I had accidentally picked up too much bread flour, turns out to be a good thing. I might be a little shy on yeast though. We were running low on bread flour and I had it on the list but had included it in a Prime Pantry order and then bought it at the store. Good time for that mistake.
You don’t actually need a lot of yeast. It would help to have a teeny bit, like 1/4 tsp, but the natural yeast in the air will work it’s way into your dough if you let it sit out overnight. Don’t cover tightly, but drape a cloth over.
You can even do this with a bread machine. Make dough using the dough function (using no yeast or only 1/4 tsp of yeast). Then turn off the machine, open the top, cover loosely, and let it sit for 12-24 hours. Then start up the machine and continue normally.
Google “making bread with natural yeast.” This is where sourdough bread comes from.
Also Irish Soda Bread doesn’t need yeast.
Thank you, that’s really good to know with the yeast.
My wife is planning to make an Irish Soda Bread later this week.
Luckily as a gardener my work schedule most likely won’t be affected in any way.
On the slightly less rosy side of things - my stepmom is going through an assisted death procedure this moring (cancer), and so I was like, fuck it - dad’s getting one damned hearty hug.
And her, too.
I realise the obvious-as-fuck irresponsibilty of my actions with dad, and pray I haven’t in any way ended up fucking jeopardizing him (just turned 90; has COPD).
:smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack:
A family member died of something else this morning. We could not visit him in the hospital, or go comfort a surviving member of the same generation.
I just learned that a friend’s entire tour group had their flight home cancelled and is stuck in Africa.
A family member appears woefully unprepared for more than a few days of isolation. Little food, no thermometer, “everything’s fine here except my commute is quicker.”
All right, a Q: I have a big bottle of isopropyl alcohol, and would like to wipe down some household surfaces, but how much of it gets dangerous to inhale? I obviously can’t pour out several ounces neat onto a cloth and go wiping away.
Hours for receptionists, including myself, are being cut a bit starting next week. I’ll lose a couple of hours, which isn’t a big deal for me. One of the other receptionists is worried about finances, and I’ve told the boss it’s OK to cut me a bit more and give the hours to her. We’ll see how it goes; I expect to maybe lose another work day.
A friend of mine from college has the symptoms, but hasn’t been tested, because tests aren’t available. She seems to be doing ok, just a fever and aches. I’m hoping she makes it.
I put my online shop on vacation mode. I only went to the Post Office once a week but that’s once a week too often right now for my peace of mind
Out of work until at least April 2nd and that’s probably optimistic. Finally got my wife to realize what “self isolation” means sometime last night.
We made it back to the good ol’ US of A after three cancelled flights, buying a full fare back on the last flight out of Gatwick, on Norwegian. Good thing our house is stocked with alcohol 
We had a meeting last Friday to discuss how the virus would impact work (long story short, pretty much everyone is ‘essential’ and thus has to work on site). Found out this week that the room in which the meeting was held had hosted a group of people from Washington, along with a handful of our local people, for a training class…and now some of the Washington people are showing symptoms. The local people who were in the class have been sent home; I’m not sure if they’re being tested. One guy in my department is staying home because his wife had to be tested, and she hasn’t gotten the results yet. My department has been given instructions on how to log in remotely to work from home, but supposedly the company will implement a staggered work schedule before telling us all to work from home.
None of this has come out via official announcement…it’s all being whispered amongst employees, or overheard. The only official announcements have concerned communal food and non-essential visitors (both banned). Oh, and people handling mail or outside packages have to wear gloves now.
I live on an island that so far has no confirmed cases, and all boats and planes to the island have been stopped. (Cebu. Philippines) Some 50 people are under quarantine watch. But the island is too small to feed its 5-million people, so eventually food will have to be brought in. It’s just the two of us, light eaters, and we have 20 pounds of rice.
So all things considered, we feel pretty good about the prospects.
What concentration/ %? inhalation will be no problem (don’t be huffing it), but 90% alcohol to water will likely dry your skin. And I mean split-at-the-fingerprint-grooves dry skin. Wear rubber gloves.
A bleach solution would be better. Follow the directions on the manufacturer’s container.
It appears my sister has COVID-19. She’s symptomatic and is having trouble breathing. She’s been told to quarantine herself at home with her family, and call an ambulance if it gets worse. Of course, no medical professional has actually seen her. It’s all been phone consults.
At 10:02 Monday 3/16, I received an email at work that I was being Activated by the County Emergency Operations Center and being sent to poll worker training for Tuesdays primary. RSVP by 10:30, please. So I had training from 12:30 to 5:30 PM and suddenly had to get enough rest to get up at 4:30 AM and get down to a polling station on the beach. The usually 2 hour drive was only 20 minutes at 4:45am with all green lights. I worked as the head of a precinct from 5AM to 8PM. So a 15-hour workday greeting the public en masse with a few hours warning. Needless to say, we were all swimming in sanitizer the whole time. At the beginning of training we were told it would all be at time and a half pay. Afterwards, it was “Only for time exceeding 40 hours.” That’s how my employer, the County, works now.
After trimming cannabis, I’ve used isopropyl alcohol (70%) in a pump spray bottle to clean tools and work surface without a problem.
…and as a daily dabber, getting the 99% on my bare fingies to constantly clean off sticky stray specs of the crap - no problemo. 
I’m very sorry to hear that. However, unless she’s very elderly or has significant related health issues, I’m sure she’ll be one of the vast majority that experience complete recovery. As said elsewhere, COVID-19 is so problematic because it’s so contagious, not because it’s particularly dangerous to normal patients. Hoping she gets well soon. 
I’m jealous of all you guys bragging about your isopropyl alcohol supplies. I have maybe two ounces left of the 99% stuff and it’s as impossible to find as hand sanitizer. I do have vodka but 40% alcohol is barely of any use for surface cleaning and useless for making hand sanitizer.
When I picked my prescriptions the other day there was a bottle of hand sanitizer on the counter. I more or less jokingly asked the clerk if they had any in stock, and she said no, but they were hoping for a delivery this week. I felt like responding that I myself was hoping that pigs would learn to fly this week, too. The closest I’ve come is a Walmart about 12 km away claiming to have a couple of different kinds including Purell, but “almost out of stock”. I don’t trust their online inventory system and am not going to drive all that way early in the morning just to find the usual empty shelves. I’m more likely to catch this damn virus from all these outings than any good that hand sanitizer will do me. I have a reasonable (though not excessive) supply of liquid hand soap.
Try chemboys.com. My husband and I found some there last week.