Please send me your stories of staying home and staying safe. Even if you think your story might be a bit lame. I am sure my story is lame. I will preserve our stories and, with permission, I will publish credited with your name, initials, as just my cousin or anonymously. Please email me at reutherca@outlook.com. Thanks.
We have been sheltering in place, limiting our trips to just the grocery store and Home Depot for 6 weeks now, ever since BK's company told their employees to
stop traveling and work from home. No customer or site visits.
Today I let BK cut my hair. He has his own set of clippers so more or less knows what he is doing. 20 years ago he used to cut his own hair until I told
him to stop, as it is hard to do the back and side edges yourself. Now he is cutting his hair again. He did a pretty good job on mine. Except for on the
sides above my ears which looks it was shaved. Fortunately, I have short hair which grows really fast, and I did not inherit a vanity gene (I need to look
"good", whatever that means), so all is well.
It is weird having BK home all the time. Somehow it never occured to me that that would mean more cooking, more cleaning and more laundry. Go figure.
BK has become a hoarder like everyone else. Sort of. We had plenty of toilet paper for now until his last trip to the grocery store when he came home with more
just because the store had some on the shelf. The new pack is in the guest bedroom because there is no room in the hall closet.
I am a cook and a baker. So there has been no change to my baking frequency. But now everyone else is home thinking they need to become cooks and bakers. First
the dried beans all disappeared from the store shelves. Now it is flour. Can't even find any on-line. What will I do if I can not bake bread and muffins?
How will I survive? What if there are no oats? How will I bake granola? What will I eat?
We are now wearing a mask and gloves when we run to the store. Trying our best to stay safe. I was wondering what it all means when it comes to my hat?
I wear a hat all the time (aka Hat Lady). Should I worry that I will get the virus on my hat? Do I need to clean it? Quarantine it?
Like many of you, I lie awake at night worrying about the virus and it's effects on all of us. And what I will do if I can't make muffins.
Catherine Reuther, 12 Apr 2020
Monday I had a bought of coronavirus brain. This is a condition similar to the chemo brain that cancer patients have after chemotherapy treatments where
they have short-term memory and cognitive problems.
It started 1st thing in the morning. I have yeast bread dough in the fridge, and got some out to bake bread. The steps are rest the dough, preheat the oven, bake.
I was just about to put the bread in the oven when I realized it was not on. Missed the 2nd step.
Then I went to the grocery store. Mask on, gloves on. And in this time of trying to stay safe I no longer wear my sunglasses into the store, but change to
my regular pair while I am in the car. Took my sunglasses off, did my shopping, got back in the car and reached up to my face to change my glasses. No glasses.
For just one instant I wondered why I would have taken them off in the store and where could I have left them. I never CHANGED my glasses but just took
off my sunglasses. That would explain why I had trouble reading some labels.
Catherine Reuther, 18 Apr 2020
I have developed Obesessive Compulsive Toilet Paper Buying Behavior. At first I thought it might be Toilet Paper Hoarding, but I think it is a pandemic
derived shopping behavior. We have plenty of toilet paper, but since the stores just might run out again, everytime I see toilet paper I buy toilet paper.
I am starting to adjust to living in a pandemic. I am now looking for and buying washable face masks. It is time. I have been looking for face masks that fit
me. The one-size fits all adults are too big for me. A staple works well to modify the disposable masks so they fit me. Bought one mask to see how it fit
before ordering more, and it was not until After I ordered that I realized I had picked a fabric that matched several hats.
I am also getting back to work on genealogy. Between Covid-19 stress and BK being home, I have not been in the mood until recently.
Catherine Reuther, 20 Jul 2020
Like many folks, I am sure, I had pandemic weight loss in the spring and summer. A bit much for me (more than 5 pounds), but society,
Corporate America and the fashion industry all tell us that any weight loss is a good thing. I thought I would start gaining some back
when Christmas cookie season rolled around (I usually gain a pound or two from all that sugar), but it waited until after the holidays.
The weight gain itself is not a bad thing. But I bought pants. So gaining much weight is not a good thing.
I managed to stop buying toilet paper whenever I was at the store. Then Bryan started. He bought so much I had to make him stop. It
has been more than a month and still no where near needing to buy toilet paper.
Catherine Reuther, 16 Feb 2021