the plague diaries: Day Two

[the_siobhan]

Tested negative this morning. So far so good.

I took all the pill stuff, and sprayed the stinging stuff up my nose, and dropped the goopy stuff in my eyes, and rinsed my mouth with the minty stuff. I ran the portable HVAC next to the head of my bed last night and have it sitting on my desk next to me while I eat breakfast. The biggest challenge is food prep - I've been washing my plates before I use them, but I still have to actually make my meals in the kitchen (KITCHEN!) which is right next to the room where they are sleeping on the couch. With no separating door.

This is one way that climate change is doing me a solid, I've had all the windows open during the day and it's warm enough that I can get away with it.

Meanwhile, I took this week off work so I could sort my kitchen and I figure, well, I might as well. So I masked up and threw open all the windows and scrubbed out all the cupboards and shelves. My left knee still won't bend all the way (and it's VERY unhappy about all the walking I did for the last two days) and at least once I got stuck on the floor for a while when I got down to mop out a lower drawer and then couldn't figure out how to get back up again. (I figured it out eventually, obviously. It involved some incantations of the four-letter variety.)

Today I will start opening up boxes and see what I've got in there. I gotta tell you, I have a mighty desire to buy new cookware. Especially since I suspect a lot of my old pots won't work on the induction stove.

Maybe I should have a kitchen-warming party. Bring a pot! That should work out in my favour either way, right?

Comments

[kathleen_dailey]

Negative test is positive news! May the same result continue.

I once swore I'd never cook on anything but a gas stove. After 20 years of using induction, I'm still eating my words, so to speak. Induction cooktops are the invention of a galaxy-class genius.

[the_siobhan]

I won't lie, I loved my gas stove. But they are terrible for asthmatics and for the environment, so I have reluctantly switched over. I hope I end up loving it as much as you do.

[kathleen_dailey]

I hope you do too. I have a four-element induction cooktop over a convection oven, and the combo has worked wonderfully well for me.

Unlike a conventional electric cooktop, induction is as instantly responsive as gas. It's great at handling foods that require subtle gradations of heat--custards and delicate sauces, for example. And because the cooking vessel rather than the element is heated, the element cools down very quickly after the vessel is removed (so spills don't burn onto the element, which makes cleanup easy, and trespassing cats don't get their paws damaged).

[gatheringrivers]

Give the old cookware a try - a pan of water, for example - and see what actually does and doesn't work. You might be surprised! :)

[the_siobhan]

Fair enough. Most of it's pretty battered anyway, but I have a crepe pan I will be very sad to give up.

[gatheringrivers]

Worse comes to worse, get a cheap electric hotplate from a bargain store, and you can still use the crepe pan. :)

[cornerofmadness]

very sorry about the knee

[the_siobhan]

It would get better faster if I was taking care of it. I know this.

[cornerofmadness]

I'm right there with you

[greylock]

I have heard good things about induction. I keep meaning to buy a small countertop cooker. I mean, the good thing about gas is it works in a power outage (thankfully rare).

but I still have to actually make my meals in the kitchen (KITCHEN!) which is right next to the room where they are sleeping on the couch. With no separating door.

Not ideal. I was going to suggest a pedestal fan night be useful, or chucking a blanket up between the rooms? Might help with privacy/light too.

[the_siobhan]

A fan is a great idea. I think ours is in storage though, I'll have to look around.

[jo]

Tested negative this morning. So far so good.

It took my husband a week to test positive after I got Covid in December -- even once he started experiencing possible symptoms (sore throat), it still took two days before the RAT showed positive. If you have those green box kits that are the most common free ones in the province, they're really ineffective when it comes to fully vaccinated people. https://globalnews.ca/news/10183219/covid-test-supplier-canada/

And re: will your cookware work with your new induction stove. Do you have a magnet? Like a bottle opener that has a magnet so it will stick to the fridge? If the magnet sticks to the bottom of your pans/pots, they'll work fine. If it doesn't, they won't.

[the_siobhan]

Yeah, I'm not counting my chickens yet.

I have a brand called Flowflex in a blue box. Made by Acon Biotech. A quick search finds this comparison. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8569926/

To be honest I don't put a lot of faith in any of the tests now, just because the virus has mutated so much. I'm going to quarantine as much as I can even if it's coming up negative.

[lydamorehouse]

Fingers crossed for continued negative test.

Give into the desire!! New cookware is a simple pleasure in life!

[the_siobhan]

I have so much cookware, but it's all really weird odds and ends. I think I'll end up just filling in the gaps as I figure out what I need.