corona lockdown day 49

Today was a rainy day. Before work I went to Rustle to pick up the bills and deposits. The rain was light at the time. At 8:30am we had a goodbye meeting for some people who were finishing up working with us. The rain was heavy in the morning. At lunch I tripped downtown in light rain to the new bank that I managed to put the deposit in. On the way home I stopped by Shoppers to pick up a couple of things. There was no hand sanitizer at the entrance, nor any greeter. There were not many people in the store. There were arrows on the floor that people weren't really following. It was pretty easy. I checked the TP and they had expensive ones.

Kingston increased by 2 on the covid chart so that was a disappointing way to end April.

I had a lot of meetings today which meant that I didn't get a lot of work done.

corona lockdown day 48

It is getting a bit warmer. I did the jog in the morning but still had to wear a hat and mitts. It was supposed to be rainy during the day but that didn't seem to develop.

I had meetings all morning, then an organizational email to write for the May/June students, then had some project work to do.

I made a nice chilli for dinner.

Had a lot of organizational things to do in the evening- I updated rustles website, wrote to the city about Rustle's lunch program, studied some paperwork that needs to be completed for James' 18th birthday. Contemplated doing my taxes but saw the deadline had been extended so decided I did not have the energy. Have to hang the laundry up now and then go to bed.

corona lockdown day 47

Today was a cold start -1 so I didn't jog.

Got a call from Rustle's bank that they have permanently closed the branch by my house. They decided yesterday and closed today. Though they had not actually be "open open" since the COVID situation but I could still drop off deposits. I will need to bank at the downtown one now.

Still lots of work to do to wrap up my course but also trying to prepare for the summer courses and summer students who are going to be helping me and trying to get TA offers out for next year.

Lots of meetings tomorrow morning.

corona lockdown day 45 and 46

An especially busy few days.

Yesterday before Rustle I went to both Metro and Shoppers Drug Mart. Both were very quiet. I went to Food Basics this morning so am mostly stocked up again. Very thankful for the Amazon snacks as I am only buying staples. There does not seem to be much consistency between stores on how they are dealing with things. Here is what I have noted for the nearby ones:

Loblaws: security at entrance, greeter at exit. Don't allow you to bring your own bags. Charge you for their bags. Arrows on the ground
Food basics: Before today they always had security and greeter. Today only a greeter who reminded me not to take my backpack off in the store. They have you use their bags and don't charge you. Arrows on the ground.
Metro: Before yesterday security and a greeter. Yesterday only a greeter. They don't want you using your own bags. They don't charge you for their bags. No arrows on the ground.
Shoppers: A bottle of sanitizer greets you sometimes. Nothing other times. You can use your own bags. Arrows on the ground.

So there are some varied approaches. It is like entering a new land and determining the culture each time.

Yesterday was rainy. Today was still a bit cold but not rainy. I did the jog today but not yesterday because of the rain and I was doing a lot of walking. There was a bunny on someone's front lawn near the end of my jog about 10 houses away. The bunny did not seem to have a problem with me.

Very swamped with work.

James picked up his gear from the Invista Center and said goodbye to his dressing room and coach for the year. I asked him if they used hand sanitizer but he said no. He also said that he shook a lot of hands.

Kingston itself is holding well in the counts as we have now been stagnant at 59 cases for 7 days.

corona lockdown day 44

Todd's birthday was yesterday where he turned 44.

Also I meant to note that when I went to Loblaws yesterday there was a line of cars with their trunks/boots open waiting for deliveries to be deposited into them. They had also rearranged part of the store to allow for more sorting for their pickup service. So that clearly is booming.

Today is a glorious sunny day (though still chilly) so I have laundry hanging out. Hopefully with a bit of sun and wind it will dry.

I slept in until 9am then did my 1.8km jog. Encountered more people than the 7am jogs for sure. One strange guy on a bike who did not get off the sidewalk.

Spent some time in the back garden, put a roast in the slow cooker for tonight.

Have things to do around the house and some marking and a Love Nova Scotia online group at 4pm.

corona lockdown day 43

I forgot to write yesterday that the chickadees seem to enjoy eating the boxwood leaves that are green and apparently tasty.

Today was supposed to be warmer but it didn't really seem like it. I had hoped to hang laundry but it was not warm enough.

It was a bit warmer in the morning so I did the 1.8km jog around 7am. Didn't see many people or cars. I was a bit more tired at the end but I haven't been jogging consistently.

Went to Loblaws before work to get some staples. I got meat and juice and fruit and some small snacks as I couldn't carry much. The store seemed pretty organized. There was no lineup and they were working hard at coordinating the cash. They seemed to have more things but there were still empty shelves of cleaning products and flour. They did have toilet paper!

While I looked at the snacks I knew I couldn't carry anymore. Then got an email today from amazon that half of the snacks that I ordered that were due in later in May and June would be arriving on Monday! So that is exciting.

Work today was email after email. I couldn't get any other work done as I was trying to manage the emails.

For dinner was butter chickpea curry with Naan bread. It was very good.

corona lockdown day 42

Today was very cold in the morning again but tomorrow promises to be better.

We had some integrity meetings and lots of project work and covid things to deal with at work.

Made SoCal Turkey Salad

I was not sure that it would be great from the description especially as I was unsure about the kale, but it was all very good. 5 stars!

Went for a walk after dinner, not many people or cars out. Kingston is apparently doing well and they are planning on opening some trails. I am wondering if the waterfront trail is open. I think that would be a popular one.

corona lockdown day 41

Another cold and windy day. Lots of meetings. Got to talk to Judy in the street. Not much exciting so I thought I would post some pictures.

Penang turkey curry

 Masala chickpea and Halloumi bowl

I decided to make cinnamon rolls

 Spicy Satay Chickpea curry

 I forgot to take a before photo so I forget what this is. May be another turkey curry

 Tortellini soup with Italian sausage tortellini.

Today- Italiano stuffed peppers

 There seemed to be too much meat for the paper they sent so I added an extra red papper

corona lockdown day 40

The night was broken again as there was a millipede in James' room  when he went to bed, which resulted in a high scream. Then a lot of slamming as he chased it down and killed it.

So I did sleep in later than usual, which was good. Like 8am instead of 6am. I checked the google maps and it said that Loblaws was not busy so I popped out the house. But it was much colder than I expected so my coat was incorrect. I should have worn the winter coat. But I pressed on. It was ok in the store. While there were empty shelves of cleaning products a lot of other shelves had filled up. They did have toilet paper. The last time I was there the bulk section was all closed off but now they had prebagged the bulk things so they could still sell them. Not that I bought anything in the bulk section. Just an interesting observation. I did find nice cucumbers as the FB ones were not good enough to buy. The rainyness may have kept people away as well.

Today was sorting out final project marks.

James was working on his Law course.

It was very windy today. And cold. No bunnies in sight.

corona lockdown day 39

Today did not have a good start. I woke up when James clattered in the night but then did not get back to sleep. Eventually I got up and did some work. And realized that I did not have the correct access in the online student system to do what I needed to do, so that was disappointing. It is also cold -3 with a wind chill of -7 so I didn't jog this morning. Hopefully the rest of the day gets better.

Rustle Church: Food for Neighbours BTS (April 18th)

corona lockdown day 38

Today had a promising start. It was warmer, which was nice so I went for a jog (1.8km one) spent some time in the backyard. Came in to start the laundry as I thought I could hang it out to dry. By the time it was done it was raining so no hanging laundry.

Rustle was good. Nice to e-hangout and hear the music and sermon.

Had left over tortellini soup for lunch.

Then realized that the printer cartridge that I ordered from amazon was being delivered today. I didn't realize that they delivered on Sundays other than at Christmas. Not sure if this is a usual thing or a pandemic thing.

I have to put my laundry in the dryer and have a bit of work to do. Can't decide if I will send the integrity notices today as it invites an influx of email.

what james wants for his birthday

A dartboard and darts

Playing cards- amazon has a variety of hockey ones like this

https://www.amazon.ca/Heritage-Jersey-Collection-playing-Toronto/dp/B00655ZEFA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HA61B8MX8XH6&dchild=1

windy with no bunny

It was sunny and windy enough outside to hang laundry, but it was too cold so I did not.

This afternoon we played the draw a chore game. I managed to clean the fridge door and a few other rooms. Making progress anyway.

We also played some electronic games. I won once by accident but James won most.

I have not seen the bunny. Is he hibernating?

corona lockdown day 37

James woke me in the middle of the night to clatter to the bathroom. Then I woke up at 6am with the sun rising. It was very cold so I didn't jog. Instead I watched a psychologist on youtube analyzing couples on reality TV.

At 10am I went to the dollar store. In passing Loblaws and Shoppers I could see that they did not have lines outside the store. The dollar store had a sign saying that their limit was 20 people. They also had arrows on their floor. A good thing because they had narrow aisles but they were hard to see so people kept going the wrong way - I didn't see them until I was at the other end of the store so I don't know if I got there the right way or not. At the check out they asked me if I wanted a bag. Because they had been so antsy about the backpack at food basics I had carefully travelled without it. So I guess there is some inconsistency there as to what is going on.

corona lockdown day 36

It was again very cold this morning so no jog. I also had to psych myself up for shopping.

I went out at 8am and there was no lineup at Loblaws (but I was not going there). There was a 1 person lineup at Food Basics when I arrived (but no lineup when I left). Both the person in front of me and I had backpacks and they were quibbling over if we could bring them in the store but they finally agreed after we said we would keep them on our backs and not take them off.

Interestingly in terms of stock, there were things that they had been out of before (TP, pasta were mostly in stock) flour was still out. But there were new things that were out now- bananas, cucumber and there were some other fruit or veg aisle empty. They also didn't have the tortellini that I was looking for but I found an equivalent one.

At work I spend a lot of time meeting with Steve as we were working on the final grade adjustments.

After work I made Tortellini Soup. I couldn't find a recipe that had all the ingredients that I wanted so I made up my own:

• Steam 2 carrots
• In a large pan (Dutch cooker) heat oil and fry one onion
• Add 1 large can tomatoes and 1 carton of chicken broth and seasoning- basil, thyme, pepper, parsley
• When boiling add the tortellini with the carrots on top (they weigh them down a bit)
• Cook for 10 minutes
• Stir in 5 oz baby spinach

It was very yummy. The tortellini I used were Italian sausage ones. Normally I use chorizo ones. I don't like the cheese ones.

My hand had the "stigmata" that it gets from time to time back mainly last week, it is going away now.

corona lockdown day 35

Today was -3 with windchill -8 so I decided to take a break from the jog. It snowed a number of times today.

I worked hard on our grade adjustment report -50 pages. Meeting tomorrow about it.

Tomorrow also going to try to brave the supermarket again.

corona lockdown day 34

It was very cold this morning. There was snow on the car. It was -1 but -6 with windchill. I did a bit shorter jog- 1.7km.

Work mainly dealing with academic integrity.

For dinner was a chickpea curry from chef's plate, it was very nice. I will need to download the photos soon.

Kingston holds tight at 55 cases with 50 recovered, so far so good here.

corona lockdown day 33

The temperature dropped and it was still a bit windy but I made the 1.8 km jog. Showered and made it to Food Basics before work.

At Food Basics there we no longer a person giving hand sanitizer at the door but there was a hand washing station so I washed my hands before going in. I also tried to strategically work my way around the store to best fill my basket and follow the arrows. There were definitely more people than before. Shelves also seem more replenished. I got 8 cans of juice with no problem. There were a few people wearing masks but not a lot. Maybe people can only stay in the state of hyper altertness for so long. Maybe Kingston is feeling more relaxed as our numbers have not been going up. We spent another day at 55 with 45 of those counted as resolved.

Today I was dealing with academic integrity issues.

I picked up a nice lasagna at lunchtime to replace the incorrect one from last week. It was very good.

corona lockdown day 32

I woke early this morning and went out for a jog. 1.8km this time. It was lightly raining but not too bad. I spent some time in the backyard and then took a shower before work.

At lunch, I went to the other Shoppers to pick up some medicine. This shoppers didn't even have a hand washing station, just had circles on the floor indicating spacing. There was a customer there who sounded ill so everyone was avoiding her! They did have a few snacks so I picked up a few things as it will be some time before the amazon order arrives. The walk was completely dry, which I was not expecting.

I made a nice roast in the slow cooker. The freezer is now almost empty.

There were supposed to be very high winds today but they don't see too bad. I did pull the recycling inside. I also emailed the utilities about a sagging wire nearby. They say that the wind warning is over but it still seems a bit windy out.

Kingston seems to be holding at the 55 number of COVIDs. St. C jumped again to 221. But still not as bad as the problems that they are having in Toronto.

Tomorrow I need to get groceries as we are very low.

corona lockdown day 31

Woke up at 7am and took a jog on a new route (1.5 km) and it went well. I thought it was as cold as yesterday but apparently it was a few degrees higher. There were only a few people out walking their dogs.

Before Rustle started I set things up for cinnamon buns as the yeast needed to rise. Then watched the Rustle service and after made the buns. They turned out ok. James even ate a little bit.

There is supposed to be a lot of rain and wind tomorrow and I can't figure out if that makes it a better idea to go shopping tomorrow or not.

bunny

Because it was so cold today I didn't think that the bunny would be out. I thought there would be back to hibernation times. But I went out to put something in the garage at 3pm and there was the bunny looking at me. I turned around and went back in the house. Bunny was fine with that. I kept looking out the window and the bunny seemed to be happily hanging out. I saw the little white dog come out from the house behind me and could see that the bunny was not moving, probably watching. But the bunny did not jump away. The dog travelled along the perimeter of their yard, when out of range of the bunny, the bunny began eating the grass again. I heard Kiwi barking another time so I checked on the bunny but it seemed not too worried this time.

task game

I wrote all of my tasks on little slips of paper and put them into a container and James is enjoying pulling them out and seeing what I will do next. I get only 1/2 hour and then I need to move onto another task (James times it). Sometimes I get small breaks. I just had an apple and time to write this and now back to work!

Corona lockdown day 30

Woke up at 7:50am. It was even colder than yesterday but still went for the jog and that went ok. After 9am I went to Shoppers. This was actually the least "different" of all the places that I have visited in the pandemic. There was a hand sanitizing station at the start but no security, no lines, most things were a typical Sat morning. They did not have a lot of things though. There were shelves and shelves that were empty so I couldn't get many of the things on my list. But they did have pop and toilet paper, so there is that.

I saw Taylor Ann and Ebe there getting things ready for the Rustle lunch program. There aren't a lot of food programs on the weekend so Rustle has been handing out lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Pine Grove Church has been helping with the cooking because they have a full kitchen but Rustlers have been doing the hand out. I think they have masks to look official as well.

Many Rustlers have had an increase in funds from the government so are doing better than usual but there are many people in the neighbourhood that still need help.

I meant to comment on construction from the last time I was downtown. There are 4 major construction sites on Princess St. and they were all working in some manner. Maybe they had less people there but that was hard to tell.

Corona lockdown day 29

I woke up around 7am. It was lightly snowing but I went on my jog anyway. I thought that there would be no one around because it was Good Friday but it seemed busier than when I normally jog. Weird because nothing is open. Where was anyone going?

Then I walked to Rustle and back (4.2 km total) to pick up the bills and deposit and took the deposit to the bank and paid the bills online.

It was very cold outside so I took a shower to warm up.

I placed an amazon order for snacks. Yes, it has come down to that. Grocery store runs must focus on meat, veg and juice, so snacks must come another way. The snacks will arrive on May 15 if amazon is correct.

I am contemplating going to Shoppers tomorrow. It would be my first trip there since the pandemic started. It is now like visiting a foreign country. I don't know the customs anymore.

For dinner I cooked the masala curry with halloumi and it was pretty good.

Corona lockdown day 28

Today was rainy, windy, cold and snowy all at alternate times and sometimes together. The bunny was not seen. I did not jog. I worked, went to a prayer meeting, worked some more. Made turkey curry from chefs plate. It was pretty easy to make and tasty. Tomorrow is the halloumi meal. I should remember to get a chicken piece from the freezer for James.

Kingston numbers appear to be holding at 53.

Tomorrow I have to go to Rustle and work on some financial things. Have a few services to go to online as well.

Sound of Silence (World in lockdown due to Covid 19)

corona lockdown day 27

Today up at 6:30 for the jog. The bunny was in the backyard so I did my cool down in the front yard. Thought that if I went to Loblaws for 8 it would not be busy. This was incorrect. It was busy. The line up took about 5 minutes but I didn't spend much time in the store as I had a good list. They also did not have limits on juice so I stocked up. James despairs that we don't have enough to eat, but we do there is just a lack of variety.

Loblaws had changed a lot since I last was there. From the line up to the check out. They had lots of tape on the floor to try to route people. And new backboards for the cashiers. I did the self checkout.

Loblaws had a lot of shortages as well, so things had not improved much on the things that they are supposed to be selling, but things had improved to protect from COVID.

At lunch I went down to the Grocery Basket to pick up a Beef Lasagna. The container said beef anyway but it was actually a Veggie Lasagna so that was disappointing.

Kingston's COVID numbers went down today from 54 to 53 because one person counted in the 54 was counted in the wrong jurisdiction. So that was good I guess. Interestingly the 54 is the broader Kingston number and that includes many outlying areas. The actual Kingston number is 33. So far Kingston is holding well. Except for the food.

The bunny was very active in the morning and the evening today. Except for when Kiwi is barking. The bunny does not like that.

corona lockdown day 26

In a weird twist I woke up at 5am today. It was too dark to go for a jog so I took a day off as I don't like to jog after I have eaten so I had a bite to eat and did some reading. Revelation 18 was fitting

“The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives.

Everything you’ve lived for, gone!
    All delicate and delectable luxury, lost!
    Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!

I took my shower and headed out to FB before work. There weren't a lot of people there. There were still a lot of shortages. So despite saying that the supply chain is strong, it is not strong here. Maybe Toronto is better. There was not much meat so they were putting limits on that. Baking supplies, toilet paper, Kleenex still with empty shelves. I tied to buy enough juice for the week (10 cans) and was told that there was a limit of 4. I think the lady made it up on the spot. But whatever, their store their rules. It does mean more trips to the store but I understand they want to keep enough for everyone. Just the juice shelves were full not like other things that they were limiting. I don't mind making more trips at all, just I thought they weren't wanting to encourage that.

However, Kingston is doing better than other areas in COVID cases. Around the 43 mark we were neck and neck with Niagara. Now we are at 54 and they are at 143. Maybe the lack of food keeps our numbers low.

Though there is someone in our Rustle community who is being tested now as they are testing for community transmission. It is probably not likely as it started with an ear infection but I guess they are being careful.

It was still pretty chilly but there was some sun so I hung the laundry out. As I was taking it in, the bunny hopped into the lawn. Nice to see it again.

TUESDAY TALKS WITH TODD - Will God Protect Us? (Mark 11:20-25)

What Todd and Ebe get up to in a pandemic

corona lockdown day 25

Today I woke up at 7:10am and I was pleased that I had woken before my alarm but then I fell back asleep and had to wake up with the alarm.

I went for a jog (1200m again) and then went to the backyard to cool down. The previous bunny poo had disappeared and there hadn't been any for the last few days so I was worried. But my being in the backyard this morning really disturbed Kiwi and there was a lot of barking and I did catch sight of the bunny heading away from the garage and mainly away from Kiwi. It didn't seem too bothered by me, just be all the barking.

Lots of work today- students had their final submission.

corona lockdown day 24

I have not been using an alarm and I still wake up relatively early. However, today I had a super late sleep. I went to bed at 11pm. Woke briefly around 1am when James was clattering around. Woke briefly at 4am to write down a dream. Then woke around 11am with a couple more dreams to write down. Completely nixed all my morning plans!

After the Rustle service was over I went for my jog. Much later than normal so there were a few people around. I did the 1200m route in about 10 minutes. When I get to the 600m point I ask myself, do I want to go further? Not today.

Had an apple for breakfast. Cocoa for lunch. Slim pickings in pandemic times. A nice chicken dinner with fries though.

I will set the alarm for tomorrow morning!

Halloumi

Chef's plate is going on a halloumi frenzy so next week one of the dishes will be masala chickpea and halloumi bowl. I don't think I have had halloumi before so it will be an interesting experience. At the end of April there is a week where there is not much selection for me unless I end up liking the halloumi.

These are the choices:

Chipotle beef sloppy joes with warm broccoli salad- I wasn't too interested in this one though I like sloppy joes
Turkey and creamy mushroom sauce- don't like mushrooms
Korean Pork fried rice- also has mushrooms blech.
Blackened fish-don't like fish
Halloumi poutine- not keen on poutine
Halloumi coconut masala curry- will choose this if I like halloumi!
Tuscan white bean soup- seems fine

COVID-19 Update #19 - What to Embrace, What to Avoid

Our mayor makes daily 1 minute videos about the situation!

construction

When I walked to metro yesterday, I saw many contruction projects in full swing. I wonder which ones will be closed by the latest rules. Ones that are close to completion can continue, but what does that mean? How close is close?

The day has become sunny so I have laundry outside. I heated up sausage rolls (made with chicken???) for lunch. At first James was keen but when he saw them he was disappointed. He said he thought it was going to be a beaver tail with meat. He tried one and said it wasn't as bad as he thought but he wasn't very keen. I also made hot chocolate to use up milk as no one drinks milk and I don't want it to go bad.

corona lockdown day 23

I woke up at 6:30am today. This past week I had been waking up at 8am so it was good to wake up earlier. On a regular Saturday I would have headed to Loblaws early to shop in quiet but these are not regular times and I avoid going out on the weekend and instead aim to go out before work on a weekday (but after seniors hour)

I did the 1200m jog again. I was thinking of running a different route and walking back but I did not feel adventurous enough. I did not see many people.

Today is my first scheduled day off in two weeks. I still have a bit of work to do but not much.

I cleaned both bathrooms today to start. And that was pretty much my morning.

corona lockdown day 22

This morning was a rainy morning. Before work I took a 4km walk instead of a jog and went to Metro. Choosing them only because they have the ground beef that James likes. They also had chicken, which Food Basics did not have much of. They also had TP but it was very expensive. There were still some shelves that were empty but they seemed to be overall better stocked than FB. I found people were jumpier at the metro than FB.

When I walked through Churchill Park one of the entrances was blocked off with wooden barriers but there were still 3 entrances open. So that was weird. And parks are supposed to be ok for walk throughs, just not for gathering.

Walking is ok (as long as you are not sick) https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/living-story/9922342-let-s-venture-out-on-a-limb-can-we-go-for-a-walk-

Kingston has only gone up by 1 case per day the last few days, which is good compared to other communities but some of the cases they don't know where they came from which means that community spread is happening.

I made tacos for dinner with the ground beef harvested from metro.

I downloaded my chef's plate pictures from a few weeks:

Mediterranean Chicken with roasted veggies (and the rice had peas in it)

 Creamy cheese and pepper pasta. The spice pepper not the veggie. Roasted cauliflower on top was very good. I had never tried cauliflower like that before.

This weeks meals- Spicy honey sriacha with roasted veggies

 Turkey enchilada bake was yesterday- I think we had something similar before. Still a favorite.

corona lockdown day #21

Three long weeks. Today I extended my jog from 800m to 1200m with a different route. I survived.

There has now been a Queen's associated COVID case. It creeps closer.

James' teachers are gearing up for starting classwork next week. I learned that the essay that James is to be working on is a Psycho essay, not a Frankenstein one. Not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. He seems pretty confident in being able to accomplish that.

We are out of meat again. Lockdowns are difficult for food with teenagers.

corona lockdown day 20

Today was supposed to be a day off but there was a meeting and lots of emails so not a day off. It was colder today but I still took a short jog- a little different route. About the same distance. In the backyard it looked like there was fresh bunny poo so I am hopeful that there is still a bunny but I haven't seen one.

Made some nice honey siracha chicken from chefs plate. They have warnings on their recipes now that due to increased demand they may need to substitute ingredients so they seem to be doing well in the pandemic.

As the treasurer of Rustle, I got to sign up for the Canada Helps covid response campaign as Rustle is helping with meals in the neighbourhood which took some writing to explain it.