Earlier today, I posted a short list in Auntie B’s diary. Some urged me to turn it into a full diary, so here goes:
This is getting serious folks, especially those of us who have reached retirement age. I never thought of retirement as retiring from life itself. However, this stuff is getting real, as they say. This is a tweet I found that says it all:
Staying at home and not going anywhere is hard, but may save your life. Admittedly, humans are social animals, and this is hard for almost everyone but those who are elective hermits by choice.
The enforced stay-at-home plan can have an upside if you choose to make it so.
A few suggestions:
1. Read books you planned to read but never got around to reading. FarWestGirl has some great suggestions in this comment. I have a bookcase full of books that need reading (or re-reading). Audio books are great for playing while doing other things around the house
2. Dust off old hobbies. Sewing, crafts, model building, and so on, endlessly.
I have several radio control and control line model airplanes I need to finish for the grandkids. I also promised several people that I would build a couple of Weissenborn guitars. I promised Burns Lass a bass dulcimer similar to the one below.
I really need to get started. I have all the materials needed, including pickups, strings, and Ping tuners.
5. Play music again if you have let it slide. Learn to play if you never took lessons. I recently bought a Hammond Organ and a Yamaha keyboard from Craigslist. I still have my mountain dulcimers and bodhrans but have not played in a while. That is about to change. Sockpuppet is going to get back to playing the piano.
6. Learn a language. There are several decent online language teaching programs. Find one you like and jump in. Having spent some of my formative years in Louisiana, I can read French, and speak it a little. We have been talking about refreshing our French.
I had a bit of fun with that in Montreal once. Went into a coffee and ice cream shop. Overheard some older guy say to another, “Que font-ils ici?”
Without looking up, I muttered just loud enough for him to hear, “J'ai entendu cela.”
The shop got very quiet after that. I finished my coffee and left.
7. Games. Any kind of board or card games. I like Scrabble. Never was any good with cards or dominoes. I do play chess, but badly.
8. Art. Does not matter if you think you can’t draw or paint. Do it anyway. If you are really bad, think Jackson Pollock and you will feel better. I can draw and used to do calligraphy, but with the massive damage to my right wrist in an accident a few years ago, I have given that up to pursue photography.
9. Clean house. If you actually succumb to this pandemic horror, don’t leave a big mess for the survivors. In Swedish, it is called ‘dostadning,’ a blend of the words for death and cleaning. 'Death Cleaning' Is the Newest Way to Declutter.
If you have not used an item in a year or more, it is highly unlikely you will ever use it. Unless it is seasonal, such as holiday decorations, etc., or a collectable heirloom, you can get rid of it. You will feel better—and unburdened--if you get it over with now. Open spaces in the house are liberating.
10. Garden. Plant now because the quality of your life may depend on it later. If this pandemic goes on for more than three to six months, over the road trucking and store resupply will break down.
I recall Victory Gardens during WW2. When I was young, I helped in the garden. Weeding, picking cabbage worms off cabbage leaves, and spotting vegetables when they were perfect for picking. Carrots, cabbage, lettuce, beets, green beans, asparagus, squash, and more...we had it all. What I picked after school, ended up fresh on the dinner table that evening, or for lunch the next day. We grew most of what we ate.
11. Slowly stock up on non-perishable supplies. That does NOT mean hoarding. Just make sure you have enough basic staples for several weeks, but six months is probably optimum.
Supply chains are working now, but we have no idea what they will be like in two months. I remember rationing stamps. Coffee, black pepper, sugar, and many other staples were strictly rationed. Those stamps were like money. Without them, you could not buy stuff. If this lasts long enough, rationing may come back.
12. Make sure your perimeter is secure. Lights, cameras, locks, and any other means of passive self-defense needs to be set up and maintained. Harbor Freight has solar security lights that do not depend on outside electric power. I have this type installed to light my house perimeter. Does a good job, as advertised.
Don’t be surprised if there is a spike in car break-ins and raids on freezers that you may have on the porch. Keep your freezer locked.
Some county jails are being emptied, and some police & sheriff’s departments are no longer making arrests for petty crimes and traffic violations. More thieves and petty crooks on the streets mean more petty crime.
13. Firearms owners need to make sure your ammunition and weapons are secure.
Make sure all ammo is fresh, because unlike black powder, modern smokeless powder does go bad over time. During WW2, much of the meat we ate were squirrels, rabbit, and other game.
As a kid, I learned not to waste ammo, not even rounds for the little .22 squirrel rifle. Blasting away at tin cans was a good way to bring down the wrath of my dad and grandfather. There was a war on, and ammunition factories were not making it for civilians. Every bullet was needed for the war effort. Therefore, every shot had to count. There is a chance ammunition may be rationed in the future, so plan accordingly. Again, no need to hoard so much it will go bad before being used, but having a couple of extra boxes is insurance against hard times.
Hope it does not come to that again, but as I said above, we don’t know what is going to happen with the supply chain in a matter of weeks.
14. If the power goes out. Living where we do in the Blue Ridge, power goes out every once in a while. We learned quickly to have plenty of batteries and kerosene handy. We use kerosene lamps, just as our great grandparents did. They are a staple. If you have kerosene lamps, make sure they are stable and in a safe place. It can ruin your whole evening if one of them gets knocked over.
Keep your rechargeable batteries charged at all times. Also keep the car(s) and truck(s) full of gas. It is irresponsible to let a gas tank get less than half full. Never know when you may have to leave suddenly and run the risk of no service stations open.
Be safe and stay calm. This will end sooner or later. In the meantime, here is a couple who are creative with their time together at home.