QUARANTINE DIARIES: DAYS 1-13

As we approach the third week of UK lockdown I thought I would write an update on how I've found the last two weeks and what I've been doing to keep myself busy:

Day 1 of lockdown was a wobbly one. One of my best friends, Jay, video-called me from Canada after having just managed to move over there with her husband before the borders closed. It's strange but somehow oddly comforting to know that everyone across the world is in the same boat right now, all at a loss of what to do with themselves, scared and anxious at how much worse it could get.

Day 2 - I climbed Benarty Hill with the dogs on their lunchtime walk and my once daily allotted outing for exercise. I didn't realise quite how unfit I was and climbing up the short  steep way had me gasping for breath and actually wheezing with exertion. My lungs have never hated me so much.

Day 3 - I took the dogs to Blairadam Forest, Daisy came back with orange legs from the copper infused mud round there and my car seats are now a lovely shade of ginger. Mum had to wash her legs down when we got back and Daisy was howling because she hates getting washed.

Day 4 - Hiked up Harrin Hill with the dogs. I'm starting to realise how old Buster is getting, he just plodded along with me while Daisy was way up ahead having a wee adventure by herself. Buster couldn't wait to get in the car at the end of it so he could lie down. I watched Lady Bird when I got home and ate a crisp sandwich for lunch. I really enjoyed the film, teared up at a few bits. Started trying to learn German again with an audio class. It is hard. Video-called Dad, he said someone in the same ward as Grandma has tested positive for Covid-19 so she's now in isolation for 14 days. That's a bit scary.

Day 7 - I don't know why but I feel really sad today. I didn't get a good sleep last night. It's starting to sink in that I won't be seeing any of my loved ones anytime soon, and I don't know when I will get to see them. Although the lockdown has been imposed for three weeks, I think it's pretty safe to assume it will be for much longer than that. I feel like I should be spending this time being productive but it is hard. I think I need to get a routine back in place, I've been sleeping in later and later everyday and it's making me feel lousy.

Day 9 - So I got furlough pay. 80% wage for up to three months. At least that's one thing less to worry about. I went to Blairadam Forest with the dogs again, Buster really doesn't realise how old he is, he's always looking at me as if he wants to go further. I think I'm going to set my old studio table up again, maybe in my room if I can get it to fit. I think that will encourage me to do more than just sit feeling a bit lost all day.

Day 10 - The boyfriend has shaved his head for April Fool's Day. He looks really funny, I wonder how long it will take to grow back and if it will grow back curly. I made banana muffins today because the bananas were starting to go off and they turned out so good! I made a cinnamon sugar topping for them so they turned out like donuts on the top, Mum and Wilz are both fans and Wilz doesn't even like banana! Very proud of myself.

Day 11 - Today I went to Morrison's in Cowdenbeath for Mum's shopping and it left me absolutely gobsmacked at how little people give a shit about the two metre distancing rule. You have to queue to get in the shop which was fine but as soon as you get in to the shop people are just walking right past each other. There just isn't enough space for the two metre distancing with so many people in shopping. Ridiculous. When I got home I made supernoodles for lunch and then video-called Karlie and Kelly while I started moving all the furniture in my room around in preparation for the desk. Kelly gave me a tour of her room, and it is so funny to see how the plants have overtaken her room even more so than they did when we lived together in Shawlands. Her latest obsession - chillies! After I got off the phone it was Mum's mac and cheese for dinner and then I just read for a bit after dating all my instax photos.

Day 12 - Wilz helped me set up my studio table in my room today. Luckily it fits snuggly in the space under the window. I just don't have a proper chair, just a little stool but it will do for now. Now I jsut want to get two little shelfs for the trestle legs so I can turn them into storage. I also want to get some storage bins for the top of the wardrobe so it doesn't look so messy, and I'll need to get a new curtain pole and curtains because I took them down the other day because it was annoying me and has been since we moved in to this house two years ago. No time like the present to sort all my junk out.

Day 13 - I made cinnamon buns this morning. They were pretty tasty. In today's edition of family face time, my Gran dressed up as if she was on holiday in Hawaii. I was in hysterics, she had sunglasses on and everything. She played various happy birthday songs on her Amazon Alexa for Clare as it is her birthday today as well. She really cracks me up. 

Overall Tips:

My best advice for coping in lockdown is to get a routine in place. I wake up at 9am, shower and get dressed, have a cup of tea and something to eat, walk the dogs at 12pm for one to two hours, come home and make lunch, then spend the rest of my day reading, drawing, tidying or I'll watch something. 

I'm actually really behind on my annual reading challenge so this is the perfect time to get caught up on it. I should be nearly 7 books down and I'm currently on book 3! Send me your reading suggestions in the comments section below.

I have also been playing a game called Penguin Isle on my phone. Trust me if I had a Nintendo Switch I would 100% be playing Animal Crossing right now but alas. Penguin Isle is super calming and there's nothing like cute penguins to lift your mood.

I think what I'm finding hardest about lockdown is the realisation of how much I rely on my boyfriend to keep me occupied; after all I usually spend nearly all of my free time with him and am rarely even at home. I know I wrote a post a while back explaining that relationships often take up the majority of a person's time and you can end up losing parts of yourself to the relationship. Never has it been more obvious than now how little time I spend just with myself, and lockdown is really forcing me to relearn what I enjoy doing by myself.

Is there anything you've been doing to keep yourself busy during these weird times? Let me know in the comments below any movies, tv shows, books, past times you've been enjoying!

Melissa  x