Senior News Line: Stay put to stay out of harm’s way

A show of hands, please: How many of us are getting nervous since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that seniors and those with medical conditions should stay at home as much as possible due to the coronavirus? Those medical conditions include heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.

I’ve spent several days wondering whether I actually have to go out as often to get the things I need. I’ve learned:

• Petco, PetSmart and Chewy, the pet food and pet supplies companies, will deliver. If you get on a repeat delivery schedule, the prices are lower than at the stores, and the heavy packages come right to your door.

• Instead of standing in line at the always-crowded post office, I can order stamps online at usps.com. Call 800-782-6724 to learn more.

• My grocery store still doesn’t deliver, but if I order online they will at least bring my purchases out to the car.

• CVS, however, does deliver, and as of now, it’s free. In my area, either the post office or a courier will make the delivery. I decided to have my prescriptions sent by mail.

• I made a few calls and two restaurants in my area will now deliver when they didn’t before.

• There’s even a mobile oil-change company that will come to my house to service my car.

So, what will I do with all my non-shopping spare time, now that I don't need to go out as often? My list looks like this: order puzzles and paperbacks from Amazon, start spring cleaning, begin outlining a novel to write this summer, sign up on Duolingo — www.duolingo.com — for free language lessons on the computer and order seeds and all the supplies to get a head start on growing a few vegetables on the porch this year.