With our community in self-isolation to help ensure the health and safety of friends, families and neighbours, Yorkton This Week asked for some ideas about what things to do to stay active and happy at home.
Here are some ideas from YTW staff, Yorkton Council and others we hope readers will find interesting and useful.
Calvin Daniels
While I appreciate the anxiety that comes with the current pandemic, but finding things to do while home in isolation is proving to be rather easy.
Frankly, I鈥檝e always had more interests and hobbies than time, so playing some catch up will perhaps put a dent in the backlog.
I have, for example, begun to glue together some wargaming miniatures that I purchased some months ago, which have sat on a shelf. In fact they have sat so long I forget exactly where I put the bases for the minis, so that search amid the clutter of my game鈥檚 room might take me the better part of two weeks of semi-isolation.
As an avid boardgamer, there are always games to play with the better half (see the Gamer鈥檚 Guild column this week).
But that is only part of the backlog. I like to read, 50-70 books and graphic novels a year. I also like to buy books, a used book store drawing me like bees to honey. That means a few dozen unread books of various genres; westerns, mysteries, sci-fi exist to delve into for some escapism.
Television is a good time-sink too.
We have been binge watching four seasons of Strike Back, and the better half is already lamenting only five episodes remain.
The Valhalla Murders and Death in Paradise are also drawing our attention.
If the situation drags on there is a rather ill-kept fishing tackle box in need of bringing back into some semblance of order, and reels to grease as fishing season looms on the horizon.
And should I catch up on all of this, well my better half will remind me of spring cleaning, although I am sure I can find one more book to read first.
So stay busy, enjoy your hobbies and interests, and help keep us all safe by staying home as much as possible.
Taryn Dubreuil, Cross Fit Function
Whole idea is not to just sit on your couch and veg, so our focus is on keeping people moving. We鈥檝e posted three different versions of workouts for people - those with lots of equipment in their garage, one version for those who borrowed minimal pieces from the gym, and a body weight version for those with no equipment. We just opened it up to the entire community, past just our CFF members, to show that anyone can do something, even with nothing. We鈥檝e also got group classes scheduled to run online as we meet collectively, to keep our CFF community together.
Getting through this virus means we need to be healthy and resilient, and that means taking care of ourselves. Not just sitting on the couch because you鈥檙e forced to stay home.
Everything鈥檚 on our Facebook page for absolutely anyone to access. Our workouts will be posted to our website, for anyone to access who doesn鈥檛 want to download our SugarWOD app.
Not meant as an advertisement, but wanted to change the question to show that it鈥檚 not just about becoming sedentary under these circumstances.
Randy Goulden
What will I use my discrepancy time in the next weeks or maybe months?
My bucket list on activities that I can finally get to:
View as many as possible of the 253 films submitted to the Yorkton Film Festival.
Read all six of the books for Canada Reads: One Book to Bring Canada Into Focus.聽 The books are:
Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
Spend as much time as possible outside, taking my dog for long walks on the great City of Yorkton walking paths.
Clean my closet and donate to the Caring Closet (including shoes that I have difficulty saying good bye to).
And spend time helping my husband with home repairs like painting the baseboards (do not mention this to him yet, I want to break this to him myself).
Quinn Haider
The Haider household sure is functioning differently than it has in the recent past.
As I am typing this, my wife and daughters are exercising in the living room, joining their workout partners and coach over the internet.
My oldest daughter is about to instruct her dance students online rather than in the studio.
In a cruel twist of fate, my treadmill died the night before we became housebound.
So, I have stayed active by walking my dog around Sunset Drive numerous times per day. (I don鈥檛 know if my dog has ever been happier than she has been this week!)
We are doing our best to stay active without having access to our gyms and dance studio.
In terms of entertainment, my family actually watched a movie together for the first time in ages! (Thanks Disney for releasing your movies to watch at home a bit earlier than you had planned!)
And I am looking very forward to the third season of 鈥極zark鈥� on Netflix this Friday.聽 (Viewer beware. This is NOT a show for the entire family!)聽 聽
I am reading a biography on Saskatchewan wrestling legend 鈥淩owdy鈥� Roddy Piper, and will most likely find some more biographies, or Stephen King novels, to enjoy when I am finished with this one.
It is strange to not be able to go to my school, my church, City Hall, our local businesses, or even to my parents鈥� to celebrate my dad鈥檚 birthday.
But, I totally understand that these minor inconveniences could prevent major consequences.
Someday soon we will take you out for a belated birthday supper dad! Your choice of any restaurant in Yorkton.
Be safe, keep your distance, and see you all soon!
Mitch Hippsley
Although I have made my living from photography, music is my first love. I feel the two are really one. Ever since I was a teenager I would buy the monthly editions of The Rolling Stone music magazine and read it cover to cover.
Naturally, I would then purchase the vinyl records I read about and listen to them over and over and over.
The interesting note about vinyl records is it forces you to listen to the artists鈥� body of work giving you a much more accurate reflection of their personality and 鈥渟kipping tracks simply is not an option.鈥� One actually, sits and listens more than ever without using it as background ambiance while doing other tasks.
Recently, Geraldine and I returned to vinyl by setting up our stereo in our living room. Music is my stimulant and my refuge.
Over, the course of my career I have purchased many photography books and have acquired an incredible library of the world鈥檚 greatest works.
When I can, I sit and stare at one page at a time to absorb all the pieces of art have to offer while listening to vinyl.
Together, music and photography take me to a place that is unexplainable.
Aaron Kienle
We always look for times when we can slow down and spend more time as a family.
This is an opportunity we should all take advantage of! We love board games and thrifting for games we played as kids. Lately we鈥檝e played some favourites, Stock Ticker, Full House, Rat Race, Pay Day, Careers, and the original Game of Life.
Also, Adventures In Odyssey and the NBA opened up their subscription services for a month free! You can listen to all the Odyssey audio dramas which were a part of my childhood and catch up on the past seasons of NBA games.
When everyone has had enough of Dad I find myself calling or FaceTiming people I haven鈥檛 talked to in a while.
Even though we aren鈥檛 to physically be around people we still need that connection and technology allows it better than ever. Be well everyone!
Bob Maloney
Humans by their nature are social animals so a pandemic is problematic.
Staying at home sounds easy but we are all programmed to go to work, go to school or go for coffee. Health officials want us to limit social contact and isolate.
To me that means read a book or watch a movie. Ken Follett and Tom Clancy are a couple of my favourite authors and you can鈥檛 beat an old western movie with John Wayne. 聽
So make some popcorn and enjoy. This too shall pass.
Devin Wilger
What I鈥檓 playing right now, as everyone is socially isolated, is a game about a delivery man who is reconnecting the United States of America after a mysterious ailment has socially isolated the entire nation.
But I can definitely understand if Death Stranding (available digitally on PS4 and PC) isn鈥檛 quite the escapism that people want right now; mostly because, well, it鈥檚 a little bit on the nose for the current environment.
Instead, I鈥檓 going to recommend Rogue Legacy (available digitally on PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Switch), which is still about a lone warrior.
But this is actually escapism, because it鈥檚 a bit of a throwback. As a 2D action platformer, it鈥檚 going back to the last time a lot of people actually had a summer vacation with nothing to do but play video games.
It controls extremely well and it鈥檚 full of unique challenges.
Plus, it changes every time you play, as the castle is assembled from randomly generated rooms and enemies. This is a rare time where you鈥檒l have the chance to perfect your skills and get properly good at the challenge the game puts for you, and because
it鈥檚 always changing it鈥檚 more than enough content for a month of solid playtime.
Darcy Zaharia
With most people practicing self-isolation and social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic and individuals urged to work from home, the reality of confinement is looking increasingly likely for us all. However, staying in can be just as fun and productive as going out.聽聽 Our family has found a few things to do to keep boredom away during COVID-19.
Reading books 鈥� this won鈥檛 take much persuasion for some.聽 This is especially awesome for my daughter and myself as she is just on the upward journey of learning to read 鈥� so this time will be special for me.
Sometimes the small things in life that make us feel better.聽 My six-year-old daughter loves the idea of painting my toe nails.聽 Not sure who is going to be happier 鈥� her or me?
On the agenda this week is sorting our clothes, decluttering our home and giving away any items that we don鈥檛 wear anymore.聽聽 Maybe even coordinating our clothes into sections so it鈥檚 easier to pick out an outfit in the morning.聽 I鈥檓 thinking my daughter will like this much more than my son.聽 Hopefully we can find matches to our singles of socks 鈥� this would dispel the theory of the 鈥淪ock Monster鈥� in our house eating one from each pair.
Exercise is a must.聽 I cleaned off our trampoline yesterday so the kids will be very excited for the days to come and be outside.聽 We have had our luck so far and been to many of the city and school parks with no one else around.聽 We have already been walking around the block and our neighborhood and spicing things up with the occasional treasure hunt.聽 I may even have to remove the clothes from my elliptical (see wardrobe point) and start to use that for what its intended use is.聽 The Yorkton Junior NBA Program has set up some challenges for the time to come and will be posting those online 鈥� the kids and I will be partaking in those as well.
Crafts are already the norm at our house.聽 We will have to get more creative and have creative arts and crafts challenges 鈥� sketching, painting and coloring.
Our karaoke mics will be getting more use 鈥� my daughter is always on them but now our entire family will get a chance to belt out some favorites songs and possibly some dance moves.
We will be challenging ourselves as well with crossword puzzles.聽 Fortunately, there are lots of crossword or word puzzles online which means we don鈥檛 have to leave the house.聽 Kinsmen Radio Bingo will also be a big hit 鈥� we keep meaning to try it and now there is no better time to do so.
I also want to start my travel bucket list and researching some of the destinations.
This is also the perfect time to catch-up with old friends that I haven鈥檛 talked with in a while.聽 Facebook and Instagram has made it easier to stay in touch with friends or at least see what they are up to but I鈥檓 talking about a good old fashioned phone call.聽
I鈥檝e already started this and have many more to contact and really looking forward to it.
I hope that everyone stays safe during this time and hopefully this will be over sooner than later.
