I'm Not Crazy...Yet!

“SHELTERING IN PLACE”….2020’s catch phrase!  In 10 years I wonder if we will still be using it.   PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…no!!!!!  I love my “shelter”, my yellow house with the big front porch and a pond in the backyard…BUT!!!!  Sometimes now it feels almost like a prison.

One of the few things that has kept me somewhat sane, is PROJECTS!  I tend to have a certain degree of ADHD (without the A & the D…self-diagnosed), and I need to stay busy.  I have never liked being idle for too long at a time.  So….projects!

Since the “shutdown” I’ve done some:   reading, worked (a lot) on my genealogy files, cleaned & organized till I’m thinking of calling SOUTHERN LIVING for a magazine spread, organized tons of pictures, yard work, made scrapbooks…well, you get the picture.

So now I’m in need of a new PROJECT…and I’ve been looking for one on my favorite website PINTEREST.  You do use PINTEREST, don’t you?  If not, warning:  IT’S ADDICTIVE!

Two things that caught my eye are:

SEASHELL PAINTING    

and    

ROCK PAINTING

Now I can assure you:  I AM NOT AN ARTIST/PAINTER (unlike my 14-year old granddaughter…this was her very first landscape that she completed when she was 13….yes, her very first attempt!  But I digress!

I can’t draw or paint worth a toot…seriously, I can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler and my stick figures look like aliens from outer space.  BUT!  I think I might could get into painting rocks and seashells.  They certainly wouldn’t be works of art, but I think they may be fun to try.

When my grandkids were little we painted rocks including HOT ROCKS.

Then a few years ago, my granddaughter and I taped inspirational quotes or Bible scriptures inside seashells; then we drove around the neighborhood on the golf cart leaving them in neighbors’ mailboxes or hiding them in the park for others to find.  (I try to do at least one RAK…Random Act of Kindness…with my grandkids each summer.)

Aren’t these shells beautiful?  Way beyond my talent, but still inspiration.

I could probably handle these…and so could your kids or grandkids.

And more inspiration:

These use puffy paint…sounds like fun!

Beautiful blue shells

And here is a great video showing 5 different ways to decorate shells.

Youtube

Rocks are another great painting surface, especially if you can collect some smooth ones from a river bed.  But if not, LOWES usually has them.  And here are some rock painting ideas:

A lovely dragonfly…Pinterest

Cactus without the thorns!

Great for those RAKs…hiding is almost as much fun as finding them!

 We could all use a little more PEACE these days!

These might could be called THERAPY ROCKS

 Remember that old TV show:  

HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL???

My “shelter in place” motto:  

HAVE PROJECT...WILL STAY SANE 

(at least for the time being!)

Now where are my paints????

What projects are keeping you sane these days???

ONCE UPON A QUARANTINE

Do you think that’s what some author will use to begin her next fairy tale???  And then write a story about all the things that go on during a quarantine???  Sadly, if I wrote such a tale, it would be VERY BORING!!! 

I have tried to stay busy during this time because for me….bored is not an option…bored is the enemy…bored drives me C-R-A-Z-Y!!!!

So…what have I been doing to keep the guys with the straight jackets at bay?  

Catching Up on GENEALOGY Files

I figure if I can find a skeleton or two in the closet, I could always blackmail some unsuspecting family member…or at least have a little fun with them.  I can be MEAN funny that way😊

EATING…AND EATING…AND EATING

You’ve heard of the Freshman 15, right?  Well, I think I’m into the Quarantine 5 (10? 15?)  That’s what happens when you mindlessly eat because you can't think of anything else to do at the moment and your husband-who-wants- to-always-have-sweets-around-and-never-seems-to-gain-a-pound insists on going to the grocery store (with mask in place) and buying chocolate and ice cream!!!  When ice cream enters the door, will power goes out the window!

That's EXACTLY what I'm telling you!

(I may be the next patient on his show!)

DAILY WALKS

So I walk and hope those pounds brought on by the ice cream and other goodies that just seem to find their way into my mouth miraculously drop off as I go (a girl can dream!)

Working 1000-Piece JIGSAW PUZZLES

And getting absolutely nothing else done because I can’t just leave all those little pieces laying there just daring you to find out where they go!!!!  At least my granddaughter helped😊

Yardwork

That’s one positive from all this mess…our yard has never looked better.  But if this isolation keeps going much longer my husband who is a yard work junkie isn’t going to have any limbs or shrubs left to cut!

 Watching ‘TOO MUCH’ MURDER AND MAYHEM on TV

This is thanks to the man I live with!!!  We have watched DATELINE, SNAPPED, FORENSIC FILES, KILLER COUPLES…I never realized how much killing was going on in this world!!!  I’m beginning to wonder if my “better half” is taking notes on how to get rid of me and not get caught!!!!   (Hmmm….should I worry???)

READING  ORGANIZING  CLEANING  DECLUTTERING  ETC., ETC., ETC.

What  would  I  prefer  doing?

SHOPPING               GOING OUT TO EAT

VISITING FRIENDS   ATTENDING CHURCH

WATCHING A MOVIE (in the theater)

GETTING A MANI/PEDI

(I did get haircut and color this past week…I caved!!!  

It was that or shave my head!)

GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE 

W-I-T-H-O-U-T  LOOKING LIKE A MASKED BANDIT

AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT I WANT TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!

Our state of GA is slowly opening back up but with many restrictions.  My church won’t begin again until at least June and then I’m told it will be very different…I guess different is better than not attending at all.  I’ve come to the point I don’t know who or what to believe, but I’m still for the most part sheltering in place. I do worry about what I will do when I can’t think of anything else to do!!!!!!  I mean you can only battle with so many dust bunnies and you can only arrange your closet (by item, by color, maybe even with different colored hangers…don’t judge me!) just so many times.  My sister is a nurse in a large hospital psych ward.  I think I may need to tell her to expect me sooner than later!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KEEP THE BOREDOM AT BAY?

PS:  Happy Mother’s Day to all those mothers out there, including those of you who have fur babies. 

I NEED A HUG!!!

Yep!  I do!  I need food; I need shelter; I need fresh air; and I NEED A HUG!!!!  Us Southern folk quite often greet each other with a big ole’ hug.  In fact, if you aren’t the touchy-feely kind, you probably don’t need to live down south. 

And one of the worst parts of this Corona Virus quarantine/isolation/social distancing is….WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO HUG ANYBODY!!!  Of course, I guess it isn’t a problem if you aren’t even seeing anybody!

Anywho!!!  I got to thinking about HUGS and decided to do some research.  (I often do that…research strange random subjects!!!)  I found some quite interesting information and thought I’d share with you…just in case you are a HUGGER (like me)!

To quote a physiotherapist:  The word ‘hug’ is believed to come from the word ‘hugga’, meaning ‘to comfort’ in the Old Norse language, first appearing approximately 450 years ago in Scandinavia.

http://kulraj.org/2014/09/09/science-of-hugs/

The act of hugging relates to the fundamental need for touch.  Just like we need food, water, and shelter, we need human touch to thrive.  "In recent years, a wave of studies has documented some incredible emotional and physical health benefits that come from touch. This research is suggesting that touch is truly fundamental to human communication, bonding, and health." https://www.khca.org/files/2015/10/8-Reasons-Why-We-Need-Human-Touch-More-Than-Ever.pdf

I guess that’s why HUGGING  is such a big part of our culture including:

*Greeting friends and family

*As a ‘goodbye’

*Congratulating someone

*To console someone or show support

*Before sports and performance teams begin their game/competition

Research has shown that HUGS/touches are very beneficial for children & adolescents:

*Students that have received a supportive touch from teachers are twice as likely to raise their hands in class

*A sympathetic touch by a doctor gives patients an impression that their appointment lasted twice as long as it did

*Teams that are more ‘touchy’ perform better, even at world-class levels, than those who do not make physical contact as often... (so that's what's up with all the butt slapping!)

*Physical touch found to correlate with reduced pain and symptoms of depression

And for adults touching can:

*lower blood pressure

*boost immune system

*reduce stress

I could use all the above...especially these days!!!

So….HUGGING allows people to feel happy, connected, and healthy.  And what’s more….HUGS ARE FREE!!!  

Yep!  I need a hug.  A BIG 'OLE BEAR HUG!!!  And you’d better believe when all this virus/no-hugging stuff is over, I’m probably going to be hugging everybody I see.  So if you see me coming and you don’t want me to grab you, you’d better run the other way.

How about you?  Do you need a HUG???

ISOLATION Ain't for the Faint of Heart

This is sooooooooooooooo me right now!!!!

*Hair is impossible

*Feeling fat but not sassy

*Looking for my next sugar fix

My ISOLATION SELF is not a pretty sight…and don’t even begin to ask me about my ISOLATION BRAIN!!!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  We are hanging in there but my rope is getting really frazzled!!!  

Gotta remember this one:

                 Hope you are hanging in there!  

Love & hugs!

Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive

Hey, You...Get Off of My Cloud!

If you do, "I Will Survive" (and you will too)

But if you get too close "I'll Fly Away!"

(Sorry....just a little "beer virus" humor!)

Isolation is for the birds….well, guess that’s not true.  They seem to be flying around rather freely these days!  Sure wish I could.  I am doing my best to stay away from as many people as possible, not only so that I will be following the rules set up by my local and state governments; but also because it’s the best thing for my health since I have asthma.  I want to protect myself and my family as much as possible, but it sure is hard not to get out and see people.   I did go out to the cemetery for a few minutes, but I wasn’t worried about anyone there giving me those evil germs.   So…what have I been doing while in prison isolation?

One of my least favorite jobs….cleaning out flower beds.  We are planning on relandscaping some areas but won’t be able to get the plants until after all this craziness is over.  By then it might be winter!

HOMESCHOOLING.  One grandchild is in 10^th grade and the other is in 8^th, and let me tell you….what is being taught these days is soooooo much harder than when I was in school.  In fact, I’m not sure I would have ever graduated if I had to do all that they do.  I mean, I know we learned about cells but I’m pretty sure we didn’t have to learn the names and definitions of all the hundreds zillion different cells swimming around in our bodies.  

l

I have a Master’s degree but sometimes I honestly have no idea about some of the things they are learning.  I am helping them when possible (and they both have called on me a few times these past two weeks), but doing school online can be very difficult when you are used to having a teacher and the structure of a classroom.  My grandchildren are hanging in there, but I know many children don’t have anyone at home directing their path and keeping them focused.  Please pray for them...and for their teachers who truly care.

I have organized closets (color coordinated), cleaned out cabinets, and found dust bunnies I didn’t even know I had.  Guess there are at least a few positive outcomes of this devil's handiwork.

 Another positive outcome has been that in many homes, parents are spending more time with their children than they are normally able to.  Have you seen the new game going around…the one that pulls parent and child together as they travail their town looking for TEDDY BEARS in windows, behind trees, or hiding in bushes?  We are doing it in our little town and one friend recently reported finding over 235!!!!  But it’s not only fun for the young, because two “oldies” whose name I won’t mention jumped on our their golf cart and went looking too😊  Such a fun way to soothe some cabin fever and the “I’m bored” syndrome.   (And yes, my sweet teddy is sitting in his own little chair on the front porch!)

Of course, I’m reading, doing crosswords, walking in the neighborhood (keeping my distance from any other walkers), and finishing up some projects that have been on the back burner for awhile.  Things like cleaning out my computer files and favorites, making out menus, and going through mountains a few recipes I’ve collected.  If only I could get to Wal-Mart to pick up some spray paint, I would be painting up a storm!  I am not a “sitter”….I have to constantly be doing something.  I am beginning to understand how those poor animals in cages at the zoo feel☹    

One negative of this whole situation is that by staying home I am doing way too much of this…..

and none of this.      

I’ve hidden the bathroom scales for now!!!!!

Another positive in all this sadness and fear is that GOD still knows how to put on His spring nature show.  The azaleas and dogwoods are blooming and so I get to enjoy those as I walk the neighborhood.  And once again a sweet little cardinal couple is building their nest in the candlier on our front porch.  If the mean old cats or some other unwelcome visitor doesn’t bother them, we will get to enjoy waiting for the eggs to hatch and then watching mama and daddy feed their little ones.  Definitely something to look forward to!

I am 70 years old young and so I don’t have any memories of the Great Depression or WWI or II.  I do remember having those drills in school during the Cold War where we had to dive under our desks when the alarm was sounded…and I remember my neighbor digging this HUGE hole in his backyard that I was hoping was going to be a neighborhood swimming pool but instead was a fallout shelter.  (This worried me tremendously…thinking that if the worst happened his family would be safe inside that shelter while my family was annihilated!)  But other than that (which turned out to be nothing) I have never seen or really even imagined anything like what we are going through today.  I can’t help but ask, "Is this God's wake-up call for all of us?"      I am so tired of seeing and hearing people from our highest government to my local community argue, put down each other, and just be plain mean.  I’m not trying to say I know what God is up to, but I am praying that maybe, just maybe, at least some of our world will now appreciate the blessings we have and learn to live in love and peace with all people.

I pray that you and your family and friends are safe and well, and I ask that you pray for my family and me too.  WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER... if we just love one another, care for one another, and PRAY PRAY PRAY!     Keep washing those hands and distancing yourself….go clean out some closets and find some dust bunnies to sweep away.  This too shall pass.