River Cruisers: How Are Things Where YOU Are?

[djh1959]

19 hours ago, notamermaid said:

@djh1959 

How was the pizza party?

 

Here people are getting fairly relaxed it seems, some even seem to forget that we still have social distancing of 1.5m. They just sort of creep closer quite naturally. Well outdoors that is not such a big deal but I nearly said something to a shopper today. I am back at work and happy about it, hygiene routine basically works, but I cannot maintain the 1.5m rule at all times so I am glad that masks are mandatory in my annex building just like they are in shops.

 

The big problem indoors are the aerosols, they hang in the air longer than droplets. In this warm weather I try to keep my office well ventilated. I have air conditioning but it broke down earlier this week. Brilliant, just as it is getting hot with close to 30 degrees forecast for this weekend.

 

Air conditioning: I read on Deutsche Welle that the systems do not spread the virus, in fact, they are helpful in refreshing air it said.

 

Oh, and Germany will get the Coronavirus app very soon: https://www.thelocal.de/20200608/germany-gets-ready-to-launch-coronavirus-tracing-app 

 

Have a good weekend.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Notamermaid, the pizza party moved into a Thai food party, but it was terrific.  So good to see our friends again live, rather than on Zoom.

 

I expected more social distancing, but we all sat at a large table for ten, so side by side.  I am not too worried though because all of the people there were pretty much staying in their houses the entire time, other than the regular supermarket run.

 

The only dodgy part was when the host's daughter and her boyfriend turned up unexpectedly.  The daughter immediately gave me a hug and the boyfriend shook my hand as we had never met.  I was a bit stunned, and said I don't thing we are supposed to do this.  It was a bit late to be worried about it though and they have been fairly isolated at home too.

 

Here in Melbourne, we only have about 50 active cases, so really the chances of catching it are fairly remote, although everyone is slightly concerned that after the Black Lives Matter march last weekend, one of the marchers has tested positive.  We now have to wait and see if a cluster starts up from the march.  Let's hope not.

 

It is very interesting the difference between the countries, here masks are not mandatory and very few people wear them.  I wore one in the Uber to the dinner, but the driver didn't which surprised me.  We have also been told to avoid air conditioning in offices and so on as it is too dangerous, in fact employers are not allowed to have their employees back in the office.  The official rule is that "If you can work from home, you must".

[Daisi]

They are slowly opening up Ontario...we are allowed now to get hair cuts (I'm not worried, I have long straight hair, but DH is starting to look a little shaggy), and parks and patios are open in some areas.  Fortunately for the restaurants, the province has let them expand their patios with no requirement for new liquor licencing so anyone who has parking lots, spare grass or any other extra room has rented tents, set up more tables and happily back serving customers.  I feel for those in the cities, as there is only so much room.

 

Other than individual stores and I hear transit, masks are still not mandatory, however most wear them.  One big "club" store here has someone at the entrance passing out masks, but when we were in yesterday to do our shopping, she couldn't give them away!  The constant cleaning is slowing down as new info comes out, and numbers are very low in our area so I guess they aren't as concerned.  They are still opening early for seniors.

 

It will be interesting in the next couple of weeks to see how we do...opening up, marches, and warm weather meaning more and more are venturing further and further from home.  Oh well, we were so lucky that although the hospitals were busy, they never reached full capacity, so I hope if there is an increase, we get that lucky again.

 

 

[sharkster77]

@Daisi, what are you hearing about opening the Canadian border to Americans?  Our Canadian Rockies trip starts on Sept 5, and frankly we are hoping it doesn't run!  I have read some things in the Canadian press about maybe reopening the border in August, but with a 14 day quarantine?  The sooner things become more firm, the sooner we can make rescheduling plans.

 

The tour operator is making decisions 45 days out.  Our final payment is due early July, and 45 days out puts us in mid-July.  We're going to try to have the payment delayed a couple of weeks, so that we aren't potentially making our final payment, then 2 weeks later getting credits/refunds/rescheduling, etc.

 

Thanks for your thoughts and info  about things in general.  My grandparents came to USA from Quebec, so I have an affinity for our neighbors to the north!

[Daisi]

@sharkster77

 

Right now, we really don't know anything other than they are still closed until end of July.  They are finding Americans who say they are going to Alaska are actually just taking a holiday, and if that continues, there may be further restrictions.  They have caught several who have openly stated that they told the border security that they were going to their home in Alaska, but then staying in tourist areas.  I would think that the quarantine is going to stay in effect for a while for people coming into the country, as our Govt is very cautious.  We still have provinces that are blocking other Canadians from entering - I can't go see my family on the East Coast as they have their borders locked.

 

With the numbers rising so high in the US, I'm not sure what they will do.  I hope you get your trip, the Rockies in the fall are beautiful.  May I ask whom you are travelling with?  We are starting to look into escorted tours for Europe & trying to find a "good" company.

[franski]

16 hours ago, Daisi said:

They are slowly opening up Ontario...we are allowed now to get hair cuts (I'm not worried, I have long straight hair, but DH is starting to look a little shaggy), and parks and patios are open in some areas.  Fortunately for the restaurants, the province has let them expand their patios with no requirement for new liquor licencing so anyone who has parking lots, spare grass or any other extra room has rented tents, set up more tables and happily back serving customers.  I feel for those in the cities, as there is only so much room.

 

Not in all parts of Ontario...  Living in the GTA,  our 2nd phase opening is delayed at least another week.  So, no haircuts, patio meals etc. for us!!  

 

Like you, I am ok without a hair cut (or colour...) - but DH is starting to look like the Professor in "Back to the Future"!

 

Fran

[Host Jazzbeau]

21 minutes ago, franski said:

Not in all parts of Ontario...  Living in the GTA,  our 2nd phase opening is delayed at least another week.  So, no haircuts, patio meals etc. for us!!  

 

Like you, I am ok without a hair cut (or colour...) - but DH is starting to look like the Professor in "Back to the Future"!

 

Fran

 

Whatever you do, Marty, DO NOT set the dial for '2020' !!!

[gnome12]

Not in all parts of Ontario...  Living in the GTA,  our 2nd phase opening is delayed at least another week.  So, no haircuts, patio meals etc. for us!!  
 
Like you, I am ok without a hair cut (or colour...) - but DH is starting to look like the Professor in "Back to the Future"!
 
Fran

Not yet in 2nd phase not only GTA(greater Toronto area) but also Hamilton and Niagara plus the Windsor area.

I do my own hair colour, but my short hair cut is decidedly shaggy. I trimmed the hair at the nape of my neck myself, but I really need a cut. And even after 2nd phase opens here it will likely be a few weeks before I can get an appointment. Oh well, I have a large selection of nice hats (not baseball caps) that I can wear.

A number of the most recent changes are for all of Ontario. Outdoor funerals can have 50 people, indoor weddings and funerals 30% of capacity. You are allowed to increase your “bubble” to 10 people, but they all have to be monogamous; you aren’t allowed to be part of more than one bubble. Daycares are allowed to open under very strict rules that no one seems able to meet now (or maybe ever).


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[Daisi]

6 hours ago, franski said:

Not in all parts of Ontario...  Living in the GTA,  our 2nd phase opening is delayed at least another week.  So, no haircuts, patio meals etc. for us!!  

 

Like you, I am ok without a hair cut (or colour...) - but DH is starting to look like the Professor in "Back to the Future"!

 

Fran

 

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Not yet in 2nd phase not only GTA(greater Toronto area) but also Hamilton and Niagara plus the Windsor area.

I do my own hair colour, but my short hair cut is decidedly shaggy. I trimmed the hair at the nape of my neck myself, but I really need a cut. And even after 2nd phase opens here it will likely be a few weeks before I can get an appointment. Oh well, I have a large selection of nice hats (not baseball caps) that I can wear.

A number of the most recent changes are for all of Ontario. Outdoor funerals can have 50 people, indoor weddings and funerals 30% of capacity. You are allowed to increase your “bubble” to 10 people, but they all have to be monogamous; you aren’t allowed to be part of more than one bubble. Daycares are allowed to open under very strict rules that no one seems able to meet now (or maybe ever).


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Yeah, sorry, the larger population areas are still having to wait.  

 

They are allowing funerals & weddings to go ahead with guests, but receptions are still limited.  One bonus I guess.  Haven't hit a patio yet, weather just turned again, but did manage to get an appointment for DH for next week to get him looking a bit more normal.  Some places are taking appointments for the end of the month already....guess everyone needs a chop!

[Daisi]

@sharkster77 thanks for the info about the bus company....you forgot and mentioned your Agency, so I guess you got deleted.  They are one I am looking at, so nice to know others who will use them. 

 

Hopefully if you don't get to go this fall, you can transfer your booking till then.  If you have the right weather, it will be a trip to remember!

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, Daisi said:

@sharkster77 thanks for the info about the bus company....you forgot and mentioned your Agency, so I guess you got deleted.  They are one I am looking at, so nice to know others who will use them. 

 

Hopefully if you don't get to go this fall, you can transfer your booking till then.  If you have the right weather, it will be a trip to remember!

I was hoping my post would not run afoul of the rules--sorry Jazzbeau, thought that would be OK, apparently not!

 

I figured that since the not-to-be mentioned organization does lots of things, travel being only one of them, it would be OK.

 

Lesson learned!

[pacmom]

After three and a half months DH and I finally got hair cuts.  Have also been able to go to church in person now for three weeks.

 

My weekly trip to Aldi's  yielded schnitzel in the freezer case. Can't wait to try it.  Maybe I won't have to make it from scratch anymore.  Always something interesting to be found.  They have stopped sanitizing the carts, so make sure you have your quarter.  They are providing disposable wipes for do it yourself cleaning.

 Cool yesterday and today in western Ohio.  But it is summer and the heat will return.

Stay safe and well, Pat

[Host Jazzbeau]

So the good news is the weather here has been wonderful.  "What is so rare as a day in June?"  [A scientist would say, "A day in February, duh" – they can count, but what do they know about beauty?]

 

The bad news is that I had no excuse not to get out in the yard and take care of lawn edging and transplanting projects.  So now I can't move.  Well, I'll just have to sit at the computer and surf...

[Lois R]

47 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So the good news is the weather here has been wonderful.  "What is so rare as a day in June?"  [A scientist would say, "A day in February, duh" – they can count, but what do they know about beauty?]

 

The bad news is that I had no excuse not to get out in the yard and take care of lawn edging and transplanting projects.  So now I can't move.  Well, I'll just have to sit at the computer and surf...

Hope you recover quickly........I live in a condo and we have landscapers who do all that kind of stuff😃..I surf the net

all the time too.

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The bad news is that I had no excuse not to get out in the yard and take care of lawn edging and transplanting projects.  So now I can't move.  Well, I'll just have to sit at the computer and surf...

 

I feel your pain. When I built the raised planter bed a month ago, it took me a week to recover. It never looks like much work until the aftermath... And that was a relatively small project. Hope the advil kicks in, and you're back at it soon!

[acwmom]

So the good news is the weather here has been wonderful.  "What is so rare as a day in June?"  [A scientist would say, "A day in February, duh" – they can count, but what do they know about beauty?]
 
The bad news is that I had no excuse not to get out in the yard and take care of lawn edging and transplanting projects.  So now I can't move.  Well, I'll just have to sit at the computer and surf...

At least your yard doesn’t look like this! This was my Mother’s Day treat...right after the termite invasion was squashed. Is it 2021 yet?


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[Host Jazzbeau]

Actually my back yard is looking very good now.  And the aspirin worked great [I'm old school – didn't die of the bleeding ulcer, so back to using the stuff that actually works...]  The reason for my big push over the weekend was that the gardeners were coming this morning to redo all the front foundation plantings, so I needed to remove and replant anything that I wanted saved.  They have just laid out the new bushes, and the front is going to look great too.

[AF-1]

19 hours ago, acwmom said:

At least your yard doesn’t look like this! This was my Mother’s Day treat...right after the termite invasion was squashed. Is it 2021 yet?


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did that tree fall due to termites?

[notamermaid]

My backyard thankfully only has standard German ants, cats and magpies.

 

I would like to press "forward" to October, but perhaps I do not want to know what is coming...

 

Fernweh has set in, according to an article I read recently the word has no direct translation so please adopt it, like kaputt and Weltanschauung, etc. It is the painful longing to be somewhere else other than home, i.e. a far away place for travel and holiday. It is the opposite of homesickness. I miss meeting family and friends in Britain, who are of course still struggling with everyday life and seem ever further away from me in this transition period. Noone is ill, though, as far as I know.

 

Here in Germany, in a "poorer" part of Berlin, there has been an outbreak in housing blocks, so far 57 people have tested positive, 369 households are quarantined. The problem: some do not speak German or can even read or write. Social workers go round with info and checks, the police will step in to enforce measures if necessary.

 

Could the new Coronavirus app have helped? Who knows, you need a smartphone and be able to understand what is going on. The app launched at 2am this morning and was officially introduced to the public in a special television programme this morning. Here is the report by Deutsche Welle: https://m.dw.com/en/germany-launches-best-coronavirus-tracing-app/a-53825213 

 

It is all completely voluntary. I will probably use it, but for now it is useless for me or anyone else of my contacts as I hardly ever carry my phone around and the people I regularly meet have no smartphone or I see them only briefly. And I would know from them personally if they get infected. The next four weeks will tell if it helps us enough.

 

Oh, and the borders are open, Europe's beloved "Schengen" is back! But that is for another thread.

 

notamermaid

 

[acwmom]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

did that tree fall due to termites?

No, straight line winds. The remainder of the tree sits on our property and two others. If the other sections fall, it appears we will be out of harm's way.

Robin

[Daisi]

17 minutes ago, acwmom said:

No, straight line winds. The remainder of the tree sits on our property and two others. If the other sections fall, it appears we will be out of harm's way.

Robin

 

You are lucky that, by the looks of it, no damage to the house or deck.  We got rid of most of our trees that were close to the house after listening to parts of them fall on the roof during an ice storm.  Fortunately for us, they were mostly poplar, so while we had branches waist high in the back yard, the trunks were still standing and, well, we needed a new roof anyway!  Between that, the tornado and some pretty bad winds going through in the past few years, we really only get leaves blown off the trees and some small dead branches now.  

 

Only problem is, we are now out of fire wood....going to have to find somewhere to buy it now. 

[franski]

Some positive news in my little part of the world today...  We will move into Stage 2 opening on Friday - so salons, barber shops, restaurant patios (just the patios, not the inside seating) can start to open up.  Will try to get The Professor in for a haircut - but expect that barber shops will be swamped for a few weeks yet.

 

In other news, it was announced today that the border between the Canada and the US will remain closed to non-essential travel until (at least) July 21st.  What is surprising, however, is that you cannot drive across - but, for some reason, you can fly?  Makes no sense... 

 

Fran

[Host Jazzbeau]

19 minutes ago, franski said:

In other news, it was announced today that the border between the Canada and the US will remain closed to non-essential travel until (at least) July 21st.  What is surprising, however, is that you cannot drive across - but, for some reason, you can fly?  Makes no sense...

 

The reason is that when you fly in they can check you before you get on the plane and as you get off, but when you drive you slip right under the radar (or temperature checks).  They're doing the same thing in Europe, opening air corridors but preventing driving across the border.

[gnome12]

13 minutes ago, franski said:

Some positive news in my little part of the world today...  We will move into Stage 2 opening on Friday - so salons, barber shops, restaurant patios (just the patios, not the inside seating) can start to open up.  Will try to get The Professor in for a haircut - but expect that barber shops will be swamped for a few weeks yet.

 

In other news, it was announced today that the border between the Canada and the US will remain closed to non-essential travel until (at least) July 21st.  What is surprising, however, is that you cannot drive across - but, for some reason, you can fly?  Makes no sense... 

 

Fran

We in Toronto remain in Stage 1, so no salons, barbershops or patios for us yet.

 

Actually, it is possible for Americans to drive across; they say that they are going to Alaska. They aren't supposed to stop anywhere, but is seems there are a few that are doing so. Yes, I was surprised to see that it is possible to fly; it seems a bit bizarre. There are of course, requirement that people flying into Canada self-isolate for 14 days, whether they are visiting here or returning home.

 

I'm hopeful that by the time my new greatniece or greatnephew is born at the end of October that I will be able to go to California to visit.

[notamermaid]

While much of the Americas are in turmoil, this is how it comes across in the news here, my area that is Rhineland-Palatinate and with it my smaller municipality are doing well. There have been few new cases in the last few days. In the last 24 hours twelve and no deaths. Other states are having some problems with new clusters. A huge slaughterhouse in Northrhine Westphalia is of particular concern. The pressure to change conditions in the meat industry is growing and politicians are "working on it". Remember the cluster from that restaurant in Leer I told you about? One infected man has sadly died. If you do not recall: it was a reopening party with too many guests, defying restrictions.

 

This weekend would have seen the annual festival of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, this year in Andernach. Naturally it was cancelled over two months ago. It is sad. The cultural sector is hurting. But it was pleasant to see people sitting in street cafés this lunchtime, if you ignore the barriers and dividing tapes it looks normal.

 

The optimists that the tourist people are, they have launched a marketing initiative to lure Germans from the other states to the hills and dales of our sunny state. I must admit, it is quite good. I had to familiarise myself with it at work.

 

And today is indeed a fine day here.

 

Hope you can enjoy the outdoors, or that first professional haircut. Bliss can ly in the small things.  

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

You might read in the news that "Germany's reproduction rate is soaring" or something as dramatic sounding as that. What is correct is that the basic R-rate has risen to 2.88. This has happened because infections overall are so low that it causes the rate to jump due to a sudden spike in positive cases. Let me assure you that my state is doing well, with only ten new infections in the whole state. I would like to temporarily close the boundary to North-Rhine Westphalia, though. In the one meat processing plant, i.e. confined to one district, there are now over 1,000 (!) positives. So far, only a handful are in hospital. The state is on high alert. Accusations towards the company and the meat industry as a whole are flying. Tönnies (the company) has agreed to paying for the tests for the general population in the vicinity of the plant. Easy, for them, they are billionaires according to Deutsche Welle. Here is a report: https://m.dw.com/en/german-labor-minister-demands-meat-company-pay-coronavirus-compensation/a-53893774 

 

I am glad I do not live close to a large slaughterhouse, the nearest one is about 10km away and is tiny in comparison.

 

For me personally life goes on in its new weird format and I look forward to the first small concerts and events happing this week in my district.

 

The weather is going to be hot this week, so people will be out and about with more attempting to sunbathe along the banks and swim in the rivers. At least along the Rhine that is generally not recommended for most of the navigable course by the authorities. The proper swimming that is. As we can meet people from other households I expect quite a few small parties happening along the banks.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by notamermaid
Grammar