Testing the Battery

I went to the bank today.  I carried a bottle of hand sanitizer in my car and used it everytime I touched the canister that carries money and messages between the inside of the bank and my car.  The teller was wearing plastic gloves.  Fortunately they dispersed the money in an envelope.  I took the car out today to make sure the battery still held a charge.  It is a little over a year old and has been 'gently used' so there was no problem.  My fifty pound sack of popcorn from Amazon was delivered today and Richard stored it in assorted canisters.  I ordered some supplies from Walmart that will be delivered and bagged up the steaks I cut and froze last week.  After more than 40 hours of fasting my blood glucose was under 70 and my ketone level over 3.  I decided to make beef stroganoff with the steak I broiled.  I left a lot of it for tomorrow but so far I don't have the gastric distress that plagued me for several days. I enjoyed watching President Trump's townhall from the Rose Garden, particularly because the questions asked were from ordinary citizens who sincerely wanted an answer instead of coming from arrogant journalists who spend their time at press conferences trying to trap the president.  I also enjoyed watching his daily update.  The problem with America is not Trump's fault.  He is only trying to ride a bucking horse that has a spike under the saddle.  Our people seem to have forgotten normal skills and behaviors that protected people in the past from many of the ordeals of nature and economics.  Prudence is rare.  Most people live from paycheck to paycheck.  A lot of our economy rests on 'Fried Froth', entertainment and recreation of various kinds that bring people together in crowds.  These businesses have hit a wall with social isolation and quarantine.

Change of Profile Picture

For several months I have been using a picture that contrasts my weight when I was riding a mule in Bryce Canyon to a picture of myself after returning from Alaska last year.  I decided to change to a picture of the First Vision that Jacqueline created.  She has talent both for capturing likenesses and for composition.
I have written more pages for my art lessons site. I still have quite a few more to go.

More Art and other Things

I continued working on my online art classes.  Today I began to address the subject of color and have completed setting up two assignments.  I only ate animal products today aside from a few kernals of popcorn.  I am much less gassy than yesterday when I foolishly tried gruel again although I had already had two bad experiences.  I contacted several of my children, particularly Nancy and they seem to be doing alright.  Tomorrow is the Sabbath and once again we will be doing the sacrament in our home, just me and Richard. 

Art Work

Eliza asked me about doing remote art lessons.  Years ago I made a booklet for the women in the group that met in my home but I have not been able to find a copy.  I decided to put it online and linked it through my PatChiuart.com domain.  I didn't do much else today than work on the lessons.  I should finish up the section about sketching by tonight.  I really have to stop eating Cream of Wheat with cream.  I get a really gassy, acid stomach not long after I eat it. 

Earthquake

This morning I felt a shuddering and heard a sound that I tried to identify but very quickly realized was earthquake.  Since I was browsing Facebook at the time I quickly got a notification that my daughter Tricia had posted about an earthquake.  It took place about equal distance between her home in Bountiful and mine in Provo, but I am on the hillside and she is on the flat.  The seismic waves traveled through the flatlands easily.  My daughter, Mary, in West Jordan was quite a bit closer to the epicenter.  She felt the earthquake which was a fairly mild 5.7, although the strongest felt in more than 20 years in Utah.  It was followed by many smaller aftershocks.  I felt the 4.8 after shock that came about 5 hours after the initial shock.  I prepared my car as a bug out vehicle after heeding a post from someone who claimed that a stronger quake was anticipated.  I lifted two 50 lb. sacks of chicken feed out of my car and stored them in the storage bench where I keep straw.  I used a dolly for most of the way, but I had to lift the sacks into the bench.  This winded me.  I put down the wider back seat and installed some cushions I prepared for traveling east more than a year ago.  Mostly I kept up with news of plague and earthquake on my electronic devices.  I am grateful that for now I have what I need to 'shelter in place'. 

Redesign and Watching

I thought I might need to ditch the 1.5" pvc els I had purchased because they were too small in diameter for my feeding wall project but I discovered that if I mounted the retaining rings on the outside they were about the same functional diameter as the 2" els in the bottle that I have been using.  I put some chicken feed in other containers for the meantime and added some water to the reservoir in the green house.  I intend to store some water eventually and I also need to locate and inventory the propane tanks that I will use for the generator if that becomes necessary.  There are a number of possible outcomes of the current crisis.  Worst case scenario is that this current crisis is the trigger for societal dissolution.  Although I have a years supply and more of food, it could be more than years before things are relatively stable, and that may only come when Christ arrives.  On the other hand, we have been in a bubbling broth headed toward the end time for some time.  The ship of state may well resist tipping completely over once more and we will have more time to either lose ourselves or repent.  At least for the time being my children and grandchildren are taking precautions and being wise. 

Group Limit

My daughter Lucinda has 11 children and a husband, making 13 people in their home.  Today the federal government recommended that no more than 10 people gather.  This is probably good advice, certainly limiting the possibility of crowds gathering for groceries.  I went out this morning and bought two bags of chicken feed and filled my tank which was half full.  The only person I approached closer than six feet was the cashier at the farm store.  I was slightly ahead of the curve in my decision to self quarantine.  Events rapidly overtook my decision.  I am probably in a far better situation than most people.  I have plenty of food, I don't have any duty to leave my home for work.  In fact I only went out for chicken feed because there is some discussion of making home quarantine for 'vulnerable individuals' mandatory and chicken feed was the one commodity that was growing low. 
I have been stalled in proceeding with my feeding wall because I used a smaller size of plumbing els than are needed.  One alternative is to use the els from the jar feeder.  In any case I don't feel impelled to take definite action at this time.
I received the 2020 Census form and filled it out online.  I only received one copy for this house so I filled in the names of David's family as well.