Baker's heartbeat

Empty hangers in the front closet indicate jackets and coats in the laundry.   This video is one suggestion on what to do when feeling hemmed in. Today I'm washing the jackets and hats. Yep, it's come down to the front closet, which holds both the wintertime hats, gloves and scarves, and also various jackets and coats. Into the washer and dryer they go! I'm so worried about the COVID-19, I've finished spring cleaning, and now am in the process of laundering almost everything in the house. That puts an awful lot of stress on the washer and dryer, not to mention the patient spouse, but no matter. I WILL protect this house from viruses like COVID-19! To date, that means: 1. Changing and washing towels every 2-3 days. 2. Changing linens once a week. 3. The afore-mentioned spring cleaning, which includes vacuuming and cleaning almost everything one can find in this house. 4. Cleaning the baths, once a week. 5. Sorting out clothes for Cinderella...

At top, the Scott County Library in Eldridge, Iowa; in the photo above, the daffodils are hanging their heads, a bit, because of the recent (April 17) snow. My mom started taking me to the local public library when I was just a little girl. We'd walk several blocks from our house, and mom would hold my hand while I balanced on a stone wall that rimmed the 50th Street library property in Edina, Minn. After we chose the books, we'd get a treat at Clancy's, a drug store with an ice cream fountain. Edina is a "first-tier" suburb of Minneapolis and where my family lived the first eight years of my life. That library is gone now. I still remember some of my favorite books, especially one that featured ponies. Like many little girls I loved horses, and ponies looked especially inviting. In retrospect it was probably a literary precursor to the "My Little Pony" movement in the 2010's. When I moved to Tipton, Iowa, in 1969, we lived kitty-corner...

This coupon is the closest thing I've seen to toilet paper in weeks. Why are liquor supplies so strong yet it's very difficult to find normal toilet paper? The question came up again after another fruitless trip to buy the paper product. The point was made by husband Steve, and it begs the query: Just what are priorities for America? According to a March 20 report in Forbes magazine (Forbes.com) the current shortage of paper products (toilet paper, Kleenex, napkins, and the like) is temporary. Manufacturers of such products are luckily located in the United States, and they are being produced in record numbers. "Rest assured, tissue products continue to be produced and shipped, just as they are 52 weeks each year," Heidi Brock said. Brock is president and CEO for American Forest & Paper Association, and she spoke to CBS News in March. Recent shopping trips to Target and to HyVee in Davenport, Iowa, show empty shelves where the paper products are conce...