corona lockdown day 18

Today I worked in the afternoon and evening as I had interviews in the evening and my students had their final project due tonight. So in the morning I braved Food Basics. There was a lady at the door pumping hand sanitizer like last week. There were not a lot of people in the store. There were also still as many things missing as last week. Not much chicken, flour, pasta and no TP. Checkout went quickly. They had installed the plexiglass so that was different.

The news says that all outdoor parks will now close. I don't know that really is going to make that much difference as being outdoors with good air circulation. I would be interested in the data of how people.

The number of cases in Kingston and Ontario shot up today. I haven't seen the new case lists but maybe due to more travelers returning. Still very concerning. Both Kingston and St. Catharines seem to be trending together and both look like around 35 current cases.

corona lockdown day 17

I slept well last night and was up at 7am. It rained most of the day but I did get out in the garden a bit around 8am. There was some bunny fur in the garden that seemed to be ripped out and left so I am worried that my bunny met an unhappy demise.

Rustle had upgraded its video capabilities with 2 cameras and the ability to see lyrics on the screen. Ebe did some great work this week on the technical side of things.

Then I worked most of the day as I had to get some reviews done. Running out of food for James as he normally has a meat meal and today was pasta and nachos, no meat. A meatless day in the pandemic world. I am hoping to brave the world for groceries tomorrow.

Corona lockdown day 16

Today came with a lot of interviews so I was kept pretty busy. I am not experiencing any Corona boredom!

There was also a day long cross Canada prayer event. I was working for most of it but it had each hour run by a specific province. A great show of unity and people working together. Each province has a prayer focus for their hour. It was a pretty well run event considering they couldn't have had much time to put it together.

Today for dinner I made a turkey filled with stuffing and wrapped in bacon. OR should I say, I put it in the oven. Loblaws actually made it. It was quite good.

Now I have expended all the fresh meat. I have some frozen things.

Last week Rustle did a broadcast using Facebook live. This week we are going to try youtube live! Exciting times.

Corona lockdown day 15

Today was another busy day at work with meetings and interviews.

James has figured out how to play an online game made for phones on his computer which has made him very pleased as he wins all the time as his computer is more powerful than phones so his character is faster. He was so excited by a win he ran up the stairs and jammed his toe on the top stair. It made a pretty loud bang and he had a big cut and a lot of blood but he is bandaged up now. Not going to a hospital in corona season!

Corona lockdown day 14

Today was a jam packed day. There were 2 prayer meetings, lots of work and interviews. I did go to the grocery store before work but after the seniors hour. I went to Food Basics. I passed Loblaws on the way and there were a lot of cars at the Loblaws so I wondered how FB would be. It was not hugely busy. There were 2 guys at the door. One in a FB uniform- maybe a manger the other was a security guy. They had complementary hand sanitizer at the door. Because the last time I was there the cashier was antsy about anything larger than a quantity of 2 I was a bit concerned about getting more than 2 juice but juice was not being rationed, so it was ok. There was also no one at the cash before me, so checkout was pretty easy.

I forgot to check the TP aisle but I did see someone leaving with TP so there must have been at least a bit.

At another till there was a man who had unloaded a whole buggy full but must have had more than 2 of a rationed item as I heard him pleading with the cashier saying that he had 3 teenage boys at home and they eat a lot.

We had rain and cold and grey.

While the Ontario numbers had a big spike today, the Canada numbers this week, while high numbers have not had significant increases. With all the travelers returning home, it is not unexpected that things are still high.

Corona lockdown day 13

I woke up at 5am so my sleep was a bit broken. I did not have an exiting day personally mainly just worked but Kingston had a more exciting day. A train derailed again at the same spot that one derailed earlier this month. Luckily now no one has anywhere to go so it is less of a problem than a few weeks ago. There was also a fire in an abandoned building nearby but it was quickly put out. Two medical workers in the area have now tested positive which is not a good thing, obviously.

We are running low on juice and cheese and fruit. The problem with the new limits at the stores mean that I am running out of things faster than before which puts more pressure to go to the grocery store which makes it a kind of catch 22 sort of . What is interesting is to see how the supply chain is managing but the not so good thing is being out with people, I suppose.

There was a bunny in the garden today but it is still very cold, so probably not a very happy bunny.

Corona lockdown day 12

Today was the last day for anything "inessential" to be open. I wasn't quite sure what that meant. I went to the dollar store as I thought it may be the last day but there didn't seem to be any signs that they were closing so I don't know about that. It was almost empty, which I guess is good.

I watched a video where the group that oversees some supermarkets (maybe, not sure the relationship) said that the supply chains were strong, that there are lots of supplies in their warehouses, just the issue is getting the supplies on the shelves. When I was at Loblaws they seemed to have stock of most things but their paper product (TP) aisle was completely empty, so it has been pretty much 2 weeks and that has not been able to restock so I guess they still need to work on that.

There are now 11 cases in Kingston, all somehow related to travel. Either travel themselves or close contact. This was always the risk in calling everyone home. So the numbers won't be sorted out until all of the international travel quarantines are up. The numbers that are seen are also a few days behind as it takes some time to test and post. Considering Kingston went from 4 to 11 just now, it is likely that there will be some more rise in the overall numbers. Quebec numbers about doubled today which does not look good.

the numbers game

While I said yesterday that the numbers looked better, today they looked worse. The Canada numbers spiked because of Quebec. The numbers are all probably a bit spikey as travellers are returning. Clara said that there is some community spread in Calgary,which is not good.

I am not sure what the closure of essential services will mean to what shopping looks like tomorrow. Announcements like that tend to create some panic.

Corona lockdown day 11

Today it is snowing. I start work at 1pm because I have interviews until late at night. I had a poor night as woke up at 2am because James was up and then took a long time to get back to sleep. I braved Loblaws. They had a new flow for entering the store (some doors were in and some were out) that seemed efficient. I took a cart (normally I only take a basket) and got fresh fruit and veg and meat and juice which were the most needed things. Most things in the store were unchanged except for the bulk. There is a chicken in the slow cooker now.

There were a lot of changes at the checkout- some lanes were cash only and some were card only but it was hard to tell which so I used the self checkout which I knew would take a card. They had reduced the # of self checkouts from 6 to 4 so that people would have more space. So I had to stand in a line for the first time. But there weren't a lot of people in the store so the checkout slowness was not a big deal but I could see how it could be at busier times. One of the checkout people said that Kingston was "low risk" so they were last to implement things. There was no TP.

Corona Lockdown day #10

Today Rustle did their first attempt at online church- Facebook Live. It was well done (except the sound was a bit wonky). Shari sang some songs. Todd spoke from 1 Kings 18 about the prayer of Elijah who prayed for rain in the time of drought and then a storm came. The chat feature was also fun to connect with others in this time of isolation.

I also watched the elevation church steam that spoke from Joshua 3 about crossing the jordan and how the Israelites were going into a new world, as we are as well.

I am running out of food again so will need to brave the supermarket. Today we had left over chicken and fries.

The numbers from today were better than yesterday but it is hard to tell if that is a continued trend.

Corona lockdown Day 9

Had another good sleep. Had interviews most of the day but did get out for a jog before they started. It was colder so I did find it more challenging. Still 1 block.

Yesterday I made a Chef's plate and had leftovers for lunch today amid interviews. Tasty and healthy

Tonight I have chicken in the slow cooker. But after that I'm out of meat so I will need to brave the outside world again.

Rustle is going to try a live stream tomorrow!

Corona lockdown day 8

Living one week in the new normal. I slept well last night. I had a lot of late interviews so I started work at 11am. I did get a jog in today (one block only) and the weather was nice in the morning. The wind picked up in the afternoon and things have cooled off now. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder. From what I gather from Facebook, grocery stores were more tense today. There were some cheques that came out so maybe more people shopping. Maybe people getting frustrated with the isolation so nerves more frayed. Tomorrow is a day of interviews as well.

Corona lockdown day 7

This was a very long day. James woke me at 2am going to the bathroom and then I couldn't get back to sleep. Except I did, just before I needed to wake up! I got up early to do a prayer meeting live from Israel with over 4000 people  from around the world before work. Then work was lots of emails and problem solving and interviews. At lunch I walked to Food Basics, which was busy but had a lot of cashiers on so there were no lineups, allowing for social distancing. They did have toilet paper but not much. They were rationing all purchases. I had a lot of frozen concentrated juice that James drinks and the cashier said she didn't know about that but the other cashier told her that it was not a rationed product, which is good because if it was I would need to go to the store every day! Then in the evening we had a long board meeting to talk about meetings at Rustle in this pandemic.

Updates on day 6

This was the song that they shared at the end of the national communion service.


I did go for a short jog today- only one block- google maps said 850m so it was a large block. I need to start somewhere though!


The city has made some changes- Kingston Transit is free so that people can get on at the BACK of the bus to social distance themselves from the driver. (Though using public transit is still on the "danger" list of things to do) As they expect people to make more garbage now that everyone is home every household can put out 4 bags of garbage. They also have lifted parking restrictions near the hospital. And turned the Memorial Center into the COVID testing center.


Chef's plate indicated that their orders are up. The box came today with a delivery driver wearing plastic gloves. The soy sauce had spilled but I had an extra from take out in the fridge so was ok. Made a Thai curry that was very good with chicken and chow mein noodles

Since I downloaded my pictures in the camera, here is what the inside of freshii looked like yesterday (no more dining in)

And this was from an older chef's plate (the vinegar spilled in this one- I have been having a run of spills)

corona lockdown day 6

Today I woke up at 6ish even without my phone. Did the dishes and some things around the house. Wondered how the seniors hour at the grocery stores and SDM went. Decided I might like to go for a jog now that I mainly won't be walking to work anymore but all the shoe stores have closed due to the state of emergency. Giant tiger is still open though the online show that they said was in stock was not in stock. I hadn't noticed that they had shoes before. I bought some just so I don't ruin my good shoes even though they may not be great to run in. There was not much available at the GT of what I needed (veg)- normally they have a pretty good selection. They also didn't have TP but there are places in the city that are starting to have it.
The city has been sending many notices about green bins and todays notice was that all food waste should be in liners. Which is a great idea if you have liners at home. But otherwise you need to go to the store. And what if they sell out? I'm not sure how well thought through this was.
I will log onto the communion service in about 10 mins. Looking forward to it!