Flour and Flowers

Keith and I are back in the Netherlands, where the tulips are blooming.

We thought we'd miss them. We were planning to be in America from mid-March through the end of June.

People here are also staying home. There are public service announcements about keeping the appropriate social distance. 
There are even drones flying over the beaches, reminding people to stay far enough away from each other.

People here are also stocking up on supplies. We have enough toilet paper, but flour has been hard to find. 

Flour usually comes in 1 kg bags.  All we found on the shelves last week was volkoren (whole wheat). All we found today was 100 gram bags. So we bought zelf rijzend  (self rising) as well as plain flour. Don't know whether it was the store's idea to only put out 100 gram bags or whether that was all that was left in the warehouse right now. Either way, it does cut down on hording!

Jesus' advice on storing up food:  Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? (Matthew 6:25b-26)

ADVICE SEEN IN KIROLI PARK, MONROE, LOUISIANA

EUROPE MUST ENSURE MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO WATER DURING PANDEMIC Brussels, 16 March 2020: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is calling on governments across Europe to ensure that marginalised communities, including Roma, have full access to clean water as part of national responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to ERRC research, a majority of Romani people in Europe do not enjoy access to mains-supplied water, and more than half rely on a water source which is more than 150m away, making them especially vulnerable to the spread of this virus.  The ERRC urges European leaders to follow the example set by Slovak authorities, who announced on 16th March that they are recommending allowing unlimited access to drinking water for people living in marginalised communities. It is imperative that marginalised people in society are not left out of policies which are being implemented now to contain the spread of the virus. The ERRC will be reaching out to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and requesting them to press European leaders to ensure equal welfare for all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, in the midst of this pandemic.