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!