Shopping During Quarantine

With everyone worried about coronavirus, people have been stocking up on essentials and it is hard finding basic things.  Here is the meat section.

Canned goods aren't much better.  Nicholas just couldn't believe it.

And of course, no paper products could be found.  No paper towels or toilet paper.  Fortunately I went to Costco just a couple of weeks ago and bought a case of each as part of our regular shopping so we are good on both of those for a while.

Not much in the frozen food section either.

But the beer section is well stocked.

Ironically, Corona beer has quite a strong presence here.

Vitamins and supplements are also hard to find.  Fortunately I stocked up on Vitamin C at the first concern of coronavirus so I think we are set there.  Vitamin C provides a great boost for the immune system and since it is helpful in preventing colds and flu then it just makes sense that it will help prevent us from getting coronavirus.

We are trying to stay home as much as we can.  Unfortunately, our clothes washer is leaking and can't be fixed so we had to venture out to Nebraska Furniture Mart for a new one.  Thankfully they are still open because they provide home appliances which are considered essential.  However, the parking lot is usually packed and it was eerie to see it so empty.  We got in and out pretty quickly but I was still a little worried about being too close to people and touching anything.  I am constantly using hand sanitizer these days.

It is weird seeing all of the parking lots everywhere so empty.  Restaurants, malls, etc.  However, as I was driving though one empty strip mall I couldn't help but notice a gathering of cars in one corner.  An usual sighting these days, for sure.

It was a liquor store.  Only essential stores are allowed to be open but maybe a little alcohol is essential to get through these crazy days ahead.

Decorating Easter Cookies

Easter egg hunts are getting cancelled and we wanted to do a little something fun as a family so I found a local baker who was making cookie decorating kits to go.  They come with cookies and three colors of icing.  I picked up one kit for us and another kit for Rachel to bring to her friend's house so they could decorate them together during a play date.

Rachel was very excited about cookie decorating.  The boys, not so much.  They were more interested in just eating the cookies than decorating them. But they were good sports and we all decorated cookies together.  

It makes my heart happy when we do little things like this together as a family.

There was some silly decorating going on and cookies were getting eaten as fast as they were decorated but we all had a much needed distraction from the news and everything closing down.

Hand Sanitizer at Bendt Distillery

I have always been a bit of a germ-a-phobe so I usually have some hand sanitizer in my purse.  But with this coronavirus thing, even non-germ-a-phobes have bought up all of the hand sanitizer, both locally and online.  I tried to make my own but the recipe called for aloe vera gel.  I guess I'm not the only wanting to make my own hand sanitizer because I can't locate aloe vera gel anywhere either.

I saw a friend share a post on Facebook that a local distillery was giving out FREE hand sanitizer.  

Bendt Distilling Co

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We have just received a new shipment of bottles for hand cleaner this morning and will be filling them immediately. If you are in need of hand cleaner, please come by today between 10am-7pm. No purchase is necessary and hand cleaner is free of charge.

Please note that our tasting hall bar is closed until further notice. For now, we will continue bottle sales from our retail shop, with the following items available for purchase:

***BENDT No. 5 American Blended Whiskey: $25

***Cocktail Series Old Fashioned: $30

***Single Barrel Bourbon: $45

***Sherry (or) Port-finished bourbon: $60

***Single Malt Whiskey: $80

Bendt Distilling Co

225 S. Charles Street

Lewisville, TX 75057

214-814-0545

Tuesday retail / hand cleaner pickup: 10am-7pm

NOTE: Hand cleaner is 70% alcohol by volume. Using hand cleaner is not a replacement for hand washing.

If you have traveled to China, Iraq, Japan, South Korea or Italy in the last 14 days or have been in close contact with someone who has or is suspected of having Covid-19 Coronavirus or you have any cold-like symptoms (e.g. sore throat, fever, cough, or shortness of breath), please do not enter the distillery.

#StillStrongTX

Needless to say, I went right over. I have never heard of Bendt and I had no idea there was a distillery in this town. We have been avoiding going out if we can so I was a little nervous going in but it was worth it for hand sanitizer. I loved being greeted inside the door by lots of whiskey barrels.

I went to the retail shop to ask about the hand sanitizer. While I waited for assistance I couldn't help but look around. I decided to pick up a bottle of whiskey to help support this local business who was doing an amazing thing for the community by giving out free hand sanitizer. I decided on a bottle of Bendt No. 5 blended whiskey. the lady checked me out and gave me two free bottles of hand sanitizer. I felt like I had hit the jackpot!

I smiled at the whiskey barrel that had barrel plugs used for checker pieces. Such a crafty idea!

The distillery looked really interesting and I learned that they usually offer tours but they have closed that in an attempt to limit people being in close contact with each other. I will definitely have to bring Stuart back here once they start doing these again.

I walked out of Bendt with my goodies and just sat in my car in their parking lot for quite a while. Of course, I drenched my hands in the sanitizer but then I just sat and thought.

I had such an uneasiness about me. I just sat there thinking about this virus and wondering how bad it really is and just how contagious is it. There doesn't seem to be a lot known about it yet. I want to be sure to protect my family and I worry that my son and I might be at a higher risk because of our asthma. I thought that if it is spreading then things are going to get worse before they get better so I should probably take care of that toothache I've been having while I still feel safe enough to go to the dentist. I called the dentist from the Bendt parking lot but got voicemail. I hate going to the dentist so I chickened out and didn't leave a message. I decided to just wait until this virus has passed and then go get it fixed.

Today things got a little more serious though. I sent this text to my dad...

House Hunt

We have been needing a slightly larger house and we would like to have one story.  I like things about our two story house but it isn't always convenient.  As we watch our parents age, we also realize that as we get older our joints aren't going to enjoy going up and down those stairs everyday.  We have been casually looking for a house for sale and with some money in savings we finally talked to a realtor friend of ours about going to look at a few. 

This is the house I fell in love with.  It is newer than our house and it is one story.  It is in a nice neighborhood.  It has a pool similar to our current one and larger bedrooms which is what we really wanted.  Stuart and our agent arrived at the house a little before I did so they had already toured it.  Stuart was so right when he came up to me as I arrived and said I would love this feature.  

It has an office area attached to the back of the bedroom and half of the room is just windows.  I love windows because they let in natural sunlight which just makes me happy.

I seriously would have made an offer on this house right then but with the news of coronavirus spreading and things shutting down and the uneasiness of what the economy and Stuart's job standing might be we decided to let it go.  We didn't shop for houses after that.

Rachel's Baptism

Note: 2020 has been a rough year and although I've captured the moments through lots of pictures I just haven't felt like looking through them afterwards or writing about all that has happened.  But I'm slowly working through the pictures now so there will be posts like this one that occurred before the pandemic shut down.  So enjoy some pictures that were pre-mask mandates and not social distanced.

What is Baptism?

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change.  It is a symbolic act to show that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and we will follow Him.  As we come out of the waters of baptism, we are raised to a new life, a new creation.  We are spirit-filled with the character and power of Jesus for the rest of our lives.

We were excited when Rachel asked to be baptized.  Our church required that she attend a baptism class to be sure that she understood what it all meant.  Stuart attended the class with her and Rachel asked him to be the one to baptize her.

The church captured some beautiful pictures of the baptism.  I just love the expressions on Rachel's face.

Below is a video of this sweet moment.