Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day nineteen

In my new yoga nook

My yoga space

I now have a new yoga nook in a corner of our bedroom. Many years ago I added a desk here, somewhere I hoped I would sit and write or use my sewing machine. However, the bedroom is a long way from the heart of the house and even when home alone, I tend to write and sew on the dining room table and the desk, chair and area around it have become a dumping ground, dust trap and general no-go area. 

Online yoga needs a space in the house. Space we have a-plenty, but this week I have been using the lounge where Mini wanders in and out, joins me on the mat, snores on the floor or snoozes on the sofa. If Ed is up, he often walks through to get to his shower room, and I can always tell what Adrian is doing in the kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee in the morning, the hiss of a beer can and rustle of a peanut bag in the evening. Somewhere a little more remote seemed a good idea.

Today’s task of lockdown was a big tidy and clean of the bedroom. We moved out the desk, the sewing machine, the bags of fabric, and attacked the dust and created a calm and tranquil space for the yoga mat. In much the same way that time has crept up on us in the garden and orchard, with nettles, brambles and ivy taking over planting areas and the stone walls that surround the potager, stuff and dust have taken over many corners of the house. This enforced time together, with the need to plan our days wisely and fill them constructively, has given us the opportunity to see into the corners and to start a long overdue sort out, clear out and clean.

Adrian's pain cave

Pain cave

As I had my girly retreat space it seemed only fair the boys had a more manly pain cave, so the ‘dining room’ was next on the attack list. I say dining room, but it has been almost three years since the table lived in there and more recently it has been a bike storage area, a home for the bike touring gear, a cemetery for many a dead bit of computerware and again, dust, lots of dust. 

If my Dyson could speak it would probably be screaming “enough”, however it has only really just begun. All we have so far achieved is to rearrange years of hoarding in order better utilise the space we have for our current needs. What we now need to do is be ruthless and go through the many bags, boxes, shelves and cupboards, and part with belongings we’ve cherished in the past, but have neglected, forgotten or no longer need now.

Returning summer visitors

In other news, the Swallows are back! Whilst enjoying our morning coffee in the garden a pair of swallows circled and swooped overhead, the first two I have seen returning this spring. It is always a turning point in the calendar and promises warm, summer days to come.

Stay indoors, stay safe.