This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I cannot believe I am writing that we have completed Lockdown Week 4. But here we are, in our routine, with no idea what we have done for four weeks. When I sit, in years to come, and tell my grandchildren (none yet) about the 2020 lockdown I won’t be able to remember anything that I did of any great interest. I feel this week as if I have peaked, i.e. I am in a routine of sorts. Then again maybe I am just on a slow descent to nothingness as I have not done any of the things I planned in Lockdown Week 1.
So far OH (Other Half) and I have survived. We have avoided Covid-19, and not killed each other. I am finding we are remarkably patient with each other and getting on so well. Nothing annoys us so it just goes to show we are perfectly matched. However maybe that is simply because there is nothing to annoy us as we are never too tired, never feel we are missing out on anything as everyone is doing the same as us? No envy, no time pressure, no……anything.
So what have I done this week? I baked Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle cake but I failed on the lemon curd filling so made a lemon buttercream filling instead. It was for a friend who has recently been in hospital for two weeks (not Covid-19). I got a text saying, “B****y great cake” but then anything compared to hospital food would be great! Yes I had time to bake a cake, on a Wednesday morning, in my new life. Joyous!
OH is currently re-scheduling a back operation as it is now a necessity as he is in such pain. It won’t be for at least six weeks as it is not an emergency so in the meantime we have put ourselves on a diet as quite honestly the daily Chocolate Digestive consumption was starting to become an addiction. I tried to convince my body that they are medicinal, in these times of lockdown, but my body was busy focusing on other things and just stored said biscuits on my Muffin top.
Apart from eating and drinking, OH and I have been spending a lot of time in the garden during Lockdown Week 4, soaking up the sunshine and giving our bodies a good dose of Vitamin D. We found ourselves discussing the level of fragrance from our cherry blossom trees. We have lived here 19 years and only just noticed the fragrance – why is that? Maybe the lack of pollution has allowed all these fragrances to permeate the air.
Also has anyone else noticed that there seems to be more wild life around and aren’t they becoming bolder? The ducks and geese wander nonchalantly through our garden with hardly a backward glance at our salivating dogs. Plus there is a squirrel that literally appears and does a dance in front of the doors sending our dogs into a wild frenzy.
We now have next door’s cat as a permanent resident. She is giving my dogs a good run around as they regularly chase her over the fence back to the lockkeeper’s cottage. The lockkeeper seems very laid back about his cat and feels it is her choice to dice with death. Meanwhile he is having a wonderfully quiet/boring summer with no boats on the river.
So no boats and no humans to disturb the lockkeeper or the nesting season. I currently have three river birds nesting in my garden and so far the dogs are ‘social distancing’ from the nests or rather they are in fear of their lives from the male of the species. However I think the dogs are very bored of our company and would like some variety. Recently the postman dropped some post off and Kobi, who normally ignores him, wrestled him to the ground. licking him to death. I had to give the postman some of my Dettox wipes as we both felt this was probably not ideal, government guidance, lockdown behaviour.
Talking of the government, I wonder who else felt rather relieved when Dominic Raab announced another 3 weeks of lockdown. OH and I are quite anxious about returning to the real world until we know that Covid-19 has been kicked into touch. It may also be that we are becoming slightly institutionalised and the thought of jumping in a car or a train feels quite alien to us after four weeks of isolation. I know we have to get the economy going again and we are heading into the worst recession for 300 years but again it all seems to be happening ‘out there’. In my tiny world I am trying to ignore all the doom and gloom and living for today.
But just in case you are going out, there is a strong feeling that we should all be wearing face masks now. My sister-in-law, who is a health visitor in Devon, has made her own face mask using this method from The Guardian (no sewing required). However if you are not feeling like cutting up old T-shirts then Baukjen, a fashion company, have produced their own non-medical face masks which are also non-profit making. Click HERE.
So everyone stay safe and stay well. Keep in touch with us via our comments section below each post. We love hearing what you have all been up to in lockdown week 4. A&G
For Lockdown weeks 1, 2 & 3 click HERE