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| Stocking up |
There is a pandemic. Covid-19 is spreading around the globe and we each need to do what we can to contain it. A vaccine might contain it someday, but that is not here now and won't be for some time to come. What do we do? We stay home. We wear masks in public, and we limit our access to others.
The Kansas legislature where I work has sent us on break early. We don't know if we will return at the first of May as we usually do, or if it will be later.
People are panicking. Toilet paper is nearly impossible to get.(Why? It's a flu. A cold. Tissue paper, maybe, but toilet paper?? I don't get it.) Anyroad... Things cannot be had. Paper towels. Antiseptic wipes. Rubbing alcohol. Some foods. We are encouraged to wear masks, but they cannot be had. I went looking for flour the other day and the only thing on the shelf was ONE 25 lb. bag. What do folks think is going to happen? It isn't a hurricane. The supply line isn't broken... Oh, well.
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Working on that 25 lbs. of flour
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Staying home isn't really hard for me. I stay home most of the year. The shortage of stuff has triggered my self-sufficient instincts. Mom was a farmer's daughter who lived through the Great Depression. She taught me to garden and can and put enough by to survive a year. I find myself falling into that mode. I don't believe that we have shortages, but if I cannot get things because others are panicking, I'll make do with what I have. (And yes, I bought that 25 pounds of flour. I'm a baker. It won't go bad.)
Now yeast cannot be had! I buy yeast by the pound and store it in the deep freeze. I have yeast. I have mailed some to my daughter in Texas and to a friend in Mumbai. I will be trying sour-dough starter, too, but I have never had much luck growing sourdough yeast.
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| Mini-greenhouse starting our garden |
The kids -- my grandson and his lady -- are all for self-sufficiency. We've been planning this year's garden. They have seeds growing in the living room and they are plotting what we can do for ourselves. (Why do I get the feeling that that will translate into what Grandma can do?) The dog Jane digs too much and she has torn up a lot of the old orchard. Reyes tilled it the other day and we'll be planting corn and potatoes there. The potatoes are a gift. The ones I had in the south room sprouted, so we cut them up and will plant them. Thank you, Lord.
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Corn and potato patches
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I've been a bit more practical. I pulled out my make-ahead cookbooks and stirred up meals-in-a-jar, home-made biscuit mix, and other do-it-yourself things. The kids like my make-ahead pizza crusts. Pull one out of the freeze, add spaghetti sauce and toppings. Pizza Hut was never this good.
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| Made ahead pizza crust |
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Homemade spaghetti and pizza sauce
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I do worry about my weigh-in at the Bariatric doctor in a couple of weeks. The way I've been making homemade bread, cookies and other snacks, I am afraid I will be bigger than I was last year.
