We have to get home first before we can stay home. Here's the governor's order. We do not have all of our meds here in Cathedral City, and so we have to go back to Los Angeles. We're expecting traffic to be light.

Of course the pot dispensaries are considerd essential!

Everything is closed here in Ohio for a while now, we still have basic essentials like grocery. The mall and clothing stores are all closed down, I think government offices. Seems like pretty much everything but the grocery store and pharmacy really. I guess we can still buy gas but there's no where to go anyway....I feel like we have been taken over by some hostile alien race or a foreign country. It's like out of a horror movie!

The name of the horror movie is Contagion. I don't recommend it. Hallmark is playing Christmas movies. Hallmark Christmas movies are formulaic and even the "bad" guys aren't really that bad.

The local briefing on the news today basically said what amounts to a great many workplaces being open, just not retail other than for essentials (so far online retail seems to be going strong), dine in, and retail-services like salons and entertainment venues. I don't know if car mechanics are still working, but I'd think they'd have to be. An awful lot falls under essential services.

I'm wondering what happens when all these partying college students go home. Will this just cause another outburst of the virus.... but this time all over the US???

it's all a ploy by the youth to rule the world. It's their world, and they want it now ....

I think the movie is Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956, and I do recommend it. The remake in the 1970s is inferior. The first version was filmed in Sierra Madre, where friends of mine live, and it is a very nice place to visit.

We are having a local emergency with a plumbing leak that has to get fixed before we can leave, and so we might be here until Tuesday, but we cannot leave water leaking.

We've been staying home here anyway for the past week - except for going to the hospital to see my mom who was admitted last Sunday, and now is in a nearby rehab facility that is not allowing visitors inside. It's been C-R-A-Z-Y and I am sort of glad I can't go to work - which has been closed as well, since the schools are all closed, and I work in city recreation after school care. Our city shut down all the libraries, rec centers, adult centers, etc. and cancelled all events.

I'm very glad my mom is not at home, since she cannot take care of herself or move around easily and needs the professional care, which would likely be impossible to find right now.

I am also glad not to have to go to the hospital any more!

BTW, I listened to some discussion of Contagion on an NPR show and how it is spookily predictive of our current situation. The science in it was carefully made to be very accurate, apparently.

The 70s version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was mentioned in that conversation too. I recently watched the original, and BTW, it is very similar to a SF story called The Father Thing by Philip K. Dick, which I first read as a kid.

http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2008/12/14/the-father-thing-by-philip-k-dick/

"The first version was filmed in Sierra Madre, where friends of mine live, and it is a very nice place to visit."

Lars, I grew up in Sierra Madre. It is a nice place to visit and still has a lot of charm.

Does anyone remember the original Star Trek episode where there were only young ones on the planet and the oldest said that the elders had developed an injection to eliminate all the bacteria, viruses, pathogens, and diseases and gave it to all the adults so they could live forever? Only children survived on the planet but when they "came of age" they died.

Yes I remembered the episode you are speaking of and looked it up. It is called Miri. There are a few clips of it on YouTube. Grown-ups like Kirk were called Grups.

Here are some photos of celebrities who are staying at home.

Not sure why this article is in French, as the site I got it from was not. Anyway, the signs in the photos are in English. I thought this might be inspirational.

In my house the strangest things are getting done. The other day I reprogrammed my corded phone with all the changes in phone numbers that have occurred in the last several years. Yesterday I baked bread. Today I thinned the Aprium tree. I wonder what other mischief I can get into today.

Lars, I like that. But, of course, I LIKE staying home. It doesn't bother me to not go anywhere for weeks. Elery goes crazy, though, in a couple of days he has to go SOMEWHERE, even if it's just to drive around.

Kate, I've been cleaning chicken coops, I canned chicken stock today and baked muffins for Mother and tomorrow I'm doing absentee ballots for a school millage election in May after I deliver Mother's meals. Who knows what this week will bring? (grin) I'm hoping to get my hoop houses/cold frames finished (or even started) and next week I'll have baby chicks to care for and protect from the ever helpful cats. Oh, and I need to get tomatoes started too!

Here the restaurants and bars are closed other than for take out orders, schools are closed, no movies or sports, etc. Grocery and pharmacy is still available, and the mail and delivery services are running. People can go to the parks, out for a job, walk their dog, while recognizing the 6 foot space between them and others. Churches have gone online and it was announced today that closures would continue through April 13, they originally were scheduled through April 3. No big Easter egg hunts this year for the kids, they'll have to be happy with the candy they get here! I'd better stock up.

Annie

Just before my system went "rogue" on me I had started several egg cartons full of tomato, herb & pepper plants. DH told me this morning that most of them are up so next week they will all be needing transplanted. Hopefully by then it will be warm enough for a few hours that I can sit out on the side porch & work on them. Best to not have potting soil strung all over the house!

I think it's strange but we've all got used to being home more easily than we suspected. The town is so quiet with barely any cars....you can hear more birds. I'm missing the beach.....let's hope we get this over and done with in a couple of months.

One of the morning show personalities (probably in New York), who was on as I turned on the TV, was saying how hard it was trying to follow the advice to keep to a school day schedule for the kids, to give them structure and reassurance as much as for the lessons. She seemed to be going a bit stir crazy, and said she'd snapped at her kids more in this last week at home than she remembered doing through their whole lives. Big mom-guilt moment. But then her kids told her it was okay and how much they liked being home all together as a family.

OTOH, a friend with a large house, a couple of teens and a cranky husband, who has her own room (office/sewing/chill) with a door, is going crazy from too much togetherness. She's used to having the house to herself much of the day, and isn't adjusting well to the constant demands for her attention.

So far, I'm not feeling trapped by my family, but I think we're used to a lot more family togetherness than most. I get shocked when I hear (from before this crisis) that most Americans only have about half an hour a day of family time.

I miss the beach too! I've been craving a good long barefoot walk along the shore.

I go to work at 6 am, see no one all day (building deserted), come home at 7 pm, eat (famished because no place open to eat near my office, been subsisting on a can of tuna for lunch), go to sleep. Very restricted existence lately :-)

I lived in Venice Beach for 15 years and used to ride my bike on the bike paths there every day, but as the beach became more popular and more crowded, I got tired of it. I'm happier now to have a swimming pool. The Pacific Ocean is too cold anyway, and I always had to wear a wetsuit to go in it. I had two summer wetsuits (one sleeveless and one short sleeved) and one winter wetsuit, which kept me plenty warm. Now I prefer going to exotic beaches, such as in Fiji and Brazil. Any international travel is going to have to wait until next year, at least.

Annie, I loved staying at home with you as well! Kevin and I took some side trips on our own so that we wouldn't be in your hair too much. Also, we did have a tendency to stay up pretty late at night. It was almost like a pajama party. Thank you for that!

We're holed up in Cathedral City now, and I do feel safer and calmer here than I did in L.A. I did not do any shopping in L.A. while we were there for two days, and Kevin did complain about the food a bit - partly because of the freezer disaster, but I think we will be okay here - at least for now. I don't know how long this is going to last. I do not plan to leave here until it is over, but Kevin might go back to L.A. at some point for a doctor's visit. I need to see my dermatologist in Santa Monica in June (at the latest) for a follow-up on my melanoma. He got all that he could find in my last visit, but he wants to make sure that I do not have any more cropping up. I'm not quite ready to switch to Palm Springs doctors, and I will have to switch my Medicare insurance supplementary when I do.

John, can't you work from home? Presumably you aren't allowed to see clients? Then, you could have lunch lol

Efficiency would be terrible at home. Here’s my work setup (forgive me if I’ve previously posted this picture). Can’t easily replicate this at home. Working with only one little laptop screen is terribly slow, and this is a time when I need to be fast at getting things done. Also, at the office I can work the whole day without a break or interruptions. SWMBO is going to bring me sandwich stuff, I think.

Lars, do be careful. The Coachella Valley was reported as a center of infection. Enjoy your pool, but I don't think it's any safer outside your home than L.A. was.

One thing we can do here more easily is disinfect items by leaving them out in the sun, as our patio is very sunny, and the UV index is very high now. I think this makes it a safer place for us. I just have to make sure that Kevin stays safe, as I am not going to any stores, but he keeps talking about shopping. Most recently he said that he is considering having groceries delivered, but I think he may still have to make trips to CVS. I have a a sufficient supply of my meds, and most of them are delivered, but I have to take certain over-the-counter supplements, such as Calcium Citrate and B vitamins.

Lars, I very much enjoyed our visit too, and our late night chats while Elery and Kevin gave up and went to bed, LOL.

Stay safe and be well, where ever you are most comfortable.

Annie

John, I can see how that would be impossible to replicate at home. Stay safe, everyone!