Suddenly, many of us are time-rich. How are you spending it?

Home Schooled

Above, Jay Austin (and Melanie Austin, not pictured) have been giving their children a crash course in trades. So far, Daelin, 8, and Sophia, 7, have helped build a porch, fix cars (pictured on the cover) and pour cement (above).

Tea Party apart

Maple Avenue resident Linda Wegner organized a social distancing tea party for the 5500 block last month. A dozen residents sat more than six feet apart and enjoyed a cup of tea in the bright sunshine.

Beach glass

Loren Halloran needed something to keep himself busy so he turned to beach combing.

“I’ve taken up the art of beach glass finding on local beaches,” he said. He found many pretty pieces of glass as well as heart-shaped and round rocks and pretty shells.

“I washed all the shells and glass and began gluing pieces of glass inside the shells. I’m no artist but I got creative.”

Loren says he enjoyed collecting these items. “One doesn’t realize how therepeutic sifting your arms through sand and small rocks can be. The end result for me was a way to spend time away from other people during this awkward time and to stay busy, while having an interest or newfound purpose.”

Pandemic author

Seventy-two year-old Katie Cameron wrote her first book while stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Adventures of Bubba, is a short book filled with true tales starring Katie’s orange Persian cat, Bubba.

“From fighting with eagles, to playing with otters,” Bubba was the kind of cat who got into trouble – a lot. The Adventures of Bubba is available on Kindle. In the future, Katie plans to have print copies of her book available for sale.

‘Pandemic Planters’

And there’s Nancy Dietrich’s dad – 90-year-old Terry Waghorn. He’s been keeping busy building what he calls pandemic planters. Nancy says he wants to let people know there are lots of things you can do to keep busy during the pandemic that do not involve using your phone!

Baking... with children

When Alena Devlin found herself unable to buy enough bread to keep her three young children happy she decided to make her own.

She’d been witnessing the bread baking photo phenomenon on Facebook during the pandemic and thought she could do this too.

“I jumped on the sourdough bread band wagon and made my own starter,” she says. The results? Two weeks later, after many failed attempts and hours of YouTube tutorials, she finally nailed it. “My children love it!” she says.

However, Alena advises would-be bread makers to plan extra walks and workouts to burn off those unavoidable calories associated with homemade bread!

Front Steps & Grad photo projects record a unique time

The Front Steps Project was a “coffee moment” concept created in March of 2020 by two Boston photographers, Cara Soulia and Kristen Collins. As soon as I heard about the project, I knew it was something I wanted to do, 1. so I could stay busy; and 2. to give back to the community.

I presented the idea in a post on my Facebook page and was immediately overwhelmed with requests. It quickly became apparent to me that I needed to focus on the essential service workers, as a way to bring recognition and thanks to the sacrifices they, and their families were making for Powell River. I managed to photograph over 100 families during a twoweek period in April.

I am currently focused on the graduates of 2020 by doing free mini sessions for them, in exchange for donations to the food bank or a charity of your choice.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Powell River for the outpouring of love and support I have received. We are all in this together! Stay safe!

– Leah Laurie