Ideas to stay sane if we all lockdown again

[LuvOrlando]

That all sounds delicious. I recently had a Butter Beer Martini, I have no idea what was in it but it was like butterscotch heaven in a glass!

It looks like a lot of us have painting projects planned.

I tried one of these once and it was so very disappointing compared to the treat I got at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I haven't tried again since.

 

[tvguy]

Heading back into the office next week after over 7 months working from home. I'm trying to find how to stay sane being back in the office.
Lockdown was a piece of cake, as has working at home. No juggling appointments for HVAC upkeep or fridge repairs, come when you can, I'm home. I can cut the lawn (at least the front) during my lunch break now. Saved a ton of money on gasoline.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Myself, I took up a new hobby that I'm really enjoying. I buy vintage Barbies from the 80s and 90s for pennies and then I fix them up, reroot the hair and repaint the faces and sew glamorous new gowns for them. My sister took up wreath making and has a nice little sideline going now.

I also do puzzles, like someone said upthread Dollar Tree has a lot of 500 piece puzzles. Some of them are really tricky. I find it very relaxing to sit for awhile with a puzzle. The repetitive movements of choosing and placing pieces is soothing.

And I read. Lately it's been romance novels because I got them for free. I have about 30 still to go. They weren't really my thing, or so I thought. I'm *really* enjoying them. They're very escapist and most of them are very well written with fun plots.

Lastly, we're doing stuff around the house to bring it up to sellable condition; painting, getting rid of forty years' worth of junk, etc. Next up, the garage-which is so full of junk that it hasn't had a car in it since the 70s.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I'm lucky to have a table where I can leave a large puzzle--our dance room is a converted 2-car garage, so even with the mirrors and barre at one end, there's room for a puzzle/games table towards the other end.

I'm the only serious puzzle-maker--everyone else gives up if they're challenging. I managed to finish and MC Escher one recently--it was all shades of gray--but I'm most famous for doing a puzzle of a cow, made up of thousands of tiny cow pictures. The one I just finished had dozens of pictures of pets in costumes--incredibly cute, but a pain to do. I'd say I did 85% of it (DS14 helped with the edge, and random other people showed up to put in a piece or two).

At least down here we don't have to contend with snow--I live in North Carolina, after spending most of my life in NY/New England. Our pool is open year-round and we get, on average, 1" of snow a year. So, no excuse not to get outside (at least in the back yard), walk the dog, and do outdoor projects. That I still won't do, I just have no excuse.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I did pretty well the first time (in fact, unlocking was probably more nerve-wracking for me.) I was determined to come out of lockdown better than I went in, so I solidified my exercise routine and learned to use some new tech. We also did a little bit of decluttering.

I definitely got into hobbies as well. I did a lot of reading and jigsaw puzzles, and even some sewing, which I hadn't made time for in quite a while. And I got better about calling/e-mailing family on a regular schedule, instead of letting it slip for a "less busy day".

The other thing that helped me was binging shows that had some sort of kinship with our current struggles. For instance, I really enjoyed re-watching "The Waltons" - something about seeing them go through WWII rationing while we were experiencing our own shortages at the grocery store, watching how they handled being apart from loved ones, and knowing their tough times did end.

 

[piglet1979]

We played games as a family. DD did tons of baking and DH and DS baked a lot of bread. I did a lot of cooking. We also did a a lot of decluttering/spring cleaning.

 

[amylevan]

I play World of Warcraft, so that's always something. Fingers crossed the new expansion will be out by lockdown time!

I don’t want to hijack the thread, but can I ask a follow up? My husband and I used to play Starcraft and a little Warcraft years ago...

We now have an 11yr old, and facing a potentially long, boring, stay-at-home winter, I’m looking for Christmas presents that will keep us entertained. Is Warcraft really still around? Still only on computers or can you play on a gaming system? What would be a popular game similar to these that he might be interested in and that we could play against one another real time? I actually preferred Starcraft back in the day but...

 

[skittles67]

Wine. Lots and lots of wine.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I bought some needlepoint kits back in April that I never even opened so I guess one plus side of being trapped in the house even longer is that I might actually do them.

 

[belle032]

I don’t want to hijack the thread, but can I ask a follow up? My husband and I used to play Starcraft and a little Warcraft years ago...

We now have an 11yr old, and facing a potentially long, boring, stay-at-home winter, I’m looking for Christmas presents that will keep us entertained. Is Warcraft really still around? Still only on computers or can you play on a gaming system? What would be a popular game similar to these that he might be interested in and that we could play against one another real time? I actually preferred Starcraft back in the day but...

I'm only a casual WoW player, so someone else may have better answers, but yes, it's very much alive! I believe it's PC only, I play on a gaming laptop. I know that if you get hardcore into certain aspects, you're going to want a desktop. We are expecting an expansion by the end of the year (was supposed to happen this month, but got pushed back), so I expect there will be even more players returning to the game at that point. And you could always let him play the free trial or get him a month's subscription so he can feel it out!

I don't play it, but I hear really good things about the Final Fantasy series. And if you're looking for a console game with a Disney aspect, I highly recommend Kingdom Hearts!

 

[Hikergirl]

I tried one of these once and it was so very disappointing compared to the treat I got at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I haven't tried again since.

I've never been to Universal and haven't had the pleasure of having a real Butterbeer from WWoHP. My dd liked the martini and said it reminded her of it but it definitely wasn't the same flavor. I'm sure the vodka in it was the reason

I'm going to try this, I recently bought some maple liqueur that I'll use instead of the syrup. Might get some butterscotch vodka instead of using regular.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/maple-butter-kiss-recipe-1959054

 

[FigmentSpark]

So, I'm anticipating another lockdown or at least, self-imposed lockdown as the weather turns colder and people move to mostly indoors. I'll admit this is getting tiring but will do it to keep myself, my family and others safe.

Need ideas on things to do to help pass the time this winter. Hobbies, activities, anything that you have found joy in to help get through what will likely be a long winter. I'll list a few that we've done so far. Besides the obvious tv watching and internet surfing. I have two daughters home in remote undergrad and grad school plus dh and myself.

~DD#1 is very into plants and succulents-tending to them, learning about them, growing them.
~DD#2 did a lot of rock painting back in the spring.
~Puzzles
~DH bought a Virtual Reality headset and I do a lot of fitness games on their, Supernatural in particular is amazing, as is VR in general
~I'm thinking about snowshoeing this winter, as an outside activity
~Seriously getting my 1 year old puppy trained-in puppy school right now
~I've started cleaning my attic and will continue that
~I'd like to paint a couple rooms

What will you be doing this winter to keep busy?

Have you thought about setting up a section of your basement with a grow light and maybe getting your DD into hydroponics? Or at least some interesting plants?

 

[kanerf]

Grad school. Don't have time to worry about being shut in, with a job and a degree to work on.

 

[ronandannette]

Well, as long as I still have to go to work (my company was classified essential last time), I won't have any extra time to kill. If churches close again I guess I'll have an hour or so extra on Sunday. My ministry activity will revert back to the Zoom format we did for months, so no extra time there. We've always tried to limit social activities to one or two engagements a week so how strict the lock-down is will determine what happens there. We could manage quite nicely for the winter just watching tv and reading at home together without needing to find new ideas for recreation.

If by chance we have to be back in quarantine and I have to work from home, all bets are off. I did it for 2 weeks in March and it was much harder than working at work. Our house was a wreck the whole time and I barely bothered to cook. On-line grocery shopping also sucked up more time than actually running into the store.

 

[emer95]

We’re going to completely de-clutter our house. It’s not very cluttered anyway, but we are empty nesters now, and realize how much “stuff” our kids have. I went through books this past weekend. I have over 100 to donate!

We’re also going to paint our kitchen cabinets, as a PP mentioned. I got an estimate to have a company do it, and it was over $3,000!!! I was shocked. My husband and I are perfectionists but we’re handy. We’ll get it done and it will be a good project for us.

Other than that, books, puzzles, baking, etc. Maybe I’ll try knitting.

 

[Jennasis]

Consider taking up an outdoor activity such as walking, running, hiking, biking, etc?

I ride horses.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I don’t want to hijack the thread, but can I ask a follow up? My husband and I used to play Starcraft and a little Warcraft years ago...

We now have an 11yr old, and facing a potentially long, boring, stay-at-home winter, I’m looking for Christmas presents that will keep us entertained. Is Warcraft really still around? Still only on computers or can you play on a gaming system? What would be a popular game similar to these that he might be interested in and that we could play against one another real time? I actually preferred Starcraft back in the day but...

Starcraft is still there....Starcraft Remastered, and now Starcraft II.

Warcraft III: Reforged is playable, I think PC only but not sure. I don't know much about it.

Hearthstone is a Magic the Gathering type online game.
(all are Blizzard products, lol)

My 17 year old loves the Untitled Goose Game, Spelunky, and Towerfall. Still loves his Mario and Sonic games as well. Zelda is popular too. DS and DH will play Red Dead Redemption 2 together; the Division 2 as well.

Everquest and Everquest 2 are still around, and are still free to play, at least up to a point.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Moving to somewhere that is not locked down

 

[Tinijocaro]

I did pretty well the first time (in fact, unlocking was probably more nerve-wracking for me.) I was determined to come out of lockdown better than I went in, so I solidified my exercise routine and learned to use some new tech. We also did a little bit of decluttering.

I definitely got into hobbies as well. I did a lot of reading and jigsaw puzzles, and even some sewing, which I hadn't made time for in quite a while. And I got better about calling/e-mailing family on a regular schedule, instead of letting it slip for a "less busy day".

The other thing that helped me was binging shows that had some sort of kinship with our current struggles. For instance, I really enjoyed re-watching "The Waltons" - something about seeing them go through WWII rationing while we were experiencing our own shortages at the grocery store, watching how they handled being apart from loved ones, and knowing their tough times did end.

I love The Waltons. They were a huge part of my childhood.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Have you thought about setting up a section of your basement with a grow light and maybe getting your DD into hydroponics? Or at least some interesting plants?

Great suggestion-I think she's already got that covered