Quarantine: A view from the Inside

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“We have officially been under a strict stay-at-home order for 9 days. Hiking trails, parks, non-essential businesses, and dine-in restaurants of Southern California are now closed, and it looks like this will last until April 30th – at the earliest.”

That is what I wrote on March 29, 2020. It is now late July, and we are still under somewhat of a stay-at-home order. Things have loosened up, but we are still uncertain on when things will start to get back to normal, whatever that is.

I think it goes without saying… This is a crazy situation! And it’s something that most (if not all) of us are going through together.

Times are strange, but we are doing everything we can to stay at home and to make the very best of the situation. That’s why I decided to write this post… I wanted to give you an idea of what it’s been like at our house during quarantine, and to share some things that you can do at your house, too!

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1- Painting!

I love painting! This isn’t a surprise to anyone who knows me.

It’s something that I do on a regular basis, regardless of being stuck at home like this. So this time, I wanted to try something a little more humorous than normal.

A few months ago, my husband was ‘bluff-attacked’ by an African goose, and I just happened to catch it on camera! When I saw the picture in my camera roll, I knew it would be a fun image to recreate.

I worked on it over the span of a couple of sittings, and I absolutely love the way it turned out. Of course I want to share it with you, so here it is!

Whether it’s water color, oil, or acrylics, painting is a super fun activity that anyone can do!

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2- Crocheting!

I have a ton of crochet projects that I’ve started, but there are only a couple that I’ve actually finished. (Anyone else have that problem? haha)

Here’s some good news- I actually finished this mini project!

I ended up finding out how to make my own yarn using an old t-shirt, and it was a really fun way to crochet! With that, I decided to try making a scrunchie. I figured I could use it to help soak up the extra water from my hair once I’m out of the shower. (My hair falls about 6 inches past my tailbone, so it takes a lot longer for it to dry because of its length).

Even though it looks like a chunky green donut, it worked like a charm!

If you want to check out some of the tutorials that I used to create this scrunchie, check out my Pinterest boards here: http://www.pinterest.com/thewildlifediary/

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3- Sports in the Backyard!

They may have said not to leave the house, but the backyard is still fair game… no pun intended. 😉

Do you have a baseball & glove? A soccer ball? We just happen to have both of these things, and have been playing outside for at least a couple of hours each day. It’s a great way to workout, mess around, and to get some fresh air.

Kyle has taught me how to throw a curve ball, and I have done my best to throw strikes back to him. I am a soccer player at heart, so my natural tendency is to use my feet to stop anything that gets thrown at me from the waist down. Thankfully, I haven’t stopped a baseball with my foot, so I’m hoping it stays that way! Haha 😉

Even if you don’t play sports, just going outside to sit in the sun or laying down your yoga mat to stretch out on the grass is a huge plus for your health during this quarantine.

So if you’re able to, try to spend some time outside tomorrow!

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4- Bird Watching!

My husband and I watch for birds every time we are outside. It has become natural to us, but being in quarantine gives us even more time to relax outside and to hang out with our feathered friends.

We have 2 Hummingbird feeders in the yard, and about 6 hummers that frequent them throughout the day. A female Allen’s has made the back tree (and feeder) her space, and she guards it well. I named her Twyla because she has a slight twist to her beak, so it is easy to recognize her. The male Allen’s will try to stop by for a quick sip of nectar, but she quickly reminds him who’s boss and chases him away.

Side note- Speaking of Twyla, does anyone else watch Schitt’s Creek? (I sure hope you L O V E it as much as I do!)

I could sit outside all day long to watch them dance around with each other in a loud chase of territorial flights.

For some beginner bird-watching tips, check out one of my recent posts that I linked for you below!

Bird Watching for Beginners!

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Another thing you can start watching for is butterflies!

Remember last year when there were thousands of butterflies making their way through SoCal on their big migration? I am super excited because it’s happening again!

I have noticed more and more each day, and I can’t wait for the peak of their migration when the butterflies fill the blue skies with flashes of orange and black.

For more info on the Painted Ladies, visit the link I’ve posted below:

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-cardui

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5- Try Something New!

Here are two brand new things that I tried out this week, neither of which I had done before:

First, Shampoo bars.

And second, Target Drive Up.

Both are amazing! I won’t go into too much detail about this here, because I might just review it on a post of its own sometime soon. (What do you guys think about that?) 🙂

But, I wanted to try out an eco-friendly (and plastic-free!) alternative to the normal shampoo and conditioner routine.

Here is the sampler that I decided to buy. I can’t wait to try them all!

Since we wanted to stay away from people as much as possible during this time (#SocialDistancing- its the new norm), Kyle and I ordered a few things through Target.com and requested the ‘drive-up’ option. We paid online, and when our order was ready, we drove to Target and our bag of items was brought right out to us… We didn’t even have to get out of the car!

This was a very different experience for us, because if you know me and Kyle, you know that we go to Target ALL. THE. TIME. Even if its just to walk around after dinner. (Target date, anyone?) So, we had to resist the urge to go in as we waited for our order. haha

I would definitely recommend using Target drive-up if you need to shop for some things but can’t (or don’t want to) get out of the car to go in-store. Especially in times like these, its a super useful method to use while practicing social distancing for you, your family, and for the brave employees!

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6- Staying on top of our business!

As most of you know, Kyle and I have our own business: an online record store called Euphorbia Records.

We are thankful that the post office has continued to stay open, as we ship out orders multiple times a week. Since we have committed to stay home during this quarantine, we arranged to have our packages picked up from our porch by the mailman (or in our case, the mail-lady 🙂 )

Thrift stores have been closed for over a week, which means we aren’t able to buy new items unless we acquire someone’s collection. (By the way, we buy record, CD, and cassettes if any of you are looking to sell or donate what you have!)

We will continue to run our business as best as we can while we are limited on ways to expand our inventory. Small businesses are getting hit hard with the current situation we’re all experiencing, but we are thankful that we have been able to stay open through our online platform.

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7- Admire the Blue Skies!

Have you looked up at the sky recently? It’s BLUE! I’m talking, deep blue.

I truly believe that the recent lack of cars on the road, and multiple factories & businesses shutting down have improved our air quality. Pollution has gone down tremendously, and it is resulting in clear, blue skies that Southern California has not seen in a long time.

If you look towards L.A., you’ll notice that the buildings of downtown are visible, rather than being buried in a basin of thick, orange smog.

It has been awesome to see how the air quality has improved over the past couple of weeks, and I hope it continues for a long time after the stay-at-home order is lifted.

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8- Relax!

My final thought on this post is simple: Just relax, and stay home as much as you can!

Don’t feel like you have to do a million things at once now that you’re home for who-knows-how-long. But if you want to take this time to finish old projects, read a good book, clean out some clutter, or binge-watch everything on Netflix, go for it!

Just remember… We are all in this together!

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I have enjoyed sharing some of the things we’ve done during this quarantine, and I hope it has inspired you to think outside the box on things that you can do at your home, as well!

What are some of the things you and your family have done (or plan to do) during this time indoors? Let me know in the comments below!