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!

X posts! deodorant and menstrual cup injuries!

Sorry your lad is feeling so poorly Give me :(

That's great your mil is feeling a bit better We3kings especially with the hallucinations being so, er, vivid!

And hope you get some peace and quiet today We3kings!

So sorry that was meant to be at menstrual cup and deodorant injuries NOT [numpty emoticon] [confusion]

Has anyone cooked a frozen leg of lamb on here? Can you roast from frozen or is it better to defrost?

giveme are you bored or broody??
SC what's a gratitude circle?

Tada
Another couple hours pottering outside.white buddleia now in,some ivy cut back,tackled more monster brambles
Gardening you get so much more sense achievement-i can really see where I've been iyswim,housework reverts in secs!!
Clear up two fur balls on landing carpet (why beds or carpet every bloody time.only landing and stairs have carpet?!)
Just had lovely refreshing shower and first time this year I've not run to fire shivering once dressed to warm up!!

To do
Bit of a tidy up

Dinner tonight- no idea til look in cupboards;doubt zoolets will want hot food..might see have any pittas and perhaps try convince them have beefburger and cucumber in one with carrot sticks...
I deffo want roast squash.been fancying it ALL day.tiz frozen diced do no effort at all

Need do something with dd2,she's extra jittery today
Also need do my egghunt clues!!

Oh We3 I can completely sympathise with being peopled out. DD has been like a limpet for 3 days now. Normally plays great by herself once she is started off in a game but she’s wanted me to play with her every second of the day and has been attached to my ankles whenever I move. I’ve loved having the time to play with her, but 12 hours of sylvanians is wearing thin. No idea how you’re managing that x 4! Glad MIL is improving and at the naughty hallucinations.

You’ve all got me chucking at your mishaps. Keep giggling at you walking into the glass SC. I had a friend who had a really nasty burn from deodorant giveme. It used to be a ‘thing’ at school to spray it at close range and see if you could stand it. Not one o ever tried myself thankfully! I’ve had lots of embarrassing and silly mishaps but the only one that springs to mind is the first time DH ever came back to mine, we’d had a takeaway and a few wines. I went to the loo, tripped on the landing and literally flew down the stairs sideways hitting the edge of the very bottom stop. He heard the clatter from the kitchen and came running. I tried to brush It off, brave face on, then burst into tears when he left . My whole thigh was basically black for a month.

We’ve had a lovely day, mostly in the garden, with a walk along the beach this afternoon. Barely saw a soul.

Ta Das:
✅ beds made, windows opened
✅ s & s
✅ 2 LOL. Couldn’t hang them on the line as the peg basket and pegs have all been coated in a huge seagull poo
✅ kitchen de-cobwebbed, benches and tiles wiped properly, skirting boards and unit baseboards cleaned, window cleaned, floor properly cleaned on hands and knees
✅ rest of downstairs dusted, hoovered and mopped
✅ DH has decluttered the shed . Huge pile for the tip when it reopens.

All your injuries are making me cringe and chuckle at the same time. I didn't think I had any funny ones but KTCluck has just reminded me. When I was in year 6 our school had a dress up day for Halloween. I went as a vampire with a swishy cape. I stood at the top of the stairs and said to my mum and little brother who were standing by the front door, 'Mwah, ha ha! Do I look scary?'

And then I immediately fell over, landed on my tummy and slid all the way down the stairs to the bottom. Where my family were failing miserably at not laughing at me. Luckily I was fine.

I've managed to ta-da most of my to do list from up thread. Except for the flower bed. We have watched Moana this afternoon as a family and DD and I did some foraging in the garden to make this easter centrepiece. DH is making our tea, then tonight im giving DD a bath.

fluffy that reminded me being 4,first year if school and the oldest primary kids did panto Forrest of school.ir was Aladin.i was moving to town so they gave me a special place I felt very important with clapperboard with act 2 on it.ihad Achinese hat that was a teacher's to wear...it fell over my eyes as icrossed stage proudly,tripped on clapperboard and fell off stage in front whole school!glad was my last day...

sc I usually defrost so I'm not sure about cooking from frozen sorry!

Oh zoo, what a way to make an entrance

Wow everyone has been so busy!

Thanks Foxes perhaps I'll defrost too! Is overnight in fridge sufficient for lunch the next day?

What a beautiful bunch of spring flowers Fluffiest. Better than anything shop-bought! I am going to try to copy that for the table tomorrow!

Ouch at the bottom-bumping Fluffiest and KTCluck! The gf of a friend of ours did that at a uni ball at the top of one of those majestic staircases when everyone was gathering in the hall below. She was in high heels and tripped over the hem of her very low cut ball gown and managed to come down all the way on her bum! She was a very attractive girl and she managed to style it out and her bf (who was at the bottom of the stairs laughing!!) proposed to her two days later!

KTcluck [halo*] for 12 hrs of Sylvanian families!

Zoo for gardening! Oh no at falling off stage!
I'll post gratitude circle when finished Zoo (it's an exercise given to dd by RE teacher for Easter)

OK so, inspired by everyone on here, the hot-cross buns are done! I made them with half-brown/half-white flour. They taste ok but unfortunately they slightly caught on the bottom (our oven cremates everything) and the crosses are all wobbly because the flour and water paste stuck to the board I made it on and I couldn't lever it off without breaking it!

sc I guess it depends what time you have lunch! I'd probably leave it on the side for a bit now until bedtime and then move it to the fridge overnight but we do eat lunch early! It is quite warm today so wouldn't leave on the side too long. Is it huge?

Your hot cross buns look amazing!! I've let you all down and didn't do any today , but I've got that recipe saved on my phone and hope to give it a go over the rest of the bank holiday 😁

I would be too nervous to cook something that big from frozen TBH.

I don’t even know what we are having for dinner tomorrow. We never really celebrate or have people round for Easter anyway so it’s no different (DH did manage to get some little chocolates when he did the food shopping earlier so the hunt has been saved!) - we may even have the frozen pizza he found in Sainsburys 😂 Hopefully I’ll be up to a walk by tomorrow as I want to collect some leaves and petals with Cagletini and then we can stick them onto some cardboard egg shapes and put them in the window. Love that centrepiece fluff it is so pretty!

ta da
💜finished the chapter I was on, while catching some sun/fresh air
🧡put washing in dryer
💛got DD1 to put a wash of hers on
💙put food shop away
💚45min tidying with Caglets - lots of random bits and pieces rehomed

Now watching Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special, because what else do you watch the day before Easter :o

Oh look at that little face!!! Bless him.

Amazing HXBs!

give that face melted my ❤️bless him.
SC they look utterly scrumptious!
Fluff beautiful centrepiece
Foxes I've not made any from scratch thus year(need last of flour for dd2 birthday Monday)so you are not alone!

Little ones declined pitta,cereal was begged for.so cornflakes with sunflower seeds and flakes almonds and an apple each it was!

My squash is nearly cooked😋dd2 having hugest panic attack,poor lamb

Have a good evening all!

Oooh Lane I love the Vicar of Dibley Easter special! I hope it is playing on one of the channels somewhere! Or maybe on You Tube? I love the Christmas one too, but the Easter one is my favourite

Easter a big deal here (Irish/English RC). Nearly as big as Christmas but without all the hassle!

Thanks for lamb advice. It's not that big .. . I'll have to check ... . DD has decreed that she would prefer Morrocan style so we are going to have it with cous-cous and what veg I can muster.

I have to confess I cheated with the hot x buns really ... made them in the bread machine with Delia Smith's bread machine recipe. Very easy! Well it would be if we had proper cupboards in which we could find ingreds ... Fortunately I had imported industrial quantities of mixed spice over from UK for Christmas before lockdown!

DD insisted on making choc cake for tomorrow pud so off to decorate it now. Haven't got through my list but what the hey!

Ta da
tidy up lunch and DW on done

• add raisins and candied peel to bread machine when it beeps done
• last dust and hoover downstairs done but not very thoroughly!
• change over cloakroom towels, tea towels etc downstairs done
• put up Easter decs nearly done
• remind DH to bring secret stash of choc over from office (30 steps away) ready for DD on Sun wink done

-finish gratitude circle with dd wip -decorate choc cake made by dd next on list -scrub outdoor table done -clean silver NOPE -cut bunch lilac which is blooming just in time for Easter! NOPE

Have also though ... cleared one desk in office, cleaned sink in bathroom again, looked up defrosting lamb details and drunk a very large gin!

Have a good evening one and all ! NFLB!

Enjoy your supper Zoo!

Sorry managed to miss photo completely Giveme your little one is gorgeous, bless him. I hope you are both able to sleep tonight x

It’s just been added to Netflix sc although we have it on DVD anyway! :o

Ah, give, what a gorgeous boy. Hope he is getting well.

Zoo, hope DD2's panic is subsiding .

Ta Das:
♥️ Dw rotated and put on again
🧡 S&S followed by unbecoming WhatsApp rant about how I am not a lavatory attendant and the DC are all big enough and ugly enough to clean up after themselves.
💛 DH mended the loo seat that had come undone and was tipping people onto the floor!
💚 Our bed stripped and bedding in the washer
💙 Kitchen floor swept
💜 DW emptied and filled again
🖤 Butternut squash flesh and seeds roasted for salads
♥️ delicious garlic chicken salad for lunch to use up chicken
🧡 Bedlinen hung on the line, next Lol in
💛 2nd LOL hung on line, 3rd LOL on
💚 Twice round the playing field on bikes with DS3, then off for a bit of road cycling with him. I've not been on a bike since he was 21 months old and not properly road cycled since I was 12. I had a blast!
💙 Soothed poor gluteus maximus with a pot of tea and an HCB (so to speak. Applied orally!)
💜 Fish pie and home grown chard for tea
🖤 Clean bedlinen for us and DS3.

Now soaking said aching muscles in the bath before I recycle previous Easter hunt clues into 4 "new" ones for tomorrow!

Relaxing reading, doing crosswords, listening to classical music, painting and sometimes felting but it did sometimes stress me out too.

accidental injuries haha you don’t know what you are asking. Had several weird ones - shower caused me a mild electric shock due to the circuit breaker fusing all the electrics otherwise I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale. Was knocked out for a few minutes or more and ended up with a shoulder that won’t sit back in the socket properly. It was swollen to about four times the size initially.

Fell on a school trip due to some misbehaviour and broke my arm and nearly passed out on the boat with pain. Years and years later tripped on a school trip and broke my nose in two places and left wrist and torn the ligaments in the right one and had several scratches bleeding whilst going to Book Day at the library. I insisted we got the kids to the library and I wondered why people were looking at me and thought it was just because we were dressed up not realising my face was splatted in blood. Someone picked me up and took me to hospital. I wasn’t allowed at work although I did try to go back in. My boss said “ no way “ and laughed at the idea. I was allowed back when my black eyes healed up and I only had one arm in plaster. Ten weeks later. I broke one again last year when a child kicked me in the wrist.

I’m a bit accident prone my mum said I always was. I have a horseshoe dent in my head.

Loved the card.
My son sent one it says Happy Birthday from your favourite child.

Not many Ta Das today and I still haven’t caught up reading all your posts, sorry.

S&S
Painted the front door with stain.
Painted the gate, black.
Painted the shed door with undercoat.
Swept the path.

Had carrot and coriander soup for lunch.
Had left over fish pie for tea.

Listened to Classic fm in the summer house and dozed off in the warmth of the sun for about half an hour.

Having lamb for lunch tomorrow and pavlova if I get around to making it.