While I described my bleh time at getting my car serviced this morning, I had a completely different experience after picking it up. 2 experiences actually
I drove to the local nursery to purchase some new plants for my garden. The last time I had ventured there was just a few days before our lockdown. Back then my intention was to buy some vegetables for our garden and to make our backyard look beautiful with spring flowers, especially since I knew we would be spending so much time at home and outdoors would be a sanctuary for us. Since that time over two months has past. The jalapeño I planted is now producing peppers and the basil is growing freely. My spring flowers however are not long for our Arizona summer since they can not take the heat we have been having, let alone what is to come. So, it was time to get some summer varieties, mostly colorful vinca for right now and an organic zucchini plant. The trip to the nursery was wonderful. Even though the entire place is outdoors, you are required to where a mask. Masked employees were checking you as you enter. It wasn't crowded either, it was peaceful. You could wander around and enjoy the beauty and energy of the plants and almost feel their joy and they were being watered, soaking in the refreshment I look forward to coming back soon.
Now lastly, I also made one additional trip outside my home today. We actually needed some things at Target. Yes, I went there tonight. But, I purposely went a half hour before they closed hoping it would be uncrowded at that time of night. I needed some household items including storage containers. My youngest is moving into a new apartment in a week and my oldest is moving halfway across the country in 2 months. Lots of organizing and packing going on over here. So, the 3 of us took a quick trip tonight to Target at night right before closing.
it was doable. Quiet and calm and the few folks in there were mostly wearing masks.
Within 5 minutes of our 20 minutes inside, both my girls stood in wonder staring at some beautiful household items from Magnolia Home ( Joanna Gaines). They were in awe standing in front of an aisle filled with beautiful bedding, kitchen pottery, baskets and home decor items that any young woman in her 20's would love to have in a new apartment or home. Heck, their mother would love to have them too. They were real items, not an image from some online company The impact of the moment dawned on them. They were doing something that they once considered normal in a world which had not been normal for quite some time. This was now a whimsical trip, a special outing where they could dream for a moment. Their mouths were probably open, I just couldn't tell because of the masks they were wearing.
And that is when my oldest daughter said: "I forgot how much I like shopping" and my youngest daughter responded: "I know, I was thinking the same thing".
As we paused there admiring the pretty items "calling to us" before moving on to pick up the things we actually needed, I knew we had just had a meaningful "moment" together.
But wait - what happened when you went to pick up the car?? LOL I kept thinking ok, next paragraph...
I love the rest of your story anyway. I am also doing my best to pick quieter times for shopping, and oddly they are the times that used to be more crowded (except 4-5pm, that has been and always will be a mess).
As for gardening, I think I mentioned before I hate doing it. I grow some herbs and succulents (including nopales and tunas), and we have lemon, loquat and avocado trees. My allergies are so bad even 15 minutes of weeding makes me sick, so I avoid, tend to the pots and a few beds and pay other people to do the bulk of the work (grateful we can afford that and keep others employed). The issue out here is also we get a long, dry, hot summer (not as hot as you all), and even with the marine layer, the amount of water needed to keep things growing is staggering and SO expensive here.
The Magnolia collection is very nice, I used to stop and browse that Target section, too. Luckily I'm not in need of tchochkes, so I haven't bought anything, but if I had to put stuff in a brand new apartment or house, I'd stop there first to get stuff. I have not ventured into our Target, it was kind of gross before, and again, nothing I can't get online, so I haven't. I have gone to Home Depot, which actually has a fair amount of cleaning supplies, to get get garden stuff. Our local nursery is great, also outdoors, but haven't really felt compelled to visit this year. I'm more of a guerilla shopper - in and out as fast as possible (even in the Before Times), I'm not much for browsing.
Our open space parks have reopened, so I'm heading out in 20 minutes to get my dogs on some grass in an open field nearby that's never crowded on weekdays (not a dog park, so they'll be on flexi-leashes).
My post about dropping off my car for service can be found in the "wellness checking in thread". Sorry about the confusion. It was not a comfortable experience. Picking it up was quick and ok however. Businesses are so different, The dealership service department -contemporary, air-conditioned indoors, spotless, employees with no masks. The nursery- hot outdoors, dusty, garden setting, masks required.
@lovendures We need to make it easier for people to get masks. But with Donald Trump in the White House we're doomed to have endless shortages of crucial supplies. We should make it easy for people
to get one at the nearest 7-11. As matters stand, people have to either order them online, make a doctor appointment to get one, or try to make a homemade mask which might be really shot and not any good.
@lovendures We need to make it easier for people to get masks. But with Donald Trump in the White House we're doomed to have endless shortages of crucial supplies. We should make it easy for people
to get one at the nearest 7-11. As matters stand, people have to either order them online, make a doctor appointment to get one, or try to make a homemade mask which might be really shot and not any good.
The self made masks are not that bad, as long as you wash them when you are back home. And I think it not only helps protecting you, but also when you have a cold/covid, it protects other.
In Europe it become a fashion item, you see all kinds of designs ( A lot home made, and also fun merch, band merch etc)
And it is always better than none, for people that are not in the danger group. These need real medical masks
@tbs And even a bandana or scarf will stop droplets from a sneeze or cough from getting to another person.
When this started I had a long silk scarf I would triple-fold and tie around the back of my head. It was not super-thick but it fit snugly and didn't leak around the sides. Then recently my employer gave everyone surgical masks. The one I have leaks around the sides so bad that I estimate probably half of my exhalations do not go through the mask. (These things are one-size-fits-all which is a nice theory but never true in practice. Esp. if you are petite. :-/ )
Anyhow the point is if people cant find a mask they can get bandana or piece of cloth and give themselves the old west bandito look. It's a heck of a lot better than nothing.
I am an nurse and just want to say that masks to trap droplets are not supposed to be sealed to your face or need to be filtered. They are designed to breathe in fresh air from their sides. They are very effective in blocking most droplets emitted with speech and casual breathing whether they are made from cloth or surgical mask paper--no matter which design. N95 are for aerosolized particles that are airborne used in TB rooms, people with COVID who are intubated or having other aerosolized procedures and people with varicella. Also, people walking outside, unless it is a crowded sidewalk in an urban setting don't generally need to wear a mask although it is sometimes convenient if one is going in and out of places. Joggers, cyclists and runners do not or rather should not try to exercise wearing a mask. They have enhanced oxygen needs when exercising. Also people with COPD, lung conditions, asthma and claustrophobia do not have to wear masks. It can exacerbate their shortness of breath and/or initiate panic attacks. Most of those people try to stay home because they are a higher risk for illness. When I stress test people, if they go on a treadmill, I instruct them to take off their mask. Additionally, I give them permission to remove their mask during a chemical test as the medication causes shortness of breath. Of course, all my patients are tested for Covid but even before that, we did not try to force people to wear them during the test unless they were tested positive and then we requested the chemical test and/or reschedule the test.
Mask wearing is a two way street. I live in a city, and few are wearing them outside anymore at all (25% compliance, down from 40% 2 weeks ago). People are gathering in restaurants, offices are filling up.... I have to go 5 blocks for an appointment, walking, that's almost 100 people, many of whom are jogging on the sidewalk towards me. Many are whole unmasked families taking up the whole sidewalk. I can't exactly jump into traffic to maintain distance. I am immune deficient. I am also asthmatic. I also am a former allied healthcare professional (who had to wear the real N95 masks at times, and surgical masks daily). I wear a surgical mask unless I'm out in open space, then I wear a fabric one.
So yes, you don't need a N95 mask if you're not a healthcare worker or ill, and there's no reason to wear one during a stress test if you've been medically cleared to do so, however the lack of common consideration for others (i.e., just wear something, anything) is what angers me more than anything. I get it that risk is low out of doors, but it still exists.
We are supposed to be protecting EACH OTHER.
So to say masks are not needed for everyday activities is offensive to me, and to spread that idea as acceptable in lieu of being considerate is just irresponsible and rude.
Think of it as an exercise in kindness. Do unto others. Wear a mask in populated spaces.
I am an nurse and just want to say that masks to trap droplets are not supposed to be sealed to your face or need to be filtered. They are designed to breathe in fresh air from their sides. They are very effective in blocking most droplets emitted with speech and casual breathing whether they are made from cloth or surgical mask paper--no matter which design. N95 are for aerosolized particles
I have a question for you since you are a pro: We have access to a few P95 masks with exhalation valves and seals around the edges.. I understand that those will protect the wearer very well, but does the fact that the exhaled air exits the valve unfiltered cause a problem for others? That is, would it be less effective at protecting others than a surgical mask or cloth mask? Particles from a cough or sneeze would be interrupted in their straight path outward, but is that good enough?
@ana I'm sorry to say I don't know much about those masks. We don't have those kinds of masks in my hospital. I have been fit tested only on a specific type that I can't even get now. When I am allowed to use an N95 mask at my job it is usually for a procedure that has aerosol risk (like a Transesophageal Echo or a bubble procedure during an ECHO with a CV+ patient on a ventilator). They are usually masks that are used and disinfected using a H303 vapor procedure. I try to ensure they have a seal on my face by pressing the shiny border on the inside against my skin. But from a cursory inspection on the website, it appears those valves are covered with filters so I assume the valves just allow inhaled air in and exhaled air to escape while the mask itself is retaining a seal. The filters are similar to the masks that I wear-- dense felted fiber which is designed to catch small particles like a net so I would assume so.