As we aaaaaaall know life is so different the past few months. I’ve been furloughed so I am a bit at a loss of what to do in life but I thought this post might help some people. I’ve really not pushed myself to ‘be better’ during this lockdown, I know loads of people have been saying now is the time to learn something new or pick up a new hobby but I have taken this time to just stop. Don’t get me wrong I am still doing things but I am not pushing myself. I have tried to take this time to give myself a break, it’s not very often you get given an opportunity where you don’t have to work and don’t have to think about much. So this is what I’ve been doing:-
Playing with kittens
I think I am one of those extremely lucky people to have a pet during all of this. Having them around really has been a little distracting. It’s been a joy to wake up every morning to their little faces and purrs. Our kittens got ‘done’ during this lockdown (shout out to the essential working vets during this time). That was a bit stressful as they didn’t get on after they had their operations but they are back being sisters and friends now! More importantly, they can now come out and enjoy the outside with us (or by themselves obviously), and they are loving it so much.
Drinking too much
I think it goes without saying that most people have started drinking a littleeeeee more since lockdown as started. I am no different. I have set myself a rule not to drink until the weekend but admittedly, my weekends start on Thursday! Ieu and I have gone through a lot of gin and lemonade as well as cider and cocktails during this.
Things haven’t been easy
I’m obviously going to be completely transparent in this post. Things have not been an easy ride for me and my mental health. I’ve had my up and my downs, and some of my downs have been crashing down. I’ve had days where I’ve not wanted to get up, days where I’ve cried a lot. When I found out I was being furloughed I cried a lot, but like I said I took time to look at it as a positive thing for my MH. I think I’ll follow up on this in another post.
Baking
Back on a positive note. I haven’t stopped baking. I did for a while but then I realised it’s what makes me happy. I have taken this time to practice my gluten free baking now that my sister is a coeliac. Most of what I’ve made have turned out perfectly and I am so proud. Saying that we did find it difficult finding flour and sugars in the shops for a while, the hoarders obviously calmed down after a while and we were able to find stuff again.
I also decided to take this time to treat the people I love. I made brownies and dropped them off at all my friends who live within walking distance and then made more and then posted them to all my cousins.
I wanted to give people a little bite of happiness with brownies.
Looking through old pictures
One of my favourite things to do regardless of lockdown is looking through old pictures, and of course I have done this during lockdown. I’m so grateful that my parents took so many pictures of us when we were little. I enjoy looking through and remembering the good times, it helps a lot during a time like this!
Painting
This is not painting creatively, this is painting productively. At the beginning of lockdown dad and I painted the house and all of the garden walls. And more recently Ieuan, the genius that he is made some new garden benches out of pallets and my dad and I painted those. I realised that I am a messy painter!
Quizzes
I think just like everyone else, I have been overwhelmed by zoom quizzes, and I am loving it. I have one on a Sunday with my work colleagues, one of our directors goes Facebook live as a quiz master and I then have a houseparty call with my office friends, it’s a great way for us all to stay in touch when some of us are furloughed and we obviously can’t see each other in the office. Ieu ad I have a quiz night on Wednesday with Catrin, Gareth and Ieu’s dad, a nice way to keep in touch with them. Ieu and I have one on a Friday with our friends via zoom, that’s super fun. I really enjoyed writing the quiz when it was my week to be quiz master. We’ve also done some on a Saturday! Speaking to these friends on a weekly basis really does help me stay happy and I really appreciate the time we spend together, even though for now it can only be virtual.
Stargazing
Ieuan has found a new interest during this lockdown and that is satellite watching. He has downloaded all the right apps and he’s even bought a telescope. We’ve spend a few nights outside (thank god the weather has been nice) star and moon gazing while waiting for satellites to pass. I’ve really enjoyed going that with him.
I think I’ll leave the post there. Check out my next one to see what else I’ve been doing to keep busy during lockdown. There’s still a lot more!
Beth Than Perfect 