What are you doing to keep occupied and stay sane during self isolation? Is your partner/children driving you insane? !
I live with my husband who is wonderful and annoying in equal measures, he can get quite argumentative when bored, one of us might not make the next 9 weeks in one piece! (am sure he feels the same 🤣)
24/7 is really challenging for everyone, so please share your tips on how you are coping. I am coping by counting to 10 when about to explode and finding him in doors plenty of DIY jobs to keep him occupied and out of my way. His birthday is in May so I have decided to buy him a Lego London Bus which should hopefully take weeks!!
I and a couple of friends run a FB page on memories of our village. Its been going for 2 years and we have over 600 members. I do a lot of family history and research old photographs for the site. It keeps me busy and in touch with so many people. especially now! x. PS. Make sure its the Lego Technic, that will take him even longer! x.
Thank you that has given me an idea, about 10 years ago I decided to trace my fathers family. He was one of 9 so it was quite a challenge, but I absolutely loved it. I used Genes reunited and a few others, it got awfully expensive though. As I am not going out shopping or having my hair done etc etc, I am going to start on my Mum's side x
Oh how l sympathise! Having been at home for the past two and half years doing as l please when l pleased this, some days is hell. It started ok, like a long weekend but now not all jobs on his list can be completed due to the difficulty in ordering items on line.......... My highlight is the one day a week he goes shopping. Due to the queuing system at our local supermarket he can be gone several blissful hours. The hardest thing is he thinks he is being good company and he is enjoying his time away from a stressful job. I love him dearly and he truly has been my rock since l became ill. We can all do this l feel sure.
We’ve started doing jigsaw puzzles. Some are extremely hard. When we’ve finished we swap with neighbours.
Thursdays are the most exciting, I make sure I’m showered and hair washed to a better standard than usual and put on some half way decent clothes and wait for 8.00. Then go out and meet the neighbours. We have a good chat. Next week we are taking out a glass of wine as well. We don’t forget to clap. 👏. Saying all that I’m bored today.
Lots of unfinished jobs in this house to be completed! I’ve got fabric to make into clothes, leather to make gloves, things to knit and sew for my local neonatal unit, cross stitch kits, canvas work, kitchen cupboards to be sorted, books to read, music to listen to, a garden to attend to, the list goes on - however, I suspect none of these will get properly done as I seen to be able to stare out of a window for hours on end watching the world go by! FaceTime helps to keep in contact with the family and I am very well fed and watered by my bloke.
Excitement for me is going to chemo - obviously alone now, but I’ve only got two more now so then I’m in proper lockdown. Enjoy today in the sun - stay well, Ali x
P.S. Lego is a really good idea - Technic is especially time consuming but mine has got the architectural ones (he is an architect) which keep him busy.
I am blessed with a household of one. My sanity remains uncompromised and unblemished and I am getting a huge amount of work done on some long-neglected writing projects, have nearly finished my tapestry, and am able to give my bass guitar the lengthy workouts it fully deserves. Life is deliciously quiet and uncomplicated, but I do miss my long walks outdoors.
I walk for hours, many miles, but we are restricted to one hour at the moment. I just love being outside and striding away, I get so much thinking done. And actually, as an "extremely vulnerable" person - on active chemo - I've been told not to leave the house at all.
Now, I have a bass guitar which is sadly neglected, but my thoughts have turned to trying the alto recorder I have - much more entertaining for the bloke and the neighbours!!
My husband is spending time working in his shed, which gives us both some space. I’ve been cleaning out cupboards etc, & am currently trying to finish a crossstitch I’ve been trying to do for I think about 3 years. Then I want to have a go with my husband’s pyrography kit, and do some card making. After that I’ll pray It’s nearly the end of the lockdown so I can go out lots! Di
My sister in law has sent me a "diamond painting kit" looks interesting, willing to give anything a go to stay sane, hubby has started a lego project in our spare room so we get a break from each other, don't think any of us are designed to be together 24/7. oh well only another 9 weeks to go 😥
I live in splendid isolation, fortunately and have done for some years - it can get tiresome periodically now, not being able to nip out when I want, nor having any visitors (especially not seeing my son who lives not far away) but I have to say, I am eternally grateful that I DO live alone - I'd have been driven mad if my husband was still alive, or I had to spend all this time alone with my two boys when they were younger, love them all dearly though I do.
Having been a professional landscaper/gardener, I've always answered gardening questions on line on various sites, one in particular, and now, having joined Next Door, that's got very active recently, so a lot of time on line. Also fascinated by biology and medical stuff, so researching Covid19 and keeping up with all the scientific stuff coming out about it I find interesting. And frankly, though this may sound crazy, a bit of a relief after all the heavy duty political stuff and division during the last 3 years. Thank heavens for the internet is all I can say...
I'm on chemo now, so can't go out at all except to hospital, that's a bit of a pain, but I do have a southfacing balcony complete with plants to fiddle about with, and there is a large, empty (of people) garden downstairs I can do work in if I feel up to it, otherwise, my home is actually dust free for once... housework has never really been my strong point, specially not dusting!
I agree dont miss "Brexit" news one little bit. The internet is a god send for me also. Apart from online shopping I keep in touch with my son, and other family via face time, I miss the hugs but its better than nothing.
On line shopping! I have ordered items from Amazon with no trouble, but impossible to order groceries, no slots... relying on neighbours now. Can you imagine how bad this would be if we didn't have the internet - doesn't bear thinking about, does it....
I just retired in February and was so excited about doing what I want, when I want, how I want and having the home to myself for the day if I want. Then this! We live in an apartment with the living room as the only place to really hang out, and my husband just made it his own. He controls the remote, he wants to do everything with me, and the farthest I can escape is to the kitchen! So I have been learning to bake just for my own space--made my first banana bread ever yesterday!! Love him dearly--he is also my rock-- but may not be as encouraging about his retiring after this!! Good luck to all.
My husband retired two years ago so we have already had a test run, we survived by him volunteering two days a week, I went shopping/visiting friends or hospital visits, then we went out together at weekends.
Have you got a bath? if yes lock yourself in a massive bubble bath with candles your fave tipple and chocolate, maybe some music or a good book. I always have showers these days, but really fancied a bath to "escape" last week, it was lovely, downside was I couldn't get out!! ended up having to get "him" to help me, just enforcing his theory that I can't cope without him! ( hate to admit but he may have a point 😁) x
Great idea and I know it wasn't, but almost funny you needed him to get you out of your escape to have alone time! Glad he was there! I like your idea of doing different things during the week and being together on weekends. He was volunteering at two local animal shelters and will continue when it re-opens (which I forgot about till your reply). A bath sounds like a dream and yes I could--so maybe today's chore will be cleaning that tub better than ever to get ready! Thanks Lyn!
Now that is a downside to living alone - my bath is narrow and quite deep, and I never have a bath any more - I',m fairly sure I won't be able to get out of it again... showers only, but I do miss a long soak in the bath.
I remember a relative of mine years ago who lived in America telling me she dreaded her husband's retirement - she said 'I don't mind him here for breakfast and dinner, but not for lunch as well'..... really made me laugh all those years ago...
My sister lives in a tiny one bed flat with her partner - she's taken up crochet, and shuts herself in the bedroom to get a break for a while, as well as doing an exceptional amount of gardening in their communal gardens!
Fortunately my husband has a music studio in the basement and he spends a lot of time there. He’s also been doing the grocery shopping. I walk the dog twice a day And have become addicted to crossword puzzles which I never could stand before all this. We are also slowly doing projects around the house. I’m trying to put up window boxes I bought last year but I need screws. There is a hardware store open that will bring what you need outside to the sidewalk but it doesn’t seem worth risking my life for!!! I’m an artist and should be painting a lot but I had been really tired for the month following my final caelyx/doxil and carbo treatment so I have been happy to read and rest. I just bounced back over the past few days and am going to take my first Olaparib when I finish writing this. I have been having zoom chats with friends once a week and FaceTime with daughter and grandchildren. I’m happy day to day but feel claustrophobic at not being able to even think about planning travel in the future. Also we moved to Cape Cod for the beaches just over a year ago and it looks like they won’t be open this summer. Aargh! Oh well. One day at a time! And you all are lucky if politics has faded into the background of the virus. Here they are inexplicably intertwined.
I don’t know for sure but the speculation is that they won’t be. I guess it will depend on when we flatten the curve. We are supposed to hit the peak this week.
My husband and I retired in 2012 so we are fairly used to being around one another. Even so we have never lived in each other pockets. During the week I volunteered at the local primary school (really miss the children) and my husband belonged to a rambling club which met twice a week. No I didn't join with him; he is 6' 4" and I am 5' 1" - it just doesn't work. I do join him for exercise, in the local woods on our doorstep but as they are mostly on a hill I find it tiring keeping up with him a lot of the time. I love working in my garden so I still get some exercise and fresh air. My husband isn't really a gardener but he likes to help out, so I tell him what to do and he does it. He still gets our food shopping. Seriously, I would like to say a big thank you to my husband who really stepped up after my traumatic surgery and chemo sessions. It was an anxious time for him too and a big burden but he never complained.
We both liked cooking but after the surgery and chemo my husband did most of the cooking and he has now more or less taken over the kitchen. It's his new hobby. His other hobbies are astronomy and astrophysics - he can spend more time on this now, I was also a very active W I member and a Parish Councillor but, of course, I can't get out for any of this now, A few years ago, left with an empty nest, I repurposed a bedroom as my studio and that is now my space - my woman cave. I have plenty of time to catch up on needlework, craft and art projects or just relax with my Kindle or music but at the moment I am making "Olsen" type reusable face masks for some of our local nursing homes. The internet has been really useful in collaborating with other W I members and the nurses on this project.
We are both quite strong characters (both Scorpios) but I think we worked out long before lockdown how to maintain our own space but still be a couple. We are always together for meals and when we have face time with our daughters. Before COVID-19 we always made a point of doing something different for at least two weekends a month. It seems we never stop working at marriage. We have been married for 47 years. Heavens, I didn't mean to write an essay but thinking about this, I just didn't realise that we had so much to do and enjoy even though we can't get out.
I’m so pleased there are others feeling the same as me! My husband was amazing when I was ill, but, we have a boat and he used to go down there, we both had our own space, but now we are holed up in the house, I think I’m getting cabin fever😩
Luckily we have a big enough house to have our own space, he potters in the garden and I do things in the house.
We looked after grandkids a lot, but not at all now, but my daughter is expecting twins in July, so I am doing a lot of knitting and ordering things on line.
We will all get back to normality and we have to hold onto this.
We will all have the most pristine and immaculate houses at the end of it, leaving us more time to go and do things and see people we have all missed.
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Thank you LA and everyone, but...
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