So week two has come and gone. Are we all closer to our families and more in touch with ourselves or are you tearing your hair out? Either way, the answer remains the same – stay home and stay safe.
Well, it’s been a steady sort of week at chez Bhogaita- Grantham. I have finished my first four day week. How very strange to have finally got what I asked for some 21 years ago 🤷🏽♀ Please don’t misunderstand, it was with an old employer and my daughter was three. Anyway, enough of the past, although this quarantine period has forced me to slow down and given me more thinking time.
Here we go then with some of my observations and adventures (well perhaps not quite, but it’s a new world!) from my week.
The technology takeover is well underway. My phone told me that my screen 📺 time was up 20%; and your point is?!! The emails are fewer as colleagues across the industry deal with their own personal situations. I’ve zoomed too much and got bored of Houseparty. The husband is well and truly entrenched in his Man Cave and can be heard on numerous zoom calls. The student continues to live within a different time zone and her laptop, phone and headphones are her new gang.
Domesticity with a capital D has entered the house and refuses to leave. The urge to dust and organise comes in waves that I try and push aside in favour of cooking and baking. I confess to vacuuming the sofa this weekend. I think you could actually eat off our floor; we won’t though! Don’t get me wrong, I’m house proud but this is getting out of hand and it’s only week 2. But the student’s room reassured me that some things have not changed. 🤔
Those who know me know I love shopping; in particular for shoes and clothes. Now I am food shopping for three lots of elders: two couples and a lady on her own. The latter has provided me with some of the highlights of my week . Who knew there was a Jade Melon? Perhaps I heard incorrectly? Iodised salt; did you know that all salt is iodised? And then being a vegetarian, I was asked to buy lamb!! From a safe distance in Sainsbury’s me shouting, “Excuse me, do you eat meat?” No, I’m really not some Vegetarian campaigner come to attack you. “Could you just tell me what lamb do I need to buy for an old lady; she wants to make stew”? 🤷🏽♀ Then there was the request for “Cheer me up stuff, dear”. And upon asking what those were, I found out to my delight it was a chocolate cake & tulips. Then I then had sweats about the prospect of being stopped by the police to empty my shopping bag of essentials!! Cake and flowers…honest, officer, it’s not for me! It’s nothing much but at least I feel I’m helping in a teeny tiny way. Has anyone else had the 2m shuffle with strangers? It could be in a shop or even on a walk. There’s no laws against a smile or even a nod.
The urge to plan activities and utilise our time effectively is important. Amazon is ruling the waves and delivering whatever we need. The hubby has a new tool box … just for the bike bits you understand! And I got it wrong with the whiteboard … as a friend who manages the Amazon account said, “check the dimensions”. The correct board was to help meal plans, a new concept for us all. It has arrived and been hijacked as you can see for more important activities. The garden Centre is still delivering, so of course we were on board with a group order with the rest of the street. That was Sunday sorted.
My regular check in with my Dad in India continued. Quote of the week, “You don’t need to explain what furlough is, used to happen to us regularly in the Air Force”. That’s me told. Keeping upto date can have its limitations. How are you ?
What are you doing ? I’m waiting for him to say “what do you think I’m doing”? It’s lockdown there too.
Onto my favourite subject .. food.
I found some flour – well some of it’s out of date 🤷🏽♀ and then at the end of the week, found some more in Sainsbury’s. Hallelujah! Cooking rota seems to be working if I accept that I have the larger share; so lucky. We’ve had Thai, Indian and Italian this week. We’ve eaten a cake made with out of date flour and sugar from the last century. We are learning to plan. We are eating together. My phone has been banned from the table.
The house is calm. We are lucky to have the space. Think of those here in the UK and around the world who neither have the luxury of space or money or extra food.
See you next week and I will introduce you to my attempts at getting to grips with a regular early morning yoga practice.
🙏🏽
Seema
(Hurtling towards obsessing about meal planning )
NB: Thoughts remain with those who are looking after us all and those who have lost loved ones.💕
Seemaontheedge 