Hello from the great indoors

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Just wanted to see how everyone is doing lately?
Hoping each of you is well and keeping good spirits while we get to enjoy the great indoors of our homes during this covid-19 pandemic.
I am also hoping we can share some great ideas in keeping our spirits up, things you enjoy doing while we can’t really do much outside our homes, or just something fun to do to take your mind off things?
Would love everyone’s input if that’s okay?

Praying for all of us here and our wellbeing and safety as we deal with this new normal.

Be Blessed my Friends, and if you are able, Be a Blessing to Someone Else.

Kind regards,
Jim in Maryland

 

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So our little project while I have been working from home has been to repaint the kitchen cabinets. I am happy to say that after a few weekends the new dark blue cabinets are looking quite lovely.
I enjoy working on home improvements when I can. It’s relaxing to some degree and when things turn out correctly and the finished product looks nice.

 

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We are doing that too. My husband loves a project and is doing one after another, and I mean HUGE projects!

Now that it's nice outside, he's working out there to enlarge a pond he built years ago and will rebuild all the sidewalks behind the house to his workshop.

I really suggest spending 30 minutes to an hour outside every day. It really lifts your spirits, especially if you take your dogs and/or yourself for a walk! Spending time in nature is the best anti-depressant!

Rejoice in this beautiful pollution-free Spring!

 

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There is a visible trace of green in the lawns, no dandilions. The bird song is definitely spring. Now all we need is a few robins and their courting songs. Some Canadian Geese go by, honking. The Sandhill Cranes may be back, but haven't overflown our house yet. They're noisier than geese. The Saw-Whet owls are loud, and the darkness isn't long enough, so they sound off in daylight, too. They sound more like a back-up beeper on a piece of heavy equipment - John Deere, not Caterpillar - than the "who-who" types. They keep it up for so many minutes at a stretch, it has to be for courting! (You know how it is: When guys have one thing on their minds, you know what it is....) Not quite all of the snow berms are gone, and the one from the slides off the roof is still almost 2 feet high, but the sun is working at it. The dog galavants off to visit his girlfriends, a half mile away, but in weather like this, we don't mind fetching; gets us out and about, safely.
So we can get out in the yard - nearest neighbor is more than far enough.
There might be light rain, Thursday night; should I run the mover and get the old leaves up before they get wet? decisions decisions.

 

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I’d like to say things are peaceful and slow here, but not with the puppy!!!

I’m not out a lot anyway, but I’m finding it hard to have nowhere to go and nothing exciting to do!

I’m a knitter and doing that, but less than usual! I need a project to get excited about. I’m also sewing masks for friends and some to donate. I just kind of have a sense of discontent.

And... the incontinence is terrible. Even when wearing my usual protection I seem to be leaking constantly. I’m getting very tired of changing clothes!

Hope everyone else is doing well, safe and healthy.

 

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I am a student nurse and have had assignments to do at home and got them finished and submitted. I've passed year 2 theory and have signed up to support the NHS and our local hospital. I am dreading going into the next placement but nursing is like a marriage, for sickness and in health, in good days and bad days, nursing has to be done. We can't choose whether we want to work or who we provide care to, we have to do it.

Aside from that I am finding my laptop resting on my bladder, I am wanting to go every 30 minutes again. Fortunately my leg bag fits on my thigh so I can wear shorts and the bag is not noticeable. I am able to void in the bag and then empty the bag when it is full. It only has a 350ml capacity but I find I can go twice before it needs to be emptied.

As others have said, getting out in the garden lifts the spirit and I am trying not to spend too much time watching the depressing news, who seem to just focus on negativity, and find my energy being drained listening to all the sad stories that are being told.

Look after your mental health through this time and try to find a balanced approach to eat, work, play and sleep and I wish you all the best going forwards.

 

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@laalaauk yes the news is depressing and I get very irritated with the journalist questions, many of them are acquisitions rather than sensible questions. I also take refuge in the garden, cheers Phil

 

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Great to hear from everyone that has replied. Glad you are doing something fun and creative to pass the time.
Wish the news could focus a little better on a balanced approach to providing information than just all the negative things.

Allot of good people around the globe are working hard and many others volunteer to help where they are able. Thanks for helping to make this a better planet.

Have to run almost time for me to get to work for the day.

Happy Belated Nurses Day to all of our wonderful Nurses. Thank you for everything you do!!!

Jim

 

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@physlink I hear you. Perhaps it's a British thing where people just love to blame the Government for everything. I don't hear them having a go at China for all of this but people just love to jump on the "you didn't lockdown quick enough" train.

 

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@laalaauk, Are you able to get Belly Bags there? They changed my life for the WAY BETTER! I just hate leg bags, but the Belly Bag sits low on your hips and is easily disguised under virtually any clothing. Mine are made by RUSCH. Check them out, if available, they could diminish at least one stressor in your life.

 

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I love the belly bag. Major quality of life improvement at least for me when I can switch from the diapers and pads for a while. The Duette Foley catheter is amazing also. Best I’ve ever used so far. Two balloons to protect your bladder lining. Can’t believe after 100 years the rest of the world hasn’t switched their designs to something similar.
Just follow your healthcare providers care instructions like normal and your insides will be happier.

 

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@jrpoorman I switch back and forth between diapers and Foley too, depending on my activities, well, when I had activities! Lol! I find that the best way to manage my incontinence with the least amount of worry and anxiety.

 

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I’ve been birdwatching and bird photographing. I go for a walk outside almost every day, next to a snowmelt river coming out of one of the biggest canyons in the country (Big Cottonwood Canyon). I went to a drive-through baby animal farm with my mom. I went to a drive-through LED light festival with my mom. I’m coloring Jim Shore design pages (available on his Facebook page). I’ve re-connected to several old friends. I learned to crochet a year ago and this week I’ve taught myself amigurumi (crocheting on-the-round) to make small animals. I’m currently making two kittens for my niece’s first birthday next month. I’m 75% caught up with the household darning. I finished embroidering a bird for my dad for his birthday. I’ve finished several books. I’ve watched some truly great series on Netflix, as well as my usual PBS favorites. I always love cooking but right now I love it even more for some reason. I have too many leftovers! I’m still eagerly waiting to hear if the ski resort where I’m a season passholder (Snowbird) is going to re-open. Sometimes they’re open until July 4th. I typically see 3-5 movies per week in a theater (I have three film degrees and worked in Hollywood for 15 years), so the two things I miss the most are movie theaters and snowboarding and skiing. I haven’t gone this long without being in a movie theater since I was 12 years old. I’ve been playing Mahjong online. I still have umpteen paper filing projects to suss through, as well as some computer sorting projects, too - BORING! Last year I also learned how to BBQ and I’m looking forward to doing that again this weekend. Even though I’ve obviously kept busy doing these fun things, I still feel lonely, despondent, and bored overall. I love crowds, festivals, theaters, events, concerts, and things to look forward to. I find it challenging to be happy and hopeful without any of those things in my near future. So I’m adjusting my expectations constantly and trying to find smaller things to look forward to, like a picnic in a park with a friend. This is going to be a really weird year or two.

 

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physlink. Not arguing, in a sense, but may i suggest some news services are better than others. I watch no TV. I read no FaceBook, and don't use Google. I've reduced my news-of-Covid 19 to: Coronavirus Dashboard (What a 17-year-old is can do!), and 3 "headline links services" (free) from three news services. You chose what articles to click on, and it isn't hard to learn which ones to avoid. If you have political objections to a news source (say, the Washington Post), use a different one(s). I like Democracy Now!, but some would think it too "liberal". The interviews with doctors and nurses can make you cry.
laalaauk. What can I say to convince you that the Lockdown and other measures mean that less people die, less hospitals get overwhelmed. Yes, people are hurting and the safety nets are disappearing. Not sure if the UK has different lockdowns and safety procedures by area, say the Midlands vs metropolitan London, but we have governors ignoring the advice from the experts. Personally, I'm following the medical experts. I'm retired, so relaxing the lockdown and me not following that, doesn't mean i lose my only source of income like Unemployment, as it is happening in at least two states, over here in - ahem - TrumpLand. I don't depend on a business that is already bankrupt, etc. Please have mercy on those people. It's bad, it's widespread business closures, widespread lack of jobs & income.
I asked one of the disbelievers ("it's Fake News, etc") if she would go to New York and volunteer at one of the overwhelmed hospitals to help load the bodies into the refrigerator trucks. If there is a flight, I'd pay for it. I guess I might have been more polite, but I meant it and offered to accompany her and do the same. It's LIVES at stake.
I and the wife have nearly every prior condition, are old, and have extra dangerous medical history items. Do we get the Covid 19 because someone disbelieves and doesn't wear a mask or wash hands? We have made 3 trips for groceries, and I went to one medical appointment (others postponed) because the hospital wantec me to come in, since this mess began. Oh, and one trip to the pharmacy. (Don't the Brits have a different name for it? I don't speak English, just American!).
It is unforgivable, in my opinion, that Covid 19 has been turned into a political mess instead or on top of the medical mess.
Please. Be safe, and God Bless.

 

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Wow! Snow, you have been hopping

Thanks for the great ideas everyone.

I just found a coloring program for my iPad that was on the App Store updates page. Was actually kind of weird and fun! Never tried digital coloring but it’s entertaining. Of course in the old days we used crayons-imagine that!

 

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Wow indeed, Snow. If that's the Cottonwood near Jerome, one of my sister-in-laws lived there. Beautiful, but we're Alaska for 40+ years and we can't take the heat. (Yeah, it's dry heat. We can't take it, anymore). Weatherman said it's 82 there, today. That's right at the highest temperature we've had here, and our current limit.
Good for you.

 

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jrpoorman. They still make crayons. Kids here still use them. I see them at those "best drawing" contests. Imagine that! I looked up the company on WIKI; it was entertaining.
Oh yeah. Little Kids still eat them! They are non-toxic. Imagine that! There's a box of a hundred and something, now. I think my first set had about 12. It was a big deal to get the box of 48. I found a single one in the garage and use it to mark lumber. Nostalgia in action.

 

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My housemate gave me some delicious cherries this morning. I was shocked that it's already cherry season. She told me it just feels like March, but time has gone on. Love to hang out in my yard in t he sun, walk my dog to the park where he can play off leash and visit my friends from a distance.

My purpose is staying well, and I hope that all of you are safe and well.

 

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@AlasSouth
getting the big pack of crayons or the Big Box of crayons was such a treat.
We used to take what was left of the old broken pieces and melt them into candle molds and make candles. Was allot of fun for the family. And the candles always turned out great.

 

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I work in a morgue. It's hard to have a bad day when you're around other humans who have fallen victim to the fate we all share, often not in a very pleasant way either.