working out for Disney

[Figgy1]

Ah, that makes more sense, then. I think that's the problem here, too....you can mandate it all you want, but if no one enforces it, it doesn't help. We have mandates for public spaces indoors, like grocery stores, but I've seen 2 people not wearing masks at the store. One is my daughter's best friend's dad, which was weird to me, because they are pretty strict by Dutch standards....about like my husband and I, and they have not let the kids go out and such. But E did say that he's autistic and was worried about the mask mandate coming up and would have to think of some other way to get groceries, because he can not stand to wear a mask. So I don't know if he got some sort of exemption or if he just chanced getting a fine. Stores are supposed to enforce it themselves, and if they don't they can get in trouble. But it's possible no one saw him without the mask, or that they just figure "What are the odds someone turns us in for one person not wearing a mask?".

I hadn't heard that newer research that the masks protect the wearer. I did always wonder how it could only work one way...it's a protective barrier. How does it keep germs from going one way but not the other? So it makes sense that it protects both, but I had just read that that wasn't the case, so I figured I must be missing something. In any case, even if it's not a huge amount of protection, isn't it better than nothing?

My friend who got it already has some sort of respiratory issue. I think it has something to do with scar tissue, not in her lungs, but in the passage to the lungs. Decades ago, she was eating chips and one went in wrong and cut through the tissue. I was there when it happened on the bus ride home from a junior high basketball game. She couldn't breathe and they had to have an ambulance meet the team as we came into town so she could be taken to the hospital while the rest of us were taken back home. All of us were in tears scared to death. Anyway, it apparently caused some scar tissue to form there and it reduces her ability to breathe deeply enough. So then when she got Covid, it was really bad and she couldn't breathe. But she had problems with her insurance company. They wouldn't pay for anything that wasn't an "emergency" if it was out of state, and even though she HAD gone to the ER, they didn't admit her, but gave her the nebulizer to take back to wherever she was staying, so the insurance was trying to say it wasn't emergency care and they wouldn't cover it. I'm not sure why exactly they didn't admit her, but the nebulizer helped anyway. But having experienced all that, and she wouldn't go home and bring it to her family because it was so awful, why is she anti mask? And I can understand HER not wanting a vaccination since it makes her sick, but why wouldn't you want everyone around you protected so that you couldn't get it from them? She didn't want to give it to her family, but she's willing for everyone else to get it? It doesn't make sense to me. She had it way back before the summer, I think, though. Long before we had a vaccine, back when mask mandates were just starting and only in a few places.

Sheesh immunity is only good for 4-5 months if you catch it the shot 1 year+. Because your friend tested positive she should apply to her state to get her bills covered. There's no income limit programs

 

[Figgy1]

If you're interested in making candles, you might want to check out Brambleberry.com. They used to stock only soaping ingredients and supplies, but they've branched out into DIY candles, among other things. I buy some soaping items there. She has the best selection of scent oils and colorants. Other stuff, like glycerine, I buy at Amazon.

Bookmarked for if I ever have extra time

 

[Figgy1]

This entire situation has just brought more and more attention to how ignorant the public is or maybe how lazy they are. They hear something and that becomes fact. They don't bother to find out for themselves or at the very least listen to someone that really has the experience to know. Ask all the nurses that work in the Covid and other areas, ask the surgeons that spend their whole days wearing masks. I haven't heard of any one passing our because they were wearing a mask. The proof is right in front of everyone. Some are able to see it, others do not. Some what to see it, others do not. Those that probably don't know that there is a difference between Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide feel qualified to give advice.

I hate people who claim to be brave but are afraid of 6 inches of fabric sheesh!

 

[Figgy1]

They are calling it Operation Warp Speed?? Is that just in the US? I haven't heard anything over here! How long have they been vaccinating for it there? We just started it 2 weeks ago in the Netherlands, so they aren't very far yet, but so far I haven't heard anyone with a severe reaction. And of my friends and family in the US who have gotten it, no one has reported anything more than a sore arm and feeling a bit run down. I don't know where E's friend gets her information, because her mom works in healthcare, but she is against everything. I kind of think it might be more not wanting to believe that masks work and vaccines are safe because she doesn't want to wear a mask or get a shot. She's in E's class, and E's in the highest level of high school, so the girl must be pretty intelligent, so I can't fathom how she is against the stuff unless it's more just not wanting to have to do those things. And I get that it's not fun, but to me it's better than getting really sick and possibly dying. No one knows who is going to get really sick and who is not. There are statistically more people in certain groups, but it's no guarantee that if you aren't in those groups that you won't get it bad, or that if you are in one of those groups you will get it really bad. So I don't want to just assume I'd be one who doesn't get it severely. I'd rather wear the masks and get the vaccine, and we'll see how it goes. We've also got the British mutation going around here that supposedly spreads faster and also may be more deadly...they are researching it now. Is that going around where you are, too? Or has that been kept at bay with travel restrictions? As far as I know, we still aren't even allowed in the US, so if Europeans are banned, then you might be safe from it there.

It's here

 

[Figgy1]

Yesterday was a "rest" as I spent the entire day cooking so I can finally have some time to do things that need to get done and have some movie time. Snow day today so I'm going to watch a movie. The foam roller thingys came and OMG they get all the knots out fast! The bosu ball also showed up and yes I'm only going to stand on the bouncy part until spring Squats on it are interesting

 

[Songbird76]

Sheesh immunity is only good for 4-5 months if you catch it the shot 1 year+. Because your friend tested positive she should apply to her state to get her bills covered. There's no income limit programs

She may have done that, I have no idea. She did get her insurance to pay for the nebulizer. I think she had to get the ER to sign some paper that yes, she really would have died without the nebulizer, and she got it IN the ER, but had used one before and didn't need to have it administered to her by ER staff. So she got it straightened out, but it took her days on the phone with the insurance company and going back and forth about whether it was considered emergency care even though it wasn't administered in the hospital. And I don't think she had any bills because she was staying with the friend she went to help in the first place and they both ended up getting Covid. But since she was staying there, there was no hotel or anything.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I hate people who claim to be brave but are afraid of 6 inches of fabric sheesh!

Yea, especially being afraid of a harmless fabric but seem to not have any concern about a virus that has killed over 2,000,000 people worldwide. I don't know why I am surprised though because almost nothing makes any sense anymore. Common sense is quite uncommon.

 

[Sans Souci]

They are calling it Operation Warp Speed?? Is that just in the US? I haven't heard anything over here! How long have they been vaccinating for it there? We just started it 2 weeks ago in the Netherlands, so they aren't very far yet, but so far I haven't heard anyone with a severe reaction. And of my friends and family in the US who have gotten it, no one has reported anything more than a sore arm and feeling a bit run down. I don't know where E's friend gets her information, because her mom works in healthcare, but she is against everything. I kind of think it might be more not wanting to believe that masks work and vaccines are safe because she doesn't want to wear a mask or get a shot. She's in E's class, and E's in the highest level of high school, so the girl must be pretty intelligent, so I can't fathom how she is against the stuff unless it's more just not wanting to have to do those things. And I get that it's not fun, but to me it's better than getting really sick and possibly dying. No one knows who is going to get really sick and who is not. There are statistically more people in certain groups, but it's no guarantee that if you aren't in those groups that you won't get it bad, or that if you are in one of those groups you will get it really bad. So I don't want to just assume I'd be one who doesn't get it severely. I'd rather wear the masks and get the vaccine, and we'll see how it goes. We've also got the British mutation going around here that supposedly spreads faster and also may be more deadly...they are researching it now. Is that going around where you are, too? Or has that been kept at bay with travel restrictions? As far as I know, we still aren't even allowed in the US, so if Europeans are banned, then you might be safe from it there.

Yes, that it's what they called it here. 45 got heaps of praise for doing what any other president would have done in the same situation. I think they started vaccinating in mid/late Dec, but it was primarily health care professionals. My husband and I both signed up for the waiting list. My husband was contacted last week saying he was currently eligible to receive the vaccine, but that none was available. Oh, good. Thanks for letting him know. He said he is going to wait for people his age, anyway. I have mentally prepared myself for not being fully vaccinated until June/July. I am just so ed off with the way this has been handled from the start. It's been a year since the first case in the US was identified. Now we have the Brazilian variant, too.

The only incidents of reaction I heard of were people with known allergies to ingredients typically found in vaccines and they had Epipens with them. I also read people who had injectable fillers in their faces had some pain where their fillers were. My uneducated guess is they were identified as foreign bodies and the body was just doing what it does after getting a vaccine.

My MIL has had both doses of the Oxford vaccine. She said she felt like she was coming down with the flu after the second dose, but it was only for a day or two.

 

[Goofyernmost]

They are calling it Operation Warp Speed?? Is that just in the US? I haven't heard anything over here! How long have they been vaccinating for it there? We just started it 2 weeks ago in the Netherlands, so they aren't very far yet, but so far I haven't heard anyone with a severe reaction. And of my friends and family in the US who have gotten it, no one has reported anything more than a sore arm and feeling a bit run down. I don't know where E's friend gets her information, because her mom works in healthcare, but she is against everything. I kind of think it might be more not wanting to believe that masks work and vaccines are safe because she doesn't want to wear a mask or get a shot. She's in E's class, and E's in the highest level of high school, so the girl must be pretty intelligent, so I can't fathom how she is against the stuff unless it's more just not wanting to have to do those things. And I get that it's not fun, but to me it's better than getting really sick and possibly dying. No one knows who is going to get really sick and who is not. There are statistically more people in certain groups, but it's no guarantee that if you aren't in those groups that you won't get it bad, or that if you are in one of those groups you will get it really bad. So I don't want to just assume I'd be one who doesn't get it severely. I'd rather wear the masks and get the vaccine, and we'll see how it goes. We've also got the British mutation going around here that supposedly spreads faster and also may be more deadly...they are researching it now. Is that going around where you are, too? Or has that been kept at bay with travel restrictions? As far as I know, we still aren't even allowed in the US, so if Europeans are banned, then you might be safe from it there.

20.5 million doses have been administered at this point in the states. Only 350 million left to go (X2) It didn't really start that long ago because of a situation that is known worldwide by now. I have heard of no serious side effects being reported at this time. With that many given out, I would have to think that someone would have spoken up by now.

 

[Sans Souci]

I have that one bookmarked. Haven't tried it yet because the guys are pitas

It's really delicious.I am thinking of making it for lunch today. It's also a soup-y kind of day, so I might make that instead.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning.

Just checking in with my workout. Wow, my workout was brutal. I almost bailed at the end. I struggled to keep my feet on my Swiss ball during this crazy, circus-inspired move.

My bread turned great. It was my best effort yet. I am making notes about what I did differently (often accidentally), in hopes to replicate it again. TBH, sourdough is high maintenance and I have a no knead recipe that is literally mixing flour, salt, yeast and water in a bowl and stashing it in the fridge. It's delicious and all I do is take out a bit of dough about an hour before I want fresh bread. Sourdough takes days from beginning to end and you have to wait for it to rise, which isn't always consistent. But, it's something to do with my time, I guess.

I am hoping to get out for a walk, but it's doing some sort of precipitation outside. I hope it clears up a bit.

 

[Songbird76]

Yes, that it's what they called it here. 45 got heaps of praise for doing what any other president would have done in the same situation. I think they started vaccinating in mid/late Dec, but it was primarily health care professionals. My husband and I both signed up for the waiting list. My husband was contacted last week saying he was currently eligible to receive the vaccine, but that none was available. Oh, good. Thanks for letting him know. He said he is going to wait for people his age, anyway. I have mentally prepared myself for not being fully vaccinated until June/July. I am just so ****ed off with the way this has been handled from the start. It's been a year since the first case in the US was identified. Now we have the Brazilian variant, too.

The only incidents of reaction I heard of were people with known allergies to ingredients typically found in vaccines and they had Epipens with them. I also read people who had injectable fillers in their faces had some pain where their fillers were. My uneducated guess is they were identified as foreign bodies and the body was just doing what it does after getting a vaccine.

My MIL has had both doses of the Oxford vaccine. She said she felt like she was coming down with the flu after the second dose, but it was only for a day or two.

Yeah, the Netherlands started in the 2nd week of January with vaccination and they are still on healthcare workers or residents of care homes. We aren't eligible until at least April, probably later than that. Possibly not until September.

They did really well handling the first wave here. It didn't get bad at all. Then as soon as they lifted the restrictions, cases increased and then they didn't do anything in response for several months, so now we're in lockdown and have a curfew. What's ridiculous is that with the curfew, I'm allowed to work, but my husband isn't allowed to pick me up from work because that's after the curfew. They said people will have to take public transportation. 2 huge problems with that: number one, it's counter productive. The point is to reduce the number of people who have contact with each other because it's the evening hours that people go to a friend's house etc. So if my husband picks me up, I have no contact with people outside my work or household. If I have to take public transportation, there are all the people in the bus or train...yes, we're masked and distanced, but it's more people than I would come in contact with if my husband picked me up. Number 2, there is no public transportation that late. I get off work at 11pm, sometimes 11:15 or 11:30 if it's busy. The only bus stop is about a kilometer walking from my work, and the last bus leaves that stop at something like 10:45....before I get off work. And even if I got out of work early to catch that bus, it goes to the central station in my town and there is no bus from the station to my house anymore. The last bus that goes anywhere near my house goes by there at 10:50, also before I get off work. So I'd have to walk about an hour from the station to my house at midnight. Or I could ride my bike, but same thing....I'd still have to ride my bike home at midnight. Or, well probably more like 11:30 pm, but still. So I CAN'T take public transportation, but my husband isn't allowed to pick me up. So I can't work in the evening. My husband is working from home and said he could take me during the day. So I worked it out with my employer that I work the 1-5 shift instead of the 7-11 shift. And now my husband says "Oh....I have meetings. I can pick you up, but I won't be able to take you there." There is no bus at all from my house normally. But if I ride my bike to the station to catch the bus, my bike is there and not at home and I have no way to get there the next day unless my husband picks me up and drops me off at the station and then I ride my bike. Last time I left my bike parked at the station I came back to flat tires, so I don't want to leave my bike there. So now I had to reserve a spot on a taxi bus to the station for the days that I'm working. I have to leave my house at 10:45 to get there on time to start work at 1pm! And all because the government couldn't be bothered to do anything until cases were way out of hand already. Had they acted sooner, we wouldn't need the stupid curfew and we'd probably have been out of lockdown by now. They totally botched it.

There's also a huge thing with the government right now because it was found that the Dutch version of the IRS was discriminating against foreigners and defrauded them out of millions of Euros and now they have to pay all of them back, plus coming up with money to keep the economy going with all the restaurants and bars, museums, movie theaters, concert venues, stores, and everything else in lockdown where businesses can't make money. Everything is shut down, so businesses are going under and need financial support, but the government has to pay 30,000 euros to each of the families they defrauded. It's a mess.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Ah, that makes more sense, then. I think that's the problem here, too....you can mandate it all you want, but if no one enforces it, it doesn't help. We have mandates for public spaces indoors, like grocery stores, but I've seen 2 people not wearing masks at the store. One is my daughter's best friend's dad, which was weird to me, because they are pretty strict by Dutch standards....about like my husband and I, and they have not let the kids go out and such. But E did say that he's autistic and was worried about the mask mandate coming up and would have to think of some other way to get groceries, because he can not stand to wear a mask. So I don't know if he got some sort of exemption or if he just chanced getting a fine. Stores are supposed to enforce it themselves, and if they don't they can get in trouble. But it's possible no one saw him without the mask, or that they just figure "What are the odds someone turns us in for one person not wearing a mask?".

I hadn't heard that newer research that the masks protect the wearer. I did always wonder how it could only work one way...it's a protective barrier. How does it keep germs from going one way but not the other? So it makes sense that it protects both, but I had just read that that wasn't the case, so I figured I must be missing something. In any case, even if it's not a huge amount of protection, isn't it better than nothing?

My friend who got it already has some sort of respiratory issue. I think it has something to do with scar tissue, not in her lungs, but in the passage to the lungs. Decades ago, she was eating chips and one went in wrong and cut through the tissue. I was there when it happened on the bus ride home from a junior high basketball game. She couldn't breathe and they had to have an ambulance meet the team as we came into town so she could be taken to the hospital while the rest of us were taken back home. All of us were in tears scared to death. Anyway, it apparently caused some scar tissue to form there and it reduces her ability to breathe deeply enough. So then when she got Covid, it was really bad and she couldn't breathe. But she had problems with her insurance company. They wouldn't pay for anything that wasn't an "emergency" if it was out of state, and even though she HAD gone to the ER, they didn't admit her, but gave her the nebulizer to take back to wherever she was staying, so the insurance was trying to say it wasn't emergency care and they wouldn't cover it. I'm not sure why exactly they didn't admit her, but the nebulizer helped anyway. But having experienced all that, and she wouldn't go home and bring it to her family because it was so awful, why is she anti mask? And I can understand HER not wanting a vaccination since it makes her sick, but why wouldn't you want everyone around you protected so that you couldn't get it from them? She didn't want to give it to her family, but she's willing for everyone else to get it? It doesn't make sense to me. She had it way back before the summer, I think, though. Long before we had a vaccine, back when mask mandates were just starting and only in a few places.

Yes, stores here were supposed to enforce it as well or face fines, but it became clear early on that law enforcement has other things that come first. Crime is way up since all of this started, so I do understand it if resources need to be devoted to something more violent. I just don't understand the whole "I don't like wearing one because it makes me uncomfortable" faulty logic some people use. Do they actually think people like me like wearing a mask? Do they really think I'd wear one for the heck of it?

There was one US study I remember reading that compared the efficacy of masks down to the different kinds of masks. It showed around 80% protection with the multilayer fabric masks a lot of people are wearing. And while not nearly as effective, it did show that gaiters still provided protection in the 60-70% range. There have been other studies that also show protection, but this one stood out because it was specific types. Either way, when you consider that the average annual flu shot is 40-60% effective and most people still get it, masking up makes so much sense to me.

Considering the number of people who have gotten it multiple times and her risk factors, you'd think she'd want to do more to protect herself. And yeah, I don't understand why she'd be opposed to others getting the vaccine. There is a lot of fear mongering and bad info floating around out there that's partly rooted in these crazy radical groups. I have a friend who usually works on the flu vaccines each year and it was her thoughts that really eased any fears I might have. As she put it, the science and technology weren't rushed...it was the governmental red tap that's been lifted to speed up the process. She went on to address the science and similarities in this vaccine to other heavily used vaccines. At the end of the day, the moral of the story was to not buy into the crazy stuff people are saying.

 

[Figgy1]

Yes, that it's what they called it here. 45 got heaps of praise for doing what any other president would have done in the same situation. I think they started vaccinating in mid/late Dec, but it was primarily health care professionals. My husband and I both signed up for the waiting list. My husband was contacted last week saying he was currently eligible to receive the vaccine, but that none was available. Oh, good. Thanks for letting him know. He said he is going to wait for people his age, anyway. I have mentally prepared myself for not being fully vaccinated until June/July. I am just so ****ed off with the way this has been handled from the start. It's been a year since the first case in the US was identified. Now we have the Brazilian variant, too.

The only incidents of reaction I heard of were people with known allergies to ingredients typically found in vaccines and they had Epipens with them. I also read people who had injectable fillers in their faces had some pain where their fillers were. My uneducated guess is they were identified as foreign bodies and the body was just doing what it does after getting a vaccine.

My MIL has had both doses of the Oxford vaccine. She said she felt like she was coming down with the flu after the second dose, but it was only for a day or two.

We're still waiting to hear when we'll get it. Right now we're hearing shot will be mandated at dh's job but we all may be able to get them there when our time on the list comes up.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, the Netherlands started in the 2nd week of January with vaccination and they are still on healthcare workers or residents of care homes. We aren't eligible until at least April, probably later than that. Possibly not until September.

They did really well handling the first wave here. It didn't get bad at all. Then as soon as they lifted the restrictions, cases increased and then they didn't do anything in response for several months, so now we're in lockdown and have a curfew. What's ridiculous is that with the curfew, I'm allowed to work, but my husband isn't allowed to pick me up from work because that's after the curfew. They said people will have to take public transportation. 2 huge problems with that: number one, it's counter productive. The point is to reduce the number of people who have contact with each other because it's the evening hours that people go to a friend's house etc. So if my husband picks me up, I have no contact with people outside my work or household. If I have to take public transportation, there are all the people in the bus or train...yes, we're masked and distanced, but it's more people than I would come in contact with if my husband picked me up. Number 2, there is no public transportation that late. I get off work at 11pm, sometimes 11:15 or 11:30 if it's busy. The only bus stop is about a kilometer walking from my work, and the last bus leaves that stop at something like 10:45....before I get off work. And even if I got out of work early to catch that bus, it goes to the central station in my town and there is no bus from the station to my house anymore. The last bus that goes anywhere near my house goes by there at 10:50, also before I get off work. So I'd have to walk about an hour from the station to my house at midnight. Or I could ride my bike, but same thing....I'd still have to ride my bike home at midnight. Or, well probably more like 11:30 pm, but still. So I CAN'T take public transportation, but my husband isn't allowed to pick me up. So I can't work in the evening. My husband is working from home and said he could take me during the day. So I worked it out with my employer that I work the 1-5 shift instead of the 7-11 shift. And now my husband says "Oh....I have meetings. I can pick you up, but I won't be able to take you there." There is no bus at all from my house normally. But if I ride my bike to the station to catch the bus, my bike is there and not at home and I have no way to get there the next day unless my husband picks me up and drops me off at the station and then I ride my bike. Last time I left my bike parked at the station I came back to flat tires, so I don't want to leave my bike there. So now I had to reserve a spot on a taxi bus to the station for the days that I'm working. I have to leave my house at 10:45 to get there on time to start work at 1pm! And all because the government couldn't be bothered to do anything until cases were way out of hand already. Had they acted sooner, we wouldn't need the stupid curfew and we'd probably have been out of lockdown by now. They totally botched it.

There's also a huge thing with the government right now because it was found that the Dutch version of the IRS was discriminating against foreigners and defrauded them out of millions of Euros and now they have to pay all of them back, plus coming up with money to keep the economy going with all the restaurants and bars, museums, movie theaters, concert venues, stores, and everything else in lockdown where businesses can't make money. Everything is shut down, so businesses are going under and need financial support, but the government has to pay 30,000 euros to each of the families they defrauded. It's a mess.

At the very least, it's interesting to hear what's going on over there. I have a cousin (older...around my parents' age) who lives outside of Amsterdam (Amstelveen?), but I don't think they've gone out much since the pandemic started. I just know she's seen a lot of defiant people and most recently, people outside protesting the lockdowns and curfews.

I see your arguments with your transportation and contact risk with the lockdown. Being able to have your husband come get you makes a whole lot more sense. I know the curfew, assuming it's like some areas had it here, is supposed to help curb the number of younger people going out and congregating, but there has to be some kind of common sense way to allow for someone to get a ride to or from work from their spouse. I hope this doesn't last too long for you guys. While I agree we need to prevent the spread, I tend to feel like full on lockdowns are only temporary fixes and that things will go back up afterwards if people continue with practices that caused spikes in the first place. Waiting for this to be over!

 

[Figgy1]

At the very least, it's interesting to hear what's going on over there. I have a cousin (older...around my parents' age) who lives outside of Amsterdam (Amstelveen?), but I don't think they've gone out much since the pandemic started. I just know she's seen a lot of defiant people and most recently, people outside protesting the lockdowns and curfews.

I see your arguments with your transportation and contact risk with the lockdown. Being able to have your husband come get you makes a whole lot more sense. I know the curfew, assuming it's like some areas had it here, is supposed to help curb the number of younger people going out and congregating, but there has to be some kind of common sense way to allow for someone to get a ride to or from work from their spouse. I hope this doesn't last too long for you guys. While I agree we need to prevent the spread, I tend to feel like full on lockdowns are only temporary fixes and that things will go back up afterwards if people continue with practices that caused spikes in the first place. Waiting for this to be over!

We had a lockdown with curfew at one point but it was more common sense. You could leave home for work if essential(dh had a paper and his ID) you could leave home to be at the grocery store at opening even if you had to leave before end of curfew to get there for it, you could leave for medical reasons

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I wound up working out yesterday after work. I did 30 min of kettlebells with the step bench and twist plate. I was absolutely drenched! I followed up with 30 minutes on the bike. Who knows what I'm going to do today. Not sure what I'm going to do today, but it'll be something.

I've been in an ice cream place of late. I've been getting the light lactose free stuff, but trying to jazz it up. Pomegranate and Chinese Five Spice have been really good so far. I was skeptical about the spice, but we were watching Kids' Baking Championship last night and it was the featured dessert ingredient. Duff mentioned it being delicious in ice cream and I have a jar on hand, so I tried it. This may wind up being like when I went through my cardamom phase!

We're also hoping the half bath can get finished this week. Contractor can't make it today, so we're now a little bit behind, but it's ready for tile. Paint went in yesterday and the light fixture went back up (reusing what was already in there...I kind of like it). I initially wanted that dark gray wall to have wallpaper, but we decided to go with a patterned tile, so painted accent seemed like the better plan.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had a lockdown with curfew at one point but it was more common sense. You could leave home for work if essential(dh had a paper and his ID) you could leave home to be at the grocery store at opening even if you had to leave before end of curfew to get there for it, you could leave for medical reasons

Yes, I recall friends and family in the northeast saying that their lockdowns were more extreme than ours and they mentioned curfews. We had a solid period where most things were closed and most activities were suspended, but they never set ground rules for leaving your house. While we haven't returned to the office, I know a number of companies that never stopped sending in their employees. And unless you needed TP and were going right at opening, the grocery store lines I saw from my NJ friends and family weren't a thing here. It's just amazing with the differences...but that could also be a part of why so many here are less willing to comply with any kind of mandates and orders.

 

[Songbird76]

At the very least, it's interesting to hear what's going on over there. I have a cousin (older...around my parents' age) who lives outside of Amsterdam (Amstelveen?), but I don't think they've gone out much since the pandemic started. I just know she's seen a lot of defiant people and most recently, people outside protesting the lockdowns and curfews.

I see your arguments with your transportation and contact risk with the lockdown. Being able to have your husband come get you makes a whole lot more sense. I know the curfew, assuming it's like some areas had it here, is supposed to help curb the number of younger people going out and congregating, but there has to be some kind of common sense way to allow for someone to get a ride to or from work from their spouse. I hope this doesn't last too long for you guys. While I agree we need to prevent the spread, I tend to feel like full on lockdowns are only temporary fixes and that things will go back up afterwards if people continue with practices that caused spikes in the first place. Waiting for this to be over!

That's exactly the problem. It's supposed to be temporary, but who knows if it will be extended? And they said if they did a curfew, they see it as a really heavy responsibility, so if they did it, they wanted to know it was going to help, so they needed to make as few exceptions as possible. But one of the things allowed is to walk your dog. You can go out with your dog, but not to pick your wife up from work? And the reasoning is that there are supposedly other options for transportation to and from work, but there aren't where I live. Sure, if you live in Amsterdam and work there, there's probably transportation there late at night. But our city has something like 50,000 people. And I live right on the outskirts in a low income neighborhood that has a lot of refugees and elderly people. For some reason, we don't have very good public transportation. There used to be a bus every half hour, then it went to every hour, and now it's by reservation only in advance, once every hour. You can't just show up at the bus stop. And even that only goes during business hours, so if you need it in the evening or on the weekend, you're out of luck. But now they are telling us that we have to use public transportation so that fewer people have permits to be out after 9 pm, but in the long run, it shouldn't matter how many people are out, but how many people are around other people. Public transportation would put me in contact with a larger number of people, IF I had public transportation as an option. But the fact that I DON'T have that as an option should mean that they have to make an exception in my case, but they won't. It's all just ridiculous. I hope they don't end up extending it...it's only supposed to be for 2 weeks, but I don't see how that's going to help, so I expect that they will extend by at least another 2 weeks.

 

[Songbird76]

We had a lockdown with curfew at one point but it was more common sense. You could leave home for work if essential(dh had a paper and his ID) you could leave home to be at the grocery store at opening even if you had to leave before end of curfew to get there for it, you could leave for medical reasons

With ours, we have to get a permit online. There's a form you fill out and you checkmark your reason for being out. If it's for work, you also need a declaration from your employer that says yes, you need to work in the evening hours. Legitimate reasons for being out are: Walking your dog, going to or returning from work, seeking medical care, providing medical care. Someone asked if they could be out because they were babysitting, and the answer was no. That was not a legitimate reason....ok, so if a single mom has to work in the evening, she can't get a babysitter, because the babysitter isn't allowed to be out past curfew. It's like they didn't think it through. Like they are thinking you only need a babysitter for date night, but since everything is closed, there's no place to go on a date anyway, so no need for babysitters! And well, we'd rather fewer people out, so people will have to all take a bus together instead of being safely distanced in cars with their family members. It's just so stupid!! Who even came up with these rules?