Weigh****chers = Saturday

Still looks like a cold and cloudy day here, but it might get better this afternoon. It is going to be a very relaxed day for me today. it will be too wet to do anything outside and I will just catch up on laundry for next week. I always planned my day around a lot of errands and being with friends. Life seems so strange now that I can't do that. I used to dream about being caught up with no pressure, but never expected it to be like this.

I know people are rushing to get things opened up and back to normal. I hope they do not make things worst and quarantine longer because of their reckless behaviors.

Texas partially opened back up yesterday. Our hospitals are under capacity and our death count from COVID is roughly 1 death for every 35,000 people. I bet we are fully open in June. Some states definitely need to be more careful. For example, New York has 1 death for every 800 people. My habits will not change until the numbers go way down!!

Today is my official WW weigh-in day. I am down 2.2 pounds this week. 8 down, 22 to go.

I hope everyone is being careful out there!!

Kudos on the 2 pound loss. This does work!

My sister called me on Thursday and said, "We can go to the mall tomorrow".

I told her we cannot go the mall. I can't go and she should not go either. It is hard to be cooped up like this but I am in no hurry to take unnecessary risks. There are so many summer plans that are not going to happen. It is the strangest time I have ever lived through.

I have very vague memories of my grandparents talking about the Spanish Flu. How hard it must have been to be cooped up when there was no television and no internet.

Glad you are staying safe.

I could not imagine staying cooped up without all the electronics we have now, either!!

I am glad you are staying safe, too!!

I am glad your sister has you to try to talk her into staying safe and sensible during these times. They do seem like strange times and to hear others confirm that indeed these times are strange and we just need to be cautious going forward makes me understand that yes this new reality is hard for everyone. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for the Spanish flu. We are very fortunate that we have the resources we do while we go through this. I am glad YOU are staying safe.

Our lockdown has been stricter than the UK's. Our taoiseach (prime minister) Varadkar is a medical doctor, so our policies have been mostly science-driven rather than politics driven. The stores that are allowed to be open (food markets, pharmacies) immediately installed plexiglass screens to protect their staff, and for customers they provided hand gel dispensers, supplies to clean carts and trolleys, and gloves. At first, a lot of people didn't seem to take it very seriously, but within a week or two most people were wearing masks and keeping their distance.

Starting 18 May, we will introduce a phased, five-stage exit over the next three months, with the caveat that it may be necessary to go back a step or delay the next step if cases rise too quickly at any point.

I'm very pleased with the way the company I work for has handled things. They were among the first to direct their employees to work from home. They are planning to start letting a small number of people back into the office (people who are finding it particularly difficult to work from home), but on a strictly voluntary basis. They've made it very clear that they aren't going to pressure anyone to come back to the office.

I am glad you are in a place where people are taking this seriously. On Friday, our Ohio governor announced that masks must be worn in stores. By Sunday, he took back that order and changed it to recommend masks be worn in stores. The US has a very small, but extremely vocal, group of people who see all of the safety measures as the government taking away their freedoms.

My company, Intuit, immediately told people to stay home and take care of themselves and their families. Everyone was given an extra ten paid days off to use to arrange for taking care of their families. Some people are going back to offices, but it is limited to those who can not adjust to working from home.

I have always worked from home, so there were no changes for me. I stay inside as much as possible and wear a mask if I go into a store.

Intuit also is donating millions of dollars to aid small businesses. They have set up programs with GoFundMe to get additional donations from people who want to help. We are assisting the IRS with tax matters while many of the IRS agents are not able to work. IRS workers were sent home with pay, but the IRS was not equipped to have them work from home.

Intuit is helping taxpayers to get their stimulus checks and helping businesses to obtain government loans. I am proud to work for a company that cares.