A snapshot of our lockdown

What a strange year it's been, and we're not even half way! I'm not going to dwell on any of the details of the madness that's unfolded with this whole pandemic. Instead, now that David's returning to work, I wanted to make a gallery which shows a snapshot of our lockdown highlights. I took an extended break from social media and tried to stop watching the news, instead picking up my camera and bullet journal for some offline time.

Obviously there were lots of ups and downs, but we tried to make the best of the situation and enjoy the time that we could, even when things were scary and uncertain. By nature we're both quite bad at 'time off' so I made some bullet journal lists of jobs and activities to work through when we felt like it which definitely made it feel less overwhelming.

Luckily our garage was filled with lots of half used DIY materials (as it usually is) so we were able to tick off our list of wee jobs in the house and garden. One big job was switching around the guest room and studio, so I now have a new, cosier workspace (more on that later). I've been studying garden design to help with the future of Noble Landscapes, but this time meant David was able to get involved too. He did lots of cooking, including the *must do* lockdown bread making (we inherited a bread machine in March!) but also lots of seitan recipes. As for me, I've been learning to sew, beginning with pants of all things, which is something I've always wanted the time to get into. 

We took turns to plan surprise date nights - a spa night and a speakeasy - definitely a highlight of the last few months. David had a lockdown Birthday so I organised a treasure hunt which got a little bit elaborate at 40 clues mixed with mini games. All of his presents and cards were hidden along the way - ending with delicious Doughnut Family treats.

Of course, we had lots of video calls with family and friends - including a weekly quiz Skype with my grandparents which is a lot of fun and something we'll make sure to do more in future.

I hope that lots of the good from this time will last, it certainly makes you think about what's important.