Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day three

Online yoga in the lounge

A new routine

It might only be day three, but I have noticed our lives have slipped into a new routine already. Adrian and I are up around eight o’clock, we’ve been lucky enough to have breakfast in the garden every day and the house and village are peaceful enough for Adrian to work and me to write. By the time we stop for a late morning coffee, Ed is opening his shutters and his breakfast is usually a similar time to our lunch. The afternoon and early evening are family time. We work outdoors together, we eat dinner together and there is usually something we all enjoy on the TV. When Adrian I head off to bed, Ed takes over the lounge and the TV and goes to bed at some point that doesn’t exist in my 24-hour clock. I know teenagers can have a reputation for being lazy, but you won’t hear me complaining. He has been so accepting of this massive change to his life, he is still working on his uni projects and his music and is always willing to help in the garden and walk the dog. By having slightly staggered days, I think we stand a much better chance of getting through this without falling out. 

Yesterday afternoon I should have been running the village library and in the evening, we should have been listening to our friend sing at the monthly live music event in the village bar, neither of which happened as everything is closed. 

To fulfil my need for reading I thankfully have plenty of books on my kindle, as well as many review posts to catch up on, so no worries about being bored there. I’m hoping to get a bit more organised in the next few days and start sharing lots more book reviews with you here, to give you some ideas of great reads to escape the current madness. Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for discounted or free kindle books on a daily basis. 

Having Ed at home means we are not missing out on live music either, as he breathes through his guitar strings, but we did cheer ourselves up looking back on videos taken at the bar last year. This was one of my favourites, so I thought I’d share this clip of Adrian and Ed playing for you to enjoy too.

I also managed to take part in my weekly yoga class today, via the online classroom Zoom. It wasn’t quite the same with Mini keen to investigate what I was up to and Adrian trying to keep her busy as well as working, but it was great to still be able to do something normal. Marc and Kate from Phoenix Yoga are now offering all their normal classes as online options, so click here if you would like to give it a try.

Mini is delighted to have her pack back together and is no doubt benefiting from an afternoon walk with Ed and an evening stroll with Adrian and I, but she is missing out on her crusty baguette treats. Stale bread no longer goes to the dog as it’s now being used to dip into our lunchtime soup. Sorry Mini.

Chef-Boutonne, quiet and deserted

I’ve never been a drug mule before

This afternoon I took my first trip out of the village by car since Monday. To be honest there is nothing unusual for me not to use the car, or leave the village, for four days and if it had just been for us, I would have stayed put. However, I had errands to run for some older friends who were running low on their standard medications and also needed a bit of shopping. I packed my Dettol wipes, hand gel, a scarf to cover my face (even though it was too hot for a scarf today), my ID and my filled out authorisation form, and set off for the 7km drive to Chef Boutonne. The weather was perfect for taking the bike instead of the car, but I was a little unsure as to whether this would be allowed, so erred on the side of caution. With Adrian having jobs cancelled, we don’t really need a fine of 135€. 

I was almost the only person at both the supermarket and the pharmacy, which was reassuring, and apart from milk and ham, I didn’t notice any empty shelves. Fresh fruit and vegetables were in abundance, so I stocked up on some more courgettes. Having completed my tasks at the pharmacy and supermarket, I set off back home with my drugs haul, pleased I was able to be of assistance to some friends, but absolutely gutted I hadn’t been stopped by any Gendarmes.

I hope things are not too difficult for you, wherever in the world you are.