O/S Daily Wednesday 18 March 2020

TravellingAbuela

Well it looks like the supermarkets are at last taking stock of the panic buying situation. Limited number of each item can be bought. (But won't people just go back in to a different checkout?!)  Announcements of early doors shopping for elderly and vulnerable on certain days. And Sainsbury's giving priority to online shopping for the same group. About time something was done as it's getting frightening. DD was almost in tears yesterday after a conversation in Morries with a young woman (who she didn't know) She said this young lady was at her wit's end wondering how she was going to feed her children. Limited income and couldn't afford to stockpile and always just bought what she needed.on a daily basis. Now there is nothing left to buy when she arrives at the sm after the school drop. And there will be many more in the same position. It's just so sad. 

[Deleted User]

First full day of self isolation, I have had to stop the cleaner, so this morning it will be me, dusting etc in the bedroom and OH with the GTec. We are doing one room a day, hopfully we can cope with that otherwise we will have to wait until things settle down......a bit at a time is the way to go. 
Rainy morning, OH was looking forward to getting out into the garden, its on hold for now. I hope veryone is holding up ok. Have been trying to get hold of Morrison re my order to no avail, so am doing a notice for the front door asking them to deliver and unload into the bags at the kitchen door. once the order is delivered I may go in and put in an order for 3 weeks time, I am pretty sure we can last out till then. I can make changes on the order up to lunchtime the day before delivery.
I have set up the embroidery machine to do another Battenburg lace mat, it takes 4 hours, so will do a bit this morning and finish it off after lunch. I have two other projects in line to get done.
OH is playing scrabble on his tablet, keeps him happy!! He has several different apps of for jigsaws, games etc.
Chicken to cook for supper, will do it with rice and mixed veg. We do not seem to be eating dessert at the moment.

dp1

Morning everyone - just been having a catch up as I don't work today. Though I think school could be closed after Friday. Little grand daughter stayed last night - she woke at 5 and I put her in bed with me, but she was wide awake! I put her down for a nap about 9 and she's still sound asleep.
DD has decided to keep her away from other people as much as possible so she will only be coming to my house. No one other than DD will be coming in so that should be fine. No busy shops etc.
I have asthma but quite mildly, so I am going to avoid busy places and people but I live in a quiet are so that's not really difficult.
My parents are self-isolating - my brother, myself and DD will still visit but obviously be careful about hand washing,  and their carers are still going. Hopefully no one will get ill so we can still visit....I think it would be very difficult for them to see no-one and that it would worsen Dad's dementia. All their plans for their Diamond anniversary next week have been cancelled, which is sad for them but I suppose not that important in the grand scale of things.
Eldest DD in Sweden is working from home now and fed up after only 3 days! They have been told not to travel so she was upset as she was coming home next week for a few days.
Well I have washing to put out before little one wakes. She goes into hospital next Thursday for her endoscopy...we thought it might be cancelled but DD had a phone call to arrange things this morning, so at the moment it's still going ahead.
Hope everyone has a good day...and try not to worry too much. 

snoozer

Hi everyone, thank you very much for all the birthday wishes yesterday, they really cheered me up.
I'm taking the opportunity to write while the house is quiet. Laura and Brian went to the SM (hopefully will get bread if nothing else). Steve has taken Esben out in his sling and Ziggy on her lead while I cleaned the kitchen and I'm now having a much needed cuppa). 

Laura and Brian had their holiday to Barbados cancelled last night so they are going to stay up here for a while, we have to go home on Friday because neither of us brought more medication than for a week but we might come back on Monday - the air seems much cleaner here and there are fewer people. One piece of good news is that the anti-viral medication Steve is on, while not being much use if you catch it, seems to help people avoid infection with it. He's been on it for over a year so fingers crossed he's not as vulnerable as we thought.

nannywindow

Morning all. It's wet and miserable here.

I had a bad night and when I did sleep I was having weird dreams, one was about a bucket which I couldn't catch as it rolled down a road ! Gave up and got up at 7am and I have cleaned the top of the cooker and made some pear and mincemeat crumbles. The mincemeat was a left over jar unused from Xmas. The bread maker is also on but I had to supervise Mr Fix It on that one, as he's liable to get his tbs and his tsp's mixed up because he doesn't read the recipe properly and I don't like salty bread....don't ask  I do have a bit of ironing to do if I get bored and I can find some energy, but nothing's urgent. In theory I could have just have PJ days anyway.

I rang Dad last night and I think he now gets the severity of the situation as he has cancelled his cleaner ( or she cancelled ) but she kindly offered to get him some shopping. Trouble is there doesn't seem to be much in the shops . I hope we will see more acts of kindness during this and not selfishness.

Uh Oh ! DD just text us that she's had to come home ill from school and also our DGS, both with a cough and a temperature. DGD is home too and SiL is on his way. I hope they are all ok, it maybe nothing, but too risky not to isolate especially as there will be 3 different schools involved. We still only have 3 cases in the county, but are surrounded by other counties that have a lot more.

Take care all, hugs to everyone. Stay safe and well

nan xx

carolbee

Morning all. Busy sowing seeds for peppers etc in greenhouse and DH been working on allotment. We usually get a pretty good crop of most things, especially courgettes so will be good to be able to share around. Eldest son and wife here indefinitely as his sports TV work, ie Euros etc been massively affected. They were hoping to go to Brazil, where’s she’s from,end of April but waiting and seeing now. They’d rather be stuck here. 

Take  care all in these strange times

TravellingAbuela

NAN fingers crossed a false alarm for your DD and family and just an innocent cough. x

monnagran

Morning all.

Wow, things have escalated pretty quickly.  I feel desperately sorry for people trying to feed families and people with other health problems who find life difficult enough in the best of times.

Being on my own, and in pretty good health, I feel fortunate, but normal life seems to have stopped for now.
I have the T V on, but they seem to be making it up as they go along,.

On the family front, DS2 and his family have had some bug which is doing the rounds of the school.  They're not sure if it is Coronavirus or not but when DIL rang 111 She was told that they must all isolate for 2 weeks.  She can work from home but 7 year old DGD is climbing the walls because she is missing her friends and now she feels better she wants to go back to school immediately, if not before.
DB, who is living with half a working heart and that half badly damaged, has been told that if he gets Coronavirus it will probably be fatal.  He is remarkably sanguine about it all and we had a long, cheerful conversation yesterday.

Anyway, for all of us it is upwards and onwards and loving thoughts for all those struggling.

-taff

Morning all! WIndy and grey today. Stray cat has been back, I stroked him last night when he was mashing his gob full of stuff and you can feel every bone in his spine. So plan is to keep feeding him, circulate picture on lost pets FB local page and see if I can catch him in a basket to see if he's chipped.

Still being inventive cooking, yesterday was brocolli and stilton soup using up floppy brocolli, today was fried eggs on fried slice focaccia to use it up before it became inedible. We are actually eating less than usual, probably a side effect of not knowing when or where the shopping is coming from although the little local shops seem to be well stocked so far. Everyone's going for the big shops...It is still super crazy, a friend just texted to say she had to queue to get into lidls car park and there was no bread, milk etc. I stopped in Tesco last night to get rennies, none on the shelves, no cough and cold medicine, no pain killers. Walked past the nappy aisle, nothing at all on the double row of shelves. People have truly gone bonkers, or they shopped as and when and didn't prep by the looks of things.

A few friends have offered to get me stuff and I had an inward chuckle...I've got nearly everything it's possible to get anyway. But it was very nice of them. To be honest, if I did need something, I wouldn't put them through the hassle of going shopping for me anyway. Now that the SM's have done vulnerable people opening times, if I truly need something, I'll go then. Or drive OH and he can get it. Traffic is lot lighter on the roads too. One bonus...OH taking more of an interest in cooking...Two bonus....

I picked up a water butt from FB MP yesterday, we stood at double arms length, but the bloke did carry it to the car for me, so I can play with that today or tomorrow.

I'm really lucky I think. We've got food, we're not destitute and we have a roof over our heads. And also importantly, we both will never be bored with staying at home because we both have multiple hobbies and there's always somehing to do.

I hope you're all keeping safe, someone posted a list of online links to various things, if anyone would like to see it, I'll post a new post with it in. And we all have each other on this thread. Three bonus....

Watch your backs Wednesday!

-taff

Very big list of online resources.... courtesy of a bloke on FB - not naming him in case....

https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
Telephone befriending service for the elderly

www.llttf.com
Online cognitive behavioural therapy site

www.youngminds.org.uk
Children and adolescent mental health support resource

https://www.headspace.com
Meditation/ relaxation and sleep resources

https://www.mind.org.uk/…/taking-ca…/five-ways-to-wellbeing/
Wellbeing advice

https://www.cruse.org.uk
Bereavement counselling

https://www.samaritans.org/
Samaritans

https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Res…/Looking-After-Yourself
Self help resources for mental health issues

https://www.moodjuice.scot.nhs.uk
Online resource for all mental health issues, including bereavement

https://www.coursera.org/
Online resource for skills building

https://www.udacity.com/
“Udacity is the world’s fastest, most efficient way to master the skills tech companies want. 100% online, part-time & self-paced.”

https://www.senecalearning.com/
Online learning support resource for GCSE/ A-Level/ KS2 and KS3

https://corbettmaths.com
Maths Learning support

https://www.u3a.org.uk
University of the 3rd age, online courses for more mature students

https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
Online courses from MIT

https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

Yoga you can do with the kids, to chill them out?

https://www.udemy.com/
Free online courses

https://www.explorationoftheday.com/
Artistic exploration website

http://languagejam.net
Learn new languages online

https://www.humblebundle.com/
Online sci-fi books

https://www.khanacademy.org
Especially good for maths and computing for all ages but other subjects at Secondary level. Note this uses the U.S. grade system but it's mostly common material.

BBC Learning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/
This site is old and no longer updated and yet there's so much still available, from language learning to BBC Bitesize for revision. No TV licence required except for content on BBC iPlayer.

Futurelearn
https://www.futurelearn.com
Free to access 100s of courses, only pay to upgrade if you need a certificate in your name (own account from age 14+ but younger learners can use a parent account).

Seneca
https://www.senecalearning.com
For those revising at GCSE or A level. Tons of free revision content. Paid access to higher level material.

Openlearn
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/
Free taster courses aimed at those considering Open University but everyone can access it. Adult level, but some e.g. nature and environment courses could well be of interest to young people.

Blockly
https://blockly.games
Learn computer programming skills - fun and free.

Scratch
https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/games/
Creative computer programming

Ted Ed
https://ed.ted.com
All sorts of engaging educational videos

National Geographic Kids
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/
Activities and quizzes for younger kids.

Duolingo
https://www.duolingo.com
Learn languages for free. Web or app.

Mystery Science
https://mysteryscience.com
Free science lessons

The Kids Should See This
https://thekidshouldseethis.com
Wide range of cool educational videos

Crash Course
https://thecrashcourse.com
You Tube videos on many subjects

Crash Course Kids
https://m.youtube.com/user/crashcoursekids
As above for a younger audience

Crest Awards
https://www.crestawards.org
Science awards you can complete from home.

iDEA Awards
https://idea.org.uk
Digital enterprise award scheme you can complete online.

Paw Print Badges
https://www.pawprintbadges.co.uk
Free challenge packs and other downloads. Many activities can be completed indoors. Badges cost but are optional.

Tinkercad
https://www.tinkercad.com
All kinds of making.

Prodigy Maths
https://www.prodigygame.com
Is in U.S. grades, but good for UK Primary age.

Cbeebies Radio
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio
Listening activities for the younger ones.

Nature Detectives
https://naturedetectives.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetect…/
A lot of these can be done in a garden, or if you can get to a remote forest location!

British Council
https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find
Resources for English language learning

Oxford Owl for Home
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Lots of free resources for Primary age

Big History Project
https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home
Aimed at Secondary age. Multi disciplinary activities.

Geography Games
https://world-geography-games.com/world.html
Geography gaming!

Blue Peter Badges
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/about-blue-peter-badges
If you have a stamp and a nearby post box.

The Artful Parent
https://www.facebook.com/artfulparent/
Good, free art activities

Red Ted Art
https://www.redtedart.com
Easy arts and crafts for little ones

The Imagination Tree
https://theimaginationtree.com
Creative art and craft activities for the very youngest.

Toy Theater
https://toytheater.com/
Educational online games

DK Find Out
https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/…
Activities and quizzes

Twinkl
https://www.twinkl.co.uk
This is more for printouts, and usually at a fee, but they are offering a month of free access to parents in the event of school closures.

https://roll20.net/
Play DnD and other RPGs with friends online or make new friends and learn how to play. It's free for basic serivce (which is likely all you will need)

https://artsandculture.google.com/
There's a link to themes and collections in the drop down menu, and virtual gallery tours to check out.

https://librivox.org/
Audiobooks. Like Audible, but FREE! Basically if you aren't aware, Project Gutenberg stores all books which are outside copyright (and therefore free to read https://www.gutenberg.org/)
Librivox is where people have taken these books and then narrated them.

https://www.vulture.com/…/coronavirus-the-metropolitan-oper…
Free online operas

https://www.boatloadpuzzles.com/
Free online puzzles

https://www.zooniverse.org/projects
You can help make a difference and keep boredom at bay right here -

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD6BF044AE5B386D2
Complete online free music concerts

https://www.stageit.com/
Online theatre productions

https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com
Online plays and theatrical performances

https://www.duolingo.com/
free website for learning languages which can be very useful if you're looking to learn a new language. Also comes in a phone app which is very good

Free old novels and short story collections can be found on Project Gutenberg and Wikisource:
https://www.gutenberg.org/
https://wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page

https://www.travelandleisure.com/…/museums-with-virtual-tou…
Virtual museum tours

http://www.openculture.com/…/download-free-coloring-books-f…
Free colouring books to download and print