Virtual Tours: My plans to lessen the stress of quarantine. Yours?

Posted by bridgegoddess @bridgegoddess, Mar 18, 2020

Hi I am 81 and have a decent diagnosis of PMR and I am currently on a very high dosage of Prednisone I have a very old degree in Pharmacy , and I am very grateful that my memory is still quite good I do know stress is a function that involves our adrenal glands. I know with the current dosage of Prednisone, I do not want to add any additional impact on my adrenal glands So I needed a plan to deal width the issues of social isolation.
Here is the start of my daily routine:

  • Spend some time just seating in my garden on any warmish day . That is a special escape for me , I can sit in a chair and clean one pot at a day Or Not!
  • Phone a minimum of two friends a day
  • Because as a group we are blessed to know how to use the Internet, I am going to visit one place a day One popped instantly to my mind was Switzerland I am not sure why, but I have driven through there twice I know it us stunning beautiful I will revisit the places I saw and see what I missed. So it is an expensive country to visit , but I will have a free trip.

Tomorrow, I will visit Bali ,which was always on my List , but never got there . I can amuse myself for weeks learning new things and enjoying the trip
I will connect with my family in Denmark in a daily basis , even some I have never met , but know through my DNA testing on Ancestry

I want to hear any new suggestions any one has for not feeling isolated, but in fact knowing that we are doing the best thing possible for all of us to avoid exposure

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

@fiesty76

Thanks, John, for the chocolate shop site in MN. that brought back so many delightful memories of our early marriage years in Duluth. We'd laugh about the twin cities as our escape to the Bahamas! Eons ago, hubby was stationed in the Air Force and as a TX native, it was my first introduction to canoe portages in the wilderness, using an ice auger on the frozen lake while socializing with others on their snow machines. My teaching partner from Norway and her husband "adopted us" and introduced us to a real log burning sauna at their cabin. The wonderful people and nature experiences of that time are among the best remembrances of my life. Rhubarb gathering, scooping up smelt on their runs, making my first hand picked tiny wild strawberry jams, learning how to beer batter pike and celebrating a New Year's meal with friends who served a fish in white sauce instead of our traditional black eyed peas are just a smattering of the unforgettable memories of that state, it's wildlife and multi-generational families who welcomed us and taught us so much.

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Thanks @fiesty76, You returned the favor of some great memories. My wife's family is Norwegian and it was her brothers that introduced me to snowmobiles, it was quite a site to see them help me pull his snowmobile out of the slushy end of a frozen Wisconsin lake where they had a cabin. I really didn't want to ride it although I loved dirt bike riding and knew the basics of the snowmobile. They kept pushing me to take his snowmobile out on the lake - hey, it's safe just follow the existing trails. They told me nothing about which trail to take and when it split into two directions I stopped for a minute to evaluate which way and the back of the snowmobile started sinking. I was more panicked by seeing my two brother-in-laws running toward me than the fact that the snowmobile was sinking. It was only waist high at the end of the lake where it went in but we were able to pull the machine out no harm no foul and everyone got a laugh at my expense.

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@johnbishop Enjoyed your snowmobile story Mine was a motorcycle My girlfriend and I where up at our camp in Pa when in the Mts my bike chain came off well we where long way from pushing it back so between us both we finally put muscles into it and got the chain back on thank goodness for a screwdriver

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@lioness

@johnbishop Enjoyed your snowmobile story Mine was a motorcycle My girlfriend and I where up at our camp in Pa when in the Mts my bike chain came off well we where long way from pushing it back so between us both we finally put muscles into it and got the chain back on thank goodness for a screwdriver

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&lioness. It’s a good thing you had a screwdriver along with you. Wouldn’t normally have one with me on my dirt bike rides 🙂

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@johnbishop Yea why I had one don't remember but know we use to carry some tool of sorts of course that was before cell phones.

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@fiesty76

Thanks, John, for the chocolate shop site in MN. that brought back so many delightful memories of our early marriage years in Duluth. We'd laugh about the twin cities as our escape to the Bahamas! Eons ago, hubby was stationed in the Air Force and as a TX native, it was my first introduction to canoe portages in the wilderness, using an ice auger on the frozen lake while socializing with others on their snow machines. My teaching partner from Norway and her husband "adopted us" and introduced us to a real log burning sauna at their cabin. The wonderful people and nature experiences of that time are among the best remembrances of my life. Rhubarb gathering, scooping up smelt on their runs, making my first hand picked tiny wild strawberry jams, learning how to beer batter pike and celebrating a New Year's meal with friends who served a fish in white sauce instead of our traditional black eyed peas are just a smattering of the unforgettable memories of that state, it's wildlife and multi-generational families who welcomed us and taught us so much.

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I do like the thought of reliving our happy moments in our lifetimes That is a great stress buster Looking at old pictures, listening to the music you loved as a teenager, and followed that up by talking to an old friend ! Bringing joy back into our lives with a Happy memory Puts a smile on our faces has a great physiological effect on our bodies , Having a plan to get through these difficult times make a us feel like we are doing something It makes us feel better prepared and lessens anxiety . Making sure your prescriptions medicine are refilled,, knowing that you have a good supply of nutritional foods all empower us .i have tried to think through I can substitute one think for another Many of our food stores are having to gear cup for a new reality For the last 10 days getting safe pickup service or delivery has been close to impossible But now we are seeing a a bit of a slow shift towards that being a helpful option
But we know that there may be shortages because of business shut downs . So prepare as much as you can, but that so much is changing on a day to day basis , and what may have been difficult today , is better tomorrow Turn on that music , turn off the TV for a few hours , look at happy photos , beautiful landscapes Every day I am sharing stunning pictures of gardens or flowers on my Facebook page. There is a great site called Paradise of Flowers that I follow, and share their pictures i do Lomé the thought that I can interact with people I do not know , and understand that so many of us are more alike than different I am enjoying your ideas to keep our selves engaged in life even from our homes which more than ever are our sanctuaries. Thanks for all your responses

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@bridgegoddess

I do like the thought of reliving our happy moments in our lifetimes That is a great stress buster Looking at old pictures, listening to the music you loved as a teenager, and followed that up by talking to an old friend ! Bringing joy back into our lives with a Happy memory Puts a smile on our faces has a great physiological effect on our bodies , Having a plan to get through these difficult times make a us feel like we are doing something It makes us feel better prepared and lessens anxiety . Making sure your prescriptions medicine are refilled,, knowing that you have a good supply of nutritional foods all empower us .i have tried to think through I can substitute one think for another Many of our food stores are having to gear cup for a new reality For the last 10 days getting safe pickup service or delivery has been close to impossible But now we are seeing a a bit of a slow shift towards that being a helpful option
But we know that there may be shortages because of business shut downs . So prepare as much as you can, but that so much is changing on a day to day basis , and what may have been difficult today , is better tomorrow Turn on that music , turn off the TV for a few hours , look at happy photos , beautiful landscapes Every day I am sharing stunning pictures of gardens or flowers on my Facebook page. There is a great site called Paradise of Flowers that I follow, and share their pictures i do Lomé the thought that I can interact with people I do not know , and understand that so many of us are more alike than different I am enjoying your ideas to keep our selves engaged in life even from our homes which more than ever are our sanctuaries. Thanks for all your responses

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Very well said!

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Excellent post, Bridgegoddess. I want to hop over to the facebook site and look for the Paradise of Flowers. Thank you for sharing it. Cyber bouquets to all!

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@johnbishop

So, anyone up for a virtual road trip in Minnesota? I've always thought my little town of Mantorville had the best chocolate shoppe around so was surprised to see that it was not listed in this virtual road trip.

The Sweetest Road Trip in Minnesota Takes You To 6 Old School Chocolate Shops
-- https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/minnesota/chocolate-shop-road-trip-mn/

I'm still liking our own Chocolate Shoppe but then I've taste tested most everything 🙂 https://chocolateshoppe.co/

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Oh yum So tempting At least there are no calories in looking I have found third cousins via DNA testing I managed to find their phone numbers and phoned them So when this is over , I May make a cousin request to send out
Chocolate If you hear that they take orders online I am all in Thanks for this nice trip

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Hey @bridgegoddess, where have you been travelling, virtually these days?

As spring is approaching (slowly up here in the north), I'm starting to dream about getting into my garden. So, I've been visiting lovely gardens tours.
– https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote/features/hidcote-virtual-tours
- https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g31746949/gardens-you-can-virtually-tour/

Who else have been exploring virtual tours?

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When things start getting back to normal I plan to make a 4 hour drive to Hibbing, Minnesota which is the birthplace of the Greyhound Bus Company. They have a Greyhound Bus Museum there and Greyhound Buses have always held a place in my heart. When I was a kid we would sit on the curb near our house and throw pebbles at Greyhound buses to see if we could hit the hubcaps. That is until we were told don't do that by a very nice policeman. Then fast forward to 1965 when I was being transferred from one ship in San Francisco to Long Beach. I got on the Greyhound Bus in Sacramento, California after a long weekend with a Navy buddy at his parents house and headed to visit my parents in San Bernardino, CA. I had the window seat towards the front of the bus and another man was sitting next to me. I fell asleep and when I woke up there was a gorgeous young lady sitting next to me. We struck up a conversation and the next thing I knew I purposely missed my bus transfer in Bakersfield, CA so that I could keep talking to her until she changed buses in Los Angeles. We exchanged mailing addresses and six months later were married.

The Unique Minnesota Museum That Just Might Be Haunted - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/minnesota/unique-museum-haunted-mn/

Greyhound Bus Museum website - https://www.greyhoundbusmuseum.org/

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