Nine Fun Things to Do While You're Staying Indoors

With all the craziness and changes just from the last week, it might be hard to catch a (safe) breath. We want to stay healthy, but we also don't want to be bored.
There are many things we can do while away from school, work and friends to keep our sanity. Many, many companies are setting up live streaming of classes and shows for free.

Here are a few ideas:

Tour a museum virtually:

I LOVE this idea. I can't think of a better way (other than a nap!) to spend a little bit of quiet time than looking at works of art in all their forms. Guggenheim in NYC, The Louvre in Paris, and National Women's History in Virginia are just a few museums offering virtual tours.







Organize Your Photos:

Kids, families and grandparents love to see themselves in pictures. Why not invite them to go through your thousands of photos with you? This could evolve into telling fun family stories and growing closer together. Familysearch.org is a fantastic source to write down stories as well as uploading pictures. Plus, finding who your related to (like Lady Godiva!) is always interesting.


Handwritten letters:

There are many in the community who look forward to receiving mail. Why not help them not feel so secluded? Write a thank you note to a teacher who inspired you or helped you. How about a grandparent? Or someone you don't know? Write To Those In Need has a list of ideas of people to write to.





Music:

Have you always wanted to learn to play the ukelele or piano? There are plenty of free online sources as well as apps. Why not put together a  Favorites playlist you can all sing and dance to? Of course, the 80's had the best music! Speaking of music...


Go to a Broadway Show:

Virtually, of course! Broadway HD is offering a free trial to view Broadway hits online. Which show would you want to watch?

Games:

I'm going to admit, I was sad March Madness was canceled. I love to make a bracket with my family and friends, even though I rarely win (seriously, it's about once every ten years!) What about a Board Game Bracket?? Board games, no bored games! Put all your games in one place and make brackets on your favorites. You might have to play every game to figure out a clear winner!

Take a class:

There are a few online places you can take a free class. Quite a few universities and colleges offer free classes. Great Courses Plus is offering a free month trial to any of their hundreds of courses.
 
Binge:


Want to binge on something other than on food or movies? How about life? Earth Cam has LIVE feeds from around the world! From Washington DC (where it looks like the cherry trees are blossoming!) to the Western Wall in Israel to Dublin, Ireland to---sorry! I'm back! It's easy to get lost on that site!




 Food:

Now that we've mentioned food, learn to cook or bake something new. Find a recipe your ancestors might have used or created. Go on a pantry scavenger hunt and find a strange item you didn't remember buying (sardines?) and make something. This can be done virtually with friends or family!


What ideas that have worked for you and yours to get rid of the stay-at-home blues/boredom? 

A MONSTER LIKE ME BY Wendy S. Swore

Being the new kid at school is hard, but Sophie has a secret weapon: her vivid imagination and her oversized, trusted Big Book of Monsters--an encyclopedia of myths and legends from all over the world. The pictures and descriptions of the creatures in her book help her know which kids to watch out for--clearly the bullies are trolls and goblins--as well as how to avoid them. Though not everyone is hiding a monster inside; the nice next-door neighbor is probably a good witch, and Sophie's new best friend is obviously a good fairy.

Sophie is convinced she is a monster because of the "monster mark" on her face. At least that's what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumor, and it covers almost half of her face. Sophie can feel it pulsing with every beat of her heart. And if she's a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too. She knows that it's only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mom figure it out.

The Big Book of Monsters gives Sophie the idea that there might be a cure for her monster mark, but in order to make the magic work, she'll need to create a special necklace made from ordinary items--a feather, a shell, and a crystal--that Sophie believes are talismans. Once she's collected all the needed ingredients, she'll only have one chance to make a very special wish. If Sophie can't break the curse and become human again, her mom is probably going to leave--just like Dad did. Because who would want to live with a real monster?


Opening line:
"You'd think would have their own grocery store, but they don't."

Sophie was born with a birthmark on her face and she hates it. People notice it, some make fun of her, some seem scared of her. Sophie feels like she is a monster, inside and out. But Sophie has found a way to deal with what she feels is a ugly: she finds the monsters around her. This way, she can keep everyone out of her life and make herself feel like she isn't the only monster in the world.
But then she makes a friend who doesn't see anything monstrous about Sophie. As their friendship grows, Sophie starts to see herself in a different.
This is a sweet story about seeing past our flaws and being a nice person. Also, family and friends are important and we need to be kind to each other.

Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

Never That Far by Carol Lynch Williams HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Libby Lochewood is twelve years old in 1967 when her grampa dies of a heart attack. She is devastated at losing her best friend. Now that Grampa's passed on, it's just her and her father, and he is so overcome by grief that he can barely get out of bed in the morning.

The night of the funeral, though, Grampa's spirit appears in Libby's bedroom and tells her three important things: first, that she isn't alone or forgotten--"The dead ain't never that far from the living," he says; second, that she has "the Sight"--the ability to see family members who have died; and three, that there is something special just for her in the lake. Something that could help her and her father--if she can find it. He kisses Libby on the cheek and vanishes in a soft glow of light and color.

Libby begins her search along with her friends Bobby and Martha, but it's hard to know if they've found what Grampa wanted her to find since they don't really know what it is. As Libby's father falls deeper and deeper into depression, Libby and Grampa work together on a plan to help her father believe that their loved ones who have died are much closer than he thinks. But it will take all of Libby's courage and her gift of Sight to convince her father and help him believe that the dead are never truly gone.

Never That Far is set in the lush, rural landscape of southern Florida and is a middle-grade novel about friendship, hope, and the power of family love.

  Opening line:
""What you doing, girl?" Daddy said when the burying was done.

Libby is going through a hard time. Her very best friend, her grampa, just died and her daddy isn't paying any attention to her. He's caught up in his own sorrows that stem back before this new death.
That night, her grampa's spirit visits her to comfort her and tell her a few important things. The most important: "The dead ain't never that far...". He also tells her there is a treasure out at the lake on their property. Libby's adventures are about to begin with the help of her new friend Bobby. She finds peace and love and something very, very special, more special than gold bouillon.
If there is a child or parent going through the loss of a loved one, this story is a great reminder that our loved ones are always close, even if we don't see them

NEVER THAT FAR is a story of love, family and most importantly, finding a soft spot to land surrounded by a loving family, both past and present.


Thanks to netgalley and Shadow Mountain for the early read.

THE SPACE BETWEEN WORDS by Michele Phoenix

"There were seconds, when I woke, when the world felt unshrouded. Then memory returned."

When Jessica regains consciousness in a French hospital on the day after the Paris attacks, all she can think of is fleeing the site of the horror she survived. But Patrick, the steadfast friend who hasn't left her side, urges her to reconsider her decision. Worn down by his insistence, she reluctantly agrees to follow through with the trip they'd planned before the tragedy.

"The pages found you," Patrick whispered.

"Now you need to figure out what they're trying to say."

During a stop at a country flea market, Jessica finds a faded document concealed in an antique. As new friends help her to translate the archaic French, they uncover the story of Adeline Baillard, a young woman who lived centuries before--her faith condemned, her life endangered, her community decimated by the Huguenot persecution.

"I write for our descendants, for those who will not understand the cost of our survival."

Determined to learn the Baillard family's fate, Jessica retraces their flight from France to England, spurred on by a need she doesn't understand.

Could this stranger who lived three hundred years before hold the key to Jessica's survival?

  Opening line:
"My name is Adeline Baillard, and my life may end today."

Jessica, Vonda and Patrick have one last night in Paris and decide to have some "fun." Fun to Patrick was going to an art gallery opening and fun to the girls was going to a concert at the Bataclan where the 2015 terrorist attacks happens. The girls escape but Jessica is sent to the hospital. Patrick is with her every day and talks her into one last flea market trip before heading to back to the states.
While doing their "treasure" hunts, Jessica comes across an old sew basket and is immediately drawn to it. She buys it and finds a secret drawer with old papers inside. This draws her into another adventure and tries to find the owners of the pages and make sure the daughter is "found" and the family is together again.
I enjoyed learning about the Bataclan shootings and the Huguenots annihilation, PTSD, loyalty, compassion and true friendship.
This book wasn't what I expected but I really enjoyed reading the mysteries in the story.

Thank you to netgalley for the early read.