How much isolation are you enduring?

[Arazi]

I'm curious about your level of "Shelter-In-Place"?

I'm WFH most of each day but I'm out daily for walks and to check on a frail relative. I have to snail-mail items every few days so I'm off to the post office. I see, and interact with, people every day but from at least 6 feet apart and without physical contact.

I shop 1x/week wearing a mask. I have family members who have occasionally come to visit over the past 3 weeks and we gather outside (small groups, never more than a few) on the outdoor patio well spaced. If I'm bored, I go check out the local Redbox and buy a beer at the gas station. I wipe things down as I use them but not obsessing.

This seems reasonable. But I'm hearing tales of DUers who haven't been out of their houses in weeks.

No judgement, I'm just curious about anyone else's "Isolation Quotient". I'd rate mine about 5, middling tolerable

[brewens]

1. At the moment, it's me and my good Buddyweiser! The Chelada picante kind. Pretty tasty,

to go with the Foo Fighter at Wembley DVD.

[elleng]

2. Home alone, grocery once a week.

Home is my happy place, @ riverside, so always something different to see (including ospreys, who have returned from their winter 'vacation' in central America.)

I have nothing to complain about (tho would like to see daughter + my 2 grandkids who live nearby.)

[spinbaby]

3. I live alone

I go out for walks and talk to neighbors at a distance. On Monday, my son dropped groceries on my porch. Facebook, texting, and phone calls keep me in touch.

[Wounded Bear]

4. I'm not totally good at it...

I take a morning stroll down to the corner 7-11 to get the daily paper. I know I should subscribe, but it's my lifeline in some ways. I take the stairs out the back and around the corner and generally don't run into anybody. I mask and glove up, at least for the indoor parts. Out on the street, with nobody within 50 yards, I pull the mask aside.

Usually about once a week I drive to the local grocery for fresh veggies and milk/bread, things that don't keep well. Again, masked and gloved up.

When I get home it's gloves off and hand washing.

I live alone, and not really chummy with any of my neighbors, whose practices re the masks and gloves is rather spotty, to be honest. Not good in a senior living apartment. We are all mostly ambulatory, some chairs and scooters and such, but not any bed-ridden full care cases that I know of.

I'm basically a hermit anyway, so this doesn't hurt that much.

[ironflange]

5. Been watching old game shows all day

Grocery shop once a week for the four of us, take walkies in the afternoon, go for a drive in the country now and then. Not climbing the walls quite yet.

[msongs]

6. 3 regular events now on zoom, walk every day. counting beans so I know the day I starve to

death lol (not really, have a stash)

[flyingfysh]

7. It's not a problem at all for me

Occasional trips to the grocery store or the post office is all the travel I do. Otherwise, Everything I want is at home. I have lots of books and a fast internet connection. I can see lots of great movies on the Criterion Channel (very highly recommended), and can spend all day studying or reading whatever I want to. Finances are not a problem, thanks to Johnson & Johnson dividends.

Eventually I will have to figure out how to get my hair cut if I get too shaggy, since the barber shops are closed.

I'm not sure your rating scale works, but I would put myself at the good end.

[brooklynite]

8. We have the luxury of four floors and a backyard to spend time in...

We usually go out once a day for a walk (I'll start biking more regularly when the weather gets warmer) and on Friday's I pick up dinner at a local restaurant to give them support. We both stocked up on groceries before the real crisis hit (my friend Laurie Garrett gave us a lot of heads up information), so I don't pick up groceries more than once avery week or two.

[Andy823]

9. I have been

cleaning out my shop, found 4 N95 masks and a box of dust masks witch don't really help for the virus. Worked up a spot in the garden and planted inions, transplanted some raspberry plants, and work at cleaning up the yard. I have an acre of land so I keep busy.

My daughter and I to shopping every 2 weeks or so for the majority of food we need, though I do make runs to the local store if I run out of something important. My wife and I work puzzles, which helps, and I stream things from the internet, Neflix, Hulu, Disney, and Amazon prime.

[Demovictory9]

10. live in big apt complex so not really isolated like others describe. I'm inside mostly

but hear and see people going to and fro along the walkways. Hear voices from other apartments. I have been going to the store once a day but not today. and... I live in a big city. clearly it's different for city dwellers vs rural/townies

[Arazi]

13. I'm suburban so good to point out potential discrepancies

[Demovictory9]

14. yes. lots of discrepancies. cities.. hard to be TRULY isolated...as in don't see a soul

heads bob past my windows all day long.

[whistler162]

11. WFH trying to support teachers

and students in two different school districts. Out for shopping one day a week for shopping, MWF since I am odd err.... birth year that is. But, other than working from home my life is fairly normal since I prefer to stay home and not much of a people person.

Saving on gas and other things.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. It's just me and three cats.

I haven't been anywhere since March 14 (I order the stuff I need for delivery) and have spoken with my brother and a friend on the phone, others by email, music and language lessons on-line. Since I have hermit-ish tendencies anyhow I'm OK with it.

[FreeState]

15. Walk the dogs and been to the store three times in a month

No visits with anyone. Live with my partner. We cook all our food and don’t do take out or delivery. Try not to go out unless we absolutely have too.

[smirkymonkey]

16. I have been home since March 13th, and only went out once grocery shopping w/ a friend on

March 20th. Haven't left the apartment since then. I have only been down to the lobby and basement to pick up groceries, mail and packages, but carrying Clorox wipes with me (which I am now out of and can't find anywhere). However, I have a balcony overlooking a courtyard garden and leave my door open on mild days so I don't feel so cooped up and can get some fresh air.

I would like to get out for a walk soon, but I really need to find some face masks and can't find them anywhere online. I have been using a scarf to go down into the lobby/basement, but it's kind of suffocating and itchy. My neighborhood is kind of quiet, so I could probably get away with a little walk without too much risk. However, we have a lot of cases here in Boston, so we're a bit higher risk than most other places.

I'm naturally introverted, and keeping in touch with people by phone, email and text, so this isn't really bothering me at all. Plus, I am wfh Mon - Fri so I am still pretty busy. I really like being able to sleep in later and not having to go through the morning routine, which is the least favorite part of my day. It's so great to just wake up, turn on the PC and be "at work". Also, less wear and tear on the wardrobe and I only occasionally put on makeup when I have to go pick something up, and not much at that. It's kind of liberating.

[Arazi]

19. Etsy.com has home made masks for sale. Local crafters

Stay well

[smirkymonkey]

22. Thank you!

Are they effective against the virus?

[Arazi]

55. Try to get masks that let you insert a paper towel or coffee filter

That helps increase their effectiveness

[totodeinhere]

17. I just stay inside. I don't want to take any chances since I have underlying conditions. n/t

[tavernier]

20. Pretty much like you except my kids insist they do the grocery deliveries

for me. I try to get out twice a day to walk in the neighborhood parks. Twice a week I meet two friends at the park and we sit feet apart at long picnic table.
Tv, internet, jigsaw and crossword puzzles make up 75% of my time.

[NRaleighLiberal]

21. my wife and I, with our dogs and cats, at home. Groceries once a week. Post office once a week -

I wear a mask during those two tasks.

We go out and hike in a nearby national forest - typically run in to 1-2 people at most, plenty of room to give each other at least 10 feet spaces.

Our county is quite rural - 68 confirmed cases out of 116,000 people, 4 deaths.

[AirmensMom]

23. I haven't left the property in almost a month.

We have 8 acres, so I can go outside safely. There’s plenty to do, so I can’t get bored. Husband shops once a week and now wears a mask and gloves, and we wash everything that comes into the house.

Monday, my farrier and her daughter came to give my horse her mani/pedi. I sat on the porch, 100 feet away from the barn, and they called from the barn and put me on speaker. I had left a few beers on the barn tables, so we had a drink together and a nice chat. It was the highlight of my week.

Fortunately, I’m used to being home. My husband works from home, so we’re used to being together all the time as well. He gets a bit more house-bound than I do.

I miss our daughter, who lives an hour away. But she doesn’t want to risk getting us sick and we don’t want to risk getting her sick. You never know who is carrying it. She only goes out for groceries, less than once in 2 weeks.

[Victor_c3]

24. I'm at home with a case of corona

Seriously though, I do great with isolation. I suffer from severe PTSD after serving as an Infantry Platoon Leader in Iraq in 2004. I haven’t worked since I was 35 (5 years ago) and and unless I have a pressing reason to, I never go into crowded public places. Things are pretty much unchanged for me and my lifestyle.

[Karadeniz]

33. Sending good vibes...

[peacebuzzard]

37. cute guy! great choices!

thanks for the visual.

[lunasun]

53. ++You got the corona ! 🤪

[Generic Brad]

25. Working from home

I sleep all night in my bedroom. I work 11 hours in my bedroom (I’m categorized as essential) and am on video calls most of the day. I come down for dinner with my wife. We take a two mile walk in the evening. Go home. Shower. Watch a little TV. Repeat endlessly.

We order groceries on line and the workers put them in our trunk. Once a week if we can get an appointment.

Next week I have to go to a monthly condo board meeting. We will be in the common area with one table to each board member. That will be the most socializing I will have had in the past month.

[orangecrush]

26. No complaining here, I thank the universe

That I am well.

My isolation is nothing next to the suffering of the poor infected people.

[underpants]

27. Haven't left for a week. Before that was running out here and there.

I am running and taking the dog for walks but other than that not leaving.

Regular food deliveries (we have a ton of food in this house) and since I quit smoking last week there's no need to go out.

[mike_c]

28. we're mostly indoors and isolated

I had some work chores that needed doing, so I've had a couple of hours there the last couple of days, but otherwise we only go out to shop every few days. I need some outdoor time so I'm planning to drive up into the national forest tomorrow, maybe get a few hours outside.

[crickets]

29. Home since March 10

A couple of grocery deliveries, a couple of neighbor chats at a distance, yard and handy man that has been with our family for years stops by sporadically to help with mowing and weeding. We also chat at a distance. He's going to help me plant vegetables next week. Family phone calls, individually and group at least once a week, occasional calls to less visible neighbors to check on them. A drive in the country to check on some tree farm property once - kids out of school had set a fire. Do you know how fortunate we feel that they essentially performed a controlled burn for us? Strange luck.

For the most part, I'm OK with it since I'm a homebody anyway, but it is wearing. It's one thing to stay home because you don't feel sociable, it's another to stay in because you have to.

I miss going to the Y twice a week. I hired a personal trainer (reasonable and worth every penny) to help me keep exercising on a schedule. I was lifting weights raaarr. Oh well, time to dust off the bike now that traffic to the bike path is so much lighter.

[GulfCoast66]

30. I still working but that changes in 2 weeks when the wife and I are furloughed.

She’s been working from home for a month.

I go to the grocery 2 times a week and found one near Disney that sold to mainly timeshare people so it is well stocked and has less than 20 shoppers. I feel safe there. I won’t go to Publix. It’s a death trap.

We are lucky. We can and do pull the boat 60 miles to the gulf coast and fish once a week or as the weather allows. And once we are furloughed that will increase. Plus we are avid gardeners and our yard is looking better than ever!

Several of the local breweries sell out of a walk up window and I’m still able to support them and have good beer.

Except for having a reduced income in 2 weeks we are actually doing
very well. It helps I like to cook. And if I can say, am good at it. Harvesting cabbage and starting a batch or sauerkraut this weekend.

Appreciate DU more than ever.

Y’all stay safe. And get outside! Even a short walk can improve your outlook.

[secondwind]

31. We're in a duplex in SF, close to Golden Gate Park. Walk the pooch every morning, streets are

deserted for the most part. Hubby takes the
pooch to Alamo state Park most afternoons, where he can run off the leash. We have little granddaughters, 3 and 1-1/2 yrs old, that we miss seeing, in Santa Rosa. I FaceTime with eldest granddaughter, 20, in NY.

We watch movies in the afternoon, and are lucky to have a nice yard out back with a Japanese maple, calla lilies, etc. We miss the company of friends and family. So far, so good.

Groceries are bought online for the most part, except for a quick run to corner store in an emergency, with masks and gloves. Social distancing is excellent here.

[Freddie]

32. I enjoy solitude

To a point. Feb of last year I retired from my real job and was babysitting the grandkids (9, 5, 18 months) at my daughter’s house. She is now WFH, son-in-law got laid off and he watches the kids and I’m just home now. For the first 2 weeks it felt like a vacation (no more getting up at 6!) but now it’s getting old. I have plans for projects around the house but after a good start I just keep putting the rest off. Read and watch TV, catching up on old movies I’ve never seen. Left the house 1x since March 13 to go grocery shopping.

[peacebuzzard]

34. loner here. sheltered in w/ cats. taking online course.

on leave from work. bought a desktop, still trying to figure it out, but its going.
last week drove 17 miles to adopt two senior special needs cats. ( my 17-year-old baby kitty died last month, was devastated/ depressed.)one was really sick with upper respiratory from the shelter environment, gave antibiotics and she improved !
go shopping once a week.(gloves, mask, alcohol towels)
mail run maybe every 5 days
not able to do my usual physical fitness swim laps so am gaining weight/flab/binge eating.
planning on starting a veggie garden around the house somewhere.
virus test negative. I stay the hell away from people.

[Karadeniz]

35. We haven't had any covid in our county. Clinic, pharmacy limit people inside. Vet still

Working, but only for medications, food, shots...and they come to the car, no humans inside. Restaurants do take -out. Masks are encouraged, but stupid Texas hasn't required them yet, I think...we wear them.

[Silver Gaia]

36. We are only going out for necessary doctor appointments that cannot be postponed.

Groceries (and whatever else we need) are being delivered. I'm disinfecting EVERYTHING before it enters this house.

We self-isloated before the county and state mandated it (northern CA), so we've been doing this since the first week of March. There's me and the hubby, our adult daughter, 2 dogs and 3 cats. We have TV and streaming services on multiple TVs. We each have a computer, phone, and tablet. Our daughter does video chats with her friends.

I ordered seeds and will be planting a garden this week. We don't have to walk the dogs because we have a good size fenced backyard.We just take them out there and toss balls for them.There's plenty to do inside and in the yards. (My house is super clean!)

My daughter and I both have the good fortune to be able to work from home, and my husband is retired. That helps. We have each other, and that helps, too.

So, we're good!

[csziggy]

38. My Isolation Quotient is basically 0

We started an addition in February. Almost every day there are construction workers here. Most days they are working outside, but this week the rough-in for the air handler and the electrical required people coming in and out constantly.

Yesterday was the most hectic day so far with the carpentry/framing crew, roofers, electricians, and air conditioning crew ALL working in and around the house. The roofer will be back tomorrow to finish up some trim, then no one will be back until Monday.

Usually I can stay home and not see anyone other than my husband for a week or two at a time. This has been stressful, but I am not very concerned about catching the virus. All the workers are keeping their distance.

At this point I am ready for some isolation!

[Backseat Driver]

39. Walk dog; feed community feral ducks on the pond;

have approved social distanced conversations w/neighbors I admit to contact with my kids who live 4 miles away to make masks; they are petrified we will get it; otherwise, we all follow the guidelines re: masks, wipes, handwashing. We did a normal month's grocery shopping so pretty well stocked. DH is considered an essential FT person now. a clerk/cashier at a convenience/gasoline shop who got a small "combat" pay raise for the duration. It's ironic - at previous IT and tech dependent medical transcription survival career gigs, we arrived at non-essential broke out-of-work bums that no one would hire though the foreign bottom feeder recruiter calls still come in on occasion. I frequent a local farm deli and market, a major grocery store, and also have a membership at Sam's Club. It's bad enough that DH could bring it home...So far, so good. I do chores, and spend most of the day on here, LOL! Not much different than the daily life of semi-retired old geezers. Things could indeed be worse!

[MissB]

40. I'm not alone

Dh and I both wfh now. Our youngest son is hanging with us for a few weeks before he returns to his college town.

We live on a half acre so there is plenty of yard and forest for peaceful contemplation. Our chickens provide live entertainment. I am out in our garden several times a day in good weather, planting spring seeds or starts or getting the tomato and pepper beds ready. Just puttering, enjoying the commute and the extra free time for gardening. The weather has been gorgeous lately.

If I need garden supplies or pet food then I do a non contact order from Wilco. Pet treats are a non contact order from Mud Bay.

I go to the local Fred Meyers (Kroger) once a week with mask and gloves. Generally Friday morning right at opening time. I’m out in a half hour. There are barely any people there at that time, and it isn’t one of the mornings reserved for older folks.

I’ll go to Winco again in two weeks, which will be a 3 week interval. Not 100% sure I need anything there yet but I may go there.

Dh takes the dog for at least one walk a day. If he has too many client calls then I do it.

I delivered some plant starts to people’s porches last weekend. I have one more to deliver this weekend. Non-contact; I bring gloves and wipes and clean the exterior of the pots when I drop off. Just extra plant starts that I’ve offered to friends.

I went to the post office this week. I think it was around 6 pm or so, and used the machine to pay for postage for the package. No one around.

Dh went golfing this week with friends. No contact. That one seems a bit risky but no worse than a grocery store run.

We ordered takeout once last week. Gave the delivery guy a big tip.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

41. I am alone 99.9

Percent of my time. However Othello is with me, I love my kitty sweetheart more than I can say.
My counselor calls or texts and she pops by if I need food.
The only other people I see are at Walmart when I walk over there to get my meds.

[customerserviceguy]

42. The good thing I have going for me

is that my lady is with me through it all, and she hasn't gotten tired of me yet! We do have a nice house, and I spend much of my day in "the man cave", with my laptop and my TV and my genealogy. If I get bored with that, there are books, DVD's and a few long-neglected hobbies that I could pick back up with.

We have cut off contact with her family and the neighbors, but sometimes when I go to the mailbox, my neighbor across the street is out, and we will exchange a few words from our own sides of the street. I don't really mind it that much, I'm not as much of a social butterfly as my lady is, but she's on the phone all the time with friends.

We went out a couple of nights ago, hoping to see the supermoon, no it was not the date of the full moon, but we were hoping for a lack of clouds over the ocean so that we could see an almost full moon rise. No dice, but we did pick up a pizza, and I carefully brought in slices from the garage to heat up in a frying pan.

So, we're not going crazy, but we do miss seeing folks at the pool, etc. I was on the phone with Mom tonight, she's fretting that there will be no college football season this fall, and I said, "Well, it's a lost year for just about everybody."

[GreenEyedLefty]

43. I'd rate myself a 4 or 5 but this week has been busy.

Normally I WFH, but Monday and Tuesday, went into the office to stuff envelopes for membership dues for our organization. If these don't go out, the organization goes under.

Tuesday evening, went to the store for groceries. Went to the store again tonight.

Our refrigerator died and it took a couple of weeks to get a new one. We borrowed a dorm size fridge from a friend, which tied us over until our new one arrived.

Also my husband and I have a nearly 17-year-old man/child who grew 1" in the last month. We also have an adult daughter living here.

Hence the frequent trips to the store.

[Bettie]

44. At this precise moment, not even close to enough

Three boy children (19, 17, and 11) and a husband. I have not been alone since mid-March and I'm becoming hostile.

[qwlauren35]

45. I lucked out.

The business I work for is essential. The project I'm working on supports COVID-19 efforts. I can work from home or go in. I do some of both. Aside from not going to a restaurant for date night and wearing a face mask at work, I feel relatively unaffected. I think I watch the death toll just to remind myself why we're doing this.

[First Speaker]

46. Live alone in a green CT suburb. Will walk to the park 3/4 times a week...

...keeping my distance, of course. Park is usually empty, or nearly so. Walk to CVS once a week for milk, bread, and toilet paper if they have it--hah. Walk once every week or ten days to Target or Ocean State for food. Never see anybody. Feels like it's been four years, and not four weeks...

[Skittles]

47. no more than usual

I live alone, work alone, no family within nearly 1000 miles.

[mnhtnbb]

48. I'm retired and live alone with my dog in a high rise apartment

in Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina. Wake County has a population of 1.1 million people. As of today, the State has 3908 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 74 deaths. Wake County has 391 confirmed cases and 0 deaths.

I returned a week early from a birthday trip to Bonaire. Got home March 9th. Did a major stock up shopping on March 12th and have only done one other major trip to the grocery store on March 30th. Did a quick less than 10 minute trip to the corner Dollar General in between those two trips for a handful of things. Will probably do another quick trip like that early next week.

I walk the dog three times a day for about 20 minutes each time we go out. We have to take the elevator from the 17th floor. Often we are alone in the elevator, but sometimes there will be another person. We each stand in a corner trying to keep as much distance as possible. On our walks, I will cross the street if I see someone coming in the middle of the sidewalk who looks like he/she won't step aside so we can keep distance. I see some groups of people walking 3 or 4 abreast down the sidewalk.

Other than the grocery trips or walking the dog, I've been in my apartment for a month. I read, watch movies, play on-line, talk or text or email friends and my sons. No take out or delivery. I make all my own meals.

From the numbers, it looks as though staying home has helped limit the disease in my county. As hard as it is, I'll keep doing it.

I have to admit that being stuck in an apartment now has made me think again about wanting to be in a house with at least a small yard or nice deck where I could have some flowers and hang a hummingbird feeder. I do miss that and all the convenience of being downtown and able to walk to the ballet or symphony or library or good restaurants means nothing when everything is cancelled or closed. My lease isn't up until early next year, but come fall I may seriously look into making a move if stay at home is lifted enough to be able to explore options in person.

[BusyBeingBest]

49. Not much different from normal, for me.

I am not employed anymore so for the last few years I have gotten used to bumming around the house by myself during the work/school day for my husband and sons. One of them still lives with us, so there are three of us at home right now and we're totally getting on each other's nerves at times. Gardening/yardwork when the weather is nice, backyard birdwatching, TV/internet...the usual... wish I could go out and do stuff besides waiting in the parking lot for some kid to bring out my grocery order (which is always missing some vital thing like bread or cat food, and I don't even bother trying to find paper products or Clorox wipes anymore), but I can't bitch too much when others have it way worse.

[Dem2theMax]

50. I live alone. Got sick March 1st, have not left the house since then,

other than to get my mail. I am without a car at the moment so neighbors have purchased groceries for me. And I will be doing this for the foreseeable future.

I'm one of those poor people that the GOP hates with a passion. So I can't afford to go anywhere. I'm very used to staying at home. The only part that is driving me crazy is having to wash my hands so much, and disinfecting anything that comes into the house. I did a lot of online shopping until the neighbors volunteered to start bringing groceries to me.

And it's been raining and raining and raining, 7 1/2 inches in less than 5 days, so no outdoor exercise right now either!

But I have a lot of chocolate in the house, so I'm doing just fine.

[chillfactor]

51. doing okay

have my Internet, this great blog, TV, netflex. Have a great porch on the back of the house to sit on in the sunshine on warm days. My caregiver buys and delivers my groceries and the mail. I lost my precious littlle girl Fajita (4# Chihuahau) two months ago so very lonely w/o her. She was 19 years old and I had her since she was a tiny pup. I would so love another lap dog so I would not be so lonely.

[Arazi]

54. Shelters are looking for foster homes for dogs

I'm sorry you're lonely

[EllieBC]

52. I live in a condo and take my kids for walks daily.

3 kids and 3 adults in a 2 bedroom condo is a recipe for disaster. We take the kids for walks and bike rides every day.

My husband or I go and will continue to go shopping probably 3x a week because again, 3 kids and there are limits on things.