Coronovirus lockdown- Second Week - Retrospective preparations

This  that follows is an expansion on an email that I sent to friends in Canada where the situation has not yet got to the state that it is in Britian. I expect it to grow as I think of more things.

Monday 9 March  Self - Isolation started
Friday 20 March Schools Closed
Monday 23 March Lockdown - Not allowed off property.

Belong to a Library and see what they have in ebooks, audiobooks and e-magazines

Tinned foods keeps well. It keeps even longer if you have a crap can opener.

Think about what decorating needs doing in the house and get in the paint, brushes, masking tape etc. 

There are going to be a lot of long haired people around when this is over.  Can you get some clippers so your partner can practice on you? 

Time to dig for Victory and plant a garden? Get seeds and compost and plant feed and fertiliser.

Get yourself in shape for it: Glasses checked, teeth examined etc. I broke a tooth yesterday and have got a fixing kit so am going to do some home repairs. 

Get a new computer while you can get it delivered.

Stock up on some powdered milk in case the real stuff is not available. 

The instructions are to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds every time. My hands have got very dry and are cracking up, so I would suggest getting in some hand cream. 

On the basis that you don't know what you will be able to get if you are locked in, here are some ideas:

Washing machine powder,

As I mentioned, with extreme handwashing my hands are cracking up, especially as I have to wash them after painting. 

Maybe get some rubber gloves in. I use them all the time anyway. 

I see that the social distancing of 2 Metres is not sufficient according to a Harvard or MIT study.

I should have got in more paintprushes, they don't last for long, especially when you are only doing a bit a day and cleaning them every time. 

and - Household glue - I use a fair bit of contact cement and my tube is nearly empty. I won't be able to get any more because all the hardware stores are closed for the duration.

One more thought. My Linux User Group message board suggested that we sign up for folding@home So most of us have. Let your computer keep working while you are gardening/painting.

https://foldingathome.org/news/

Also I was asked this morning how long  a car could be left without use. The best advice seems to be to take it for a 10 mile run every two weeks just to charge the battery and make sure the tyres don't get any flat spots. 

Lockdown - March 2020

24 March 2020: I have a note beside me that spells out the four steps of personal response to the Coronovirus pandemic.
1. Social Distancing
2. Social Isolation
3. House Arrest
4. Lockdown.

For the last week since we went to our coffee morning and only very few people were there, we have been practicing Social Isolation. It is very difficult to avoid touching something that someone else has touched, such as the food that Tesco delivers, and the post, and when Lian next door gave us some milk. When you read that the virus can exist for 72 hours (3 days) on hard plastic or metal, and for a few hours on cardboard and paper, you want to leave any post that is delivered until the evening to read.

For the past week we have been driving out and having our tea/coffee from a flask somewhere is the countryside, where we don't see anyone else. Now we are in lockdown and only allowed out of the property once a day for exercise. It will be interesting to see how that works. Ross next door started a new career yesterday with his coffee van. Dave (his father)  said that he had spreadsheet out all the figures before he bought into it, but this lockdown is going to blow a big hole in that.

I made a schedule of painting for the woodwork around the house. This is the second day and it is already blown. I painted the downstairs bathroom yesterday instead of the upstairs one as per my schedule, and today I am putting it back together and preparing the stairs for tomorrows painting.

Friday and on Thursday I painted one side of the staircase. Masking tape still there. I need a new brush.

We'll see.  I have a number of other tasks on a list that keeps on growing.