28 Feb 2021
Lockdown Diaries #5: On The Importance Of Celebrating
I’ll admit: at first, I wasn’t feeling February. January being shite and hard was one thing, but February rocking up meant time was still passing whilst we continued to live this lockdown life with no end in sight. My birthday was about to arrive and the thought of what it would look like compared to previous birthdays, plus the gloomy state of affairs around Covid being actually worse compared to this time last year, made me uninclined to celebrate.
The alternative was to ignore it altogether though which goes against my very essence, so Gary pulled out all the stops with presents and pink balloons and gold glittery candles. We made pancakes, opened presents, ate Guinness cake, walked in the sunshine, ordered food in from the local deli and pasta evangelists, drank aperol spritz, listened to good tunes… And, what do you know, taking the time to celebrate within our means and regardless of the State Of The World, broke the monotony and lifted the spirits.
Since then, we’ve celebrated our six-year anniversary in our usual way, made mountains of pancakes on pancake day and had a hangover-inducing pasta-making, wine-tasting virtual party with the girls. There was a lot of laughter in February. It moved faster. My mood lightened along with the longer days. And it meant I celebrated other, smaller things; snow, sunshine, good food, finishing a work task sooner than anticipated, making friends with local cats, warmer temperatures, lighter evenings. I felt cautious hope at the roadmap announcement. We’ve dared to make tentative holiday plans and put dates in the diary with friends.
It feels like we’re playing a waiting game at the moment, but time keeps moving and significant dates keep coming around whether we like it or not. Let’s celebrate milestones and little daily wins, and the feeling of hope for the future. They were the best things about life pre-covid and, despite a smaller scale, they can be now.
26 Feb 2021
What I'm Looking Forward To
23 Feb 2021
Photo Diary: Birthday Celebrations, Lockdown Style
17 Feb 2021
Those Little Lockdown Joys
Inspired by The Leopard News
7 Feb 2021
Lockdown Diaries #4: Call The Asthma Nurse, Make Bao Buns, Take A Deep Breath
All hail the NHS - an hour after logging a ticket on ‘ask my GP’, I had the asthma nurse on the phone (saying words like ‘inflamed airways’ which is always reassuring) and an hour after that, I had a big pack of new drugs in my hand. I was desperate for that deep breath, and I felt somewhat daft for leaving my inexplicably worsening asthma to continue to worsen over the last couple of weeks before doing anything about it.
Because I was so darn tired from spending most of the week focusing on my breathing, this weekend I gave myself permission to do absolutely nothing. There was no bare minimum; I didn’t even have to get out of bed if I didn’t want to (which I didn’t until about 11 on Saturday) and it was nice to remember that lockdown weekends can be lazy too rather than trying to always be busy. After spending the day doing nada, we made bao buns and gyoza for the fun of making something new at home and, in our steamy kitchen, I was able to take a deep breath again.
If you can, right now, I urge you to do the same.
31 Jan 2021
The January Highlights
Congratulations lads, we survived approximately 8482 days of January. February feels like progress: one step closer to moving out of lockdown, one step closer to brighter weather, one step closer to seeing people again…
The utility room – as you may have already read, we are currently renovating our utility room. I say ‘we’ – Gary is the one actually doing the labour and having a battle with the plumbing. I sort of just tell him what I want, make cake and occasionally have my face sprayed with water… it’s sort of a team effort. I’m excited to have it finished, both so that we can actually start using the room properly 18 months after moving in and Gary can have a break from swearing at the piping.
That brief moment it snowed – I mean, sure, it didn’t really settle where we are but for that afternoon where soft, heavy snowflakes were drifting past the window, I was here for it.
Belated Christmas presents – Not for one single second am I happy about the fact that all our Christmas plans were thrown into disarray at the last minute and I couldn’t see my family at Christmas for the first time in my life but I gotta admit, parcels full of Christmas presents arriving on miserable January weekdays has been a small silver lining.
The Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser – This was an unexpected Christmas present and oh my it’s a game changer. I’m not sure I can ever drink any other hot chocolate again because nothing will compare.
Watching/Reading/Listening: The Serpent is a bit of a slow burner but we are now invested; like everyone else, I am loving Jenna Coleman’s outfits. Also, Taylor Swift released a SECOND surprise album and it has been on continuously for the past few weeks. Loved reading Supper Club by Lara Williams - check out my book reviews from this month here.
A belly full of food: new recipes tried, tested & recommended in Jan include – charred leek lasagne, whiskey and rye blondies & red wine sausage pasta from Midnight Chicken, tandoori chicken & sausage casserole from The Roasting Tin Around The World, Deliciously Ella’s vegan chocolate orange cookies, Nigella’s old-fashioned sandwich loaf & The Mother Cooker's kale pesto.
Show and tell: This jumper is the warmest, cosiest thing I have ever bought. I came downstairs wearing it and Gary told me I looked like a teddy bear. I’ll take it.
Tiny, happy moments
Freshly baked, still-steaming bread
Phone calls with loved ones whilst walking in the sunshine
Wednesday nights with two hours of Love It or List It and Grand Designs ahead
The Greatest Showman soundtrack booming whilst tackling the inbox
Gavin & Stacey reruns
The first sip of wine on a Friday night
Hilarious videos from the internet providing daily giggles
A taste of Spring in the air
Hope you are safe, happy and – most importantly – not losing the damn plot wherever you are dear reader. Lockdown is tough but keep looking for the light on the horizon.
Hey there!
