The Corona Virus has modified our plans. We are going out less and wearing masks whenever we do.
(For an excellent blog on the virus and its impact check out The Culture Blend here.)
That doesn’t mean there aren’t fun things to do. This morning Grandma got all the grandkids together for family band practice. They’re learning to play “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”. The first time through Grandma sang and the kids played keyboard, drums, bass, and electric guitar. The second time through Grandpa and one of the kids sang and Grandma played the bass. It is challenging for Grandpa to carry a tune, but we did okay for our first practice all together. The grandkids are all learning new instruments and they’re all doing well.
When we arrived, we were having most of our groceries delivered. Our daughter-in-law would get on her phone, pick what she wanted, and later that day it would be delivered for no extra charge. That hasn’t been working and the refrigerator and pantry were getting a little sparse, so this afternoon we joined another family for a trip to the mall. Their family has a van, so we could buy more that we would have been able to carry if we had been walking.
The grandkids needed a new basketball, so the first store we visited was the sporting goods store called Decathlon. When I walked in the store, I was politely stopped so I could have my temperature checked. I didn’t have a fever, so we began our shopping experience. This is a new location for this store and the first thing that hits you is how light and spacious it is. It is one of the most colorful stores I’ve ever been in. It is also designed to be a place where items can be tried out. There is a basketball hoop for trying out all the different kinds of balls. The really interesting area was next to the bicycles, scooters, and skateboards. It included a ramp and a sample section of rough sidewalk. We purchased a basketball and then headed off to Carrefour.
Carrefour is a multi-story super store. It is possible to buy almost any consumer good you can imagine before you reach a well-stocked grocery store. One of the reasons we went was the possibility of shortages. The flour and rice shelves were not as full as normal, but otherwise the store looked very well stocked.
There was no shortage of candy. In our regular grocery store in California you enter the store through the produce area. At Carrefour you enter the food portion of the store through the candy and snack area. It was very hard for all the children we had with us to resist begging for a snack.
By the time we got home there was little time to prepare dinner, so my son ordered take out from a local restaurant. One of the dishes was Kung Pao Chicken which I have had often at home. This was less spicy and oilier than what I’m used to. It also contained something called numbing spice. The spice looked like little pepper corns and the effect was a tingling in the mouth that resulted in a slight numb feeling. Our daughter-in-law loves numbing spice. It wasn’t my favorite taste experience. After eating too much we all settled in to watch a movie before heading to bed.
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