Lock-down Day 6

At last! I slept well! No buzzer woke me! Makes a big difference on my mood in the mornings, though I work at not letting lack of sleep getting me down.

In the news, 1353 confirmed cases. It looks like South Africa shut down in time - but we'll only really know by 8 April, when the last person should show symptoms. Social workers are heading out today en masse to test people at home. Or maybe to see who needs testing, and sending them to hospital? The news are confusing.

The same goes for PPE: on the one hand I'm watching people outraged that nobody else is wearing gloves & masks - yet the news articles I've read all agree that masks won't protect you from getting infected; they're meant for infected people to protect others. On the topic of gloves they just say, if you're not infected or working with an infected person, you don't need them. Of course the worst part is, that - as a result of all this panic - masks, I mean real protective masks, not the home-made ones which don't actually work, and gloves have become scarce ... and those who DO need them, haven't got! Health-care workers now have to re-use masks and gloves ...

The department’s spokesperson Kwara Kekana says South Africans who wear masks and gloves, when it’s not necessary, end up fiddling and touching their faces.

This, in turn, ends up transferring the infection from surfaces to their face - leading to the further spread of the virus.

“Members of the public have been seen in various settings wearing masks and gloves as a form of protection,” says Kekana.

“If you are not sick, have no respiratory symptoms and you are not providing care to sick individuals or people with respiratory symptoms, you do not need to wear a mask or gloves.”

South Africans should instead wash their hands regularly using water and soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitiser, as opposed to using protective equipment.

Conspiracy theories abound!

I'm beginning to wonder why my mippies always insist on running away when they want cuddles? What I mean is: they come here, sit down, stare at me and mewl. Okay, message clear: cuddle me! I get up and they stroll off ... with me waddling behind, arms outstretched to pick up a cat which is leisurely strolling out of reach! Waddle, waddle, stroll, stroll ... and then they either stop of flop down so I can finally pick them up! As soon as I do, they start purring up a storm!

For a while. Then they start wriggling, I put them down ... and the whole waddle, waddle, stroll, stroll, flop, lift, purr, purr, purr starts again!

They were all near me just now, so I took advantage and shut them in, then went to quickly get milk. Some confusion, with the farmer speaking Afrikaans, his worker English ... but since neither of us wants to disadvantage the other, we've worked it out. I now have 2 of the bottles meant for Tuesday, freshly filled, plus a 2 liter of his bottles. I've left 3 liter in bottles plus the 2 liter I was supposed to get tomorrow ... I've ordered 5 liter for Tuesday. I asked for Monday, but he says Mondays is bad as he's very busy and can't be sure he's got enough. Confused? Yes, that's what it was like, for me, too. Anyway, I have 4 liter so fresh, it's still warm, plus another 2 liter still from last week and I'll get 5 liter on Tuesday.

Saw an interesting post on Facebook, how we all now have Schrodinger's Virus: Because we cannot get tested, we can't know whether we have the virus or not. We have to act as if we have the virus so that we don't spread it to others. We have to act as if we've never had the virus because if we didn't have it, we're not immune. Therefore, we both have and don't have the virus.

Mippies are also social-distancing, on the bed, at least a foot apart. Except for Ziva, Ziva is self-isolating in the cat carrier!

And then I open the fridge .... Whoosh! Milkies! Ha Ha Ha!

I'm afraid, I'm once again postponing Episode 2 of "Spring Cleaning - an isolated tale". I got stuck behind the PC, I'm afraid. Chatting. With people! Until one of them went 'Meeaau!'. That's when I knew it was time to move along, ha ha!

I've washed the dishes, so that I can bake another batch of muffins. I'm going to try to use butter this time, hopefully they won't be dry again. Oh, they weren't too dry, just drier than I like, that's all. I'm not going to bake bread or rolls today, as I've opened an old packet of 'Knäckebrot' (Wholemeal rye crispbread). Best before June 2017 ...

I have mentioned that I have a tendency to hoarding, haven't I? Funny thing is, that I've been reducing my hoard, especially since I've moved in here ... after all, when will I ever need 3 months worth of toilet paper, eh? Right! Now! Ha Ha Ha! It's as if I've spent all my life preparing for this lock-down, only to be caught with my pants down! Well, I've got all that I NEED, lucky me!

In the news, our Minister of Health announced that the numbers are far lower than expected. Good news, right? Only, he closed his statement with the words "At this rate, we won't be able to make our target" Uhm ... and he sounds sad / disappointed. Uhm ... right.

Back to my hoarding: the cocoa powder I'm using to make chocolate muffins is dated 7-Nov-07! Ha Ha, even older than my Knäckebrot - a whole decade! My mum still packed that, it's from her baking hoard, which I 'inherited' ... simply because nobody else wanted it, and it was cluttering up the house. I've never been much into baking, so it's been moving around the country with me. Now, I'm finally using it up! I also 'inherited' a huge stash of Vanilla sugar, and bottles and bottles of essence ranging from rum to vanilla, almond, and such - I gave it all to someone, who appreciated it. Years ago, in East London. By now, that's all been turned into something delicious, I'm sure!

Well, using real butter seems to have made a difference: Muffins are even nicer than the last batch! If only I had more chocolate chips! I only have enough for about 2 batches, so I'm saving them for later. Or maybe for some triple-chocolate cookies.

I see in the news that they're asking for the ban on alcohol & tobacco sales to be lifted:

Scott says the ban poses a danger to the health of addicts, who could experience severe withdrawal symptoms which in turn could lead to psychosis and convulsions or death.

I'm grateful, that I'm sober. That I'm not freaking out over my stash of booze, which can't possibly last ... and yes, alcohol withdrawal can kill. It isn't a joke at all. I've seen what alcohol withdrawal can do ... even under medical supervision. I took someone to rehab. Then, when he was sober, his mind was affected. He was drooling ... unable to speak ... I broke down and cried and cried uncontrollably. Anyone who thinks alcoholism is a choice ... please think again.

Changing the subject.

I've been speed-drinking the milk from last week, before it goes off. And to make space for the milk I bought today.

I went to check on mippies, as it's nearly time for them to come in - the weather had turned and they were all nearby waiting for me to give them an excuse to come inside! Only Mini ignored my call ... I had to go and collect her. Again! Lady was on the table and had just seen something to chase as I grabbed her - she got a bit of a fright, but didn't resist. Mewthos usually 'herds' the ladies when they won't come in. He'll chase any one into the door, when they arrive late, ha ha! He didn't have to chase anyone today. Funny thing though: they want me to open the gate to walk around - even though they all fit through the bars quite easily.

I gave them half a tin of Petleys pilchards tonight - trying to stretch the sachets for as long as needed. I should have enough, but I don't really know when I'll be able to get more ...

And that's another day done ... with almost nothing achieved. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing ... let's see what tomorrow brings.