The Peter Fisher List of Fun Things to Do
Like so many other people at the moment, even though we are continuing to work and provide our services as best we can, we are all spending the rest of our time at home as we practice the social distancing required to beat the Coronavirus and eventually return to our normal lives.
We have put together a list of things that you can do to fill in your time at home whether it be to get onto those jobs you’ve been putting off, pursuing more of your favourite way to relax or learning something new. We’ve also included some of what our Team has been up to in their downtime to keep occupied.
Leisure Time & Fun Stuff
Watch a new TV Series and make time for some movies – there are plenty of options to choose from on Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, the free to air channels and Foxtel. Here’s what some of us are watching and recommend:
Cathy: Heartland on Netflix
Ashleigh: Outlander and Kath and Kim on Netflix
Adam and family: Suits on Netflix
Rebecca: Friends and Grey’s Anatomy on Stan and lots of The Wiggles with her little one
Lisa: Locke and Key with Logan on Netflix and the new season of Selling Houses Australia on Foxtel
It’s a perfect time for the bookworms among us to tackle their TBR (to be read) Lists.
Margie has been busy reading and these are some of her recommendations of a good read.
Get out the board games, card games and jigsaws – fun for the whole family. Until it’s not!
Uno is a family favourite at Lisa’s house. Lisa and Logan have played many, many games over Easter and beyond. It’s a no holds barred, take no prisoners kind of game in the Marks’ household.
Wendy has been keeping busy working on this jigsaw. It’s coming along nicely, only a few more pieces to go!
Listen to a podcast or watch a Ted Talk on a subject that interests you.
You’ve probably seen the word ‘TikTok’ appear on social media but now’s the time for you to get on board! Download the app and learn one of the dances EVERYONE is doing. This is especially great if you are a parent who enjoys causing maximum embarrassment for your kids, who probably won’t thank you for joining the craze!
Health & Well-Being
Mental health and not feeling isolated and lonely is so important during this time. Staying in touch with family and friends is easy with so many different ways of doing so available. A good old fashioned telephone call is one or texting and group chatting are another or you could send or tag people in funny videos on social media.
Very popular right now are video calls – there are so many apps that allow you to call someone or a group of people AND see their faces. Some examples include Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Houseparty, Skype etc.
Jacob and his wife Bridgitte have been participating in Zoom trivia sessions against their friends. Can you spot them? Hint: they look like floating heads!
It’s also a great time to start or get back into an exercise routine. You can subscribe to online workouts by your favourite local gym or trainer who no doubt have been working hard on providing online content to keep their business going while the restrictions apply. Check out you tube for just about any type of work out you might like to do – yoga, pilates, weight training, cardio workouts, barre … and the list goes on. Also, there are so many fitness apps providing workouts as well. Some will be free and some will require payment – search your app store and get started.
Amazing! Sarah and her pooch practising some yoga in the sunshine.
Go for a walk around your neighbourhood and admire the homes and gardens in your area while getting some fresh air, sunshine and exercise. Take the dog and the kids or use the opportunity for some alone time if you’re part of a busy household.
Lyndee and Ellie taking a walk in the park.
Take the Opportunity to Learn New Skills
Upskill and broaden your education with free on-line courses from TAFE and universities.
Learn a new language – use an app like duolingo to get you started on learning a great new skill that you may be able to put to use one day when borders re-open and global travel returns to normal.
Visit Places in a Different Way
Do a virtual tour of a gallery or museum – some really amazing places in the world, like The Louvre in Paris, offer online tours of their exhibits or closer to home you can do a virtual tour of The Australian Museum for example: https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/australian-museum/
Just get searching online and see what you can find and go exploring from the comfort of home.
Check out zoo and wildlife parks for live streams of their animals. Check out Taronga TV https://taronga.org.au/taronga-tv for live animal cams and keeper chats.
Home and Garden
Catch up on those DIY and maintenance jobs around the house and yard that you’ve been putting off for so long. Hardware stores like Mitre 10 and Bunnings are still open for supplies.
Ashleigh and her family have been building a new chicken coop which will soon be ready for some lovely feathered ladies to move in and start laying farm fresh eggs.
Liz, the provider of inspiration, and Greg, the builder and creator, have built this gorgeous garden arbour (almost complete) and put in a new garden around it. It looks amazing already, will be lovely when done!
Put your inner stylist to work and decorate a room or area of your home. Take advantage of homeware stores delivery services and have decor delivered directly to you.
Rebecca has been very clever in setting up this makeup table. So very glamorous!
Kate has been working on her nursery in readiness for her new arrival – coming soon! We can’t wait to meet the little resident of this very lovely room. Even though it won’t be in person for a while yet.
Ashleigh has moved some outdoor succulents indoors to make this cute little display and bring some fresh greenery inside. No faux plants here!
Start a veggie patch or herb garden or work on your lawn and garden. Autumn is a great time to get the garden in order and the garden is a wonderful place to be with all that fresh air and sunshine. It is a happy place for many people to retreat to and relax.
Adam has been busy getting his gardens and lawns in tip top shape while enjoying the gorgeous autumn colours of his prize trees. Looks great!
Cathy’s favourite way to escape reality for a bit and de-stress is to zoom around on the ride on lawn mower. The lawn looks amazing and those flowers are so pretty. Keep the rain coming, it makes such a difference!
Liz and Greg’s favourite way to enjoy an autumn evening and admire their new garden arbour at the same time. Cheers!
Get Creative in the Kitchen
Get baking or get creative in the kitchen. Try out that recipe you’ve had for a while or search for new ones online. Watch online cooking tutorials and become that master chef you’ve always wanted to be. Why not start with Anzac biscuits? With Anzac day coming up it’s the perfect time and they’re delicious as well. Just ask Hunter, they are his favourites!
Here’s a recipe to get you started:
Anzac’s are a classic treat and super easy to whip up and these are CWA approved no less, so they’re the real deal.
Ingredients
1 C rolled oats
1 C plain flour
1 C sugar
3/4 C coconut
125g (4 oz) butter
2 Tbsp golden syrup
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Tbsp boiling water
Method
Makes about 35
Preheat the oven to a low 150ºC
Combine the oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut.
Combine the butter and golden syrup, stirring over gentle heat until melted.
Mix bicarb soda with boiling water, add to melted butter mixture, then stir into dry ingredients.
Take teaspoonfuls of mixture and place on lightly greased oven trays with plenty of room for spreading.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Loosen while still warm, then cool on trays.
Source: https://www.ceresfairfood.org.au/recipe/anzac-biscuits-2/
Get crafty
Take some time to hone your skills or learn some new ones. You can try sewing, knitting, crochet, macramé, drawing, painting etc – there are plenty of online tutorials for all sorts of hobbies and you can still get supplies from craft stores like Spotlight or have them delivered to home.
Sarah has been getting crafty and potting up some plants. The gorgeous pot at the front is hand painted and looks awesome, especially with those interesting succulents.
Sort out your photos, print some of you many digital prints you probably have saved on your phone and computer and put together those photo albums you’ve been meaning to do forever.
These of course are just some of the things you can do to pass the time and really there is great opportunity here to slow life down a bit and take the time to appreciate the more simple things in life that can often be missed in the hustle and bustle of our normal busy lives.
Enjoy!
