – possibly to do so long after the pandemic ends – so I decided I would eat them for dinner when he has something I do not particularly like.  Unfortunately one of the reasons he does not like them is that they have too much garlic.  So when I have them I have to go upstairs and rinse out my mouth with mouth wash after wards.  They are small meatballs and 6 are suppose to be a serving.  It will take at least a month and a half or longer to finish the bag, so last week I upped the serving size to 8 meatballs – every 3 weeks is one week less I will be eating them and one week faster that I get the space from them back in the freezer.  When these 3 items are finished and gone from the freezer and a normal bag of french fries and a normal size bag of corn are there instead the freezer will hold a lot more things.

As I am removing all these things from the freezer and rearranging them – periodically I run upstairs to check and stir the stew.

I then went upstairs and started on the freezer in the refrigerator.  I took out most of the items on the bottom shelf and put them on the kitchen table.  These 2 lists were the labeled the same way as downstairs except they were labeled as “upstairs” instead of “basement”.  I rearranged the items in this freezer as I listed them and then put them back.  Up here are things like leftover gravies and cranberry sauce. (Did you know can freeze these things?  We only use half a can of gravy and I froze ¾ of the can of cranberry sauce in ¼ of the can size in small plastic containers (pudding sized) when I opened the can and we had the first ¼ can with sliced (deli type) turkey.  Also on this shelf is frozen bread (none yet from this purchase) and frozen hot dog and hamburger rolls so they last longer as we are shopping much less often than normal.  I then took out the items on the top shelf and did the same.  Our top shelf is a lot taller than our bottom one and I had bought a good sized plastic “basket” that I put small items into to keep them together and also stand up bags in so it is easier to see them and I can take out the entire “basket” to check what it is in it.  I have frozen eggs in this basket, as well as frozen meats in portions to use.  Husband had ordered from BJs back in May 3 boxes of eggs (3 pounds) but they did not have them and he accepted a 5 pound restaurant pack of eggs instead.  We don't eat eggs early (or breakfast) and needed them to cook things.  We had worked our way through one of the two layers when the good by date came up and we froze the rest.  To freeze an egg one has to crack it open and mix the yolk and white so that the yolk is not intact.  (If left in the shell or the yolk intact they will expand too much and break the shell and/or the yolk.)  In the old days when I did this with maybe four or five eggs I would put them in plastic, lidded pudding cups – but I did not have dozens of cups.  I put a plastic sandwich in each of 5 cups at a time and put in some cups one egg and others two eggs – if we do eat eggs – a bag of 2 is used for each, if we need 3 (say for a cake mix) take a bag of two and a bag of one or 1 for something we take – we take a bag of one egg.  I have the 2 eggs in one plastic zip bag and the 1 eggs in another.  I list of all of the items up here the same way – main dishes on the
“upstairs meat” list and the rest on the “upstairs other” list.  To make dealing with and finding the frozen vegetables easier – when I open a bag of same I put the contents in a labeled quart zip bag which is labeled with the vegetable name and the date it is good until.  I reuse these bags when I use up the contents and change the good until date.  I have them – ready for this?  In alphabetical order in the lower shelf in the kitchen freezer door – easy to find.  

Having finished dealing with the freezers and listing their contents  (while stirring the stew in between) I put all of the lists on the refrigerator door with magnets (no point to having the downstairs freezer list downstairs – then I would have to go downstairs to see what I have – if all the lists are upstairs it I can see everything while upstairs.

These lists would not work as well when we are shopping normally – they would have to updated instead of replaced  - they work now being replaced as there are major changes each time due to the length of time between shopping trips.  

Since the stew was still not finished (it cooks a LONG time), I then stored away my July Lucy and Me  figurines from the living room and put my September ones – the August ones never went out.  Again, I was close to the kitchen to keep checking the stew.  

When the stew was almost finished I made some biscuits from refrigerated biscuit dough (this is not the same as the frozen biscuits, although the same brand) to go with the stew.  Freezer contents listed, frozen food arranged a bit better and easier to use, Lucy and Me bears out for the month and dinner cooked – all at the same time.  A good day of organizing and a bit fun in changing the bears.

THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK -

1 – If you have do something to do that takes awhile, but must be watched – see if there are other things you can do in the same or nearby physical location so time waiting to stir or check on the pot is not wasted.

2 – List what you have in your freezer (and for some people – also what is in your refrigerator – so you know what you have.

COVID 19 #21 - FOOD SHOPPING DURING THE TIME OF CORONA

 We went shopping for food this past Monday.  We almost made it through August without a full food run – just a small run to our local supermarket for Diet Coke (first time we have bought since before the stay at home – we had been drinking it only a half glass with Saturday night dinner, and then only since the start of May.  We also bought some other items which are not sold at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at which we have done our food shopping.  

I have been using a ¼ strip of a page of paper on the refrigerator for a shopping list and then when we start to talk about going shopping I have been copying the list into a spreadsheet file.   I try to sort by where I think the items are located in the store as I don't want to take out my pen and to cross items we have found off of the list and want to avoid having to double back for missed items also. This trip I did two related things – I brought a pencil stub to write with (if I felt it should not come home, I could toss it out when we left the store) and I also used the back of the shopping list (and the pencil stub) to list generally the items in the food aisles, especially those we buy.  I realized my shopping list was pretty close to where the items were located anyway – I did have 2 aisles reversed in the list.  Next trip I will try to list what is in which aisle of the non-food items.  

Before we went I had started making a master list of items we buy or might buy in the supermarket to make sure that when making future lists I don't forget anything.  (List is mostly made by husband saying or my realizing that we just took the last of something or have few enough of the item left to last beyond a week or so or one of us saying something like - “hmmm, wouldn't it be nice to have “Brunswick stew” (or something else) for dinner – do we have what we need to make it?”  After I returned home I resorted the master list by which aisles I had found the items to be in.  The master list is in 3 columns (so more of it can be seen at time while making up the shopping list – in a 4th column) – food, cold food, and non-food.  By looking down the list as I make up our shopping list for the upcoming supermarket trip I can make sure I don't miss anything.  Maybe we will continue to shop for more than a day or two at time, like we used to in the old years when I did the food shopping alone while husband was still working outside the house, it does work very well.

We found most of the items we were looking for – I could swear that supermarkets carry Chinese hard noodles – maybe it is just this store that does not.  It took him 10 minutes to decide which “I think want different cookies this time” he wanted.  He likes nicer than white bread when he has a sandwich, so he bought an Italian loaf baked in the store and wanted to buy rye bread.  The rye bread is small compared to the white bread and the what we call – the store bread so he decided to buy 2 loaves.  (We bought 4 loaves of white bread, use one and part of one fresh and freeze the rest as the expiration date approaches.)  In normal years we maybe buy one loaf of white or store bread and maybe don't have any bread in the house for long periods of time.  He could not decide between the “hard” and the “soft” rye breads from the same company – I told him to buy one of each and then decide which he liked better for next time, we did.

I figured while we were shopping we should buy some ant traps – generally need them on and off.  We could not find the bug spray section.  I asked an employee – he pointed at a rack hanging from the end of an aisle.  None there – I mentioned this and he sent me to Aisle 16 – made sense to me that was dog food and stuff for the house – only another rack hanging from the end cap – guess there is not much of a calling for bug killer stuff in the supermarket?  When/if we go to a regular Walmart I will check there and buy same.  

And now – the big disorganization happens.  In the trips we have taken to this Walmart for groceries – about 3 or 4 times since the stay at home started – there have been no lines at checkout other than at self checkout. This time it seemed there were big lines at all of the registers – and the lines ran up the aisles and people were close together.  Husband picked a line.  I was concerned that it was a small number of items or less checkout and went up to check.  I then saw that where we normally check out seemed now to be empty.  I went and checked and it was – problem – not going to take out cell phone with gloves I have on and he won't check – so I had to run back to him and then back to stand at register while he figured out how to get there.  (Umm, go to back of store and up the big aisle that comes forward – this took a lot of thinking? And he walked there so slowly.)

The system he has developed for food shopping is he wear gloves and pushes the cart. I wear gloves and select the items and put them in the cart.  (To his mind this keeps the cart and food unvirused.)  So I have to take the items out of the cart and put them on the belt for the cashier.  (Before the pandemic we only did self-checkout, now we always go to a cashier.)  I put the heavier cold items first and then the lighter cold items, followed by the heavier not cold items and finally the lighter not cold items.  We want the cold items bagged together so we can deal with them first when we get home before they warm up – both for wiping off with alcohol on paper towel piece and then figuring where to fit the items in the freezers (one is part of refrigerator and the other is a small dorm refrigerator sized one in our basement).  Fitting them in is not easy.  An example – we have been buying what I call frozen box dinners – these are the precooked, heat up, commercial company frozen meals in the freezer cases. I told him we had room for 7 of them (based on what we had used and the room I had for stacking them).  He picked out 6 of them – okay, that's better as more room for something else, right?  He then decides to buy a box of frozen fried chicken (which I reminded him he did not like last time and that there was much less in the box than it looks like it will have) – it almost the size of 2 of the boxed dinners.  I explained to him that we could buy that – but one of the box dinners has to go back due to space limitations.  He found a bag of fried chicken strips instead.  

I started putting the items on the belt to be rung up. It is again a huge order as we are buying for a month and hopefully beyond.  He is standing there watching me – remember, only I can touch the food.  I finally suggest he go to the other end and watch how the cashier is bagging the items.  He comes back.  The cashier is not bagging them – they do not have any bags!!  He starts to panic.  I unpack as quickly as I can and then start reloading the food she has rung up into the cart, thinking all the time what to do.  Oddly I had looked at the two reusable shopping bags we had gotten back at the end of February when the state was going to no disposable plastic bags and thought about about bringing them, but did not.  We had brought one disposable bag as he sprays the cart with Lysol before we start using it and I like to hide in the van as it is in such demand this days.  I figured we must have other bags in the van and told him we would be okay.  When I asked the cashier if this was something permanent – they had run out of bags at 2 pm.  (This was 5-6 pm.)  Not sure if it was a question of people doing extra food shopping as heavy rain was to come for the rest of the week (which is why we were shopping Monday), it was the last day of the month or what, but good to know it was not a change in policy.

In the car I had about 4 disposable plastic shopping bags, a paper shopping bag (bigger than a supermarket bag from some other store), and clean plastic garbage bags – I am guessing leftover from craft shows we have done and used them to carry woven items or such.  I put the breads in the paper shopping bag – just fit all of them (including a pack each of hot dog and hamburger rolls).  I put cold items into the 4 plastic bags which took most, but not all of them.  I then used one garbage bag for the rest of the cold items and a couple of garbage bags for the non-cold food.  

When we got home we dealt with the cold food in the shopping bags first and then I used the empty shopping bags to bring in the rest of the cold food.  After the cold food was put away, I started on the non-cold food, again using the shopping bags to bring them in – bread came in last.  

After all of this time and work – we came up short a rye bread!  We thought we lost it on the way on home after paying for it, but when we checked the receipt – we had never paid for it – either it fell out of the wagon, did not make it up the belt at the register – or a fairy took it out of the cart – and with how things are lately, I am so not sure it was not the last.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

It pays to make a shopping list before going shopping all the time – better than a trip back for a forgotten item.  Even more so now with the Corona virus about.  It helps one deal with a larger order quicker and with much fewer running back for items not remembered as one went through their aisle.  Today much more so than even before – one wants to go in, shop, and get out as quickly as possible to spend as little time out near people as possible.

A good Labor Day holiday to those in the U.S.