Keeping Occupied

It's a week now since we decided to pull up the drawbridge and self-isolate, in an attempt to keep corona virus at bay. I could go out and about, but my husband is one of the people who regularly receive a flu jab and needs to be more cautious. We've perhaps been extreme, but better safe than sorry is my current motto.

At one level, it's hard to see what's been different about our routine - I've pottered about the garden, and husband's been to the allotment (it's empty midweek) - but on the other it's been a very strange  week. The whole situation seems so uncertain that I find I can't settle to anything for long. With the really vulnerable being asked to self-isolate from today, it's obvious that, no matter how much we'd hoped things would quickly turn round, we're in this for months.

If in doubt, or harassed about getting things done, I make a plan. It calms me, and gives me the feeling that I'm in control (even when I'm not). I'm hoping it will give some structure to my days, and positive things to look forward to, whether fresh vegetables or a new skirt. I'm trying my best to ignore the fidgety feeling that comes on when I realise this state of affairs is going to last for at least three months, that I won't be able to see my daughters and grandson in that time, or pick up the plans I had for summer. Mindfulness and concentrating on everyday things will be my way through this - small things such as bringing flowers and blossom in from the garden to brighten the house, and looking forward to family video chats most evenings.



A (not necessarily so cunning) plan to occupy me ...

continue my blogging here (if I have anything much to say) Usually I blog about where I've been, what I've seen, gigs, theatre etc.  Well, that will inevitably have to change. It won't quite be Pepys' Diary, but ordering my thoughts to make a sensible blog post helps calm some of the panic I feel from time to time. The next few months are going to seem incredibly long

get back to book blogging over at Our Book Reviews Online. My head's been too full of other concerns to read much, and definitely too full to think of anything to say about what I've read, but trying to get back to regularly posting reviews will give a structure to the weeks.

spend more time outside in the garden. Obviously being active and out in fresh air is good at any time but March is when the garden bursts into life, and it's time to really crack on with seed sowing - everything from cabbages to cucumbers to flowers. There's a certain mindfulness about the preparations for seed sowing - organising seed trays and pots, carefully scattering the seed, checking each day to see if anything's grown. It's definitely helped keep me focused and occupied, plus I feel I'm doing something positive and useful - soon I'll have salad leaves to pick, and by the end of twelve weeks, there might be peas and french beans. The last couple of days have been sunny, and even just pottering about, admiring daffodils and forsythia, seeing what will flower next, has helped settle my mind.

(one for my husband) the house had been getting to need some TLC, wallpaper repairs, woodwork painting, so the wallpaper paste and paint are ready for wet days.






I have knitting and sewing projects I've neglected, and one of my resolutions at the beginning of the year was to do something more creative. A lot of plans will have to be abandoned but that is one that needn't be.







Of course, we're not completely locked in the house (yet). Going out for a walk is considered a reasonably safe activity if you avoid other people, and at the moment my husband is still going to his allotment - if everyone stays on their own plot all should be fine, just no stopping for a chat. I'd hoped to go out to local National Trust gardens but the huge amount of visitors over the weekend, and subsequent closing of all properties, has put paid to that. I'm still hoping to find somewhere close to home, to drive to, park up, and check the coast is clear before risking a short walk, or just look at a different view for a few minutes.