Covid 19 - How we survived the Rash!

[Gwenno]

A thread for lifting our spirits in these trying times! Things are tough, but that doesn't mean we can't do our best and get through this eventually. While we're doing that, however, how about a thread specifically for cheering each other on, and to collect all the fun things which are happening around. I'm thinking talking about your new hobbies as you're suddenly at home for ages, the happy pets, the best memes, the pretties pictures from your balconies, and the ways in which you and your community are supporting each other.

I'm also going to link a few fun thread suggestions (and will absolutely add more as people suggest them!) for people who want an idea of the best places to relax, and suggestions for online community activities for Minnions to enjoy together.

Fun threads
Bad Jokes thread - What it says on the tin. These are terrible

Riddle Time - An ever growing collection of riddles to keep your mind busy

Recipe Swap - Stuck at home? A good time to try our some new dishes methinks!

The pets thread - Pets are great. This is all.

Podcasts - Wanna talk about that awesome new podcast you started recently?


Community activities
Chapter break filler - The chapter break is looming, but this time the Minnions are prepared! Sign up and contribute a day of art or fic for the great cause of making the chapter break less terrible!

Doodle or Die  - Fondly known as Dood Leordie. Create an account and just start drawing or give a sentence. The next person will draw/write and a chain will be created. Most of the drawings are real bad and it was hilarious, but some people managed masterpieces somehow. Anyway, super easy and needs no organising

Art Style Swap -  We used to have art style swap challenges back in the early forum days which were pretty fun. Hasn't happened for a while, but if there's interest in it it might be fun for people to write fics in each others styles or draw in each other's styles. Will need some organising though

Virtual museum tours - This one will need a bit of organising, but I've seen that quite a few museums are offering virtual tours, so if anybody is interested and has any suggestions of a particularly

Computer concerts - Quite a few artists have taken to streaming concerts from their homes as they isolate themselves which could be a fun opportunity to hang out. Fave artist doing a show tomorrow - how about you see if anybody else wants to come along and watch?

Plays and performances - The National Theatre has taken to streaming plays live on youtube. Not quite the same as going to watch a play in person, but it certainly improves sitting at home and *not* watching plays!

Livestreams - Got a good movie idea and want some people to watch it with? How about a shared viewing! The forum has organised movie livestreams in the past and if people are keen it could easily be arranged for the future!

[Yastreb]

With Dood Leordie,would there need to be a whole new thread? The extant thread's last post was on August 2016; to necro or not?

[Purple Wyrm]

In terms of hobbies I haven't adopted anything new but I have been trying to get back into building/kitbashing/painting Warhammer 40,000 models.

My latest projects are a kitbashed Scylla tank, and painting up a Genestealer medic and some Chaos Disciples, all of which I'm converting to a loyalists.

[RanVor]

In terms of hobbies I haven't adopted anything new but I have been trying to get back into building/kitbashing/painting Warhammer 40,000 models.

My latest projects are a kitbashed Scylla tank, and painting up a Genestealer medic and some Chaos Disciples, all of which I'm converting to a loyalists.

Yes! Take servants of the Four-armed Emperor into your fold! We're dying to introduce your brainwashed puppets to our glorious creed!

That said, I need to get back to my Necrons. They're all half-done and I haven't touched them with a paintbrush in a few months.

And Gwenno, you have no idea how honored I am that you deigned to put my humble little thread in your post alongside such long-runners as the bad jokes thread or the recipe swap thread. I promise to try to come up with some new riddles in the upcoming days!

[Grade E cat]

Long story short, putting the Switch port of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my wishlist for last Christmas turns out to have been more of a genius idea every day.

My mother and I are giving chess a try. Also, because my mother very briefly got curious about board games while I was a student, we have Agricola, Carcassonne and the two-person card game variant of Settlers of Catan in the house. We just gave the latter a second try and I just noticed it comes with three "expansion packs", one of which adds epidemics to the game.
My mother still has work to do while I don't, so we've been mostly playing together on week-ends.

[DancingRanger]

I have been doing more art, trying to get used to digital stuff. I'm still doing all my base line work on paper with pencil/pen, and the taking a picture and then inking it on my tablet. I've also been doing a lot of reading as well.

[Mebediel]

I've been doing a bit of knitting and catching up on my to-read/to-watch lists. On top of that, I have a bunch of reading and research to do for online classes still, although everything takes twice as long when I have to study at home instead of on campus aha. I'm also planning on doing some baking and learning how to make marmalade, which will be fun!

(And for the sake of having things in one place, here's the link to the English country dances for quarantine times, which I already had posted to the Little Moments of Happiness thread)

[wavewright62]

I am still working from home, and work is busy, but I deliberately did not work over the weekend.  And I have to say my weekend was much like most weekends, really.  Minna's Twitch streams, sleeping in, chores, a spot of grocery shopping, some social media, practiced my instrument, reading, a bit of fanwork, a short walk or two... 
The Urban Sketchers monthly event was cancelled, but some of us used the time to make drawings of our surrounds from quarantine.  (I've posted in the Forum Art Museum, go laugh at my dodgy grasp of straight lines)

[Solokov]

I've definitely got cabin fever. Thankfully, working in the government sector (and having a looooooot of emergency trainings, which a lot don't currently apply thankfully, EG nuclear disaster response), I'm essential so I get to keep working and keep my mind on that.

that said, considering adding another video series to my youtube uploads. I'm thinking of calling it "Modhause Mondays" and basically just play skyrim and add mods each episode until I grind my computer to a halt..... then I do the same with Fallout 4, and any other games I can find mods for.


Also considering getting serious about turning my sks into a scout rifle.

Chaos Disciples, all of which I'm converting to a loyalists.

...... Not sure if heresy....

[Gwenno]

With Dood Leordie,would there need to be a whole new thread? The extant thread's last post was on August 2016; to necro or not?

While I am mostly against necromancy (zombies are such a messy business), I think there are appropriate times and places for the art, and I'd consider this one of them There are many interesting and relevant threads burried with time, and if people feel like exploring and doing a lil bit of dark magic to revive them I would hardly say no

And Gwenno, you have no idea how honored I am that you deigned to put my humble little thread in your post alongside such long-runners as the bad jokes thread or the recipe swap thread. I promise to try to come up with some new riddles in the upcoming days!

I'm not sure if the riddle thread was specifically made to cheer people up as we deal with a pandemic, but it certainly seems to have done so! Definitely deserves its place besides the others in my books, and I'd love to see yourself and other Minnions contributing to it

[Purple Wyrm]

Yes! Take servants of the Four-armed Emperor into your fold! We're dying to introduce your brainwashed puppets to our glorious creed!

Yes Commissar, this one here!

...... Not sure if heresy....

Once you clip the Chaos stars off it's hard to tell the difference between Chaos cultists and Ecclesiarchy drones (and yes, that IS heresy! )

[Ana Nymus]

I've been doing a lot of baking since all this started (which has apparently become a big trend?). My parents got me bread-making supplies for Christmas, and some nice fresh (slightly burnt) bread really does wonders to lift the spirits! Most recently, I made muffins because we had cake flour that was going to go bad soon.

Baking without being able to run to the store when you're lacking an ingredient or two is a new experience for me, but substitution is its own kind of puzzle. For example, we ran out of milk a few days ago, but we bought a whole case of little half-and-half coffee creamers (because they're ultra-pasteurized and will last a long time out of the refrigerator). Half a dozen creamers and some water make an excellent baking substitution for a cup of milk!

I'd highly recommend baking as a hobby during these times. It feels productive, and bread recipes require surprisingly few ingredients for really tasty bread (water, salt, yeast, and plenty of flour is all you need). You can even get away without having commercial yeast on hand, because it's present in the environment and you can grow your own culture with some flour and water!

Beyond that, I've been catching up on my knitting (glad I have such a big yarn stash!) and playing the odd video game. My brother and I are working through Cuphead together, which has been a real challenge! That game really earns its reputation!

I hope everyone has found some comfort or other while homebound.

[Róisín]

Music. My March music night was the last I will be able to host for.....gods know how long, and I am going to miss both the people and the music most painfully. But the social distancing thing means that we are restricted to no more than two people gathering at a time. Music nights are both good times for music and yarning, and a chance for friends to visit. We live further out than most of them come for anything else. But I can practise the harp and pennywhistle alone at home, sing for husband and myself, maybe coax him back into playing his dulcimer - he stopped while so occupied with illness.

And I can learn some new songs -  there are a few of John Warner’s and Dory Previn’s pieces I have been meaning to learn for awhile.

[JoB]

Weeeeeellll, being a loner and working in IT, I managed to "just be in a different place" so far (i.e., working from home). No necessity to show up in the office has reared its ugly head so far. Also, the entire company's about IT and (remote) support, so not likely to keel over.

My usual family-visiting vacation's coming up, though, and yes, I'm downright needed there, in part because of the pandemic's side effects. (And a certain pacemaker deciding the weekend before the local curfew to kick the "empty battery" bucket and necessitate a replacement even though the wearer has been declared "inoperable" years ago.)

For today, however ... I think I'll have pasta.

Spoiler: rather than ... • show

Yes, my home region's still going (comparatively) strong WRT horse meat, but that's out of my medical diet.

[Yastreb]

But I can practise the harp and pennywhistle alone at home, sing for husband and myself, maybe coax him back into playing his dulcimer - he stopped while so occupied with illness.

But it would have to be you playing the dulcimer - Coleridge can't have been wrong about that!

I'm keeping up with my writing (currently on Volume III of The Dragonhost Saga (Dragonfall), with some diversions into Volume IV (Lifebearer) and planning Volumes I and II of the Steampunk linked novels (Rainmaker and Stormbearer - you may have noticed my fondness for single-compound-word titles; I would have loved to use Stormbringer...). I may also turn my hand to some short stories.

Role-playing games have hit an hiatus, with the group mainly of older members, and one of them in a higher-risk category if infected; and LARP is right out! Not that I really play any longer, but I miss the team.

I'm also compiling some essays and topics for when/if I start a blog.