Lockdown 2.0, Day 43

 I realised last night that we have completed 6 weeks of lockdown- if we’d stayed on the original Stage 3 plan, today’s the day that restrictions would have eased. Although we have all had our crazy moments this week in particular, I’m impressed that we have got this far and on the whole are pretty happy and mainly getting along. There’s still about 4 weeks left of Stage 4 and who knows what after that, but I’m feeling hopeful and positive about the future.

It was a good day today. Chats with Liam in the morning, a game of Othello with Amelie, work on my photos, number puzzles, watching The Dragon Prince with the girls, sorting out the piles of fabric that have been taking over our lounge room. Liam went for a bike ride, the girls and I went for a long (slow) walk - I’m still sore from my strength training and Caitlin from Cheer training last night. 

At 4.30 we video called with 2 other families for our hot chocolate festival. Liam and 2 of his friends made their hot chocolates and then chatted while they drank them. (We had ordered lots from the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, they came with melts to put in hot milk, couverture choc to melt and pour in, a flavoured marshmallow and a treat of some sort to make it super special. Liam had a wagon wheel slurp, Caitlin a ginger one, mine was Gatytime themed and Amelie’s chicken shaped marshmallows with a sprinkle covered egg. The girls and I made ours and we FaceTimed with the adults.. After a while one of them had to go, and I kept talking to my other friend while we had a glass of wine together.  The hot chocs were a great experience and the conversation was really fun. 

We had a pork ragù for dinner - made by the chef at de Bortoli - it was amazingly good! We kept watching the Dragon Pronce and I started making something with my t-shirt yarn, then did some of my creativity course and have ended the day feeling very happy and content.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 42

 I had a look at the charts of Covid numbers in Australia for the first time in a while - the daily new cases graph has a nice downward looking trend, and the graph of cumulative cases looks like it's starting to flatten out. The number of deaths are still saddening, I really hope that changes soon (I know I keep saying that, and that's because I keep thinking it).

Amelie and I had a lovely time in the morning looking at stuff on the computer - a fox in Berlin who has stolen over 100 shoes (mainly crocs) from people's gardens, recordings of different fox sounds, the squirrel ninja course built by Mark Rober - she hadn't seen it before, and although Liam and I had, several times, we excitedly watched it again with her. Check it out here She's having a hard time at the moment - she has a few friends who she talks to and plays games with online, but she's finding that it's not the same as seeing them in person, they are clashing more and there isn't so much of an opportunity to work things out on the phone. Normally if they have a disagreement they'll change what they are doing and that will clear the air - not so easy at the moment. 

I made waffles and researched oreshki - Aldi have a waffle maker that can also make other things, oreshki included - they sound delicious although a bit fiddly to make, I'll definitely have a go once I buy the waffle maker. Looking at them inspired Amelie and I to turn a tin of condensed milk into caramel. 

Caitlin and I went to the post office - well, I drove and she went in, as only 1 person from each family is allowed to shop each day. She posted off some care packages from herself and from me, then grabbed a few things from the IGA. My car started each time but it was reluctant about it, I really need to get it fully charged, or replaced.

I went for a walk a bit earlier than usual - it had been raining, heavily at times, on and off so I went around 3pm when it was kind of dry. It rained a little on me but not heavily. I had a long walk, through lots of mud, and it felt good. My muscles were all hurting a LOT from my strength training the day before, and I was feeling a bit lethargic, so a walk was great. All day I felt like I was trying to do things and I couldn't quite get to them, other things kept happening that I needed/wanted to do first. I felt like  some weird combination paradox of Zeno's paradoxes, that I'd never reach my target, because I wasn't actually in motion and/or I had to keep catching up and could never overtake the obstacles. After my walk I was going to have a bath - the girls were watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and it was the final couple of episodes. I was really drawn to the final battle scenes and found myself sitting and watching instead of heading to the bath - I'm glad I did, they were pretty amazing and even though I have only seen bits of the series it was exciting to watch it all wrap up. Tony came home then and we chatted a bit and he had his shower then finally I got in the bath and soaked away some of the sore muscles (although there wasn't as much hot water as I'd have liked so it was less relaxing than I'd been imagining. Lying down and reading my book was good though).

After dinner Caitlin and Amelie and I played Monopoly on the Xbox (and ate some of our tin of caramel. Caitlin suggested adding salt to it, so we all had ice cream with salted caramel and it was delicious!)

Lockdown 2.0, Day 41

 Today was quite a busy day, which is a bit (a lot) of a novelty these days. Although really exhausting - I'm not used to having more than one thing happen in a day, now I'll need several quiet days to recover.

I woke early (5.30) and I love being up at that time of day so I had a cup of tea and did some writing and checked my email and so on. I remembered at some point that I'd thought about doing another Strength Training Class with The Compound this morning - I ummed and ahhed for a while then figured I could put it off forever so I'd be better off just doing it. I booked in and spent the next couple of hours worrying about how hard it was going to be.

It was very hard. I've lost a lot of condition over the past few weeks with the bleeding (which did eventually stop, after 3 weeks) and my sore back. I got quite light headed about 3/4 of the way through the session and had to stop for a while - I need to remember next time to work at my own pace and not try to keep up with everyone else. It was cool at the end to have a quick chat with Clem and let him know how excited we were to watch him on Ninja Warrior.

Caitlin and I watched a movie (Its Kind of a Funny Story) while she crocheted, then a friend popped past to pick up some hot chocolates from the Chocolate Factory - Liam and his friends are going to celebrate the Hot Chocolate Festival via video call seeing as we can't all go together like we usually do. I went to Healesville to pick up my milk, and while I was there I dropped off some more hot chocs to another friend, then did our weekly shop at Aldi. I thought it might be busy at 4.30 in the afternoon but it was reassuringly quiet.

I got home and took Luna for a walk - just a short one, around the dam, because I was pretty tired after my class and the shopping trip. Social interactions are also more tiring than they used to be - even though they are great, even brief, socially distanced interactions. The house smelt great when I got home as I'd put soup on to cook in the morning. Tony brought home some gnocchi he'd ordered from the restaurant at work so we had that with it's accompanying mushroom sauce - delicious! The soup will keep for another day. I was suddenly extremely tired and everything seemed very difficult, so I was very happy to relax on the couch and watch Ninja Warrior - we Facetimed with friends to watch together and it was a fun evening. I went to bed as quickly as I could afterwards and read my book - it was great to leave the evening housework and just rest, I can catch up with all of that tomorrow.

The number of new cases is trending nicely down, although deaths are still fairly steady. The kids (the girls in particular) are getting more and more restless - it's hard to not even be able to take Caitlin with me when we go shopping, she really needs to get out of the house - although this is the first time it's really been bothering her, which is quite impressive. 

Lockdown 2.0, Day 40

 I felt much better today, more positive about the future and felt happy with where I am right now. Yesterday was the anniversary of my miscarriage so that could well have influenced my mood.

Amelie and I made some designs with a compass and pencil and then played Mr Squiggle for a while. I did some work outside and on the computer and around the kitchen. I had an RACV guy come to look at my car battery because it's been playing up a lot, he thinks it might be fine if I just make sure I start the car every few days... I'm not convinced but if I keep having problems I'll get him to come back and put in a new one. I played the piano, Caitlin crocheted some gorgeous little dinosaurs, Amelie talked to friends and played Roblox, and hung out on the trampoline, Liam talked to friends and played on his computer. Amelie and I had an intense game of Mastermind (well, she guessed correctly in 3 turns, I took a lot longer and it stretched my logical thinking quite a bit), Mum and I played Boggle remotely, then Caitlin and I went for a walk around sunset, coming home pretty much in the dark. Luna is getting really good at staying near us even when we're not holding the lead - as long as we leave the lead attached to her collar. We all watched the Grand Final of Ninja State of Origin - we were so hoping for a Victorian win, but the WA team have several of our favourite ninjas so we weren't too disappointed when they won (and at least Vic was in the final race).

Looks like the weather is going to be a bit unpleasant for the rest of the week - it's already getting really windy outside and I think there's going to be a lot of rain.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 39

 I felt really disheartened today. Everything seemed too hard and I was quite teary. I spent too long on Facebook reading posts that annoyed me, the printer wouldn't work, I got frustrated at people not helping out around the house... I couldn't decide how I wanted to spend my time and was just really agitated. Being outside was good for a while, working hard and being in the cool air (it was raining on and off, but not heavily (there was heavy rain later on)). I did some puzzles then had a long chat with Tony. He suggested I have a bath so I took one of my new library books into the bath and ate chocolate and Tony brought me a big mug of hot chocolate. I felt much better when I got out, although quite tired. I lay down for a while then worked on my photos. I went for a long walk in the hour before sunset - the clouds to the east again had a brownish orange tinge to them, it was pretty spectacular. I was listening to a battle scene and the aftermath in my audio book (Book 1 of the Wheel of Time) and the atmosphere of the dark clouds and the storm front felt quite appropriate. I went over the creek - the water was probably as high as I'm willing to cross, and unusually it was trickier coming back over than going across the first time. I had my camera with me which made me a bit more cautious, I'd like to try it at that height without my camera next time. Once home I tidied up for a bit then we all watched State of Origin Ninja which was quite exciting. 

The girls watched Bolt and Grease today in a bit of a John Travolta marathon (is 2 movies a marathon?) and Amelie played Minecraft on the phone with a friend. Caitlin crocheted a little teddy bear and Liam played on his computer and chatted to a friend. Tony took care of a bunch of housework while I rested.

I wonder if my mood was strongly influenced by my Facebook feed or if I would have been out of sorts today anyway. I felt like there was a lot of complaining this morning - complaining and scapegoating, which I think is the bit that got me. I don't deny that Stage 4 is hard on just about everyone. I don't like it and I feel like on the whole we've got it pretty easy. Everyone is missing out or has missed out on things. And regardless of individual circumstances, some people are finding it harder than others. I think we can acknowledge how hard it is though without having to blame someone for it, or spend a lot of time say 'if only so and so had done this at that point.' Maybe things would have been different if things were done differently earlier on. Interestingly though, a lot of the people who are now complaining are also the ones who were pushing to have restrictions eased last time. For me, the easiest way to get through this is to accept that this is what the situation is right now. We are in Stage 4, regardless of how we got here. So from this point if each of us makes choices that are in line with the restrictions, finds way to bring joy to our lives when we can, acknowledge how difficult it is when we can't, reach out to each other for support and provide support to others - I think that's all we can do. It's what I'm aiming to do anyway. 

Lockdown 2.0, Day 38

Another restless night, but no real time awake, just lots of tossing and turning. I woke up early and had a lovely few hours by myself, doing some writing, checking my email, getting the dishes done. My energy feels almost back to normal and my back is much better, so I was able to do a bit of work with the compost and patch some more holes in the driveway, nice to get back into it.

I made a batch of waffles and Tony cooked some bacon and eggs, so we all ate well this morning. After lunch I spent a few hours sorting stuff that we'd dumped into boxes, and clearing a few areas that had built up piles of stuff over the past couple of months. It was fun and I feel like I made some progress. Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride, Tony joined them for some of it, Amelie played on the trampoline - she's almost got her front flip, her feet hit the tramp just before her bum, so she's SO close. She also spent time chatting to a friend and playing Roblox. Caitlin started crocheting little animals, and Liam played computer games with a friend. I worked on my course for a while then went for a walk in the hour before sunset. There were heavy grey clouds in the east, with an orangey tinge to them, it was very moody and atmospheric, and very pretty. Luna was tired after running with the kids on their bike ride so I walked completely by myself - I haven't done that in a long time and it felt quite liberating!

I cooked a curry for dinner - vegetarian, but there was chicken in the fridge so those of us who wanted meat added some to our bowls. The girls watched Avatar: the Last Airbender on and off throughout the day, so I saw bits of that too and continue to really enjoy it. After dinner Caitlin and I watched Top End Wedding. I started a new blog where I'll review tv shows, movies and books (https://readingandwatchingjoyously.blogspot.com/).

I briefly saw the numbers this morning and it was around 300. Feels steady, although it also feels like a long way until things feel ok in Melbourne. I don't even know how long we've been in Stage 4 lockdown, but there is a long way to go. I'm not feeling down about it, more resigned (and a little bit bored - but I can still have good days, like today, so we'll be ok).

Lockdown 2.0, Day 37

 I didn't sleep well (this time I got up and tended the fire, then made some t-shirt yarn.  It was a more interesting way to pass the time than lying in bed trying to get to sleep, and I was pretty relaxed by the time I went back) - but I did feel much better. Today my attitude was much more - well if things are going to be bad in the future, I might as well enjoy the present, spend as much time with the kids as I can, doing things we love, looking after myself and my family - so I got on with being happy in the now, and I had a really good day.

Amelie and I played several rounds of Red 7s - we've played before but she didn't remember it, she really enjoyed it this time. Liam joined us for a while. In the late morning all the kids and I went for a walk. We headed over to Houghtons Lane. It was cloudy but not too cold. My hip was hurting a bit and my back still a little tender, so I turned back soon after we got to the road, and the kids kept going (the girls went all the way to the end, and Amelie climbed the gorgeous big gum tree, Liam came back a bit earlier once he'd had enough). 

A friend rang me in the morning with a computer question then we chatted for a while. After lunch I had a lovely long Facetime call with a a friend who I hadn't talked to in ages - it was great to catch up. Later in the afternoon we had a Zoom call with my sister and her kids - we played cards with my nephew, watched my niece open her birthday present from us, and chatted to my sister for her own birthday. I think I'll try to do that a bit more often. I then had a friend call by the front gate on his way home, to drop off  some groceries that I hadn't been able to get in Healesville or Yarra Glen. Nice to have a brief, in-person contact to round out a very social day by lockdown standards!

Tony brought home lots of parcels from the post office - including some stickers and room decorations that Caitlin had ordered online, a care package for her from a friend, and a big box books from the library for me - very exciting! (Our library is sending out holds to members, and filling the box with other books based on our borrowing history. I got lots of fantasy novels and some historical fiction - most of them books I haven't heard of before so I'm looking forward to exploring them).

We got takeaway pizza and pasta from Yarra Glen and watched more of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm really enjoying it - and it's a fairly easy show to just watch bits of, although the kids tell me it's even better when watched in order. After dinner I had my Friday date with myself - I had a big bowl of ice-cream, Baileys and nutella and read my book in my room for an hour. It was quite blissful.