Flapping calmly through lockdown: Fledglings April 2020. Welcome to the Keep Calm Corner!

[LaneBoy]

Hello all!

Thank you for joining us, please note if we seem cliquey it’s only because it’s a long running thread - everyone really is welcome!

Welcome to (probably) the most bizarre Flylady thread yet... in which we are attempting to impose/maintain some kind of order in our homes, while also many of us are adjusting to working from home and homeschooling the kids for the first time too! Not to mention the anxiety around health and accessing food!

Of course, normally the opening post would talk about banishing CHAOS - Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome - but now we aren’t allowed anyone over anyway :o so, let’s just try and make our homes nicer FOR US. We are spending more time than ever in them, so let’s make them really wonderful places to be, our own safe little nests for our families.

Flylady routines might just help us get through this crazy time, by giving us a little structure to work from when all else is unpredictable - but as usual there is no right or wrong here. All of us follow it only to the extent it helps us - we can take ideas and make them work for us. And the key principle is, YOU ARE NEVER BEHIND. I feel like that is even more evident now, with so many of these outside pressures and commitments suddenly gone, and frankly the days rolling into one!

This is potentially a great time to declutter. Of course, Flylady suggests 15 minutes a day - but perhaps in these unprecedented times we will all do more! But we are all busy getting into our own routines now that school is out, and work too for many, and we’ve lost a lot of the outside structure to our lives. There’s no right or wrong here, we just have to try and adapt.

Links wise, I’ll just post the launch pad, and will add reminders about zones too. If anyone has Flying questions, please ask!

The Keep Calm Corner
The lovely SC came up with the brilliant idea of the Keep Calm Corner last month - this is a daily post with things to make us happy! I figured each monthly host can make this their own, and I’m a little worried my taste in art and music would not be calming to most :o so for this month, the KCC will consist of:
Some memes - either funny (we all need a laugh! Warning though - some will likely be unsavoury :o) or thought provoking/relaxation based. Do PM me (here or FB) if you have any you want to add!
A daily “ice breaker” type question - obviously answering these is entirely optional, and don’t say anything that will out you, but if you want to join in and create some extra conversations on the thread then treatment, we can all get to know each other better! Again, if you think of any questions please PM!

Thank you for settling in, and of course thank you to SC for making March such a lovely thread. And lastly, a huge thank you also to our key worker Fledglings, who are doing an incredible job of keeping things running!

Flatbreads.

250g plain flour, pinch salt, 2tbsp olive oil, 120mL water.

Mix and knead till the dough is silky. Roll out as thin as you can (I aim for crispy duck pancake thickness but whatever). Dry fry in a thick based very hot frying pan. Keep cooked ones on a warm plate covered in a teatowel as they dry out quickly.

🦕🦖🦕🦖 the keep calm corner 🦖🦕🦖🦕

Today’s randomly sourced uploads:

• an apt one for today’s daily focus 😳
• a screenshot - NOT mine I might add, just a random FB post - reminding us to think before we text 😅
• a rather sweet chart of self care types - something to think about currently I’d say.

Today’s question: What are your favourite animals? Do you have pets or are there animals you’d love to keep if you could?

I have no pets. I’ve only ever had two cats as a child (Oscar, a stray with tuxedo markings, and Doogle, a ginger cat I had from tiny). We always said we’d get a pet when we moved but it’ll be 2 years in July and we still haven’t! Ideally I’d love a gecko although I love all lizards, and snakes too. And I wouldn’t mind a praying mantis or two! In an ideal world I’d love a sugar glider as they are SO CUTE but apparently they smell awful, so nope.

In terms of wild animals everyone thinks I’m obsessed with sloths. 🦥 It’s become a Thing, you know when you share a couple of things on a theme (eg I bought a really cute knitted sloth Christmas tree decoration because at the time I felt festive yet very slow :o) and then everyone assumes they are the only animal you like . So I’m forever getting tagged in cute sloth things. I do like them TBF, but my favourite animal is the pangolin! 😍 I love armadillos and raccoons too.

Thank you very much Expletive sounds good! And I saw the thread about sour dough starters called Nigel and Herman so have the details now! (If anyone is interested, a website with good info is called 'The Perfect Loaf'.)

Love the "pro-crastinator" notice Lane . Definitely one for the home office door!

DD did a school project about pangolins. They are 'the' most trafficked animal in the world iirc . Aren't they implicated in the spread or morphing of Covid-19 now too?

I must admit, I am not a reptile fan Lane (especially since I learnt they can spread salmonella; my friend had a corn snake that roams loose in her bookshelves, and I'm really nervous about it!) ) but of the "exotics" ; I love cameleons and stick insects.

Also love parrots but I personally can't stand the thought of a bird in a cage.

Obviously I'm an animal nut. Always have been. Love horses and dogs the most. Particularly love 💕 horses. Love shire horses and native ponies in particular. Would love a Highland pony to ride myself. Would love a few hens, miniature goats, alpacas, ducks, black nose vendee sheep, and maybe a rescue donkey or horse when we move to wreck2 as a companion for dhorse. Might add a third dog ( I love Jack Russell's and they keep your stables rat free). It's been my life's dream really. Can't wait after 25 yrs of living in a city I don't particularly love. Who knows whether it will come true or not! [We are going to be working for a while yet, even if we get through this current crisis.]. Also love wildlife: particularly barn owls, hares and dormice. We already have lots of house martins (totally amazing flyers/navigators!) who visit annually. Also lots of toads and frogs which I am learning about. Interested in moths too! If we can afford it (and that's a big if) want to replace the wooden fencing with hedges. Also have an ongoing 💕 relationship with a pair of aardvarks at our local zoo who are part of a European breeding programme. They are a bit shy in the day-time though! . Love the tapirs too. Always go and visit the primates when I am there. Get pushed in to the viperium by dd and dh but literally shake from head to foot.

Cripes I must do some work! Looking forward to hearing about everyone else's animals and their preferences. . This is my favourite topic of all 💙💚💛💜💝💙💚💛💛💜💝 🌞😁

I have heard of Herman before!

Today I need to:
🎯read a presentation my friend wrote, it’s about autism and she wants my input. I forgot yesterday 🤦‍♀️
🎯try and find the hole punch, but if not at least draw and cut out the lacing cards
🎯play a bit of piano - not going on the walk today as I did something to my foot 😣 so I’ll play when they’re out
🎯finish the chapter of ADHD book
🎯put a wash on
🎯get DD1 to wash bedding
🎯digital decluttering - deleting screenshots and lots of stuff on amazon wish list
🎯last two episodes of Liar (I’m really determined to get some quiet time to myself today!)
🎯decide if I’m ordering anything online - need various things but not sure how soon
🎯try exercise bike in case my foot is ok for that (only hurts if I walk on it so should be?!)
🎯bit of decluttering/toy sorting in hallway
🎯decide where I’m going to store the stuff I’m making Cagletini before it is scattered throughout the house like everything else
🎯try and phone bank to change direct debits, I’ve been procrastinating like crazy over that, I hate bank stuff!

Oh no! 13 items! I’d best add some :o

🎯start collecting pictures for Cagletini (I’m printing out some of the art they use in her fave show, Little Einsteins (soooo glad it’s taken over from Peppa Pig 😅)
🎯collect some of our bags together and make a family effort to empty/store them since they aren’t needed. Dread to think what may be lurking in them 😳😳😳

There. 15 now. That’s better.😅

And yes sc it’s believed the disease passed from a bat through a pangolin to humans. I’d never even heard of them until about four years ago!

ed thanks for flatbread recipe
Lane great laminating game!looking the KCC pics too❤️

SC will try and remember that for later about bread link

Fave classicalusic/playlists bit behind.i don't know names but like piano concertos
Playlists I confess it's ecclectic- Tory Amos,metallica,aerosmith,Katie melua,some 60s stuff,ugly kid Joe,nirvana,green day,.currently have twilight soundtrack on whilst cleaning prepares to be evicted from thread forthwith

Pets i am a cat person thru and thru they steal my heart,not adverse to anything furry like rabbits,gerbils,rats etc, grown fond of giraffes (lil zoos one true love) and have overcome fear of donkeys and horses (D's passion) I do not share his passion for all things insect/reptile

I must admit I am interested in most animals,just not necessarily want share my home with them!!loving watching birds at our feeders at mo too.tits and sparrows are most present and a pair of black birds.mr blackbird is a huge character that pinches kibble I leave out for scoutcat and lives a quick wash in old sledge that's ended up full water thats not very sanitary but D's adamant wildlife need it

Cats advice on BBC news I see let owners be asked keep cats in as fur can be contaminated and risk bring it in and in multi households can pass it amongst themselves(no evidence can direct Pass to humans) as poor cossie cat has ongoing breathing issues with cat flu scoutcat us now banished to outside onlybreaks my heart but he is not happy kept indoors.stress seeing and poo everywhere and yowling loads,try break and and attacking both humans and rest cats...he has access to the shed should he wish to use it and we can pet him outside and wash hands when come in.hes not much of an indoor boy in warmer months so I'm hoping by time gets cool again the advice will no longer be relevant 😔

Don't panic, zoo, I've also see a refutation of that on Twitter from someone sensible like the RSPCA, retweeted by the CPL.

Morning all! Good game there Lane.

Cin, I love Scottish family history, but this is strictly for work. I have some Scottish bits in my own tree - Dad was born in Glasgow, and my great-grandmother was a MacDonald before her marriage - and I like the way they record parents' names even on death certificates of very old people, and retain maiden names for women prior to 1855. They also (can) have very clear naming traditions, like some Irish families, which can be enormously helpful once you get back to the late 18th century whe there's a terrifically small pool of given names. I'm a pattern-spotting historian anyway, so this plays to all my strengths.

Ta das so far:
💖 DW rotated, S&S, LOL
🧡 Breakfast and vitamins
💛 made Lockdown Biscuits without butter or eggs
💚 downstairs hoovered
💙 DS3 bathed (finally!)
💜 spot cleaned kitchen floor
🖤 first LOL hung out and second LOL in
💖 online appointment with DS3's OT who really, really gets it and will be hugely useful in helping him dial down the sensory overload that leads to panic
🧡 cup of coffee with tasty Lockdown Biscuit

still to do:
📌 finish Scottish writing (report almost done and the IHR is doing something this afternoon called Shut Up And Write online, which I think might be useful!)
📌 do some writing about lockdown and Mass Observation work
📌 sewing of some sort
📌 Wake DS2 up and turf him out of the living room

As to pets, I grew up with cats but now we have a dog. I'm not really a very pett-ish person - I find it really hard that they can't communicate their needs ( like tiny babies, really) and they stress me out. The dog was DH's dream and, although I love and care for him and would not see him hurt (the dog, not DH. He can shift for himself!), I would never have chosen it.

All lower floors washed on hands and knees

Now stopping for lunch break!

Give* super cool dudes!!I should've added queen to my list!!

Lunch eaten and cleared up

Now sitting watching film on 5 with dd2 ❤️

I'm definitely a cat person and we have 2. DH would love a dog - they always had at least one of each growing up, but we both spend too long at work and it wouldn't be fair plus I'd really struggle with scooping the poop

Ta das:

• Beds made
• Breakfast things cleaned up, benches wiped
• LOL washed and on the line
• Both toilets cleaned
• DD's water table out the shed and cleaned. Spent a pleasant hour in the garden while she played with that, and we had an early lunch out there too
• Out for a walk and delivered some.supplies to DGM. DD saved to her through the window and cried when we had to go

DD has just fallen asleep. I'm going to have half an hour planning with my diary. Obviously not much can actually be planned at the moment, but I need to check birthdays etc, and I want some sort of agenda for when this is all finished, set some goals etc. I really struggle without a plan and things to look forward to. I feel like I'm sort of 'free-falling' at the minute, as well as achieving nothing of any significance.

After that I'm going to motivate myself to do a blitz upstairs, half an hour in the 'gym' garage and prod DH to help me with some gardening. We have a rather yummy looking fresh pizza from the supermarket counter I picked up yesterday for tea so that's easy for later.

So pleased the new OT gets it Willow.

Your boys are gorgeous Giveme, glad you're feeling better.

Amazing list Zoo!

That’s great give sometimes a reset day is really worth it! Love the cool dudes pic :o

I’ve not done much on my list yet, need to actually eat lunch still come to think of it 🤔 been prepping more games and I did play piano as well.

I need to make a little postbox shaped like the very hungry caterpillar, or at least his head. 😂

Nope just me being random :o I’ve now printed and laminated all the food items from very hungry caterpillar (along with more matching stuff from two more books) and I figured as we read the book she could find the right foods and feed them to the caterpillar box. That can wait till tonight or tomorrow though.

I’ve ignored most of my to do list. Apparently what I really needed today was to hide away making stuff (not that it was particularly artistic at all, but it felt productive and kept me busy).

I’m struggling more than I thought with getting alone time actually. Usually it would be very specific - there were particular times during the week where I’d have some time such as after playgroup when DH would meet me to take Cagletini. I could go swimming or meet friends or just nip to the pub and I had deadlines of homework/therapy stuff which gave me reason to at least shut myself away in the bedroom a couple of times a week. But now there’s no structure like that and I’ve not really got into the habit of just going for the sake of it, and I really need to as I was a frazzled mess last night!

Must go read that presentation for my friend now though.

@ExpletiveDelighted how many flatbreads does that make please? Is it a straightforward halving of all ingredients if I wanted fewer? Not sure the Caglets would want them and DH can’t eat gluten (I could try GF flour at some point of course but we don’t have much)

If you roll it super thin it makes about 8 x 8" breads similar thickness to supermarket wraps. I followed Willow's example and used SR flour tonight and rolled it into 4 thicker breads which rose in the pan to make fairly substantial naan type bread. I also kneaded black onion seeds into the dough and a thin brush of melted butter afterwards. Much quicker than the yeast dough I usually use for naan bread.

And yes to straightforward halving, I do that sometimes if we only want a few.

Tada!

Busy day "at work" today, I was a lot more focussed than the lasst couple of days and got quite a bit done.

In mini-breaks I managed

2xLOL
Taught DS to use the pressure washer on the patio furniture
Cleaned the frames of the uPVC patio doors
Cleaned the bathroom windowsill
Put chicken into marinade for dinner (butter chicken)
Took down the vertical blind slats from the patio doors and washed them
Half hour exercise at the allotment

TKKC - we have two cats, you have seen pics of one of them, the other is a bit more shy and it's harder to get a good photo of her, I will try and find a good one to post later. I'm not a massive animal lover, one thing DH and I have always agreed on is that we don't want small animal pets. I'd like a dog when I retire.

I have tried commenting on this 3 times now, ugh. Hopefully third times a charm.

Ta Das;

❤ S&S.

🧡 LOL x3 (including my sheets)

💛 Wiped kitchen countertops down.

💚 Wiped cabinet fronts down.

💙 Treated wood throughout the house.

💜 Swept patio (birds make a mess with the birdseed)

🤎 Cleaned dryer with vinegar (the laundry wasn't smelling so fresh, seems to have worked, I cleaned the washer the other day with bleach water)

To Dos;

📌 Plant bulbs for next year.

📌 Have DS pick up poop while I clean up flowerbeds.

📌 Teach DS how to mow the lawn safely.

📌 Vacuum whole house.

📌 Vacuum couch.

📌 Wash DS sheets.

📌 Ironing (I have been putting it off now and running out of clothes I want to wear!)

To answer your question, we have a dog (as I have mentioned before), we have had a long haired chihuahua and a black lab as well (all at the same time, although our dachshund was a few years after the other two). We have also had a blue bellied lizard and a hamster.

I do love owls, giraffes and tigers, as well as sloths, elephants and monkeys. Lots of others too!

Just remembered the cat photo

Evening all. Really lovely to hear about everyone's thoughts and preferences about animals! And music! An amazingly eclectic mix represented on here

And it is lovely to wake up and hear more birdsong these days I agree.

Thank you again Expletive. I have copied your instruction just now on to a word document because this thread is moving so fast and I don't want to lose it again! We might have them with leg of lamb for Easter but dd cooked supper tonight and used most of the peppers and the olives! And we don't have any lemons ... . Or coriander. Aargh hope we can stretch stuff until after the weekend.

I've ignored most of my to do list too Lane. I've been utterly crap at focusing today. Stupidly posted on a Radford thread (I know having that many dc is far from ideal, , and I now know all the stuff about her first getting pregnant at 13 yrs - which is indefensible - but I still hate all the pages and pages of post after posts of vitriol and hate about this family on what is supposedly a supportive parenting website and stupidly I stepped in and said so. Lawks. Never again. I should have known better. And that's an hour or so I will never get back which I could have spent ... ironing. Or something useful.

And I've fallen out with dd about ten times today. I seem to get on her nerves when I try and spend time with her. And then she gets upset when I don't. We have had a long talk tonight though and things seem back on an even keel. She's very much missing her friends I think. Just being with two old crocks (mainly me) all the time isn't good for her. She did go out for another run today which she enjoyed.

And the school have sent through a gratitude wheel today and we've agreed we will work on it together tomorrow.

And I got stopped by a policeman on a motorbike while out walking the dogs this afternoon. Had to show my carte d'identité. They were fine with me but it was a bit unnerving.

Oh your poor dd KTCluck that's so hard

Your cool guys are just fab Giveme Really gorgeous the pair of them! And your neighbours sound lovely too. Good to hear you are a feeling a bit better.

Willow I like the sound of The Lockdown Biscuit . Your relationship with Willowhound sounds fab but if it's of any interest I can really recommend the book "Calming Signals - The Art of Survival" - by Turid Rugaas. She has some videos too. It really helps to explain all of those tiny and insignificant and incredibly subtle signals that dogs give out and we humans mostly don't comprehend. Our behaviourist has worked with her and her methods and philosophy have completely changed how I in turn communicate with our dogs.

Hope you can get some clarification on the cat issue Zoo. It must be really difficult keeping some cats indoors, like your Scoutcat lad. I must admit I don't entirely trust the Beeb any more, although I do trust Hugh Pym, Jeremy Bowen and Lyse Doucet individually ifyswim. (And George Aligiah (sp?) is my all time favourite newsreader.)

Yikes to being kicked and a rogue donkey jumping breakers on the the beach I would have been terrified too!

I love Katie Melua too and your list is fantastic as ever!

Right, I am going to go and try and tidy up a few things before bed and make up (slightly) for my malingering. I seem to be getting more nocturnal as the lockdown goes on ... .

Huge waves to everyone! G'night all!

Oooh LOVE the animal pics!

Love the brindle (is it brindle?) colouring of your cat Expletive in fact your two both have lovely colouring.

Hazel your dog and my youngest are quite similar!

It's tortoiseshell colouring. She and the black and white are a litter pair but nothing like each other, different colour, physique, behaviour, personality.