Here’s what we’ve been up to during quarantine
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Not too long after our governor issued the Stay at Home order, I wrote a post things I could/should be doing during this quarantine in order to pivot into this new thing our world is becoming. Now that we’re about eleventy bajillion days into staying at home, I figure it’s probably time for an update on what we’ve been up to in the Todd household.
Work and school from home
We’re all still working and schooling. At home. That makes for some pretty interesting days when I have a virtual meeting, Christy has a virtual meeting, Aiden has a class via Zoom, and the girls are supposed to have class…all at the same time. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen very often. But when it does, we figure out a way to manage through. Upgrading our WiFi certainly helped. We had a pretty unreliable wireless connection when this all started. We bought an eero and have maybe had a connection problem one time…and I think that was actually on our Internet provider’s end, not our wireless network.
I have been working at home for The Children’s Museum since the middle of March. You might think that when your museum shuts down, your workload might slow down, too. I mean, you can’t really promote new exhibits or encourage people to visit when you don’t know when this pandemic will allow you to open. Right? Well…you know how I’ve been talking about pivoting? The museum has pivoted in an extraordinary way. So I’m helping to churn out content at an unexpected pace. And I love it.
I do not take the fact that I still have a job during this crisis lightly. That plus loving what I do? I’m thankful. Thankful from the bottom of my dino-and-space-and-Bumblebee-loving heart.
Game nights
I mentioned before that we played euchre not too long ago. But that’s not all!
Other games we’ve played include, but are not limited to:
- Battleship
- Taco Takeover
- Kinder Bunnies, soon to be joined by Killer Bunnies
- Apples to Apples
- Ticket to Ride New York
- 5 Second Rule
- Bubble Talk
I have to admit, though, that most of our family’s game time activity has recently focused around Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Aiden’s Nintendo Switch. They’ve worked together to create a pretty cool island.
Quarantine food experiments
During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I highjacked my parents’ giant camcorder. My good friend Chad and I made all kinds of cooking videos that summer. We experimented with many different ingredients, trying to create a fun, tasty, memorable cooking show. I don’t know what we were going to do with that video. I mean, this was way before Food Channel. And the Internet was only for geeks to play roleplaying games on message boards. The thought of putting a cooking video online would have been mind-blowing. We were bored. And we were cutting-edge trendsetters without even knowing it. Again.
Does that mean I’ve resurrected this cooking show theme from a few decades ago? I mean, I have the equipment. And the opportunity. So why not?
Nah.
Not yet.
Anyway, we’ve taken the opportunity to try out a few new foods during our extended stay at home. We’ve also tried to support local restaurants, too. Because they are hurting. Here’s some new things we’ve tried along the way…
We made Butterbeer for Christy’s birthday. We followed this recipe, substituting butterscotch syrup for the butterscotch topping. I’m not the biggest Butterbeer fan, but this was pretty tasty. And it brought back some happy memories.
I’ve also been trying to improve my stuffed burger game. Dad makes a mean Stuffed Asiago Burger. I’ve decided to follow in his footsteps, but I think I need some more practice. My Stuffed Cheddar Burgers were good, but not fantastic.
Back to the drawing board.
Aly has been feeling a little adventurous, too. Her new favorite thing is that trendy whipped coffee.
Other things we’ve tried include:
- Disneyland’s Pineapple Whip
- Orange Peel Candy (Aly made it – she wasn’t a fan)
- A new meatloaf recipe
- No-bake Cookies
- Kings Island Funnel Cake – OK, we haven’t tried this one yet. But we will. I promise you
- We’ll also be making Disney’s Churros, too. Maybe we’ll just have to have one big State Fair night
Movies
We’ve almost finished watching the Harry Potter series. Next up? Anne of Green Gables for the girls. Star Trek for the guys – we’ll probably start with The Wrath of Khan.
Quarantine music
I went and made a playlist. It’s inspired by all things quarantine. You want to hear it? Here you go. It’s currently 4 1/2 hours long. It’ll probably get longer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I’m sure I’m missing some obvious ones. Let me know in the comments if there’s a song you think I should add.
Quarantine-inspired porch family portraits
Special thanks to Angie English Photography for the fun Family Porch Portraits!
Socially distanced birthday parade
We had a birthday parade for my niece. We stayed in the car. She and her family stayed more than six feet away. It was certainly memorable. And worth it.
We’ve only just begun…
Well, we’re still going to be here a while. I’m not complaining. I figure we’ll wind up easing back into life outside these four walls. Slowly. Safely. Cautiously. Until then, I’m probably going to invest in some face coverings. We’ll probably need them for a while.
And we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. And maybe I’ll consider giving that cooking show a try…
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