Coping Strategies for Dealing with COVID-19

[Inky]

A year ago in March DH and I started playing cribbage regularly. It's one of the best 2 person games. We did up scoresheets calling it "The Covid 19 Cribbage Tournament". We played 19 games and I won the championship!!! Our daughter made us up t-shirts commemorating the event. We kept playing after that and I think he won the next 3 or 4 championships (19 games). He is the better player, it was just a fluke I won the first one. Anyway a year later we're still playing and I'm way ahead on this last one. We're also playing Sequence. Another great game for 2.

[OHFL2009]

When I lived at home my dad and I would play cribbage almost every night. He grew up playing it with his dad and passed it on to me. We would do the same thing keeping running a running tally. I bet if I went over to my parents' and opened up the cribbage board, there would still be tally sheets tucked in the card box. When my grandfather passed away, I got this little wooden folding table that has a cribbage board carved into the top (along with a chess/checkers board). I really need to teach my husband how to play. 

[Inky]

On 3/15/2021 at 8:51 AM, OHFL2009 said:

When I lived at home my dad and I would play cribbage almost every night. He grew up playing it with his dad and passed it on to me. We would do the same thing keeping running a running tally. I bet if I went over to my parents' and opened up the cribbage board, there would still be tally sheets tucked in the card box. When my grandfather passed away, I got this little wooden folding table that has a cribbage board carved into the top (along with a chess/checkers board). I really need to teach my husband how to play. 

That table board would be really nice to have. We keep ours at the kitchen table and sometimes it gets messy.

[OHFL2009]

13 hours ago, Inky said:

That table board would be really nice to have. We keep ours at the kitchen table and sometimes it gets messy.

This is what it looks like. It's about 18" x 24" and folds down like a TV dinner tray. But I'm not sure where you'd find one; this one is older than me and for all I know, my grandfather may have made it .

Spoiler

 

[Inky]

On 3/17/2021 at 10:07 AM, OHFL2009 said:

This is what it looks like. It's about 18" x 24" and folds down like a TV dinner tray. But I'm not sure where you'd find one; this one is older than me and for all I know, my grandfather may have made it .

  Hide contents

 

That's beautful! You'll have it forever. But I don't see a skunk line....having been skunked twice in March already. 

[OHFL2009]

11 hours ago, Inky said:

That's beautful! You'll have it forever. But I don't see a skunk line....having been skunked twice in March already. 

Since it's a 61 hole board, we play around the board twice, so a skunk is if you complete your second lap before the opponent completes their second "up" leg. A double skunk is if you complete your second lap before your opponent completes their first lap.  

[viii]

My spring writer's retreat was cancelled for next month. The fall one of 2020 had been cancelled too. I know it's for the best, but I'm feeling so sad about it. It's one of the things I look forward to the most - almost as much as Christmas. We're going to try and move it online like we did in the fall, but I'm just super discouraged. 

[TeaGrannie]

On 3/23/2021 at 3:00 PM, viii said:

My spring writer's retreat was cancelled for next month. The fall one of 2020 had been cancelled too. I know it's for the best, but I'm feeling so sad about it. It's one of the things I look forward to the most - almost as much as Christmas. We're going to try and move it online like we did in the fall, but I'm just super discouraged. 

I understand the frustration. My third knitting retreat is canceled. Lost last spring and fall as well as the upcoming spring one. Vaccine roll out here is not great. I’m afraid to look forward to the fall one. 
 

I hope you can move it online and enjoy it
 

[viii]

10 hours ago, TeaGrannie said:

I understand the frustration. My third knitting retreat is canceled. Lost last spring and fall as well as the upcoming spring one. Vaccine roll out here is not great. I’m afraid to look forward to the fall one. 
 

I hope you can move it online and enjoy it
 

Yes, we did decide to move it online, which is great but it just isn't the same. I find it a lot harder to write at home when I'm surrounded by distractions, rather than out at a remote cabin! We have another one in November that I am cautiously optimistic for. 

[47of74]

One coping strategy for me is hoping for the day that the Costco sampling and food courts makes a full return

Quote

Costco diehards, don't fret: The beloved food court, known for its $1.50 hot dog and soda combo and giant menu boards, is coming back to life, albeit slowly.

Costco shut down seating areas in food courts when the pandemic spread through the United States last March. It pared back the menu to hot dogs and pizza for takeout only.

Signs of life started to emerge in the summer when the chicken bake returned. Now, the return to normal is gaining steam. Costco (COST) recently began adding back ice cream and smoothies to the menu and is bringing back tables and chairs in stores that have outdoor seating areas. The company also is bringing back churros to the menu and plans to resume indoor seating as more states loosen Covid-19 safety restrictions.

Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti expects a full return for the food courts: "God willing. But it's going to take some time," he said in an interview Wednesday.

You could pretty much get an entire lunch by just visiting all the sampling stations there along with some good ideas for meals to purchase. 

 

[nokidsmom]

On 4/8/2021 at 7:59 PM, 47of74 said:

You could pretty much get an entire lunch by just visiting all the sampling stations there along with some good ideas for meals to purchase. 

My dad pretty much did that in the years between my mom's death and his.   Going to Costco was his way of getting out, trying to find easy things to make for himself and getting lunch by snacking his way through the store.

The cafeteria at my workplace completely shut down last March when things locked down.  Vending machines are empty and the coffee machines removed as well.   Was at work two days ago the building management announced the return of the self-service part of the cafeteria.   So at least there's another option between packing your own lunch or going out to grab something. 

 

[LilMissMetaphor]

My Costa Rica writer's retreat has been cancelled once already and I'm already feeling it's likely it won't go ahead in Feb 2022 either...

[CTRLZero]

This thread was such a trip down memory lane.  I’ve been a little blue thinking about heading into yet another fall/winter season with restrictions in place and wondering how I’d cope.  There are lots of great ideas in this thread, some of which were my own that I’ve forgotten!  😄

My husband and I are wrapping up some home improvement projects that consumed our time.  I’ve started looking at cookbooks again and have some ideas for batch cooking and freezing.

Thanks to the fitness thread here on FJ, I have found lots of ways to build muscles and stamina and plan to continue with that.  Months ago on this thread, I mused about clearing our garage for a personal dance studio, and by golly we are just now finishing up on that.

Like everyone else, I’ve gotten a little tired on the trail, but revisiting this thread reminded me of lots of ways to cope.  ❤️

[Coconut Flan]

Today there was a timely delivery in the news feed:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/09/04/1033672045/6-tips-for-coping-with-covid-anxiety-this-fall-and-winter

I'm somewhere between this is my new normal and simply weary with it.

[nokidsmom]

Mr. No and I are planning a road trip out to Utah to see my youngest sister and BIL.   We are planning to visit several other places on the way there and back to IL.   Been monitoring the Delta situation and getting more concerned.   This is a road trip in our own car, so no worries about being around other travelers in a plane.  Sister and BIL are fully vaccinated.   We can stick with outdoor activities but now am thinking of a Plan B.   I really want to see my sister so thinking we just drive straight out there and back.

I really need to get out, staying at home is really getting to me.   We already cancelled some activities such as going to the WI State Fair because of the surge.   We took a short trip to southern IL back in late May before Delta took off.  Now that very same area is a hotspot only a couple of months later.   This is damn depressing.

Edited September 5, 2021 by nokidsmom

[Ozlsn]

Have to admit a large part of my coping strategy right now involves avoiding social media and news outlets. Just so damn tired.

[FiveAcres]

5 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

Have to admit a large part of my coping strategy right now involves avoiding social media and news outlets. Just so damn tired.

I am trying to ration my exposure. It's so easy to get sucked in. 

[47of74]

Got the paternal unit all signed up for his Pfizer booster Sunday afternoon.  Mom was grumbling about having trouble getting him signed up and the local grocery store was being insistent about people doing it on-line so I went ahead and did it for him.  We'll all be boosted then. 

[Coconut Flan]

Everyone in my family except the grandchildren will have their boosters by next Wednesday.  All but two are already done and the grandchildren have had their first dose!  

[AliceUpsideDown]

Just wanted to pop on here and say that I don’t post much on here (working on joining discussions more, y’all are cool people), but I got a moderate symptomatic breakthrough case of COVID last week (fully vaxxed and boosted), and FJ has really gotten me through the long days in quarantine. Thanks everyone, for giving me lots of interesting stuff to read (and for fueling my odd fascination with fundamentalist religions and cults lol).

[Howl]

Small family XMas yesterday, all of us vaxxed and boosted.  Then the conversation turns to, what if Stepchild X shows up?  There's been a bit of general family estrangement initiated by Stepchild X, but that doesn't affect me, they'd been invited, so I say I'm fine. Then I find out they are asking because Stepchild X is anti vax & I'm on immune suppressing meds.  Also pretty sure that Stepchild X has no health insurance. 

Ultimately,  Stepchild X is a no show, but I found the anti vax news heartbreaking. Heartbreaking because being anti vax comes with an entire load of wing nut political and social baggage garbage and this puts Stepchild X at great vulnerability to Omicron and I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that this adult kid is also not anti-mask. 

Also, Bananagrams is the bomb!  Never heard of it, never played it before, now I love it!  Scrabble adjacent. 

[thoughtful]

On 12/26/2021 at 8:30 AM, Howl said:

Also, Bananagrams is the bomb!  Never heard of it, never played it before, now I love it!  Scrabble adjacent. 

I agree!

My mother and I were Scrabble addicts, and almost never played any other game for many decades. My nephew and sister-in-law introduced us to Bananagrams a few years ago, and we were completely converted. It can be played at a child's level, or with high speed and sophistication, and every level in between.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves word games, especially if:

- you like Scrabble and other word games, but dislike waiting your turn and wish they'd move faster. In Bananagrams, everyone plays at once, and it can go very fast.
- you dislike keeping score - whoever finishes first, when the draw pile is down to fewer tiles than there are players, wins.
- you like the idea of being able to change the words you have already made, and harvest letters you need for something else.
- you like the risk-taking of the decisions needed for moving tiles around as described above.
- you want to play a word game that depends as much on flexibility and speed as being able to come up with 64-dollar words (they're needed too - it helps to start the game with a nice long word or two, and you need to know what to do with the less-common letters. But I've seen people win with a maze made of short simple words).
- you like card games - despite being a word game, this one uses a lot of the same strategies as card games in which you "store" things you might need later, have to decide whether to discard something, and might need to change your original plan depending on what you draw from the pile.
- you like games, but not the set-up and clean-up - Bananagrams has no board, no variety of fussy little pieces and cards - just tiles with letters.

 

[Audrey2]

While talking about word games, I also enjoy Quiddler. Each round you get one more card with a letter or letter combination on it and your objective is to draw and discard the correct cards to be able to spell a word or words with all of your letters. In the last round of the game, you've got 10 cards.