The healthy eating vs. eat what you have thread got me thinking about ways people find to use everything they have in interesting ways. We've always tried to eat as no waste as possible and to compost food stuffs we have to throw away but the current situation has us being more creative. A couple things we do... -save all vegetable scraps (from preparing the vegetables for eating) in a bag in the freezer then once we have a full bag, make veggie broth with it. -currently messing with sourdough starter and using what I might have thrown away during a feeding to make crumpets, pizza dough, pretzels, etc... Would love more ideas so what creative ways have you found to be as no waste as possible?

Do you think states should open back up? Not yet. I would feel better with widespread testing, quarantining those who test positive, and contact tracing abilities in place. Do you think it should be done state by state or all states at the same time? I think it should be state by state or region by region depending on numbers of new cases and resources available to treat patients. What do you think should open back up? Initially, jobs where people work outside/alone or in small numbers like certain construction jobs, landscaping, etc... then gradually open gradually larger and larger work places. Getting people, especially poorer people and more at risk people, back to work as soon as it is safe to do so should be a priority. Also, parks and outside venues where people can exercise and be active while maintaining social distance. What do you think should stay closed? Places where large groups gather should remain closed longer. What modifications do you think should be made if things open back up? Mask wearing and maintaining distance. Has your state peaked yet? I don't think so. What state are you in? NC Does your state have a plan for opening back up? I don't know if one has been announced yet. Trying not to watch the news the past few days to give myself a break. Is your job (or dh's) been effected by Covid? DH's job has been busier because he delivers food. All three of my DC have been laid off. Have you or anyone in your family had Covid? No If your state opens back up, how will you behave? Stay home, go out to everything, only some things? If my state opens up in a manner I agree is safe, I will go out more but with precautions. Probably not go to any large gatherings or travel out of our town until things have settled a bit more.

I am not hating being at home. If it weren't for the worry for my DS's who are currently laid off and figuring out how to support themselves with no income until their unemployment kicks in and me missing the ability to visit them and my baby grand daughter, I might even be enjoying it. We are finding plenty of activities to keep ourselves entertained and doing things we've wanted to do but not had time to do before. The weather is beautiful so we sit outside on the deck to read, walk the dog, and work in the yard/garden. We love to cook and bake. Things aren't horrible here as far as ability to get groceries/supplies we need. The fact that nothing is happening anywhere helped us change our (initial) mindset from sadness about what we were not able to do/everything that was cancelled to allowing us to enjoy the slower pace of life and family time. It also keeps DD from having FOMO so she is enjoying time to compose, paint, read, create music projects for herself, and get a head start on her college degree which she was going to have to do a few courses at a time while working/touring but can now do a few summer courses and a full fall semester.

Tonight: Black Beans in Chipotle-Garlic Tomato Sauce over herbed polenta and plantains fried in coconut oil Dinners this week: Vegetable Massaman Curry with tofu over rice, Oven-roasted vegetables over greens with walnuts (salad with every sort of veggie in the house), Oven-roasted vegetables with marinated tempeh and home-made tahini-lemon dressing, vegan sausage and gravy over vegan biscuits, vegan quiche, vegan grilled cheese with onions in balsamic vinegar and pesto on sourdough bread with homemade tomato soup Breakfasts: Avocado toast on home-made nuts & seed bread with Yuzu sauce, pumpkin seeds, micro-greens or rocket (whichever is ready in the garden), vegan banana bread, chickpea omelets, or chickpea flour pancakes with baked bananas and nut butter Also, I have been working on a sourdough starter this past week and we are going to begin baking with it tomorrow.

This. Everyone is in a bad position. Everyone has dreams and plans and jobs put on hold with no endgame in sight. No one is falling behind anyone else because the entire world is in the same position. If you have someplace to live while isolated, food to eat, and your family/loved ones are healthy, you are fortunate. There is no ability to plan beyond what we are going to do tomorrow or the day after. Anything after is completely unknown. Here we are using our time to do things we wouldn't normally have time to do such as learn a new language, a new instrument, take online courses on topics of interest, deep cleaning the house, working in the yard, gardening, etc... DD is using the time to learn new classical pieces she loves (she stopped classical lessons about a year ago) and she is practicing more, composing, sitting outside to paint, drawing, and reading books she's meant to read. Normally her busy schedule, does not give her the time for all the creativity she loves. I am loving all the traditional musicians (many of them young musicians) who cannot stand to not be playing and collaborating. They are using the time to invite others to collaborate with them virtually...people they normally would only see online or at festivals as many are usually too busy to do these things. The only thing we can do is keep ourselves busy, find joy in each other, and adjust to this (hopefully) temporary normal.

I can see this changing life for a lot of our musician friends, many of whom make a living playing smaller venues that are generally privately owned small businesses. Not sure how many of these small businesses will survive and be able to hire musicians again. DD's world is her music and, fortunately for her, this is happening when she still lives at home without bills to pay. Can't say the same for many of her friends making a living playing music. Already DD's entire year of music gigs/touring/teaching at camps has been cancelled. She is praying some treatment or vaccine is found and becomes available so her company is able to go back to touring in early 2021. DD decided to transfer to an online degree program through University because of her touring schedule so will not be much affected if school continues to be online for everyone. She was supposed to do a transfer orientation in May but that has been changed to online. Knowing many public schools have basically "given up" on school at home for students this spring (giving children whatever grades they had when school ended), I wonder what will happen to all those students if unable to go back to B&M school in the fall.

Flowers are blooming everywhere in my yard. My garden plants are coming up...even those I started from seeds saved from vegetables we ate recently. Birds singing. The tiny tree frog who lives in my watering can and pops out when I refill the can. The little anoles (chameleon-like lizards) who live in my greenhouse and on my back deck are in their mating season. DD17 is keeping herself busy making music the only way she can by inviting other musician friends around the world to join her in videos to post on social media which are spreading cheer to others.

My dd has a number of recipes with beans on her vegan blog . She was very busy before this all started and hadn't added anything in awhile but will be posting new recipes as we try create them now that we have so much time available.

DH went first thing in the morning when Walmart opened and was able to get tp and a container of Clorox wipes on Thursday morning. It sells out very quickly.

I am currently reading The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas Preston. DD and I are trying and creating new vegan recipes and she is slowly posting them to her vegan food blog. I have been working outside and gardening a lot. The weather here in NC is beautiful. I'm also learning to play concertina.

I miss traveling and watching DD do what she loves most. I miss seeing her so incredibly happy with her life. I miss my (grown) boys, their significant others, and my grand baby. I miss being able to make plans and having things (mostly travel and seeing those I love) to look forward to. The not knowing how long this will last or what life will be like after this is under control or if it will get under control is the hardest part. I do enjoy the time at home and having time to do things around the house. I enjoy spending this time with DD. She was on tour when the world went sideways and I though I loved seeing her so happy, I missed her.

I just ordered some on Amazon...finally found some available tonight. This after DH went to five different stores looking here in town.

Dd is supposed to be in Ireland all summer. The summer run of the show she is doing has not been cancelled yet so we are waiting. It depends on tourism and if people aren't traveling and/or don't have money.... If she goes, I will go over with her for at least a couple months. Neither of us has booked tickets yet.

I've been gardening and working in the yard on nice days and on rainy days, I pick something in the house to deep clean. I've been traveling with dd most of the time since we moved to this home almost two years ago so doing the things I'd like to do but rarely have time to do.

I've been out once for groceries (yesterday) since the 15th. DD and I take a walk or two each day for the dogs. DH does delivery service for food. He says all the restaurants place the bag of items on a table, he walks in and picks it up (with gloves), and drops it at the person's front door then takes a photo and texts it to the person to let them know it's there.

I didn't buy any foods we don't normally use but did make sure our pantry was stocked because we used to grocery shop a couple times a week. Now we are trying to go every two weeks (+) to limit contact with others. I purchased some Tylenol and cold medicines just in case because all ours were out of date. DD bought a guitar and some sound recording equipment. She's teaching herself guitar (always wanted to but didn't have time before). Now that she's not on tour, she is working on a number of projects with various musician friends around the world to keep themselves busy...recording and posting videos on her/their Facebook pages and Instagram to keep people's spirits up. Kinda fun to see the different ensembles come together...friends and acquaintances who might never have had the opportunity to work together because they would otherwise be too busy doing their own touring and recording.

So sorry for your loss. Praying your family stays safe and healthy.

I hear what you are saying. DD and I were discussing this during our walk tonight as we walked past two homes (one with a group of eight 20-somethings sitting outside partying for the second night in a row and the other with 10 cars parked outside obviously having some sort of get-together/bbq). Half measures are only going to prolong the problem and cause so many issues with people's lives/economy. If they truly believe isolating people will work then shutting everything down would deal with the issue and get it over with. If only it were realistic for everyone to be tested and those who test negative allowed to return to work/normal while those who test positive (and those caring for them) are quarantined until negative. I find it ridiculous that liquor stores are on the random list of essential businesses. I find it ridiculous that, in our state in particular, the "stay at home order" is set for three days from now...so everyone is out and about together in stores stocking up. Not like stores will be closed during the order or anything. We have been self-quarantined for over two weeks now except for DH who does food delivery and he is taking every precaution he can. We do not want to see health systems overwhelmed so we have hundreds dying every day like Spain and Italy so we are not disobeying the orders but are frustrated by the lack of leadership/decision-making to end this as quickly as possible. I know it is easy to have 20/20 vision in hind-sight and nothing like this has been seen in our lifetimes but imagine if drastic decisions had been made two weeks ago by those at the top...maybe fewer would be sick/have died and life could now be headed back toward some semblance of normal. Not quite sure how this eventually plays out and what life looks like after.

Yes, DD ordered a guitar (lots of free time on her hands and she's been wanting to learn) and it arrived on Tuesday. Yesterday she ordered an interface to record from her fiddle to computer and it is due to arrive on Monday. Everything is arriving a day or two earlier than they anticipate.

I would help anyone who asked for help whether they are homeschoolers or have kids home due to the current crisis. I would not give unsolicited advice. My sister asked for some suggestions which I provided. I don't have any kids learning at home anymore but, throughout my homeschooling years, never experienced anything negative from people with kids in school. When my boys were in public high school, AP courses ran in the fall semester (block schedule with half courses half the year and the other courses the second half) and they had an AP "study hall" the second half of the year so all material was covered in the first half.

I have a musician who was on a six month tour with a major show. They were playing Radio City Music Hall in NYC when things went sideways and only played 3 of the 8 shows scheduled there before Broadway was completely shut down. She was making the money that would pay for her next year of college. Her entire life has been travel and music. Now she is home and very worried about her adult friends on the tour and other adult musician friends who no longer have income to pay their rent, bills, and support themselves.

I started the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I have been getting free books through our library on my iPad but I lost my iPad somehow during our escape from NYC a little over a week ago (fairly sure I left it in the hotel but, of course, housekeeping didn't find it) and since I can't go to the library, I had to find some books at home I haven't read, yet. 🙄 DD and I like the Yoga with Adrienne videos especially the Flow/Vinyasa ones.

I read a book and did a 20 minute yoga video with DD17.

We were in NYC over a week ago and, as things deteriorated, we rented a car and drove home rather than staying the other five days we had scheduled and flying home. American airlines refunded our unused tickets even though they were the most basic tickets with no cancellation or refund supposed to be given under normal circumstances.

Personally? Just trying to do what I need to do and stay busy. I accept what is happening and trying to see whatever bright spots I can within the situation. Keeping in contact with friends and family through social media/internet calls. Other close family? Same. Emotionally? I am doing well emotionally. A bit sad for DD who was having the time of her life doing work she loved while touring the world and anxious over the length of time this may take to get under control and the hard times it will cause for friends and family unable to work. Hard to see how things go back to "normal" for those who will be unable to pay bills for possibly months on end. Intellectually? Overwhelmed by all the information and trying to sift through what is true and what is not so true. Wondering why they keep giving numbers when not everyone with symptoms has been able to be tested let alone those who might be infected but symptom-free. Level of social distancing? Personally, I have not left home in almost a week except to walk the dogs around the neighborhood. When meeting neighbors on walks, we stand about six feet apart to chat. DD has been the same. Home completely for almost a week except to take dogs for walks. DH does online delivery service so he has been out and about. He picks up whatever we need and he works. He has hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes that he uses before and after each delivery and says most request he drops off at door so he has very little contact with others though he could obviously be touching something contaminated. The delivery service he works for is supposedly sending masks, gloves, and sanitizer but we've yet to see any of that. My DS's are both still working but have jobs that do not require much person-to-person contact. Level of “lockdown” or still going out and about? (I realize that this may part be individual choice, part work or similar necessities, part shelter in place or lockdowns mandated for your particular location, and may also differ by know cases local to you and health or age.) DD and I have been at home, not going out. DH is working.