Covid Diaries Week 4

I'm a bit behind on publishing these posts - I can't believe it's May already! It's strange, March seemed to really drag on but April has seemed to fly by. Here is a recap of our fourth week of social distancing.

Saturday April 4th

We had a pretty chilled out day today. It was a lovely and sunny morning, so we spent it outside on the patio. We broke out some sparkling wine and OJ, to toast the end of my parent's two weeks of self-isolation.



The kids are very happy to see Nannie and Grampy again!

Ollie loved helping my dad rake up all the leaves. My dad spent the past few days putting out all our patio furniture. I teased him about all the guests and parties we are going to be having in the near future.

I’m reading a new book: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It’s a dystopian future novel and is set in a world 20 years after a deadly pandemic. I know, I know, what a subject to be reading about. But in this pandemic 99% of the world's population is wiped out, so it makes our current pandemic seem not so bad.

Ella got back on her bike this weekend. It was all going well until she wiped out after going too fast. I think her training wheel went off the path onto the grass and she lost her balance.





Luckily she wasn’t hurt badly, just scared. She wouldn't get back on though, so my dad ran back to the house and traded her bike for her scooter so we could continue on our walk. 

We also got Ollie’s little trike out which he prefers to the pram. Unfortunately Ella prefers it to her bike as well, so we had to convince Ollie to give her a turn - which he was fine with when it meant he got to ride on my dad's shoulders instead!

Sunday April 5th

It’s been a great weekend. The sun was shining again today so we spent our time outside. I am so thankful we have a backyard! We did our standard walk around the marsh again, it's really the only local place we can walk that isn't just walking through houses. My earlier pandemic plans to hike in different places nearby (by nearby, I mean within a 20-30 minute drive) have obviously been put on hold, as we are supposed to just stay home and get exercise in the local community.

I made the whipped coffee that is all the rage on social media lately. Dalgona coffee. It was good but I can’t see it being a regular thing. I think I’ll be sticking to my cold brew in the mornings once the weather improves a little. (Edit, I also found a recipe for Vietnamese iced coffee which I will DEFINITELY be trying once summer hits.) I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the whipped coffee, as the main purpose of it seems to be to have something to post on your Instagram account. These kinds of oversights are why I will never be an internet sensation.

Monday April 6th

Another lovely day. So nice that Ella put on her swimsuit and was running around in the backyard being sprayed by the hose. I will assure you that it was not nearly as hot as it looks in this picture:



Ella seems to run at a different temperature than the rest of us. She never feels the cold!

I made this amazing carrot, cauliflower and chickpea salad for dinner. It was super yummy and will definitely be made again. I came across the recipe as the only vegetables we had left were carrot and cauliflower and I was pretty sure dinner was going to end up being super lame, but wow this was a winner. It calls for the middle eastern spice za’atar which I’d never heard of. I found a recipe for za’atar online, which called for sumac, another spice I’d never heard of. I ended up subbing in lemon pepper for the sumac and it turned out well. I am loving having time to cook regularly now that it doesn’t take me 1.5 hours to drive home from work.

Tuesday April 7th

Grocery day today. I had to go a bit later in the day then usual as I had a meeting in the morning. I definitely prefer going earlier if possible. It was busier than my previous visits, and the whole ordeal takes like two hours once you factor in unpacking and wiping all the items down. I can see why people are turning to ordering online, but I feel like those spots should be reserved for essential workers and vulnerable members of society. Or single parents. How you would handle getting groceries if you had no one to watch your children right now is beyond me.

Ella and I went for a scooter run before dinner. It is rare that we do something just the two of us these days so I enjoy having some space to just give her my full attention. We always take a break around 2km in and explore parts of the marsh together.

Wednesday April 8th

It was our 8 year wedding anniversary today. To celebrate, my parents bought us takeaway from a local restaurant. Lots of restaurants are offering a discount on their menus if you pick up your order. Curbside delivery it is now called. We ordered, giving our car make and licence plate along with a pickup time. As soon as we arrived someone came and put the food in our trunk. Very efficient and convenient. Andy and I drove there together (is that still allowed? I think it is as we live in the same house...) and it was pretty nice to go on a drive somewhere other than the grocery store. Gas is still very low, $0.72/L. But we don't need any gas, it’s going to be ages until we need to fill up our tank. It was nice to have restaurant quality food at home - and very affordable with the discount. I think we’ll be doing this more regularly in the future.

We had lovely spring weather again today. Ella and my mom played the Frozen version of Monopoly Junior in the backyard, pants optional:



I was able to finish up work in the early afternoon and spent about three hours in the backyard with the kids, just reading and relaxing while they ran around. I’m starting to get really used to our slow pace of life.

Thursday April 9th

We have been doing a few little lessons that Ella’s teacher posted on Google classroom with her. She wrote out all the numbers up to 40, and is practicing addition by rolling two dice and finding the total. She is also recognising more words as she begins to learn to read. 

Friday April 10th

Good Friday today, so no school. I love non-work days. Ollie woke up super early, about 5:50am, which is very unusual for him. In general the kids have been waking between 6:30am-7am, which feels so civilised. I am not going to like it when schools are open again and I have to go back to waking up 5:30am!

I had a super lazy morning. The book I mentioned above, Station Eleven, is really good, and I just kept trying to steal moments to read it. I love when I’m that into a book. 

Andy and my dad spent the morning getting my dad’s bike set up with Ollie’s bike seat. We shipped this bike seat from Australia, I love it so much, the design is so sleek for an object that is usually very utilitarian. It's a Norwegian brand, Hamax. We took the kids out for a quick spin around, Ella on her bike and Andy with Ollie (I was just walking). Ella is still very slow and unsure on her bike. It is going to take a lot of patience and practice, but hopefully as the weather gets better she will improve and gain confidence. Ollie seemed to really like the bike seat.

Ella did 3 cosmic kids yoga sessions today. One with me and my mom, then one with my dad, and then one with Andy. I’m really impressed with how focused she is during them.

Sometimes I will just look at one of the kids and I’m overcome by my love for them, and my gratitude to have this unexpected time with them. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather there wasn’t a global pandemic that was ruining lives going on, and they definitely drive me crazy sometimes, but if there is a silver lining to this for us, it has been having all this time to see our kids at this point in their lives. Normally on weekdays I’d only see them for an hour or two after work.