Friday, March 13, 2020

PANDEMIC PREPARATIONS

We don't think we need any real introduction with this post.  There is a pandemic occurring around the world and it grows and threatens us here at home.

We have both been on this Earth more than 50 years.  Not even during the hurricane threats we've had,  have we EVER  seen what is going now in stores across Houston and we presume everywhere.


Masks, gloves and alcohol are gone.  This is the sight in several stores I frequent.


And forget about hand soap.  It's gone.


Hand sanitizer?  Ha, there is NONE to be had at ANY store ANYWHERE in Houston.


While regular masks are gone, one store put out these $5 packages of dust and filter masks. We keep hearing conflicting info about masks.  They help...they don't help.  I'm thinking if we step into an elevator where someone is coughing maybe they will do something?  Or just peace of mind?


They are limiting products at most stores.


All bleach products are gone.  So are the disinfecting sprays and wipes.


Water?  Gone.


There were a few soups left on this day but a few days later they were gone. I actually had someone in the store ask if I had seen any soup anywhere else.


Canned beans were almost completely gone.  Notice what they still had some of; garbanzo beans (chickpeas).  I guess those weren't flying off the shelf this day.  My guess is now, they are gone.


Crackers gone except for these three boxes (I put one of them in my basket).


This was wild.  The entire frozen vegetable section (it's about three times as long as this picture) was empty.  Hard to see in this picture because of the reflection but all that was left were a few bags of edamame and some frozen corn on the cob.


Ramen noodles, the dinner food of many a college student, gone.  We actually snagged a few at another store that were 15 cents each.  I picked up a dozen.  It can't hurt to have and when we have had them in the past, we like to doctor them up and make them more gourmet, ha.


This scene just blew my mind.  No toilet paper.  No paper towels.  No Kleenex.  I mean in pictures further up, there might be a few scattered items left in a category but not here.  There was NOT A SINGLE PRODUCT on this aisle.  Fortunately a couple of weeks ago before the run on the stores, I bought our normal 14 pack of mega rolls so we should be fine on that for awhile.  

When it comes to food, we are well stocked.  I've been buying over the last few weeks just in case and now that things seem to be getting exponentially worse, I'm glad I did.

We have plenty of food now.  Rice, beans (canned and dried), lentils, lots of pasta, soups, canned meats, tomatoes products, "cream of" soups, frozen veggies, lots of longer lasting meats (sausages, bacon, ham), cheeses, 4 dozen eggs, peanut butter, jellies, potatoes, onions, flours, sugars, coffee, waters, tea, condiments, and much more.  I don't think we've ever been this well stocked.  The freezer already has some frozen meats like pork loin roasts, pork chops, beef shank, and more.

The only thing we should get are some fresh meats like ground beef, chicken, etc.  We're going to get that this weekend and vacuum seal some to freeze, maybe cook a few chickens and take the meat off for use in future meals, things like that. 

We are living in an interesting and somewhat frightening times.  More on that in a future post.

Hang in there friends!

18 comments:

  1. My wife and I went shopping this morning and found exactly the same situation - empty shelves everywhere. We are not sure if it was panic buying or sensible preparedness. Roderick

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  2. Just is just nuts. When does this become just hoarding and greed and not things we actually need. My good blogger friend Cookie had this lovely post and makes sense. Get a grip people.

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  3. By the way,Lysol is deadly for cats!

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  4. this hoarding is so fucking stupid. people have lost their fucking minds. I'mma gonna live my life and do what I gotta do, but I'mma gonna use common sense and logic.

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  5. Based on the symptoms caused by covid19 so far, it seems only the frail elderly and children and adults with pre existing compromising conditions are at major risk. Tt would seem prudent for anyone in those groups to self isolate. Unfortunately the run on grocery items makes it much more difficult for them to take appropriate action. Has anyone predicted the supply chain is going to be disrupted? I am actually in an area where we have been advised to have 2 weeks food on hand. We are accessible by sea and air only and if a large number of personnel from those companies were to fall ill, service would stop resulting in no food deliveries. So far it would seem, like you, people have been increasing the amounts they buy over time so no clearing of shelves. Time will tell.

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  6. In Alabama, the shelves are still partially filled with limits on how much of certain items one can buy. I was in ER yesterday, not for virus, but wanted a mask. They told me there was none in AL. I remarked that there were cases here, just not detected yet. I awoke to hear of a case of coronavirus. And, at five there were another two and two suspected. So, today the stores were packed.

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  7. We've heard that two grocery stores in the Buffalo area were closed down because they were out of stock. The nearest case is hundreds of miles away, but by God we're prepared. I did go and buy a mega pack of toilet paper earlier this week because we already stock up on months of food and if I were one of the ones who ran out of toilet paper I would just feel stupid. Fully stoked Tuesday. Gone by last evening. I wonder how much of this food will end up going to waste because people lose their urgency

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  8. We are well stocked. But, I intend to do take out from my favorite restaurants. They will need the business.

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  9. We stopped at Target a couple of days ago. The shelves were fully stocked with everything. I even saw masks. I need to go to Costco sometime soon. I'll see how they're doing with supplies. I already have plenty of soap, paper towels, and cleaning products. When I go to Costco, it will pretty much be a normal shopping trip for us. We need a little more food in the house or we'll be living on peanut butter sandwiches. I hope you find everything you need.

    Love,
    Janie

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  10. The stores have been stripped pretty bare recently. I topped up my pantry and supplies a couple of weeks ago. I need to always keep a well-stocked pantry because if my asthma flares up, I can be sick for sometimes weeks. My fall-winter garden is still producing, I have citrus in my refrigerator from my orchard, and I’m planting my spring garden. I’m continuing to eat healthy to keep up my immune system. I intend to be careful but sensible.

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  11. People; does anyone at all remember the Swine flu that hit about 10 years ago?
    That was much worse than what is going on now. Back then millions of people where infected, thousands dies and over 300,000 thousand where hospitalized.
    The Coronaviruses was going on in Chine some years back and then just never said anything about it. Now, if a person where to put coronavirus flu instead of virus; people wouldn't be in such a panic as they are now But what is the flu...…….It's a virus, just like the measles, chicken pox, mumps, etc. All are a virus of some sort.
    It's the news people that is putting the panic into people.

    Do you know that using sanitizer all the time is not a good thing. We have what they call good germs & bad germs so buy constantly using sanitizer on your hands you are not only killing the bad germs but also the good germs all because your hands get immuned to sanitizers and will no longer do any good. You are much better to use bar soap or a soft soap of some sort, washing your hands for at least 20 seconds and rinsing well. Rubbing alcohol or plain ole Vodka is also a good thing to use on your hands.
    With anything; all it takes is common sense and not to panic. Ten years from now; just like the Swine flu; no one will remember.

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    Replies
    1. Well said Colleen.
      The Red Cross guidelines for household preparedness include stocking up enough food & water, batteries, etc to last your family for 30 days.

      Then shop weekly or bi-monthly, rotating the items in your pantry to immediate use and replacing them with the just purchased.

      Something else we should all always have on hand is emergency cash money (yes, young ones, there is actual legal tender that you can touch), in all denominations but mostly small bills, a good idea to keep gas tanks full.

      I am curious - don't grocery stores offer delivery down there? The town I live closest still takes orders over the phone, picks the order, and delivers it into the house, for $5.
      If your stores were to do the same (but order online mostly), they could limit all contact with customers by delivering to the doors and asking that customers not open their doors until the delivery person has stepped a few feet away. That would also solve the hoarder problem and everyone could have what they need.
      I mean, seriously, who needs 300 mega-packages of toilet paper to get through 30 days?

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  12. Being prepared is one thing, but there's some wild shopping going on. I was at the store the other day and saw a guy with four gallons of bleach! Unless he plans to bathe in it, there's no way he could go through it before it loses efficacy.

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    Replies
    1. We go through bleach regularly, but four gallons will last us about a month. Carol uses bleach some in the washing machine. I pour it in the toilets, the sinks, and splash it around the bathtub and the shower. I'm a bleach afficianado.

      Love,
      Janie

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