Ideas to stay sane if we all lockdown again

[FlightlessDuck]

• Reading
• Playing a lot of video games
• Getting back to learning guitar and brushing up on my rusty piano skills

And finally, there is The Wheel of Movies:

1. Everyone in the house creates a list of movies they either want to watch or want other members of the family watch. Try to aim for movies at least somebody in the family hasn't seen.
2. Each member has one veto.
3. Put all those lists together, remove duplicates.
4. Put that list into wheelofnames.com.
5. Spin.
6. Watch the movie. No complaining. The Wheel has spoken!
7. Remove the movie from the list
8. Repeats step 4-6 until the list is empty.
9. Start over at step 1, if desired.

In fact, my family has two lists going: The Wheel of Movies and the Spooky Wheel of Movies. The last two movies we watched were The Corpse Bride and Inglorious Basterds. The goal is to get through the Spooky Wheel by Halloween, and then create a Holiday Wheel.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

• Reading
• Playing a lot of video games
• Getting back to learning guitar and brushing up on my rusty piano skills

And finally, there is The Wheel of Movies:

1. Everyone in the house creates a list of movies they either want to watch or want other members of the family watch. Try to aim for movies at least somebody in the family hasn't seen.
2. Each member has one veto.
3. Put all those lists together, remove duplicates.
4. Put that list into wheelofnames.com.
5. Spin.
6. Watch the movie. No complaining. The Wheel has spoken!
7. Remove the movie from the list
8. Repeats step 4-6 until the list is empty.
9. Start over at step 1, if desired.

In fact, my family has two lists going: The Wheel of Movies and the Spooky Wheel of Movies. The last two movies we watched were The Corpse Bride and Inglorious Basterds. The goal is to get through the Spooky Wheel by Halloween, and then create a Holiday Wheel.

This is a great idea with the movies. Makes it a game, fun and also so you already know the available choices of movies. I swear every time I get in the mood to find some in-theme movies (like your spooky version) I spend way too much time trying to find a movie.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

This is a great idea with the movies. Makes it a game, fun and also so you already know the available choices of movies. I swear every time I get in the mood to find some in-theme movies (like your spooky version) I spend way too much time trying to find a movie.

Yes, this is what lead to the Wheel in our household. "We wanna watch something?" "Sure" "What do we all want to watch?" "Whatever..."

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

OP there are a few of us DISers (one that is now in FL, another couple about to move to FL, the rest in my metro) where we virtually get together and watch a movie on Disney+ together and chat during the movie nearly every week, sometimes we Zoom afterwards. We've been doing this since March/April something like that. Originally we started it as putting to a vote an animated movie and a live action movie and kept voting til we had a winner in each category, then we opted to draw names out of a hat for an order of people to choose their own movie.

Do you happen to know any DISers that you talk to like that? It has def. helped pass the time, gave us something to look forward to, been able to keep in touch by zooming though we talk all the time anyways and really I think has helped out our stress levels and eased boredom. We've also discussed when we've done projects, including Disney ones.

I made this early on in my stay at home order:


I ordered a mickey head punch from JoAnn's (it's also on Amazon, just was less that day at JoAnn's.

I also finally got all of our Starbucks You Are Here mugs hung up from the Disney Parks also during the stay at home order:


There's MK,AK,DHS, Epcot, DL, DCA and then Universal Orlando doesn't have a hook but is nearby.

------------
If you're into doing stuff like that maybe finding some Disney crafts (Pinterest has loads of them) you might want to do, puzzles are also great. I love doing those. I even bought a table last year (folding leg one) that is bigger than the board I had been using since I had some bigger puzzles I had been waiting on doing. It can be so relaxing putting on a good show or movie or even just music and doing a puzzle over time.

 

[clutter]

And finally, there is The Wheel of Movies:

1. Everyone in the house creates a list of movies they either want to watch or want other members of the family watch. Try to aim for movies at least somebody in the family hasn't seen.
2. Each member has one veto.
3. Put all those lists together, remove duplicates.
4. Put that list into wheelofnames.com.
5. Spin.
6. Watch the movie. No complaining. The Wheel has spoken!
7. Remove the movie from the list
8. Repeats step 4-6 until the list is empty.
9. Start over at step 1, if desired.

In fact, my family has two lists going: The Wheel of Movies and the Spooky Wheel of Movies. The last two movies we watched were The Corpse Bride and Inglorious Basterds. The goal is to get through the Spooky Wheel by Halloween, and then create a Holiday Wheel.

I love this. I actually live alone, but something like that will be helpful, because it seems that once I sit down to watch something, I can't make up my mind. Maybe I'll do a wheel of movies, a wheel of 1/2 hour shows and a wheel of hour long shows.

 

[Imzadi]

Note that they did away with the cards for out of state residents. I used to have their card and last year they announced they wold no longer allow OOS people to renew so they could focus their efforts and money on residents. Bummer.

Yes, I noticed that when I went to post that info. I was looking for the link to post. That poster is from the Philly area though. So, she would still be able to get one there as she's a resident.

However, my other post for the Brooklyn Public Library, (below) out of state residents can still get one. I think that extra money allows them to be able to order more eBooks for all of us.

For people who don't have an extensive local library collection of eBooks, the Brooklyn Public Library offers eBook (only) memberships for Out of State Residents for $50 per year. The Brooklyn Public Library currently has 179,951 eBooks.

https://disc.bklynlibrary.org/card/

You can do a search here through their library collection to see if they have the kind of books you are interested in:

https://brooklyn.overdrive.com/browse

 

[Imzadi]

A restaurant near my house is offering some advice.

Sorry, but that sign is so wrong.

Pancakes needs to be further up on the list.

 

[Imzadi]

My dad (92) lives right up the road from me and I haven't been in his house since covid hit. I have been on his deck and he on mine quite a bit. I just made the decision that unless/until covid gets really bad again around here (Buffalo, NY), I am going to visit him in his house, both wearing masks and socially distanced. He's 92. Every day he wakes up is a gift and I don't want to regret not seeing him this winter.

Two words: Fire pit!

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/diy-fire-pit/

You can make one in your dad's backyard for about $50. A little more if you want prettier bricks. Make one above ground so people won't trip and fall into an in ground one. Grab a few lawn chairs to sit around the fire, well distanced from each other. If you need a couple wind barriers (for you guys, not the fire,) there are also DIY ones to build for that. Alternately, you can simply turn a portable BBQ into a firepit.

According to the CDC and other infectious disease experts, there is an 80% less risk of transmitting COVID outdoors versus indoors, because the breeze/wind naturally fans out and disperses particles. The farther people are from each other, the less of an infectious dose one may receive.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Two words: Fire pit!

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/diy-fire-pit/

You can make one in your dad's backyard for about $50. A little more if you want prettier bricks. Make one above ground so people won't trip and fall into an in ground one. Grab a few lawn chairs to sit around the fire, well distanced from each other. If you need a couple wind barriers (for you guys, not the fire,) there are also DIY ones to build for that.

This is our firepit--bricks from Menards and this year we took ours apart (which I had it dry-stacked so we could do that in the future if we wanted to) and used some quikrete for the base because it was uneven with the ground sloping a bit:



We did a few fire pit nights with having chairs 6ft apart, no one going in the house, etc. Was quite nice really. We also got some tiki torches though we splurged for a bit nicer ones.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Don't know if you know this or have a tablet to read from, or want to do this on your phone or PC, as a resident of PA, the Free Library of Philadelphia has one of the most extensive eBook library collections in the U.S. at over 56,000 eBooks.

https://freelibrary.overdrive.com/

Here is the search page for romance eBooks:

https://freelibrary.overdrive.com/search?mediaType=ebook&subject=26&subject=77&sortBy=newlyadded

Thanks for the links- I don't actually live in PA anymore, I'm in New Jersey. I guess you need a PA Free Library card?

 

[Colleen27]

I agree with the basic premise of what you are saying. Obviously, there will be people who have to go to work unless there is a lockdown where no one goes anywhere. That is just the nature of this thing. Is it fair? Of course not. life isn’t fair.

But I do think both groups of people, those at work and those at home, can and should at this point curtail all the unnecessary gatherings and “beers after work” mentality for now or this thing will never end and a lot more will die needlessly. Yes, life must go on. But there are certainly ways we can all do our part to help stop the spread, but people don’t care enough to do that. Until if affects them personally.

But what is the difference in going out for "beers after work" if the 'cohort' has been in the same workspace all day long? That's the part a lot of essential workers (and those of us living with them) are haing a hard time with. It is okay for my husband and sons to go to work all day for the sake of keeping the economy running, but if they do anything to help keep themselves running through this immensely stressful time, they're crossing some sort of imaginary line into "bad", "selfish" behavior. But how long is it really reasonable to expect people to only show up for the unpleasant parts of life, particularly when they know they're putting their health and the health of their families at risk to do so?

There's a new expansion due out any day now (hahahahaha). Was supposed to come out this month, but has been postponed. Lots of changes, levels have been squished, and a lot of new options for character looks.

I've been reading about the expansion for a while. That's part of why I was thinking about getting back in. I played for a few months last winter but haven't been really into the game since I was end-game raiding in Lich King & Cata, so there's lots of new stuff to explore.

 

[Imzadi]

Thanks for the links- I don't actually live in PA anymore, I'm in New Jersey. I guess you need a PA Free Library card?

I thought you were in Jersey, But your tag says So. Philly. So I thought I was mistaken.

You can get this one from the Brooklyn Public Library, (link below,) instead, if you want. With the amount of romance novels and other subjects they have, it pays for itself win a matter of several eBooks. You can even put eBooks on "Hold." They are usually available in 1-3 weeks, if they aren't the current bestsellers. I've waited a couple months for a bestseller, but in the meantime, I was reading other eBooks.

You can also "return"an eBook early and clear out the space on your virtual library bookshelf. You get to take out 10 eBooks at a time, I think. And some eBooks, you can extend the borrowing time, if there's no one else who put it on hold. So you can finish a book, if you didn't have enough time.

Other times, I've checked out non-fiction books, like cookbooks, browsed it for 20 minutes. Either gotten the info I wanted or realized it wasn't for me and was able to return it right away, so someone else can have it. I haven't stepped into an actual library since being able to use their eBook services. And NO library fines! The eBooks automatically go back at the end of the time period.

For people who don't have an extensive local library collection of eBooks, the Brooklyn Public Library offers eBook (only) memberships for Out of State Residents for $50 per year. The Brooklyn Public Library currently has 179,951 eBooks.

https://disc.bklynlibrary.org/card/

You can do a search here through their library collection to see if they have the kind of books you are interested in:

https://brooklyn.overdrive.com/browse

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Thanks very much for these links, @Imzadi! I read very quickly so I'm sure to go through the books I have really fast. These will be a good resource for me. My local library is still only doing curbside pickup.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Thanks for the links- I don't actually live in PA anymore, I'm in New Jersey. I guess you need a PA Free Library card?

The freelibrary.overdrive.com subdomain is specifically for Philadelphia. My area's URL is different (valley.overdrive.com). You might be able to use overdrive in NJ, but you'd have to visit your local library's website to check. Maybe your local library uses a different system.

Looks like https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/ would be for at least parts of New Jersey

 

[PollyannaMom]

And finally, there is The Wheel of Movies...In fact, my family has two lists going: The Wheel of Movies and the Spooky Wheel of Movies...

I have to thank you for posting this before! I've been using it with my little niece and nephew in our homeschool kindergarten. They love spinning it so much that they're learning keyboarding and practicing phonics by typing in the names of family members, favorite TV characters, etc. just so they can play with it! (Today, it was Thomas trains. )

Next week, maybe we'll get really ambitious and try to come up with an animal for each letter of the alphabet!

 

[Imzadi]

The freelibrary.overdrive.com subdomain is specifically for Philadelphia. My area's URL is different (valley.overdrive.com). You might be able to use overdrive in NJ, but you'd have to visit your local library's website to check. Maybe your local library uses a different system.

Looks like https://elibrarynj.overdrive.com/ would be for at least parts of New Jersey

Oh yes! @BlueStarryHat, Check to see what your regional NJ libraries are offering in the way of eBooks FIRST. Your neighborhood library may not offer eBooks, but that library may be part of a larger regional system that offers eBooks, and you'd be able to still get them.

For instance, I live in Manhattan but can get eBooks at the Brooklyn Library without paying the extra fee as both the Manhattan libraries and Brooklyn libraries are part of the larger NYC library system so I can borrow books in both areas. You may have to drive over to a different library to get a card there too. But, you are driving anyway to pick up books. And you'd only have to do it once a year or so, however long the card lasts until it needs to be renewed.

 

[HeatherC]

But what is the difference in going out for "beers after work" if the 'cohort' has been in the same workspace all day long? That's the part a lot of essential workers (and those of us living with them) are haing a hard time with. It is okay for my husband and sons to go to work all day for the sake of keeping the economy running, but if they do anything to help keep themselves running through this immensely stressful time, they're crossing some sort of imaginary line into "bad", "selfish" behavior. But how long is it really reasonable to expect people to only show up for the unpleasant parts of life, particularly when they know they're putting their health and the health of their families at risk to do so?



I've been reading about the expansion for a while. That's part of why I was thinking about getting back in. I played for a few months last winter but haven't been really into the game since I was end-game raiding in Lich King & Cata, so there's lots of new stuff to explore.

Like I said, I understand and agree with all this. But think about “going out for beers”. It is not just your husbands group at the restaurant or bar because other “cohorts” are also going. They are all then coming into contact with more people and raising the risk of spreading things further. And to be clear, I don’t think those at home should be going out like this at all either. Yes, it totally sucks...big time. But if all of us tried a little harder to just do what the experts tell us, (a especially now with colder weather and people moving indoors more) it really would end quicker. I believe that. But it will never happen and I understand that too. So the COVID crockpot continues to simmer.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Like I said, I understand and agree with all this. But think about “going out for beers”. It is not just your husbands group at the restaurant or bar because other “cohorts” are also going. They are all then coming into contact with more people and raising the risk of spreading things further. And to be clear, I don’t think those at home should be going out like this at all either. Yes, it totally sucks...big time. But if all of us tried a little harder to just do what the experts tell us, (a especially now with colder weather and people moving indoors more) it really would end quicker. I believe that. But it will never happen and I understand that too. So the COVID crockpot continues to simmer.

Granted I know there are more cases but at least known traced cases there have been 278 cases in my state from clusters in a bar or restaurant. Though I am speaking about clusters it's all the information I have about bars and restaurants.

I absolutely do think bars and restaurants have a risk factor to them they do, but if I compare it to clusters identified in long-term care facilities (3,802), corrections (3,989), and meat processing plants (3,610) those are a much larger issue in my state.

I anticipate issues for colder weather though.

 

[jo-jo]

Thanks very much for these links, @Imzadi! I read very quickly so I'm sure to go through the books I have really fast. These will be a good resource for me. My local library is still only doing curbside pickup.

I have three library cards from three different counties in PA. Phila hoopla has a limit of 4 books a month. If I am doing audio books, I can listen to a book in 2 days, so I would run out quick. I check out Ebooks for all three library systems.

 

[RogueX]

Two words: Fire pit!

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/diy-fire-pit/

You can make one in your dad's backyard for about $50. A little more if you want prettier bricks. Make one above ground so people won't trip and fall into an in ground one. Grab a few lawn chairs to sit around the fire, well distanced from each other. If you need a couple wind barriers (for you guys, not the fire,) there are also DIY ones to build for that. Alternately, you can simply turn a portable BBQ into a firepit.

According to the CDC and other infectious disease experts, there is an 80% less risk of transmitting COVID outdoors versus indoors, because the breeze/wind naturally fans out and disperses particles. The farther people are from each other, the less of an infectious dose one may receive.

That square fireplace looks like ours. We had a bunch of blocks left over, put it together and it works great.