As I hit 70 days of shielding, I’m going to ask people (shielding, social distancing, key workers working whatever applies to you!) to try and state something good that has happened to you during the last couple of months. Are you talking to people you haven’t spoken to for years? Maybe you’ve learnt a new skill, have been able to spend more time with your kids, or just managed to catch up on your sleep! Have you witnessed your community band together? Anything goes!
I have a couple of good things;
1 - I’ve (almost) learnt to crochet! I have made one bear so far and (with assistance) am making another using a different pattern!
2 - I’m currently participating in a 2.6 challenge for asthma UK (finishes tomorrow), and have so far raised over £400 😱😱 (including donations from people I haven’t talked to in 10+ years!!)
So what positive thing have you taken out of this time?
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EmmaF91
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2) learn to appreciate my work protecting me from frontline
3) most importantly- learnt to appreciate my family and our lives together ... always appreciated them and loved our little family life but the last few months I’ve enjoyed their company even more ❤️ material things don’t matter ... smiley family is everything 😁x
Nawww! I quite agree, happy people over material items, so I’m glad you have a smiley family at home!! And needle felting sounds like good anger management 😉😂
Ooo- good luck! Hope it goes well!! Dare I ask for a brief summary of what it’s about, or are you just going to see where it takes you?
It does seem lots of people are reconnecting personally with people again, which is so nice to hear!
What an amazing idea! With all the stress and anxiety of the whole situation it's a fab idea to think of the positives
I think the thing I will miss the most is enjoying and appreciating the simple things, such as being able to have the time to sit and read books, and I have been absolutely loving being able to have lots of time to walk and explore with my dogs (although my severe hay fever and asthma doesn't agree in the slightest!)
I've also loved being able to chat more to my best friend from primary school, we've been friends for 25 years, but in previous years we haven't seen/spoke to each other as much as we'd both have liked as we both work full time and have busy families, but during lockdown we've been chatting on the phone for hours 2 or 3 times a week which has been amazing!
That’s what I went for! These so much worry and stress and bad vibes out atm, I thought a discussion about silver linings was over due! It doesn’t stop the darkness of the situation, but it does make it a little lighter for us all!
I’m glad you have the time to enjoy just being, and that you’ve had more contact with your school friend!
I have finished an embroidery project that I started 15 years ago as a distraction to some serious health things I was going through. Nice to finally finish that chapter and time to start a new one.
I'm enjoying being barefoot all the time and being able to stand up to work. I'm also very thankful that I have been allowed to work from home rather than at the hospital.
I have refound the joys of sending and recieving post. I am currently putting together letters and little packets of tea to send to friends and family for until we can have a cuppa together again.
I hadn't considered the zoom and a cuppa. I made a mistake ordering tea for gifts for our volunteers and ended up having to order again. There was enough for 40 people so there's no way I'll get through it myself any time soon (hence the inspiration for the little tea post gifts)
I think your next tea post should include an invite to tea... either 1:1 or as a group for a chat and a chin wag! Added bonus that you see your gift in action!
I probably should have started with crochet squares... I jumped right in to trying to make things 😅😂. I’m sure people have really appreciated your knitted hearts too! 💓
I found good tutorials on YouTube (it’s where I learnt the majority of what I know, with ‘crochet along’ videos) plus I feel like many who do crochet are happy to teach the craft so hopefully you have someone to turn to when you get stuck!
I've found out how lucky I am in my work colleagues, they are helping look after me and my house and garden. My family are being awesome, and it's so nice to see the chat on the local support group where people ask for help and others respond instantly - haven't needed it yet, but like knowing it's there. And it's really good for morale to see how kind all the normal people in the big wide world are
1. I've learned two new crochet stitches.
2. I've made up my own knitting pattern for the first time ever!
3. I've taught 2 people (one each) the basics of crochet and knitting over Zoom, probably the thing that's most proud-making.
🎉🎉 I’m so glad you have a community rallying round you also! And wow! Well done for your teaching!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I’m normally a very glass half-full person but I’m afraid there are no positives to this terrible crisis which has overtaken our world. Anything personal is so massively outweighed by our awareness of the illness and bereavement in our country, inevitable job losses & homelessness, & the next generations paying the price for decades. And we’re lucky compared with countries like India where jobless people are walking hundreds of miles to their home villages to avoid starvation. A teenager pushing her dad on a bicycle. A journalist giving his shoes to a man facing such a walk barefoot. It’s all just too terrible. Positives? No, I can’t think of a single one. Sorry to put a dampener on your post.
I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t found anything that’s made you smile during this time. I made this post to help people realise that it’s not all doom and gloom in the world, and that even the smallest thing can lighten someone’s day. Yes the worlds dark right now, and will be for the foreseeable future, but individual happiness is important if we want to come out the other side of this with our mental health still in tact, because right now that is the only thing we can do/control... blitz spirit and all that
Hopefully you will start to see something positive soon. One of the big things I’ve found and been touched by is the community spirit in my area, strangers reaching out to each other to help and support when they are struggling and our local counsellor interested in the individuals of the community and not the bottom line (he personally chased up my food box issue for example). No it doesn’t negate the suffering that’s going on, but it does make it that little bit easier to watch and bear witness to. ❤️
Hi Hanne, I'm sorry too that you're feeling so down. If you don't mind though, I noticed some hope in your post: the girl was helping her father; the journalist gave that man his shoes. Sometimes it's hard when you look at the big picture and it's all overwhelming, but these little details are important too.
You don’t need to donate 😅! Just wanted to say it was something positive I had done/found during these times 🙈
I’m glad you’ve found some things to brighten your life during these times and can’t talk to your grandparents more! I also feel like there will be a lot more people able to knit/crochet when this is over 😂😂
Even when things are crap I think it's important to consider small silver linings even if those are just personal. Probably even more so. It can be hard not to feel down especially for someone who is on the front line or is alone away from family etc, so light relief/small things are important. Otherwise you'd just give up and I don't really think feeling relentlessly gloomy is going to help anyone.
I would imagine for someone who spends all day every day seeing COVID patients for example, anything small/funny/good that they can get would help and perhaps help keep them keep going. It's not the same but when family members were dying and afterwards (not COVID, a few years back), we found it helped to see small things, funny things, distractions even when it was awful - I think this post is a great idea.
Personally a few of my clients as a freelancer (and I'm well aware of being lucky to have work, and I have donated where I can) have commented how it's nice to see the human side of people with children/pets on calls.
I have also been distracting myself by making a point to wear my nice clothes (including funky socks/tights before it got warm) and share slightly silly pictures of me in them, which others seem to enjoy looking at.
On a wider scale, even if many of them come to nothing I've been encouraged to see just how quickly it's possible to set up clinical trials and to look at repurposing drugs we already have. I hope that going forward, even though the speed and intensity can't be maintained and there are of course some missteps at this pace, we keep what we've learned and help to design more efficient and quicker trials for new treatments, as well as things like quicker tests. From what I have seen, some of the vaccine approaches, if they work, could have much more widespread application beyond COVID and could be easily adapted to work for other things. The same happens in wartime - war is awful but it does also accelerate the development of good things that can save lives.
Oh yes! One of my ‘cheer up’ things to do is watching videos of meeting interruptions! Witness a couple myself irl on a online exercise group when someone’s husband occasionally ‘forgets’ the wife’s on zoom, and walks starkers out of the shower room behind her 😂😂 (shame he is in the 60/70yo age group, and not the 20/30s 😉😂)
I can vouch for you shielding with hippos photos 😉😂😂 (going to put it out there that the hippos get more appreciation than the cloths usually 😝)
Lol yes the hippos totally upstage me all the time, especially when they get outfits too. Then I get complaints from some quarters about how there aren't enough hippos in the picture 😂😂🦛🦛🦛
A guy at the University of Toronto says he's created a synthetic antibody that will cure it. He's incredibly up himself and it hasn't had human trials yet so nothing is guaranteed, but he is a legit scientist in a legit lab and it does look promising. (I have a scientific background/job for anyone reading this; I don't know how to develop a cure myself but can usually get a sense of what's rubbish and what might actually be onto something).
I have felt so lucky that we have a garden! I am listening to birdsong, having the occasional discussion with a blackbird, learning the names of a few butterflies, watching with excitement while flower buds grow and also excited about the veg I am growing, the first time for years, as we normally go away in veg growing season.
I have also found an online art course I am enjoying, learning slowly to paint.
And of course doing my usual crafting. (15 small elephants crocheted, waiting to be finished off).
And reading.
And talking more frequently that usual to further away family and friends.
There are no shortage of things to do.
I am missing some crucial things, but realise we are also very lucky!
I glad you’ve had the time to sit back and enjoy/appreciate nature once more!
Ooo, painting! I hope it is fun (I always felt that even tho i can’t paint for toffee, splatting the brush against the paper is always enjoyable!)
I hope you have homes for your Nellies to go to!
I’m glad you are managing to make the most of the situation and keep busy! I think we are all missing something crucial right now, but the fact we are coping and still managing to enjoy the small things is great I think!
The painting thingie I found is called Explore Colour, and it suddenly turned up on my FaceBook page. The first exercise was to write down numbers 1-9 and then turn each number into a leaf. All this with a pen, then add colour. It has also involved potato printing (or alternative items to print with), so really a step by step approach.
The Ellies, when completed will be in groups of 5, so just three, but they are currently somewhat on the back burner.
You can have good discussions with a blackbird, even if you never know the topic for discussion!
This question of yours is a nice one, and worth doing. But , yes, it is hard sometimes. I have a friend who has ended up in prison ( not in this country) for doing human rights work. I often see posts from his wife, also a friend, but can’t say much as it may harm him. The prison is apparently rife with Covid. Compared to them, and very many others wherever they are, I am so lucky!
I've joined an online yoga class, absolute novice, become friends with teacher who has dropped off some wonderful Thai food to me - and now I'm sharing cake with her family. Also joined a local WhatsApp group and found some sweet local folk, reckon well meet for a coffee one day...distanced of course!
I have rekindled my love of indoor photography. It started off when my camera club closed down due to COVID. I then started a Zoom meeting on Tuesdays, our normal meeting night.
I then ran a friendly competition for photos taken during lockdown and now we have three zoom meetings and a themed competition every week.
I used to do a lot of still life and close up photography, and lockdown has relit the fire in me. I've taken more pictures since lockdown began than I have in the previous year.
What's even better is that I"m winning a lot of the competitions
I've taken the time to get back into my crafting (hoping to set up as a little business due to having to hand in my notice at the day job due to asthma) and taking lots of lessons in trying to get better on social media 😁.
Also, been spending lots of time decluttering house and garden (with LOTS of rest breaks 🤣🤣🤣).....not yet filled the skip but working on it 🤣🤣🤣
Also, have realised that me and hubby can shield together (he doesn't have to shield but he wanted to keep me safe) for 9 weeks and not kill each other 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have taken up colouring as a hobby and a way to relax. I decluttered my house and fallen in love with my garden again but most of all I got to know my new neighbours to the side of me and my other neighbours must better.
I have worked so much (I work in an Emergency department at our local hospital, and people have either called in sick or refused to come in), I have learned that:
1) Almost have enough money saved to finally pay off my car! That would be a huge bill gone and easier for me monthly.
2) Met some pretty awesome people facing some very scary situations. Which just amazes me everyday. Their strength and their courage. Truly amazing.
3) Even though gas prices have dropped significantly, I am amazed at how little I use (since I go to work and back, that is it). It has taught me how to better budget, and showed me that maybe I was doing too much. Slowing down is not so much a bad thing!
Not sad at all .... baking is my calm and get away from people where I can just focus on what I'm doing ... hahaha and we have relied on convenience for ages as well with long hours at work so nice to slow down a bit and have a chance to bake
It has been nice to do things for us. Both retired me medical husband to care. However we just never had us time, now no excuse. Can't paint, can't do DIY ( dust and smell triggers too risky at the moment) so we bake 😊
What other things do you like baking ? I love baking, need to loose weight so have had to cut back on the baking yet there is so much satisfaction in it and it's too warm to be doing DIY anyway 😉
Husband loves Victoria sandwich cake. I don't fill the centre then he or I some days can chose what to have. Some days jam some days chocolate. We've done bread pudding and bread and butter pudding no so much baking baking but getting rid of old bread. Tomorrow my play eve's pudding as got lot of bruised apples newly delivered today. Flapjacks is another favourite here. What do you do?
Sounds like a nice variety if things !! Brilliant idea with the victoria sponge! I do anything and everything, made some triple chocolate brownies on the weekend other than that bread (regular, sourdough, ciabatta and baguettes) ... since lockdown I've made hotcross buns, a passionfruit cake for my wifes birthday with cream cheese frosting, banana muffins, vanilla cupcakes for VE day, cinnamon buns and lemon and poppy seed muffins.
I’ve reconnected with one of my sisters through WhatsApp who I haven’t seen for years.
Painted every fence & outdoor wall in sight!
Taken up knitting again.
Learning Spanish (trying).
Watched a blue tit pair make their nest & protected them from local cats & bigger birds. I’ve been stalking around the garden like a nutcase. The wee family flew the nest yesterday morning.
Joined communities like this.
Rediscovered Twitter.
Don’t know how I’m going to go back to work - it’ll be an inconvenience to my busy schedule! 😃
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