Can we share ideas to make the best of the next couple of months?

[Whataloadofshit]

I was going to post on the Covid board, but it's overrun with school threads every day.

January and February can be gloomy months as it is. Cold, grey, damp. Often skint, dieting, not much going on.

With all of the Covid restrictions they're likely to be even tougher this year. We are in tier 4 so it is going to be utter shite, none of the dcs hobbies will be running again.

Has anyone got any plans/ideas/projects to get through it?

I'm hoping to have a bit of a health kick, lots of exercise and healthy food. Watch lots of films, start a new book, play more with the dc hopefully lots of games and puzzles and may set eldest a reading challenge.

@UsernameSaved

All you need

Oh my god. Need that puppy😂

Watching the squirrels twirling around the pear tree and the rest of the garden, and really enjoying seeing their delight in life - knowing, for them, things are thankfully going on as normal; looking forward to seeing the fox family emerging again, and seeing the pigeon pairs looking after each other. For me personally, embarking on an OU degree in February and hoping to observe some of the former to relax me when I've got yet another assignment deadline to meet.

Great thread OP, following for inspiration.

Have also started Duolingo - only five minutes a day! I’m learning Spanish.

Adrienne has started a new 30 days of Yoga, today’s session was 48 minutes but others will be shorter.

We have just started using ‘hello fresh’ which is one of the food subscription services. Got a £20 off code if anyone wants one. (Don’t work for them haha) really recommend for changing up meals and having fun cooking it. Plenty of similar other companies on the market but has been quite exciting opening up the box then cooking together and eating things we wouldn’t usually...

I have started reading again and am doing the 50 books in 2021 in the What We're Reading topic. Also doing the 30 Days of Yoga with Adrienne. DH and I will be redecorating our room too - we have fitted wardrobes going in at the end of Feb so need to get most of it done before then.

I don't expect to have much time spare with all of that plus my job, our online business and nagging 2 teenagers through remote learning/mock GCSEs/homework etc. To be honest I can't wait until July as I think the next 6 months will be fairly stressful!

A few years ago I did the 64 Million Artists January challenge as a team effort with the kids and it was great, free fun. I don't have the time or headspace to do it this year but it was great fun.

We're in Tier 4 but I only have a toddler so a lot of things are still open for her. She can attend nursery for as long as they stay open (I do expect them to have to close at some point), and her toddler classes on other days are still running. The rest of the time we're spending lots of time outdoors, exploring parks, gardens, urban walks. There are more local places we can visit compared to first lockdown, as we can travel to do exercise, and playgrounds are open (we have discovered loads of really interesting ones in the past couple of months).

This year I'm going to start exercising again and I'm supporting my older DS through his OU studies (which includes reading all his set texts as he needs extra support), which takes up most of my toddler-free time. Oh, and we are ttc as well so that is certainly enough to keep me busy!

Playing more board games
Making an effort to celebrate eg DP birthday soon - he is part of my bubble with DS who lives with me - so takeaway pizza lots of cocktails and FaceTime playing an exit game with DD and her DP
Picnics even in the snow (managed one today with a long walk)
Get back on my diet
Trying new recipes
Regular virtual meetings with friends but prepped in advance eg quiz nights or themed activities

@Ingleduh we have started doing the same. Any recommendations? Our new fav is Blockus, it's brilliant!

@SchrodingersImmigrant

www.british-sign.co.uk/

It's pay what you can during covid and I think CPD certified

OMG - Pay what you can.

I clicked the link and cried. I'm blown away. If I get furloughed, I'm def going to do this!

* "Because of this we are now asking those who wish to sign up to the course to pay what they feel they are able. Maybe things are particularly tight for you at the moment and you can’t afford to pay the full fee, or maybe you wish to pay extra to contribute towards a place for someone else.*"

Came back to add another couple of suggestions
Podcasts! I really got into them in March. Some of my faves are Just the Gist, Dan snows history hits, you’ve heard wrong and stuff you should know. My DD also lives 6 minutes which is a fictional story series aimed at kids in the 10-12 age range

She also discovered this week on ytube Mad Fit which is a series of dance based fitness routines, most around 15 minutes. Great with kids. We’ve done the Santa themed one, Taylor swift and One direction music ones. Great if it’s a bad day and you need to burn off some energy.

I'm doing dry January (the mulled wine I had to see the new year in didnt count )
Re-following my fitness and diet programme which slackened sadly in the last 3 months
Making most of my own skincare and cleaning products
Using the above skincare products to take time out for regular pamper sessions, even if it's only a footbath
Doing my 1st proper year at the allotment - planning the crops, choosing varieties and wistfully imagining naice overflowing veg trugs come summer
Getting the house 'sale-ready'. There are so many jobs which have sat staring us in the face over the last 5 years and you actually just get accustomed to them, so I'm going round and viewing it as a prospective buyer. Lick of paint here, carpet there, fix that rising damp, fill the cracks in the ceiling, and fill the bloody space above the mantelpiece with a painting.

🙈 just realised I completely repeated what I said in my 1st post.
Note to self. Do not post stuff in the early hours when you're struggling to get to sleep

@TartanLassie it's really good. And also nice how they now set it up.
I can now spell in BSL😁

Also, if anyone wants to improve knowledge of, well anything, really, openlearn is good. They have anything from how to manage your money, through short business intros, through art, English and Math to Psychology intros. Some really interesting stuff in there!

I'm going to spend half an hour a day working on my touch typing. And start doing the stomach exercise section of an old Davina McCall DVD that I found when decluttering. Flatter stomach and better WPM at the end of this lockdown would be a lot better than how I spent the first one.

I will read this thread for inspiration later.

Daily walks. Vary them, especially different times at weekends. Make them afternoon ones in February when it is daylight for longer.

Lovely idea for a thread. Board games here, with penalties for the adults to give the kids a fighting chance!

We have taken the Christmas decorations down this afternoon and the house looks so dull! Going to buy fresh flowers to cheer us the living room, daffodils are often available in January and will feel spring-like.
We have also started a competition to see who can be the first to spot snowdrops on a walk. After that it will be first to spot crocuses then daffodils then ducklings and so on - like a countdown to spring!

Why not on your daily walks start recording everything you see. I did this in the first lockdown and saw over 120 plants, umpteen birds and butterflies. It can lead to other things. I wrote and had published an article about doing this for a national charity. As pp mentions looking for first snowdrops, hearing the first cuckoo are good to do.

Anyone got any suggestions for someone who's recently bereaved, so now living alone and stuck in in Tier 4?

I'm waiting for a knee operation, so going for walks isn't an option and my only family is my brother, who has MH issues and lives 4 hours away, and I'm signed off work because of grief.

I've been reading, but my concentration's so shot that even that's a struggle.

Lakie
I had trouble reading at one point. And I find if I can't read I can't follow podcasts or audio books either.
I resorted to my favourite familiar sitcoms tbh. Found that laughter helps but realise it might not be for everyone at such times.

Do you have outdoor access to green space? I have done daily photos last spring/ summer, documenting tiny changes.

@LakieLady

Adult colouring books, jigsaws?
And I know I said it before, but planting bulbs/cuttings for spring and having them on a window ledge - nurturing them, and then seeing them pop up early spring is very uplifting.
And, like I said, I bird table, feed and watch the birds...then they'll nest, and you'll have families of them to watch! I have a little family of robins, who I feed and nurture.
Daft, I know, but it really helps, day to day, to see nature unfold. Normality in a very abnormal world.

That sounds really tough LakieLady. Only thing I can think of that hasn't already been suggested is some sort of craft, sewing or DIY project.

Little thing but I’ve bought some really nice rose scented shower gel. Walk every day with the dog. Try cooking something new once a week. Reading instead of endless scrolling. Got some small daffodil bulbs coming out on the window sill in the kitchen. Small pleasures basically. And taking things one day at a time.