Lock-down day 104

Social distancing 2020

Nearly three and a half months that has gone by in lock-down. We did not think it would last this long, and now we realise it is going to stay like this for quite a while. At least for another year... It's not the rest we hoped for, and not the sabbatical we wish we could always take.

I did not blog as much as I planned I would. I had time, but no motivation.

Things are not the same, and maybe it's never going to be?

What has been happening during these three months of lock-down? Some notes for future reference.

How Lock-down are looking right now:

- Miss Fine has been going to school for her second week. The first week was a full week, but from this week they are only going every second day. Her school is doing the Covid-19 regulations very well. The kids stay in one class, and the teachers rotate. It also helps with isolating Covid-positive risks, and minimise the impact to the whole school. Only the classes and children affected quarantine at home. Miss Fine loves seeing her friends again. She is enjoying school and her new teachers (they had shifted everything again). We are also very relieved to have her back at school, and not having to to constantly trying to get her to work at home. Which did not go as well...
Some days she goes through three masks at school, and some days one is enough. It helps to have a variety at hand.

- Hubby has been retrenched, as so many people we know. He is looking for a new job, and we are hopeful. No, we are stressed about it! He is a teacher, and a financial adviser. If somebody knows of a job opening?

- Our company is also retrenching, so that's an extra stressor. I am hopeful that our department won't be affected, as we are short-staffed already. But you never know... I still go in when there are requests, and keeping up to date with our collections. Luckily I have my own studio, and can keep my distance very easily at work. I feel very safe with the safety protocols they have in place with regards Covid-19.

- We miss the family. We miss the regular visits, and weekends braais (barbecues). We miss seeing our parents. That is the most difficult thing! We miss them!

- We miss spending time with friends as well. I know we will have get-togethers again, but it is difficult not being able to spend some quality time.

- We love our new lodgings. It's a rental, but for now it's home. I do not miss our house as I thought I would. We have unpacked, and made this place our new home. Even Miss Fine has settled in quite well. She does not like change, but given some time, she has adjusted. I bought some curtains online, when it was still not allowed to be bought in the shops. Half of the order was not what we expected, but it is hanging and we love it now. This move has made us realise how much easier it is to change, and take on new adventures.

We have realised that we won't do well with Tiny House Living, but we still enjoy watching all the Tiny House programmes.

- I still dread going to the shops. It is very stressful. Not only trying to avoid catching the dreaded Virus, but also trying to find the products that's now not available. Also, the costs have gone up quite a bit during this time.

- We wear our masks going out of the house. I do it out of respect for you, but also to keep myself safe, as well as anybody I get into contact with. I expect the same from anybody else, and judge people who don't respect the rule, or us.

How long are we going to live like this?
How have you been doing during lock-down?

Lock-down Day 55

Lock-down masks

I wanted to document every day, but here we are... It's day 55 of lock-down in South Africa. How did we get here so fast? It has been nearly two months, and we have apparently not yet reached the worst. We are hopeful that we are going to level 3 from June.

I saw this on Twitter today, and decided it's good enough reason to give me motivation to start again to write. To document these times for myself, and for future memories.

The New York Times shares why you should start a coronavirus diary—and talks with SAA member Dawne Dewey from Wright State University. https://t.co/jrNNRlXOHa

— Soc Amer Archivists (@archivists_org) May 19, 2020

I have been longing for everything to go back to "normal". Who would have thought that we wished each day to go into the office, and work a full day? To go back to school for our Tween... She can't wait!

Week 4 in lock-down - Mattel Playroom ideas

Lock-down day 29. We are stressing, but we realise that we still have it very good. We still have a house over our heads. Although it is not our house anymore. We can't wait to move to our new lodgings. We are not sure if we will be able to move yet in Stage 4, but all fingers crossed. We can't believe it's been nearing a month of this. (This too shall pass!)

I am still on stand-by, and go into the office as required. Miss Fine has gotten into a good routine with her weekly homework. Which is a lot of work. I am grateful that we have the devices, and wifi, but we are struggling with printing stuff. (And then I think of all the learners who don't have any, and I feel very grateful that we are able to continue.) Miss Fine also loves the fact that she can sleep a bit later.

Miss Fine is a bit of a dawdler, but we get her moving with a bit of delayed gratification. "You do this, and then you can play, play with an app, watch YouTube, or connect with your friends on your phone." We also got the super cool link to the Mattel playroom, which has given us great ideas and apps of what to do during this time.

Mattel Playroom front page (screen print)

Lock-down - Day 5

Bitmoji "Keep your distance"

Things have changed drastically for all of us. Here in South Africa we are in lock-down as well. Day 5. We can't even walk the dogs or go for a run. I am not saying this as a negative, as we all commend our government for acting fast and decisive. Our move is on hold, and although this could have been the first day in our new house, we are stuck where we are. We have more time to pack, and go through our stuff. Which is a positive during this time...

Who could have guessed that we would be contained in our own houses for three weeks? And most of us already expect that the containment will last longer. We are worried about the future and how this will impact all of us. I am getting a salary, but my husband's work in the financial industry has slowed down considerably.

I am on standby for work. This means that I make sure I am ready to go in each day. I have my "essential services" letter to show when I have to go in for work. I am able to access my emails, and keep a regular check-up for when a request comes in.

Miss Fine has been living her best life. She loves not having to go anywhere. She is also not motivated to do any school work, as her teachers told them they could enjoy their vacation, and could only expect them to start sending work when school was supposed to start. (She says?) We had a gymnastics exercise scheduled on Saturday, which she missed because we struggled with Zoom. Next week we are going to try again. The gymnastics' teacher sends them regular exercises and updates, which is very cool. But, we have yet to convince Miss Fine to do any of them. Any advice would be appreciated?

I want to give a huge shout-out to all the moms who keep their children entertained with school work,  exercises and arts and crafts. You rock!

The rest of us are just trying to adjust to a new normal.

These are strange times, and it will definitely go into the history books.

For my own records: It feels like the end of the world. Who could have known that we would look forward to normal working days, sitting in traffic, and wishing for that perfect cappuccino from our favourite coffee shops? And we are only on Day 5? We still haven't started with our exercise routine, although Hubby got the exercise bike working again. I baked banana flapjacks yesterday. We still want to bake a banana bread with the rest of the ripe bananas, but there's no baking powder in the shops. Hubby says he and two other men were searching the shelves in Spar today, and a lady was laughing at them, because none of them knew how baking powder looks.

How are you coping?