an unexpected outing

For the last several weeks I have been experiencing occasional spells of very rapid heartbeats.  After a little episode a couple of days ago when I felt like I was going to pass out, I was advised by a nurse at my doctor's office to go to the ER to get my heart checked out.  After a couple of days of telling myself that "It's really not that bad." I decided to get checked out today.  My brother, who had heart problems, used to tell me that if you go into an ER and tell them it's a heart problem they get you right in, and boy was he right.  I went to the ER at Parkview Randallia because it's close to where I live and I was most impressed.  There was no one else waiting, they brought out a wheel chair and put me in a little exam room almost before I had my insurance card back in my purse.  Luckily I was wearing one of my sister-in-laws wonderful new masks so I felt well protected.  Everyone else was wearing a mask so I fit right in.  They took my vitals and told me that my blood pressure was 188 over 101 and my heart rate was 166.  They got really serious at that point and I realized that I was really glad I had come in. Lots of tests, medication and a diagnosis and I was free to go.  Turns out I have an irregular heart beat which is what I told them coming in.  I now have a prescription and an appointment next week with a cardiologist so all is well.  After I left the hospital I went to Walgreens to get my prescription filled.  The prescription form was stapled to my discharge papers so I dropped off the prescription at the drive thru, then decided to read my discharge papers as I waited.  That's when I discovered that i had the wrong papers.  They were for a man named Bob who had a leg and knee problem.  So back to the ER to fix the problem.  Turned out my prescription had been attached to his paperwork.  Everything got straightened out, I got my paperwork and my prescription and headed home.  What I found amusing was that, during the three hours that I was in a bed, pretty well tied down with leads, pressure cuff and tubes, not able to go anywhere, I was asked at least 15 times what my name and birthdate were.  But when I was told I could go, the discharge papers, in a bright yellow envelope, were tossed on my bed and I was told I was free to go.  It might have been good if they had checked my name against the paperwork one more time.  I'm pretty sure I would have caught the error if they had called me Bob.

Ho, Ho Ho

I received a package in the mail today from my west coast sister-in-law and I was as excited as a kid at Christmas.  I did not, as a friend recommends, set the box out on my patio for 24 hours so all the virus could die.  Nor did I wipe it down with bleach wipes.  Nope, I just ripped into that box to find out what was in there.  There was a lovely chiffon wrap (which I may get to wear this summer, if I can go out anywhere), and a pair of knitted slippers which I can wear right now, all day, every day.  The slippers were actually a Christmas gift . They were too large when she sent them in December, so I had returned them to be re-sixed and now they fit much better.  A third gift was a chocolate Easter bunny.  Yummy.  Turns out that the Fred Meyer's (like our Kroger's) where my nephew works, had lots of gold wrapped Easter bunnies.  The ears are gone now.  Quite tasty.  But the very best gift of all are three excellent, comfortable, truly protective masks that she made for me.  Who would have thought, back in December, that face masks would be my most thrilling gift?  

truth in advertising

I heard a TV ad this morning for a medical office that speciaizes in surgery for skin cancer. Their ad said that coming to them for your surgery needs would give you "life changing results."  At first I thought that sounded good, but the more I considered it, the more I realized that it is very non-commital.  Does 'life changing' mean that I'll look like I had an amazing face lift?  If so, sign me up.  Or does 'life changing' mean that I'll die under the knife?  Either option would be life changing.  The more I think about it, the more I think that their attorney recommended this slogan.  Please note, I am not criticizing attorneys.  Merely commenting on a pretty law-suit-proof slogan. 

Look up.

"Look, up in the sky it's a bird, it's a plane....." I'm sure you remember that opening to a thrilling TV show of my (and probably your) youth.  Tomorrow, if you look up in the sky about 11:05am, you will see a thrilling sight.  No, not Superman, I can't promise that, but the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard is going to do a fly over the hospitals and downtown area of Fort Wayne in honor of hospital and other front line workers,  So, if you're not doing anything else that can't be postponed for a few minutes look up.  It should be a short but good show.  

It's Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone.  I went to church via live stream and Sunday school by Zoom.  I am getting way too comfortable sitting on my couch and sipping tea while I experience worship.  I have a feeling that, if our church asks for volunteers to wait a while to come back to church, even after things open up, to help with social distancing, I will be only too happy to volunteer.  
On another subject, my west coast brother told me that today is "Get Organized Day."  Does working on a jigsaw puzzle count?  I actually organized several pieces today, but with a 1000 piece puzzle there's lots more to go.  I think I will be working on organiztion quite a bit this week.  

Putting it to the test

Well, I rummaged through my linen closet and found an old can of shaving cream so today I put yesterday's tip to the test.  You know, the one that said to clean your glasses with shaving cream and they wouldn't fog up when you wore a mask.  Well, maybe I didn't follow the directions correctly, although they weren't that complicated, or maybe I shouldn't have used girly shaving cream, but it didn't work for me.  I waited for the glasses to air dry, as instructed, put them on, put my nifty sock mask on (the one I made following Youtube directions) and the glasses fogged up just like always.  I will say though that it seems like the condensation clears up more quickly than it had been doing.  Perhaps I'll give it another try tomorrow.  My glasses are nice and clean.  And, speaking of cleaning glasses, I had a little spray bottle of glasses cleaner that ran out so I refilled it with half alcohol, half water and a tiny drop of dish soap (not dishwasher soap) shook it up and it is being a really great glasses cleaner.  Maybe, just maybe, I have too much time on my hands, but at least I'm having good clean fun.

a walk on the wild side

I took a walk with a friend to Promenade Park this afternoon.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and I did enjoy the blossoming trees and the balmy air.  And we took time to swing on the big swings.  Always fun.  But I also did a little bit of "scientific" observation.  Number of people that we saw during the hour we were out walking: 50+ (sorry, I lost count), number wearing masks: 0.  They did try to keep a safe distance when passing one another which was good.  I must admit that I also took my mask off while I was outside.  It felt hot and made my glassed fog up.  I do wear a mask inside the building when I ride the elevator to get my mail or do laundry or whatever, but outside I like to be able to breathe.  Best joke I heard today "I've been washing my hands over and over again just like they keep telling us, I'm just waiting to be told to take a shower." Yikes.  Least helpful advice.  "Wash your glasses with shaving cream then rinse and let air dry.  This will prevent them from fogging up when you wear a mask"  Evidently I'm not the only one with a fogging problem.  I thought this sounded like great advice until I realized that as a 75 year old, live alone widow who never shaves her legs, (I know, TMI, sorry) the odds of my finding shaving cream around here are pretty low.  Never the less, I will take a little time to dig through my linen closet tomorrow and see what I can find.  It's on my list of spaces that should be cleaned out anyway.  Stay tuned.

I need books

Today is International Day of the Book.  I think that's wonderful; I really love books.  However, I'm starting to run out.  I know people who are anxious for the current restrictions to be lifted for many reasons: to be able to shop, to be able to gather with their family, to be able to go out for Mexican food with friends, and more.  For me it's first to be able to get more library books, and not just any books.  Until I have cataract surgery - maybe sometime this summer?? - I really have trouble reading anything but large print books.  Luckily, our wonderful downtown library has shelves and shelves of large print books.  Just before we all got shut in I had been to the library and checked out six large print books.  I have been pacing myself but now I am on my last book.  I think I would probably get into trouble if I break into the library but I am getting desperate.  I know I can download books on line and I will if I must but it's just not the same.  I may even, gasp, have to buy some books through Amazon.  Books!!!  I need books!!!!

fun and games

This evening I played BINGO with a group of tennants here in my apartment complex.  Of course we all stayed safely in our own apartments and played via Facebook live, which means I've learned another new tech skill.  A couple of weeks ago a notice was sent out that we would be playing BINGO this evening in the apartment complex.  The prizes were money off next month's rent.  Only one card per person.  They put the cards in a big enevelope hanging on the office door so we could pick one up without getting close to anyone.  I did pick up a card and had it on my desk for the last few days.  Earlier today I pulled it out, read the directions, and realized, after some fiddling, that I did know how to log on to the game.  Happily, a nice young lady who works in the office, replyed to my email cry for help and gave me the information I needed, so this evening I was part of the game.  It was clever how they did it.  As I watched on my tiny telephone "TV" screen, numbers were called and when someone had a bingo they typed BINGO in the comments section.  Then they took a picture of their card (with the numbers showing so they could be confirmed) and emailed it to the office where the caller and his assistants were located so it could be confirmed.  In the meantime people were sending comments saying hi and telling how they were doing.  "I only need two numbers." kind of messages.  I didn't win anything but it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours safely at home.  They talked about possibly doing some bingo evenings in the common area when we can all get together again but I don't know about that.  They would probably expect me to wear something other than my pajamas.  

Another Day

Today, according to my west coast brother is National Tea Day and also Big Word day.  I drink tea all day every day.  It's my beverage of choice, so, while I applaud the idea, I really don't  need a special day for tea.  Big words are another matter.  I went back and read his text carefully and he definitely said big words, not long words.  So here are some BIG WORDS for you to enjoy: CAPACIOUS (that's a fun one to say), LARGE, GRANDIOUS, GENEROUS, ENORMOUS, INFINITE, BODACIOUS, HUGE, GIANT, GIGANTIC and GARGANTUAN.  That's it, that's all I've got. Feel free to add to the list.  

time is money

It seems that sometimes it's good to have a little extra time on my hands.  Last June I had hip replacement surgery which went very well. During the intervening months I have received bills for various parts of the surgery and hospital stay. These bills typically showed how much my insurance had paid and how much I owed.  They have sort of trickled in but nothing seemed unusual. Until, that is, three weeks ago, when, after several months, I suddenly got a bill for almost $500 and a notice that my payment was a month overdue.  I hate to admit it but in ordinary times I might have accepted the bill as accurate and paid it.  However, I've had a lot of time on my hands lately so I made some phone calls and willingly held as long as necessary to talk to real live people.  The pleasant lady in the hospital office explained that it was all the insurance company's fault.  They had changed their mind about covering a certain charge.  The contact person at the insurance company however seemed to think it was a problem with hospital billing. In both cases I was to to wait to pay the bill and they would look into it.  Evidently they had time too, because today I got a revised bill and the charge is now $37.  So much better. One more silver lining to staying in.

a good day to stay at home

Today is National Garlic Day.  I'm sure that's a fine day; I like garlic cooked into several of my favorite foods, like spaghetti. and, of course, garlic toast.  But my father would not have approved.  He really hated garlic.  I had to be careful, when I was cooking any large family meal, to avoid any use of garlic.  He could sniff out garlic a mile away.  I finally got him to explain why he disliked garlic so much.  It seems that, when he was a child (he was born in 1916) if he got a cough his mother would put a poltice on his chest made of garlic and honey wrapped in a hot cloth.  Evidently it did a great job of opening his sinuses and calming his cough but left him with a life long loathing of garlic.   I hope my children appreciate that I always used Vicks on them.  

more new skills

I learned three new things today, all thanks to being physically distanced, with plenty of time to check out Facebook and other things electronic. 
First, do you know why it's called a pandemic?  It's because during this time of isolation we eat constantly, like pandas.
Second, I watched a short Youtube video and learned how to make a mask out of a sock.  It works.  I used a plain white sock but now I'm looking at some of my patterned socks, trying to decide if I'm willing to sacrifice a pair of socks to have a fun mask.  I think we're going to be wearing them for a while.  
Third, this evening I joined a Zoom chat and learned how to make a chocolate souffle.  Well, let me clarify, I watched a demonstration of a man (our pastor's husband) making a chocolate souffle.  It looked delicious when it was all finished, but realistically, I will never in this life make a chocolate souffle.  
I may however bake a chocolate cake tomorrow from a mix I have on hand,  I mean, chocolate is chocolate after all.

Say it isn't snow!

It was very pretty this morning.  I woke up to a snow covered winter wonderland.  Sadly, it's April.  According to my best source today is National Cheese Ball Day.  National Snow Ball Day might be more appropriate.  The weather persons kept assuring me on every weather report I saw today that snow in April is not all that unusual.  While this was interesting, it didn't do much to alter my attitude.  Snow is a Christmas thing.  You see snow on Christmas card pictures byt not on Easter cards.  On the other hand, our apartment management is encouraging everyone to hang up our balcony Christmas lights to honor medical workers and others on the front line.  I do think this is a fine idea but I really wasn't in the mood for balcony lights.  However this little bit of snow (which I knwo will be gone tomorrow, has put me in the mood to get those lights out.  I'm just waiting for a little warmer weather.  I know, I know, I'm very hard to satisfy.  

Surprise!

I don't know if $1,200 has magically appeared in my bank account yet or even if I'm qualified to receive it.  Certainly I am, based on the income guidelines I've heard quoted.  I have tried to check my account on line but systems have been busy.  I understand that.  In the meantime, I did receive a very friendly letter from my insurance company today.  It seems that people are driving less and accidents are down so now we "loyal and dedicated" customers are going to receive a "premium relief check" of $50.  I'm pleased of course.  Any time someone wants to give me money I will take it (assuming it's legal of course). I did do a little quick calculation though and realized that this check will almost offset the premium increase I was presented with at the beginning of 2020 because I had turned 75.  Evidently we elderly people are riskier drivers.  I don't think so but it seems they have some pesky statistics to prove their point.  

another special day

According to my west-coast brother, who works for a TV station so he must know, today is Art History Day and also National Glazed Spiral Ham Day.  I feel like it's my day for sure.  I love ham, although for Easter this year I had spaghetti, and once upon a long, long time ago I taught Art History at a local university.  I taught for four semesters, spending long late hours creating lectures and sorting slides (old tech but it's what we had).  At the end of the four semesters I was feeling good because I was looking forward to starting the series over again without needing to recreate everything from scratch.  Then we moved, and that was the end of my career as a college instructor.  I was only part time and didn't have a doctorate so I was never a professor.  On the up side, years later, when I was finally able to travel to Europe and beyond and saw some of the art works I had seen only in pictures and slides it was like re-connecting with old friends.  On my very first European trip, which was to Italy, the very patient friend I was traveling with quickly learned that if he let me wander in an art museum he might not see me for hours.  I'm sure he was tempted to leave me a few times but I always managed to find my way back to him - usually in a shady courtyard taking pictures or reading.  One of these days I'll travel again, but it won't be this year, although I understan that flights are pretty cheap right now.  

hair cut story, number two

When my daughter was three I took her to my beautician for her first real haircut, having learned my lesson on my firstborn, (See yesterday's blog.)  She looked so cute.  After we got home I started fixing lunch while she went upstairs to play.  I suddenly realized that she had been quiet for a long time.  Any parent will tell you that that is not a good thing. My husband didn't really learn this lesson 'til years later when he was caring for our grandchildren, but that's another story.  Being curious, but not too concerned, I called up the stairs to her "What are you doing?"  After a beat of silence the answer came "I'm not cutting my own hair."  Well, that got me upstairs at olympic qualifying speed.  But too late, she had cut a sizeable chunk out of the front of her hair (bye, bye bangs).  Who knew kindergarten scissors could cut so effectively?  There's a reason we don't have any pictures of my daughter between age three and three and a half.  

hair cut stories

My niece posted a picture on Facebook today of herself sporting a new hair style.  She had not only given herself a haircut but a whole new style and it looked great.  I am in awe of anyone who can cut their own or anyone elses hair.  In one of her many jobs my mother was a beautician.  She could cut hair but that gene missed me completely.  When my son was two years old, I decided to give him a haircut before we left on a trip (his first airplane flight) to visit some friends in Pennsylvania.  An hour after we started (he was a very patient child) I admitted that I was never going to get things evened up and I'd better seek professional help.  The barber did help, after he finished laughing, but all he could do was give hime a very close cut all over - not bald but close.  Suddenly my little baby boy looked like a tough litle kid. Interestingly, he still wears his hair cut very short, but I suspect that now it has more to do with minimising a bald spot than trying to look tough.  
Tomorrow, another hair raising tale.

Happy Easter, etc.

I hope everyone had a great Easter.  I attended church via live sstream.  Then I visited with family, by Zoom with my son. by cell phone with my daughter, by text with two grandchildren, and by a landline phone conversation with my west coast brother.  I had spaghetti for supper.  So you know, all in all, a pretty traditional Easter.  Take care everyone and stay well.

breaking with tradition

Ordinarily, on the Saturday before Easter, I would spend the day cleaning and cooking and generally doing all I can to make sure I can serve a good dinner to my family on Easter Sunday.  Today, in keeping with the sharp break in tradition created by this Coronavirus isolation, and knowing that I'm not going anywhere or having anyone here tomorrow, I did fun stuff.  I finished the last 100 pages of a really good novel, put the final pieces in a fun, 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and baked some really good lemon bars.  All in all, quite a nice, no guilt day of goofing off.  Another silver lining. 

more church

Today is Good Friday, and, as is my usual habit, I attended a church service at noon.  A Good Friday service with a twist.  We were invited to gather, in our cars, in the parking lot on the east side of Macy's.  There was plenty of room in the parking lot and I realized that we were meeting there because neither of our church parking lots is large enough to hold all the cars that came and allow everyone to see the pastors.  Two of our pastors stood out in the cold, windy weather and the service was broadcast on Facebook Live.  Happily, there was a tech person roaming from car to car, at a safe distance, to show several of us how to connect to Facebook Live.  The service was short but very moving and intertwined a lot of what's going on in the world now with the words of Psalm 22.  I was amused to notice that, based on the number of cars, there were several more people attending than at our typical in-church Good Friday service.  And thinking of numbers, our live stream Sunday services are attracting twice as many attendees ans our traditional Sunday services.  I mentioned this to my west-coast brother and he suggested that it was due to the "There are no athiests in foxholes." idea.  That may be but I also suspect it has something to do with being able to attend church in your pajamas with a cup of coffee in hand.

more special days

Today is, of course, Maundy Thursday, and I "attended" a live stream service with communion this evening.  Very somber and serious of course, but beautiful.  I'm not really a shallow person but I needed to think about something lighter than crucifixion, at least for a while, today.  Happily, I didn't even need to go looking.  My west-coast brother sent me a text informing me that today is National Unicorn Day.  Hiw lovely is that?  Because I am a Harry Potter fan, I know that baby unicorns are gold.  They turn silver when they are about two years old and then bright white when they are adults. Adult unicorns don't like boys.  So now you know.
I have a great deal of admiration for J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series.  It takes an amazing imagination to create such a wonderful, richly detailed, consistent fantasy.  It's not quite all from her imagination though.  When I was in Scotand a few years ago, as part of the tour of Edinburgh, we saw the little cafe where J.K. wrote the first book. We also walked through a grave yard near her apartment and on the tombstones there were several names that show up in the books. McGonagall is the one I remember.  We also learned more than I ever wanted to know about 19th Century burial practices, but that's another story. 

Going too far

So far I've tried to be pretty understanding about all the restrictions put in place by this pandemic.  I understand about social distancing, which a friend insists should be called physical distancing.  I'm willing to wear a mask when I must go out.  I keep my trips outside to a minimum.  I communicate with the outside world by Zoom, email, phone and text.  I have even adjusted to not being able to go to the library. Believe me, that's a hard one for me.  But now I think they've gone too far.  I heard on the news yesterday that German Fest has been cancelled for this year. What?!  No good dark beer, no Polka music, no snarfing down sauerkraut and other good German food?  I'm sorry, this is too much.  I know, I know, I can buy sausage, sauerkraut and beer for pick up from Kroger's and I can even find some Polka music somewhere on line, but it just won't be the same.

Shopping Spree

I was going to write this blog yesterday but my laptop froze, so, in the only way I know how to make computer repairs, I turned everything off and let it rest for a day.  And here I am, back in business.  And speaking of business I went shopping yesterday.  Actually I went picking up yesterday.  I shopped on line last week.  Yesterday was my first experience using Kroger's pickup service.  It all went very smoothly. I pulled up to one of the numbered parking spots, called the phone number on the little sign, told them my name and, hey presto, in five minutes, a polite, pleasant young man brought my order out and loaded it in my car.  We were never closer than six feet apart. Then the fun began.  I drove home, unloaded everything from the car, and started unpacking everything in the kitchen.  It was a little like Christmas.  I'm not saying I did a lot of impulse buying on line but there were a few suprises.  First surprise, when I ordered oranges I didn't mean to order eight pounds of eranges.  That's a lot of oranges.  I gave away half of them today.  Second surprise, (this I ordered on purpose) was a cake mix I had never tried before.  It's so cute!  It's called Duncan Hines Easy Cake Kit.  I chose the chocolate flavor.  I felt like a little kid using my Easy Bake Oven. I mixed everything up, poured the batter in the little six inch 
pan that came in the box, baked the cake, squeezed the little bag of frosting on top and suddenly I had a cute little cake.  Four servings for me.  Such fun.  I highly recommend using a pick up service.  On my whole list there were only two, perfectly acceptable, substitutions, and two items they didn't have.  And I didn't need to touch anything, until I got home, that didn't belong to me.  I'm coming to think of my car as my little safety bubble.  

Palm Sunday Communion

I went to church this morning via live streaming and while there took virtual communion.  Each of us were told before hand to have some wine or grape juice and a piece of bread or a cracker set out so we could "commune in the spirit."  I thought it was a great idea and it was actually quite moving.  I discovered that there are some advantages to having communion this way.  The main one being that I could use real wine instead of grape juice.  Being Presbyterian I have grown used to grape juice over the last thirty some years but I still miss the communion wine of my Lutheran youth.  The most unusual communion I ever partook of happened years ago when we lived in southern Ohio.  We attended a very small church where different  families took turns providing the elements each month.  One month the family whose turn it was forgot, until they were sitting in church, that it was their turn.  They happened to live next door to the church and the wife sent her husband home to see what he could find while she stayed in church with their three little boys.  He made it back in time for communion and we communed with pieces of sugar cookies and grape popsicles which he had melted in the microwave. The juice wasn't great but the sugar cookies were a nice touch..

my kind of day

Today, according to a list of unusual days in April, is Slow Art Day.  As it happens I am a practicer (practitioner?) of one of the slowest art forms around - weaving.  For example. I just took one project off my loom today.  With all this at home time you would think I could have polished off that project in my first two days at home but I don't like to rush things.  Now, with an empty loom staring at me, I need to begin a new project.  My plan is to make six matching placemats.  Today I took the first step.  I pulled out all of the yarn I have stashed away, which is really quite a bit considering that I have only gotten back into weaving in the last two years.  Turns out I have lots of black, orange, yellow and red yarn.  It is all spread out on my guest room bed.  Tomorrow I will go back and look at the colors and wait for inspiration.  Then, maybe on Monday I'll figure out my pattern.  By Tuesday or Wednesday I may be ready to string the loom.  But there's no rush. As I said, it's a slow art.  

the great escape

I left my Fortress of Solitude for a while this afternoon and I felt a little bit like I was escaping from prison.  Mind you, it's a very comfy confinement with plenty to eat and lots to do but still it had been a while since I had been out.  A friend and I walked to the old fort and then on down to Promenade Park.  I had mentally envisioned a lonesome walk with few other people out.  I also half expected a policeperson to pull up and ask us if we had a good reason to be out.  Instead, I must assume that lots of people have no access to news information.  I tried to count but quickly lost track of all the bikers, skateboarders and family groups roaming around the park and up and down the sidewalks.  It's not a ghost town out there.  I really can't blame them.  It was a glorious day to be out.  After our walk we stopped at the new "grocery store" that has opened in the Hall's Gas House.  In better times it's one of my favorite restaurants.  Today it was a really handy place to (safely spaced) pick up some things I was running low on.  Celery, eggs, tomatoes, pulled pork and wine topped my list.  I have placed a larger order for pick up from Kroger's but will definitely go back to Hall's for some meat and other things next time.  I'll do my bit to keep my favorite restaurant in business one way or another.

April foolishness

I've lived in my current apartment for over four years now, and, for three of those years, I've heard rumors that we were going to have new elevators installed.  We definitely need them.  Three days ago (not on April 1, or I would be very suspicious) every resident received a letter saying that we really are getting new elevators and the work will begin on April 6. It seems that the company contracted to do the work has been able to move us up on their list.  What a surprise.  To make us all happier with the fact that we will have fewer elevators available (they will work on one at a time) they are doing things to improve our longer wait time.  They have put a bench near the elevators on each floor so we can sit while we wait.  Of course the benches aren't six feet long so only one person will be able to sit at a time.  I hope all the doggies can handle the wait as they sit with their little legs crossed waiting to go out.  If the management really wanted to make our wait more pleasant they could install a help yourself wine bar on each floor.  Because of the Coronavirus they are urging us to not have more than two riders on an elevator at one time.  Actually, with everyone staying home, it might be a really good time to get these elevators replaced.  Time will tell and we seem to have plenty of that. 

considerng my options

Over the last few weeks I've learned to use Zoom to attend meetings and I've used email, texting and even the good old land line telephone much more than usual. So I consider myself fairly competent in these areas.  While in a Zoom conversation earlier today several people mentioned ordering their groceries on line and then driving over and picking them up.  This seems like a good option to me, easier than getting a delivery to my apartment.  So I went on line to try to place an order and quickly became frustrated.  Option 1. I will try again tomorrow.  
They mentioned on the evening news that if we do go out we should cover our faces, not with a surgical mask, but with some kind of scarf.  I have a visiion of me strolling into a grocery store wearing a bandana ala cowboys and Indians of my childhood.  One false move (like reaching for my shopping list) and I would probably be arrested. Opton 2. I will try to craft some kind of non-threatening face covering so I can do my own grocery shopping.  I saw a demo on tv this evening on how a man had fashioned his face covering out of a feminine maxi-pad.  I'm sorry but I really can't see myself doing that.  
Option 3.  Buy a burka, if I can figure out how to order one on line.  The older I get, the more I think that wearing a burka would be great.  Think about it.  No bad hair days, no need to wear makeup, no need to diet.  Of course, being as tall as I am, there's a very good chance that I would be mistaken for a terrorist in drag. 
Option 4. Since I still have meals for at least six days, continue to sit around considering my options. I wouldn't want to rush into anything.