Tried going shopping

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UV vs. viruses

Actually UV light can be quite effective against viruses.

 

However, the most effective UV light is UV-C, which is the type that germicidal lamps emit. Unfortunately while the sun emits UV-C, very little of it gets to the earth's surface. UV-B, which does get down, is much less germicidal/antiviral but is far more abundant than UV-C so it may have some protective effect. Perhaps more important is that outdoors a cough or sneeze quickly dissipates, whereas inside a building, the aerosols and droplets may linger far longer in the still air.

 

It's long been observed that people who go outdoors in general are healthier than those who stay inside all the time. This may be from a combination of factors, but I would think that UV light exposure, as well as fresher, less contaminated air, play a large part. Balancing that out is that those who are obliged to stay inside often may have health problems already.

 

The link below is to a NCBI publication that discusses face masks, UV light, and other factors affecting viral (flu) transmission.

 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1854994/
 
Last time I went shopping it was to the local Costco on March 19. I got there shortly after 10 am (it opens at 9 am) and it wasn't too bad. However, when I left at 11 am it was getting a bit frantic. I had trouble exiting the building because of the continuous line of anxious shoppers pushing their carts toward the relocated entrance. I finally had to snarl at them, "You gotta let people out of the store if you want to get into the store!"... LOL...

 

No TP of course but I bought a 30 roll pack back in December and still haven't had to open it. In fact I gave six rolls to an elderly couple next door who mentioned they were running low.

 

Like Ralph said, I also have a lot of frozen food in the chest freezer that I could do well to start going through. For fresh veggies I generally go to a Cardenas Mexican style grocery in the next town. They have the best prices and selection. In fact I may pay them a visit tomorrow morning, and then Costco to get some eggs.

 

I pack hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes when I go out shopping. Luckily I had some set aside long before this crisis.

 
 
There are air purifiers out there that have UVC bulbs in them.The old UV bulbs used in dryers and some washers generate UVC.These lamps are very effective in destroying airborn viruses,spores,and bacteria.And if they are on surfaces the light can strike as well.The bulbs have to be shielded from eyes and skin.And plastics can be weakened from the radiation of these lamps.Some commercial HVAC systems have large UV bulbs in a duct unit that air can pass over the bulbs.Same with water sterilizers at water plants.The UV can destroy bad bugs in water,too.I have three purifiers in my place running all the time.So far since I have used those purifiers haven't gotten sick.Your results can vary.
 
Thanks Bob

<blockquote>
Rick, the "closest" to Ft. Worth is Ennis, Waxahachie, and Burleson.

</blockquote>
I knew they were encroaching on the metro.  Might even be one in Mansfield.  Or is that 'the other' Central Market?  There is one of those I know of but my income bracket doesn't qualify.

 

Kroger is 2mi away, without crossing I-30.  Those are the only reasons I tolerate them.
 
One word about germicidal UV lights. They don't last forever. When I worked doing sterile work in research labs, I remember being told that over time the efficacy of the germicidal lamps decreased. However I never did see any data on that, so I was never sure how one could tell. When I asked, I was told that someone would check the lights from time to time. ?

 

From this video, UV-C lamps last about a year of continuous use.

 

 
Our governor put more new restrictions on the amount of people that can be in a store from 5 for a convenience store to 100 for Walmart. Went to Walmart today and there were about 20 people standing out in the rain waiting to get in when I left. Our governor is scared and rightly so as Maine has only received 5% of the medical supplies requested and has got zero response from Washington.
 
We just got back from a walk, having stopped at the premium grocery store, Oliver’s about a mile from home.  The carts and hand baskets were all sanitized, they have plexiglas shields up at the registers, everyone was carefully following the social distancing guidelines.  We bought 2 large green peppers, a 2 lb, bag of rice, quart of 1/2&1/2 , 8 bananas and a bag of  jelly beans.

 

I’m confident that we will be able to get thru this now.  We can get what we need, when we need it, most importantly SAFELY!  

 

Sonoma County started the shelter in place and social distancing orders 3 days before the state did.  It’s paying off!  Any community/state that isn’t doing so is really going to pay the price in needless deaths that could have been avoided.  I know we still aren’t out of the water yet, and there are darker  days ahead, but at least we are doing the very best we can to flatten the curve, and that’s all we can do for now.

 

Now be sure to WASH YOUR HANDS, wear a mask when around strangers and stay the hell at home as much as possible.

 

Eddie
 
Meanwhile in Canada...

Today was the first time in over a month that I ventured out to one of the bigger grocery stores in St-Hyacinthe - I have been managing on frozen foods and cans of veggies and fruit but it was wearing thin... Plus we were out of dog chews!

 

The new rules here have customers lining up to enter stores to limit the number of people congregating in them; on entry, you are advised to wash hands and maintain a 2 metre (6 foot) distance between yourself and others.  The store where I went had someone who asked each customer if they had  been outside of the country in the past 14 days, if they had experienced any symptoms of the novel corona virus, and if anyone the customer lived with had them.   Customers are encouraged to shop alone and to paraphrase Apu, "Get in, get out, and come again!"

 

Once inside, I was happy to see that there was ample fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish.  The bakery department had plenty of breads, rolls, bagels, english muffins, etc.  Flour seems to be the new unobtainium here - I think the nationwide rail disruptions prior to the covid pandemic may be responsible for this more than hoarders.  There was still plenty of loo roll (but there were signs warning that a limit of 2 packs per shopper would be enforced).  The only packages of toilet paper were large 12-roll ones so that should not be a huge issue. 

 

I got just about everything I needed fortunately and am hoping I won't need to shop again for another 10 to 14 days. 

 
 
 
Went to WM ~1p.  Moderate amt of cars in the lot, people in the store seemed sparse.  Mostly keeping apart except when passing in the aisles.  There was a group of girlies visiting in the grassy area front of the lot.

Stock was good, although I didn't check everything.  Noticed rice was sparse except for some micro-packaged products.  NO TOILET PAPER.  Plenty bread (didn't get any).

NO SHIELDS AT THE CASHIERS.
 
Kroger Thursday had everything I was looking for Tuesday.  Pallet of TP.  Most dairy.  I got the last of the 93% ground steak but plenty of 80%.  Water gallons; I'm offering the 16oz bottles to anyone who runs out.  A whole wall of bread. 

Beanie Weenie.

 

Still no pasta.  Can't figure out where it's going.  The jars of sauce were there the whole time. 

Mean people are so desperado they're eating plain boiled pasta?
 
Mean people are so desperado they're eating plain boiled

pasta.

 

They’re makin their own sauce.  Not everyone uses jarred or canned spaghetti sauce.

 

 Plus, you don't necessarily have to use a tomato based sauce.  I often make a Primavera with either small pieces of chicken or ham, some peas, carrots and onions, sautéed in a little butter or oil with some heavy cream, béchamel or sour cream.  I often just add a tbl or so of flour to the sautéed vegetables and use milk for the liquid to make an in pan sauce, rather than use heavy cream or sour cream , it depends upon what I have and my mood.  Sometimes some green beans, and always a generous amount of pepper and garlic to taste.  This works with any pasta really.  Just toss the cooked pasta into the pan with the sauce.  Buon Appetito.

 

We’re going to need to get creative and vary things in our meals to accommodate for shortages and to help the boredom.  You tend to eat less of food that has some variety and tastes good.  This could help to stave off the COVID-19 bulge.

 

Eddie

 

 

 
 
Not a cook, certainly not a chef, just a kitchen engineer.  My food imagination leaves room for..... imagination.  The only thing I do with pasta besides regular old red (tomato-plus) sauce is toss some spaghetti in a can of beef stew.  Oh wait, I can make scratch lasagna but it's too much bother for only me so I heat a Stouffers with xtra chz.
 
To each their own;

Anyone can cook who gives it a try. I's your health though. Frozen and pre packaged/prepared foods are generally higher in sodium, fats and sugars. I almost bought prepared macarinoi and cheese yesterday as I am really Jonez'n for some. 950 mg. of sodium per serving, so I put it back, and bought a half gallon of whole milk. 2 cups, added to a rue browned lightly of 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, and 2 tbsp. flour. Bring to the boil, and simmer untl velvelty thick. Add 2 c. of any cheese(s) you like. melt, and pour into 1 lb. of pasta. You can freeze, and or refrigerate left overs. Add Chicken breast, or broccoli for a great meal. You control the salt. I add a tbsp. of grey poupon dijon mustard, a pich of ceyenne pepper, and some paprika.
 
Re: Reply #103

I agree Mike, Macaroni and Cheese is a perfect dish for these time<span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and your recipe sounds a lot like the one I posted a while back in thread #77737.  The recipe I always use uses canned evaporated milk, so if you are running low on fresh milk this could be a real plus.  Of course you could also substitute the evap milk in your recipe too.  A 12 oz. can of evap milk reconstituted with 1 can of water would equal 3 cups fresh milk, ideal for any cooking, and in a pinch you could use it on cereal like my parents had to do during the Depression.</span>

 

And in the interest of full disclosure, about 4 weeks ago when I saw this whole COVID-19 nightmare begin to unfold I bought a jar of Market Pantry Pasta sauce and  bag of Market Pantry Frozen Beef Meatballs at Target, just to have some non perishable staples on hand.  These are items I seldom buy, but it seemed prudent.  Well last night thats what we had for dinner, using 1/2 the jar of sauce that I added about a 1 tsp. of dried basil to and about 2 tbls of dry vermouth, and  12 of the meatballs and served it with spaghetti.  It was really not bad at all, and tonight we’ll have the other 1/2 jar and 12 more of the meatballs and spaghetti.

 

This is a perfect time to practice our cooking skills, we’ve all got plenty of time on our hands, waiting for the sand in the hourglass to tell us the crisis is over.

 

I added the link for the Easy Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe in post #1017636

 

Eddie

 

[this post was last edited: 4/3/2020-13:59]

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?77737
 
Went to Walmart ...

this morning, northern Atlanta area, and most everything that was not available couple of weeks ago are now back. The TP aisle looked 3/4 full. Paper towels were back as well. Was able to buy some bleach, clorox wipes, rubbing alcohol, and Tylenol. Why the hell do people hoard Advil and Tylenol? Haven't seen it on shelves for weeks, but today was refreshing to see most of this stuff in fairly good supply. And the ammo cabinet in sporting goods was pretty much full again. 3 weeks ago it was stripped bare. However signs remain stating only one package of each type of paper product could be purchased. Most of the stores in the last week here have closed all doors except for one and herd people in and out ..... with lines or x's spaced 6 feet apart at the entrances and at the registers. Some stores are only allowing a certain number of people to go in and as people come out will allow you to go in.[this post was last edited: 4/4/2020-18:40]
 
Had kind of the opposite issue here in MI, went out this afternoon and the stores stock was in worse condition than in previous weeks, lots of holes in the shelves. Still no paper products and I''m down to my last mega roll.  No sugar, flour or yeast either.

 

Just saw this scary -- 1 used offer...

 
d92a260412accbe6a0253dde7df1e5fbba1eacf65cd6303e04f0c49e3f9f5793.png


[this post was last edited: 4/9/2020-18:47]
 
 
Sister had TP shipped to parents, myself, & other sister via Sam's.  Arrived today, sooner than expected.

FAVOR delivery apparently is available now, per newspaper story.  Delivery is $6 (altho local grocery is free for age 60+) plus a required tip for the runner.  RJ got the app, said it offers only broad categories of items such as "rice" or "frozen chicken" with no apparent selection for specifics.  Other local shopper/delivery services are available, one charges $25 per run.
 
Prior to cases of COVID-19 being confirmed in our area, I found that if I made a quick trip to the grocery store at 7:00 a.m. nearly every day, almost all products were on offer at some point during the week. The trick was to shop very early in the day, because if pasta was available in the morning on, say, Monday, it would be gone by Monday afternoon or early evening.

Now that the demon virus has infiltrated our little town, I, with chronic lung issues, no longer want to risk even a weekly trip to the store, much less a daily one.

The manager of our town's lone grocery store said it has become increasingly difficult to predict what will be included in any given shipment. One used to know that fresh produce arrived on the Tuesday truck; bread products on the Wednesday truck, etc. Now it's a crap shoot.

Fortunately, my pulmonologist told me to start stockpiling back in early February. He accurately predicted that stores would, without warning, be short of everything we now find difficult to procure. I didn't buy six packages of toilet paper at once, but instead picked up one pack 2-3 times a week. Ditto Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, napkins, Kleenex, toiletries, meat, cheese, flour and other baking-related products, pasta, and canned goods. Applying that strategy means I have a buffer in the pantry. When I finish a package of toilet paper, I replace it, knowing that I still have a couple of packages in the pantry as back-up. That means I'm not exacerbating the problems brought on by purchasing 5-6 items of a particular product in one go, but am still able to maintain an inventory.
 
Had to venture into Walmart today for a few necessities.  The entire TP/PT aisle was filled with.....Easter baskets!  Still no disinfectant wipes or Lysol type spray cans.  But I got what we needed for now.  I may venture out when they first open in the morning.  The fabric department was empty of fat quarters and every sewing machine was sold out!  I have a stash of remnants that I'll be using to make a few mask for us...of course I have N95's left over from fit testing at work over the years.

[this post was last edited: 4/10/2020-21:21]
 
No toilet paper at

our store yesterday still! Glad we didn't need it yet.
At a local gourmet Italian store the other day, a customer who refused to wear a face mask was asked to leave their store in violation of our states executive order to wear them. She spat at the clerk, and is now in jail. She was a candidiate for mayor in that cities last election.
Another suburbs city manager was removed from her job for protesting at the state capitol against the executive stay home mandate two weeks ago. Wednesday, she was arrested for shoplifting.
Is it Ethics, or Politics?
 
I shop at the local Hy-Vee every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. Am usually the first person in the store. There are maybe 10 people in the whole place by the time I leave 20 minutes later.

 

Toilet paper/paper products aisle is always fully stocked on Tuesday, so assumed the hoarding was over for those products. No Clorox Wipes or hand sanitizer on Tuesday. Soup is nearly always wiped out, as well.

 

So, decided to try Thursday this week.  Snagged a container of disinfecting wipes (store brand), a bottle of hand sanitizer and cream of-soups.  However, not a package of toilet paper in sight.  

 

I'm getting a handle on which day to shop for particular products.  

 

Unfortunately, COVID cases in Worthington (home to closed JBS pork plant) have spiked in a major way--over 1,200 cases, most active, in a town of 13,000--and people scared to shop there are making the 28-mile drive to Windom to shop at our only grocery store.

 

With chronic lung issues, I guess this is my new normal until the virus either recedes or an effective vaccine becomes available.
 
Luckily the TP shortage seems to be over here, depending on where you shop. Walmart to the north has it where at the one to the east is more scarce. PT were in stock before the TP.

Still haven't found hand-sanitizer, but because of Rich's work and a purchase of 1/2 gal industrial 99% isopropyl alcohol, we're set there. I should elaborate a little... there IS hand sanitizer available, even at Home Depot. However, it's not alcohol-based and thought to be somewhat ineffective against CV. Many contain benzalkonium chloride which, while anti-bacterial, has less reliable results against CV than isopropyl alcohol or ethanol.

Someone we know purchased a number of bottles (small) of this stuff through a home shopping network for $35 a pop. The "doctor" that was the spokesperson said it would provide a 2-hour window of protection from CV! Well, after looking up the effectiveness of BC against CV, Rich looked the doctor up and it turns out he was a plastic surgeon with a 2 out of 5 star rating from patients and a number of complaints lodged against him. This is obviously how he makes $ now. The shopping network gladly accepted the return and provided a refund.

Be careful out there!

Chuck
 
El Regio Ha Llegado!

My local Acme hasn't had toilet paper in over a month.

I went in yesterday to pick up a rx bec I'd received a text saying it was ready (It was not only not ready, the pharmacy was closed as usual Sundays). However, I did find toilet paper for the first time. There was ONE brand in a 4-pack. nearly the entire T.P. section was filled with it. Although there was a limit of 1 or 2 per person.

The only thing I'm stuck on is "Rinde". The only way I can make it work in my head is if that which the toilet paper is supposed to clean sees the Regio approaching and surrenders without a fight. So I'm pretty sure I'm wrong. Could someone help?

For the record, it's single ply and does the job just fine.

warmsecondrinse-2020051122104100186_1.jpg
 

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