Hello blogging world! It’s been awhile, I had to move this blog over to a different server and in the process got myself locked out of here. But we are back up and running now. Here is a snippet of what my life is currently like under lockdown in the UK. Currently I am…
Worrying less. The last couple of months have been hard. There were three bereavements within my church community, two of those were confirmed Covid 19, the other wasn’t confirmed as she was a missionary working abroad. For a couple of intense weeks it seemed like there was more bad news flooding in daily, of someone else coming down with Coronavirus or being hospitalised. I tried to gear myself up, knowing that this might well be the state of things for the next few months, but actually, since then, in my little corner of the world, the intensity has lessened. I know of only one person who is currently self-isolating because they had symptoms ten days ago, and that person is feeling fine now. I am relieved but not complacent. The national figures show we aren’t out of the woods yet, so I am sticking to the guidelines and I’m praying daily for the health and safety of my loved ones. But the nagging worry that gnawed away at my sleep the last couple of months has dramatically eased.
Gardening almost daily. Since lockdown started I have dug a new flowerbed in a gloriously sunny spot in the garden, I have planted seeds on my windowsills and weeded and pruned till my arms ached. Rob too has been clearing away brambles, shaping hedges, and putting up supports for the raspberries. We are hugely grateful for our outdoor space and for the beautiful weather we have been having to enjoy it. At the moment our garden is punctuated with large swathes of forget-me-nots and bluebells. The apple and pear trees have blossomed and many other plants are showing signs of budding soon. Still no flowers on the wisteria this year though, I am going to give it a very hardy prune in July and see if I can coax some flowers out of it next year.
Reading a C.S. Lewis marathon. This year I have been doing a deep dive on C.S. Lewis. I have read the Chronicles of Narnia before but I hadn’t actually read any of his other works. So far, this year I have read a couple of his theology books, his science fiction trilogy and the whole of the Chronicles of Narnia. I am currently reading God in the Dock and then I hope to find a biography on the man to close off my mini reading project.
Meal Planning – Well it took a world wide pandemic to discipline me but I have finally mastered how to do a weekly shop that feeds us for breakfast, lunch and dinner without needing any top ups throughout the week and without relying on lunching out at every opportunity. We’ve only had two takeaways since mid-March and we’ve still been mixing things up by trying new recipes from our cookbooks. My favourite bake so far has been the lemon cupcakes we made which had a spoonful of lemon curd hidden in the centre; delicious!
Dressing up and dressing down – partly down to English spring weather that can go from gorgeously hot to miserably chilly in the space of half an hour, you can either find me wafting around the garden in a long floaty summer dress, or in fluffy Christmas pyjamas on the sofa watching a Disney movie. It’s the same with make up; occasionally the mood strikes me and I’ll spend some happy minutes by the mirror glamming up, but most days the only beauty products I have used is a facial moisturiser (Oryza Dewy Glow Balm) and some perfume (Style De Paris by Catherine Malandrino). I normally only wear perfume on special occasions but it has occured to me these last few weeks that with make up, I only get to see it fleetingly throughout the day, it’s mostly other people who end up viewing it, but with perfume, the person who experiences it the most is the wearer, so I feel like a spritz of perfume even when I’m not leaving the house is a little treat from me, for me.
Counting my blessings – which are numerous, wonderful and beyond which I could have deserved or earned on merit. I’m grateful for the people who are working tremendously hard to keep the country running, I’m grateful for those who are on the frontlines saving lives and I’m grateful for those who are working in research and in government to try and find way to lead us through and out of this pandemic.
Stay safe friends,
x
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