How are you staying sane?

[PawPrint53]

Walking five miles or more a day, doing YMCA online exercise classes,and stress baking. Made biscotti yesterday, lava cakes last week, a Bakewell tart, English tea cakes, lemon cheesecake bars, spicy almonds and chocolate chip cookies. Sharing with my daughter and her roommate plus now our freezer is full of goodies.

 

[brewer12345]

Checked on the backyard hives with DD1 today. Holy cow, they are full! I will make some splits tomorrow to make sure the most overcrowded do not swarm.

 

[Calico]

Walking five miles or more a day, doing YMCA online exercise classes,and stress baking. Made biscotti yesterday, lava cakes last week, a Bakewell tart, English tea cakes, lemon cheesecake bars, spicy almonds and chocolate chip cookies. Sharing with my daughter and her roommate plus now our freezer is full of goodies.

I'm sorry, what did you say your address was?

 

[FreeBear]

Walked the neighborhood with DW as the sun set over the mountains. Amazing!

 

[ivinsfan]

Walking five miles or more a day, doing YMCA online exercise classes,and stress baking. Made biscotti yesterday, lava cakes last week, a Bakewell tart, English tea cakes, lemon cheesecake bars, spicy almonds and chocolate chip cookies. Sharing with my daughter and her roommate plus now our freezer is full of goodies.

Probably need to walk ten miles after this, you made all my favorites....

 

[MrLoco]

I go to the grocery store about 3 x a week. The local Stop & Shop. As I walk in , I see people in masks , wearing gloves, wiping down the handle on the carts.

I try to lick the handle on as many carts as possible before I go in the store.

I have always been a gambler at heart. Plus, I am a little crazy and off my meds. Hence.....my username.

Not sick yet.

 

[John Galt III]

This will absolutely, positively, guarantee that the mower engine will run perfectly until something else breaks that warrants buying a new mower, like the transmission failing if self-propelled or the deck rusting through.

Don't ask how I know.

+1. I'm not changing the oil any more in my Weed Eater brand push mower with the Briggs and Stratton engine. As you say, the deck will rust out soon enough! Had it for about 10 years, so... I might cut the back yard today. Doesn't really need it, but rain coming for next few days. Plus boredom to fight. Bought 2 new split rails for my fence. $13.48 for just one rail. Seems kinda high. Blow that dough, ha ha. Oh yeah, and applied one coat of Olympic watersealer with linseed oil to both rails.

 

[Rianne]

Interviews like this will keep you sane and laughing. Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner give tips on how to stay sane. I love these two and wish I knew them personally.

 

[Pellice]

Well, I *was* keeping sane by going birding. This has been my sanity for decades. But NJ just now announced the closing of state parks and forests, and many communities have closed as well, and probably more will. THIS will really affect my sanity. I was solo birding, rarely encountering people at all. Those bicyclists - they're the ones. I was in parking areas yesterday where cyclists were just tooling around in groups. I was afraid this would happen.

 

[harllee]

Well, I *was* keeping sane by going birding. This has been my sanity for decades. But NJ just now announced the closing of state parks and forests, and many communities have closed as well, and probably more will. THIS will really affect my sanity. I was solo birding, rarely encountering people at all. Those bicyclists - they're the ones. I was in parking areas yesterday where cyclists were just tooling around in groups. I was afraid this would happen.

We are birders too and seeing many birds from our porch. All our forests and state parks are closed too. One thing we are doing--we are spend 10-15 minutes per day learning bird songs, calls and drumming using some online resources --free Audubon and Ibird.

 

[statsman]

Well, we've been watching our 12 year-old indoor cat, who had a few episodes of not using the litter box in the past, deciding in the last month or so to:

• Urinate on the spare room bed twice, both times a day or two after I took a nap there
• Urinate on the blankets on the computer room couch, which is sort of my man-cave, three times
• Urinate in the laundry basket that has my clothes three times (never has done this in my DW's laundry basket)
• Urinate at least half dozen times over the side of a litter box (four litter boxes for three cats)

This cat is up to date on his vaccines, and the blood and urine tests, in addition to the physical exam last month, showed the cat to be in good health. There are no issues with the other two indoor cats (13 year-old, 8 year-old). I should add I'm the one who wakes up at 6am to feed the cats. I'm also the one who scoops, refreshes, and cleans the litter boxes. I'm also the one who clips the cat claws.

I've lost whatever sanity I had a week or two ago.

So, out of the blue early this morning I get a text from a pharmacy about a prescription being ready. Not recognizing the name nor the 5 digit number listed (instead of a phone number), I deleted the text instead of responding. I thought it might have been a mistake or a phishing attempt.

Come to find out I receive an email from our new vet who had submitted a prescription for some treatment for our cat I described above. I never got confirmation of what the costs would be or what the type of medication would be (pills, chews, liquid). I had already indicated if it were pills to be taken 2-3 times a day, this would be a wasted effort as this cat would fight me (and bite me) at every attempt. I have been able to get pills down our cats in the past, but not this one.

I haven't contacted our vet nor the pharmacy about this yet, but I am left with yet another dilemma. In order to start this treatment, I am going to need to physically visit a pharmacy. This type of medication isn't something that you can get at a location like CVS, so no drive-thru. As much as I have not been as concerned as others about catching or spreading the virus, this seems like, next to a hospital or medical clinic, the last place I would want to go.

Our cat has behaved himself for the last 5 days, so I'm inclined to hold off on any treatment until a later date. Of course he could start up again today or in the near future, at which point we will have a difficult decision to make.

 

[blueskyk]

Walking five miles or more a day, doing YMCA online exercise classes,and stress baking. Made biscotti yesterday, lava cakes last week, a Bakewell tart, English tea cakes, lemon cheesecake bars, spicy almonds and chocolate chip cookies. Sharing with my daughter and her roommate plus now our freezer is full of goodies.

OMG - are you taking any online orders?? I would even consider parting with a roll or two of my too small TP stash...

I love solitude and quiet so the actual circumstances are not too difficult so far. Finally making my way through my TBR pile of books which, because I am eternally curious, is more books than I can read in a lifetime.

Also finally organizing all those photos and downselecting for PS work and creating some photobooks online. Getting a lot better at taking and editing video (Premiere) as well as flying the drone.

Exploring some new quilting techniques (collage). Just discovered Spoonflower and am now awash in ideas.

Doing lots of cooking (which is normal) and I'm trying some new things. Not all have been successful. Mr. blueskyk balked at the homemade butternut squash soup.

Cleaning the house (this is new).

Planted a small garden with DIY self-watering bins.

Limiting Covid-conversation/research/news to 1 hour a day. This has been really helpful.

Silent meditation 2X per day for 20 min each - this is actually the most helpful for me. (I've been doing it for years)

Limiting my internet surfing to about an hour a day unless exploring art ideas (for which time is unlimited)

Printing out pics of my therapy dog and sending cards to my nursing home and hospice peeps I used to visit as a volunteer to try and stay in touch.

Walking the dogs around the lake (5 miles) every day.

 

[brewer12345]

Made splits from 3 off the backyard hives. Can't get queens for another week, but this is do or swarm time. When I get queens I will make a split from the fourth hive.

Finished off a small leatherworking project (belt pouch). I plan to use it to lug some muzzleloading odds and ends when I got to the forest tomorrow afternoon to crack off a few rounds.

 

[Retch The Grate]

staying sane (I think?) through FaceTime, lots of texting/messenger, phone calls and Zoom. Also mass quantities of doggo snuggles.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Gardening, reading,and projects around the house.

 

[mountainsoft]

We are birders too and seeing many birds from our porch. All our forests and state parks are closed too.

I'm not really a birder, but do enjoy nature. Just yesterday I saw several robins, a blujay, a crow, a woodpecker, lots of nuthatch, and a hummingbird that flew right up to our living room window as I was looking out. I'm not sure why, but there seems to be a lot more female robins than males this year?

Of course, we have deer that walk through our yard almost daily, as well as the occasional squirrel or raccoon. I love watching the squirrels move around our property, jumping from tree to tree without ever touching the ground.

The one animal I wish would go away are the moles. They're destroying the yard this year. I have multiple traps out, but it's literally a wack a mole contest as they never pop up in the same place twice.

We are fortunate to be surrounded by Douglas fir trees on our property, so at least we're not stuck on a city lot or something. However we usually start hiking around March/April each year and I'm already missing that. It's a bummer all the trails are closed, especially considering we rarely see another person while hiking. We usually try to go see the wildflowers around mid to late April each year, and it's a bummer to think we won't be able to do that this year. Before this all started I had been planning to drive over and see the fruit orchards in bloom, but that plan is a bust too.

So sad that some of our greatest pleasures have nothing to do with other people but are still off limits.

 

[ckelly78z]

I have been building a 10x16 greenhouse that will hold up to the strong winds we get here in the flatlands of Ohio.

-30 2x4s
-12 60# quicrete
-2 72" long 1/2" threaded rods
-5 16' long 2x4
-2 10' long 2x4
-18 2" wide 8" long clear corregated panels
-2 500 boxes of 2.5" screws
-1 24"x 36" window
-1 30"x 78" screen door

The old (cheap) greenhouse frame we had was made out bent metal piping, and a fitted clear plastic covering...it ended up in a folded mess in our creek 100 yards away.

 

[irishgal]

Up at 6 and 90 min of a workout, HIIT, cardio or whatever.
90 min dog walk.
Catch up on email etc.
Do some training with the dogs.
Read
Shop online (just a wee bit)
Try new recipes at home for dinner
Mow the 5 acres

 

[Lawrencewendall]

The one animal I wish would go away are the moles. They're destroying the yard this year. I have multiple traps out, but it's literally a wack a mole contest as they never pop up in the same place twice.

The only way I've been able to rid of moles is to get rid of their food source, grubs.

I had to throw Grubex down for 2 seasons and once the grubs were gone, the moles were gone. I'm guessing they just went somewhere else.

 

[aja8888]

The only way I've been able to rid of moles is to get rid of their food source, grubs.

I had to throw Grubex down for 2 seasons and once the grubs were gone, the moles were gone. I'm guessing they just went somewhere else.

Couple the Grubex with a female outdoor cat and the moles will be really gone.

 

[Poopycat]

I’m really struggling with the sanity right now. Which is ironic, because I’m such an introvert; one would think that I’d be tailor-made to weather an event that requires me to be isolated from other humans. It’s more about the timing and circumstances. I won’t go into details, you can see what I posted in the “Hi, I am...” section if you’re that interested, but losing my job, seeing the markets tank, and being stuck in an area of the country where I don’t know anybody - and not knowing when I’ll be able to move forward with any aspect of my personal or professional life (should I decide to continue working) is depressing and anxiety-provoking.

But to answer the original question about staying sane, I am trying my best not to let myself get swallowed up by negativity and anxiety. I am trying to stay optimistic and see the possibilities that can happen once we come out of this coronavirus mess. I try to tell myself that the market ALWAYS bounces back eventually and that I’ll be ok. I watch the news and see reports about people waiting for hours at food banks, and I appreciate that I am in a good position. I am not broke. I have a paid-for roof over my head...it may not be in a location where I want to be, but nobody can take it from me. To my knowledge, I am healthy; my blood work is good, my recent screenings are normal (colonoscopy is on hold due to coronavirus but I’ll hope I’m ok). And I’ve lost 96 pounds so I’m getting healthier. I’m walking 6-9 miles per day, 5 or 6 days per week since I can’t go to the gym or play tennis. I’m decluttering my house, in preparation for the day when I can sell. Having a daily routine, where I walk, shower, clean the house, check job boards, research possible retirement options, and then play some computer games while watching TV has helped me not feel depressed about being laid off. I still feel lonely, but daydreaming about the future keeps me feeling a little bit sane too.

 

[harllee]

Poopycat (interesting name!) Sounds like you are doing pretty good to me. I am finding it helpful to talk to friends/family on the phone (not just email or text, actual voice calls). I try to call a different friend everyday. I suggest going through all of your list of friends no matter where they are and start calling one per day. I bet they would be very glad to hear from you.

 

[Nemo2]

I am healthy; my blood work is good, my recent screenings are normal (colonoscopy is on hold due to coronavirus but I’ll hope I’m ok). And I’ve lost 96 pounds so I’m getting healthier. I’m walking 6-9 miles per day, 5 or 6 days per week

Hang in...you're doing GREAT....start working on what the 'new you' would like to do when this crap is all over! Good luck!

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Cisco is offering free teleconferencing capability (Webex). It does require an app download. It can hold up to 100 participants. I created an account 2 weeks ago and have been putting it to go every day at noon for family (8 siblings, 35 Nieces and Nephews and 55 Grand Nieces and Nephews). They can jump in as their schedule allows. Not a lot of participation. I am willing to put the room to go for anyone on here that needs to see a different face. Works on mobile, tablet and PC. I prefer PC as it provides more real estate to see everyone. Does require a camera and microphone to get the most effect. Let me know interest and time to put the room to go. The longest I've had the room open is 7 hours.

I'm in the room right now if anyone wants to kick the tires on it.

https://meetingsamer2.webex.com/meet/lawrencewendall

 

[MichaelB]

Sheltering in place for such an extended period must be an absolute nightmare for procrastinators.