@Nhatrang Your husband is great! Very kind.
One young (less than 30) relative has now been laid off, hopefully “temporarily.”
Fortunately she has the banks of mom and dad to fall back on, but we are hoping she learns to curb her spending quickly.
My family has decided to each have mom spend a week at each of our homes. Too confusing for her to switch homes every night and we don’t want her at CCRC, where they have workers with you for kids and who work for multiple venues. One week at a time is a manageable duration for each of us and less confusing for mom.
@Marilyn Thanks.
Just got back from the blood bank and am concerned they’re not taking appropriate precautions to stop infection. 
I’m about to write an email to the blood bank in hopes they change some of their practices so I - and others - feel comfortable going back. They keep saying blood supply is critically low and I’m willing to help, but they need to act quickly so they’re not the next big vector of infection with all the people coming in to donate.
Awesome! I’ve just texted ours to see what’s needed…
H made a quick run to Publix (10 items, short line, maintained social distancing.) There were no wipes at the door but an employee was spraying carts with disinfectant and wiping down the handles.
The store was out of bread, eggs (except small cartons of brown eggs), and most milk (had some 1% Lactaid milk, so good for us.) He said it was slightly more crowded than usual and he missed out on getting cheese because there were too many people in that area.
I’d planned to grocery shop while getting my Rx, but the pharmacy still can’t get either my original Rx or an alternative. Maybe next week, although I may just use the pharmacy drive-up window then and forget about groceries.
I did keep an appt today with my dermatologist. A few weeks ago, DH almost had a conniption when he saw a dark spot on my shoulder. I have had it checked every year, but this did unnerve me as it looked larger and darker. When I arrived, I saw no other patients in the usually in -demand waiting room. They made it possible for me to check in without using paper or pen. The medical assistant in the exam room kept a good distance when she took my history. The doctor only had to examine me from the back, so no face to face interaction.
Fortunately, he immediately said “Nah, that’s a benign lesion we call a barnacle. Want me to freeze it off?”
Five minutes later I checked out without having to put my hand on the cc scanner. Then I used the hand sanitizer and left without having to touch any door handles. About as safe an encounter as you can imagine. And it’s good to know I don’t have melanoma.
What a relief, @Nrdsb4. Thank you for sharing your experience and good news with us!
On a lighter note: https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/03/dont-worry-buzz-aldrin-is-protecting-himself-from-the-coronavirus/
I had to run to cvs to get some scripts and noticed a community center next door was holding what looked like a card tournament. There had to be 40+ people and the youngest looked to be in their 50s. Most were elderly.
facepalm
^oy vey.
I decided to order my groceries to be picked up at Harris Teeter, which I do about half the time I go shopping. Well, they allow you to book up to 6 days in advance, and every time was booked already, at 2 different local stores.
I am thinking I may try first thing tomorrow morning, for next Weds, but that will mean I’m ordering without knowing what’s on sale. Not my normal way to shop, but Oh well.
@1214mom just as a heads up you might want to call and make sure they’re still planning on doing pickup or delivery.
A lot of places have halted them but aren’t listing it on websites. In my case they just kept canceling my order (walmart) or giving no times (Kroger). I had to call to see what was going on.
Your husband is so great to do this! Tell him I said so.
There was a post on our homeowners association FB group on this topic. People here are overwhelmingly cancelling the cleaning services, but still paying (we are).
The numbers today are grim, and they’ll be ever more grim every day from now on. Two more people died today in my county.
On the bright side, the air is so clean with fewer people driving. On my bike ride (you all should have come, virtually, it was fantastic) I could look across the valley to the re-greening hills and the snow-covered Mount Hamilton Range.
I cancelled our cleaning service (it’s a big company), but thought I’d wait til the team returns and pay them for this week’s canceled visit in cash as a tip (thereby circumventing the company). But now I’m thinking about the office/scheduling folks, who are very nice.
Should I just mail the full amount to the company (and hope the cleaners get their cut) or hold off?
@countingdown, I would at least give some of the payment directly to the people who normally clean your home, if that’s where you’re hoping it will wind up.
I went to the grocery store today. It looked almost normal. Their shelves were mostly full. Nobody wearing masks. They didn’t seem to practice 6’ separation, either.
@CountingDown - my cleaning team are also employees of a large franchised cleaning service. But the local franchise is owned by a local couple so I consider it a small business. I was planning to call today, but didn’t get around to it. (It’s on the calendar first thing tomorrow AM). I will specifically request that my cleaning team be paid for cleaning my house as they normally would.
At this point, I’m only cancelling next Friday’s cleaning (ours is every 2 weeks), and I will see what happens as time goes on and may have to do the same for future cleanings.