Hi Honeys
How are you today? It was a beautiful, sunny day outside yesterday, so I spent the day doing laundry, with the help of our furbaby Jade, my adorable constant companion and laundry assistant 💖
These past few months have been a real challenge in all kinds of ways for all of us. I haven't left our home since my last shift at work, in mid March, and Hubby is working from home via conference calls.
We've been relying on amazing delivery drivers to bring us grocery supplies whenever Hubby hasn't been able to make it to the shops and it's felt a little like we've been marooned on our own little home shaped island.
I can't lie, it's been wonderful Hubby appearing at lunchtime each day to have his lunch with Jade & I before going back upstairs to work again. I'll miss that when the world goes back to normal again and Hubby said it's a far easier commute.😊
As I've said many times honeys, being a Spoonie really has given me the most awesome hermit skills and these skills have stood me in good stead during the current lock down. Being in our little home is my favourite place in the whole world to be. I feel at my calmest and safest and happiest here.💖
Whenever I've been outside, at work or at a Doctor's or hospital appointment, I get home and as soon as the front door closes behind me my shoulders relax and I feel wrapped in such an overwhelming sensation of calm. If someone were to tell me I could never set foot outside our home ever again, I'd just smile and say "OK, fancy a cuppa?."
I'm fully aware how odd this sounds honeys, I really am. Around this time of year, in our break room at work, co-workers would usually be discussing their holiday plans. Lots of excited, happy chatter about where everyone is going, what they're going to do there and how long they have to wait till they leave. I love hearing everyone's plans and seeing how excited they are.
Even after all the years I've worked there, I know I'm still looked on strangely every year when it gets to "my turn" and I say (again) that we don't go away anywhere. Throw into the mix that neither Hubby nor I have a passport and there are wide eyed, unbelieving stares and the occasional comment along the lines of "... but, how can you not, though?.."
Where would be the fun in life if everybody was the same dear ones? If there has to be somebody cast as the odd one, well it's fine if it's me 😊
This is quite a post so why not go grab a cuppa (and maybe a cookie or two?) and I'll meet you back here after the page break? See you in a few honeys...
Welcome back 💖 Do you have your cuppa? Me too ☕🍪 Why not settle back, put your feet up and get comfortable then and we can chat.💖
So, if we're still stuck at home and have no choice but to stay there for the time being, what can we do to fill the time and keep the boredom at bay?
5 Fun Ways To Pass The Time During Lock Down
1. Self Care...
I know honeys, self (and wider community) care is partially why we're all spending this time at home. We're all trying to help in the battle against this awful virus by preventing and minimising it's spread.
Self care means so much more though than just staying home, practising good hygiene (wash those hands) and side-eyeing anyone who dares to get any closer to you that the prescribed 2 metres (or 6 feet in old money) on the rare occasions when outside running important errands or foraging for food.
Ah, grocery shopping, aka waiting (in long-socially-distanced-queues) to be allowed into the local supermarket with an optimistic heart, and (it can feel like) an equally optimistic shopping list. By this point most shoppers, I'm sure, will realise they won't go home with everything on their list. Will they have any pasta today? Hubby recently brought home two packs of macaroni and I got ridiculously excited. Over pasta 😊 but I digress. 😃
Self care isn't all about home spa days, although I'll hear nothing bad said about treating yourself to a manicure, pedicure or enjoying a face mask in these stressful times.💖😊 Seriously though, self care is anything that can help you cope with the uncertainty we're all facing right now.
If what you need is a daily phone call to your Bestie, time spent cuddling up on the sofa with Netflix and snacks, some yoga every morning to clear your head or just spending quite time alone being still, then do that. Do what you need to keep being you honeys.
Self care is taking the time to invest in yourself. Unless you fill that inner "you" jar, the one you take a little from each time you help, teach or guide someone else, then how can you keep on being there for others when they need you?
Self care isn't selfish, it's essential. It doesn't have to be a huge production either. Self care can be as simple as making a coffee and having a little alone time in the garden. You deserve it honeys and, just as importantly, you need it.
Self care means so much more though than just staying home, practising good hygiene (wash those hands) and side-eyeing anyone who dares to get any closer to you that the prescribed 2 metres (or 6 feet in old money) on the rare occasions when outside running important errands or foraging for food.
Ah, grocery shopping, aka waiting (in long-socially-distanced-queues) to be allowed into the local supermarket with an optimistic heart, and (it can feel like) an equally optimistic shopping list. By this point most shoppers, I'm sure, will realise they won't go home with everything on their list. Will they have any pasta today? Hubby recently brought home two packs of macaroni and I got ridiculously excited. Over pasta 😊 but I digress. 😃
Self care isn't all about home spa days, although I'll hear nothing bad said about treating yourself to a manicure, pedicure or enjoying a face mask in these stressful times.💖😊 Seriously though, self care is anything that can help you cope with the uncertainty we're all facing right now.
If what you need is a daily phone call to your Bestie, time spent cuddling up on the sofa with Netflix and snacks, some yoga every morning to clear your head or just spending quite time alone being still, then do that. Do what you need to keep being you honeys.
Self care is taking the time to invest in yourself. Unless you fill that inner "you" jar, the one you take a little from each time you help, teach or guide someone else, then how can you keep on being there for others when they need you?
Self care isn't selfish, it's essential. It doesn't have to be a huge production either. Self care can be as simple as making a coffee and having a little alone time in the garden. You deserve it honeys and, just as importantly, you need it.
2. Declutter, Clean & Re-Organise Your Space...
Nothing clears the cobwebs, literally as well as figuratively, like a good spring clean! During the lock down time I've taken the opportunity to do some things around the house I've been meaning to do but somehow just hadn't gotten around to. Ah, isn't it always the way honeys? Procrastination really is the thief of time 😊
I cleaned out a couple of spots in our kitchen that had been really, seriously, bugging me for a while. If you'd like to see the results, you can see the first cabinet here and the cleaning supplies cupboard here. Having cleared out, organised and set up new systems in these little spaces, it really has made such a difference to how the kitchen works for us.
I keep going through just to open the doors and look at them 😊 Yes, yes, I know it's beyond sad to be so happy about organised cupboards but it really does make me smile and remember that self care stuff? I found my smile. In two little cupboards 😃
It's all about finding a positive in the current negatives honeys. We're all being told to stay home, why not use the time to catch up on some of those little projects we've been meaning to do but life keeps getting in the way of? Put on some great music and go for it! Create your own little oasis of calm in your home.💖
3. Try Out New Recipes And Experiment With Food...
Delivery slots and finding that pasta...
One of the things I'll never forget about these past few months will be the difficulties in being able to buy the most basic items in our weekly grocery shop. You might remember there was a "run" on certain items, beginning with toilet roll and hand sanitiser, which went on to include so many other household staples, like pasta.
I do understand how scary this all is honeys, but working in retail I can honestly say the huge store where I work had (and still has) daily deliveries, the same as they've always had. I'm sure it's the same with all other supermarkets too. The issues surrounding products becoming scarce were entirely caused by bulk buying and hoarding of these products. If everyone had bought only what they needed, there wouldn't have been any shortages of anything, there really wouldn't. Thankfully, products, and delivery slots, are becoming easier to find.💖
I think retailers, large and small, have been amazing trying to cope with the unprecedented demand for products. I'll be forever grateful for the care and concern they've shown in delivering to those of us who are isolating due to heath conditions, and for the kindness of all of the drivers who've delivered our shopping.💖
Avoiding food waste and using what we have...
We've been trying for some time now to cut back on food waste and just to generally try to live as sustainably as we can but these past months have been enough to give me a laser focus that I know will never leave me now.
Because we've had to plan even the smallest purchase (no more "I'm just nipping out for a loaf") it's also been a great time to experiment with recipes. Create new dishes, or maybe new versions of old favourites, by substituting ingredients we do have in place of things we don't.
Smarter cooking by only using what we have on hand. I recently made a chicken oven bake by opening the freezer and cupboards to see what we had and then combining them and it was so good Hubby asked me to make it again! (Thank you sweetheart x)
Making meal planning a new habit...
I love meal planning. We have a little board in the hall at the foot of our stairs to plan the weeks dinners and this can be a great help in not only making your grocery shop last till you can book that next delivery window but in planning our meals, items are used before they "go bad" and are wasted.
There are so many websites and apps to help in meal planning honeys, you type in what you have on hand and they'll pull up meal ideas using those ingredients. There are a few listed here to start you off but there are so, so many online. Pinterest is always a great place to find recipes too, I still dream of finding the perfect pasta sauce recipe one day. 😊
Links
My Fridge Food can be found here
The site for the Supercook App can be found here
There is also a great article which you can find here. with a list of their top apps.
4. Binge Watch Movies & TV Series...
What better way to pass the time during lock down that to snuggle on the sofa with a loved one and lots of snacks to watch something wonderful on TV? Our furbaby Jade is my box set binge partner because I don't sleep very much and tend to watch TV while Hubby's asleep, our baby is always happy to keep her Mum company, bless her 💖
Is there anything you've seen the trailer for, or maybe seen a couple of clips and thought "I must try to watch that...." but never gotten around to it? If you haven't spotted anything recently, why not re-visit some old favourites?
I wrote about some of our favourite box sets from both USA and UK TV recently for Blogtober. Do you love any of them too? I know everybody streams their media these days (my much loved Brother in Law told me 😊) but we're old school and still collect our favourites on disc 📀😊
There's something about binge watching a whole series that feels like an extra special treat. No ads, no waiting till next week to find out what happens, just snuggling on the sofa with our furbaby Jade where we share a huge Sherpa throw and disappearing into the story 💖
What series, or movies, would you binge watch honeys? Which are your favourites?
5. Stay Connected...
Saving the best for last, completing the circle and neatly bringing us back to self care again.💖
Of all of the gifts we can give ourselves, one of the best has to be keeping a strong connection with family and friends. I know we're all separated right now because of the lock down but when this is all over we'll all be able to be with loved ones again and until then, phone, face-time, zoom or chat online, do what you can to stay in touch.
Hold onto that precious connection with the outside world and with the people you care about in it honeys. Life can be infuriating and fun and annoying and exhilarating and everything in between and we all need someone to share our thoughts, adventures, moans, smiles, secrets and what-happened-today with. Why not pick up the phone today and call someone you haven't spoken to in a while?
Till next time dear ones, praying the awful virus is gone soon, stay safe, stay well and sending you mountains of (virtual) hugs xx
Of all of the gifts we can give ourselves, one of the best has to be keeping a strong connection with family and friends. I know we're all separated right now because of the lock down but when this is all over we'll all be able to be with loved ones again and until then, phone, face-time, zoom or chat online, do what you can to stay in touch.
Hold onto that precious connection with the outside world and with the people you care about in it honeys. Life can be infuriating and fun and annoying and exhilarating and everything in between and we all need someone to share our thoughts, adventures, moans, smiles, secrets and what-happened-today with. Why not pick up the phone today and call someone you haven't spoken to in a while?
Till next time dear ones, praying the awful virus is gone soon, stay safe, stay well and sending you mountains of (virtual) hugs xx
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