Month 8 of living during a pandemic

The title sounds a bit melodramatic? But this year has been taxing! Of course I can count all my blessings. But 2020 still sucks rocks! Now I smirk about my word for 2020. There is nothing to grab this year, Karen!

I am walking around with a feeling of existential dread. Constantly. 2020 has brought us ambivalent feelings about everything. Will we ever go back to how it was? The new way of living has become normal. Would we want to go back to the "previous normal"? It has also been good to not catch the normal winter germs, and not get sick this winter...

13 creative new ways to #KeepPlaying UNO

 

Keep playing UNO 

It's day million-and-whatever in lockdown in South Africa, and by now everything has gone stale. It  feels like we are in groundhog day, and we will never get out of this loop. Miss Fine says we complain to much, so that's my moan for the month! Mattel Playroom still keeps us entertained during these pandemic times, also with UNO and DOS card games. We love that there are so many ways to play UNO. 

Check it out...

13 NEW CHALLENGING WAYS TO PLAY UNO

UNO® SECRET

UNO® has a secret!  At the beginning of the game, everyone is dealt a card face down. They can look at it, but it has to stay face-down THE WHOLE GAME, and then becomes the last card you are allowed to play to win the round.  Game play continues as usual until one player gets rid of ALL the cards in their hand.  They then yell “UNO” to indicate they are down to one card (the “Secret” card).   On their next turn, they have to be able to play their Secret card to win the round.  If their Secret card doesn’t match the discard pile (or isn’t a Wild card), they have to draw a card from the Draw pile and keep playing.  If they can play their Secret card, they WIN!

UNO® SLAPS

Get ready for some hand-slappin’ fun!  With this rule, you play UNO® like normal, except whenever someone plays the EXACT same card as the top of the discard pile (for example a Red 2 on Red 2), everyone races to slap the Discard pile. Once you slap it, keep your hand there and the last player to get their hand on the pile has to draw 2 cards!

UNO® TINY HANDS

No, you don’t need small appendages at the end of your arms for this rule, everybody just starts with three cards in their hand (instead of the usual seven).  The action will come fast and furious, so be ready to yell “UNO” when you’re down to one card!

UNO® BIG HANDS

When it comes to UNO, big hands mean big fun. Players start with 12 cards each and the rest of the game plays like regular UNO. Games may last longer but that’s where the big fun comes in!

UNO® GOLF

The object in real Golf is to get the LOWEST score, and it’s the same in UNO® Golf.  After each round, whoever doesn’t win has cards left in their hand.  Count those cards and keep them in a running tally on a separate sheet of paper.  For example, Brian wins a round and Sally has three cards in left her hand so you mark three cards for Sally.  Do the same for all other players (except Brian, who won the round) and then start another round.  Keep playing, and when any player’s tally reaches 50 cards, look at everyone’s tally and whoever has the FEWEST amount of cards WINS!  

UNO® BINGO 

UNO® has a new way to play and Bingo is its name-o!  Simply print out the UNO® Bingo sheets from https://www.mattelgames.com/en-us/cards/uno and distribute one to each player. As you play, if you can pull off an achievement such as “Play a Zero” or “Reverse a Reverse” and it matches a square on your sheet, mark it off!  If you’re the first player to get 5 in a line or all 4 corners, you WIN!

UNO® STACK

Get ready to pass the pain!  If someone plays a Draw 2 card on you, normally you would have to draw the two cards and that would be your turn.  But if you have a Draw 2 card in your hand, you can “stack” it on top of the one played on you and pass it to the next player. They now have to draw four cards because of the “stack.”   If they have a Draw 2 card, they can “stack” it, too – and the next player now has to draw six cards!  The stacking can continue until one player has no Draw 2 card to play and they have to draw the accumulated cards.  Oh, and you can “stack” Draw 4 cards as well – OUCH!

UNO® REVERSE BOUNCE-BACK

Right back atcha!  When someone play a Draw 2 card on you, if you have a Reverse card of the SAME COLOUR, you can play it and the penalty bounces back onto them!  Now they have to draw the penalty cards!

UNO® SKIP BOUNCE

Skipping never felt so good.  If someone plays a Draw 2 on you and you have a Skip card of the SAME COLOUR in your hand, you can play it and “bounce” the penalty to the next player!  The next player must draw the two cards, unless they have a Skip card (of any colour) they can play, in which case they pass the penalty to the next player and so on until no one has a Skip card and must draw two cards. 

UNO® WILD +1

Just like the name says, when you play a Wild card and choose a colour, you may play a card of that colour card on top of it!  Normally you would have to wait until your next turn, but you can play this card IMMEDIATELY!

UNO® KEEP DRAWING

Normally when you don’t have a card in your hand to play, you take one card from the Draw Pile and that’s your turn.  But with this rule, you have to KEEP DRAWING until you draw a card that you can play.  Will it be one card?  Five cards? TEN cards?!  You’ll have to keep drawing to find out.

UNO® QUICK PLAY

This version keeps the game moving lightning fast! The game plays as usual, but at any time, if a player has a card that EXACTLY matches the discard pile (Yellow 7 on a Yellow 7), they can play it IMMEDIATELY even if it’s not their turn.  This can go on until no one has a card to play, then play continues from the last person to play a card. 

UNO® MULTIPLES

Twins, triplets, quads—in this version, multiples dominate. The game plays as usual, but any time a player has multiple cards of the same value, they can be played together. Get rid of all your 8s at once; play 2 skips, 3 reverses. You get the idea, get the idea, get the idea…

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We did not realize there was so much to know about UNO. The game is great for family time during lockdown. Look out for a post about 13 different ways to play UNO #Gift #TradeExchange #UNOandDOSsa #LockDownSA Did you know? 18 interesting facts about the game UNO: 1. The game was invented in 1971 by Merle Robbins. 2. Uno was created to help solve an argument about Crazy Eights. 3. Merle invested $8,000 to make 5,000 first edition Uno games. 4. Merle Robbins sold the rights to Uno for more than $50,000. 5. Mattel announced in 2019 that Uno is now available in braille. (Not available in South Africa yet) 6. The game has its own unique deck of 108 cards. 7. Uno sales are still increasing year over year. 8. Uno is a great way to teach little kids about counting and color recognition. 9. Playing Uno can help children develop fine motor skills. 10. Modern Uno is available in various themes. 11. Uno is available on modern gaming consoles. 12. The Uno app makes it possible to download the game to your mobile phone. 13. Uno is designed for players of 3 years and up. 14. Playing Uno provides good-clean-fun socializing opportunities. 15. Uno teaches children about strategic thinking. 16. Playing Uno improves children’s basic mathematics skills. 17. Uno bridges the gap between young and old family members. 18. The game is highly portable and can be taken anywhere.

A post shared by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Aug 14, 2020 at 2:07am PDT

Disclaimer: We got UNO and DOS card games as trade exchange.  

Lock-down day 104

Social distancing 2020

Nearly three and a half months that has gone by in lock-down. We did not think it would last this long, and now we realise it is going to stay like this for quite a while. At least for another year... It's not the rest we hoped for, and not the sabbatical we wish we could always take.

I did not blog as much as I planned I would. I had time, but no motivation.

Things are not the same, and maybe it's never going to be?

What has been happening during these three months of lock-down? Some notes for future reference.

How Lock-down are looking right now:

- Miss Fine has been going to school for her second week. The first week was a full week, but from this week they are only going every second day. Her school is doing the Covid-19 regulations very well. The kids stay in one class, and the teachers rotate. It also helps with isolating Covid-positive risks, and minimise the impact to the whole school. Only the classes and children affected quarantine at home. Miss Fine loves seeing her friends again. She is enjoying school and her new teachers (they had shifted everything again). We are also very relieved to have her back at school, and not having to to constantly trying to get her to work at home. Which did not go as well...
Some days she goes through three masks at school, and some days one is enough. It helps to have a variety at hand.

- Hubby has been retrenched, as so many people we know. He is looking for a new job, and we are hopeful. No, we are stressed about it! He is a teacher, and a financial adviser. If somebody knows of a job opening?

- Our company is also retrenching, so that's an extra stressor. I am hopeful that our department won't be affected, as we are short-staffed already. But you never know... I still go in when there are requests, and keeping up to date with our collections. Luckily I have my own studio, and can keep my distance very easily at work. I feel very safe with the safety protocols they have in place with regards Covid-19.

- We miss the family. We miss the regular visits, and weekends braais (barbecues). We miss seeing our parents. That is the most difficult thing! We miss them!

- We miss spending time with friends as well. I know we will have get-togethers again, but it is difficult not being able to spend some quality time.

- We love our new lodgings. It's a rental, but for now it's home. I do not miss our house as I thought I would. We have unpacked, and made this place our new home. Even Miss Fine has settled in quite well. She does not like change, but given some time, she has adjusted. I bought some curtains online, when it was still not allowed to be bought in the shops. Half of the order was not what we expected, but it is hanging and we love it now. This move has made us realise how much easier it is to change, and take on new adventures.

We have realised that we won't do well with Tiny House Living, but we still enjoy watching all the Tiny House programmes.

- I still dread going to the shops. It is very stressful. Not only trying to avoid catching the dreaded Virus, but also trying to find the products that's now not available. Also, the costs have gone up quite a bit during this time.

- We wear our masks going out of the house. I do it out of respect for you, but also to keep myself safe, as well as anybody I get into contact with. I expect the same from anybody else, and judge people who don't respect the rule, or us.

How long are we going to live like this?
How have you been doing during lock-down?

Lock-down Day 55

Lock-down masks

I wanted to document every day, but here we are... It's day 55 of lock-down in South Africa. How did we get here so fast? It has been nearly two months, and we have apparently not yet reached the worst. We are hopeful that we are going to level 3 from June.

I saw this on Twitter today, and decided it's good enough reason to give me motivation to start again to write. To document these times for myself, and for future memories.

The New York Times shares why you should start a coronavirus diary—and talks with SAA member Dawne Dewey from Wright State University. https://t.co/jrNNRlXOHa

— Soc Amer Archivists (@archivists_org) May 19, 2020

I have been longing for everything to go back to "normal". Who would have thought that we wished each day to go into the office, and work a full day? To go back to school for our Tween... She can't wait!

Lock-down - Day 5

Bitmoji "Keep your distance"

Things have changed drastically for all of us. Here in South Africa we are in lock-down as well. Day 5. We can't even walk the dogs or go for a run. I am not saying this as a negative, as we all commend our government for acting fast and decisive. Our move is on hold, and although this could have been the first day in our new house, we are stuck where we are. We have more time to pack, and go through our stuff. Which is a positive during this time...

Who could have guessed that we would be contained in our own houses for three weeks? And most of us already expect that the containment will last longer. We are worried about the future and how this will impact all of us. I am getting a salary, but my husband's work in the financial industry has slowed down considerably.

I am on standby for work. This means that I make sure I am ready to go in each day. I have my "essential services" letter to show when I have to go in for work. I am able to access my emails, and keep a regular check-up for when a request comes in.

Miss Fine has been living her best life. She loves not having to go anywhere. She is also not motivated to do any school work, as her teachers told them they could enjoy their vacation, and could only expect them to start sending work when school was supposed to start. (She says?) We had a gymnastics exercise scheduled on Saturday, which she missed because we struggled with Zoom. Next week we are going to try again. The gymnastics' teacher sends them regular exercises and updates, which is very cool. But, we have yet to convince Miss Fine to do any of them. Any advice would be appreciated?

I want to give a huge shout-out to all the moms who keep their children entertained with school work,  exercises and arts and crafts. You rock!

The rest of us are just trying to adjust to a new normal.

These are strange times, and it will definitely go into the history books.

For my own records: It feels like the end of the world. Who could have known that we would look forward to normal working days, sitting in traffic, and wishing for that perfect cappuccino from our favourite coffee shops? And we are only on Day 5? We still haven't started with our exercise routine, although Hubby got the exercise bike working again. I baked banana flapjacks yesterday. We still want to bake a banana bread with the rest of the ripe bananas, but there's no baking powder in the shops. Hubby says he and two other men were searching the shelves in Spar today, and a lady was laughing at them, because none of them knew how baking powder looks.

How are you coping?

Our move on hold with Covid-19

Our dog living her best life with all of us at home

Corona! The past few days has been hectic. For everybody! It has been very scary!

I have been quiet, because that's how I deal. I have been watching too much news, and then too much of everything else.

Just this morning I wanted to do a final shopping, but standing queues before entering the shops was just unfathomable. I tried my nearest Woolworths and Spar. I only went later, thanks to my daughter's advice, to a nearby Checkers which had fewer queues.

I am sure it is going to be better during the lock-down to go shopping, but we all want to stay home as much as possible.

We were supposed to be moving at the end of the month. That's been put on hold. As if moving is not stressful enough, we now have to contend with staying put. We can't move, and the people moving into our house, can't move. Our house is full of boxes, and it's in a mess.

I have been on leave to pack, but has heard today that I will be expected to come in to work as needed. The National Broadcaster has to continue, and we presume archive material will be needed. I am awaiting my letter to carry around with me. It is making me uncomfortable to think that we would be expected to produce proof of reason why we are on the road.

These are strange times indeed.

Miss Fine loves to stay home, and she has been in her element. Also watching too much of everything. I had her schedule a daily routine, but it made her anxious, so we told her to relax, and enjoy her holidays.

I am also supposed to be exercising, and packing, and doing things, but I can't show too much for every day. I will be good to myself, and give myself some grace during these extraordinary conditions.

I hope you will too?

We sold our house, and we have to move soon

"Honey, I'm Home!"

Change is not easy. As much as we know we are working towards a larger goal, it is difficult to let go of our own space, and our stuff. We sold our house, and everything has moved much faster than expected. We have a month to find a new place.

I love my house. Even more so now that we are looking for other spaces to call home...
We are lucky that we found a buyer in the economic climate, and who gave us our asking price. But now we have to fit our stuff into a new smaller space which is not customized...

Breathe, Karen!

It will be okay!

Word for 2020

Word of the year - Grab

There is nothing more powerful than a word. A word for the year is a gift to yourself. This year I am going to GRAB life!

My word for 2019, Resilience, was a powerful word that kept me grounded. It gave me the confidence to power through when times were tough. I can give myself a pat on the back. I have the resilience to grab what life is offering me!

Life is giving us an opportunity. Sometimes we ignore it, and we can never go back! This time we are grabbing what comes to us! We are eager and excited! New beginnings and new adventures await us...

Thank you, Life!

What is your word for 2020?

Welcome 2020

2020 

2020 is going to be a great year! We know it!

2019 was not that great. When I think about it, I just have an overwhelming sense of relief that we somehow got through it... We were in survival mode, and each month got worse and worse! But here we are! We made it!

2020 can only be better!

I am not only saying it to put out positive vibes. We have plans to make it better! Our goals are set, and the wheels are already in motion. I am not at liberty to say much more... Watch this space! The excitement is high!

We had a great holiday staying home. It was Miss Fine's favourite place to be, and she complained each time we had to go somewhere.

We saw Star Wars over the past weekend, and we loved it. I was so apprehensive that it would not be good (because of social media comebacks), but it is an adventure! Go see it, if you haven't yet! We also saw Spies in Disguise at a media launch in the beginning of December, and it is a hoot! It's still in the cinemas, and worth a family outing!

We watched tons of series. The Morning Show (How good is this?. Can't wait for Series 2) , Stumptown, and After Life are a few of the memorable ones.

I am still busy reading Dan Brown's Deception Point. I finished The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino. I owe her a review. It is an exceptional book! (This year I definitely must read more!)

Back at work. Back at the grind! Luckily I have a great job (radio archivist), and can't wait to catch up with all the great programmes I have missed.

Happy 2020!