Day 9 - Lockdown

Day 9 in the Reeve household on Lockdown.

So here we are on a lovely sunny morning - the Skies are so blue, but there is still a chill in the air, so be warned if venturing out for your daily exercise.

Talking of exercise I have done some pilates stretches this morning so I can start the day off in a positive way and feel much better for it. Long may it continue.

I had a bit of a problem getting out of bed this morning as I decided to start a new book last night and now can't put it down, its one of them and it is book 6, the last one in a series, so I have to read it all NOW! 

Has anybody been watching this Masterchef series?  Its one of Matthew's must watch programs so we are obviously having to watch it.  Some of those dishes they cook are amazing, but how they think them up is beyond me.  I suppose its like anything, if you have the natural talent for it, you will be able to make it look easy.

So todays ingredient is frozen blueberries.  I always seem to have fruit in the freezer for when we decide we want to make some smoothies or something a little naughty.  But the recipe I have chosen is not really that naughty, but is extremely tasty.  Many of you will know Fay Ripley as the actress from Cold Feet amongst other roles, but she has also written a few cookbooks.  The book I have is Fay's Family Food and it has some really easy but tasty recipes in it.  The recipe I have chosen is Honey-sweetened breakfast muffins, but I have had to look elsewhere on the internet for the recipe for you.  I often make these when we have guests for the weekend for breakfast or the boys take them in their lunch boxes.  At the moment I have all the ingredients, but ask in a weeks time it might be a different story.  Image from website.

I do find this situation still quite surreal.  Most people that can are working from home, which I do on a daily basis, delivery drivers basically 'knock and run' and we put a thumbs up.  We can't meet friends or family to celebrate their Birthdays.  We have to stress all week about how we are going to get food to feed ourselves and isolating families.  Worry about having no work to do, which in-turn results in earning no money to put said food on our tables.  Prices have risen on quite normal things as they are now in short supply.  How long do you think we will be living like this?  We are all in this together although when you feel so isolated it does feel like there is nobody on the outside.  We live in a fairly isolated place, so we are quite used to it, but other people must be finding this a lot harder than we are.

So I sat on my glasses the other day and thought 'no harm done'.  Little did I know that I have cracked the central nose part of them.  I may have to resort to sellotape soon - this situation gets us doing all sorts. I do have some old ones, but the lenses aren't so good for using my laptop, so best keep the sellotape at the ready.

Simon has been given a few tasks to perform by his football coach to keep him fit.  For 3 days they had to do 1000 keepie-uppies each day.  He has done really well with those.  Another day was doing exercises like the plank with a challenge at the end.  He has been doing regular runs also and I think they need to get the parachute out to do some sprinting.  The boys are very lucky as they have a punch bag in the shed along with table tennis and snooker table.  Then inside we have a home gym and treadmill, so they have absolutely no excuse for not doing any exercise.  I obviously have lots of excuses!!! 😜

So did anyone guess where the photo posted yesterday was from.  Was not an easy one!  It was taken at Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park.  It had rained quite heavily the night before and there was snow on the ground whilst we were there on Christmas Day 2018.  As the tourist information was closed we took a photo on our mobile of the trail.  We lost said trail, fell in a stream, got lost again , fell in stream again and eventually went back the way we came.  Everyone took the pee out of me for having a jacket with one of those special Recco detectors on it, but they wouldn't have been laughing if we had got lost over night and they found us via that, now would they!

So I will now leave you all in peace to enjoy the rest of day, depending on when you are reading this.

Until tomorrow....keep your distance!

Day 8 - Lockdown

So here we are at Day 8 and it looks like I have bored most people - sorry about that.  Like I said in some of my first blogs these are just my ramblings, so totally understand!

So Monday here we are!  This has always been one of those days that nobody really likes - at least now every day is the same for the majority of us.

I normally have a bit of plan of what I am going to write each day, but that really doesn't seem to have happened today, probably because I had a bad nights sleep and feel a bit restless today.   Lets hope some inspiration comes to me whilst typing.

I have thought of todays ingredient though! Chorito Sausage.  We love cooking with this ingredient and whenever I think of this, Spanish Chicken with Chorizo comes to mind. This is one of Nigella's recipes and it is a very big family favourite.  Even my dad has this recipe and likes it, so it can't be that bad.  Picture from her website is shown here.

You could use just normal potatoes and cut them up and I have been known to part boil the potatoes before putting them in there as if they are a little large they can come out a little solid.

So I decided last night that as nobody can see me I will try out some tanning cream that I purchased late last year and didn't dare try it out.  Like most of these tanning creams, it takes a while to show up, so I was pleasantly surprised this morning.  My toes look a little orange but apart from that there doesn't seem to be much streaking.  I did follow the instructions as closely as possible and have to say I did a good job.

Spoke to my mother-in-law earlier and it appears her hubby is not wanting to behave.  He has already snuck out once and decided that he could just pop to the local shop for some bread!  I also told him off also on that occasion and she has had to keep telling him that he can go out for some fresh air, but is not to 'just pop' anywhere! I understand how difficult it is, it is for me and for some people it feels like they have lost their independence as they have to reply on other people to do everything for them.  I don't want to go out to the shops I would rather stay at home where I know I'm safe, but I have to.

So I said a couple of days ago I would tell you some stories about my Grandad Eric. I think this might be the right time to tell you one.  Like I said he is extremely competitive and he loved to play golf.  What was so nice about this is that the last time he played a round, he played with his son, grandson and great grandson.  Please bear in mind he must have been in his mid eighties and they hired him a golf cart which he thought was great.  He kept telling everyone off which was quite normal for  Grandad, but it was always done in a fun way.  He had to remind them that he didn't want them to tare around like idiots like they usually do.  Thats only because he knew they were good at turning golf carts over!  So as predicted; if he didn't get the ball as far as he wanted or missed a putt, he decided to take his flat cap off and jump on it.  This was a very regular occurrence with Grandad and every time he did it, we all laughed.  He was always a good sport at the end of the day and was the nicest person you could ever wish to meet.  He is very much missed by all the Family.

I need to get myself into a daily routine, so as of tomorrow I am hoping to do some pilates first thing in the morning.  Check emails. Get one of my tasks on my list ticked off. Make some bread - I need to do this every day now as we don't have any. Learn Spanish. Write Blog. Make lunch and tea in between.  Spend an hour at least writing my book. I need to keep myself busy as I haven't even been reading any books like I normally do.

So a short and sweet one for you today.  Can you guess where the top picture was taken?

Until tomorrow....keep distancing!

Day 7 - Lockdown

So here we are at day 7.  What a week hey!

This picture was taken one morning in Felixstowe on one of our breakfast walks.  I would love to be there now, but unfortunately we are going to have wait for a little while.  I think Teddy is missing it too! 😢

Hope you all remembered to change your clocks forward last night/this morning.  ⏰

So yesterday I have to be honest it was not a particularly good day.  I just felt deflated and couldn't really be bothered to do anything. You were lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, that you got a blog at all.  I think I was relieved that I had got all the shopping done for our families the day before and then just wanted to flop.  I am feeling a little more upbeat today, which is good as feeling that way it not great for the situation we are in.  Its only been one week and there are going to be many more so we all really need to pull together and help each other through this.  By doing this blog I hope I am helping you all, as well as myself.  Even Teddy didn't seem himself yesterday. 

So todays ingredient is Tinned New Potatoes.  We only have these in the cupboard to use for one particular dish that we all really love.  It is Oven Baked Frittata.  We usually use 8 eggs instead of the 4 and a few extra ingredients that we may have in the store cupboard. We usually serve it with a bit of salad.  This is a usual on the day before we go shopping so we can use up what we have left. I will make this later in the week. I always tend to write a weekly menu so that we only buy what we need.  I am now finding myself deciding in the morning what we are eating that evening, based on what we have in the cupboards. Not sure that is the best way forward, but not a lot of choice at the moment.  

Really looking forward to our traditional homemade curry tonight. Its a Chicken Korma that I have been making since 2008, as that's on the bottom on the printed out recipe.  I went and looked it up so I could let you in on it, but they have changed the recipe so I don't know how it would work compared to what we make. The website is www.curryfrenzy.com and it looks like they do some great curry kits if you are a little nervous of making them yourselves.  If you want my recipe, I will put it at the bottom of this blog.

I have started to learn Spanish.  A friend recommended an app, where you can learn as little or much as you want.  You can use it online or via the app and learn different languages - it free too!  Its called Duolingo.  So I now know how to say 'I am a Women', 'I am a Man', 'I am a Boy' and 'I am a Girl'.  Very proud of myself, but have a very long way to go.

Its been really odd weather here today.  Sun, wind, hail stones, rain and blue skies.  While walking Teddy the wind pulled his ears back and he looked like he was having a very bad hair day.  I noticed his breeder put a really interesting post on Facebook about our furry friends mental health and the situation we are in.   The advice is not to spend 24/7 in the same room with them as when normal life eventually resumes they will find the change more difficult if you've not left them at all for weeks or months.  This does sound sensible and they don't understand what is happening at the moment.  It can cause anxiety separation and behaviour problems.  Allow them to sleep lots, as they are the lucky ones that can.  We work from home all the time, although the boys are not around in the day, so we shall just have to give him space when he wants it and different toys to play with on his own.  He always takes himself off to the windowsill when he is fed up with us anyway.

I have got all my ironing done today, even the bedding.  Now what am I going to do until the next lot of washing is dry.  I do still have a list of jobs to do, which I am sure I will get back to tomorrow.  Today is a day of rest... so best do as the day suggests and 'rest' after writing this blog.

Hope you are all well and making the most of some of the films that have been in TV.

Well until tomorrow.... keep your distance!

Chicken Korma Receipe

Approx 750g Chicken Breasts chopped into small pieces.

1 Tin Evaporated Milk

4oz Grated Coconut (if you don't have this don't worry)

1 tin coconut milk

4oz Single Cream

3 tbsp Mango Chutney

1 small onion finely chopped

2 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1 Finely chopped chilli (can just use a sprinkling of chilli flakes)

4 cloves crushed garlic

2 inches of root ginger grated or 1 tsp lazy ginger

5 tbsp vegetable oil

4 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp Tumeric

1 tsp Garam Massalla

Make a paste of the curry powder, tumeric and chilli powder with a little water in a small ramekin. Heat up the vegetable oil, then add the onion and fry until translucent.  Then add the garlic, ginger and chilli, stir and fry on a medium heat for a further 5 mins.  Add the curry paste you made and stir in for 30 seconds.  Add the chicken pieces and seal on all sides. Add the cream, coconut, coconut milk, mango and evaporated milk and stir thoroughly.  Simmer for around 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked, stirring constantly.  If needed add a little water or milk to prevent the curry becoming too thick or dry.  Now stir in the garam massalla and chopped coriander leaves.  Serve with whole coriander leaves if you wish.

Day 6 - Lockdown

So here we are at Day 6.

As its Saturday and that usually means different to 5 other days in the week, I wanted to have a lay-in.  Unfortunately somebody else had other ideas - I suppose he has gone to work!

I hope all you parents with young children have been getting on ok with your kids learning at home and anyone that has been going to work has been keeping themselves safe and well.  Its weird how obsessed about cleaning your hands you can get.  Ours are getting quite sore from all the washing, so really need to invest in some good hand cream.  I think another look on Amazon will be happening again today.

I have had a very productive morning.  Teaching myself new IT skills has been on my agenda for some time.  I didn't realise how much you can teach yourself, helped along with the odd google to check on things.  I am really proud of myself as I didn't think I would be able to tackle it quite so easily.

The boys have each had a haircut.  They both look like they are 10 again.  Simon wanted a grade 5 and Matthew stuck to the biggest one we had - grade 8.  It comes in handy having a husband without much hair - he usually trims it himself with the clippers.  If they let me I will put a picture up here another day.

So todays ingredient is..... Chocolate, very dark Chocolate.  It's usually a staple in our cupboard due to the amount of home baking we do.  So its got to be Brownies.  Not sure if many of you know that I used to run the Dotty Bakers.  This is one of the baking jars we used to sell. This isn't the exact same recipe but it very much like it. Chocolate Brownies from Hummingbird Bakery.  I have their recipe book and have to say it is great - blondies are good too! They freeze really well too, so don't worry about making too many. Image from a website.

We are not sure if our sourdough starter has worked.  A bit disappointed as it hasn't doubled in size like it said it should.  I think we put it in direct sun light which may have killed it.  We are not going to give up though - our wheat grinder has now turned up and I am determined to be able to feed ourselves from it.

There is obviously a lot of news about the situation we all find ourselves in and I would hope that people have started to take note of how serious this is.  It appears that not everyone has been listening to the news, which can be rather hyped up admittedly, but the fact is, we are living in a pandemic so we all need to take note and take precautions and that means only going out for necessities.  One of my fiends who works in a shop, got asked yesterday if they had any hot tubs in.  She felt like telling them what she really thought, but in order to keep her job was pleasant back.  They then asked when they might be getting them in!  Some people really need to start realising this is not a holiday.

I am going to make a roast for tea tonight, really feel like some comfort food.  We usually have a homemade curry on a Saturday night, but I haven't been able to get any coconut milk in my shopping for a couple of weeks now, so I have had to resort to Amazon again for some.  Also as we don't know what day it is at the moment, it really doesn't matter if our roast is on a Sunday or a Thursday does it. Have you all started changing what you usually eat?  Are you eating a main meal in the day instead of the evening?  

I have started to calm down and don't feel so anxious.  I know we are all tucked up here until its shopping day again.  We have enough food and plenty of things to be getting on with.  Chris is still working hard getting the crops in the ground.  As the weather was so wet he hadn't really been about to do much since before Christmas.  It did come in handy as he has been decorating the house.

The photo above is of The Grand Canyon - it was really snowy when we were there.  There had been a large snow fall the day before so the roads were quite tricky.  Its an amazing place to go.  We were quite disappointed by the fact the whilst we were in the US the Government had closed down all the tourist information sites as they didn't have any money to pay their staff.  On the one had we got in to see everything for free and on the other there was very little information on what we were looking at.  

So fairly, short and sweet today.

Have a lovely rest of Saturday and until tomorrow.... keep your distance!

Day 5 - Lockdown

So here we are at Day 5 of Lockdown.

I have been trying to think of a nice picture to share with you, as I worry there is too much doom and gloom around at the moment.  So I thought a very apt photo would be of the day we collected Teddy.  This little fella has brought so much fun, laughter and love to our family, we can't thank him enough. He is still a little character with the nibbling, turning his hearing on and off and stealing things, but we wouldn't have him any other way.  He loves going to the seaside which is good as we only live just over half an hour away from Felixstowe.  Morning trips are his favourite so he can have  hash browns for his breakfast.  Although he still has't realised that cones come with ice cream on usually - don't tell him!

Had a bit of a weird morning.  So I go to get our click and collect from the Supermarket. I was shocked to find a queue of people with trolleys around the car park at 7:55am and they are only letting 1 in 1 out.  This is very sensible but I still find it hard to understand how people did the shopping before?  I know that we are all having to cook for ourselves as restaurants etc are shut, but I really don't understand it.  Anyways, I turn up with my lovely blue latex gloves on and get my shopping from the assistant.  I am shopping for 3 families at the moment, which feels like a military operation. They are limiting the quantity of anything we can have, so we were without milk and break and few other things today.  I have now been around 3 shops to get said items, which is not ideal, but I have been taking the relevant precautions.  Although when I was in the co-op this guy would not keep away from me.  I can get a little to the point with people sometimes and he was getting me to that point, but luckily I was next in the queue before it came to that.  Everyone else was behaving but him and he was next to me.

So I know you are all waiting on tender hooks for todays ingredient.  Well its Orzo. We always have this in the cupboard and have quite a lot at the moment, thank goodness. We were introduced to this when we went to Valencia with some very good friends of ours.  We had a couple of bags in the hold between us to put some food and extra's in and this is one of the ingredients that appeared.  For those of you who are unsure what this is, its rice shaped pieces of slow dried durum wheat.  Its very small bits of pasta.  When you cook it in a sauce it expands and tastes amazing.  It doesn't have to be cooked in a sauce - there are loads of recipes out there.  I have found a really nice recipe that you might find tasty. Chicken & Tomato Orzo, its from Gusto and although I may not have all the fresh ingredients I certainly have lots of herbs and spices in the store cupboard I can use.  Image is from the Gusto website.

When I think about what I am going write in my blog, I often think about days gone by and think about family that are unfortunately no longer with us.  My boys have been taking the mickey out of me about wasting food and not using more than you need to in the current situation. Last night there was a small spoon of sauce left in the saucepan so that they asked me what tub I want it put in to save! Cheeky little sods!!  Anyway this got me to thinking about a particular person who was taken from our family a few years ago.  My Nan Sylvie - she was a real character along with Grandad Eric.  When I was pregnant with Matthew, so it would be 17 years ago this May - we went over to France for a week on holiday.  There was me & Chris, Mum and Dad, Nan and Grandad and my brother Neil.  We had a massive farmhouse with a swimming pool.  Now Nan, although she was lovely could be rather annoying at times and stubborn as an Ox.  Every night we would all try to cook something and each night if anything was left it went in the fridge for the next day.  By day 6 the same sausage had come out of the fridge for at least 4 days and yet she expected one of us to eat it, but wouldn't eat it herself.  She had us in stitches every night it turned up and this is one of those stories that comes out time after time.  That was an amazing holiday spending so much time with my lovely family.  Yes we can all be annoying at times, but at the end of the day we still love each other and that's what really counts.  Thats the same holiday that Grandad, who was extremely competitive got angry every night for not winning the boule competition.  Mind you I think every game you played with Grandad he wanted to win.  I will have to tell you some more stories about him - a character doesn't even start to describe that lovely man.

I got right up with technology this morning and had a meeting on 'Zoom' - how amazing is technology these days.  It was lovely to see so many people at one time and hear their voices.  Its weird how it hasn't really been that long, but it feels like it has.  I am hoping to be able to 'Zoom' in with family soon.  I do wonder if the way we are living will become more of a reality going forward, obviously not so extreme.  Companies won't pay for their employees to travel to meetings as they will be conducted over the internet.  Maybe I am a fossil and that goes on all the time now - who knows?

So its the last day of feeling our sourdough starter.  It should be ready to use tomorrow, but I think we will probably leave it until Sunday before we use it for the first time.  

This weekend like a few already gone by will be a little weird.  Saturday normally has 2 games of football (both in the morning), then tennis lessons and Ipswich Town for the boys if there is a home game.  Sunday usually has 2 games of football, again in the morning and different directions.  What will we do with ourselves.  I am beginning to lose track of which day is which now.  We thought it was Wednesday yesterday - I need to keep with this up to try and keep my head in the game.

We did our bit last night for our amazing Carers that are keeping our Country going.  We went out at 8pm and saw some of our neighbours.  Seeing the images on the TV of what people did made me feel really proud of the caring people that do live amongst us.  Its the very few that can sometimes let us down.  Thank you again everybody that is keeping this Country going and it doesn't matter how big or small a part you are playing, you are still doing it and putting yourself in the line of this nasty invisible disease. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Its been a lovely sunny day again here, but feels really cold out.  I think its going to turn a little colder over the weekend with possible wintery showers, so all keep warm and inside.  I bet you didn't expect the weather forecast in this blog!

DO NOT FORGET TO CHANGE THE CLOCKS TOMORROW NIGHT - they go 1 hour forward. 

So until tomorrow..... keep distancing!

Day 4 - In Lockdown

Day 4 in the Reeve household. (when typing this it made me think of 'Big Brother', not that I have watched it for many years)

I decided to have a lazy morning, just didn't feel like being full of the joys of spring this morning. Although when I did eventually get up, I was greeted with this lovely view outside our window. It was frosty in parts but starting to melt in others. Please note the alarm is still going off at 6:30am and listening to Zoe Ball. I have to say she reminds me of myself - a bit of a clown at times, maybe that's why I like listening to her.

Had a good clear out of the cupboard under the stairs yesterday. I now know why I hate tidying it up.  How many scarves does one person really need.  It did make me reflect on the things we feel are important.  Is a scarf that goes with what else I am wearing going to affect my life. The answer is NO! But what is going to affect my life and everyone else in it, is what happens after this invisible disease goes. Or will it ever go completely? So many things will change and its not all financial either. I wonder if people will be a little more friendly, helpful and kind to each other? I do hope that is the case, although some of the stories that have been reported do make you realise how many unkind and selfish people there are out there.  A friend who is working in a shop said that people think shopping for cushions and throws are necessities - really! Come on people think about it.

We have fed our sourdough starter again today, it is bubbling away and smells, not so great.  Don't panic - its apparently meant to be like that, or it wouldn't be sour I suppose.

I did manage to whip up a loaf of granary bread yesterday.  I love this recipe, its simple and tasty.  I have my go to cookbooks and Jo Wheatley has some great recipes. I couldn't find this particular bread recipe on her website, but she has some other great recipes on there. Jo Wheatley Website. 

Pictures haven't come through particularly great, sorry!

I don't know if your Facebook feed keeps coming up with lots of sponsored links at the moment, but mine does, probably something to do with 'cookies'. Anyway, I keep seeing offers for online courses, which I have looked at for quite some time anyway, but think it might be good to invest some of this quiet time in learning some new skills.  I am thinking of maybe doing two.  One that will help with my freelance administration business and the second something completely different.  I would love to learn how to speak Spanish, but I'm not sure I would get on particularly well when I struggle with the English language at times.  I shall let you know what I decide.

I can't believe that Easter is only around the corner.  This year is going to be a different sort of Easter. Most people flock abroad or to the seaside, we will all be residing in Costa Del Home this year.  I have been looking at some Hot Cross Bun recipes.  Jo Wheatley has some on her website, that look rather delicious.  I have made them before,  but I think it was a Paul Hollywood's recipe, which turned out well, but not sure I want to make anything he suggests these days. I went to see him live a few years ago when he went on tour - not sure what all the fuss is about and he was really annoying. Anyway, that is my opinion.  So back to Easter - I will do my traditional thing and get all my Easter decorations out.  The boys think I am a crazy lady, but they haven't thought about it - my blood runs through their veins - good luck boys!! 

In these uncertain times, it makes you look back and reflect on all the things you have done with your life so far.  It isn't even 18 months since we came back from an amazing trip around California.  We made some very special memories whilst there and just enjoyed each others company; most of the time! We travelled from San Francisco, to Yosemite National Park and then back to the coast along Highway 1.  Los Angeles to Death Valley, Grand Canyon and then onto Las Vegas. I am not sure we ever want to go back to Vegas - its a really odd place. Yes there are the casinos, yes there are the amazing Hotels, but it just felt really sleazy.  I suppose it doesn't help having half naked men and women wondering around trying to make a living by you having photos taken with them. I think some members of the family were quite happy about it!  But like I said they are memories that will always be with us and I am really happy about that, even if some of them are odd.

So what ingredient have I picked today - lets hope I have enough ingredients for everyday.  Its the humble tin of Tuna.  I am a very picky eater, but I love tuna from a tin, not fresh, only from a tin. Yes I know I am weird. So a family favourite is Tuna Fishcakes.  They are just so easy to make. There is a good recipe on Tesco.com Tuna Fishcakes, but I would probably substitute spring onions and put some other herbs in from my store cupboard.  If it makes too many, I will put them in the freezer for another day. Now all I need is some potatoes!

So its Thursday; where did the week go?  I am still feeling anxious about all that is going on before us, but as you can see I am trying to make the most of it. I am hoping to start doing some exercise as exercising my brain and fingers are being taken care of, but my body isn't.  I used to do a lot of Pilates and haven't for quite some time, so I think I will get my DVD out or look online for some inspiration.  Going for walks with Teddy is great to get some fresh air, but I am only exercising my legs.  I think I need some tips from my sister-in-law on Nordic Walking without poles.  Is that such a thing? I need to investigate.

Not sure I am looking forward to the shopping run tomorrow.  I have done a click and collect from the supermarket.  Just so you can understand the sort of things my family have to put up with.  We went to the supermarket last Friday to collect our shopping.  The nice gentleman came back twice and said could he take our name, so gave him our details. He asked to see my confirmation, so I looked at my phone and realised it was for collection on Friday 27th March and not Friday 20th!  So tomorrow I will collect last weeks order. Poor family.

One of the last things I want to mention is that at 8pm tonight the Radio Channels have been asking everyone to safely, keeping in mind social distancing, to open windows or stand on doorsteps. Then you are to clap and cheer as loudly as you can for all the frontline workers that are risking their lives to make ours better.  I am not sure who will hear us in the middle of nowhere, but we will certainly be doing it. 👏

So until tomorrow...... stay in lockdown if you can!

Day 3 - In Lockdown

So here we are at day 3.

I did my cupboard inventory yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by what I found, but also thought it would be a good idea to pick an ingredient I don't use regularly and find some recipes that would be nutritious and tasty whilst using what is in our store cupboard.  A tin of cannellini beans - left over from when Simon and I did 'no meat' January.  I always look on Tesco.com website for recipes first and go from there. Found what looks like a tasty Sausage & Cannellini bean casserole. I don't have any celery but I know I have some celery salt and some leeks my dad grew so we will use them. Also don't have any greens to chop up, but have some frozen Spinach I will put in. Its all about adapting with what we do have. Link below and image above from their website.
Sausage and Cannellini Bean Caserole

So my hairdresser is now closed.  Lord knows what colour my hair will be at the end of this.  Its a good job we are in lockdown and nobody will be able to see it.  I am going to have to cut my fringe - sorry Leah!!  She hates it when I get the scissors out as she has trouble sorting it out.  I have already made the boys aware of my intentions with their hair 💇

You don't think about all the daily things you do as we all have so much freedom, especially if your  children are at school.  I remember when the boys were really young and going to get a pint of milk was like a family outing that took forever.  I keep thinking maybe I can just go and get this or that and realise, no I can't, either the shop is shut or we are in lockdown and its not essential.  I even purchased some paint on Amazon the other day as we can't go out and I want to paint our bedroom. Don't worry I haven't gone all random, I had already got the match pot and chosen the colour.

I am really enjoying writing these, they seem to be the highlight of my day - is that sad?

I have started the book, as mentioned yesterday, as I don't have any work to do.  I am up to 760 words - I have a long way to go.  I have sort of worked out the plot, names, family members etc and found that its quite easy to write when you get your head in the zone.  But then I go back over it and take out, add etc.  This is not going to be easy by any stretch, but if I persevere I may come out of this difficult time with something to be proud of.

Like I said above I now don't have any work, other than checking emails.  I have started to write a list of all the jobs I want to get done inside and out and now seems like the best time to do them. Our houses are going to be like clean pins!  Do you like a list?  I am a little obsessed with them, but then I do work in admin, where a list is never far from my hand!

The one person that does appear to be enjoying this time is Teddy.  He is getting walks and cuddles.  Everyone is around, apart from Chris in the day as he is trying to drill the next lot of food in the ground.  He said he feels guilty for being out and about, but he is classed as a key worker.  If the next crop of food is not in the ground, what are we going to eat when everything has been eaten. I'm not sure if we are importing very much grain at the moment for our flours?  Its in these times you wish you had a garden full of fruit and vegetables.  Where we live the land is not suitable for growing very much other than arable crops, believe me we have tried.  I have grown potatoes in bags, its that bad.

So the youngest; the clown of the family has decided to try the toilet roll challenge.  Teddy decided he would get involved too and then Chris and Matthew.  As you can imagine the toilet roll now looks a little sorry for itself and think it will only be used in desperate times.

I think I may have broken my toe and it wasn't playing keepie-uppies with a toilet roll. Not looking where I am going and walked into a bell weight.

I think its in times like these that you realise how much we can amuse ourselves and that they don't have to be complicated expensive things.  Maybe this is one of the things we will take forward with us when we get out the other end.

Our Sourdough starter is still bubbling away and has been fed again today.  I do have some yeast so the first loaf of #lockdown bread is being proved as I type.

Well you all stay safe and well.... keep your distance!

Day 2 - Strict Social Distancing to Lockdown

So its Day 2!

What can I say, day 1 was better than anticipated.

Our Sourdough starter is underway and we will feed it again today.  Roll on day 5 when we can use it.  We decided to make 2 so that we had enough at all times.  You do need flour to start it off with the recipe we used.  As with the current situation its going to be trial and error.

Matthew is looking forward to making bread everyday as he does appear to be mastering baking these days.

We had a bake-fest at the weekend.  Made Chocolate Brownies, used left over minced meat from Christmas to make Muffins and Oat & Raisin Cookies.  Some have gone in the freezer, so we can get them out as when we need a sweet fix!  I am in trouble for rationing the family 😍

We have certainly started to be more mindful of what we make to eat and that we don't over cater, although anything left has always gone in the freezer, even more now.  Job for today is to take an inventory of what we have in the kitchen cupboards and freezer, so we only buy what we need and make a meal planner for each day. I think if everybody did this there would't be all this panic buying. I usually have a fairly stocked cupboard, but even that is getting quite depleted.

I understand that some people need to go out and do certain jobs, but it does seem that until someone loses a loved one they are not going to listen to Boris.  You are not only putting yourself at risk, you are potentially infecting other people as well as a close family member.  Rant over!  Boris did say this last night.

I spoke to a friend yesterday afternoon - yes spoke and not text.  She has got to go into insolation for 12 weeks, so we decided I am now a friend that 'knocks and runs'.  I wanted her to know that if the rest of her family have to go into isolation and we are still able to get out for essentials we can drop things off.  I have said this to all my friends and neighbours and if you are one of my friends and I haven't said it, then obviously I don't want to help!  No, seriously if you do, you know where we are. Friends up North - don't take the p..s!!!

I hope all of you parents with younger children have got on ok with the home schooling.  Some friends I have seen on FB have had their kids name their classroom - which is just so cute. Then I have friends teaching their children how to spell 'BOOBS' on a calculator - you know who you are!  I think that we all have to try and keep a sense of humour in these difficult and very uncertain times and not put too much pressure on ourselves.  I feel lucky having older children in some ways as we are not having to home school them - Simon is learning online and Matthew is..... well going to get fed up soon.

Something that really is starting to bug me is that the scammers have come out in force calling and emailing people - how low can some people stoop to.  The whole World is dealing with a crisis and all you can do is try to scam people - disgusting!!!! 😠😠😠😠

The anxious feelings still haven't gone away, but I have to say writing yesterdays blog really did help and the comments I received from my FB page really did give me some inspiration to keep it going, even though I have only written one.   The latest update from Boris really did hit me last night, it makes it feel even more real. I feel like I have butterflies in my stomach all the time at the moment - is anyone else feeling like that?

I have always wanted to write a book - maybe this is the time to start it.  It does run in the family!! Should I go for naughty, serious, drama, detective, funny or maybe a mixture?  I think I know what I want to do - what do you think it will be? 😘

Is it that obvious I am not busy.  I wish there was something I could do.  We decided this year not to do much in the way of holidays (good job) and decorate the entire house.  We now have 3 rooms left, out of what feels like 30!!  It looks like our painting gear will be coming out again this week. Yawn, Yawn!

Please do all stay safe, listen to what we are being told and be aware of your vulnerable family, friends and neighbours.  We may not say how much we care for others on a daily basis, but this does make you realise how much you do.

Until day 3..... stay in and be good!!!

Yesterday somebody commented on my post, but some reason Blogger won't allow me to reply, so wanted to reply to 'Unknown'. Yes we have our own grain :-)

Day 1 - Strict Social Distancing

So its Day 1 and as you can see Teddy is ensuring he has plenty of room around him.  Poor thing really doesn't understand what is going on.

So today, we have got our Sour Dough Starter Brewing.  We live on a farm, so are now purchasing a small flour grinder so we can make our own bread. May seem a little extreme, but we feel it is necessary to keep our family fed and healthy.

Simon has started his online school studies.  Maths, Biology and Geography so far today.  It seems a bit of a novelty at the moment, but I am sure it will wear off when he hasn't seen his friends for a couple of weeks or so!  I can only admire our teachers for what they are doing in light of the situation.  They are keeping our children using their brains, whilst not piling too much pressure on them.

Matthew should be revising for his GCSE's that are obviously no longer happening.  He seemed quite angry at first as he has put so much work into these exams to be told they are not going ahead was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, but he has now calmed down.  We are very lucky as we have plenty of room where we live with a home gym and plenty of fields to run and walk, so he has kept himself busy so far!

I work from home as a Freelance Administrator and as you can imagine I have gone from 30 hours a week to around 10.  Maybe when everyone gets into a routine of working from home or in a different manner things will get a little better.

I have to be totally honest I am not sure that what is happening has actually sunk in, although I am sure it will when I am being driven up the wall by our boys.

I have always worried about general things in life, but this situation and really started to make me anxious about life.  Can I feed my family and can we afford it. What if we have to isolate, who will deliver food to our parents.  I am sure many people are going through the same situation, but its this unknown, invisible virus that is seriously messing with our heads as well as making us ill.

So this is day one's thoughts and actions, I wonder how many days this will go on for.   I am taking bets now!!!

Until tomorrow...... keep distancing! 😜