Keeping Busy This Winter

by Matilda Charles
Winter is fast approaching, but at least we are no longer getting those constant election phone calls The one thing that hasn’t gone away is the coronavirus, and our lives are nowhere back to normal. After we’ve baked yet another loaf of pandemic bread and can log on to a Zoom neighborhood chat with our eyes closed, it’s time to look for other things to do.

Here are some of the things I’m checking into to stay busy (and indoors) this winter:

• Becoming a remote reading tutor for a child. This would be done via the school’s chat program, so there’s no risk of transmission of the virus. A school aide will send me links to copied pages of books that my assigned child is learning to read, and we’ll hook up while he or she is at school.
• Growing plants with grow lights. I’ve arranged shelving in a spare room with space for plenty of plants, both houseplants and herbs. The plan is to have a mixture of small houseplants such as pothos and spider plants, and give them as gifts to neighbors once they are big enough to divide. With fingers crossed, I’m also going to try growing English ivy and asparagus fern from seed.
• Experimenting with pottery. I have been curious about air-dry pottery, so I’ve ordered 10 pounds of white modeling clay and a smaller package of terra cotta. The reviews say it’s good for sculpting and doesn’t require a kiln or baking in the oven. If it works, I am thinking of creating jewelry and painting them with acry- lics or trying to produce miniatures of famous sculptures from museum websites. (Rodin’s The Thinker seems appropriate right about now.)
  These projects should keep me busy over the winter. How about you?