The shelves for the dry dog food I used were pretty bare, and the owner had to go into the back to find the variety I needed. I bought two bags instead of one, in case the supply lines deteriorate.
1 Like
I used to have two cats . . . one was 16 lbs, the other was 14 lbs. They were litter mates–the 16 lb cat had to go last year; the other is still going strong, but two litterpans were enough for them both and now they aren’t enough for the one. Hmmph . . .old cats 
From 21 to 41 I had one very small cat (6 lbs) who kept her food and litter very clean. After my latest cat goes I return to a little calico.
If worse comes to worse, newspapers torn from the fold tear easily into strips. I know someone who developed respiratory problems that were aggravated by litter dust. She transitioned her cats by adding more paper and less litter to the pans over the course of a few weeks. Line the bottom with intact sheets and dump the whole thing at least once a day. Of course in those days, nearly everyone got a daily paper.
2 Likes
We don’t get papers. All news online.
Finally! For days everybody was extremely worried about the UK’s insane survival of the fittest without quarantine policy, I’ve heard many foreign university students have fled UK.
4 Likes
Trying it!
I’ve been using GroceryIQ, and I like it, but there hasn’t been support since they sold it to “coupons” or something like that.
Is there an inventory function, or did you DIY it?
1 Like
You can adjust quantities. I added the .5s as it only has whole #s
Not least, many of us who live here.
I do not wish to get into the politics of this but my own feeling is that the reluctance to intervene has been based on dogma not science.
3 Likes
Today’s update from the Harters bunker is that we’ve placed our first order for home delivery from the supermarket. I suppose there’s a learning curve to using any new thing but this process took forever. Back in the old days, when you could go to a supermarket (you remember last week, eh), it would have taken less time to drive there, shop, drive back and unpack the shopping. Vast majority of items we wanted appear to be available. Only a handful of things, like toilet paper, entirely out of stock. But apparently, there’s no guarantees that what you order is what you get. We’ve agreed to substitutions, so if one flavour of yoghurt is out of stock, they’ll send a different one from the same manufacturer. But there’s no guarantee that you even get a substitution. We’ll see.
3 Likes
My friend who live in the city was going to place an order with her local grocery store, but was dismayed by the three day wait. I live in the suburbs and the wait was 2-3 weeks for a delivery. Guess the hoarders had it right.
Guess I’m still not hungry and desperate enough not to soldier on and see what’s available in-store.
And really, what’s with the TP??
Sadly I’m more concerned about tuna, litter and Iams for the cat 
My neighbour said she borrowed a member card from another neighbour to go to the professional wholesaler food store Metro not too far from home, she said everything is in stock including toilet paper and not the stress as in supermarkets.
2 Likes
My friend shared a rumor from “two reputable sources and one less reliable one” that our county/state may soon (Sun./Mon.) go under order to shelter in place for several weeks. I already had an Instacart order in but not for delivery until Tuesday at earliest. And I felt bad about outsourcing my risk. So I donned surgical mask and hand sanitizer, grabbed paper bags, and hit Aldi right when it opened today. There was already a (spaced out) line outside. The store filled quickly but shelves were reasonably well stocked, even with TP and a few fresh meat options. Most people were not hoarding and several had on gloves, masks, or both. I left with a cartful and plans not to shop again unless absolutely necessary. I gave the bare-handed cashiers squirts of sanitizer as I departed. Hoping they (and all the older shoppers I saw) stay healthy.
About $60 less than my (now canceled) Instacart order with fees and tip. A couple junky things I usually avoid (cake mix, boxed mac, margarine) for cheap entertainment/backup purposes. I did stop for wine, beer, and cider on the way back. Just the necessities.
4 Likes
Glad that you did. When the announcement breaks out, the queue will be impossible.
1 Like
After I got home we got an alert of the first cast of COVID-19 in a county resident. It’s here.
It’s nice you get alert. We don’t have information who get sick in people living nearby, the government or the city decides not to diffuse information like this.
1 Like
Yeah, we’ve been there since this past Monday. We can still get beer and wine at grocery stores, but no liquor (state-owned liquor stores have shut down). Also no beef, chicken, TP or any other paper products are available due to hoarders. No vegs fresh or frozen. I did get bread, milk, eggs, cheese, bacon and scrapple.
All employees wore masks and gloves. Sanitizing wipes were applied to every cart upon entry. Guy in front of me was paying with a card, so he was given 2 wipes–one for his hands and one for the touch screen he had just used. I paid cash, so just one wipe for my hands.
Strange times.
2 Likes
I get 2-3 of these a day. We were at 67 in my county this morning and I expect we’ll be at about 100 by this evening 
Whatever it is, it’s probably not a good thing, but 67 what?
BTW, I got TP from Target this morning. I went yesterday at 10 when Target online said they had some, and was told sold out, and that they started to let the line in af 8 AM.
I was there.
Folks who know me would be shocked. I don’t do this even when visiting countries on the other side of the world. But I was dreaming about toilet paper.
Cases of COVID-19 in my county (a relatively small pocket of SE Pennsylvania).
2 Likes
I don’t think it is just you. In some places/countries my only option provisioning a boat is through an agent. The boxes never have any order and so everything has to be unpacked for inventory. This is one version of what we call “blowing up the boat.” There are some logistics associated with the process in tropical areas I won’t bother with. Everything has to be checked for quality and we repack boxes with things unacceptable and what we are keeping is sorted and stowed. Phone calls, texts, and email ensue to get the agent back for the unacceptable (quality and “substitutions”). This usually involves what I call “constructive yelling.” I don’t actually yell. It is a diplomatic technique (i.e. US Department of State) of repeating your position over and over until you wear your ahem counterpart down. There are cultural predispositions that are intriguing. The French islands in the Caribbean treat it all as a game. We know they’ll come back and pick things up, credit us, and deal with refilling what they can. I have found that my tortured attempts to speak French help greatly - the agents can’t stand what I do French and that speeds things up tremendously. Nothing increases the English of a Frenchman than an American speaking French. grin
TL;DR - yep - shopping for yourself is faster.
5 Likes
