How are you holding up?

[UncleTim]

So much of our conversation revolves around equipment and logistics of using our equipment. I can't help but wonder how everyone is coping on a personal basis.

I have been isolated since early March, because I am at the tale end of a preexisting condition. A respiratory issue lasting 30 months. Oh joy, the threat of getting this after that! Almost normal for now! Feeling like driving up North to fetch my new trailer.

Our days are full of working on our jobs, we are both still employed, and fixing very nice dinners together and just enjoying each other's company. I am lucky, I have been married to a spectacular woman for 34 years now. So this is bringing us closer together and providing an opportunity to spend quality time together. The walks have been great. We are allowed to go outside in Colorado.

Every week the rules change but we are lucky in that all we have to do is stay safe. We hope you guys are safe too.

How are you feeling about things? How are you holding up?

[Donna D.]

Thanks for asking! I'm doing fine. Some days better than others, but better than no days. I have plenty of food, although I've only gone out four times in the past 49 days to shop for groceries during early morning Senior Hours. What I miss the most is the spontaneity of go-out-when-I-want. Because I live alone, it's very, very quiet. I can go a week or more without using my voice. But I feel blessed as I'm safe and well.

[Jim Bennett]

Everything is just fine. Wish I saw more of my kids and grandkids, friends too.

I do talk to lots of folks out on my daily walk of an hour or so, all at a safe distance. I have had a couple material suppliers come out to the house, like fireplace and stairs, but no hand shaking and no kissing either.

Had a good get together last Friday, sitting outside having cocktails, all at a safe distance.

Trips to the supply store are usually only once, maybe twice a week, and there they are very strict on following good and safe practices while there. This is good to see. In lumber yards I have to load all my own stuff as they are practising keeping a distance, the only other option being delivery.

I too wish I could just head out anywhere I like,. at any time I wish, and not to have to worry about viruses. Hopefully not too far out.

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Donna
Glad to hear you’re doing well. I was interested and n your comment about not using your voice. Rita gets tired of hearing me (imagine that). But I gotta use my voice so I’m talking to myself a lot and answering myself too. Then there’s my time alone in the car. I listen to about
4 or 5 radio stations. And that lets me do some singing where I’m not bothering anyone. It is refreshing to talk to folks even if through a mask and at a distance. I bought an oil filter at a tractor shop today. Four men in line all distancing and all wearing masks. I couldn’t help myself I said “If I didn’t know better I’d say Jesse James came to North Liberty to rob a tractor store” Got a Laugh which made me feel good.
Iowa Dave

[cpaharley2008]

Donna,
Get your self a dog, great companions, especially if from the local rescue.....you will never feel alone again..... Between 4 cats and 2 dogs and about 4 dozen koi in an outdoor pond, my days are very fulfilling...oh and let us not forget Noelia loves to hum around the house.

[Donna D.]

Really I'm fine. Not lonely, just alone. And I swear at the television occasionally. That counts!

[gbaglo]

What I want to know is, when self isolating is over, are they going to make me go out?

[h2owmn]

I'm doing pretty well now that the weather is nice. The first few weeks were dreary and rainy and that was unpleasant. I was grateful that no one had to endure me then.

As one of my friends said in a chat last weekend, I am finding my inner introvert. I have been semi-constantly on the go for the 9 years I've been retired, so "homebody" is quite new to me. I feel very lucky to live in a rural area at the end of a dead end road with forest around me. Now that the weather is nice, the house is opened up and I hear the birds, and often wildlife (fox, turkeys, raccoons, deer, and last week a skunk) wanders by. I can FaceTime or zoom with both my kids and my grandkids. I was invited to virtual dinner last week at my son's home which is 500 miles away, so, I had to make my own dinner, but the table conversation was fun.

I'm a retired educator and I am very glad I am not still working. The teachers I know are having a hard time, and those with small children are doing double duty.

Several closets are cleaned and organized, and on the list is clean the garage. It's not looking like this will be over soon, so I will actually have to do it. A workman I know is going to turn a former woodshed into a "carport" for the escape in a couple weeks. That will be welcome and exciting.

Lastly, it is nice to stay in touch with folks here. The humor and camaraderie are appreciated. I wish all of you good health.

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

What I want to know is, when self isolating is over, are they going to make me go out?

Good one!

Before Covid19, some of our neighbors never came out. Now they can't stay in... They are going to wear out their ATVs.

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

...As one of my friends said in a chat last weekend, I am finding my inner introvert.

...Several closets are cleaned and organized, and on the list is clean the garage. It's not looking like this will be over soon, so I will actually have to do it.

...Lastly, it is nice to stay in touch with folks here. The humor and camaraderie are appreciated. I wish all of you good health.

LOL and very nice post. It feels like we are going to wear out the dishwasher over here. The cat is having a hard time napping all day with all the racket.

[escape artist]

Hi: UncleTim... Thanks for asking.
I'm much better now that the "Cooking wine" is here!!! Since my wife drinks Red and I can't, I cook with White. Every day I'm in the kitchen banging pots and pans to create meals.
My wife is going thru shopping withdrawl. One trip to the grocery for seniors hour at 7 am just doesn't cut it!!! Ordering online and doing pickups at arms length is quite foreign too.
At least we are Corona free and send only good wishes to all the "Front line workers" out there!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Bobbie54]

I'm luckier than most. Retired, so not laid off. Stocked up early before any of the shutdowns so am only now starting to run low on things (I routinely order bulk TP and had just done so in late February). I'm going to run out of yeast soon though. I live where I can walk on the beach or in the countryside without running into anyone (sometimes). I've got plenty to do. I have half the garage shelves built except for the flat part, and working on the second half, and I have my garden planted.

Mainly I miss going camping- missed one trip so far and likely the second one will be canceled, too- and having dinners with a group of local friends. And I miss our local orchestra and dog training activities. I missed a trip to see the grandkids. My daughter is home-schooling four kids (the four year old has the occasional preschool Zoom meeting but only the older four have schoolwork) and I'm missing the twins' 7th birthday tomorrow.

I'm being pretty careful because I'm also shopping for my nonagenarian mother who lives near me. But I'm doing so much better than most and am grateful for that.

[HarleyD]

I never ever thought I would have more alcohol on my hands than on my lips!

[brightday]

Originally Posted by HarleyD

I never ever thought I would have more alcohol on my hands than on my lips!

It sounds like everyone's making the best of a difficult situation and feeling grateful, as I am, that things aren't worse. My disappointments are relatively small. My sister had to cancel her flight here, and we were sad to miss the week of camping together at Galveston Island. Still, that was a good decision, as her husband had heart surgery last summer, and I suffer from a couple of autoimmune illnesses. Not worth the risk. Like you, Uncle Tim, I was at the tail-end of some sort of respiratory issue - asthma/allergies/chest congestion - so I had to be extremely careful until that ended a week ago. I'm grateful to have finally shaken whatever that was! I've gone out for groceries during Senior Hour a couple of times only because I was given a respirator mask to wear. 😷 I was glad of it, as trying to get toilet paper delivered here is an absolute nonstarter, and I much prefer picking out my own meat and vegetables.

Three great blessings for me during this time: 1) I retired from public education four years ago, so didn't have to endure the stress of online teaching, something I've done before but definitely do not prefer. Along with that, I'm grateful for the retirement income and feel so sad that so very many have to worry about where money’s going to come from for food and rent. 2) I hadn't yet begun the planned Spring-to-Fall trip northeast to Toronto. Being out on the road when all of this hit would have made me extremely vulnerable to a highly contagious virus, and in any case, it became obvious that I needed to do a lot more in terms of preparation. 3) I'm here in Houston with my daughter, who got permission to work from home as soon as Covid19 hit in order to keep me safe. My original plan was to spend winters only with her before heading out each spring, and though I'm eager to travel when it's safe to be out again, I'm blessed in that we've always been close and that we're able to keep each other company at a time when so many have to remain apart. Adding #4) I'm grateful for this forum: the entertaining jokes, stories, photos, recipes, and remembrances of times gone by; the advice so continually and graciously given; the lack of ugly political back-and forths found on other forums; and the overall camaraderie of folks who've already met and those who haven't. I'm glad that folks here are generally upbeat and positive and love that one or two provide the comedic relief that intentional crankiness elicits. Reminds me of family.

[HarleyD]

AMEN sister, it is a family.
My reply was light hearted but too am an ask risk demographic in my late 70's.
I had a collapsed lung a couple of years ago and a couple of pneumonia's right after.
So very thankful for my situation, so very many that have it rougher than the light burden we bare.
Give thanks!
Happy trails.

[kstock11]

Great topic and thanks for asking! I’m doing fine and, like everyone missing camping. Fortunately for me, I adopted 2 kittens in January (after losing my last shortly earlier) and they entertain me. I was about 12 hours shy of leaving for 9 days in March when I was notified that the campground was closing. Glad that I was notified before leaving.
I think as a community, we are uniquely prepared for this situation. As campers, we tend to be planners - planning = a good positive attitude. Owning small fiberglass trailers, we tend to be able to fix what’s wrong. Also as campers, we tend to be able to adapt to situations. Stay safe everyone!

[Artlady]

Hi uncle Tim and everyone else. What a great question, and even greater responses!

I suppose this just proves the many social experiments that say humans seek out others for companionship... Sociologists are probably having a field day with this one!

Many mixed emotions here. As for my little world, I’m one of the people who was a homebody anyway. Not by choice as much as being limited by muscular dystrophy. The extreme irony, is that realizing my legs were on the verge of not working anymore, I had made up my mind to make an effort to go out with my walker/Rollator to various places. Either a walk in the local woods, shopping mall, or join the local women’s Newcomers group here. So, I was going to give it one last try...one more time to experience “freedom” from motorized assistive devices.

However, That was the very week that the restrictions were imposed.. Ah, thwarted again! However, I found a new source of social contact as well as exercise.

Our village has a organization that offers free classes for those who have had or have cancer. So being a two-time cancer survivor, I signed up for these online classes. For at least 2 to 3 hours a day, I am either learning Tai Chi, chair yoga, or cooking for wellness. So in addition to keeping my muscles status quo, I’m learning some new things and enhancing my knowledge base of cooking with plant-based foods. Increasing more phytochemicals in my diet.

My most enjoyable avocation is art, specifically painting with watercolors and acrylics. So every day I make it my mission to accomplish at least a study, or fiddle around, learning new techniques. Still working on that masterpiece to come! Maybe I’ll post some if anyone is interested.

Lastly but most importantly, my dear husband is still working, and is on the front lines. As an Air Force vet of 30 years, he’s an executive manager and doctor at the city VA hospital. Of course he’s practicing safety measures while at work and home, but I still have some trepidation when he comes home after a full day of exposure there. Fortunately, they have sufficient PPE, masks, and testing for patients and staff alike.

Like many of you stated, it’s difficult being away from family. My son is in the Navy, and lives across country with his pregnant wife and my little one-year-old grandson. I’d love to see my daughter, too, on the East coast, who’s attending law school. She’s anxious, but has a nice room mate, and support from us online.

We were supposed to pick up our Escape back in April, and drive down to see them. But with the restrictions in place and uncertainty of what would be open or closed, we decided to postpone that venture. It just wasn’t worth the exposure risk to any of us.

But how I miss that little guy! FaceTime does help bridge the gap, however.. I just wonder if he’ll eventually realize that Nana isn’t a just a 2-D image on a tv screen? lol.

Fortunately, we’ve just had one distant family member affected by this virus. He’s still in the hospital after 30 days, as it’s been touch and go...But we’re praying that he emerges from this soon.

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this terrible illness, especially to those who have lost family members or have died. I pray that our little community stays as safe as possible and relatively unscathed by this. Blessings to all!

[Glens]

Bright day we are in Houston also. We are amazed at the lack of social distancing taking place among young people in the downtown/Montrose area.

We picked up our Escape 19 in late March and have only been able to camp on the trip home. Hoping the state parks open for camping soon. We understand about being careful and even though we are healthy my wife’s mother is not. That means she has to not be a carrier of the virus since she is with her mom during the day. Texas is due to partially open on Friday so we will see what happens.

Everyone stay safe and well. Remember it’s not about right now it’s about being there for what’s later and being able to enjoy it.

[salmo7000]

After resisting the initial urge, I guess I was one of those rare people who did not panic buy anything, including toilet paper. In fact, I hadn't bought any since well before the COVID thing hit because at the time we were well supplied. After doing a quick assessment of our existing stock a few days ago, however, I realized the situation was getting dire. Something needed to be done. So with much trepidation, I launched for my first expedition to Costco since before this thing started, hoping to find our usual brand as the shelves in local stores had been bare.

Once inside, with mask donned, I immediately headed to the back of the store where the paper products are kept, even by-passing the wine and beer on the way. Much to my surprise, there was a supply of toilet paper that extended nearly to the top of the warehouse, with pallets of the stuff already loaded onto forklifts, ready to act if and when the supply became diminished. There were also many brands of paper towels available, lined up almost as far as the eye could see. I considered it a small miracle, as for once in my life it appeared I had timed things perfectly. So I bought a regular sized case of TP (just one!), and a case of paper towels, and thus my day was made.

The lesson here is the world is indeed a funny place when one hits the mother lode of TP and thus feels as if they won the lottery! It doesn't quite make up for the loss of a much-anticipated spring camping and fishing trip to Montana, which had been eagerly anticipated for many months. But hey, it's something!

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by salmo7000

The lesson here is the world is indeed a funny place when one hits the mother lode of TP and thus feels as if they won the lottery! It doesn't quite make up for the loss of a much-anticipated spring camping and fishing trip to Montana, which had been eagerly anticipated for many months. But hey, it's something!

My daughter had a birthday and I sent her a case of 96 mega toilet paper rolls! (She has five kids, none using the school TP right now.)