What’s Cookin’ in Your House?

If the answer is “not much” (or what I call around my house “scrounge night” – meaning whatever you can scrounge up!) a free online cooking class may be fun and helpful. Check out Free Culinary School to learn not only some fancy stuff but also basics like how to butcher a chicken or peel and prep garlic.

Love Flowers?

You don’t have to want to start a business to learn a new skill that can be fun, such as floral arrangements. Check out Distance Education for some free flower arranging classes.

Become the Family Photographer

Many times when we live with illness we may not be able to participate in family football, but we can take the photos! Take some time out for yourself and improve those photo skills so you can record the entire extended family’s special moments.

Photographycourse.net offers free classes. They say:

This Free Film and Digital Photography Course offers free photography lessons and tutorials ranging from the basics of film, optics, cameras and light to web page layout and digital photography. Our courses are pack full of photography tips and advice, built for the novice and professional alike. Perfect for those wanting to know more about film and digital photography.

Back to College

Not sure what you are interested in? Browse what colleges offer free classes online at Education Portal or see 250 Free Online Courses from Top Universities.

Considering a Class, But Don’t Want to Invest Much Time?

Check out 5Min . Whether you want to learn how to make great fried onion rings or how to stock a first aid kit, you can do it in less than 5 minutes. (Use with discretion. This site is secular.)

Whatever your interest, (want to learn to play the guitar or the piano) just Google the topic and “free online classes” and lots of options may just come up. As video is becoming more popular online, there is a wide variety of classes online all for free!

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When you live with a chronic illness your house can get so dreary. We are often there–at home–looking at the same old knick knacks day after day, watching those dust bunnies grow into adulthood (oh, I’m sorry, maybe that is just at my house!) Well, either way, summer is just around the corner and maybe you are looking around wondering how you could cheer the place up. Or maybe you have kids that are out of school and they are bored and need a project.

Here is a cool little tool we found! You can create a poster with the printer you have, even though your printer will only take regular sized 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of paper. Posterazor has a great video that shows how to download this free software and then how to upload your print.

I can see taking your kids’ artwork and blowing it up big and dedicating a part of the garage to be their gallery. I can imagine, rather than connecting each piece together side by side, making it a kind of artwork, framing each piece in an inexpensive matching frame and putting it one a wall. Or if there is a particular quotation you love, you could print out a very long poster to cover the wall space over a door frame.

What can you imagine?

Although you may think that volunteering will drain all your energy, you may find that it actually can ease physical pain. And sometimes, even if you are in more physical pain, you may discover that the mental and spiritual joy you gained still makes the physical pain worth it!

Volunteering has been found to:

Enhance self-esteem through the “good feelings” derived from helping others and feeling worthwhile and needed.

Distract one from one’s aches and pains, providing motivation for rehabilitation and activity, helping overcome social isolation, and providing a sense of community and belonging.

Key benefits of volunteer work include: skill development, coping with isolation, the chance to “give back” to the community, to meet people, to enhance job prospects, personal growth, personal empowerment and to gain a new perspective on one’s own problems.

Research Summary: Graff, L. (1991). Volunteer for the Health of it Etobicoke, Ontario: Volunteer Ontario.

Here is an easy way to make your own or make up a bunch for special Christmas gifts. You can get cute bottles at your local craft or $.99 store (or Google “wholesale bottles”) and tie a pretty bow around it.

• Just pour some unscented mineral oil into your bottles and then mix in 1 tsp of your favorite essential oil scent.
• If you don’t have reeds, cut off the points of some bamboo skewers you use for BBQing and you are ready to go.

Now you can have lavandar in the bedroom (for easy sleep) and peppermint in the kitchen (to wake you up!)