Saturday 11 April 2020

One Daily Positive - Week 15 nothing changes

This partial lockdown has had very little difference on my life other than on a day to day basis I can't just pop out with the dog and have a coffee, just to get out the house and see people, whether I'm in Dubai or the UK.

The last 2 weeks have made me realise that when I do go for coffee, other than the brief chat when ordering, I still sit there on my own, I return home having only spoken to the barista.

Whilst walking Bob, taking a coffee with me, I've chatted to more and more people than ever, neighbours, random strangers.

Every time I have a coffee I put £3 in a pot, I've saved £63 since I've been back, plus the money I would've also spent on just picking up a few pieces while I was out.

I actually quite being on my own, but when I choose, not 24/7 some months whilst Peter is away travelling.

As we're all in the same boat, I don't miss going out, jumping in the car and driving to see the kids or my mum, of course I do miss them, but normally my visits are spent in the car driving here, there and everywhere. I don't miss that aspect of the visit.

I'm calm, chilled, relaxed. I'm sleeping well for the first time in ages. Apart from remembering to pay bills on time, I have no other stress on me and I'm quite enjoying the peace.

96 Sunday Woke to a glorious summer day, seriously hoping people don't go out, I'll keep Bob local on lead today as I'm aware there will be more people taking exercise than usual. Its full lock down now in Dubai, only allowed out for essential food and medical supplies and masks and gloves MUST be warn at all times. I did some gardening and washing, an early bath and in PJ's ready for the Queens speech and spent a couple of hours catching up with blog comments.

97 Monday I dug the paving slabs out the back garden and a slab of concrete, I'm assuming the previous tenants put a rotary line in, filled the holes in, will have to wait for grass seed. Emptied the compost bin and started a new one. I then finished cutting back the prickly shrubs in the front garden, the side gate is full of waste now for the tip. Took Bob for a walk and started my batch cooking, tonight I made chilli con carne, grateful I bought extra storage pots on my last trip here. I started colouring in some Easter decorations I'd originally bought for the Things.

98 Tuesday I cooked a chicken curry, and a casserole enough and a beef stroganoff, beef stew and a beef casserole, providing me with 14 meals in the freezer for the next 2+ weeks. Out of milk so took my trolley to Morrisons about 1.5 miles away. I walked past a corner shop, 2 petrol stations, lidl and the co-op. I know from experience that their range of Gluten Free products is sparse, even though I still have some bread and a cake mix, I thought if I'm going to the shops I should stock up on some extras. I bought tinned fruit and frozen veg to make my trip worth while and I won't need the shops again for another 2-3 weeks, other than milk which I can get at my corner shop. I managed to get 2 slots online for my mum, one for Saturday, the next April 27th. That took a lot of pressure off me.
The dog broke.

99 Wednesday I stayed in bed till 1pm, my anxiety levels were high after shopping yesterday, I decided to be kind to myself. I then reseeded the lawn, walked Bob and picked up milk from the local shop and a packet of sweets and some magazines to post to my mum as they're not available with online shopping. I had post and a phone calls that cheered me up and I spent the evening making elephants for the Things.

100 Thursday Usually I'm at my most productive in the mornings, but I found I was going to bed earlier each night, then wide awake around 4am, so I'm taking the morning easy, in bed with breakfast and reading some magazines before I post them to mum. Washed Bob and took him for a longer walk than normal to dry him off, more cars and people out than normal. Sat in the garden reading in the sun most of the day, tidied up the craft room, decorated another elephant, wrote some letters and continued binge watching The Good Fight on Amazon Prime after dinner.

101 Friday I did nothing all day other than read, write and blog. I didn't eat properly, was bored at the end of the day and felt like I'd achieved nothing. Had video calls with child 2, 2a and 2b and child 5 which cheered me up.

102 Saturday Can't find my motivation. Plan today was to sand woodwork in conservatory, fill holes, clean and paint, but I discovered I only have 1/3rd tin left for the woodwork and I need to prioritise the upstairs first so I can get new carpets ordered as soon as we're out of lockdown, so I spent the morning watching the end of The Good Fight. I finally did what I could in the conservatory and cleaned inside the window and door frames on the bottom floor. I spending the late afternoon and evening looking through stuff of my dad's sorting out what I was keeping and what I am going to sell.

On the blog this week:
Absolutely nothing, how's your blogging going?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

27 comments:

  1. There really are some perks to this lockdown. We have saved a ton of money too because the girls aren't asking for a few pound here and there to go out with friends and people do seem friendlier. We haven't really spoken to one of our neighbours until the past couple of weeks. Now we can't shut her up. lol
    Your Easter decorations look really pretty.
    It sounds like the batch cooking is going well. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol at your neighbour, it's nice to meet new people and get to know neighbours better

      Delete
  2. That's great you could get shopping slots for your mum. Love the elephants - are they decopatch? Good that you're sleeping better, I know lots of people are struggling with their sleep through this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like I'll be needing to get more slots for mum for May now. The elephants are milk bottle cartons and tissue paper

      Delete
  3. What a great idea to do all of that batch cooking. It must feel really good to know you're on top of all your cooking and shopping for so long. It's great that you are saving so much money on coffee. We are definitely saving a lot of money too, although spending more in the supermarket than we would usually.
    I love the elephants and your Easter decorations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The batch cooking forces me to eat a proper meal daily, if I have to prepare each day, I just end up snacking all the time

      Delete
  4. Well done on the batch cooking. I must admit I never get that far ahead with mine. I tend to make one meal, eat it and freeze the rest, but only the one meal on any one day. Glad you were able to get some shopping slots for your mum.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've got a small freezer and fridge so planning helps me with the shopping pluw I have to carry everything as I don't have a car

      Delete
  5. I love the idea of batch cooking but, now that we're in confinement, I think I'd get bored if I didn't have to cook stuff every day ! I love the sound of your meals though - hmmm ! I think you're entitled to have a few days where you do nothing at all - make the most of it, especially while the weather is playing the game ! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I don't plan and batch cook I just end up snacking

      Delete
  6. I do think we have saved money not buying lunches or stuff for school. We have spoken to our neighbours over the back quite a lot. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've saved money for sure, esp but not having a car and driving round to see everyone like I normally do

      Delete
  7. Glad you managed to get some shopping slots for your mum. We're finding we're saving money too by not popping out for coffee or having a cafe lunch. Good idea to save that money in a jar. I'm with you on struggling to find motivation though at times. Love your elephants. Hope you're keeping well. #project366

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All good here, thank you, will have to start looking for food deliveries again for mum soon as her last one is April 27th

      Delete
  8. Super impressed with your batch cooking, good that you will not need to go to the shops for a couple of weeks and well done on the online shop slots. So thoughtful to send your mum some magazines. I am also struggling with motivation especially on the blog front too. Crafting is a good idea and I have started a new project. The elephants look great x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've really enjoyed the crafting without kids around lol. Need to sort another food shop soon for mum and I have another book and more magazines to send this week

      Delete
  9. It is a great way of seeing how much you will save by not going out for coffee, have you decided what you will treat yourself to after? I seem to be better structured on days when I am working, but it is so easy to let the hours just drift past

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No idea what I'll be treating myself to with all the coffee money saved, other than just buying coffee with it when we can get back out lol

      Delete
  10. We have saved a lot of money not having takeaways or going to restaurants and the lack of driving means we have saved a fortune in petrol! I agree that motivation is hard work some days with nothing to look forward to and no end in sight #project366

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's interesting to know how much money we do spend on things that aren't a necessity

      Delete
  11. Shopping has made me super anxious too. Thankfully our gp has now sorted us some slots with Ocado because the teen is technically shielded so that has helped. I hate going to the supermarket right now. I am also finding my pattern and settling into it, I wonder how long it will go on for. Your cat is lovely by the way. Sorry for delayed comment. The week caught up with me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you have your online shopping sorted, mums last delivery is on the 27th april and I'll have to start stalking the online system again soon

      Delete
  12. It looks like a nice sunny day. True, I have to try to stay 2m from people while walking my dogs. Cute decorations on the window. Thats a lot of delicious looking meals. Broken dog looks cute. The house looks lovely

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the weather has been perfect for the last few weeks, so grateful to have a garden

      Delete
  13. Any money we are managing to save by not going out, no takeaways,no petrol etc is going on bills as hubby isn't currently working. So no savings here!

    A lot of cooking done! I should do batch cooking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love batch cooking but often forget to get something out the freezer the night before

      Delete
  14. Sorry to hear your husband isn't working right now, that must be a big worry

    ReplyDelete

ShareThis