Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[ShrekDawg]

@FortCluck this is the soil I mentioned and use most. Idk if it’s available everywhere though, I get it at Ocean State, but I really like it. It works so I figure why buy something else

 

[FortCluck]

Lots of different kinds haha but usually honestly just this cheap like $3 stuff from Ocean State Job Lot. It’s cheap but oddly really good and my plants love it haha sometimes I add in an organic fertilizer too like Espoma Garden Tone or similar from Walmart, etc. which helps too but even by itself it is good. I did raised beds one year and got some of the organic Miracle Grow raised bed vegetable stuff too.

For starting seeds I usually use Jiffy Seed Starting mix. It’s pretty cheap for a bag and works very well. I’ve tried a few other brands and they just don’t seem to work as well for me. I don’t really like the jiffy expandable pellets though. They seem to restrict the roots, at least for me. But the loose soil and trays are good.

True!! I think it also helps I put the garden last year on the old chicken run haha and I had let it sit for like a year beforehand and added a bunch of peat moss, compost, potting soil, etc. and made it even better haha

My above ground beds have composted chicken bedding. It seems to be working so far.

 

[ShrekDawg]

My above ground beds have composted chicken bedding. It seems to be working so far.

I’m really excited to finally try my compost!! It wasn’t really ready last year but I think I have some that finally is plus a new pile that hopefully will be soon haha

 

[SnapdragonQ]

This reusing feed sacks business is such a good idea!!! I’ve seen people make like tote bags out of them too and it’s so neat!!! People are so creative. I wish I was that creative but, sadly, am not. I may have to try this though. If I can visualize what you guys mean. I don’t currently have a dog but have plenty of chicken food bags! Ha

I make tote bags from chicken feed sacks too. It's fun and they hold a lot of stuff when I shop at Sam's Club or go to Aldis (you have to bring your own grocery bags.)
Of course, after I've crammed the bags full and they weigh as much as a small person, I have to get them up the dozen steps that is my front porch.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I make tote bags from chicken feed sacks too. It's fun and they hold a lot of stuff when I shop at Sam's Club or go to Aldis (you have to bring your own grocery bags.)
Of course, after I've crammed the bags full and they weigh as much as a small person, I have to get them up the dozen steps that is my front porch.

I’ve always wanted to try making bags but I’m nowhere talented enough for that

And oh wow that’s a lot of steps!! Haha we only have like 2 or 3 but still annoying when you’re carrying a lot. We have to carry it up a big hill

 

[MROO]

I believe alot of it has to do with the feeling of "losing the battle" when they start taking meds. Like accepting the depression won.
If that makes any sense

Oh believe me I DO understand! It's a battle I fight every day. It's one I grew up fighting. I'll be facing it for the rest of my life. And believe it or not, that's okay. We've come to an understanding, this beast and I. It's getting others to understand what it means to be depressed that's the real battle, now.

When you suffer from depression, you constantly hear things like, "Suck it up and deal with it!" "Snap out of it!" and "You could if you really wanted to!" Then there's the excruciatingly painful, "What's wrong with you? Just DO it!" That's the hardest one, because depression often lacks an obvious cause, while an injury or disease have a source. When you can't see why something is happening, it's easy to believe that there's something intangibly wrong with you and your overall outlook - especially when the observation is coming from the very people who are supposed to love and believe in you the most. When you can't "Just do it," it's easy to accept that you can't. You stop trying ... and the spiral gets a life of its' own.

It takes a lot to stop that downward turning, and the hardest part is accepting that its' okay to need help doing it; that it's not a weakness, it's a fixable problem. The problem with accepting that fact while you're fighting the issue is a classic "Catch 22." When you're depressed, the issue looms larger than life. It IS life, often the only one you've known. It's a problem that you can't just "fix" because you don't know how. And despite their insistence that they can "snap you out of it," your friends/family/colleagues don't either. It takes a professional who knows what they're doing. It takes time and some often uncomfortable self-examination. And, more often than most want to admit, it takes medication. Many people don't stay on them forever, as they finally find a way to deal with and overcome their stressors, but many others need it to maintain their equilibrium. That's okay, too.

Accepting medication doesn't mean that the taker "loses." On the contrary, it means accepting the fact that this is a battle, and using all the weapons available against an enemy that threatens to suck the joy out of life. Antidepressants are just one of many tools, but they are a very fast-acting tool. By using them to lift yourself above the chaos, it's easier to see your way through it. So go ahead and try the medications, if that's what works for you. There is NO dishonor in using the tools you need to do a job properly. And when you've reached your goal, you can either put the tools aside or, like some of us, clip 'em into your toolbelt and use them every day.

Depression doesn't win or lose - YOU do! Be the winner!

Okay - I'm done with my soapbox. I may regret this later, but I'm going to post it quickly before I chicken out ...

 

[featherhead007]

What can we do to cheer you up?

I'm actually feeling pretty good at the moment - a rare occasion, these days. I just did an assist to save my last two egglets - and now we have three healthy babies that weren't really expected to make it to hatch. That's a mood booster!

And here's another. I don't really like to assist hatches, and my kids know it. Last night, as I debated with myself out loud about intervening, DS made a comment to an online friend about his Mom wanting to "Goose her chicks" then burst out laughing so hard that he choked. I'm afraid to ask what his buddy said ... but apparently, it was pretty good!

your post helps!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't even trust the fruits and vegetables at the store at this point because everybody touches them.

Ehh I have to disagree. This is a respiratory virus not digestive and so I do believe in the accuracy of reports that there's been no food borne cases. Not saying you should go through a store handling all the produce and then touching your face, but I believe the benefit of eating fresh produce outweighs the possible risks of buying it.

That said, I garden because I enjoy growing my own food. I want the freshest produce I can get, plus I know 100% that the stuff I grow is free of any pesticides, herbicides, etc.

The only thing so far that has not done good was my basil, but honestly It's because I put it outside too soon. I bought it from the store and instead of slowly introducing it to the outside I just put it outside. But it is coming back.

Mine's deader than dead after I accidentally left it out overnight. At least the newly planted replacements are already sprouting.

He was told on his fb by someone (who was complaining about not opening everything) that he is going to die anyway, so it doesn't matter. Basically, told to go and die. I also belong to a cancer group for his type of cancer. Many of those people were told the same thing by others since covid-19 has come out.

Unfortunately the reality right now is cancer patients, people with other preexisting conditions that need regular medical care, are currently being shortchanged time with their doctors, being told they have to go to other facilities to be treated, or having needed procedures delayed due to the virus.

There is a strange flip side to this phenomenon. I had a friend diagnosed with brain cancer, and he severed contact with all of his friends because he did not want us to see him during his struggle/death.

My goofball mother went through breast cancer - surgery, chemo and all - without telling any of us because she "didn't want to worry us!"

My mother is the same way. I guess I'm wired like that too... other than my husband I really don't want anyone seeing me when I'm not feeling well, so I just don't mention anything to anyone until after the fact.

I told him if I ever get hospitalized for anything serious that he either can't tell anyone where I'm at, or to tell the hospital to refuse visitors, because I do NOT want anyone's last impression of me to be a miserable, sickly shadow of myself.

 

[MROO]

I sang that to the Princess when I quit, and she came after me with a baseball bat. By the way quitting was the second best thing I ever did. The first was marrying her.

Baseball? Encourage her to take up a less dangerous sport ... like maybe nerf soccer or tennis. Don't EVER encourage her into hockey, or even knitting. Pucks and needles can be deadly!

 

[BullChick]

Oh PLEASE! Record and post it ... You'll thank us, later ... especially when you play it at the storyteller's wedding reception (or graduation, or soccer rewards banquet, or ... ) someday!

It’s recorded, but for Featherhead007’s eyes only, and I barely trust him!