Lockdown Guide to Not Going Stir-crazy

[countessalmirena]

Just when I had already hit a bit of a doldrum... we've been hit with another 5-day lockdown in Melbourne.

Fellow Melbournians, I hope we can listen to each other, even if what we want to say is "Something is rotten in the state of Melbourne" or "Curses upon this COVID" or merely a wordless whimper.

I hope we can encourage each other if we're ready to be encouraged. (Sometimes a cheerful "Chin up" is salt in the wound, and all one wants to do is snarl "NO! My chin is not going up.")

I also hope we can give some ideas of what we can do during this snap lockdown AKA circuit-breaker, to not be overwhelmed when we've already had a rotten year.

• I have a new Toro edge trimmer. I'm going to trim the evil grass by the fence and in all of those places beyond the lawnmower's reach, and I'm going to do it while singing "Der Hölle Rache" at the top of my voice.
• I'm going to bake a sugar-free German cheesecake, cut it up into neighbour-sized portions, and leave the portions in front of neighbours' doors while I scoot off and text them to check their door.
• I'm going to write more. Nearly there.
• I'm going to perm my cat's fur. (Not really. He'd not stand for it.)
• I'm going to buy some Tojiro shears from a Japanese seller.
• I'm going to set up totem tennis in nearby garden/park and whack the begoodnessgraciousme out it.
• I'm going to re-read all of the Discworld novels.

It's not a very impressive list, I realise. It's just a start.

Please post with your own suggestions or comments or worries or complaints. I hope to see this thread go a little crazy, or else [in menacing voice] this fly which I've just abducted and am holding hostage is going to get it.

[countessalmirena]

It is more than time for aerosol transmission to be acknowledged as a significant factor. I hope that we will put defences against such transmission into practice.

[countessalmirena]

I have paid heed and not washed the cat.

I'm not sure what my chin is doing...

[countessalmirena]

Oh, yes - all of them. When I first encountered the Discworld novels after they were recommended by a friend, I started borrowing them from the local library. By book 3, I thought, "Forget that; I LOVE these! I must have them for my own," and gobbled them up. The later ones are hardcovers; I could not wait.

I've seen Hogfather; The Colour of Magic; Going Postal; Good Omens. I haven't seen the Wyrd Sisters. I thought Hogfather was terrible (primarily because of the pace of directing), but the Colour of Magic was exactly as I wanted it to be.

[countessalmirena]

The scanning of the photos sounds interesting. So many old memories can be preserved.

Oh, yes, you're so right. It's time for Toilet Paper battles.

[countessalmirena]

Oh my holy Toro...

Did I say I'd be doing the whipper-snipping/edge trimming? I did, didn't I?

Well, I think I managed to complete half of the property before melting into an exertion puddle of carbon and fizzy perspiration.

The rest can wait until tomorrow.

[countessalmirena]

Oh, I can imagine how beautiful the finished result will be. Are you using Japanese paper?

[countessalmirena]

Yes... I was thinking "Two massive chocolate blocks in the fridge? That's a biohazard. It must be consumed destroyed immediately."

[countessalmirena]

davidc4430, you have that exactly right.

The events of 2020 did not loom on the perimeter of my expectations in 2015.

[countessalmirena]

Ouch. I hope that your recovery is swift.

On the other hand, it is an excuse not to mow the lawn.

As for me, I have a new goat hair duster. That's going to propel me into doing the dusting tomorrow. If dusting could be considered alluring and adorable, this is the duster to achieve it.

[kopenhagen5]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

Oh, I can imagine how beautiful the finished result will be. Are you using Japanese paper?

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That would be nice but a tad impractical where I am using them. 

I am putting clear perspex on the inside with some opaque rice paper film on top.

This will act as an insulator as well, similarly to double glazing.

Also easier to keep clean.

I am using Tasmanian oak which I have Danish oiled and hopefully I have the correct proportions/dimensions based on my research of traditional shoji screens.

Will post a pic or two upon completion.