How is everyone this morning? What's going on in your community?

Oregon is sandwiched between Washington - which is one of the epicenters of this thing - and California, which tends to be on the front lines of everything. Our governor is continuing her standard of ineffectual leadership failure. I suppose consistency is a good thing?

I'm scheduled to be in the office for a couple of days later in the week. As a prosecutor, I'm a little bit unsure about how local governments think law enforcement is going to enforce these stay-at-home orders. The courts are in lock-down, and we're only handling essential cases. Essential means public safety defendants who are in custody and nothing else. I don't think that we plan to start arresting people out on the streets, which would rather defeat the purpose of social distancing and fill up the jails.

But, people are continuing to be idiots. It's spring break here, and a traditional spring break activity is to head to the Oregon Coast, which is pretty much exactly what happened. The coast towns are pissed that the city idiots descended on them in full force and depleted their supplies (can't blame them).

I suppose that it's inevitable to the people rise, or descend, to the occasion based on their fundamental character. We had an incident with tens of thousands of stolen masks that were intended to go to our health care workers stolen and resold on ebay. It takes a certain sort of douche bag, doesn't it? Jail does seem like the appropriate place for him.

Hope you all are hanging in there? What's on your menu for today? I'm headed into my home office to log onto the computer and get to work!

I'm still scared and BF is still going out to socialize over breakfast, but there is some good news, too.

https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2020/03/ice-hockey-njcoms-all-public-a-teams-for-the-2018-19-season.html

My grandson, Elliot Marken, was the only freshman chosen for the New Jersey Public A High School 2019-2020 hockey teams, essentially the all-state team. That he only made the second team isn't shabby at all!

He has also received acceptance letter from two private prep schools in Connecticut, the Hotchkiss School and The Gunnery. When I talked to my daughter last week, right after he received the acceptance from Hotchkiss, she said they had offered a huge financial aid package, enough that would make this very expensive school somewhat reasonably affordable. I don't know what The Gunnery has offered, but they do have a highly rated boys' varsity hockey program.

How the current emergency situation will affect his choice remains to be seen. He has until some time in April to make a decision. And of course the current situation will affect next year's school schedule, too.

As for me, I'm hanging in there if barely. I don't sleep well, I feel like I'm always on the verge of tears but can't cry because it won't do any good. So I'm going out to the studio to make more masks. I'm waiting for some supplies that I ordered over the week-end to be able to finish them, but I do have a few I'm going to send to my daughter-in-law in Seattle tomorrow.

Oh gosh - that's rough. Vermont has seen an uptick in people fleeing the city and second-homers coming out of season, but it's not so bad. We're not a ski or lake town and there's great word-of-text about when the grocery stores are back in stock on certain items.

I meant to check in on the other threads - but I just lurked and read instead. I hope everyone is still hanging in!

I am still working, the bookstore has made some measures to limit the number of people in the shop and we're doing a lot of prepaid phone and web orders with local porch deliveries. My husband is planning on going on unemployment (there's some maintenance to do at the antique shop that means at least half-time for a week or so more). I'm less worried about the immediate weeks than I am about the long range effect this is going to have on our economy, in town and world-wide. It feels like we had just built up some momentum after 12 years.

Edit: Linda that is GREAT news for your grandson, its important to keep the future in mind.

Checking in from North Carolina. Everything's a bit weird and it's a bit of a worry being so far away from family back in the UK. But I'm spending my time honing my cookery skills and doing plenty of backyard birding.

Johnson has just locked down the UK for three weeks, but, as with everything he does, the detail is fuzzy. You can still go out to exercise once a day. You can still go shopping for food whenever you want. You can still drive to work. No statement on public transport or motorways being closed. Parks are still open. It’s a fudge.

Coming from Kansas, where on Wednesday we are shut down except for essential personnel. No word on a curfew yet. Hubby is back at work, thank the deity of your choice, and he will do the grocery shopping on base (only service members are allowed in the commissary now, no civilians at all). Our public library will do a hard close at the close of business Tuesday, which means I have tonight to finish Golden in Death.

This was day one of our self-isolation/school from home. Our school teachers and staff did a drive by parade through the different neighborhoods as a way to say goodbyes. There were tears, so much crying done. After the parade the kids and I made lemon bars (from a box), hardboiled the eggs left and ate them for lunch. We also went shopping at the book fair (which should have started today) online; the kids decided the limit set by husband and I was not enough, so they used their birthday money. Welp, we did our part to get the school to it's goal. There's free shipping on book-only orders at Scholastic.com for orders over $25; let's just say we made that number and then some. Tomorrow will start the schedule I planned - really hoping those ordered books come in real soon.

I need to stay off Twitter because I just want to rage at the dumbasses who aren't taking this seriously enough that stricter limits have to be taken by local government. If you all would just sit your asses home, this flatten the curve thing will work. Just sit on your damn couch already!

It is Tuesday morning now. Going to the supermarket to get some shopping done before work and found out the hard way that the supermarket has not been restock yet.

Anyway, got breakfast instead.

Yesterday news is about sick people from mainland China sneaking into Hong Kong to get treatment for free. The local hospitals already overwhelmed with patients closing to collapsing and these selfish people still tried to use the hospital service for free.

Racism is on the raise. Asians are being attacked by some
racists. It is unacceptable but the anger behind it is understandable. I know I would be dislike because I'm Asians as the Coronavirus spread is brought on by selfish mainland Chinese.

It is the new reality I have to live with now.

Tuesday morning here. Corner store is closed for the duration. Which sucks. Not because of the difficulty of getting supplies ( I live within walking distance of a food coop, a gocery, a gas station, and two cvses), but because we can't talk to Linda and Charlie who run it. They are part of the local fiber. It sucks. (Not to mention they carry the best beer).

On a more serious note, a friend, Julie, who work as a mid-wife, was told that one of her co-workers is being tested. The woman has a fever and no sense of taste. The good news that my friend in homeland security survived her self isolation without getting ill.

I really, really wish anyone else was president right now because trying on the news and hearing how the Orange one says it better that people die so money goes into the economy is not a good way to start the night.

Not sure about any racist attacks in my West Philly neighborhood, I mean I'm white so. But there are far few Chinese students around. The long time residents -from China, Vietnam, etc - are part of very ethincally mixed section, so fingers crossed. I mean, residents broke the windows at the bar where the white incels sang karote, and Pence got a warm West Philly welcome when he visited. I am worried about why Linda and Charlie closed because they are Korean and I pray it wasn't due to racism. It could have been. I hope not. (It is a temp. closure).