March 23, 2020
My husband and I are getting through this by keeping busy with things that interest us and watching shows and movies of interest. He likes Mysteries of Oak Island and so we watch that and the Digging Deeper episodes as well. I like all sorts of things from cooking shows to Ancient Aliens. Plus we like watching the odd movie every now and then, too.
But from very young, even before we knew each other we each learnt as young kids to make our own amusements and entertainment and so we've just naturally done that all our lives without relying so much on TV as I made it sound above. Yes, we liked watching certain shows and movies together as a family over the years, but we also enjoyed other activities as well. I love reading and have a huge collection of books here, but I also have an iPad that a friend gave me and an ereader that my husband gave me. So besides my books I also have a largish collection of epub and pdf books for the iPad and ereader, that I've downloaded off the internet. If you have a tablet or ereader that accepts micro SD chips, you can dump a lot of books, photos, & music to those chips to use on your devices.
I also like cooking and working with food, as I mentioned previously in another post, and there are lots of sites on the internet devoted to recipes. Just do a quick search for "recipes" and you'll be presented with enough sites to keep you busy for plenty of time to come.
I also like to make things - of all kinds, using all sorts of crafting methods and materials and learning new ones too.
I also have a vegetable garden as well, that I use to supplement our groceries with. Whatever I get out of the garden either gets consumed immediately or if not, I blanche most vegetables to freeze for later use, or preserve by making my own jams, jellies, pickles, salsas, relishes, chutneys, spreads, etc...
My husband likes to fix things - anything from broken door knobs, to computers, stoves, cars, lawn mowers and snowblowers and anything else that has a wire, a knob or an engine to it. So he's constantly finding something to work on - lately it's been trying to cobble together parts from 3 different computers to make one as mine conked out just as the crackdown on going out because of the virus happened. So he can't go to stores to find the parts he needs so he's trying to cannibalize components from 3 computers to make one for me.
But we've always been doing things like this, sometimes out of necessity - just to get by as we couldn't always afford to buy new things when the old ones broke down, or even pay for servicemen to fix them.
When our kids were living at home with us, we were even squeezed tighter for money, so a lot of what we had we made, or fixed ourselves and we stayed home as we couldn't afford to go out anywhere really. So we taught our kids to make the most of the situation, by contenting themselves with the things we had here. We taught them to cook basic meals, mend their clothes (hems and buttons and holes), take care of their rooms, help with the chores. Taught them not to waste anything and not to throw anything away that was still good. So they learnt to eat leftovers from supper the night before, for lunch today and to find a way to use the bunch of bananas that were turning black before they were no good. Or to repurpose old jeans that don't fit anymore into a chic shoulder bag and things like that. Things that perhaps will be of some interest to those stuck at home and unable to go shopping on a whim, like they used to but needs a new shoulder bag and has some old jeans lying around, that they could use. Or maybe make their own COVID19 masks: Downloadable PDF From CTV News
The thing is that the way we lived pretty much our whole lives is the way people will have to learn to live now. To not waste anything - meaning it may be awhile before you can get out to buy food or other items, so make the most of whatever food you do have and not waste it. Start by using your fresh food first, before it goes bad and find a use for it even if it's a lot (like a bunch of bananas or a litre of peaches, or a couple heads of broccoli). Well if it's things like broccoli and other vegetables (or most vegetables anyhow) to keep those from going bad, all you have to do is blanche them and then package them in portions that will be used for one meal (judge how much your family consumes in one meal and package that much in a freezer bag) and freeze. Then the next time you want broccoli for dinner just pull one bag out and use it the way you would any other frozen broccoli you'd buy in a store. Use the internet as much as you need to find recipes and information on cooking methods, so that you can make good meals with the food you have. It may take a little time and effort, but considering you can't go anywhere you have all the time in the world now. Maybe you can also involve your kids in learning to cook right along with you.
Same as learning to make and repair things. If something is broken or needs hemming, if you don't know how to do it, find out how via the internet and do it yourself - and again involve the kids so they can learn too. If you want to make something whether that's a beaded necklace, a quilt, a sweater, a computer, a chair, or whatever it is, if you don't know how to do it, look it up and learn and perhaps get the kids involved in that too, so they can learn it as well. YouTube has video tutorials on all sorts of things, so I can almost guarantee you'll find a tutorial for whatever it is you want to know how to do there.
This will be a great time to teach your kids some life skills like I've been talking about and even for you to learn a few more.
If it's getting time for haircuts and the salons have been ordered closed, find a book or video on the net, that shows how to cut hair and well, give it a shot. It's not as though you're going to any fashion shows any time soon, so if you botch it up the first time, it'll grow back and maybe the next time, you'll do a better job at it. Here's a site that shows you via video tutorials 10 ways to cut your own hair - for women: 10 Ways To Cut Your Own Hair
Don't forget to treat yourselves well. Enjoy your nice warm bubble baths, intimate time with your partner. Make a special date night dinner once a week and do something romantic together while giving the kids their own night of whatever they like - whether that's pizza and movies or video games or whatever. Then also have a family night where everyone gets together and does something everyone enjoys doing - whether that's playing cards or board games 17 Board Games For Adults or watching movies and munching on popcorn or whatever. It doesn't mean because you're couped up at home and can't go anywhere that you can't still have fun together as a couple and a family.
The thing is that all of us will have to be mostly self-sufficient and self-reliant and try our best to get by with what we already have on hand or that we can make, or grow, or repair, as we won't be able to go out to buy parts, or new anythings until this is over with. So if your lives are anything like ours, you won't have time to lose your minds as you'll be too busy with other things going on around you.
No comments:
Post a Comment