Enjoying ourselves during covid

[Amethyst]

I’m looking for ideas. I’ve been vaxxed and boostered for quite a while. Yet dh and I always wear n95s everywhere. So I guess we’d be put in the covid-cautious camp. 
 

But I’m ready to get out again. So, I’m starting to make a list. I think dh and I would both be ok with a museum (masked of course), but not a concert or play where we were seated next to a stranger for hours. Restaurants, indoors…don’t know when that will ever happen again. 😢   I have lots of hiking or walking ideas, but it was -7 degrees today so I think I  need some not so outdoorsy ideas to get me through the next couple months. 
 

What have you done to entertain yourself and get out of the house recently?

[HomeAgain]

Well, you said not outdoors so you wouldn't like our day today. 😄 I took ds to skate outside.

We have found art museums to be generally low contact during the weekdays, especially since kids aren't taking field trips.  And the women's college sports have cheap tickets and empty venues. They deserve to be seen and they play with a passion.

[Hilltopmom]

Around thanksgiving I went to a coffee shop with a friend for the first time since covid started. We were the only ones there. It was nice but not something I’ll do again anytime  soon. No museums or things like that where I live. Just going to work us enough covid risk for me.

[regentrude]

2 minutes ago, Hilltopmom said:

Just going to work us enough covid risk for me.

Yep, same here. Since masks aren't required anywhere in this area, our only fun is outdoors. Lots of hiking, backpacking,  kayaking.

If you find it too cold for hiking, what about bonfire gatherings? That's our only socializing in winter.

Edited January 16, 2022 by regentrude

[Jean in Newcastle]

My area requires proof of vaccination for lots of venues. Plus mask unless you are actively eating or drinking. It opens up more options. 

[DreamerGirl]

15 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I have lots of hiking or walking ideas, but it was -7 degrees today so I think I  need some not so outdoorsy ideas to get me through the next couple months. 

I hear ya. I was a gym person and I have weather issues. I haaaaate the cold. But I was also going stir crazy and after hearing again and again, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing on this board I decided to heed that and go out. I miss my warm gym but not with a potential side of COVID. I wear hat, gloves, warmest socks, layers and pretend I am living in the arctic and venture out. I keep telling myself people live like this in many parts of the world, including babies and so I should not wimp out. I drive myself to a trail, arm myself with something warm to drink, get outside and walk the fastest I can and get back in. Sometimes DH and DD join me, but mostly I am going by myself. 

15 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

What have you done to entertain yourself and get out of the house recently?

Kayaking. In addition to hiking. Both these are brand new activities after. the pandemic and I was stir crazy. It is also a family activity. We are a very gym family. I am an equipment, classes, indoor swimming person. But after 2 years of practically in self imposed house arrest this seems the safest way to me.

[Amethyst]

26 minutes ago, Hilltopmom said:

 Just going to work us enough covid risk for me.

I feel super-safe at work. Masks required indoors, and when I go into the clinic, we all wear CAPRs so I feel safe there. But the college has been on break since early December and I’m getting antsy and need some things to do. 

[Hilltopmom]

5 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I feel super-safe at work. Masks required indoors, and when I go into the clinic, we all wear CAPRs so I feel safe there. But the college has been on break since early December and I’m getting antsy and need some things to do. 

Gotcha- I’m teaching public school 🙂 that’s enough outta the house for me

[mathnerd]

I go to outdoors farmers' markets and produce stands (besides hiking trails, ocean beaches) because our weather permits those things (fully masked all the time). I hate the cold and if it were -7 degrees where I live, I would not surface out of hibernation until the Easter Bunny visits!

Edited January 17, 2022 by mathnerd

[Spryte]

How about an indoor botanical garden?

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

Yep, same here. Since masks aren't required anywhere in this area, our only fun is outdoors. Lots of hiking, backpacking,  kayaking.

If you find it too cold for hiking, what about bonfire gatherings? That's our only socializing in winter.

For the past two years, during the colder months we have gathered outdoors at our firepit every Sunday with some of dh’s family. It has faded away unfortunately. Hopefully we’ll try it again soon!

 

[Amethyst]

35 minutes ago, Spryte said:

How about an indoor botanical garden?

Interesting. I bet I could find one of those. We live within two hours of both NYC and Philadelphia so there must me some nearby. 

[Amethyst]

56 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

I go to outdoors farmers' markets and produce stands (besides hiking trails, ocean beaches) because our weather permits those things (fully masked all the time). I hate the cold and if it were -7 degrees where I live, I would not surface out of hibernation until the Easter Bunny visits!

I’m looking for suggestions for the warmer months too. It’s a good way to remind myself that this cold won’t last forever! 

[Spryte]

1 minute ago, Amethyst said:

Interesting. I bet I could find one of those. We live within two hours of both NYC and Philadelphia so there must me some nearby. 

Good luck! I’m sure there are some near you. We haven’t gone yet, but I keep thinking it would be a well ventilated choice, we could mask, and distance easily.

[TravelingChris]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I’m looking for ideas. I’ve been vaxxed and boostered for quite a while. Yet dh and I always wear n95s everywhere. So I guess we’d be put in the covid-cautious camp. 
 

But I’m ready to get out again. So, I’m starting to make a list. I think dh and I would both be ok with a museum (masked of course), but not a concert or play where we were seated next to a stranger for hours. Restaurants, indoors…don’t know when that will ever happen again. 😢   I have lots of hiking or walking ideas, but it was -7 degrees today so I think I  need some not so outdoorsy ideas to get me through the next couple months. 
 

What have you done to entertain yourself and get out of the house recently?

Movies, especially ones that are on their way out -- we went to see House of Gucci today- our family group-dh, dd2 and dsil2 and me- were ten rows away from 2 other people and there were only 6 people in the whole theater.   And I have been to other movies too, all pretty sparsely attended.

[MerryAtHope]

We’ve done car dates. We get pick-up food or specialty coffees and park at a nice nature preserve to eat and talk; then if it’s not too cold, go for a walk after.

[catz]

I will say and I am in the cold upper midwest, I dress warm and go out walking almost every day.  We were at about 20 today but yesterday I was out walking at close to zero, we have had below zero days this season too.  I like a LONG parka because it's just less stuff I put on.  I do wear wool socks, sometimes long underwear bottoms if it's windy and below about 20.  I got good wireless headphones that work with a hat I knitted just for that purpose.  I go out with the intention if it is super horrible, I will just walk around the block.  I rarely go less than 30-40 minutes and more like an hour in better weather.  I sleep better when I do it.  I never regret at least trying to get out.  

We have been using take out quite frequently. 

One thing I will say is this fall my daughter and I headed back to traveling broadway shows.  We had tickets to a bunch of shows prior to covid really settling in and they were all rescheduled.  I really in my dizziest daydreams would not have bought those tickets now but they were tickets we paid for over 2 years ago at this point.  And I cannot tell you how fun this is for my teenage daughter, she loves it so much.  Those shows are vaccine/negative test and masking required shows.  We were actually at our 4th covid protocol show since fall today.  I have to say, I was really nervous about those outings.  But now that I've gone, I feel much better about that set up and am much more comfortable with that than like going to a restaurant or going to a local show without the strong mandates and enforcement.  The crowds that buy tickets for those shows know the drill, are thrilled to be there and walk the line to be there for the most part.   We do have end of row seats.  We get there early enough to not be in a crowd when we enter and we bolt for the door the moment the bows start so we aren't in a crowd on the way out. 

[Shoeless]

DS13 and I do virtual walking challenges via companies like Pacer and The Challenger. DS13 likes to walk at the local university, but I would be happy to explore other areas.

We've been to the zoo a few times, and will check out the local botanical garden. 

Other ideas for good weather: mini golf, regular golf, tennis, batting cages, geocaching, drive in movies.

I generally treat winter as a time to stay in and take care of projects/hobbies at home. Even if there was no Covid, there is still flu.  People drag their boogery children to all sorts of indoor venues. We typically get back to social stuff after spring break. 

[Laura Corin]

We've just done museums/art galleries. But that felt really good to do.

[wintermom]

14 hours ago, DreamerGirl said:

I hear ya. I was a gym person and I have weather issues. I haaaaate the cold. But I was also going stir crazy and after hearing again and again, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing on this board I decided to heed that and go out. I miss my warm gym but not with a potential side of COVID. I wear hat, gloves, warmest socks, layers and pretend I am living in the arctic and venture out. I keep telling myself people live like this in many parts of the world, including babies and so I should not wimp out. I drive myself to a trail, arm myself with something warm to drink, get outside and walk the fastest I can and get back in. Sometimes DH and DD join me, but mostly I am going by myself. 

Kayaking. In addition to hiking. Both these are brand new activities after. the pandemic and I was stir crazy. It is also a family activity. We are a very gym family. I am an equipment, classes, indoor swimming person. But after 2 years of practically in self imposed house arrest this seems the safest way to me.

Well done! It's not easy to get outdoors in the cold, even for people who do it every year. It takes a couple of weeks for the mind and body to get used to it. Then it's surprising what temps I'll get outside in due partly to despiration. Yesterday was -28C with the windchill.

I also bought a kayak during Covid. I love it, but sadly the season is done until next April/May depending on the ice on the local water. People are driving their cars on the rivers now, so it's going to be thick ice to have to melt. 

One indoor "entertainment" I've enjoyed these past couple years is my bird feeder area. It's right outside my kitchen window. I won't stand there for hours, or anything, but it's really fun to watch the bird and squirrel action throughout the days. I've expanded bird watching/feeding to my hikes, too. There are a couple woods where the chickadees will eat right out of your palm. It's an amazing experience!

Edited January 17, 2022 by wintermom

[DreamerGirl]

Thank you @wintermom

Lovely picture.

I would love to sit in my warm house and row myself virtually to lovely places using the rowing machine. But I wanted to go out. Feel the air on the face. Go unmasked and breathe in deep.

No covid is the bottom line for us as much as we can. Every single time I have stepped down barring a few times in the last two years has always been masked. 

I take deep breaths when I walk as the cold air hits my face. I find it exhilarating. I stand a minute each time and practice yoga breathing in the fresh air. 

I think the biggest thing I have personally gained during the pandemic is an appreciation for the outdoors regardless of weather and you and some of the others on the board are directly responsible because you modeled it for me.

Edited January 17, 2022 by DreamerGirl

[catz]

We have a bird feeder right out our kitchen window too!  The birds are lovely to watch and track.  But the squirrel clown show is hilarious.  LOL.

ETA - cannot attach adorable squirrel photo, so annoying!

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by FuzzyCatz

[Halftime Hope]

15 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Interesting. I bet I could find one of those. We live within two hours of both NYC and Philadelphia so there must me some nearby. 

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is amazing. Should you need to warm up, there are several conservatories.  Personally, I'd go early on a weekday morning to make it the lightest crowd possible.  https://www.bbg.org/collections/gardens#map  (Click on conservatories to see the indoor areas.) 

[SounderChick]

Movies we have the theater were you reserved your seats online in advance and can see the seats already taken. We go at kind of off times to the older movies and often get the theater to ourselves.

We've also done the local escape room a few times it is only big enough for one group at a time. 

 

[wintermom]

5 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

We've also done the local escape room a few times it is only big enough for one group at a time. 

 

We've done a couple escape rooms, too. It's a great family activity and we're the right number of people to fill up a room. 

[Amethyst]

3 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is amazing. Should you need to warm up, there are several conservatories.  Personally, I'd go early on a weekday morning to make it the lightest crowd possible.  https://www.bbg.org/collections/gardens#map  (Click on conservatories to see the indoor areas.) 

Wow. This looks amazing! Looks like it will take several trips to see it all! 

[MerryAtHope]

I still go walking in teen temps and above too. I don’t get enough movement at home otherwise! I did go to a show this fall. It was masked and social distanced, but still felt very weird! When it was nicer out, my husband and I went to the botanical gardens, and that was lovely!