April 30, 2020, Pandemic in Northern Ontario, Canada

Hello Fellow Social Isolators,

How is everyone today, April 30th, 2020?

Here in Northern Ontario, we are having crazy rains.  In the past day and a half we've gotten more rain than we normally get in a month.

Some of the rivers still have ice so this has caused flooding; two of our area rivers so far have caused washouts, closing down highway 556 in both directions to the North, and covering Bar River Road to the East.  Crazy times.

We are still in lock down here in Ontario, although Michigan and Alberta are easing up starting in May.  We still have a lot of new cases and deaths from Covid 19, so our Premier, Doug Ford has asked people from other provinces to please not visit Ontario for now, but that they will be welcome when things are better.

Yesterday I spent 5 hours helping my 80 year old Dad and 70 year old Mom order groceries online or by phone.  

Our first order, from Food Basics, arrived this morning already, which was great as we were running out of things. 

I've been telling my parents since February that we need to stock up on items...not hoard, but stock up to make sure we have enough because I was worried about food shortages.  They said I was crazy, but unfortunately I was right, and now meat prices have skyrocketed because two beef processing plants and a chicken plant had to close due to covid.  It's been impossible to get yeast since this all started, but thankfully I was able to get a LOT of flour and cornmeal last time I shopped online.

My parents are very frugal and so I had to check all of the local online flyers, then try to find the items they wanted at the lowest prices, while taking delivery costs into account.

The last time we ordered, only National Grocers Cash and Carry had open slots for curbside pickup, but this time I was lucky enough to get slots at Walmart (May 3rd pickup) and Romes Independent Grocers (May 10th pickup).  

I also had to order cow manure and garden fertilizer twice, from the farm store. Once for my Dad, which we picked up last week, and now again for my uncle, which we'll probably have to pick up this weekend or early next week. 

My Dad had some veggie seeds from last year in the basement, and I was able to get him more at the farm store. I also ordered some online.

I'm really glad that my new pressure canner arrived, but wow, it's huge, lol.

I'll be able to put up food from the garden.  I have some canning jars but suspect I will need more. 

I was able to go for my first two bike rides of the year earlier in the week, and it was great to get out.  I rode down quiet side streets and then down back roads in the country and it was great.  I was careful to not ride close to anyone and kept my distance, but unfortunately two cyclists passed me by so close they almost hit me, which made me angry.  I have severe chronic asthma and will be hit hard if I get the virus.

My cousin Ann Marie, who lives in California, has been giving online exercise workouts which my Mom has been following.  I've been working out with my Oculus Quest; mostly using Beat Saber, as it's a great workout, but now that I can get out on my bike that will be my main exercise.

We're allowed to go for daily walks or bike rides as long as we maintain social distance, and I feel a lot safer on my bike as I can get away from people who aren't careful a lot faster than I can on foot. 

I sewed several masks, for myself, my family, friends, and neighbor, but I will post about that in a separate post. 

I hope everyone reading this is safe and healthy.  Take care :-)

Life During a Pandemic: Food Anxiety

Life During a Pandemic

So, the world has changed drastically since the last time I wrote.  I kind of feel like a character in a dystopian novel. 

I'm a writer and I have an over active imagination.  I can easily see things getting much worse. That's how I would write things, if I were writing this.

For one, I am concerned about food shortages.   Not the kind that led to panic buying toilet paper out of fear, either.  If I were writing this, countries with food would stop exporting to countries without food.  Countries would start stockpiling the food they produce for their own people.  And really, who could blame them?

I live in Northern Ontario, Canada.  We still have about 3 feet of snow on the ground, but it is raining right now so hopefully that will make some of it melt. 

We have a super short growing season here.  If countries stop exporting rice, or sugar, etc., we are going to be in trouble.

We do have a lot of meat, and wheat and corn though.  And maple syrup :-).

I've always been interested in canning and used to make my own jams.  I've always been interested in making pickles and relishes and preserving my tomato sauce and stew but I've never tried it.  I didn't want to spent the money on the supplies.

Until today.  Today I ordered a water bath canner at Canadian Tire, along with some mason jars, lids, and pectin.  

Then I went to ebay and ordered a pressure canner.  And seeds.  Lots of seeds.  I ordered regular veggie and herb seeds, plus sugar beet seeds and stevia.

My Dad, uncle, and neighbor put in a garden every spring, and I want to make sure they all have seeds for their normal gardens, plus a few extra in case we need them.  We can't go to stores.

Even if things get better and not worse, I'll enjoy canning.  I've never used a pressure canner but we get loads of tomatoes in the garden and I'm looking forward to making and preserving sauce.  I also want to make pickles, and jams.  Maybe some chokecherry wine.

I'm hoping it will just be a nice hobby, a way to get tasty fresh food as a luxury instead of a necessity.  I hope I'm wrong and things won't get worse and that in a few months I can laugh about how much money I spent on canners and jars and seeds.  

I also hope they arrive OK.  The Canadian Tire stuff I can pick up locally. I prepaid and when my order is ready, sometime tomorrow, I can do a curbside pickup.  I won't even have to go into the store.  Everything else will be shipped to me, assuming the people I bought from don't just take my money and run. 

I really home I'm wrong to worry about food supplies.  I guess time will tell.

Stay safe, everyone.