Stay Home and Love It!

It's a wet, damp Sunday here in Virginia but unlike others I am reading about in social media there's something to be said about staying home.  When I was growing up we stayed home a lot.  There weren't nightly soccer practice, away games every weekend, we learned to live more simply and maybe we should think about returning to that way of life.  Think about the current impact on global warming too!

I spent the entire day on Saturday seeding a large horse pasture.  I did it on foot.  Loved every minute of being outdoors, doing something I did not need to pay someone to do for me, and I clocked a new record 31,000 steps on my Fitbit. For real. There is satisfaction is accomplishing something too.  And then it rained last night so my grass is growing!

There's so much we can do at home, living simply, enjoying the company of family.

So here are some ideas in no particular order.

1) Get Your Head Out of Your Phone
Many of us have lived most of our lives without a Smartphone.  And we won't have critical neck problems in another 20 years like most of the Millenials I see (really).  Turn it off.  We know the virus is here, it's going to be epic, we can't undo the damage already done.  You don't have to be in constant contact with people 24/7.

2) Listen to a Podcast
My high school classmate, novelist Charlie Lovett, offers great podcasts on his website for free.  If you follow writers, writing, or just want to learn about writers you can listen in.  See his site here.  And he also writes great fiction!


3) Stitch
We all know that this is a perfect time to stitch down your stash. 

 

4) Garden
I bought seeds a few days ago at Lowe's and plan to start my garden.  Lettuce, basil, tomatoes, red peppers.  I have never had the time to do this and now I do! Maybe one day my garden will look like this!

5) Watch Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the few sports that is still going on, albeit without spectators.  There was a good Derby prep race yesterday, won by undefeated Nadal (trained by Bob Baffert).  The races will continue and you can catch most of them on Fox Sports. You can catch up on the ones you missed on YouTube. 

6) Coursera
I have always wanted to take a course on Coursera.  If you have not checked it out, now is a great time to try it.  Many of the offerings are free and the selection is vast. These are not community college courses but are taught by well-known universities all over the world.   Learning is so simple these days.

The Science of Exercise starts today.  Check it out here.

Equine Welfare and Management also starts today.  See it here.

The world is your oyster and that oyster now lives at home.  We can't change what is going on around us right now but we can learn to make the most of it.  Stay home.  Stay safe.  This is not a hoax.  This is not the flu.