Day 49 - Hello Darkness

 

Lockdown Day 49 - Hello darkness my old friend, it has being a long time and I find the darkness somehow comforting as I remember the words of Nietzsche, "whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Yip those are my feet that you can barely see in the dark.

Day 46 - Kissy Face

 

Lockdown Day 46 - Who's your daddy? Yip Princess loves her daddy even when he is plucking up his lips into a kissy face. Oh well love is in the eyes of the beholder, or something like that. I have know Princess since she was a tiny little kitten that we had rescued being dumped by those nasty people that we lived next door too a long time ago.  

Day 34 - Pa Baker

 

Lockdown Day 34 - Baker, Baker, here I present the result of my mother's simple bread recipe. This bread baking skills has been one of our success stories from the lockdown. Every couple of days, 2 loaves get baked in our oven. Ahhh fresh hot bread, food for the soul.

Stocking Up

 

The day before the lockdown begins, and here I am joining multiple others stocking up, getting my prescription medicine for next month, delivering face masks, and obtaining permission from CIPC to operate during lockdown.

 What a rush of a day! Good news we have been certified to manufacture and deliver face masks during lockdown. Let the new world begin!

Doing Church

 

Things have changed since the Corona Virus started from Wuwan in China. It has now become a pandemic, and here we are doing church from home. Introverts Unite!

Ready for the Bank

 

Well, here is me face, ready for a visit to the bank which I am sure will go down well. I wasn't expecting to be making masks but here I are am, a week and a half into this entrepreneur thingy.

Proactive vs Reactive Egghead

 

With the SARS-CoV-2 spreading like wildfire throughout the world as medical specialists try to contain the virus with little success as the buy in of the people hasn't happened. We need to be proactive rather reactive. Our medical authorities have announced that we have 7 cases. "Nothing to worry about", they warn but we the public are not stupid. 

I had to go to the doctors today, to pick up a script and go to the pharmacy. I must say that my doctors rooms were proactive. They were channeling everyone through to these 2 nurses who where screening everyone. NICE.

 

Okay remember I mentioned towards the end of last week, to watch this space. Well here it is. This weekend a friend and I developed a 3 layer fabric face mask in light of all the mask shortages. This is our second version and already we are getting inquires. With just a few shares on Facebook, WhatsApp, and word of mouth, I got a phone call from China of all places inquiring about our masks. On top of that I do look like an egghead in this photo.

Yes I know that wearing masks are not the best but they do slow down the pandemic. Proactive!

How not to put on a mask?

 

Okay with a run on surgical and FFP2/N95 face masks, I somehow manged to get a pack of 50 surgical masks a few weeks back for R45. Eish that is 90c each. Still way too expensive for disposable masks. Now I here that the same pack is going for R75, that is R1.50 each, that is if you can find them on the shelves. Even worse, a friend's daughter overheard the neighbour's boyfriend bragging that he has a supply of 3000 masks and is selling them for R90 each, ouch. Oh and then there is someone on Take a Lot who is selling my same pack of 50 for R2000. That is R40 each.

What is this world coming to?

Okay I have a plan, watch this space...

For now let me show you how not to put on a surgical mask. These paper masks are 3 ply and are rated being able to capture 86% of 0.65-1.1 micron particles. Not as good as the FFP2/N95 face masks which are rated at 98%. Anyhow any mask is better than no mask. 

So these surgical masks have 2 colours, a white side for inside, and a blue or green side for outside. The inside part helps absorb the moisture from your mouth whereas the blue/green layer filters out any incoming particles. Then there is a thin wire or something similar at the top of the mask to help form the mask around the bridge of your nose. 

So what you see in my photo is how not to put a mask on. Although the wire is on the top, the green side is on the inside, WRONG!

Minky and I

 

It is a beautiful cool evening here at home, the endangered Mountain Reedbuck are grazing just outside our yard, we've just finished eating a lovely curry, the telly is on, and Minky wants to cuddle. 

Bad Case of the Flu

Okay I am better prepared now than before as Africa reports its first Covid-19 case in Egypt. Yes Egypt is over a million miles away from us but the SARS-CoV 2 virus outbreak is spreading very quickly and I am sure that it will reach these distant shores sooner than later.

I have been following the Chinese Corona Virus outbreak very closely, more on a scientific than a fear level because if it does reach Southern Africa, our hospitals are not capable of treating everyone. So far what we officially know is that out of 100 people that get the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2, about 15 will need serious hospitalization, and out of these 15, only 2 will die. That is if they get to an medical facility that can help.

If it does come down to the worse case, 60% of South Africa's population will catch this strain flu virus. That means 28 million will be infected with 4 million needing to be on a respirator and we don't have that many in South Africa which will mean only the rich will be able to afford to jump the queue and way more than the expected 84,000 will die. We are about to enter our flu season, lets hope they can contain and eradicate this bad case of the flu before it gets here.

Okay enough of the bad news. Good news is that the Covid-19 death rate is only 2.3% with your body's immune system being able to fight off the SARS-CoV-2. So what can you do to limit yourself from getting into that 15% that needs hospilazation.

1. Wash you hands OFTEN
2. Wear a face mask when you need to visit a pharmacy, doctors rooms, or hospitals, as this is where most sick people congregate
3. Boost your Immune System by getting 8-10 hours SLEEP a day
4. Stay away from large crowds
5. Did I mention wash your hands?

The Eldredge Knot

 

Okay I an old age Windsor knot person when I wear a neck tie, that was until Matthew sported an Eldredge knot at the opening ceremony of the Belgium Uni at his start of his 3rd year. He sure made an style statement, with another friend also sporting this stylish knot which apparently Matthew tied for him. Can we bid adieu to the Windsor?

Corona Virus

 

It was just yesterday that I was reading how Instagram influencers are cashing in on the Corona Virus  but donning on face masks and sharing their photos. And last week a businessman from Hong Kong popped into our office wanting to buy facemasks. I also read that online stores such as Amazon has had a run on facemask orders from China and now they all sold out. To help stem the orders from China, the face mask factories in Taiwan are printing their national Republic of China flag on their face masks as China refuses to recognise Taiwan as a legitimate country. Good for them.

I was invited to a braai this afternoon with friends, and having some time to kill between church and the braai, I decided that I better get a few face masks myself in case we also get a run on them here too in South Africa.Too late both Dischem and Clicks are all sold out. A merchandise packer at the one Dischem I was at told me the Chinese where there last week and bought all their stock up. Eish.

I posted on Facebook about the dire situation and asked for alternatives. My friends came up with some strange ideas, well I decided to try one of them this afternoon after getting home from the braai. So my chinas, how is this face mask? Looking at the how to use a bra as a facemask pages, it is obvious that I am doing something wrong.

Weekend Me

 

Yay, it is the weekend begin. Ahhhh you can see by this time of the week I am all but finished, pap, en klaar gelag. Oh well at least I have the next 2 days to recover. All access pass to relaxation.

The Forwards

 

I had to take Matthew back to Pretoria because he starts Uni in a weeks time but tonight Matthew and his mates have organised a D&D all nighter so I had to drive him up to Pretoria and drop him off at my sister Theresa and her husband Hans, hence the pack of forwards photo for today.

I really appreciate all that Theresa and Hans have done for Matthew, it has become Matthew's second home since his mother crossed over a year and a half ago.

After the long drive back hone, alone in the car, I had a lot to think about. You see I worry a lot about Matthew. By the time I got home I had over thought every outcome and still I had this deep hole inside of me. Already I miss him.

Seeing the Old Year Out

2019 was not a good year for me but I feel that it is the turning point. God and me have grown together in leaps and bounds. I know that we are much closer than ever before after this year. 

Anyhow to end off this year, we joined some friends to watch Peter Pan on Ice this evening, starting from the left to right is Matthew, Sean, Tina, Lynda, me, and of course Paulo. 

So here is to a better 2020...

Weird Selfie

Okay we are allowed to be weird every now and again, even just to show the we are human sometimes. Any hoo, the year is coming to an end rather quickly and so before the mad rush towards the end happens, we would like to take this pause, and wish all our friends and family, an happy new year, may 2020 be a prosperous and blessed year. 

Husband Day Care Centre

It is the first time that I found myself in this mall, with all the new malls springing up in the last decade it has been hard to keep up. I have been here before, but it was a different mall, it was the Waterfront an long time ago, the it morphed into the Brightwater Commons, and now it is just another mall, Ferndale on Republic. 

Anyways it is now a shinny new mall just like all the others, well not shinny, yet they all the same. So here I found myself with Lynda, as they say shopping is therapeutic but I had to exchange some gifts because of size issue. I know I need to really start loosing some excess weight. Oh well I rather be at the husband day care centre instead of walking the malls.

Off it Comes

The year with a full beard has come to an end, Santa Claus has left the building as today is the day that I walked into my barber and told him, "take it all off". I am so over 2019, it can only get better in 2020.

Gracey

Oh my, looked what walked into my office on the last working day of the year, an iggy called Gracey. I then discover her full name is Amore Di Mia from the Suamore Italian Greyhound stable run by my good friend Sue Rautenbach and this little pup has just come out of an operation similar to what my Jade had years ago.

It was wonderful to hold an iggy again that wasn't mine, and the tought did cross my mind, that I need another one. 

Weekend Party's Over

 

It was good spending time with Matthew on his birthday and sharing him with his friends and family but now Matthew must go and be the adult God wants him to be.