If your are like me you couldn't care less if the whole world went on lock down

[Frank S]

Yes exactly if you are like me the whole world could go on lock down as long as a hardware store or a lumber yard managed to stay open.
For whatever reason my wife and I needed to drive to the next small town over which is about 45 miles away. I had planned on conducting our business there then drive to yet another town where there happens to be a lumber yard that I had called and found out they had the size and type of siding that we have on our house. We were going to select it then arrange for it to be delivered since I hadn't brought one of my trailers and the materials they had was in 16 ft lengths. Out of a whim my wife said lets check the small lumber yard here in this town and see what they have.
Since I already knew what the stuff was going to cost me in the next town I thought well it never hurts to check it out.
Long story long. the man showed me some 12inch wide siding in 12 ft lengths said it was $19.95 per piece.
Sorry but I can get it at this other store in 16 ft lengths for $13,95
Let me check he says I may be thinking of some other material.
I know this dodge from my days when I used to deal with used and new car salesmen.
He comes back and say I can sell them to you for $13.00
Yes but they are only 12 ft long and I will require several more pieces so it is still going to cost me quite a bit more than driving to the other town.
What would you consider a fair price then
So I told him $9.95 since they are 4 feet shorter for each 4 pieces I was going to have to by I would need an additional piece to make up the difference in length.
I can do $10.00 he said Then he let it slip that this material was not a regular stock item and happened to be an overage left over from an order.
Ok deal Lets load 22 pieces.
After leaving I tell the wife do you know what I just bought?
Yes some siding she said
Yes but not the siding I was going to buy, what I was going to drive to Stamford for was Masonite siding the same that is on the house that is weathered away after 50 years this stuff in the back of the truck is that John Hardy plank siding made with cement it is fire proof rot and mildew prof wind proof if installed correctly and almost Hail prof from the largest hail this stuff is 3 times as expensive as Masonite and I got it for almost what it would have costs us for the Masonite plus we didn't have to drive another 40 miles one way.


I added 3 more layers of tar paper to the layer that was already there. WHY? because I have rolls upon rolls of tar paper so why not.

I only did the wall up to the window even though it really needs to be done all the way up but I have another wall in bad shape I want to repair first

[Jon]

I can't believe how much I enjoyed reading your post. What you're describing is illegal for many of us now.

I would love to drive to the hardware store or the lumber yard now. I don't even care if they overcharge me.

[Frank S]

I can't believe how much I enjoyed reading your post. What you're describing is illegal for many of us now.

Makes me proud to live out in the country in a county that only has a single incorporated small town. Surrounded by similar counties on all 4 sides.
But the most important thing is most of us who live as much as 10 or more miles out of town have a he won't ask and we wont have to tell agreement with our county Sherriff for the eventual date that the bottom feeding city dwellers start showing up out here from a large city like Dallas or Ft Worth or Amarillo. He said just the other morning that he wasn't quick enough when the first wave passed through and loaded up with their hording items and bought out a lot of things. The stores weren't aware of what was happening as the terrorist I mean tourist often pass through every year on their way elsewhere and buy up several of their supplies for their hunting or camping trips. He said it won't happen again.
We had to take one of our dogs to the vet this morning which is in a town about 45 miles away so before going I waited until I knew they were open and called to make sure the dog's appointment had not been rescheduled and they had forgotten to inform us. The first thing she asked me was which county we would be coming from when I told her she said sure bring your dog the appointment is still on

[Jon]

We live on acreage at the end of a dirt road, off of another dirt road, in the mountains. There's a small mountain town nearby, but we're about 30 minutes away from a real town. Our whole state is on a shelter-in-place order. I think about 3/4 of Americans are now on similar orders.

We've had the same problem you're having, with urban Coloradans escaping to the mountains. First the state closed the ski resorts. Then people drove to Loveland Pass, where you can drive up, ski down, then drive up with another car. Then the governor told people that it was OK to recreate outdoors, but to maintain social distancing. So people got in their cars, drove to the mountains, and hit the trails. The people had to be specifically told that they can't do that.

Now people are repeatedly purchasing small amounts of items at "essential" businesses, so that they have an excuse to go out every day.

The small mountain towns are pleading with people to stay home. Some of them are closing completely to non-locals.

[Frank S]

I have been planning on making a large pot of beans, but there was not enough left from our last year's crop of beans to make the size pot I normally do So on one of our trips to town I walked into the grocery store I was going to buy a 5 or 10 lb bag of pinto beans. No such luck all they had were little single meal bags of 1lb. And a nice looking sign well worded and specifically directed at out of towners. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience imposed on our regular customers, which may be due in part to a slightly slower than usual resupply, but largely due to a recent influx of out of town guests. We now only have 1 lb bags of beans and would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly only purchase a single bag per visit, residents of our county with large families are exempted. We hope to have a stock of the larger 2 5 and 10 lb bags on our shelves again soon Thank you for your patience and again we humbly apologize to our friends for any inconveniences and limitations you may find throughout our store.

[Jon]

What you saw is happening all over America, and many parts of the world, in both brick-and-mortar and online stores. Rice and beans are missing in many places.

We just got an Amazon Fresh delivery today, so that we didn't have to go to the grocery store and risk exposure to the virus. There were no available delivery windows, so we waited until exactly midnight, when new delivery windows opened up, and we were able to place the order. I'm grateful for everything that was in stock - I'm not complaining - but there was no milk, ground beef, yogurt, or bacon, for any brands. We had to place a separate order, through Whole Foods delivery (which we've never used before) just to get eggs.

There is plenty of food in America, but logistical supply chain issues are clearing the shelves. The small grocery store in the town nearest us (population 1,500) had to hire security guards, implement a bunch of rules, and there is a long line out the door, with everybody trying to keep six feet of space between them.

I understand exactly why stores are limiting volume purchases, but the downside is that people have to make multiple trips to resupply, and thus risk multiple exposures to the virus.

[Frank S]

Yes Jon as you said there is no real shortage in most things, however the country is getting a taste of what could happen if people do not start using a little common sense in their buying habits. I am hearing about quite a bit of recessionary inflation due to price gouging in some areas. When things like that begin recession is not far behind then if not caught quickly it can lead to depression Lets hope things do not regress to anywhere near something like that.

[Jon]

Heads up Frank - not sure if you've seen it yet, but the Texas governor just issued a soft lockdown. The text isn't as bad as some states, but these are often followed by stricter lockdowns. Here's the full order: https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/govdoc...2020/GA-14.pdf

[Frank S]

Heads up Frank - not sure if you've seen it yet, but the Texas governor just issued a soft lockdown. The text isn't as bad as some states, but these are often followed by stricter lockdowns. Here's the full order: https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/govdoc...2020/GA-14.pdf

Yep I already had as copy of it and yesterday I noticed the Dollar General and the grocery store had signs posted limiting the number of patrons to enter at a time. Neither store has hardly ever had more than that number in their stores anyway.. There was only one business in town which did not make the cut as essential services. A small boutique that sells second hand clothing and some other things like curios. Everyone else the Propane guy, the gas station, 3 tire and repair shops, 4 oilfield related companies, the feed store/ welding supply, the hardware store, the Mechanic shop/ vehicle inspection station, the grocery store, the Dollar General, Dairy Queen, the Pizza place, and the restaurant are all open for business. Leaving only the lady who owns the boutique shuttering her door but she only opens it 3 days a week anyway. The Masonic lodge sent out a directive that All lodges have done dark and will remain dark until such a time as necessary as per order of the Grand Marshal of Texas but that directive came out back in the first of March. I think my letters from 2 lodges that I am past master of arrived on March 3rd. Of course no one can visit the nursing home without specific emergency requirements. the several local construction and mobile repair companies are not effected either. The only thing that will really effect me in any way is I won't be going to Sweetwater or Abilene for anything such as steel or repair parts that I can not purchase on line for a while as a personal choice more than anything else. We have plenty of food her meds for 3 months enough gasoline for a while I may need diesel but currently the gas station is having a new canopy installed so it has closed off all pumps the convenience store part is still open I guess folks need their beer and potato chips

[Toolmaker51]

Can't really say I've adhered to shelter recommendations. Also no clue that strict enforcement is attempted, which would entail martial law.
I'm in CA preparing 2 homes for tenants, without any shortcuts. If I want LED bulbs, lumber, hardware, plumbing fittings, cleaning chemicals or anything else, I go. Bullet list notepad in my android is quite long; easily 250+, of needed items and various projects. Arrived just after Thanksgiving, without anywhere near a full toolkit for varied projects.