Good evening everyone! Today was grocery delivery day. Yesterday, my friend went to the small fruit and veggie market by the train tracks for lovely veggies, because she and I always have loooong veggie lists.
Today was Trader Joe's.
I am stocked up lavishly with fresh meats, cheese, and veggies...
My fave spring treat, multicolored radishes.
Mo's chicken jerky wraps....
and my pantry is stocked up with plenty of things like pasta, rice, quinoa.
The only fruit I use is lemons.
Since I have medical issues that make me high risk for the virus/ death, I am blessed to have my wonderful friend who shops for me. I was hoping that the trips were not too onerous for her, she is normally a young, very healthy, very active business executive and she is not loving being isolated at home. Grocery shopping is her once every ten days outing. But today when she came after her Trader Joe run, she was tense and exhausted and very stressed. I felt so bad. She said, It's awful, it's like the Hunger Games. I won't be going again soon!"
More than an hour wait in line.
And it is cold and windy here. [Would we all feel a bit better if the weather was warmer? I'm shivering here in my hooded down vest as I type. It is COLD.]
Trader Joe's has consistently had the items on my list.They even had paper towels and dish soap!
And some treats, like a grapefruit soy candle she stuck in my bag, or a small box of chocolate macaroons.
No Triscuits though, anywhere. She brought chips instead.
No toilet paper.
Of course no flowers.
.................................................
I was somewhat shocked today to read a comment on a British blog: "It appears to be the extremely elderly in our shops who cannot manage the social distancing. And I wonder why they are out anyway."
How unkind!
I have someone to shop for me; many many older folks do not have that network of friends, or their friends are also elderly. But they still must mask up and go to the store. Elderly people have to eat too. I think how frightened and shaken my mom would have been and though I miss her each and every day, in a way I am thankful she has passed on and is spared our world now.
I do feel like I impose on friends' kindness, and have been making masks to repay in a small way. Another friend brought a huge case of paper towels, he had gone to Costco. But I investigated online orders and delivery. Amazon is either wildly overpriced or out of stock; last week. Target had a few necessities,
but yesterday, nothing.
And I tried the local big supermarket chain, Stop and Shop, whose web info I'd clipped from Pennysaver at the crisis's beginning.
So after years of bragging up their home delivery service, their website has this to say:
Oh and why no Charmin? Same reason there is no milk etc etc. Because almost everyone is staying home there has been about a 40% increase in demand for use at home products; while the same products normally sold in bulk to schools, institutions, and other volume users cannot quickly be repackaged for home use [think school cartons of milk, or a hotel chain's massive unwrapped supply of crappy toilet paper. ]
And it seems quality TP is made from farmed American and Canadian wood pulp. In March Trump alienated the Canadians and their prime minister by refusing to share medical items {''you're on your own''] and the big paper mills, like Georgia Pacific couldn't get raw materials. And also P & G plants that make Charmin, Pampers and other paper goods are diverting to make masks. Add in corona virus in their plants and warehouses, social distancing creating delays in their manufacturing systems, and possibly trucking delays, and we have a shortage.
Next is meat, as again, the virus is shutting down meat processing plants.
[This info is taken from various sources on the web, including manufacturers' websites. It makes sense to me, even if it provides no fixes. But I cannot totally vouch for internet info's accuracy. I did my best to find answers, sharing my finds.]
Of course we just will endure. And make masks.
Here is dinner:
Looks like all is well, doesn't it. But portions are small [by choice at this point], foods must last.
love and hugs to all. Send me your out and about pics.
love
lizzy
gone to the beach....
.
oh and here is a shrink weighing in on why everyone is having bad dreams: dreams
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It’s good to see you’re getting some groceries. The shelves are getting filled up here. Our numbers of virus are really low and they’re looking to ease restrictions around May 11th. Schools are only open for children of essential workers untill the end of June. They want the over 60’s to be restricted until a vaccine is available, which is not going to be until Sept. 2021. Its not going to be easy to stay home that long. The veggie patch in the back garden has been wonderful but we also eat a lot of fruit and it’s not long lasting, so we get them weekly and prices have certainly risen. They keep saying life after virus will be different. Stay well. Keep blogging.
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear you are getting re-stocked there. What a wonderful friend you have;))) I am having to go out myself as Instacart orders kept getting pushed ahead (who's that cutting in line I ask??) as it was, there would be a 6 day delay--when it got to 12 days--I gave in and masked and gloved up will go..Perhaps next Wednesday when this cold releases its grip on me.
ReplyDeleteI, too am relieved that Mom has passed from this earthly sphere and her Nursing Home
before this pandemic arrived. Though I do still miss her dearly...
I do so wish our weather would warm up--this constant grayness and rain is disheartening...
Hang in there and stay safe
~ ~ ~ waving from under the eaves--peering out at more rain Julierose;(((
Your friend did a great job of shopping for you. Your dinner looked positively yummy. No out-and-about photos for me, with mask on and grocery list in hand I don't bother carrying a camera. Ventured out yesterday for a few things, meat was atrociously expensive except for the lone package of cube steaks which I bought. They ended up tough as nails, despite cooking them the way we always do and until now they've been wonderfully tender. Oh well, the flavor was good anyway. Balked at the fresh spinach prices, though we're almost out. The store I shopped at yesterday was out of a lot of staples (rice, most flour, yeast, etc.) but had an abundance of the pre-packaged "instant" types like Rice-a-roni or whatever the current thing is. Tonight is take-home fish-fry for us, looking forward to that! The constant rain/snow is depressing. We need sunshine more than anything else! Take care my friend!
ReplyDeleteThe Canadian saw mills have cut lumber production due to the slumping in the new home market because of Covid. Wood chips are a by product of lumber production, therefore they are hard to come by. ( paper products are hard to come by in Canada also.)
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense for the long term picture of paper product supply, but I am finding it hard to believe Proctor and Gamble has/ had NO inventory for short term immediate replacement? March 8 , I was at my medical clinic appt and the MD and staff pooh poohed the threat of the virus when I asked about precautions; on March 11 I went to the grocery store and all was pretty normal. I bought my usual one pack of Charmin rom filled shelves. Suddenly on Friday March 13m NY state & NYC went crazy, w/ virus fear and stay at home orders, work at home and layoffs. By mid afternoon there was no toilet paper to be had. That's crazy! But my question is, why is there no inventory in P & G warehouses to replenish that necessity depleted by panic buying, still---six weeks later? It just seems terribly poorly planned business practices.
DeleteLoved this post! I read parts to hubby. Since my hubby worked for Ace, we know when the trucks come in each week. So he went down on Thursday and was able to score some TP and garbage bags. I'm still ordering from Wal-Mart for pickup and they now have us staying in our cars. I haven't shopped in a store for over a month. Can't say I miss it. You take care. Kit
ReplyDeleteAwww, your friend did great! It's a mixed bag here. No line at TJ's this week, but forget about Target,long lines at two different locations, and it was HOT here, so no waiting in line for me. The regular grocery had no line, yay, or so I thought before I got in there and there were people everywhere, ugh. I was like Elaine in the Seinfeld episode where she's stuck on the subway. My internal dialogue was expletive filled. I haven't had any luck with home delivery of groceries either. I had ordered a much needed pair of shorts from Kohls. Did curbside pickup and it was very smooth. If I need anything else clothing-wise, or to replace small appliances, I will use them again.
ReplyDeleteInteresting info regarding tiolet paper shortages, etc. Makes sense, especially the part about things being packaged for home use, as opposed to public/commercial use.
Hmmm, it hit 90 here yesterday. I would be tempted to trade with you. Supposed to be 9 degrees cooler today, yay! We've been walking after dark this week, so no photos. Will def send if I get any good ones though.
Take care, enjoy the good food...and that candle :)
Kel
And, I am relieved that my folks don't have to live through this. I've had that thought on more than one occasion, and am relieved to read that people feel similarly. --Kel
DeleteThank goodness for kind neighbours, friends and our local Spar supermarket who have been amazingly efficient in putting emailed orders (2 days ahead)together which you collect in their parking lot. This can't be said for other high end supermarket whose online order dept at head office 600 miles away, had a month waiting list and when our order arrived, half was out of stock or went missing in transit.
ReplyDeleteWe've instituted a sort of barter system with immediate neighbours which works well. Like you I produce masks in exchange for avos, fresh garden veg, potato bread and even olive, chive and cheese muffins which are wrapped and hung on gateposts.
Your meal looks delicious. well done.
I found the dream link interesting. The new enforced lifestyle also brought back childhood memories of vegetable gardens and abundant fruit trees that everyone in our neighbourhood had. I find myself going back to my Mum's and Gran's recipes which is comforting as well as a necessity for making banana bread with the sudden glut of ripe bananas. Penny
Covid Times! Things are sure different than before. I never anticipated living through a situation like this.
ReplyDeleteI took a quick trip to our Trader Joe's on Friday. I wondered if mid-afternoon was bad timing and when we got there we saw about 20 or so people in line. My husband was ready to leave but it's a bit of a drive for us so he sat in the shade and I stood in line. It didn't take long to get in. After reading this post I was surprised that they had flowers (beautiful ones, too), their long loaves of bread, and the nut packs I eat for breakfast. It was not too crowded inside but people didn't seem to mind being within a foot of each other. I hope I didn't pick up a virus while I was there!
TP was scarce here for a while but I lucked out - I had gone to WalMart a couple weeks before the stay-home thing and gotten a couple big packs of TP like usual (because I have space in a closet for it and I haven't been going shopping much recently so decided to get extra while I was there). So that was one less thing to worry about (plus I have a bidet seat on my potty, lol!). I can live without bread, my rice canister was still nearly full, and I bought some canned veggies and soups for just-in-case. My daughter works at the local grocery store and picked up the occasional items if in stock, but my hubby ventured out several times, too. Small town advantages - never too crowded, they limited how many people could be in the store at once, and offered curbside and delivery for elderly and at-risk folks. Meat is limited, but I had canned tuna, chicken, and beef in my pantry, so we've been fine. I have to wonder, though, how many people will decide to find space to stock a small pantry for 'just in case' now, after experiencing scarcity for probably the first time ever?
ReplyDelete