Stuck at Home Shenanigans & Convention Stuffs

What does one do when you're stuck at home with two kids, two dogs, and two extra weeks of spring vacation when everything else is closed?

You make your own fun.

To date, we've done the following to keep ourselves and Things 1 & 2 entertained:

1) Created a "laser" obstacle course in the hallway with twine, packing tape, and a continuous loop of the Mission: Impossible theme. If you want to try this at home, you need Bakers Twine, Imagination, and a willingness to elbow-crawl and/or sneak through a self created maze.

2) Cleaned up the back yard. Our yard is graced with The World's Largest Weed, more commonly called the humble Locust Tree. These guys sprout up by the roots and drop gigantic pods, so it's basically a constant war with the thing before it engulfs the entire yard. We keep it, though, for the shade it provides in the evenings. Also, here in Semi-Rural Nevada, we have other gardening hazards, like Cheatgrass, Goatheads, and Stickers. The Ground is Angery Here.

3) Baking. So Much Baking. The missus is a dab hand at baking and made These Muffins, subbing out mixed berries for pure blueberries. Yours truly made some excellent Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies that turned out very well. If you've got the supplies in and you're stuck at home, this is an excellent time to teach yourself to cook. There's countless sources on YouFaceTubeBook, but, in my humble opinion, This is one of the better places to start.

4) Applying for jobs. Since our main moneymaking source dried up due to scarcity, I've got to apply for stuff to keep our heads above water. We'll see what else is coming down the pike.

5) Discovering our house's internal PA system, AKA: The Heat Vents. Weirdly, the Things didn't take the Mysterious Voice Emanating From The Vent's advice to clean their rooms, but still, baby steps. Baby Steps.

6) Retooling for our new business. We're of the opinion that if you quit moving, people start throwing dirt on you.

7) Reading. If you haven't already, go check out Georg's works as well as those of Estee. They're both far better writers than I.

Now, for those of you that like to participate at Conventions, either through selling art, swag and/or buying the same, this could be an increasingly fraught time. If you know any artists or vendors that rely on cons, some friends of mine and I have a solution: COUCHCON! Basically a virtual convention, it'll be run over three days in an online celebration and gathering of artists, vendors, and nerds of all stripes. Pants optional.

I know these are stressful times. I can speak from experience that, at least for my wife and I, we're concerned that our industry might never bounce back. But like all things, This Too Shall Pass. Keep faith, keep to yourselves for the next couple of weeks, and hopefully we'll come out of this on the other side stronger for it.