It's almost like everyone's locked away in their houses and cant go anywhere... 
I did leave the house today. First I went for a drive as I just needed to get out. Only in the low 50’s today but sunny so I drove with the windows down and the sunroof open. At first I started to make note of what business that would normally be open on a midday on Saturday but found it depressing so I just turned up the radio, listened to some mellow jazz. Traffic was lighter than normal but there were plenty of people out and about.
Then I went to the grocery store (for reference I’m just north of York, PA). I didn’t need much except for carrots because I forgot them the other day when I picked up corn beef, cabbage and potatoes. The only fresh carrots they had were these huge bags or the baby carrots, so I got the baby carrots. Yes, I know I could have cooked and frozen the extra but my roommate’s refrigerator and freezer isn’t all that big and we share it. I picked up some more ginger ale and coffee pods.
My other observations at the grocery store:
Not super crowded and a bit better stocked than Friday a week ago when it was insanity.
But still no paper products – no TP or paper towels or napkins, no zip lock bags, very low on garbage bags too, no bleach or disinfectant cleaners or wipes, no dish washing liquid, no eggs, slim pickings on any type of fresh meat, low but not out of canned goods like tuna fish and soups, low but not out of pasta, but they did have a bit more than last week. Still plenty of fresh produce and fruit and aside from no eggs the dairy department was looking better. I got a quart of buttermilk because I wanted to make some Irish Soda bread to go with the corned beef and cabbage I was making today.
The other things I noticed, as I also noticed when I went earlier this week, was a few more people wearing masks and or gloves, workers at the store going around with a spray bottle and wipes and cleaning – carts, door handles of all types, just about everything (which made me wonder if that shouldn’t be happening more even without COVID-19) and that while people were keeping more of a distance from each other, especially in line, more people were talking to each other.
The woman in line behind me commented “well I only came for a couple of things but most of the things I wanted, they were out of so I got this stuff instead†– nothing crazy, no hoarding. I laughed and said I did the same, like I wanted carrots but instead got baby carrots and microwave popcorn instead.
So I made corn beef and cabbage for the first time in the Instant Pot. The corned beef turned out great but after it was done, I put the potatoes, cabbage and carrots in, and the recipe I found said to pressure cook for 2-3 minutes and I thought that wasn’t going to be enough so I did 10 – big mistake because they got overcooked and mushy. Still tasted good but I was angry at myself for that rooky mistake. And the soda bread didn’t turn out so great either – not baked enough in the middle. But I may try it again, perhaps with a different recipe tomorrow.
