Another Monday – the 5th in this strangest of strange times. During these past four weeks I seem to have settled into a comfortable and productive routine. I have managed to keep the weekends different, which has always felt important to prevent the days blurring into an indistinguishable blog. For us, the weekend begins on Friday evening, with our appointment with Culture.
A routine for some household jobs has evolved (a machine load of washing on Mondays and Thursdays, together with some bits that need to be hand washed; watering houseplants on Fridays; cleaning the toilets and wash basins on Fridays).
Some things happen daily (a bowl of washing up; cleaning door handles etc; bed making; tidying around; meal planning; our 11am coffee date; one or two phone calls; a walk (or something else energetic to keep my leg healthy). Then there is my daily list, which I’ve been sharing with you.
I know we’re all different and have different needs and challenges, now as always: some people are alone at home and finding that time hangs heavily and they are bored, unable to find much to do. Others are at home and struggling to balance the requirement to WFH with caring for young children or dependent adults, not to mention the added stress of home schooling. Some are struggling with their own or others’ mental health problems. Others continue to work away from home, and have to deal with their worries about being exposed to the virus on top of everything else in their lives.
We are fortunate in having all the advantages I’ve acknowledged before. And yet I know from conversations with others in the same position as us that some are nonetheless finding this time exceptionally difficult. So I don’t take the comparative ease with which I (we) have taken this in our stride and made the necessary adaptations to our lives for granted. I’m sure that we will continue to have our good and bad days, and that we will need to continue to adapt as circumstances change.
Garden/allotment – I planted out the first of my seedlings – some peas, lettuces, beetroot and spring onions.
Craft/making – oh my! I finally (finally!) got round to [aka forced myself to] get to grips with my sewing machine. There was a moment when we were at odds and I wasn’t sure I was on the winning team. And then I was, and it all went well. I’m using the project to make a picnic cloth out of squares cut from worn out shirts of Malcolm’s that I’ve been setting aside for a long time as an opportunity to get acquainted with the machine again, before moving on to making something more topical – some face masks. I also finished the little blanket for granddaughter’s doll.
House/home repairs, improvements – just a little more tidying, nothing to write home about, but all makes it feel good to be here.
Admin – not today
Kind deeds/something for others – there’s even more give and take happening on the allotments. Because we can’t buy seeds or plants now, people are asking others if they have spare seeds or plants, and offering any excess they have. Which I guess shows we’re valuing what we have more now than we might have done otherwise – and surely that can only be a good thing. I’ve noticed also that more of us are starting to think about saving our own seeds for the future.
Stay sane! Yoga. Apple blossom. Good coffee. Cinnamon buns. Good bread with butter.
the magic jug 