Greetings from lockdown

 Greetings from lockdown!

Below is a photo of my suitcase all packed and ready for me to fly to New Zealand's South Island. I had a whole lot of adventures booked which would have provided me with plenty to blog about.  Sadly, just 36 hours before my flight the whole country was plunged, once again, into a hard lockdown.  The packed suitcase still sits there looking at me accusingly  every time I walk past. I know it will be weeks, if not months, before I can rebook the trip but I simply don't have the enthusiasm to unpack so there is sits as a sad reminder of what was to be.

I am luckier than many, though.  Although I live alone I have joined a bubble which includes my son, daughter in law and two grandchildren. While my son and daughter in law work I mind the children four days a week, doing their lessons with them, playing games and taking them for walks.  It is a privilege and immensely rewarding, they are a joy to be with. 

Auckland has been in lockdown off and on a few times now and the novelty has well and truly worn off, my motivation to get things done is diminishing. During our first long lockdown I painted the whole exterior of my house.  This time I feel proud of myself if I make some jam, bread or a cake.  In order not to become absolutely idle I have made a plan  to do at least one worthwhile thing a day.  Today it was emptying a drawer in my filing cabinet and dumping screeds of saved and no longer needed documents, invoices and emails.  Very satisfying indeed.

Killing time with jigsaw puzzles and  working my way through my freezer and pantry making tasty meals such as the one below - Snapper with olive oil, lemon, garlic, spinach, tomatoes and potato wedges.  Ready to go in the oven.                        

I know we have been more fortunate than many other countries.  I have a son who lives with his family in London they suffered through a very prolonged hard lockdown although now the country has opened up and they are once again just getting on with life.  New Zealand's blessing and misfortune has been to be geographically isolated. This has led to a lack of planning and complacency which is why we are now in the position we are in.  We are well aware the rest of the world, excluding Australia, is now opening up but that still looks a distant dream for us.

The area I live in is lovely indeed. Every day I go for a walk and it is so uplifting to see the blossoms and flowers of spring breaking through. It speaks to me of good times ahead.  I am also loving the time I get to read or chat to friends on the phone.  I've even broken out another jigsaw puzzle and am not too worried if the house gets a little bit messy, there will be no visitors. 

So lockdown is not all bad and it is up to each of us to make the best of it. Nevertheless I know it is very hard for many people including business owners, families in small flats with children to entertain, lonely people etc.  My heart goes out to them.

A sign of good times ahead

If you want a break from reading, TV or Netflix have a trawl through my previous posts on this blog and do a bit of armchair traveling. 

Meanwhile, stay safe everyone, stay healthy and anyone struggling, please reach out to someone for help.  There is bound to be light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, before too long, this covid 19 will seem like a bad dream and I will once again have some interesting things to blog about.

Update: While Auckland, where I live, remains in a hard lockdown now into the fourth week, the rest of New Zealand is in a light lockdown which means most can go about their business normally.  Also some states in Australia remain in a hard lockdown.