Post Half Term Catch Up

I thought I'd do a bit of a catch up after our break up north. We had a lovely long weekend and felt much better for getting out of London for a few days, especially now, in the light of another lockdown.

We managed a good few walks on the beach to blow away the cobwebs, which the dog absolutely loved. I got to go to a car boot sale and bought lots of lovely brass and copper items that I've been wanting to find for weeks now, mainly planters for the living room.

Before we left, I made sure to leave the cottage very clean and went around stripping beds and disinfecting all surfaces, light switches, door handles, taps, etc. as requested by the owner and before we knew it we were back in London.

I've now been back at work two days and yesterday, I was very surprised when my Manager asked me if I'd seen the news and told me about the possible lockdown happening. It was a strange day waiting to hear what the Prime Minister had to say and now it seems I have two more days at work this week before we are in lockdown again.

I'm not quite sure if we'll be expected to sell online during lockdown, but it looks like that may not be allowed, in which case, I've potentially got a month at home in which to get on top of the house and do some more decorating and other projects that have just been left, as I got busy at work and didn't have the energy.

Luckily, I did a two weekly shop on Friday, just before the announcement and so I don't have to brave the supermarket when everyone is panic buying for the lockdown. I may try a visit to B&Q to get some wood and smokeless coal for the woodburner, plus potentially some paint and anything else we might need to decorate the hall.

It's disappointing for our Charity that we may have to close the doors again, especially in the lead up to Christmas, and when we were starting to build up our volunteer team and sales again, but there's not a lot we can do about it. I feel for some of our volunteers, who live alone and are not looking forward to being isolated again. It seems that 2020 has just been a disastrous year all round really.

In view of this, I'm just going to make the most of this lockdown and try to enjoy it, which I didn't manage to do during the last one.  It will be good to take time to finish part done projects, start new ones, tidy up the garden, decorate the hall (or part of it), clean the whole house in time for putting up Christmas decorations and do a bit more decluttering. It's amazing how many jobs have built up over the last four months, that I just haven't had the energy to tackle. I've potentially got no excuses now. I'm also going to take time to just be and relax, watch some TV, read and recover from the busyness of the last few months. 

I'll miss cycling to work, as it's the only exercise I've been getting, but the break from it should also be good too, as it can be quite gruelling, especially when it rains, which it has done on both journeys to work this week.  It's not felt great to start the day with a drenching. I'll try and do some cycle rides with OH and LB during lockdown instead, on different cycle routes around where I live.

As far as Christmas is concerned, I've done most of my Xmas shopping, save for the main presents I need to get for LB and OH, which I will probably be able to get online, although competition for things might be tough again. Even if I don't manage to get them, it won't be the end of the world.

All the above might change, however, once we find out whether we are required to continue working, listing online during lockdown, but I'll let you know the outcome of that one.