by Scott Anthony

Governor Insley made it official, last Monday at noon, essential trips outside the house only.

It feels so strange to self quarantine even if we don't feel sick. The latent contagiousness of this bug is a problem. We don't really know how long or when we might be infectious, with experts disagreeing on how many days this contagion can live, 4 hours on grocery bags, 72 hours on stainless steel, but how long in our bodies?

We're running low on supplies already, since the last grocery store trip was last Friday, so I signed up with Safeways 'Pick Up' service, where you make your selections online, provide your credit card and phone number and then they pick your items and hold them in the cooler until you arrive and call the the hotline. They wheel the grub out and put it in your trunk.

$5.00 service fee....and actually, even in less worrisome times, this isn't such a bad idea.

I included extra items in the list that we will run down to Mrs. Anthony's 89 year old Mom, hoping it will help keep her out of the store. After I clicked 'Purchase Your Order', the robot said 'This order will be available for pickup on THURSDAY.' Wow, I guess this service is already getting popular.

It's worth it though, as it saves you the hassle of having to bump your way past those shoppers who insist on parking their cart right in front of the things you want, and then reading labels for ten minutes. 

Also, it lessens the risk of impulse buying, which is a huge part of grocery chain bottom line.

Those things they stock at eye level, like People Magazine, Chocolate and Gum, Eyeglass repair kits and Breath Freshener,  now I can skip that junk.

I called PCC to ask if they have a similar service and the girl on the phone was rude; 'No, we don't do anything like that'. Click. 

So much for PCC and their  Quinoa anyway...

I thought about doing the whole enchilada and having Safeway deliver right to the house....but we live in a new frontier of bad guys who follow delivery trucks solely to grab the items right off the porch.

We have had our mail sent to the local post office now for decades because of mail theft, and the Post office is right next door to Safeway, so...no brainer. 

Things have changed dramatically in a short amount of time, so we hope they will get back to normal quickly as well. In the meantime, lay low, wash your hands and be sure to look in on elderly friends, neighbors and loved ones.