Friday Things #362
I know it’s Friday, but with coronavirus having become a global pandemic that has turned things on its head here in the last 48 hours, it seems bizarre to write about random everyday things.
I’d love to hear how things are in your part of the world. Is life still going on as usual? Are you working from home? Are your kids home? Are your grocery stores bananas? What would you like to see in the way of recipes and content?
Lots of prayers for everyone to stay healthy and safe, xo.
Feel free to continue to post things that are a diversion from this mess. I am not getting on social media as much because everyone is posting “information” about COVID-19 and much of it is questionable as to the truth.
I was starting to have a mild anxiety attack when everything started shutting down in Houston so finding some amount of normal here would be lovely. I live alone with my dog and now I am working from home so I won’t be seeing many people. It is getting lonely in my house these days.
As for things to post… comfort food would be nice. Recipes with ingredients we probably already have. Cookies! More pictures of your dogs and kids. :)
Grateful communities are taking this seriously as healthcare can get overwhelmed if not.
Keep your family safe and enjoy some quality time together!
Love your posts and recipes-
Thank you!
We in Australia have gone straight from the bushfire crisis into the Coronavirus pandemic! What an awful start to the year, and we’re starting to run out of things to be cheerful about.
Maybe some more recipe posts leaning to the pantry would be handy, given more and more people are fending for themselves and potentially self quarantining?
I look forward to Friday Things every week and was very disappointed not to see the column today, especially for the reason given. We need the random everyday things now.
There was a segment on our evening news about how crazy it was at the grocery stores here. Most of the schools are closed through the first week of April.
I’m in Seattle and work at a home health care agency and it is…wild times, to say the least. The most striking thing is how little traffic there is, in a city known for gridlock. Also, we’ve all gotten *really* good at using our elbows instead of our hands.
My hope is that people use common sense when shopping. You don’t need double, triple or more of the products you normally purchase. Leave some for others who may be completely out of stock and are having a hard time finding products.
People are forgetting if their neighbor doesn’t have sanitizing products, they aren’t able to sanitize. That helps no one. Please, just try to think of others.
I’d love to see some of your favorite family recipes…real crowd pleasers. Sometimes these are the recipes that are very simple, but everyone loves and has fond memories about. I like hearing the stories behind how they originated. Maybe even share a recipe a reader has sent and you’ve tried? That would be a fun feature.
Have a wonderful weekend and wishing everyone good health!
Hi Michelle! We live north of Seattle, by about an hour, but our entire State is under restricted activities. All schools are closing by Monday, most all stores are wiped out of basic things, my family is directly affected by loss of work and job loss, and our Catholic Churches are all closed ( hard part of Lent). So yes, our normal world is turned totally upside down. And of course, no Hockey😢!! But, we will still be making your Irish soda bread for St. Patrick’s day! Stay safe and wash those hands!😁
My city has reported its first case of Coronavirus however, the county in which I live has multiple cases. My everyday life is pretty much normal, but grocery shopping is anything but. Panic buying is rampant, and dare say extremely irrational. We clearly have enough food, water, and cleansing products to go around for everyone, but people are hoarding. I really hope clearer minds will prevail soon and we can all remain as healthy as possible. I will curtail non-essential group events, but will continue to exercise at my local park weather permitting.
Here in Minneapolis we’re seeing some of the same problems other people are reporting. Toilet paper selling out everywhere, hand sanitizer already sold out. We haven’t had many confirmed cases yet, but people are scared.
I came here today looking for inspiration, and I’m finding it – both in everyone else’s commenting and in your posts. I stopped baking – stopped cooking – several years ago, after a bad bout of depression. I’m trying to work myself back into baking. I’d loved it so much, and I hate that I’ve lost touch with it. Thank you for this beautiful blog – it’s very inspiring.
Will so be praying for you. Sorry to say I understand a bit. I hit a wall of darkness with my work and I can so understand. May you find that first step to start small…cookies, eggs anything to love on yourself again. Promise I’ll be praying for you Karla.
Karla, I sympathize with you. Baking has always been a great joy for me too. One of my favorite hobbies but after my Goddaughter was murdered by her boyfriend after trying to break things off w/ him, I too have been “stuck” unable to enjoy even the things I loved such as baking. Counseling this last year has helped tremendously as well as having a few close friends to really share your grief with. I have also turned to my faith again too. For a while I was angry & refused but it honestly has helped me through this. Best of luck to you.
I’m a hospital physician in the suburbs north of NYC. The hallways of the hospital were deserted this morning; I observed to my team that, except for all the lights being on, it felt like it was 2 am! So far (knock on wood) we have had no confirmed cases in my hospital, but several patients being tested. We are the advanced care hospital next-closest to the New Rochelle hot spot, so we are holding our collective breath for the flood we are expecting.
Life here in Seattle a bit surreal, but staying busy by caring for our grandson who’s 7 months…bring lots of joy during these challenging times. Doing our best to be available to family, neighbors and friends. Stay safe, stay positive and know there is opportunity for a dramatic culture shift with
All that’s happening…love and patience wins! Happy baking!
I was very disappointed in not seeing the usual Friday things, your children not only enrich your life, they bring joy to others as well.
Hoping that you can incorporate some pictures of your children and the dogs on Saturday.
Stay well.
We live in Utah. Schools are closed, universities too. Empty stores. Snow. What a week. Grateful for the small things. Comfort food would be lovely.
Firstly, may I say what an inspiring photo that is, and you’re fortunate to see that sunrise from your window every day,Michelle.
I’m in Montreal and in our province (Quebec) they’ve started to put measures in place as we are starting to see rising numbers, not alarming so far (17), but we don’t want to have things get out of control. Like everywhere else, we seem to constantly run out of toilet paper, masks, cleaning wipes, and Purell-like products. Groceries are still OK. I’ve doubled up on more non perishables like rice,flour, asstd. beans etc. frozen veggies, quinoa, all things that are easy to keep.
I am fortunate to be retired, but as I do not drive anymore due to health reasons, I will be cancelling upcoming appointments, as I will not take public transport! I am a little concerned as I am over 60 with health issues, so that worries me, but I will stay home and away from the crowds. There are school closure, events are cancelled, and they are advising against air travel. Everyone be well and stay safe.
Here in Oklahoma City, all of the schools are closed for the next 2 weeks. Grocery stores are bananas but some are staying on top of it so people can have their seemingly mandatory 48 rolls of toilet paper. LOL We were kind of the epicenter a couple days ago at the Thunder Basketball game, right after which the NBA cancelled games for the season. I think that hit close enough to home that it woke everyone up to the fact this could be serious. Up until then, people were pretty much carrying on as usual.
Here in Central IL our stores are being emptied by the panic. Our schools are opened but told it’s evolving situation.
In Jamaica, all the schools are ordered to be closed for the next 2 weeks starting today. The decision is to be reviewed in the next 10 days. My almost-3-year-old nephew is home with me, my mom and sister. Everyone is concerned a few are so scared they have already self-isolated. The supermarkets are chaos, bottled water, wipes and sanitiser were hard to get yesterday.
I would love to see some recipes that would keep my nephew and us satisfied until dinner without having to be cooking constantly.
–Keep safe everyone.
I would love your regular Friday Things! It would be such a nice break from what’s on the news constantly. Would you consider adding it to Saturday’s Weekend Dish?🥰
I’m in Maryland, in the DC suburbs. Our schools will be closed starting Monday for 2 weeks. My husband happened to stop at the grocery store on the way home yesterday & said he’s never seen it that busy.
I’ve needed to go to Costco for the past two weekends & wasn’t able to. So I just went last evening. I went there for their frozen salmon, which is fantastic, & then noticed they were sold out of Bounty & all toilet paper & tissues, crazy.
Hope you all had a great week. Love the picture you posted.
Here in central Florida, the schools have not been closed except for the regular breaks and we have not had a significant outbreak yet, which is bizarre with all the attractions in Orlando. Aldi still has toilet paper, WM and Sam’s do not. Other than that, everything was stocked enough it seemed. People are buying water which I found unusual, normally that is reserved for hurricanes around here. We were down at the Villages (155,000+ community of people 55+) yesterday and my brother who lives in Atlanta was shocked at the normalcy compared to Atlanta where the freeways are not congested and everyone is telecommuting. It was life as normal in The Villages, which is weird since they are a more vulnerable population. They just announced last night that they are closing Disney and Universal on Sunday, so that will of course have a HUGE impact on the economy here. I am ready for this to be over though as it is sad to see people’s lives and well being so disrupted and once in a lifetime events be cancelled or disappointing as larger groups are discouraged.
In Md the schools are closed for the next two weeks. We’ll see what happens after that. Grocery stores are like the day before Thanksgiving and a major blizzard combined. It’s crazy. With that in mind how about some forgotten pantry treasures? What can I make with what’s been forgotten in the furthest corners of my kitchen cabinets?
Stay well!
I would like to see the everyday things!! So tired of the 24/7 coverage of the virus and stock market. Our grocery stores are trying to keep things stocked, but people are panic buying. Have never seen anything like this in my life. Our town schools are closed until March 30. The Boston Marathon is postponed until September!! Life is just turned upside down. Bring on the everyday things!! ❤️
So agree.
pure crazy here. no toilet paper, soap, pasta etc on most store shelves. cancelled hockey games, school and events. and today and major snow storm. cant wait for normal to come back.
Strange calm and unexpected peace this morning. Beautiful simple post of yours, and what an incredible picture of beauty in the midst of the little bit of darkness. Be still and know that I am God He says…. May we be comforted today.
Here in Ohio schools will be closed for the next three weeks. I went to the grocery store this morning and it was crowded. People appear to be panicking—I saw many carts filled with nothing but canned goods and meats. The meat case was almost empty and there were very few loaves of bread left on the shelf. Cleaning products aisle was decimated and there was no toilet paper at all. I work for a small medical supply company and for us it’s business as usual for now. There is some concern that we may be unable to maintain our stock because pretty much everything we sell is made in China.
Greetings from Chester County, PA! The governor has ordered many closures in neighboring Montgomery County. Some schools in this county are following their lead as many of there teachers commute from Montgomery. Grocery stores are being hit hard and shelves are being emptied quickly. However, based on my commute most people have still reported to work this week. I expect we’ll notice a difference next week. I have been very pleased to see so many people being proactive in their response. This morning, my family doctor sent an email laying out the protocol they will be using in their office and their implementation of “drive-thru” testing. I am concerned that the grocery shopping is an indication of panic but elsewhere people seem to be handling things calmly and responsibly. If you have some recipes that rely heavily on pantry staples, this might be a good time for them.
Life in Northeast Illinois is going on pretty normally. All the Saint Patrick’s Day celebration stuff has been cancelled, they’re not even dying the Chicago River this year. Gatherings of 1,000 are not allowed and gatherings of 250 are highly discouraged. Schools aren’t closed, yet but I’m sure it’s coming soon. The local colleges are switching to online only classes and i got a notice from my kickboxing studio that while they are open they are upping their cleaning regime, but the open status could change.
I know a lot of people are having to work from home because their office has closed. Mine hasn’t and I don’t expect it to unless someone test positive.
I live in Alabama and so far we don’t have any reported cases. I am sure that will change in the future. Maybe you could do recipes that freeze well and also can be made from ingredients found in your freezer and pantry without going out to buy special ingredients. I haven’t been to the grocery store lately but I have heard stories from people that are crazy.
Hope you and your family stay healthy.
Hi Michelle,
Perhaps a round-up of recipes made with pantry staples, for people who can’t get out to get fresh food? I’m in Ottawa, Canada and our kids are just starting spring break. Then, our schools are closed until April 6 to try to contain the spread of the virus. Currently, we’re on our way to Cancun for vacation, but everyone seems calm and practicing good hand hygiene and common sense (so far :).
Here in Seattle it’s definitely a little eerie. All the toilet paper is gone, the stores are pretty clear of disinfectants and alot of soap. Most schools in my area are closed for 2-6 weeks. I’m home with our 8 month old, but my job is working with the geriatric population in a skilled nursing facility.