There's No Time to Get Bored

.... With Plenty to Occupy Our Time With

March 30, 2020

April will be upon us in a couple of days and with that month comes all kinds of annual routines that we for the most part can still occupy ourselves with, from the annual spring cleaning, winnowing out things, to give away, window washing, washing curtains, in some cases, wall & ceiling washing too, or painting (if you already have the paint). 

Or if you're a home owner, considering planting a garden this year, on account of the news about how food prices might sky rocket because of lack of workers and ability to get them to their final destinations on time, April is the time to start planting the cold weather crops. Those are the ones that have the indication on the backs of the seed packets saying to plant in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. That's generally 10 straight days where it doesn't drop below 0C, after the snow has melted. Considering the Weather Network's forecast for the next 2 weeks in our region it looks like we'll be able to start planting those crops around the 13th of April. But, we'll have to follow the forecast closely to see if any more days with sub-zero temperatures suddenly finds their way into the forecast. But really all you need is for the planting depth of the seeds (generally no more than 1 inch into the soil) to be workable - and you can find that out easily enough simply by using a finger or stick to see if you can move soil to that depth around easily or not. For those new to growing their own food, here's a book that might help get you started, it's in epub format for epub readers, use the "longfiles" link to download it: The Grow Your Own Food Handbook

Or if you've been meaning to fix something around the house but never had the time to do it, or if you suddenly find yourself needing to fix something, but because of the quarantine can't get anyone to come do it for you, you can always do it yourself. There are a lot of tutorials about all sorts of things on YouTube.

Or maybe you'd rather have a book that explains how to do these things using the: The Everything Fix It Book   in PDF format. If you've been having problems with major appliances since the quarantine began perhaps this book will be of help to you: DIY Guide to Installing & Maintaining Your Major Appliances  also in PDF - for both books use the "longfiles" link to download. Doing all these things ourselves isn't only a good idea when we're under quarantine, but all the time. It helps save money in the long run and means we can fix as soon as the problem occurs without having to make appointments for hours or days later for the repairman to show up. By then the entire floor could be flooded or all the food thawed up, depending on what broke and needs to be fixed. If you have the tools and ability to fix it, all you need is the know how and that's what these books provide.

Perhaps we could all use the information for making our own hand sanitizer, masks & soaps ourselves, found in this book which is in epub format and can be downloaded using the "longfiles" link:  How to Make Hand Sanitizer, Face Masks & Soap At Home

If none of those situations applies to you, because you don't have to do any of that or you aren't able to, then perhaps you'd like to learn a new hobby - just to get your eyes and focus off the screens and the news for awhile and maybe wind up with some nice things you could use yourself, or give as gifts to others.  Perhaps you already have a hobby that you've taken up years ago, or a new one you've picked up recently, that you'd like to improve on, or learn new and different techniques for, then I suggest you visit the book sites I listed elsewhere on this blog - you can find out which page that is by viewing the labels on the right hand side and clicking on the appropriate blog post. Again there's also YouTube's site (link is above) where you can perhaps see demonstrations of the new techniques you'd like to learn in your craft or see new ideas to inspire you.

Maybe you'd prefer to learn a new craft instead but being secluded you don't have anyone to teach you enough to get you started in it. Perhaps these books - all downloadable using the "longfiles" link will help get you started in these crafts, or if you're a visual learner then maybe you can try YouTube (link above) to see if they have video tutorials on the subject of your interest:

How to Use a Sewing Machine - Beginner's Manual - epub
Loom Knitting For Children Made Easy - PDF
Knitting For Beginners A-Z Guide to Have You Knitting in 3 Days - epub
Watercolour Realistic Painting Learn to Paint Step by Step - epub
Classic Origami For Beginners -epub
Art Makers: Polymer Clay For Beginners - epub
Acyrlic Artist's Bible - epub
Botanical Illustration For Beginner's a Step by Step Guide - epub
Beginner's Guide to Crochet - epub
Module Magic Creative Projects to Knit 1 Block at a Time For Beginners - PDF

Now for those environmentally friendly crafters who'd rather reuse whatever they have, and repurpose it into something else, rather than throwing it out, here's a few books on Upcycle Crafting, that might interest you. Again they're all downloadable using the "longfiles" link:

DIY Wood Pallet Projects 35 Rustic Modern Ideas - epub
DIY Rustic Modern Metal Crafts With 35 Upcycling Projects - epub
Modern Upcycling A User Friendly Guide to Inspiring & Repurposed Handicrafts For a Trendy Home - epub

Woman's Day has a whole page with all sorts of projects and activities for kids from art projects, to activities to prevent cabin fever, and even lots of different holiday crafts - as Easter is fast approaching perhaps you can get the little ones to make some Easter decorations for the house. All of those crafts and activities can be accessed from:

Art Activies For Kids

And this site has a list of 70 things to do with bored kids stuck at home: 70 Things To Do With Kids Now That We're Stuck At Home

Getting Through This Without Going Crazy

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.