Gathering Graces 3/31/2020 When Costco is weirder than an earthquake

You would think the weirdest thing to happen to me today would have been feeling the earthquake in my state, but it wasn't.

In fact, I didn't even feel it.  I was on the sofa.  Zoe was sitting in a chair next to the sofa, and asked why her chair was moving.  The sofa did not move, or at least I didn't feel it.  So my experience with today's earthquake was through Zoe's experience...even though she was only about three feet away.

But to me, the weirdest or strangest part of my day was going shopping at Costco.

I have not even really been to the grocery store since March 13 when I went shopping for our St. Patrick's Day family dinner.  Costco had early hours for seniors, and that was finishing up as Paul and I arrived around 9:40 a.m. for their regular opening at 10 a.m.  We stood in line outside for maybe 15 minutes or so before we were let in.  There were people with masks and gloves on, and people were pretty good about keeping their distance.  They had a limit to how many people they were letting in and out.  For me, there was a sense of urgency to get the things on our list as quickly as possible and get out.

The only thing that did not have that was on my list was toilet paper.  Everything else was available.  They were nice enough to have a whiteboard outside letting customers know what items were not available and what items were low.

Check was a little different.  Employees are helping you get in line for checking out. They scan your card and don't touch it.  You get everything out of the basket yourself.  There is a plexiglass shield between you and the checker, and you grab your own receipt.

When we arrived home from Costco, we wiped down all the items we had purchased with a wipe. All in all it was a rather smooth process.  We left home at around 9 a.m.  The drive to Coeur d'Alene is about 40 minutes.  We were back home around 11:30 a.m.  It wasn't a bad experience....just weird.

And then there was the rest of the day.  Here is the Silver Valley, it rained, the sun came out, it snowed, the wind blew.

Oh yes, and then there was that earthquake around 5 p.m.

The epicenter was in Challis, Idaho, located in central Idaho.  The first earthquake I ever experienced was when I was a student at the University of Idaho back in 1983, and that epicenter was also in Challis, Idaho.  One of the interesting things that happened from that earthquake was that Mt. Borah, the highest peak in Idaho, grew taller that day.  I wonder if it grew yesterday?