This year I'm making my resolutions at the start of each month, but March didn't quite go to plan. Coronavirus put a bloody great - if absolutely necessary - spanner in the works.

Here's what happened

1. Get my green skirt zip professionally mended
I'd found a place to take it but hadn't managed to do so before social distancing kicked in, and now, lockdown.

2. Get out
I'd been hibernating over winter, and wanted to get out and about a little more (Ha! if only I'd known). My plan was to visit the Ed Sheeran Exhibition at Christchurch Mansion, and the new (and only) independent bookshop that'd just opened up in the town centre. The Ed exhibition was closed due to coronavirus long before it was mandatory, but I did get to visit the bookshop.



It isn't huge but it's lovely. It has bowls of sweets, plants, and a wonderful selection of books. I might have fallen in love with the Macmillan Collectors Library, and made the first of what I'm sure will be many purchases. The bookshop has since closed it's doors for a while, just three weeks after opening.



I can still get outside into my garden of course. My greenhouse is very welcoming at the moment, it provides shelter from the chilly wind, and allows me to enjoy the warmth of the sun. It's not the same as getting out to do things and see people but it'll be the thing that keeps me sane over the coming weeks.

3. Get listing
On the first Saturday of the month I listed a number of items on ebay, most of which sold. I'd planned to list several things every Saturday morning throughout the month, but decided not to after the first week. I cancelled the listings of the things that had relisted automatically so that I didn't have to go to the Post Office again, keeping my public appearances to a minimum.

It's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago life still looked so normal, and here we are on lockdown, I'm trying to keep things as normal as possible, taking note of all the things that haven't changed. The birds are still singing, the signs of spring are still emerging, life maybe a muddle but it carries on regardless.

I hope you're all well. What are you doing in the 'new normal'?
xx

March 21st, 2020. I was supposed to be meeting up with a friend but we postponed to adhere to social distancing, so I thought I'd have a day of doing nice things instead but I woke up with other ideas...



7am
Waiting for the kettle to boil for my first cuppa of the day, Tink had a drink too. My cats have a glass of water on the kitchen window sill because drinking from a glass (or a bowl) on the floor next to their food bowls is, apparently, abhorrent. 



8am
Cuppa no.2 and a little reading. How To Be Happy? Stay in bed and pretend everything is normal (just for a little while at least). I had an unusual and overwhelming urge to get up and clean. Strange times indeed!



9am
Felt the need for some colour, this bright yellow jumper did the trick. Colour often lifts my spirits, especially in uncertain times. The day before I'd worn a skirt I usually keep for dressy occasions to the supermarket, 'Vix would be proud' I thought as I stepped into it and teamed it with an emerald green jumper.



10am
Cleaning in progress. I washed floors, walls, woodwork. I vacuumed, did laundry, wiped surfaces and polished. I have no doubt that all this cleaning is a way to have some control in these uncertain times.



11am
I took the time make one of my ‘special’ teas - Sencha Cherry Rose. I took my time drinking it too, savoring the taste. Taking note of the little things has always proven to to be a good way of keeping things in perspective. Being in the moment seems all the more important now that the future seems so uncertain.



Noon
The first time I’ve hung anything out on the washing line this year. Look at that sky! I think the sunshine is helping me to remain (mostly) positive. Can you imagine dealing with all that Coronavirus entails, and having to put up with cold, grey, windy days as well? No thanks, more sunshine please.



1pm
I had my lunch looking out into the garden and noticed the birds needed a top up. It felt like a very ordinary thing to do, the world feels like it's tipped on it's axis but the bird feeder still needs to be filled. Strange times.

I missed my 2pm photo because I was vacuuming, the sort where you move the furniture out of the way to get underneath, y'know, the kind of vacuuming I really should do more often.



3pm
I left the housework chaos for a while. Do you ever start housework and end up just making more mess? That's exactly what I did, but I'd run out of housework steam, so I escaped to my neglected greenhouse. I wanted some fresh air. It needed a good tidy up after the wind had thrown it's contents around, and broken a number of it's windows. The sun felt pretty fabulous beneath the remaining glass panes.



4pm
Of course Andy left the wrapping of his Mother's Day gifts to the last minute, he came home to ask me to do it so he could give it to his Dad before he went home for the day. I had a little ‘help'.



5pm
My greenhouse planting was cut short when I only had enough compost left for one planter. The big bags I had stored in there turned out to be bark chippings. It's good to stagger the planting of spinach anyway, or at least that's what I told myself. I was annoyed that I hadn't checked, I could've picked some up during the week, or ordered some.



6pm
I’d got to that point in the day when I just wanted to sit down, but I had to make dinner. I pondered sitting down for a bit but my hunger was stronger than my weariness.



7pm
I made sausage and bean herby stew with broccoli and mash. I watched an episode of Escape to the Chateaux, and didn't move far from the sofa again until bedtime. Andy came home not long after I took this, we watched a few more episodes of The West Wing for about the 17th time.

Before bed I messaged my Mum and brother to reluctantly cancel our lunch the next day. I'd really hoped that we could still get together, but it was the sensible thing to do. My inner toddler was stamping her foot and yelling 'I don't want to', but adult me accepted that it was just what needed to happen.

I hope you had a lovely weekend, despite the social distancing. Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

I'm going to call this Week One, as before this week Corona Virus hadn't really had any impact on my life. I mean, I knew it was going on, obviously, it was a concern but I hadn't felt the effects myself.

I work from home so I hadn't noticed the empty streets and roads, or experienced the ransacked supermarket shelves.

When it was announced that the schools were closing was when I realised shit was about to get real.

Then on the same day I had two appointments cancelled until further notice.

Then, today, I had to go to the supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces. Normally I get food delivered, but you can't get a delivery slot for love nor money at the moment. Ironically this means that in the time of social distancing I'm going to be leaving the house more than ever!

I went to the biggest of my most local supermarkets and it was OK. I got everything I needed and, with a satisfied sigh, headed back to my car.

Then I remembered I'd forgotten to buy cat food.

Instead of going back inside (and, oh, how I now wish I had),  I drove to my local co-op. I picked up four boxes of cat food - two poultry, two fish. But when I got to the till, I was treated like I'd just spat in the eye of the woman behind the counter. I was bewildered, she was annoyed, and she loudly asked her colleague if I was allowed to buy four boxes, and then, whilst I stood there cringing, she asked the question over the Tannoy, all in front of a growing queue of people.

Apparently there was a two item maximum - although I'm not sure how I was meant to know this as there was no sign or announcement of any sort. Trying to lighten the mood, I joked that they were different flavours, but she was having none of it. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me, I'd apparently, and unwittingly, made a dreadful faux pas, and was being made to feel like I'd done something truly awful. She was unnecessarily rude, but I guess she probably wasn't having a very good day. I certainly wouldn't want to be working in a shop at the moment.

Anyway, I drove to the other end of the high street where there's a second co-op and purchased two further boxes in there. I'm not stockpiling, I'm just trying to feed my fussy cats, whilst trying to keep the number of times I leave the house in a week to an absolute minimum - isn't that what we've all been told to do?

Anyway, Andy and I have plenty of food, the cats however might have to get used to a diet of crunchies if I can't buy enough to feed them the Purina Gourmet pouches they prefer.

I got home and phoned Andy to tell him the story of my social fail, and laughed at it all. It is a serious situation obviously, but laughing and keeping our sense of humour is how we'll all get through it. Finding the funny in uncertain times has always worked for us before.

I wonder what next week will bring? Surely panic buying can't last for long, after all as a nation we're not eating any more than normal, and only have a limited amount of room to store it. Common sense will prevail... won't it?

I hope you're all OK, and managing to stay safe and sane.
xx

In the midst of Corona Virus, panic buying, quarantine, and self isolation, all made worse by the media frenzy, I'm contemplating how to turn the situation on it's head and relish the alone time at home.

I work from home already, so my working week looks very much the same as it always has, but the constant assault from the media has worn me down. I've switched off. I know what I should be doing, what precautions I should be taking, but the constant barrage of doom and gloom I can do without.

We have a well stocked pantry so if we need to self isolate we'll be OK for a few weeks. We might not have coherent meals by the end of it but we certainly won't starve. We have been known to enjoy one of my 'stuff teas' (a random collection of food that normally doesn't go together but needs eating) on more than one occasion, usually after Christmas when left overs are becoming scarce but I can't be arsed to go shopping.

I'm thankful that we decided to buy loo roll in bulk last year - not to stockpile, but to limit plastic packaging - and have medication in the cupboard should we need it. We're sorted.

My plans were cancelled last weekend, and this weekend my friend and I have decided to postpone our meet up until another time. It's disappointing as I was very much looking forward to it but it's the right thing to do.

Andy will continue to go to work, so what shall I do with my Saturday?

I came across this post from Lena Dunham on Instagram that made me think about what I could do instead of just bumble around doing this and that, which is what I usually do on weekends when I have no fixed plans.

What would my perfect day look like?

An early breakfast followed by an hour of yoga. My first cup of tea enjoyed looking out over the fields.

A soak in the bath with my current book - How To Be Happy. Followed by some of this maybe? (apologies if you're not on Instagram).

A potter in my greenhouse, perhaps sorting through my seeds to decide what I'll try to grow this year.

A nutritious lunch - poached egg with smashed avocado and homegrown chives on toast.

And one of Lena's suggestions - try every product I have (including the large eye shadow palette that is rather more orange that I realised when I bought it), keep what I love, throw out anything out of date, or recycle that doesn't suit me.

Start that craft project that's been rolling around my brain for a while. Listening to music played loud.

Making a huge batch of chilli con carne, eating a generous portion, saving some for the following day (it's always better the second day anyway) and freezing the rest.

All the while drinking tea, perhaps brewing up some of the flavours I often forget about and leave in the cupboard, the loose leaf stuff that I usually overlook in favour of the easier and quicker teabags.

And why not do it all wearing my favourite outfit, or that dress I love but hardly ever wear.

In fact I think every weekend should be like this! Let's find the good stuff, and under no circumstances turn on the news. Let's make ourselves smile, enjoy the alone time, dance, play, laugh, relax. Take a moment. Breathe.

What would you do on your perfect day at home?

This year I'm making my resolutions at the start of each month, hoping that this will refocus my attention and make the year a productive one.

1. Get my green skirt zip professionally mended
I tried to replace the zip on my favourite skirt but made a really bad job of it. I haven't worn it for months but I want it fixed and ready for Spring.

2. Get out
I've been hibernating, it's time to get out and about a little more. At the very least I want to have visited the Ed Sheeran Exhibition at Christchurch Mansion, and the new (and only) independent bookshop that's just opened up in the town centre.

3. Get listing
With an ever growing pile of items I want to sell on ebay, I need to put aside some time to get everything listed. It's part of my plan to make 2020 a year of decluttering.


Here's how I got on in February

1. Make a start on my office blind
This is underway. The problem I had was the sun coming in through my office window and blinding me, but, being an awkward sort of person, I didn't want to put up blinds and sit in the dark. I have voile curtains that keep out the sun about as much as a fine mist would, so I needed an alternative.

After some pondering I came up with a solution.

Step 1. Buy a spring loaded shower rail (easy to install without the need to drill holes) to go inside the window recess.

Step 2. Temporarily hang a large scarf over the rail to create a panel that I can slide across as the sun moves round over the course of the day.

Step 3. Create a handmade panel, using either patchwork, lace, felt, possibly some simple embroidery, or a mixture of some or all of them.



Until I decide on how I want to construct the panel Step 3 will remain on the to-do list. As it stands the problem is solved, the solution just needs to move from temporary, to finished. For now I'm just happy that I can sit at my desk and work without being blinded by the sun.

2. Bathroom improvements
I had only three tasks on the list. Install a towel ring, replace the shower head bracket, and reseal the bath. I spent a cold a blustery weekend getting these things ticked off the list.

3. Plan eco friendly crackers
I have a collection of items to use as fillers (kept from crackers of days gone by, all collected during my decluttering in January), along with the snaps, the hats, and the jokes (all recyclable), so now I need the cracker part. I've found some on Amazon - don't judge me, I haven't found any elsewhere - that are plain white recyclable card that I can decorate according to the season or occasion.

I've copied these questions from Bev because I rather enjoyed the randomness of them.




Three things I liked about February
1. An impromptu trip to Chelmsford Cathedral to see Kezzie play in her flute ensemble, Flutista. My iMac broke so I was forced to take a few days off work (it's all fixed now). That morning I decided to just hop on a train and go. It was wonderful to see (and hear!) Kezzie play.

2. A night with friends. I hadn't seen a few of them for months and no sooner had we walked through the door, we fell straight back into our usual easy banter. It was a most enjoyable evening with excellent food, and gin.

3. The third thing is between noticing how light the evenings are getting, or taking my time over reading a fabulous book lent to me, and highly recommended, by a friend.

Three things I’m looking forward to in March
1. Going to see The Russian State Ballet of Siberia perform The Nutcracker with my Mum.
2. Coffee with friends
3. My nephews 18th birthday

Three vegetables I eat the most
1. Tenderstem broccoli
2. Onion
3. Spinach

Three grocery items I buy every week
1. Oat milk
2. Cat food
3. Cat treats

Three things we go through like crazy in my house
1. Teabags
2. Cat food
3. Hummus

Three things I always have time for
1. Baths
2. Reading
3. Cat cuddles

Three things I never have time for
1. Keeping up with the blogs I like to read. This has been more recently, I've been a bit absent from blogland, finding the time to sit and properly keep up to date has felt almost impossible at times, life has been busy and I've been making sure that I make time to switch off and step away from tech. I hope to catch up with my favourite blogs soon.

2. Housework. It's always low on my list of priorities and often doesn't get done properly, which is a shame because I love a neat and tidy house. I give everything a quick 'once over' rather than the jolly good clean it really deserves and promise myself I'll do a better job next time. I always end up doing something less boring instead. For example, I was going to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in on Sunday, and then Andy came home and asked if I would like to go for a walk on the beach, followed by a spot of lunch somewhere. I mean, there's no competition is there? The cobwebs can wait until another day.

3. Roast dinners. I love eating roast dinners, but I hate the faff of cooking them. I find it so boring, and I especially dislike the fact that you have to cook certain things for it to be considered a 'real' roast dinner (insert eye rolling emoji).

What are you looking forward to in March?