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When did you last leave the house? For any length of time?


Spryte
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I left the house three days in a row this week, and to be honest, I'm exhausted. 😉

We went to a local, outdoor historic site just for fun on Wednesday, because the weather was beautiful. It was the first time we'd left the house as a family since early March. We didn't come across a single person while we were out, so it was low-stress, and we all enjoyed it.

Yesterday, I had to finally take my oldest two to the orthodontist for appointments that had been cancelled, rescheduled, and rescheduled again. It went well, but it was a little stressful because everything was different.

Today was grocery shopping day. I go once every two weeks, I need two carts, and it takes at least two hours (plus another hour to put everything away when I get home). That is super stressful, and I don't enjoy it, but I also don't want to put the burden of shopping for a family of seven on anyone else, plus it's still hard to schedule delivery or even pickup here.

I don't have to go out again for almost two weeks, and frankly, I'm relieved.

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Over the weekend, my son & his girlfriend were up to visit for the weekend from the Atlanta area. Saturday we went to Rock City and had lunch in Chattanooga. Sunday we walked a new part of the Chicamauga Battlefield that we hadn't seen before. 

Monday I drove to Home Depot in Chattanooga, TN to pick up an online order. I live in NW Georgia. I stopped at a Wal-mart and my '"local" Aldi's which is 30 min away. I had my 17 year old with me.

Edited by ashfern
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4 hours ago, klmama said:

Do your counties break down community spread vs care facilities?  I'd love to have that info here.

We’re in Georgia and we have regular daily updates on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. There is a separate website for nursing home and other such facility reporting. It lists  how many residents live there,  how many have tested positive, how many deaths,  and how many staff members tested positive. 

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Yesterday:

  • I took Kid2 to horse riding and back.
  • I took Kid1 to her trumpet lesson and back.
  • I drove downtown to hand over a key to my business partner who had locked hers in her office.
  • My kids went with an auntie to the grocery store.
  • I went alone for a nice long walk.
  • Each of the two adult housemates went to work and back.
  • We also had workmen in and out much of the day, working on a home project.

 

We are slowly opening up here.  Cases are lower than they have been in months.  Right now the only thing I am avoiding is visits to old people.

Edited by SKL
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Our state is mostly open, though there have been a number of events cancelled.

My daughter was out selling bracelets at an outdoor market yesterday, then we went to a friend's home to sit on the deck. Went to a baseball game the day before, where I noted that no one was masked. I talked to a local pediatrician who was there watching her son play, also unmasked. She described the struggle to keep the practice afloat during the crisis. They ultimately had to take federal money to be able to pay salaries, and she is not sure how much longer they can continue.

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I went up to my aunt's house this afternoon and walked through her garden with her and grabbed some puzzles for the kids from her stash. We each wore masks and distanced. My brother is doing a small job for my next door neighbor so I picked him up and drove him home today, once again masked although not really distanced in the car. I have been to several doctor appointments this week with various family members and up to my MIL's house daily since she had hand surgery and needs assistance. We are no longer distancing from MIL as she needed close up 24 hour care. 

We're not doing haircuts, eating out, or really shopping yet although those things are all open to some extent. I do have some dresses to return to Kohl's and DH has something to return to Home Depot (both things purchased online) - we'll do that tomorrow in store. We also have a grocery pickup set for tomorrow. Sunday, we're planning to play pickleball as a family at the city park - they put the nets up at the beginning of the month as part of the new phase. 

 

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We have not been anywhere in the past few months that is non-essential. I go and buy grocery every 2-3 weeks. My DH went out to drop off tax papers to the CPA who was masked and gloved when he gave the envelope to her and left. We stopped by at each of our workplaces to collect phone chargers, books etc that we had left behind when SIP was announced - both of us don't have to go back until next year. That is it.

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Yesterday I picked up fruit and veg from roadside.  Thursday I picked up a preserving unit up from a Facebook marketplace person and went to the shops for clothes for kids and went to the library.  Tuesday the kids had football training for the first time since March.  We have no cases in my state.

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I had to fly across the country and back in mid April.  I then self quarantined for 14 days.  But after that, I have gone to the store as needed.  I went to the zoo right after Memorial Day. And now that things are opening up, I have been out to eat 3 times and gotten together with one friend at a time when I go out.  

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My state has been slowly opening up.  My daughter’s troop had an outside social event last night for the older girls.  The moms talked for awhile and the girls did some badge work and did a pretty good job at distancing considering they haven’t seen each other for three months.

I was out last weekend to get some help on the lockdown sweater that I have been knitting.

My kids were back to the pool in a small way this week - our team coach has a business with two swim in place pools that the team has been using to get the kids a bit of swim time.  I am so glad I wasn’t in charge of trying to create that schedule.  My daughter starts back at the library this week.  Youngest son started back with piano lessons at his teacher’s studio earlier this month.

Sunday is week four of church.
 

Cases have been on the decline for weeks.

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My state has been gradually opening up. There are still limits on non-essentials, such as we're not at dine inside restaurants yet. Churches just opened with limits, but I'm not comfortable with that yet.

I've had a few medical appointments and I go grocery shopping about every ten days.

As for optional trips out--I've been to outdoor garden centers several times this week and also a farm supply store to pick up bird seed and something else I needed. 

Tomorrow I'm going to a friend's house for a social distancing lunch and margarita on her patio. This is the second time, but otherwise I've had no other social get togethers. I did drive an older neighbor to a medical appointment last week. We both wore masks while in the vehicle together. 

My husband has been working out of his office, mostly alone but then my son moved out there too for better internet. They were mostly alone until recently. 

I do need to get out of the house, even if it's just for a drive. 

 

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I haven’t been inside a store since March.  
 

Other than walks, bike rides and sanity drives, the boys have been nowhere since early March.
 

A few times a month I drive to some client offices and pick up stuff.  
 

Tuesday we take the boys to the dentist!  

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March 12th, my last day at work at the office. I’ve only been home or outside since then except one quick trip to my office. I’ve only been in a car once in three months, but that in itself is not completely unusual for me. I normally walk, rather than drive, whenever possible.

Edited by Frances
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I’m a pediatrician so I’ve been to work all along. Dh has kept going in to his office also. They are a small firm so they were always below the 10 people limit and they sit about 6 feet away from each other. For awhile, I think a lot of people in his firm were working at home so it was often just him and maybe 1 or 2 other people. Now I think they are more back to normal. But having meetings with clients outside if needed (which works ok as it’s an architecture firm so they can meet onsite) or virtually. 

Our oldest is lifeguarding at our summer pool. Middle son goes lap swimming and has hung out with friends outside.  Youngest has hung out with friends outside. 

As a family we go outside on walks almost daily. We’ve also been volunteering at a food pantry once a month since April. They came up with a really creative way to give out food in a socially distanced way. It helps them to have a family volunteer as we don’t have to socially distance from each other. So on the day we are there we are the only ones allowed inside the pantry (and then we hand things outside where they are picked up...it’s hard to explain the logisitcs but it works really well). 

We’ve also gone shopping to grocery store or Target (we had a house fire in April and moved into a rental and so have had to replace a lot of stuff) all along.  Dh and I just made reservations to go out to dinner, sitting outside, to celebrate our 20th anniversary. 

We wear masks, wash our hands, try and socially distance as much as we can. 

Edited by Alice
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DH and I go to work every day but Sunday. We've been sharing his office since my school moved to distance learning. The other counselors have been working from home, so it's just he and I that go into the office. Grocery shopping once a week or so. Take out every other week. DS started back with tennis a few weeks ago - only one friend and him for a semi-private lesson. Outside and they are good about doing "racket high fives" and keeping their distance from each other. Oh, and I hit up the dunkin donuts drive through a couple times a week, using my app to order and pay. They're good about wearing masks and handing coffee out in a basket to keep distance. 

VT had been doing great until an outbreak in the northern part of the state. The gov and health commissioner seem confident in their contact tracing and keeping it contained, but we're not going to loosen up our restrictions any further even as the rest of the state is opening. VT just opened to 25% capacity for indoor dining and I believe groups of 25 can meet at a time now due to cases in the rest of the state being so low- no current hospitalizations or recent cases except the one cluster.

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I've been out and about a lot more this week.  Basketball coach told the kids he would unlock the gym for small groups of guys to work out so we were there three times this week which made my teens happy. 

Actually ate out in a restaurant this week for the first time since February.  Weird but ok.  Partitions between tables but definitely not six feet aisles so the table full across the aisle seemed a little too close for comfort!  We actually tried to just do a carryout order but a brutal thunderstorm and forecast caused them to shut down all their carryout orders because they didn't want their workers out in the storm.  It was my in-laws 59th anniversary so I didn't want to cancel but they didn't mask at all and we did which seemed backward but not much I can do.

Next dilemma is a birthday party for my 16yods best buddy.  Mother is insisting on overnight and wants my 10yodd to spend the night with their dd (also best friends). Guys have been together for basketball, girls have not and overnight where they all breath the same air in small rooms all night and get over-tired seems like a really bad idea.  I hate this!  It was much easier when everything was still shut down!

 

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In the last week I went to the grocery store, physical therapy, post office, bank, Target, pharmacy, two pet store, a restaurant for takeout. . . as well as assorted walks.  I mask and social distance and am pretty comfortable with getting errands done etc. 

Last weekend we went to a small coastal town about an hour away.  Most places were closed so we just took a very nice walk along the walking paths.  We did go into one open coffee shop (all socially distanced 25% capacity but it was an off time and wasn't a big deal.  We masked while giving our order and took off our masks for actual consumption of our snack/drinks.)

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Indoors, we have only gone (masked) to grocery stores (not DS), pharmacies (not DS), medical providers, and to pick up take-out (DH only), since March 8. ETA: And I sent DH to buy a new shower curtain today, a very brief and necessary errand. We have not seen friends in person, but use Duo for video calls. Online is where we've had group activities, some shopping (books and some food), actually the majority of medical appointments...

We're in a hot spot, with rising cases and hasty (IMO) reopenings and many people not choosing masks and social distancing. Caution to those elsewhere: North Carolina is normally a great place for a vacation, but I don't recommend it this year.

 

Edited by Carolina Wren
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We went to FL for a week last week.  It was nice.   It was full, but not crowded and I noticed all the houses that are right on the beach were not rented out.  The beach was full enough for a single row of groups but that was it.  I guess groups were about 10-15 ft apart.  GA and AL had many more mask wearing people and the restaurants were stricter than in FL  Then again I was almost entirely outside the majority of time.  

My Senior will finally have a graduation towards the end of the month. Not sure what that will look like, but just happy he gets to do it!

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DH is at a store right now, getting OTC meds for me, to try to get me through the night till the pharmacy opens and I can get an Rx the doc called in.  Ugh.  It’s our (his) first trip into an actual store since March.  Everything else has been curbside.

Edited by Spryte
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I drove two and a half hours away to visit my parents the weekend of May 21. I hadn't seen them since right before Christmas. They keep their house at 77 degrees, so it's pretty hot especially for sleeping. I had to turn on the ceiling fan, which sometimes will set off allergies because of the dust. I had to cut my visit short because I coughed during the night. When they got up, I was packed, ready to go, and waiting on them with my mask on. Nothing came of my cough, but this is not the time to be taking chances.

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Modified normalcy is returning and I’m an early adopter.  Being judicious, careful and wise in our actions but  living and thriving. 

This week, DD16 worked 30 hours at Target, I have been shopping at thrift stores several times, went out for sit down dinner for my birthday...have shopped atCostco, JcPenny, Ross, Kohl’s, grocery stores and WalMart (and more). Also had Chiro, eye dr and craniosacral therapy as well as vision therapy. 

Since the Covid reaction/shutdown destroyed our small business, I have been aggressively looking for full time work and shopping online to find work clothes....  and now returning them in stores. I have 2 interviews this week (one in higher education and one in administration for non profit) and optimistic. 

Also since COVID, DD got her job at Target in fulfillment (filling and preparing online orders to ship or be picked up) last month and DH just got a part time job this week as an Amazon package delivery guy so again, people can stay home and hide and still get the stuff.  

Im technically high risk but not afraid.  Life must go on.  I have had major medical issues that have robbed me and my family of normalcy for over a year PRIOR to Covid.  So.... now that I have recovered, we shall live!!!  I choose not want to live in fear or dread- COVID is real but we are being realistic and sensible. 

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I went to IKEA yesterday and Target, and a few other places. The day before I went to JC Penney, Nebraska Furniture Mart, and a few other places. Today, I am going to a large mall that has a Sun and Ski store hoping to buy winter stuff for son to go off to college. I actually ate out both Friday and Saturday. Earlier in the week, I went to a gun range, a place I had never been and never thought I would go to. So definitely out of the ordinary for me. 

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34 minutes ago, LarlaB said:

 

Im technically high risk but not afraid.  Life must go on.  I have had major medical issues that have robbed me and my family of normalcy for over a year PRIOR to Covid.  So.... now that I have recovered, we shall live!!!  I choose not want to live in fear or dread- COVID is real but we are being realistic and sensible. 

I am with you. I was filled with fear to begin with. Eventually, I adopted a new mantra. I would rather be dead dead than dead while still breathing. I have high risk factors, a few of them. The chances of dying from Covid goes way up if you have blood sugar issues but have not gotten enough exercise. It also goes up for people with lung problems who have not had enough exercise. Being sedentary increases the chance of a more severe illness and death, if you get Covid or for any other reason. Since I have immune issues, asthma, and blood sugar issues, sitting at home waiting for Covid to pass over in a year or two is not a good idea. The Covid death rate is not the 'Contagion" level that we once thought it would be. I would rather take my chances with Covid than live my life in fear. After all, I have to drive out in the traffic but feel the risks are worth it when I do. There is risk in everything and people seem to have forgotten that every year in the US, millions of people die. It is not help people's fears when every single time one person dies from Covid, the news makes a big deal of it, while ignoring the fact that others have died from any number of daily activities that no one participates in.

 

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2 hours ago, Janeway said:

I am with you. I was filled with fear to begin with. Eventually, I adopted a new mantra. I would rather be dead dead than dead while still breathing. I have high risk factors, a few of them. The chances of dying from Covid goes way up if you have blood sugar issues but have not gotten enough exercise. It also goes up for people with lung problems who have not had enough exercise. Being sedentary increases the chance of a more severe illness and death, if you get Covid or for any other reason. Since I have immune issues, asthma, and blood sugar issues, sitting at home waiting for Covid to pass over in a year or two is not a good idea. The Covid death rate is not the 'Contagion" level that we once thought it would be. I would rather take my chances with Covid than live my life in fear. After all, I have to drive out in the traffic but feel the risks are worth it when I do. There is risk in everything and people seem to have forgotten that every year in the US, millions of people die. It is not help people's fears when every single time one person dies from Covid, the news makes a big deal of it, while ignoring the fact that others have died from any number of daily activities that no one participates in.

 

 

2 hours ago, Janeway said:

I went to IKEA yesterday and Target, and a few other places. The day before I went to JC Penney, Nebraska Furniture Mart, and a few other places. Today, I am going to a large mall that has a Sun and Ski store hoping to buy winter stuff for son to go off to college. I actually ate out both Friday and Saturday. Earlier in the week, I went to a gun range, a place I had never been and never thought I would go to. So definitely out of the ordinary for me. 

It’s entirely possible to be very physically active and not be going out to eat or shopping in stores. The two really have nothing to do with each other.

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For non-essential trips: I have been out a lot during SIP. I've had access to a private tennis court with a backboard so I have been on court at least three days a week. Now that tennis courts are open again, I have played some Social Distancing singles and doubles. I  acquired a used ball machine and have taken that to the court a couple of times and hit by myself.
 

DGD and I social distanced at a drive in. Tickets were bought online and a screen shot shown to the ticket booth. We took our own snacks and never got out of the car.

Edited by The Accidental Coach
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We've been doing the grocery store, CVS, and take out food for a while. I did take my mom and her friend to TJ Maxx last week. Some people were wearing masks, some not, but most people were social distancing appropriately. I ended at Walmart the same day and man, I had forgotten how overwhelming big stores can be. 

Our town is officially opening back up this week, so I'm staying in for a while. I'm limited the circle of places I go until probably July at best. 

We're introverted hermits and we like staying in anyway. 

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On 6/12/2020 at 9:20 AM, Spryte said:

You?  Kids? DH? Is your area opening up, what are cases doing?

This is mentioned in various threads here and there, and I find it fascinating how different we all are.

Me - yesterday to run with DH for some food - the local Target, a specialty sausage store in a market, and Home Depot for paint.  DH went with me, but this AM he also took two kiddos to a state park to fish.  Our 18yo worked yesterday and today went to church with her SO.  We did still do church from home.

The kids? It's been a bit.  Even when they run errands, we don't have them go in.  I lack faith in their ability to resist licking carts, sticking fingers in orifices, etc.  The older kids have run with me 1 on 1 to Costco.  We went to Grandma and Grandpa's a couple weeks ago.

Iowa is pretty much wide open with the exception of reduced capacity.

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4 hours ago, Frances said:

 

It’s entirely possible to be very physically active and not be going out to eat or shopping in stores. The two really have nothing to do with each other.

Not so much when it is closing in on 100 degrees out, and you sun burn like crazy, and because of your asthma, start to have trouble with breathing in the heat. But I also went hiking in the woods today. I never made it to the mall. I decided to wait until later in the week.  But in our case, in our town of about 90K, we have less than 20 active cases and have had only one death. Our entire county, which is almost a million people, has had 36 deaths. On the flip side, a few states away in a town I grew up in, the county, which has about 250,000 people in it has had about 80 people die, which is about 8% of the reported cases. However, I have also been told that most of the deaths were in nursing homes. I can also see on their county website that the case counts have been going down, including deaths. In fact, in the USA overall, the case counts have been going down.

I will tell you, and I can be completely wrong, but this is my worry. I worry if we are locked down during the summer that very few will be immune come next flu season and that will make Covid way more deadly. I am not saying I want to get it. But if lower risk people did get immune before then, just having a bigger portion of society immune should help protect the vulnerable.  I could be totally wrong on this, but this is my huge fear. I am very scared of getting it next flu season. I plan to stock up between now and then so I don't even have to go out by November. 

 

edited to add: I found the statistics on the county I grew up in and there were no deaths last week and only two the week before. And more people are listing as recovered that week than are being newly diagnosed. I know they are testing a ton because everyone I know in that town has been tested for one reason or another. It seems to be harder to get a lollipop at the doctor than a Covid test there.

Edited by Janeway
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