I didn’t sleep that well last night waking up several times and dreaming lots in between. One dream was about a school student and I going to the movies together but we were running around trying to find the entrance to the movie and we were late. Our seats were also special flying ones so while watching the movie you flew around on these special seats. Sounds fun hey? Not so much fun was being tired today thanks to disrupted sleep and still having a lingering headache.
I spent the day writing some reflections- below – and doing some finishing off garage jobs, a load of washing, cleaned the bathroom etc. Was so nice to go into the garage and it be so tidy! Even the entrance to the garage is looking so clear as Antony gave it a good sweep.
The highlight of the day was when I was just leaving the garage I heard a ‘hi Kate’ from down the driveway… it was my friend Nora out for a walk. I invited her to come in to the garden to say hello… We kept a good 3 or 4m distance from each other while having a little catch up. So nice to see you Nora!
I made pumpkin soup ready for dinner tonight and picked some blueberries and grapes.
Antony worked this morning then this afternoon took off the netting over our grapes and berries and did a bit of thistle pulling and flax tidying up in the front part of the garden. He’s going to save the rest of the weeding here til winter when for e.g. the grape leaves have gone and it’s easier to get in and around and see the weeds. I didn’t have the energy for doing what I’d planned in the garden – another day!
It looks a bit messy but it is now net free- making blueberry and grape picking much easier and in general looks nicer on the left. A few rogue leaves on the lawn as they were caught up in the netting Antony took off. And it’s hard to tell but the area with fruit trees has been weeded of the big weeds… as evidenced by this wheelbarrow full of thistles:
I had a nap before dinner and relaxed in our sunny room. We’ve just had Thai pumpkin soup for dinner and about to play Ticket To Ride over Zoom with friends in Rakaia… repeating the success of our Lock-down Week 1 game.
Here are my reflections from this morning…
It’s interesting seeing what is out on social media during lockdown and how people (friends and strangers) are responding to this unusual time in the world.
Some are admitting their struggles and tough days (totally understand it especially those solo parenting or any kind of parenting actually – hats off to you!), some are sharing pics of their house & garden projects in process or completed, their baking goodies, how they celebrate their kids birthdays in isolation or attempt to work from home with a toddler. Some are sharing a daily photo of something they’ve been doing or thinking about, others have done those things on Facebook that normally you don’t have time for… photo challenges, x+y =?, ‘albums that influenced’ or ‘guess what my job wasn’t’ etc.
It is so nice to see a snippet of people’s lives on social media especially when I can’t see them in person (because we’re all being good and staying home… or because they live on the other side of the world!). So thanks to all my friends who let me in to their world somewhat via what they post! I really enjoy reading your posts and seeing your photos.
Thanks to those of you who’ve commented here on my blog or on Facebook where I share links to these posts. I’m guessing like me you enjoy hearing what your friends and family are up to. For me and my bubble life hasn’t changed *that* much except I have found time to blog about it.
Reflecting on Lockdown Life… here are the changes I can think of and the things that aren’t really that different:
| Same as before? | Different? |
| I’m working from home a lot | Not teaching children at school (but it’s been term break so it’s not that different yet) |
| Antony working from home in his office | More time on Facebook, news sites & blogging |
| Les Mills group fitness classes almost every day (just at home instead of at the gym) | No daily bike rides to the gym and to work – have been out only 3 times on the bike & one drive to get groceries |
| Cooking, baking and preserving (more time on this because of the season & more time available) | Getting to know my colleagues more (thanks to a staff Facebook group). |
| Enjoying board games (Splendor with Ants and Ticket to Ride via zoom with friends) & Bridge (online w friends instead of at the Bridge Club) | Watching TV ! Relaxing with Antony in the evenings |
| Keeping in touch with friends & family (via whats app, messenger, phone) still not as much as would like to – that hasn’t changed | No people popping over to our house |
| Bed times, sleep patterns and eating as normal (although far more sweet treats with the increase in baking & discovery of pear cobbler!) | No going out to bridge, marae meetings, Trust meetings and TimeBank events in the evenings! |
| I have books to read, languages to learn, puzzles to do and travel blogs to write but finding little time to do it – same old story: too many interests, not enough time! | No deo. When teaching it’s a must.. but at home not needed, even for the workouts (surprisingly)! |
| Loving my bubble – hubby, house and garden. We are very grateful to be debt-free and to live in a lovely home with a garden that feeds us. | Daily attire quite different – baggy black pants a lockdown favourite & no bra (except for the workouts). |
There isn’t any ‘right’ way to feel in this period… I think everyone is in very different places and states of anxiety, boredom, frustration, rest, exhaustion or joy. We just have to be real with what we feel, realise that it can change as we go along and be ok with it. To be honest, Antony and I are both really enjoying the Lockdown. It is a lovely breather – a chance to catch up on work (although Antony has also had a lot of crisis management calls!) with time to do more of what we enjoy (golf practice & cycling for him, blogging & kitchen things for me). We are very happy and it’s ok to feel that way, even when the world is in crisis!
Along with seeing posts from friends and family I have also enjoyed seeing what other people and their bubbles are doing… the Wellington family’s Lockdown boogie shared in Day 10’s post still top of the list. Today I saw this from Ireland which held my attention the whole 10 minutes – kids teaching their dad a tiktok dance. And yesterday I saw a great version of ‘Can’t Touch This’ made by a NZ school principal from Winton and his family. The Pub Choir’s are cool with people from all over the world singing together (including some of my friends)… even the New Zealand Army Band did a performace all from within their own bubbles… watch a ‘Friend Like Me’ and enjoy the talented singer who gets more and more animated as he goes along. Then there’s dance compilation videos, this one all from dancing in the movies, it wasn’t made in lockdown but I saw it for the first time today – it just make me love dancing even more! Then there’s our local Ashburton Art Gallery doing cool things even though they are closed too of course, posting this video and instructions on their Facebook Page for how to make ice sculptures. Yay for music and dancing and the arts to get us through these bizarre times!!
I made mention in Day 13 about Ashley Bloomfield – Director General of Health – who is a whole lot more popular at the moment than mountain-biking, beach-visiting Minister of Health David Clark. It is a rather interesting phenomenon that he has become a bit of a cultural icon here in New Zealand! I read a great article about Ashley Bloomfield today which covered his background both professional and personal and it made me like the guy even more. I think we are super lucky to have such a person in the role at this time… and clearly I’m not the only one to feel this way:
That love song is hilarious… but as a te reo Māori teacher I can’t not share this one too… here’s Ashley saying Kia ora 44 times!
We’re all so used to seeing him do 1pm media briefings that it made headlines when he took a day off… and now he’s taking off two! I feel sorry for the poor lady who has had to step into his shoes. Dr Caroline McElnay, Director of Public Health, did a great job at yesterday’s media briefing – conveying the sad news that one more person had died. I missed today’s briefing but I understand the total is now 4 deaths. Someone on the live-stream yesterday remarked what a good job she was doing with the briefing in Ashley’s absence and another that she was clearly also following lock-down guidelines as evidenced by her very long fringe in need of a trim! That reminds me… I must cut Antony’s hair. Maybe tomorrow.