It’s been a while hasn’t it? But I’m back with my (normally) monthly ‘favourite things‘ post after a lockdown hiatus. My last post was at the end of March, when everything got a bit strange. So, here is a BUMPER edition of what I’ve loved, read, made, worn etc… only it isn’t that bumper because there are some parts of lockdown I can barely remember, plus I don’t want to bore you all!
What I read
A heck of a lot of reading happened in the first few weeks of lockdown. It was my coping mechanism I think. I did then get a bit ‘booked out’ and stopped reading for a few weeks before starting up again. Highlights from the above selection were:
In an Instant – A car crash that changes lives, as told by one of the people in the car who didn’t survive the horror crash where the vehicle plummets over the edge of an icy mountain road, meaning a huge search and rescue mission needs to be mounted.
Americanah – Just beautifully written and wonderfully paced, the book follows the story of Nigerians Ifemelu and Obinze, who are teenage sweethearts as they head to America and the UK respectively. Eventually they end up back in their home city and have a lot of comparing to do. I didn’t want this to end.
Dear Edward – Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills his parents and brother. This means that when is instantly catapulted into fame, with people writing him letters and trying to talk to him to find out if he spoke to or had any interaction with their relatives who also died on the plane. Meanwhile he has to get used to life in a new home with his aunt and uncle, who also have to get used to suddenly having a child in their home. Touching, and really well written.
American Dirt – What happens when the Mexican cartel murder your family? Lydia knows that she and her son must run because they will be next, and what follows is their incredible journey across Mexico to the US border, and then across the desert to the US. I know this book got some shade as it wasn’t written by a Mexican national, so people felt it was not her place to write the story – but whoever wrote it it’s spectacular.
The Dreamers– very apt for reading in the middle of a pandemic this one! Basically many people in one small town start to fall asleep, and stay asleep. The book follows the story of some of the occupants of the town, and the infectious disease specialist as they try and work out what happened and how to survive.
What I listened to
Not a huge deal, as without my normal school run and barely any time driving I didn’t have my usual podcast listening time! We
What I watched
Obviously a fair amount of screen time was experienced, for both myself and the kids – but seeing as they watch utter crap most of the time I’ll stick with what I watched, and these are what I am watching regularly and the highlights.
- Normal People,
- I May Destroy You
- Station 19
- Slasher s1 & 2
- Afterlife s2
- Sweet Magnolias
- 13 Reasons Why s3
What We Wore
PJ’s. mostly. There were more than a few days at the start of lockdown when none of us got dressed, then a few more when Athena went through a phase of wearing her party dresses just because – even though we weren’t leaving the house! Obviously not a lot of new clothes purchasing going on as we didn’t go out much at all, and I still even now don’t fancy going anywhere near a city centre for a clothes shop! I got all my summer stuff out of the attic and was pleasantly surprised that most of it still fit me!
Sam has also been wearing two really nice pieces of jewellery that were kindly gifted to him from Trendhim. Sam has always worn his wedding ring, although it is actually his engagement ring (he wanted one, so I bought him one not long after we got engaged!) but recently his wedding ring broke so he swapped his engagement ring to his left hand. Trendhim have a really vast variety of mens jewellery and accessories but he knew he wanted a new ring, not to replace his wedding ring but to wear on his right hand. It took a while for him to choose as there are so many brands, styles, materials and designs of ring to choose from. He chose a really unusual brushed silver ring with a compass etched into it, and if I had the same ring size it’s definitely something I would be borrowing too!
He also chose a viking inspired pendant , which is different on both sides so it gives you two ways to wear it. It’s threaded on a thick black leather woven cord and has a safe clasp at the neck. I was amazed that it comes in a choice of three lengths so you can choose the perfect placement. The designer is ‘Fort Tempis’ and I think I know where to look on the TrendHim website for future birthday, anniversary and christmas gifts, so I can increase Sam’s collection!
What I loved
Being home with no plans was pretty great, it was just a shame that it was under such imposed circumstances. We did have some really lovely country walks where we barely saw a soul, and the slower mornings and no rush to get out the door on time was amazing.
I loved that I could read so many books in relative peace, I loved that Arlo’s class kept in touch on facebook a lot with the kids recording little videos for each other. I really really loved the fact that we were able to get our usual Tesco delivery every week to ten days, which meant I was able to add food on for my mum and drive it over to her so she didn’t have to leave her house and battle round a supermarket. I also enjoyed doing some more baking than usual. Doing deliveries for the lovely lady that runs the food shop over the road for people who were self isolating was good too, it meant we got to help people out that couldn’t venture to the shops and cheekily got me out of the house TWICE in one day a few times as I reckon it counted as an essential trip!
We also got a KITTEN during lockdown and he has made life infinitely better!
What I loathed
Walking into my mums town to pick up a prescription for her right at the start of lockdown (She was recovering from an operation at home) and seeing people queue to go into shops, side stepping away from others and shops having a one in one out policy. I don’t loathe the fact that it happened, and of course I stuck to the rules. I just loathed how it made me feel. The first time I got in the car to drive to my mums with food for her I felt like I was a criminal, and I was completely ready to be stopped and questioned about my journey! Of course that didn’t happen but as someone who never really experiences anxiety I definitely had a raised heartbeat the first few trips – but the empty roads were AMAZING to drive on. I’m sure there is a lot that i’ve not liked over the past few months (won’t even touch on the cabin fever with two little kids and a husband also working from home in a flat) but I’m trying to be as positive as possible!
How was your lockdown? Over and out!