Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

savingfortomorrow

Sugar please take care of yourself and hopefully you will be on the mend soon. 

It is human nature to think every sche and pain is the virus. My sire knee is slightly troubling. 

I always get large stocks in over the years, stocking up is normal for me. Growing up sometimes with periods of lack of money having full cupboards gives me comfort. 
I bought oats as you can make oatmilk from it, dried pulses and legumes. Spices and rice.  It is interesting to see what others buy, for me I go for high density nutrition dried food others buy crisps and cake.

helensbiggestfan

Well part of my stocking up is making sure I have the essentials.......wine, gin, chocolate, some nice nibbles. 😂🤣.  If I'm going to be socially isolated then I'm going to do it in style....

Yes that's being flippant but I think we need to work on our mental and emotional preparation just as much as our physical needs.  

If I'm going to die then so be it but I'm not going to work myself up into a frenzy of fear by following the scaremongering that's going on.  When I lost my husband I made a vow to both him and myself that I would live the rest of my life to the max, in joy and hope, no matter whether it was a short or long life. I would live for the both of us. 

And I will not let fear of death stop me.  As far as I'm concerned there are worse things in life than death. I would rather have a swift end with a pneumonia type virus than end my days rotting in a nursing home.  

With regard to prepping.........

Like many of my age cohort I was brought up to always be prepared for any "just in case" scenario. My parents had known hardship, the Depression, WW2 and of course with mum living under the German Occupation and being a member of the resistance, smuggling food and medicines - then the importance of having a well stocked larder at all times was just something I learned from an early age.  I once asked her what she missed most and her answer was surprising. She said "nice soap". Apparently the only stuff you could get in Belgium was something called "ersatz". I think it's a word that has come to mean "fake". Anyway she said it was awful, full of grit which made her skin sore, no lather and that it stank. Mum always kept a good supply of nice soap, shampoo and cleaning materials as well as food.  

I know people are looking to governments for guidance but I think  we all need to assume a level of personal responsibility. We are not helpless, we need not wait to be told what to do, when to isolate, what public gatherings we choose to attend,what steps we can take to prepare for whats to come.  I for one am already practising "social distancing" and I'm preparing for an inevitable lock down. 
 
We need to get our heads round this because we ain't seen nothing yet.  Prepare for Mad Max folks.  

We know that the NHS won't cope with a huge spike in numbers of infection .....they can't cope with normal winter ailments so even if there was a "cure" or an antidote which there isn't,  they wouldn't have the resources to manage.  

The best they can do is offer care with anti virals, breathing equipment etc.  And the sad fact is there won't be enough to go round. Those poor medics are going to have to make some heart rending life or death decisions, who to treat, who has the best chance of survival....grim but alas it's the truth. God help them. 

No healthcare system or government in the world will be able to manage this. And it's no one's fault. It is what it is. Life is going to be very different from now on, at least for a while.  Sorry but most of us will be on our own..........

It is not "just the flu". It is something entirely different and it's an unknown quantity, as far as we can tell so far, probably more akin to pneumonia. It's new and we have no herd immunity, although there are likely to be some people who will have a natural immunity.  Even the Black Death didn't wipe out our entire human existence, there was some natural immunity, there always is.  Meanwhile the race is on to find a vaccine.

Initially it was thought this virus only had serious affects on the elderly and vulnerable and that most fit and  healthy young people would escape relatively unscathed. New evidence has shown that this is erroneous, that there have been fatalities amongst fit and healthy young people. More than was anticipated.

I know no one wants to admit it but what we are going to experience is Darwinism at work. Literally the survival of the fittest.  We don't get to chose. This time Mother Nature is doing that for us.  Sorry to sound brutal but she is "culling the herd".  And to a certain extent the human race has brought this on themselves.  There are still "live markets"  in parts of the Far East. China says they have now banned them but they still exist in other countries and the trade in exotic meats still continues.  I have been to Wuhan and have seen these markets with my own eyes. If I close my eyes I can still remember the stench.  

Humankind is arrogant and what we are seeing is retribution for our greed and hubris. We have pushed nature to its limits and it's fighting back. We are going to have pay the price. 

That is not to say we are entirely helpless.  Science will be our salvation in the end but it will take a while. In the meantime we can try and protect ourselves whilst governments and healthcare systems gear up.  We  need to buy time.  And hopefully learn our lessons. Stop playing God and believing we own the planet. 

Not a very happy subject .......take care my friends.  

helensbiggestfan

And in my other news.......

Back on WW.  Have lost 1lb and blood sugar levels are stable.  Gave myself a facial peel yesterday.  

Kitchen is starting to look good. The house is quite dusty and untidy so for the next couple of days I shall be cleaning, sorting cupboards, decluttering. 

Plenty to keep me occupied.  😉

maman

savingfortomorrow said:

I bought oats as you can make oatmilk from it, dried pulses and legumes. Spices and rice.  It is interesting to see what others buy, for me I go for high density nutrition dried food others buy crisps and cake.

I'm another that's always kept a good store cupboard SFT. It's what my mother did so it just comes naturally. 

When I was queuing for the checkout yesterday, I was indulging in some people watching. Not for clothes this time but what was in trolleys. The couple in front of me were amazing. They'd obviously decided to do some extra cleaning as they'd bought a mop which the young man found difficult to control as it kept poking people. To begin with the only food items I could see were about 10 tubs of Pot Noodle! Then, while he stood in the queue, she kept going back and forth to various aisles and buying biscuits, pasties and  crisps. They did have some milk but that was about the only healthy thing I could see.

Well done on your pound off LL. I think one of the things we can do is to eat healthily which will strengthen our immune systems. Similarly, keeping ourselves positive and mentally strong.

While I agree with you about applying the science LL, there are some interpretations that are just plain daft. I believe we should really try to have some exercise and fresh air for both physical health and a general feeling of wellbeing.  There was a doctor on the radio this morning who was aghast when someone self isolating suggested going for a walk in the woods. She said that was an absolute no-no and you should only go into your own garden if It was big enough to leave 2 metres from every fence/hedge so as not to infect neighbours. We live on the edge of the New Forest and it's big enough to walk for hours without getting up close and personal to anyone. Plus we have eyes and can see whether a neighbour is standing next to the fence and keep our distance if necessary.

I'm an naturally questioning person. It could be because I do have something of a science background or maybe I'm just awkward. I think we'll all be isolated to an extent in the coming weeks/months as many of the activities we do are cancelled but I'm listening carefully to all the news bulletins and reading newspapers because I want to try and sift genuine evidence from spin and speculation. 

Yesterday I did a huge veggie chili in the slow cooker to add to our home made ready meals in the freezer. Today we'll have a roast (my favourite meal of the week) with loads of vegetables. I'm hoping to get out for a walk too. I'll be sure not to get too close to anyone.

helensbiggestfan

Maman.  I agree. We should definitely  keep up the fresh air and exercise.  That doctor was just talking plain daft.    Bugs love enclosed warm spaces. They don’t seem to thrive long without a host. So a walk in the woods would be fine as long as people kept a reasonable distance.      

I think it’s probably just places of high density we need to avoid. Shopping malls, cinemas, night clubs, restaurants etc.   Not sure about outdoor sporting events but probably better safe than sorry.   

Skibunny40

I had just Googled "can i go for a walk when self-isolating" before I came on here! The official advice is definitely not to go outside at all, but I confess that I would go against the advice if/when I have to self-isolate. Can you imagine the health issues if it does end up that the over 70's have to self-isolate for months without ever going outside?

Wednesday2000

I was just saying this on another thread that the advice on the virus is really confusing. It seems very mixed messages, to me at least.

With the supermarkets deliveries being messed up it made me realise that I have quite a well stocked store cupboard. Lots of rice, couscous, pasta, porridge, beans, lentils. Frozen veg and berries in the freezer too.

It also made me realise that we go through loo roll, kitchen roll, cleaning spray, bleach and hand wash like crazy! It's because we have so many animals. Dog and cat food too, obviously and cat litter.

I am still hoping that the gig I have this week (Blossoms) will go ahead. It is a small venue and I checked on FB and it is supposed to go ahead at the moment. If it does then I might go up into London earlier just so I don't have to go in total rush hour as the Northern line is usually a nightmare. I suppose that will at least limit my chances of being squashed up against some sick person!

My husband is working nights this week so I usually pamper myself while he is out. I am going to do my feet definitely as I wanted to book a chiropodist appointment. I have pore strips, face masks and body lotion. I also have my new April magazines to read as I usually stay up late to make sure my dogs have been let out one final time before bed.

I do have this Vitamin C stuff to use (not quite a peel) but I can't think what is is called! I will try that as I did test it already to make sure I didn't react to it.

maman

I'll stay away from night clubs then., 😁
The Premier League and EFL went against government advice calling off matches. The (current) government line is that an infected person is only likely to give the virus to a couple of people in your immediate vicinity. That could happen just as easily on the bus or tube or in the pub after the game. Nothing's straightforward. I'm listening carefully to all the discussions. 🤔

chanie

Helen I disagree with you about the personal responsibility.  People do need guidance, otherwise people do what they think is right and that’s why now have no loo roll in the shops.

It’s hard for me to know what is right - We have two children in primary school, i work in Central London and OH also works.  If we don’t work, we won’t get paid, but we still have to pay bills.  We are luck because we have savings and family support, but plenty of people don’t.

i did a bread making course a few years ago.  I’m  not brilliant at it, so I decided to make a loaf today, as practice, in case I need to call upon my skills in the near future.

Last year, i invested in reusable cotton wool pads, period knickers and daily panty liners in an effort to be greener.  I’m pleased that this is one thing I won’t need to worry about!  The initial outlay was high, but I’m pleased I made the change.

maman

Strange you should post about the reusable items chanie. My DGD1 is very into being 'green' as is DD1 (her mum) . They've invested in things like silicon pouches for the freezer and wouldn't dream of buying a carrier bag. She used to use lots of cotton wool pads for her makeup but was thrilled when I offered her the muslin cloths I'd hemmed from baby muslins particularly as they had her favourite sloths on them.😁
I agree with you about the dilemma many people are in. I don't think the government have taken account of the large proportion of the population who have no savings, live from week to week and certainly couldn't pay their bills with the small amount of money from statutory sick pay. I watched a programme a few weeks ago about people struggling on Universal Credit and the financial mess they got into by having loans (from Universal Credit) to buy things like school uniform. The loan reduced their monthly benefit and then they got into more debt. It was very sad.