Making do in the Time of Corona

[Els]

1 hour ago, sothereiwas said:

No no no - that's NOT how you use those ....

THe bidets I've installed are adjustable for angle, so I guess that's why they have this. The adjustment does angle the spray back, always wondered why. In a lot of asia and India they use a "bum-gun" which is essentially an old school kitchen sink sprayer that's attached to the water supply of the toilet and holsters someplace accessible. Full control, some folks swear by them. 

The "bum gun" is even worse IMO!! I dunno which ones you've encountered, but the cheap ones in many SE Asian public toilets have no volume control. There's just a little lever that you press and it goes from 0 to "fire hose" in 0.1 seconds. Splatters a TON and the floor and seat is always wet afterwards (often with particles that, err, shall not be named). It's the bane of my life whenever I travel back to Asia and have to use public toilets. A soaked toilet seat and a gigantic puddle under it is soooo unpleasant.

The ones attached to the toilet bowl are not as bad for splatter, but I've never seen one where you could adjust the angle. Too high tech for that place I guess.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Elswyth

[sothereiwas]

6 minutes ago, Elswyth said:

I've never seen one where you could adjust the angle.

The $100 ones have an angle control, and the $400 ones (complete w/ blow dryer and heated seat) have a boy button and a girl button. I don't think it does a sex change, pretty sure it actually has different wands or whatever.

[Els]

Ahem. Anyway, back on topic... one of the things that I've been doing is reading more travel blogs. There are a lot of people in the travel industry hurting from the pandemic, but we can't do anything about most of them. Full time travel bloggers have also had their income cut in various ways. I use them a lot for planning my trips, so I figure now's the time to give back. Just helping a bit with their traffic, costs me nothing.

[mark clemson]

Uber/Lyft drivers are hurting too, not that it was that great for many of them before all this.

[Kitty Tantrum]

I'm gonna sew some cotton face masks. I have all of the materials on hand already, I can make a bunch and hardly put a dent in my stash. Hopefully supply issues will be sorted out well enough in the near future that they won't be needed for long... but I'm hearing through my social circle that there is already actual need for these among local healthcare workers; people FROM my community, people I actually know, personally, from working in the service industry. I made their coffee and we smiled at each other and exchanged small talk and I snuck their kids free bakery goodies while they weren't looking - stuff like that.

I'm toying with the idea of making a little "coronavirus care package" with a mask (or two), and a tiny little tube each of hypoallergenic lotion and hand sanitizer (I guess I'm one of those weird people who just HAS the stuff I need to make it lying around. Not tons of it, but more than my family would use in the next few months). I have a pack of 70 lip balm style squeezy tubes on the way, so I guess I could do 35 sets to donate to local healthcare workers.

[Happy Lemming]

5 hours ago, preraph said:

If you like basil, now would be a good time to buy a growing basil plant for pesto.

Not a bad idea... maybe I can order some basil seeds of of ebay??

[preraph]

A lot of grocery stores have little already growing basil plants and most gourmet stores carry one that is already growing. Basil is the most prolific plant and you only need one of them and it takes a lot of water. 

 

If I see a lettuce plant I'm going to get one of those because I have to buy lettuce every week and I don't want to go to the store that often. It would only be good for sandwiches.

Edited March 21, 2020 by preraph

[mrs rubble]

It’s business as usual for me, I still have to go to the hospital to work, but if we were to have to stay at home due to illness, we’d last a very long time, our fridge is full and our 2 freezers are full too. 

We have enough food for months, I also have a bread maker so can make fresh bread.

 I also have grapes, apples and peaches in my backyard.

There is also a community Kai(food) cupboard where I live and local people drop off excess produce from their own gardens for local people to take. Brilliant idea. 

[Prudence V]

On 3/20/2020 at 4:50 AM, Ellener said:

[Jack Monroe’s site] has some good recipes based on leftovers and substitutions

I was going to recommend Jack’s recipes. She’s also great to follow on Twitter. (Bootstrapcook)

Edited March 21, 2020 by Prudence V

[Prudence V]

23 hours ago, greymatter said:

Basil have you considered getting a bidet toilet seat?

Or get a lota. Or make your own - any squeezy bottle (a water bottle, lemon juice bottle, etc) will do. You might need some practice not to make splashes on the floor, but it’s a lot more effective and hygienic than using paper. 

[preraph]

I'm at a disadvantage for being able to store flour. For some reason in our area if you bring flour home, weevils will hatch in it. and then they get in all your food in your pantry. They even got in tin canisters. I switch to Glass canisters with screw on lids, but the flour would still hatch. So I can only have as much flour as I can fit in my small freezer. Not really enough for bread making. I find it nearly impossible to slice the breadmaker bread thin and regular enough for a sandwich anyway. if I get another one I'm going to get one that makes the smallest possible loafs, but they tend to be more expensive and they're still weird-shaped.

[Prudence V]

@basil67 Not sure whereabouts you are, but if there’s summer produce going spare, why not get creative with preserves, liqueurs, purées, pies that you can freeze, etc? 
 

And, if you like pulses, Manjula’s Kitchen blog has brilliant recipes. They’re Jain, so vegetarian, mostly vegan, and use spices that are readily available. 
 

 

[pepperbird]

I've been making home made ice cream. It's really easy, and so much better than the grocery store stuff.

Back in the day, my grandparents were huge devotes of the Victory Garden idea. They grew their own vegetables right in the middle of Toronto on a small patch of grass, and that was way back when.

I've got a decent sized vegetable garden and a vertical bed as well. Ilve got some fruit trees, hardy kiwis and a small herb bed. I grow millet for my birds and keep the corners "wild" .

My biggest problem will be getting medication and medical appointment cancellations. From what my pharmacist told me, there could be a big run on immunosupressants like hyroxyplanquenill (sp.?) that's used for lupus and other autoimmune diseases may be in short supply, along with a few others like imuran.

[Els]

I think food will be okay, it's just the supermarkets that aren't keeping up, but the production chains are solid here. There's a HUGE area of rural farmland that won't really be affected due to how isolated it is. I'm not particularly worried, although having some stock is good to avoid needing to keep going to the store.

 

[Kitty Tantrum]

Working on masks today. Frankly, all of the printable facemask patterns I've seen on the internet seem horrendously insufficient in terms of coverage and fit, so I'm in the process of drafting my own. Probably an hour or so left of that, and then on to production.

All while praying they won't actually be needed. I keep hearing from folks who watch a lot of news that "a million masks are on the way" or whatever, like shortages are going to disappear any time now - but what I'm hearing from nurses and now increasingly from hospitals starting donation drives is that this ain't happening yet.

2 hours ago, Elswyth said:

There's a HUGE area of rural farmland that won't really be affected due to how isolated it is.

Unfortunately, this may not be the case. I've seen too many people "bugging out" to rural areas since this whole thing started - and an AWFUL LOT OF THEM could be carrying the virus already. My fear is that we'll start seeing rural areas with disproportionately high rates of mortality. Those areas will be hit HARD if the virus gets trucked in by folks thinking they're escaping to safety - because their medical facilities and transportation systems are scaled based on the size of their long-standing tax-paying population and will quickly be overwhelmed.

[preraph]

 Masks don't work anyway unless you still do every other thing like sanitize anything you touch and wash before you contaminate your home with it.  Or leave it out somewhere for 24 hours if it's cardboard or paper.  But plastic holds germs much longer, days.  I hate paper bags anyway, but it's not just that but all plastic containers, etc.  It's hard to coordinate it all.  My sister said she wore gloves to the store and threw them away but she totally neglected to sanitize her items.  I'm even spraying mail.  

[Els]

56 minutes ago, Kitty Tantrum said:

Working on masks today. Frankly, all of the printable facemask patterns I've seen on the internet seem horrendously insufficient in terms of coverage and fit, so I'm in the process of drafting my own. Probably an hour or so left of that, and then on to production.

All while praying they won't actually be needed. I keep hearing from folks who watch a lot of news that "a million masks are on the way" or whatever, like shortages are going to disappear any time now - but what I'm hearing from nurses and now increasingly from hospitals starting donation drives is that this ain't happening yet.

Unfortunately, this may not be the case. I've seen too many people "bugging out" to rural areas since this whole thing started - and an AWFUL LOT OF THEM could be carrying the virus already. My fear is that we'll start seeing rural areas with disproportionately high rates of mortality. Those areas will be hit HARD if the virus gets trucked in by folks thinking they're escaping to safety - because their medical facilities and transportation systems are scaled based on the size of their long-standing tax-paying population and will quickly be overwhelmed.

I'm not in the US. Some of the areas here are so rural that if your 4WD broke down you'd better be able to fix it or have someone sound the alarm because otherwise you might not see anyone on the road for weeks.

[basil67]

On 3/20/2020 at 2:23 PM, Ellener said:

I do now! When all this is over that can be my celebratory meal- roast beef, horseradish, carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding!

 

I'm coming to yours!   I'm the only fan of horseradish in my place.

[basil67]

On 3/21/2020 at 6:20 AM, Elswyth said:

The "bum gun" is even worse IMO!! I dunno which ones you've encountered, but the cheap ones in many SE Asian public toilets have no volume control.

We went to Bali for the first time and with the pressure those things had, I thought they were strictly for replacing a toilet brush to clean the bowl.  Certainly more hygienic than a toilet brush.   

[basil67]

On 3/21/2020 at 4:51 AM, Ruby Slippers said:

Though this is a trying time, I think a lot of good stuff will come out of it. For the most part we've all become quite spoiled and dependent. This is bound to boost our self-sufficiency and sense of appreciation for what we have.

I agree about being spoiled and dependent.   Lack of toilet paper really is a first world problem, but some are carrying on like it's the end of the world.   Likewise, not lamenting the food we can't buy and simply cooking what you've got the ingredients for.   

[basil67]

22 hours ago, Kitty Tantrum said:

I'm gonna sew some cotton face masks. I have all of the materials on hand already, I can make a bunch and hardly put a dent in my stash. Hopefully supply issues will be sorted out well enough in the near future that they won't be needed for long... but I'm hearing through my social circle that there is already actual need for these among local healthcare workers; people FROM my community, people I actually know, personally, from working in the service industry. I made their coffee and we smiled at each other and exchanged small talk and I snuck their kids free bakery goodies while they weren't looking - stuff like that.

I'm toying with the idea of making a little "coronavirus care package" with a mask (or two), and a tiny little tube each of hypoallergenic lotion and hand sanitizer (I guess I'm one of those weird people who just HAS the stuff I need to make it lying around. Not tons of it, but more than my family would use in the next few months). I have a pack of 70 lip balm style squeezy tubes on the way, so I guess I could do 35 sets to donate to local healthcare workers.

Such a nice idea to make the care packages     So the sewist in me needs to ask about your stash.  Are we talking quilting cottons?  With cool designs?   Or dress fabrics?  If I'm seriously locked down, I might go and re-sort my stash.  It's not huge (I have a small house) but it's nice to go through and plan projects.  

We are super low on masks here because we ran out with people buying them to cope with the fires.   The disasters were too close in time for full restocking to happen.

Edited March 21, 2020 by basil67

[Kitty Tantrum]

1 hour ago, preraph said:

 Masks don't work anyway unless you still do every other thing like sanitize anything you touch and wash before you contaminate your home with it.  Or leave it out somewhere for 24 hours if it's cardboard or paper.  But plastic holds germs much longer, days.  I hate paper bags anyway, but it's not just that but all plastic containers, etc.  It's hard to coordinate it all.  My sister said she wore gloves to the store and threw them away but she totally neglected to sanitize her items.  I'm even spraying mail.  

But they can make a huge difference for healthcare workers in clinics and hospitals who know how to follow proper protocols! I'm reading and hearing stories now of front-line workers who are only given masks when dealing with KNOWN positive cases. Or being forced to use one mask over and over. That's scary.

13 minutes ago, basil67 said:

Are we talking quilting cottons?  With cool designs?   Or dress fabrics?  If I'm seriously locked down, I might go and re-sort my stash.  It's not huge (I have a small house) but it's nice to go through and plan projects.

My stash is mostly fabrics leftover from making cloth diapers once upon a time. Mostly 100% cotton. It's mostly knits, which are not structurally ideal for making masks - but I've got plenty of nice tight woven stuff, too. Mostly cutesie prints, but not all. I'm using the more neutral and less "baby" stuff first. lol

I also have a whole bin full of polyurethane laminate (PUL - stretchy, waterproof, polyester knit fabric) which was designed for medical industry application - so if supplies continue to be an issue I'll probably end up asking my local EMS/healthcare folks if that can be fashioned into anything useful as well.

[preraph]

I guess if we're isolating at home, some of us could just go around pantless so it wouldn't be such a hassle to just jump in the shower.  Still messy though.  I do have a shower I never use, and I put a long hose nozzle on it when I bought the house because for some reason, I thought I'd be bathing the dogs in there.  Yeah, that never really happened. You know, it's even possible it might reach over to the toilet, but probably will be just inches away from where it would need to be, as usually goes my life.  

 

Yeah, it only takes one world crisis, and I'm turning into my dad....

Edited March 21, 2020 by preraph

[Happy Lemming]

4 hours ago, pepperbird said:

 and a small herb bed.

How long does it take to grow herbs from seed to harvest??

I'm thinking about planting some basil... (ordering some seeds from ebay)

Please and thank you.

[preraph]

I can't remember how long to seed.  I just know basil will take over a garden, so leave puhlenty of room around it!

 

I just googled it.  UP to 14 days to root, 3 more weeks to sprout, another six weeks to first leaves so you can plant it in the garden -- so quite a while.  I'd be looking for a plant.  They have them everywhere, Home Depot, the grocery stores.  

Edited March 21, 2020 by preraph