QUARANTINE DIARIES: DAYS 15-36

Now well over a month in to self-isolation I have to say I'm struggling to remember what I did yesterday. Every couple of days I'm trying to write in my journal just to keep a track of what I've actually done each day. Between bizarre dreams or not sleeping much at all it's honestly difficult even remembering what day it is half the time. Below is the second installment of my quarantine diaries with an update on what I've been doing the past few weeks:

Day 15 - Today I slept in till 10.30, Daisy woke me up by wanting back under the covers. I took the dogs on a two location walk today - first to the main part of Lochore Meadows and then drove to the hilly field because I wasn't really feeling like walking around the loch side because it was so busy. When I got back I video-called Nathaniel for a couple of hours while I finished the drawing of the dead knight. It was nice just talking about normal stuff like drawing and films. I watched Hustlers with J-Lo in it in the evening - she is a goddess.

Day 16 - Watched Anna (2019) tonight and thought it was great - modelling, spies, assassinations, Helen Mirren as a KGB boss lady - fab!

Day 17 - My Grandma has tested positive for coronavirus which is a bit worrying, but she's already in hospital so I can only hope her symptoms stay mild. Today I went to get petrol finally and Mum gave me a shopping list to get at the same time. It took me just under an hour to get in to the supermarket and out so it wasn't too bad. I was queueing outside for about 10 minutes as they only let so many people in the shop at one time. Mum took the dogs out while I did that so when I got home I made mini cherry pies and had last night's leftovers for lunch - soy ginger chicken noodles - delicious!

Day 18 - Woke up at 9am, got up and made blueberry muffins. Took the dogs out just before 12pm and decided to walk round the whole loch. Took about an hour and 10 minutes just because of Buster doddling along - he's starting to show his age - 2.83 miles and 7.5k steps down. When I got home, Mum and Wilz came back from trying to hunt down caramel flavoured condensed milk for making fudge - they were unsuccessful. Did a workout before dinner: chicken, mash and turnip was today's menu. Watched Star Wars episode VII afterwards. I think I want to rewatch the newer ones back to back.

Day 19 - I watched Jane Eyre from the National Theatre while on facetime to Karlie. It wasn't fully my cup of tea but I can appreciate the production of it. I think we're going to keep watching things together so we can pretend we're at the theatre together.

Day 20 - I made lemon loaf cake only to discover Mum doesn't like it. Family facetime theme for this week was Easter so we had a little competition to see who could decorate the best egg. Gran didn't have any eggs so she made an Easter bonnet out of a mixing bowl wrapped in some scarves and wore it on her head - so funny!

Day 22 - Mum went on a baking spree and made fudge, cheesecake and chocolate fridge cake. I fixed my much neglected bike and went for a cycle round the loch.

Day 23 - I didn't want to get out of bed today. Eventually I got out of bed at 10.30am and had a shower. When I came out of the bathroom Mum told me Wilz - my stepdad - had injured his back at work, so I quickly chucked some clothes on and drove her up to his work so she could drive him home in his car. Since I got back I've been watching Agent Carter on Disney+ - it's not amazing but it's quite entertaining and passes the time by. It's weird seeing the infamous voice of Iron Man's Jarvis be an actual person.

Day 24 - I finished reading the book of essays Kelly gifted me years ago, then started reading Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. I read 142 pages in one sitting - it is brilliant even though I don't understand a lot of the technical climbing words in it. I also did two workouts and now my legs are aching.

Day 25 - Today I got up and watched part of Top Gun in my pyjamas with Wilz. I took the dogs on a 2.64 mile walk then spent the afternoon struggling to find something to watch so I finished reading my book. I then shopped my own bookshelf and decided that Eva Luna will be my next read. Mum also made me cut her hair this evening - I couldn't stop laughing once I started because initially it looked horrendous and I thought it was a terrible idea. In the end it actually looks quite good - she had to straighten it to check I'd cut it evenly on both sides (which I hadn't) but eventually we had a pretty good result. We have another 3 weeks added to our lockdown - deaths in the UK 13, 729 and Scotland 779.

Day 26 - Woke up at 10.30, showered and dressed. Took the dogs out at 12pm to the lodges and did a 2 mile walk to the wetlands and back. When I got back I watched The Beckoning Silence - a mountaineering film about an accident on the north face of the Eiger in 1936. It fascinates me why people climb mountains when there is so much risk involved. At about 3pm I started to make a curry out of boredom, then made chocolate mousse. We had dominos pizza for dinner - they only have seven pizza options on the website right now, I guess everyone is trying to get their takeaway fix! I'm now watching Hamlet at The Globe Theatre and messaging Karlie. We have a new game where we ask each other to pronounce hard words and send each other voice clips on the group chat with Kelly and Sarah - it's hilarious. Tragedian was today's word.

Day 27 - Today I got up at 10.30 again and showered and put makeup on because why not? It's Saturday again! Was it also taken off before 6pm? Yes it was. Mum made raspberry cheesecake this afternoon and I watched Madame Butterfly with Karlie at the Met Opera. It was good but troubling seeing so many white people in traditional japanese dress... Had yesterday's curry for dinner - I think I put too much cumin in it. After dinner was family facetime quiz #1 - Hayden (my brother) was hosting from Aberdeen and every round he changed his outfit to match the theme of the round which was hilarious. He put on a glam rock wig and an inflatable guitar for the music round! I felt kind of down today, not really sure why. I think lockdown is like being on a one of those raft rides at a theme park where you just have to go with the flow and sometimes it drops and sometimes there's rocks to bang into.

Day 29 - I took the dogs to the Meadows again for their walk this lunchtime and did little jogging spurts on the walk back. I have never been a runner but maybe I could start to get better at it? When I got back I started reading Eva Luna and sat in the garden for a few hours. Spoke to my dad and my Grandma seems to be clear of coronavirus, she got lucky and only developed a cough and fever.

Day 30 - Today I managed to get up before 9am and have spent a large portion of my day watching youtube videos on fitness makeovers... I think I need to stop making and eating cake... I did more jogging on the lunchtime walk with the dogs today, maybe I should do couch to 5k to get better at running? I did another workout when I got home and then I watched the remake of Aladdin with Will Smith in it. It's pretty good and I have the Prince Ali song stuck in my head now.

Day 31 - I had to take Daisy on a walk by herself today as Buster has injured one of his front paws somehow and is limping really badly. We went right round the loch for the second day in a row - it amazes me how she's only a year younger than Buster but she just doesn't seem to get tired, she is constantly way ahead and always turning around to check I'm still keeping up with her. So that's two 4 mile walks in 2 days because I've just been walking her straight from the house. I also managed to burn my arms by sitting in the garden. Had a video call with my friend, Fi, who I've not seen in about a year which is madness. It was really great to see and speak to her, I hope when all this madness ends it makes us meet up a lot more often.

Day 32 - Today I've not taken the dogs out because it's just too hot for them, so I've been sitting in the garden working on the blog and making it look better. It's supposed to get to 19 degrees tomorrow which is crazy for April! I made naan breads from scratch to accompany tonight's dinner, and I had to knead the dough for a solid 10 minutes so that's my workout for today. I also went on Mum's stationary bike after dinner for a bit so it's not completely awful... I watched Captain America: The First Avenger afterwards.

Day 33 - Today I woke up just before 11am, had a shower and made myself a square sausage roll for breakfast. Mum and Wilz were out when I woke up and they got back just before 12pm. I took the dogs to Benarty Hill for a short steep walk as Buster's paw is a bit better but it really is too hot today for them to go too far. We had a barbeque for dinner and then it was time for another quiz night on family facetime. This week it was my Gran hosting as she and my cousin, Robyn, had won the week before. Mum, Wilz, and I won this week so I'll be hosting next week's quiz for them. It's been an okay day.

Day 35 - I spent the whole afternoon making the quiz up for the next family facetime. It takes so much longer than you think it does to come up with 25 questions! I test runned it on Karlie who really enjoyed it and I think there's only one section that needs revised. I watched Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War tonight because I think I've only seen them once so thought I would give the last few films a rewatch.

Today - Day 36 - I woke up at 9am for the first time in a while. Had a shower and then cut my fringe back in because it was getting to a ridiculous length and I just cannot face trying to grow it out. I took the dogs to Burleigh Sands for their walk and had a short but sweet phone call with Jay over in Canada. When I got home I made a mexican cheese toastie for lunch and then started writing up this post for the blog. The agenda for tonight is to maybe make a cheesecake with Mum's supervision, and then watch Thor Ragnarok as it's next in the Marvel lineup.

I don't write in my journal how many days of isolation it's been but it is bizarre to type it up on here and realise I've not seen people for 36 days, I've not been to work in 36 days... Lockdown is a weird limbo period where I feel like I have to be productive or proactive and have something to show for this time off. Not being able to get up very often before 10am is really strange for me because I work full time in retail starting more often than not at 6am... God help me when I have to go back to work trying to get up at 4.30am! There are good days and then there are days where I just feel a bit shit and a bit down for no apparent reason, and although lockdown means I can't meet up with people - in a lot of ways I'm talking to people more often than I did before because we can video call as often as we like. Everybody's lives have come to a halt and that means our schedules are wide open and actually match up for the first time, maybe ever.  If there's any positive to take away from lockdown it has to be knowing that you can reach whoever you want and whoever you need at the push of a touchscreen button, and that's a really comforting thought.

Are any of you struggling to keep track of the days anymore? Leave a message below with what's been keeping you busy or distracted!

Melissa  x