24 PRODUCTS THAT ARE SELLING OUT ONLINE DURING THE PANDEMIC
-Source: USA Today 04.20.20
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the nation, many people are at home and stocking up on everything from household essentials to things for entertainment like jigsaw puzzles. Items that are selling out or sold out:
- toilet paper,
- hand sanitizer,
- cleaning wipes/spray,
- paper towels,
- hand soap,
- diapers,
- thermometers,
- tissues,
- water filter pitchers,
- bidets,
- board games,
- jigsaw puzzles,
- Nintendo switches,
- bakeware,
- yeast,
- fitness equipment,
- sewing machines,
- hair dye,
- loungewear,
- printers,
- monitors,
- laptops,
- desks, office chairs, and
- webcams.
Toilet paper
is at the top of everyone's must-have list right now. And it makes sense—no one wants to run out of the one thing you use multiple times every single day. While the shelves at your local grocery store or Target might be completely bare, fear not—for weeks, USA Today has been tracking the dwindling supply of toilet paper to keep this list of places to buy toilet paper
online
.
I
t's no secret that there's been a run on
hand sanitizer
—but while it may be hard to find, it isn't impossible. Our editors found you can still
buy hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes
at certain retailers online to be shipped to your house or picked up curbside at the store. FYI: The CDC says that hand sanitizers with at least 60 percent alcohol are the most effective at killing germs.
Just as important as keeping your hands clean is keeping your home clean. That's why disinfecting wipes and spray are just as tough to find as hand sanitizer. If you're able to find some at the retailers provided here, make sure you're
using your cleaning wipes correctly
. The CDC says to use enough wipes that your surface remains saturated for 3 to 5 minutes.
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CHANNEL NINE, KETC, NOW OFFERS PROGRAM STREAMING
Viewers can now enjoy PBS series like Poldark, Masterpiece, Ken Burns, World on Fire, Victoria and others via streaming. Check out the many offerings at this link:
www.ninenet.org/video-app/
.
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IT'S ALMOST MAY 1!
HAVE YOU HEARD A WOOD-PEEWEE THIS SPRING?
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OBSERVING AND FEEDING
OUR AREA BIRDS
-Marty Cavanaugh
Participants in this program log avian visitors to their bird feeders from early November through early April each year. It is a fun and educational activity for the entire family which does not involve a major time commitment. You can observe and log feeder visitors for an hour per week and still contribute valuable data. The Lab sponsors other
citizen science
projects that may also interest you.
Typical birds we see at our feeders during the FeederWatch season are the Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, White-throated Sparrow, American Goldfinch, and the House Sparrow. The most exciting observation we have had this past season was the occasional appearance of one or two
Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
The greater St. Louis area is the only location in North America where this species lives. Much like the House Sparrow, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow was brought here by immigrants from Europe. However, unlike the House Sparrow which multiplied and spread throughout the continent, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow never ventured outside this area. I guess they enjoy the climate. :-) Birders from all over the country travel to St. Louis to add the Eurasian Tree Sparrow to their "Life Lists". We are fortunate and blessed to observe this rare species in our own back yard!
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FLYING HIGH:
ANDY MILLS
-Marian Smithson
Andy Mills, a long-time parishioner and now vestry member, has been flying for 27 years, just a year longer than he has been married to his wife, Karen. Andy became interested in flying years ago when a pilot friend took him up to 1300 feet for a view of Springfield, Illinois, an experience that stayed with him.
Shortly after, Karen bought him his first lesson at the Shafer Airport in St. Jacob. Andy got to fly the plane off the runway on the first lesson. After his second lesson, he landed the plane by himself under the supervision of his certified flight instructor. Andy subsequently completed over 100 hours of flight training to obtain his license and now has done 1000+ hours of flying.
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Andy shares ownership of a Mooney airplane with a friend. It is a
single-engine piston-powered aircraft. He flies regularly, sometimes in our home area and away at other times. Last week he flew over the arch and Busch Stadium.
In 2019 he flew to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for a major air show, AirVenture.
Night flights are his favorites as the view of city and road lights is remarkable. At Christmas time, it is particularly impressive. The Christmas lights on the house open up to a mosaic of lights from the sky.
One of his most memorable flight experiences occurred when he and Karen went to Hawaii. Andy flew around Oahu where he landed at Honolulu Airport after going over Diamond Head, a very large crater off the edge of Waikiki.
How many more years will Andy be flying? He anticipates many more years. He is impressed by the owner of Shafer Airport who, at age 84, is still very involved in flying!
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MORE FROM DEFOE
ON THE PLAGUE
-Jim Weingartner
Defoe’s
Journal of the Plague Year
was not based on his personal experiences during the 1665-1666 London epidemic of bubonic plague, as he was at that time a little kid of five. Although how much of it is based on historical documentation and how much of it is the product of Defoe’s imagination is a matter of debate, it seems likely that most of it is factual and may have been based on a journal kept by his uncle.
Whatever the case, there are some striking similarities between Defoe’s then and our now. He writes of government negligence in the face of warnings of the approaching plague, and the heroic exploits of medical personnel when it struck and proceeded to kill thousands of Londoners. “Foreigners” were widely held responsible for introducing and spreading the disease. Those infected were confined to their homes for a month (if they survived that long). Public entertainments and gatherings were prohibited, and scam artists peddled useless remedies.
The epidemic, which had begun in May of 1665, began to fade as the lower temperatures of fall killed most of the disease-bearing and rat-borne fleas, although cases appeared sporadically until mid-1666. It proved to be London’s last major visitation of bubonic plague.
Note: It was formerly believed that it was the great fire which devastated London later that year that eliminated plague as a serious threat. The conflagration, which began in a bakery early on the morning of September 2 and which was initially dismissed by the Lord Mayor with the comment, “Pish. A woman might piss it out,” had destroyed 4/5
th
of the city by the time it was extinguished four days later. While the fire undoubtedly destroyed breeding grounds for rats, the reasons for the plague’s demise remain unclear.
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THE SAINT LOUIS ART
MUSEUM IN THE TIME OF
COVID-19
-Marianne Cavanaugh
While membership has its privileges, a daily email of art from the collection and a weekly article about the collection or exhibition, the Saint Louis Art Museum lives up to the words engraved above the main north door, “Dedicated to Art, and Free to All.” Those same experiences can be found on the museum’s website, slam.org.
Free to all, every day a work of art from the collection is featured with a short essay about it or the artist. There is still a “new on view” section where new acquisitions are posted with information about why they are important to the collection. Most important of all are the exhibitions. While those of us who have worked at the museum know it has a fabulous permanent collection, we know also that people come for the exhibitions.
Continued...
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MUSICIANS PERFORM IN SPITE OF COVID-19
-Jane Weingartner
Covid-19 is giving our daughter Kirsten a crash course in virtual performance software. She is half of a string quartet (playing both violin and viola since the scheduled violist couldn’t master the technology) in
Gloria
for an Easter Sunday church service.
(Video link)
In a second video, she’s again playing violin and viola in a piece from the musical
Parade
. It brings together performers from New York, Texas and Missouri.
(Video link)
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Some of you heard Kirsten at St. Andrew’s a few years ago. She studied violin with John Kendall at SIUE before earning B.A and M.A. degrees in music performance, becoming a featured performer in the Lawrence Welk Orchestra and later joining the Springfield, (Mo.) Symphony Orchestra, where she is principal violist.
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HOLY WEEK AND EASTER IN ONE DAY AT
GRACE EPISCOPAL IN KIRKWOOD!
Many in the parish remember Mother Virginia (Ginny) Bennett, who served as St. Andrew's Rector for many years. In retirement, Mother Bennett serves as Assisting Priest at Grace Episcopal. Recently, she shared the story of Grace's Holy Week services.
When the news came that Grace's doors were to be closed before Palm Sunday due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fr. Todd and Mother Ginny got to work with others at Grace and arranged to record ALL of the Holy Week services in one day while they were still able to.
They began working early in the day and ended up being there for 10.5 hours without breaks be
cause there was so much planning in between liturgies. Mother Bennett indicated her day ran from 11 a.m. until 9:15 p.m. It was
quite an adventure and was later captured on a time lapse camera for all to enjoy.
Link.
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In Touch is
published weekly on mid-week until June 1, 2020 as a way of keeping in touch with each other during our Illinois "Stay at Home" confinement. We hope it brightens your day!
Marianne Cavanaugh
Marian Smithson
Jane Weingartner
Issue Four: 04.21.20
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HAVE YOU TRIED "FUN RESOURCES TO BUST BOREDOM" ON THE EDWARDSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
WEBSITE
?
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PRAYER FOR PEOPLE CRITICALLY ILL OR FACING GREAT UNCERTAINTY
God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart;
bring hope and courage to all who wait or work in uncertainty.
Bring hope that you will make them the equal of whatever lies ahead.
Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
you are God, and we need you.
-Adapted from New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 765
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