I am not on facebook so I don't see all the updates and pictures. So, I thought I would start a thread to "chat" about how we are handling our new normal. It has been one week (last Thursday evening) since we started to hunker down. I knew this was coming so I started building up supplies in pantry and fridge three weeks ago. I supplemented these with a grocery run last Saturday morning and a top off today. We still have well over a month's food in the house.

I put a lot of thought into planning and purchases. I realized a couple of days ago that I however made two mistakes. One is that I didn't get lots of cash in advance of the lockdown. Luckily no impact on financial system and I have been able to top off at ATM. The second is not getting a gun and training on how to rightly use that gun. No way to fix that now as I am not going to take a chance catching the virus going to a store to buy a gun and then spending all the time at the range to get trained.

How is everyone else handling this self isolation?

Marc

PS Arlene and I have really enjoyed getting back into cooking; tomorrow we are going to bake an apple pie!

Seriously, Marc?! Do you really think things will get get that bad? Here in LA if hordes of hungry people show up in my yard I plan to throw oranges and yoga mats at them. 🤪

We are well fixed for food and dog treats and vodka. Oh and Amarula. We should be fine.
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Helen

I'm not on Facebook either but really appreciated finding out how all in the USA are coping. Whatever happens, retain your sense of humour!

One thing I realised is our employees do not want cash - too many germs - lots of them want us to pay with card only. We also don't have guns - I'd probably shoot myself in the foot if I tried to shoot anyone or anything. I have no idea how toilet paper became so popular - maybe people were trying to cash in on our need for it. We don't physically have to stay home (yet) and the supermarkets are opening an hour earlier just for pensioners and disabled. Hasn't worked too well as the stores do not have adequate stocks for those standing in line (all close together).

Our restaurants are still open but that could change at any time. Take-aways (you call them something different) are doing a roaring trade but things change quickly.

Unfortunately our next cruise has 'bitten the dust' and I feel so sorry for Ngaire and her staff - what a 'bloomin' mess!

Marc - my younger sister had 'carpe diem' on her front door - but I don't know what the rest of the quote means? Thanks in advance.

Seize the day, put very little trust into tomorrow.

Plenty of squirrels, deer, and wild turkey around here. Illegal to shoot a gun in city limits but it would be nice to be prepared.

I had a client send me this yesterday.

In my father's time he was asked to leave his family and go to fight and possibly lose his life. We are being ask to sit on our our couch at home. I think we can handle that.

That put things in perspective - this too will pass.

Ngaire, very well put. Arlene and I are working on a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in forever.

Tom & I are fine...we've watched lots of movies ON DEMAND. We didn't buy enough food (by the time I went the shelves were empty) but have plenty of TP and wine (essentials). Door Dash is a godsend so not going hungry. Dogs still getting daily walks in immediate neighborhood. (when it's not raining). It's like a ghost town in SoCa. All the schools are closed, most businesses too. People are working from home. Most restaurants are closed, those still open are take out , drive thru's or Door Dash only. We're on Day 10 of being self quarantined. Amazon and Amazon Fresh have been very helpful !! Every 5 days I've driven around town just to get out of the house for a change in scenery without getting out of the car.

We too are hanging in there. We have food, wine, papertowels and at least for now TP. Its like a ghost town here too, took a little drive yesterday and it was unbelievable. One good thing is we talk to the kids a little more often so thats nice. I think what we miss most is our social life in our community, everything is shut down and all events cancelled and we are all just staying low.....going to the market when necessary although our last trip was somewhat of a waste as shelves were empty. Watching a lot of HGTV and Food Network. Last couple of days have been warm enough to sit on the patio or screen porch, but I think that is changing tomorrow.
Looks like our Hawaii trip won't happen, although we haven't officially cancelled yet. Had to cancel Frank's 80th birthday celebration and our son and daughter in law have cancelled their planned visit for that. But overall we are holding our own.
Miss our KLT friends......good idea Marc at least we can stay in touch via LCT.

Sorry for that assumption, Marc. I grew up in NY so of course I assumed you needed a gun to shoot your neighbors. Only Wild Turkeys in NY were in the liquor store.
Marcie, my sister says she was able to use an app called Instacart to order groceries and have them delivered. I haven’t used it but she says it worked great.
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Helen

Helen - You crack me up! Oranges and yoga mats!!!
Marc - I was shocked when I read it last night. Then I woke up early and though, oh, he must have been joking.
So, shooting a deer maybe could accomplished if we had a gun. But then I'd have a bigger problem in knowing what to do with it??

Alice and I are fine and lucky that we can work from home.
We have enough wine and vodka for several weeks. And enough food so that we won't have to go out foraging for a couple of weeks. We have some local small restaurants we want to support who are doing take-out only.

Started to watch all the Stars Wars movies in chronological order.

Here is a great video our golf pro found and sent to all the club members. It really explains why it's so important to stay home. It's a few minutes long, but hopefully everyone will watch all of it.

Click here or copy and paste link below into browser

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fgBla7RepXU

Kim, I bought 40 pounds of charcoal but have no idea how to dress a squirrel or a deer; at least charcoal won't go bad. Maybe I can find some ribs or brisket next grocery run.

Marc

George and I are still working. I have cancelled all non urgent appointment (annual exams, etc) but still have to see patients and am now seeing all these women who are overwhelmed with stress. Still doing surgery as most of mine is not elective. George works in his office and on the phone, then goes out to the ranch to help Jonathan.

Stores are pretty bare, but we have enough meat in the freezer and food to last several months. Also stocked up on wine. The guy at the liquor store was doing a booming business and was really happy!

George has enough guns and ammo to supply everyone. And he can field dress a deer. Also pheasant, ducks and quail. Ponds are stocked with catfish. Plus we have over 250 cows. So we are good there.

I think we should be able to see where this thing is going in about another week. The median incubation of the virus is 5 1/2 days, with the longest known incubation being 11 days.

June and I are in New Zealand. My visa expires on April 2 one day after we were scheduled to leave on April 1 to take a cruise from Abu Dhabi. Of course that was cancelled. We booked a flight to LAX for March 30 as I can not over stay my visa as they could deny me entry for several years in the future. We saw an immigration lawyer about extending my visa. Can not extend my visa but can apply for a new visa as the spouse of a New Zealand citizen. Did that on March 18. We were told by the lawyer that they normally grant an interim visa so I can stay while they process my new visa. Have not received the interim visa as of today. Will give them until middle of next week but will need to either get an interim visa by March 29 or pack and take the flight home on March 30.

If I get the visa we will be here until around June 1 at which time we would return to CA. Even with the new visa there are stay limitations that I need to keep in mind or we can not return on November 19, 2020 as planned.

As I do not expect most of you are aware of what is happening here I will summarize.

The government of New Zealand has taken excellent steps to control the spread. They have been well ahead of the curve on the transmission of the virus. As of last night there has been no community transmission of the virus. There are 39 cases all of which are travelers from outside the country. I really commend the government for taking the steps they have. All travel into the country is limited to citizens or spouses of citizens. Stores have been emptied which has frustrated the government which is constantly telling the public that there is no shortage of supplies. We are not limited in our ability to go out and about. Had lunch with the Howell's on Thursday afternoon at a local restaurant at the harbor. There were not many customers and we were able to sit mostly well away from others. Schools are still open. The governent has warned everyone that they may need to put in place more restrictive polices in place so are encouraging all to limit contact and wash, wash and wash your hands. The government yesterday gave New Zealand air a loan of almost One Billion as the air carrier is considered an essential national asset. Which I agree. Kiwi's can not get around their country without air transport nor get to other parts of the world. Air New Zealand has cancelled most of its international travel schedules with only a handful of fights still flying.

I apologize for the long post. Just thought some may be interested.

Meanwhile the US government is telling US citizens get home as soon as possible or they may be denied entry or words to that affect. We are all affected in one way or another, just all with different issues.

Tonight at midnight the Ambassador Bridge (between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Canada) is closing to non-essential travel (commerce and nurses and doctors excluded from the ban). So far in Windsor there are no cases but they are trying to contain it by closing the border to the U.S.
Schools, churches, restaurants are closed here. We have two cruises booked on the Explorer in May and August.
I have serious doubts that either will sail, but that is the least of our problems.

Hoping everyone stays safe and healthy during these trying times.

Susan F.

Interesting Ralph. You should definitely stay in NZ if you can.

Los Angeles county is essentially in lockdown as is Orange County. I drove to Chino in San Bernardino county this morning to take a walk with my sister and noticed that way more places were open there than here in LA County. I stopped at her local Trader Joe’s to get a lime ( necessary for Cosmo-making) and much to my shock and dismay there was a line of about 30 people waiting just to get in the door! I haven’t seen that before today. I may have to go steal some limes from neighbors trees😏
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Helen

Thanks Ralph.

That was a great summary of what is happening in NZ. Much the same here in Australia - our borders were closed last night to coordinate wth NZ. Even Tasmania is self isolating!

We are day 9 of our self isolation. Thankfully lots of lovely walks where we live so we can keep fit in mind and body. Buts it’s feels really strange to keep our distance from other walkers where only a few days ago we would stop for a quick chat.

I know, right? Alice and I are experiencing the same thing out on our walks!

I am baking more cookies than Mark can eat! We are lucky to have deserted beaches and forests to walk through for exercise. As for entertainment, we have started watching "The English Game" on Netflix that premiered yesterday. It's from Julian Fellows, who brought us Downton Abbey. Not exactly my favorite subject, it's the story of football (what we call soccer in the US) but it has lots of side stories which are great. Some of the accents are pretty thick so putting on sub titles helped us hear every word!

Russ and I are at our lake house which is nice. Lots of deer, squirrels, Aoudads, and of course wild hogs Marc. We don't hunt (Russ does have a bb gun) but lots of friends here do.
I am setting a remote pouch game at 1 today with our kids. I will let everyone know how that goes.

Take care and pretend it is a sea day.

I like that idea!

There are also live streaming safaris to watch.

Making travel plans for my next trip:

,


,


,


,


,

The remote pouch worked. Russ and I were playing with one deck. Our kids each had a deck. We would deal each hand then via facetime hold up their cards and they would pull from their deck. It was slow, but we were not in a hurry. Sea day in Texas.

If I get through this, I may live to 100! Doing strenuous, daily 2.5 mile hikes (with no chats with those few I see) and am back on a light-weight exercises routine a few times a day. Eating so much citrus, I'm turning orange. Lots of odd jobs in support of Mary, who besides making our house shine is making a hundred or so stuffed bunnies for inner city kids at Easter services - yes, my high skill job is stuffing!
Best to all
Jim C.

Jim, I hope those bunnies are stuffed with trivia questions; need to train the next generation of trivia teammates.

Say hi to Mary for us.

Marc

Just made it home after 38 hours of planes & airports. Perth was a breeze, Singapore crowded and many wearing masks, Dubai a total confusion & mess, No lounges open and 3 security checks from leaving our plane and getting to the next in the same concourse. Now we may self isolate so we don't catch the virus here - we've been in such a sterile environment for so long. I'm not so worried about passing through Singapore & Dubai airports because nobody from the many affected countries was allowed to enter them. Orlando was a breeze. Used Global Entry and just had carry on. Made it from the plane to car in 15 minutes.
Jim

Jim and Pat. Pleased to hear you are home. Can not imagine traveling for 38 hours. You must be more than exhausted. Stay home and rest up.

Glad to hear you made Jim and Pat. We were worried about you guys getting out in time.

Jim and Pat so happy to know you are home as well. Ralph and June in New Zealand - a safer place to be for sure. Flying home March 30 hope all that goes well.

So relieved to hear you made it home!

Mark and Cheron

Since you're all staved for entertainment, and have nowhere to go, for a few weeks anyway, I make this offer ...

I will build a made-for-message-board game for your amusement. But it takes me time and effort to do that, and I would want to know, in advance, that there are at least three players who will participate, which you can indicate with a reply here.

I've done this before mimicking Jeopardy!, but I've also done other games - Wheel of Fortune, Name That Tune, Family Feud, the 50 Cent Pyramid, and so on. (If you have a preference, post that in your reply also.) I'm American, so the trivia tends to be American-centric. And I try to use a lot of visual and audio clues because you can't just do an Internet search to figure those out.

This is an example of a game of Jeopardy! on my board - which sometimes uses colorful language, so click only if you're okay with that.

https://dribcritic.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=14

I've done this on other message boards - a hockey board, and a modern living board - and my own boards. They can take anywhere from a week to a month to finish a whole game, because like climbing the Cliffs of Insanity, it's slow going.

If I know that enough people want to play by Monday, we can start on Tuesday - because I also am starved for entertainment and have nowhere to go.

I'll give it a go, although I will admit that I am neither as clever nor as perverse as drib, despite my having come up with what is arguably (as long as I am the only one arguing) the best acronym for a cruise in the history of cruise acronyms (PENGUINS & ICEBERGS, which was ignominiously overlooked in favor of the easier-to-remember-but-rather-prosaic POP - not that I am in the slightest degree bitter about that oversight, of course). Speaking of POP, I nominate its creator to join this game, as he is possibly as clever as drib and certainly as perverse.

Editing to suggest that the Jeopardy format is a good one (as long as Alex is still with us, of course; otherwise, the game would be even too morbid for the likes of drib and the creator of POP, no??).

This afternoon, Monday , March 23,2020 in New Zealand the government put the entire country on Lock Down as of Wednesday. Certain services will continue. Schools closed, no social gatherings etc. There was some indication of stopping all air flights except certain flights considered necessary. Do not know at this point the status of my Visa Application and if an interim visa will be granted. If not and if the flight is still going I guess we would leave NZ for CA on March 30. We hope that an interim visa will be granted will be calling the immigration service on Tuesday to see what the status is. We are somewhat apprehensive to fly as it is impossible to avoid the other passengers on the air plane.

We are living thru something that will go down in the history books and talked about for the next 100 years.

Up date in Australia.

All States locked down.

We drove down the famous Hastings Street today to park at the end and walk through the rainforest. All the restaurants were closing up, putting shutters down. We pondered to ask ourselves when we would see them reopen. Not for sometime we fear.

Ralph, sincerely hope you get your visa extended. You and June are much safer where you are.

Drib, I will give it a go; although I am not as clever as Fred. I think we need Adrenn to "pop" in too.

Marc

Fun idea Drib, I will not be playing though. We are pretty busy right now trying to sort out all the cancellations and FCC issues. Appreciate you all being so patient. Hopefully make some headway here before the next set of cancellations comes in from the cruise lines. I am guessing they will do it 30 days at a time. It is taking forever to sort out all of this out but eventually we will get there. Dallas put a lock down on going to office as of midnight tonight (shelter in place) only essential offices could stay open. Expect our town of Plano and Frisco will do the same thing. Fortunately we can all work from home so that really helps and we are very busy with the cancellations. But we even made a few new bookings that was nice!

14 cases in Williamson County (all under age 60) including four in Georgetown; possibility of getting from chance encounter in grocery store or food takeout or delivery slowly rising. I assume none of cases are in retail as I would hope that they would release that info as many could have had an interaction. Went for a drive yesterday and was surprised to see Office Depot, Best Buy, and Michaels still open.

Game on!

See you tomorrow, same forum, new thread.

I might post the first one tonight, so you can get in the groove. I'm in Pacific time, and I'm usually done walking the dogs and all about 9am.

Wonderful idea dribs! I will fill in the third slot for trivia. I nominate fogmalkin to the fourth slot.

Back here in revolutionary war country, we 5 counties including Philadelphia are earning a third week of home sweet home, including a brand new curfew at 8 pm. Our little town, to date, has no cases. We are the only white area in a sea of blue (denotes case(s) in that town). Enjoy it while it lasts.

Public service announcement:. The owner of the LA Times,who is also a doctor, has a terrific video on the pandemic virus. I found it on YouTube; there must be a link on the LA Times website. It is 33:15 runtime and very informative.

Cheers, Anne

Very well done video. Here is the link: The Science Behind the Coronavirus

Yesterday marked 14 days since I had played bridge with close to a hundred of my friends; did not know at the time that would be last game for an undetermined time. But making 14 days makes me believe none of us gave it to or received it from each other (would have heard if one of us got sick). So, yesterday was one of the milestone days marked on the calendar as was today. I had a longstanding medical appointment that I could not defer. I had a bit of trepidation as the facility I went to also has drive thru testing (when it was set up was second in entire state). Made it through that with relatively little contact and no concerns. I don't know if I have any other milestones to look forward to (or dread); now it just becomes whatever we make of it. Arlene surprised me today with homemade apple pies. She tells my that this is the first time she has made crust from scratch; it sure is flaky.

My main chores are relative to a very large live oak in our backyard. First came the acorns (bushels of them) then leaves then pollen and now the catkins (look it up). Messiest tree on earth; and what did we do, we built a waterfall and a pond right underneath it. We also have our caddy shack moments; there is a squirrel (actually I think they are two brothers) that have taken up residence (did I mention the oak tree) and have decided that patio cushions (both fabric and foam) make their abodes a lot more comfortable. A constant fight that has taken a turn for the worst. If he stops by tonight he is going to find no bedding material; let's see what he steals next (did I mention that I was looking for a gun to handle squirrels).

A thanks to Drib for the jeopardy game. How was I going to beat a Berkeley girl on the daily dreidel even though I temporarily lived at 36th and Judah many years back.

Hope everyone is adapting and making the most of it. Ralph, did you get your visa extension?

Warmest Regards,

Marc

PS Has anyone had issues with Netflix? Amazon Prime is working but can't get Netflix to work at all today.

I should have posted. On Monday last the NZ government announced that anyone with a visa that had a visa that was going to expire from April 1 to July 9 would be automatically extended. Have yet to get the email that was promised but there is enough public posting from the government about the extension that I am not worried. They said an email would come. My visa does not expire until April 4 so I am covered. Before the announcement I had submitted the forms for a new visa. Have not heard about that but again no issue as current visa is extended. Also before the announcement and not knowing about the new visa extension we booked a flight from AKL to LAX on March 30, 2020. That flight was cancelled a few days ago. Air NZ issued a future credit for the amount we had paid, which was a good price. The reason I selected that date. April 1 and 2 were twice the price paid. Two nights ago I was able to book flights home to for May 17, 2020 and was able to book using the credit received with no fare increase required. The internet price for the new flight was 50% higher than what we ended up paying. Very happy about that. NZ air was very good about that.

As you all may or may not know, New Zealand is on 100% lockdown for 4 weeks starting last Wednesday. The grocery stores are limiting the number entering and requiring only one shopper. So June has done most of the shopping the last day or so. The government has been very strong about everybody staying home and only going out for some fresh air but close to home. They are using a term I have not seen in the US. They are referring to family units etc as " YOUR BUBBLE". As June's brother lives be himself but we have seen him a lot and very recently we have included Brian in our " Bubble" so we go and pick him up and take him home after he has been over for a bit of Scrabble with June and some dinner. We will continue to do that.

I would also add that the NZ government has been very transparent about what is going on and the communication has been excellent. Very straight forward, and easily to understand. It has been interesting to observe the difference in the government structure between NZ and the US. There are no equivalents in NZ to the state organizations that exist in the US. I need to remind our NZ friends that the federal government in the US can not just dictate to the states what to do. In NZ the federal government has the ability to make all those decisions from a central authority in Wellington.

Apologize again for rambling on after answering Marc query about my visa. Gives me something to do besides watching the telly.

We're 5 days into our voluntary self isolation and last night our county government issued a 14 day stay at home order. OK to go for groceries etc, but we'll be home bound a bit longer. I'm finally going through my massive list of books on my Kindle, but will still have plenty when we cruise again, whenever that may be.
Jim

Ralph, good to hear all working out well; glad you are getting to spend time with Brian. Looking back at our short time in New Zealand, Wellington was actually one of my favorite stops. Between the Botanical Gardens, Te Papa Museum, and the waterfront area we had a fantastic time. Of course, for Arlene, I think skippering the American's Cup boat out in Auckland Harbour was probably one of her high points. I sure hope we get to cruise again.

Marc

We have been essentially home bound for 2 weeks now. But I drive every day to my sisters for a walk, sometimes with a dog or 2, sometimes not. She has metastatic cancer and is desperate for company and the physical activity while she is still able. I kind of dare anyone to question my activity. We don’t make contact with anyone else. And I’m alone in the car so not particularly concerned.
Jerry and I expected to be gone on back to back cruises so we are well fixed for meds and books. And I already subscribed to a meal delivery service so we are well fed.
What’s driving me crazy is the uncertainty of it all! Will my June cruise be cancelled? What about the one in August? Like many of my LCt buddies I am a planner and don’t do well with this situation of am I or am I not.....
Ralph , you and June should have plenty of room to spread out on your May flight. I hear most flights are flying with just a handful of pax
Stay well all!
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Helen

Really glad to hear that your visa issue has resolved, Ralph.

Still working. As soon as a patient arrives, they get their temperature taken and put in an exam room. Seeing about 1/3 to 1/2 of usual number to keep the waiting room empty. Hospital is totally locked down. NO visitors allowed. Only urgent surgeries. Family has to wait outside in their car or go home. I did 3 cases Thursday, all challenging, because that is what you get if you cancel the routine ones.

Stay safe Rachel.
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Helen

We are doing fine. Today is Day 19 for us (CA started much earlier than other states). We had groceries delivered yesterday from instacart and have had a couple curbside pick ups from local restaurants. Our pets are excited as if this is their new "norm".

I am nervous about an upcoming family trip for 10 of us in late June though. We have an AirBnB in NYC (of all scary places) for 5 nights then flying from there to Beaches Turks & Caicos for 1 week arriving July 1st. As of now the Turks airport is closed and Beaches isn't even open. Just taking it one day at a time. Final Beaches payment approaching quickly...TBD.

I've kept my sanity and not ready to start knitting Tom a scarf yet (as Gertrude did)

We are still hanging in. Cancelled our May trip to Hawaii, but rescheduled for July.....not an easy task, but we had restricted first class tickets and we have to travel by July 31. Uggghhh AA has not extended the travel deadline for domestic travel only international.....so had to bite the bullet and go for as late in July as possible. Maybe we will get lucky and it will work We are really missing our social life....but it is what it is and we are just trying to cope. Lots of facetiming with kids and grandkids which helps.

Rachel - thank you for being there for your patients and doing everything you can.
Marcie - hope your family trip works out, know you have been looking forward to it.
Ralph - so glad your VISA issues worked out and you are good.
Jim and Pat, David and Cindy - so glad you have finally made it home.
Everyone else - stay safe and healthy, hope to see everyone at BOOTS and we can celebrate together.

One month in and we are doing great; okay, that is the whisky talking. Arlene has been cooking and baking so we are both well fed. I am the provision master and realize I need to talk to the provisioning officer on next cruise on how to manage perishables. We are taking this isolation seriously; curbside pickup groceries is all we do now; I haven't been inside a retail establishment in two weeks. Arlene has not been inside one in over a month.

Jigsaw puzzles are in short supply; I had bought two at Amazon before the inventory disappeared and the price went up; luckily I was able to borrow three from our neighbor; only problem is that she likes more of a challenge than me. I have a grocery pickup on Wednesday; I have figured that we can make it to 15 May based on that order. Still, this is getting old. I should be in the Regent Suite for dinner tonight.

We have a two month trip this summer; ok, six weeks now as I have cancelled the first twelve nights. I guess it is much ado about nothing with realization that there are millions of people that are more impacted than us. I sure hope our cruise in September is still a go; and the ones next year too.

Still, Arlene and I are doing well; we are enjoying Netflix and Prime and all our taped tv. I just wish the Masters was on. I rescued eight frogs the other day and to pay me back they were noisy all night long. Tomorrow I have to go into the pond to fertilize the Lillies, I hope the fish and frogs keep their distance.

I hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully we will see many on TOTEM and even more at BOOTS.

Kindest Regards,

Marc

Hi:
Yes, Mary and I are also doing "well". Yes, it is getting "OLD" . I got up at 4:30 to watch Easter Mass from the Vatican - eerie to see that magnificent venue with a handful of people. Happy Easter and Passover to all.
Mary is doing lots of Jigsaw puzzles; making bread (from scratch); and a few Teddy Bears ( for a some-day charity auction). Her stuffed bunnies were picked up a couple of weeks ago; we have no idea of when/how they will be delivered to the inner city kids. Me? I learned (relearned) a lesson of life two weeks ago - tried to do a all time best 2.5 mile hike time - my knees said Whoa! I now do an early morning "Christopher Columbus" expedition by walking to the end of our empty street and viewing the next empty street.
Stay safe and we will meet at BOOTS.
Jim C

Like Marc we also missed our Regent suite dinner!

Jerry and I are doing ok. As some know I have a very big bi-coastal family. The New Yorkers are all ok as are we here in Los Angeles so we are blessed this Easter Sunday. My brothers in NY are very anxious though and much more worried than we are here in So Cal.

Every night at 5:30 my sisters and I have a Zoom enabled Happy Hour. (FYI Wine.com will deliver Vodka) I was going for a walk every day but for the last week we have had cold and rain every day so instead tackling silly household projects (rolling loose coins, sorting out dozens of random greeting cards, checking pantry expirations 😀). Oh and I watched every episode of Tiger King.

We plan to sit on the couch and watch the 10 am Mass from the Cathedral in Los Angeles . Then Jerry and I will figure out what to do with 2 hams and a turkey that I panic- bought when I thought we would be able to host Easter dinner.

Stay well. Happy Passover. Happy Easter. See you at BOOTS.
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Helen

We are going through closets to de-clutter. Not that we had a lot to begin with since when we moved from Boston we gave away car-loads full of things. In Boston I tended to keep the box something came in. We had a huge storage area for them in the basement. Here, most of them ended up in the garage. We decided to get rid of them and reorganize (lots of recycling!). Also a good opportunity to run the shop-vac on the floor.

We're cooking a lot! It's different now, though. I'm more "European" in my food shopping style --- I like to go nearly daily and pick out what looks good for dinner that night. Now I place an order on-line and they bring it out to the car. BUT, I have to place the order a week in advance! Never know what we will really get. The last two weeks frozen blueberries have been substituted for frozen raspberries (very disappointing to Alice) and frozen peas were substituted for frozen spinach. Very disappointing to me was that instead of getting my "All Dressed" potato chips, I got just regular plain Ruffles. Various other substitutions. So it becomes like an episode of Chopped: What can I make with these random ingredients?

We are lucky to be working and so not have the issue our retired friends have with all the normal recreational activities they do during the day being closed. We've done the work-from-home thing for many years. So it's not something to which we had to adjust. We did travel a lot for work and now that's not happening. But, United is going to extend my status until 2022, so I'm psyched about that! And my Marriott status is lifetime.

And I have Marie Kondo'd my sock drawer.

I so enjoyed reading these posts! Helen, I suppose you have been looking at lots of recipes for leftover ham! Too funny. We too have had substitutions on our grocery order. Kim, maybe after this you will be so adept you will go on “chopped” an win a million! We ordered a pork roast and they sent a huge one, so we will be eating that for days! Must admit I have done more cooking and baking this last six weeks than in the last two years combined. I had planned before this to make about 30 mosaic stepping stones for my new garden path, but only bought supplies for about the first four. I sure wish I had more to keep me busy, I could have made all 30 by now. My schedule is completely out of whack. I am a night person so stay up late, late, late, then sleep half the day away. Fine now but will be a habit I will have to break when this is over. Haven’t been out of the house, except when I have to get out a bit and we go for a short drive. I must say at the beginning of this I followed a lot of the news, statistic, etc., but now it is so depressing and sad I try to stay away from it, but seems there is nothing else in the news. Still I feel so lucky we have what we have, so many have it so much worse.

I must admit it has not been hard for me at all. Working from home is very easy for me. I always work when I get home each night and on weekends as many of you know. However when it first hit I said I will work on my closet and clean up our office that is a real mess behind the cabinet doors. Taken a break from the computer from time to time and done a little in the office and 90% of it has been thrown out. Old computer technology items. Closet has not been touched.

The other issue is that everyone at KLT has been super busy as so many cancellations need to be handled and we need to set up systems to be sure everything is done. Spreadsheets are LONG and complicated. Now with the shut down of cruises until July 19 the work load is going to be great. We have to wait for Regent to cancel to process cancellations and so far they have been cancelling 30 days at a time and that has made it easier. If they do every cruise up to July 19 it is going to be a lot at one time. Plus people are also booking using the FCC for future cruises. Had to change my two safaris from 2020 to 2021 which has been a real challenge. Still working on that. Not complaining better to be busy than bored. I am good at busy so not good at bored. We are all working from home except Clay, Ken and Susan. So that slows things down as well.

The KLT staff have job security we need everyone of them to handle the work load. No one being laid off at KLT. Could not find a staff like this again. We will hang in there and this too will pass eventually.

We are mostly grilling and doing take out. Ken goes into the office everyday and picks food up on the way home. Had some BAD take out meals so we figured out where not to go. So I cannot say I have spend any more time cooking that I usually do.

We do miss being on a cruise and the biggest thing we miss is the socialization. Seeing people we know and meeting new people too we really enjoy. Never get tired of that we really love that aspect of cruising. The cruises we had booked were ones we were really looking forward to taking. We were fortunate to do the 4 night cruise on the Splendor. Spending more time on the Splendor going through the canal with about 75 people was going to be great. Then SUITES I was so sad to miss that. I hope one day I am able to offer that again. I need to get on my knees at Regent and beg for a second SUITES cruise. Then the Splendor again June 4 with so many of the people on the safari taking the cruise and immediately going down to South Africa. I had hopes that we may be through this by then back in February but it was not to be.

However, when you think of the terrible impact the virus has had on so many people. We eat out at lunch everyday at the office and have lots of favorite servers. I really feel for them and all the people that have lost their jobs. Those that have lost loved ones, the medical staff are probably exhausted. The impact on us is in comparison is very small.

You are right, Ngaire, most of us here are doing ok if not just fine. With Disneyland closed my friends at Club 33 many of whom I have known for 20 years, will be furloughed without pay as of Apr 17. Several of the servers there worked 2 jobs but their other jobs are/were teaching school! Double whammy!
At the office, our clients are primarily health care providers so they are working round the clock and our office is open with all the attorneys and most of the staff working from home.
I guess we need to count our blessings, wear a mask and wash our hands and wait it out until our next adventure.
——————
Helen

Day 32 quarantined for Tom & I.
I'm happy to hear that we're all getting along fine in our own ways. With kids grown and out, I had cut back on cooking or baking anymore w/ or w/o virus. We've orders dinners in about twice a week and groceries delivered as needed. Had great luck with Target.com and Amazon Fresh...not so good with instacart since we received exact same order 2 days in a row...gave most of the 2nd day items to our neighbors.

Still walking the dogs daily when it's not raining so that's a highlight. We decided to watch "Ozark" on Netflix after hearing rave reviews. We're still on the first Series, episode 6. So far, it's not really my type of show...LOTS of sex, foul language, violence 😳 (and I'm not exactly a prude). It is addicting so we keep continuing, not giving up yet. Hoping it might "lessen" as the episodes continue. There must be a reason why it's so recommended. TBD.

Last week we were out of wine and Sambuca (essentials) so our sweet son-in-law (St. Brian) brought over a case of wine and 2 bottles of Sambuca ...we're back in business.

Easter morning we watched LA Mass and also saw Andrea Bocelli at Duomo Milan. Nice!

We're both healthy and spirits high so that's what's important. God Bless all our health care and first responders !! 🙏🏻 Hope all of us stay safe and healthy. Cyber hugs 'around.

So good to hear from everyone!

Helen, you can freeze ham and turkey just fine.

George and I are fine. I still go to the office everyday. Only surgeries are the really urgent ones, which means they are usually also the really complicated ones—cancer, huge pelvic masses, etc. No easy cases to balance the hard ones out. And everything in the office is really complex, no annual exams. so even though I am seeing fewer patients, the worki am doing is more difficult and time consuming.

George is mostly working from home, on the phone all day. Of course, he still goes to the ranch. That doesn’t change.

Everyone stay healthy and hope to see you all again soon.

Hi Y'all!

I thought I posted, but apparently I'm actually going crazy like I thought I was. I hate to see that our family Alaskan cruise isn't going to happen; I had kept holding out hope. Now we have to find something else to do, because we have to have something to hope and plan for. Ngaire, do safaris fit into school calendars?

We are only keeping the office open on Tuesday and Friday for billings and payrolls, but the roofers are still working and so far we have work. I haven't found anything at home that is calling me to get involved in, but there is still plenty to do.

More cyber hugs from me, and well wishes for everybody.

Hello, everyone!
It's so nice to see so many friends checking in during this difficult time (made especially difficult for those of us who like to travel!). For myself, the antidote to being unable to travel right now is to have plans made for travel later on. I now have three cruises booked for 2021/22, each with a different travel friend. It will never be the same cruising without my Penny, but I simply cannot imagine sitting home grieving for the rest of my life. So I am planning to charge ahead and make the most of good health, and a warm and fun group of fellow travelers. I love you all, and look forward to seeing you soon!
Tim

Yes safaris are best May, June, July and August.

That's the spirit, Tim!! Penny would approve! We LCTers love you too!
I've been watching the MalaMala "Rangers in Isolation" daily videos on YouTube. Next best thing to being there!

Kim....me too. Love my daily fix of safari at Mala Mala.

Hi Kim
Just had to say thanks for alerting Ralph that MalaMala videos were on UTube by you posting on LCT.
He located them and we enjoyed them immensely. Good way to pass the time in lockdown. Great footage of wild dogs.
We do not mind staying in kiwi land longer than planned, even though we have been unable to see family and friends. My brother Brian comes over once or twice a week for scrabble and dinner. Over here everyone is in a “bubble” which means that one other household can be in your bubble provided it is a person living alone and neither household mixes with another household outside that bubble, so it is no problem. Next week will be our 4th week in lockdown, at which time our PM has hinted we may revert to Alert level 2 or 3 from Alert level 4 which will ease some restrictions. Fingers crossed! Big news here is that Boris Johnson publicly thanked a NZ nurse on TV. She was one of 2 nurses who looked after him for 48 hours straight when he was on oxygen in ICU. He said he believed their care and attention saved his life. Praise indeed!

Hi everyone.
Jan and I spent December, January, & February at Robson Pebble Creek, located in Goodyear, AZ. VRBO fist two months, then friends of ours who live there asked us to stay in their home while
they go to their condo in Mazatlán in February. Only catch was we had to take them and pick them up at Sky Harbor airport. Good deal huh?
Since home we had the March 7th Wake Up & Lace up Fund raiser which was fantastic this year. Then the stay in place happened. Been very good at staying home. I have gone to the grocery store a couple of times
as well as drive through banking. Have been taking about 3 mile walks alone when the weather is good, which has been very weird. We have had 75 degree days, and highs of 15 degree days. Bright and sunny,
and 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground. One day we had a blizzard for about 1/2 hour and could not see anything outside because it was so bad.
Like a lot of you we have cleaned closets, and storage rooms, watched lots of shows we recorded on our DVR while in AZ. Jan is still working from home on a couple of her PT jobs which keeps her sort of busy.
Did get to golf a couple of days when it was nice. Club house is closed, but we can do one person per cart. They put PVC pipe in each hole so the ball can't go in. That way nobody has to touch the flag
or mess with reaching in the hole for the ball. Other than that we are doing very well.

June - That bubble strategy seems really good to help single household people keep from climbing the walls! So nice to know you're enjoying the "Rangers in Isolation", too! Some very interesting things they are telling us about that we wouldn't have know.
JimB - Our golf club implemented extreme social distancing measures in order to stay open. Some courses in the state did not, however. So the Governor closed all golf courses.

Just logged into Utube to watch RANGERS IN ISOLATION. Loved seeing the videos BUT so sad we are going to miss our 2020 safari. Looks like our timing in 2020 would have been terrific. Just watched three so far.

Kabula pride 22 lions strong! Gowrie Males with them. Last year Group Two had the wonderful experience of following the Gowrie males for quite a long time in the open
Heavily pregnant female WILD DOG great timing to in June to see the new puppies.
New water flow in the in the River.
Lots of Hyenas around.
Piccadilly Female - happy to see her doing well.
Buffalo look strong after that terrible drought a few years back

Rangers we know so well on the vehicles. I realized I can even recognize their voices.

Think I will do an "at home" safari. One video for the morning drive and one video for the afternoon drive. Just need a Mala Mala buffet lunch with Eggplant Parmigiana to complete the fantasy and Petunia bringing me Mango Sorbet and a cup of English Breakfast tea before I even ask!!

Working hard on moving the 2020 safaris to 2021 and seeing this makes all that work "WORTHWHILE" I absolutely love being on safari!

Going to email Mala Mala and thank them for these videos. I am sure the rangers are loving this - stay out as long as they wish. They all have a passion for the wildlife and they have time to do their own videos.

I JUST EMAILED MALA MALA - Love their response message signature line.

“This too, shall pass. When things are bad, remember: It won’t always be this way. Take one day at a time. When things are good, remember: It won’t always be this way. Enjoy every great moment.”

We made it through April!

Camelot

Sorry about the video quality.

Today, May 2, is Day 66 (or Tom says 67...whatever ) of Quarantine. It seems even longer to me but we're getting by fine. Ordering dinners and groceries in. I really miss getting together with family and friends. Read books, watched lots of Netflix. Thank goodness we have pets to take for walks and a nice backyard to hang in. Face Time and Zoom "cocktail hour" is fun too.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy !

I was finally able to do surgery unrestricted as of Monday. Office is still kind of slow, but getting better. I was able to get a haircut yesterday, and today a mani/pedi. And my Pilates studio reopened, so I went for the first time today. I expect to be sore tomorrow. Also planted tomatoes as our June cruise got cancelled, so I will be home to water them.

George is happy because the courthouse opens next week. He has to wear a mask, so he came to my office to get one. He put it on upside down and inside out, bless his heart.

We are getting by here. Sounds like Oklahoma is getting back to normal! Not so much here in LA County. Courts are mostly closed. No haircuts or mani/ pedis here!

Still walking with my sister but she had emergency gallbladder surgery last weekend so much slower walks these days. FYI hospitals are not great places to be when you have no visitors allowed and hence no one to advocate for you. I spent 2 hours in the parking lot while she sat in the lobby just waiting for someone to wheel her out of the building.

Still trying to get the airlines to show my credits for cancelled flights. I call and I’m told it’s on their computer but no one can tell me why this is not reflected in my account when I log in.

Sorry, don’t mean to sound too grumpy. We have beautiful weather, no one is sick, lots of food, dogs to play with , most of my trips next year are already paid for with refunds and wine.com delivers vodka! Life is good.

Stay well.
———————-
Helen

Helen, I heard that Garrett said that everyone in LA County can have a free virus test; have you been able to get in for the test yet?

Things opening up in Texas; however, there is so much pent up demand. Went to a nursery today and they said max of 20 including employees at one time. As the line standing in the hot sun already had twelve people we decided to skip it. We had gone to two nurseries last week without any issues; after all most of the area is outdoors.

With all the cancelled travel, we are putting the money (and time) into the house. We are having the house painted and then modifying the garden area (adding a bit of grass back) and then fencing the yard (hoping to provide a small deterrence to the deer). Hopefully everything will get done in next few weeks.

We have postponed the departure date for our land trip to early September; hopefully no issues with all the lodges opening up. Two lodges in Grand Tetons (not where we are booked) are closed for summer as they couldn't provide social distancing for their staff (I imagine it is a dorm). We have lodges at Yellowstone and Glacier that are supposed to open 15 June so hopefully we are fine. Still hoping to join up with the group in Vancouver but who knows if the Mariner will be there when we arrive.

There is always BOOTS!!!!

Marc

[quote=Marc]Helen, I heard that Garrett said that everyone in LA County can have a free virus test; have you been able to get in for the test yet?
/quote]

I haven’t tried Marc. I can’t quite get my head around why I would want one. I’m not sick and I haven’t been exposed to anyone who is as far as I know. I stay 6 feet away from all other humans and wear the mandatory mask when I leave the house. I get that whole non-symptomatic thing but even if I tested negative today that doesn’t mean I would be negative tomorrow, so can’t see the point?
—————-
Helen

New Zealand went to what they call Level 3 last Tuesday from a total lock down. Level 3 allows for carry out but in a contactless way. Means you pay in advance and pick up at a table at the door of the restaurant. The MacDonalds, KFC, and a local NZ burger place called Burger Fuel. Lines are up to a mile long.

We were able to see June's daughter on Tuesday. Had Shelley, Daniel and his two daughters for lunch. Sort of broke the rule as the daughters are also in a bubble with the ex wife. Really blew up the bubble on Friday as we had a mid afternoon lunch with Chris and Lynette Howell. Had too much wine but a terrific time.

We leave for CA on May 14 and while Orange Co is not in the best of shape especially compared to NZ we are keen to get to our other home in CA and see my son, family etc. Need to do many things that can only be done in CA.

We are hopeful that NZ goes to level 2 which will allow June to go to the hairdresser she has an appointment with on May 13. If not she will continue to have a shaggy mop for hair. I on the other hand have hair longer than someone in the play " HAIR". Never been this long in the last 20 or 30 years.

Hopeful that the Alaska cruise on the Mariner happens but think it is at best 50/50. Really concerned about what NZ does about persons coming into the country in mid November when we are scheduled to return. We could return under current rules but would be required to spend 14 days in a hotel before going to June's flat. That is a non starter. Also if they do not open up the border the SilverSea cruise to the NZ south islands will not happen. That would be very disappointing.

Can not help but think this is the most traumatic event in our life times. Much , much bigger than 9-11 or any other event except WW2. The economic impact will be with us for a long time.

We need pictures Ralph, I am sure June would oblige!

Anyone else ready to get on a plane, or a train, or a ship? Just to go somewhere? We went up to Iowa for a few days last month and it was exhilarating just to be somewhere different. I am so ready to skip town.

Helen and Marcie, once Disneyland and indoor dining at restaurants open up we need to hit the road. I really need a good pastrami sandwich (although Kenny and Ziggy's in Houston is pretty darn good).

See everyone soon!*

Marc

* Wishful thinking.

I know just how you feel Marc! At the moment my sisters and I have plans to go up to wine country for a weekend and in October Jerry and I are planning to meet up with George and Rachel for a couple of days in Utah. Hoping any of that actually happens!
Meanwhile we will look forward to a visit from you and Arlene once things get open here.
———————-
Helen

I feel your pain Marc. I've lost track of how many trips, even short weekend trips within CA we've cancelled. I stopped trying to plan anything new. I so hope we'll see you and Arlene again one of these days. A pastrami sandwich sounds so good to me. Stay safe and sane.

Hi y'all! I want to go somewhere, just anywhere! My granddaughter Andrea is back in Boston where she is in grad school. Sarah, the youngest, left with her parents yesterday; she'll be going to college in Savannah. And I am sitting at home (and going to the office). My daughter and I have a tentative long weekend in Nashville planned, early October. We are hoping for slightly cooler weather because there is a Civil War cemetery in Franklin that we are dying to explore. But I want a BIG trip.

What did we all do to deserve this?

Really looking forward to seeing Jerry and Helen in October. I want a trip! This is the longest I have gone in probably 30 or more years without a trip to somewhere.