Lockdown Week 3: The Good Life - well sort of!

Hello to all and I hope you had as good or should I say cracking (😂) Easter, well as much as possible. I was slightly astounded by how much chocolate my Littlest managed to tuck away - a whole of the Cadbury’s eggs during the day. She then went to start on her brothers this morning! So far, she has eaten only chocolate today, she was lucky enough to have the M&S Babbit waiting, now beheaded poor thing. She also took her Mini Shredder scissor skills to a new level this week; having it gone eerily quiet upstairs, I decided to check for mischief. I discovered that she was giving the cat’s fur a trim! Fortunately the cat had been very obliging and it was early enough in the process for no harm to have occurred to either of them.

How beautiful to have had the sunshine over the last week. I’m writing though on Easter Monday when it seems to have now all disappeared. Not an unusual scenario for a Bank Holiday though really. But who cares, because nearly every day is a bank holiday at the moment.

So Week 3 of Lockdown, schools’s out (again, there’s a huge anti-climax for the Childers) as it is technically the Easter Holidays. Not because I am a mean Mama but because routine is good (espiecally for my sanity), we have maintained some school work over the week but lots more garden time or should that be screen time for my Eldest 🙄

We did indeed watch Disney’s Tangled this week and one of the song seems to sum up the week quite well for me. Things seem to be either “this is amazing, I have so got this, wow we are doing awesome” or “this is awful, when will it ever end?” I think that in part depends on whether the Childers are being amazingly cute and lovely to each other or not sharing, having major huffy puffs (aka good old girl strops) or random meltdowns (not always limited to the Toddler in the house). I am starting to wonder if having toys in twos is the best option at times, because neither child, especially the Littlest likes to share. 🤯 I feel though I might end up a bit like the Ark and just as full if I go down that route.

I have embarked this week on the Good Life. Oh yes, I am restraining my self from buying the box set to indulge in some nostalgia. I am also pretty sure that I shall not be allowed to add chickens and the odd lamb-lamb to my garden. To be honest, the lawn mowering is mostly covered by the Babbits. They can eat through a section of grass in a day without much effort and still be hungry. If only they could do the edges that my Other Half seems to detest doing so much, this gardening stuff would be a breeze.

The garden that came with the house was somewhat wild and over stocked when we moved in. It has always seemed like an enormous task to sort. I have beavered away on bits every now and then, in the back. The front garden being the more manageable of the two challenges and the one that got the most sunshine, was sorted first.

But now the Childers are more in the back garden with their toys and I don’t do well at sitting and staring at the weeds. So onwards and upwards; I have cleared and tamed, section by section of the back garden. It has been productive and I have a substantial pile of garden trimmings etc that will utilise my brown bin service fully this year. Nothing like the feeling that we are getting value for our money. Of course, having just missed the first collection and then filled up my bin, we were notified that the next collection was to not occur. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Still more to be accomplished, but I can at least sit down, if I position my chair correctly, and attempt to open my book or have a sip of tea; usually at this point at least one of the Childers will suddenly need me for an utter emergency that can not possibly wait a moment longer. The life of a a Mama, need I say more?

With thanks to a neighbour for sharing some peas to cultivate, I am now starting to realise my dream of growing peas and veg. The freshly turned rich earth of my new vegetable patch eagerly awaits planting and everyday (ok I admit, sometimes twice a day and maybe more often than that) I check my seedling to see if they are ready yet for the garden. Patience is officially not one of my strongest virtues. I did not know growing things would be this exciting. Or maybe that is what happens to you, after several weeks stuck in your own garden boundaries?

I have discovered that garden seeds have become as elusive to purchase as loo roll was (is it still?) at the start of this Lockdown. But after quite some intense internet searching, I have an order coming (woo hoo) and an incentive to keep working on my gardening. I wonder if the postman will start to think I have a thing for him, if I start sitting on my doorstep each day awaiting his coming! I shall resist the urge to shout out “anything there for me, darling!" or something along those lines. Although, it might be a good incentive to get out of my joggers. I have never in my life spent so much time out of jeans. I am starting to wonder whether I shall ever want to take off such comfy clothes again? They are my daytime jammas (PJs) to be honest. My excuse is that I am gardening and denim is not so easy, nor is Sweaty Betty Leg Lycra, (as comfy as it is), practical, as it is too expensive to dirty or dare I even thing about rip! 😱 I saw a very useful graph on Facebook about how the importance of items has changed since January 2020, like loo roll and jogging bottoms (and for those who like a tipple, alcohol) all on the up, and things like the car use going right down! Best use of maths I’ve seen in a long time 😆

Another excitement this week was the arrival of my government ration pack 📦 . Thankfully, much more food items than those original rations were during the last time they were issued. As an “extremely vulnerable citizen” I got sent some food to help me last out. I think the idea was to tide me over until the online delivery slots got sorted out, which thankfully they have, more or less. It has been quite fun to compare the contents with that my Dad got and surplus is hopefully going to a food bank. The Childers have delighted in the novel Weetos cereal and I am grateful for the tinned tomatoes and soup. Lunch just got more interesting!

We have started to feel the ripples of Corona World this week. Both my Out-Laws as I affectionately call them; my Husband’s Parentals, have the virus. Papa was confirmed via test results on Sunday and Mama is symptomatic now for Covid. It has been challenging to digest. Our Eldest is now aware, we told him this morning about the test results, but let him enjoy Easter Sunday. I found the Queens message very touching, hope and light are so important right now as we await a rather uncertain future. And right now, life continues whilst we wait and it is right and necessary that it should. Regardless of beliefs we see the Spring and if you are lucky enough, the lambs out in the field; for me they have always been a visual reminder that seasons pass and hope remains. My Littlest is much enjoying her daily sheep walk. We have so missed being able to feed the Lamb-Lambs this year. But if my writing is not quite up to scratch it is just because my brain is a little more scrambled today (excuse my awful Easter pun). As always, take care, stay safe and stay sane!