Finding time for my weekly updates has been difficult these past few weeks as normality returns. After eight weeks of lockdown we started the process of getting back to our old routines two weeks ago, and I feel busier than ever. The boys have two weeks school behind them and they are loving being back. There are some rules for them to follow including extra hand washing, staggered breaks, no contact sports and a cancellation of many extracurricular activities, but for the most part there seems to be a good degree of normality to their days and they are loving being back.
Shops and many other businesses have reopened and on a quick walk through town for some essentials last week it really did feel quite normal. People are sitting outside restaurants and cafes enjoying their coffees and their meals, people appear to be going about their business as usual. It’s only when you look a little closer you notice the differences. There are no groups; people are for the most part adhering to the distancing guidelines; there are queues of one or two outside the smaller shops that can only accommodate a customer or two at a time; hand sanitiser can be found at the entrance to every shop and wherever you might need to queue the ground/floor is well marked to indicate where you should be standing.
Best of all is that the numbers have continued to drop despite all the recent easing of lockdown measures and as a result it really does feel as if a weight has lifted and that there are better times to come. We have just come out of a long weekend where we felt able to venture up to the mountains again. During the lockdown, and especially at weekends and holidays times, the government recommended we stay home, that we didn’t make unnecessary journeys. This past weekend there were no such requests and so we escaped to the mountains. The weather was mostly glorious and it was a wonderful break for us all. Best of all it was easy to sit outside in the evening with dinner on the barbecue, a gin and tonic in hand, the sounds of happy children drifting down from the forest and forget about all that has been going on around us.
I’ve not been doing much handwork over the past few weeks. There was the push to finish the blocks for the Countdown Quilt in time for my birthday and the deadline I had set myself. I still intend to add some extra unplanned blocks to the project, but have not started on those yet. I am thinking that they will be a good project to work on when I start going back to the office in June and have to get back to the daily commute at least once or twice a week.
The crochet Kelp Garden sweater makes an appearance every few evenings, I love to see it progressing but I sometimes find it a little tedious to work on as the colour has to be changed at the end of each row. I’m hoping that the more settled weather we are currently enjoying will stay for a while so I can get the garden properly set up for summer fun, including more sit in the shade and enjoy handwork time for me.
There will be no sewing by the sea for me this summer because there will still be too many restrictions in place for us to travel to Ireland and enjoy our usual family time so I think our garden space will be more appreciated than ever. I think I may even have to break out the sewing machines again to sew up some new garden cushions and décor.
Until next time, stay safe.
