Quarantined with the Cat

Being furloughed is proving an interesting experiment. Initial plans to do all those jobs that have been waiting for free time for so many years, are still waiting to be done. To be fair, I did tackle one of my many carrier bags full of holiday memorabilia the other day and have started to tidy the spare bedroom. I have to include my kitchen antics and the baking fest that seems to have started. But my plans to be creative, read books, research relatives...well they seem to still be waiting for action.

 Although furloughed, I still have to undertake some statutory tasks for work. So first thing today I was on the phone to HMRC (I think they had just sat down at their desks when I phoned) chatting through a deferral of payments with a nice lad from the North East. I had already been domestic and the resulting washing went on the line plus I also managed my daily exercise, so not too bad today. What amazes me is where the time seems to go. I had tasks to complete this morning, a video call, some financial calculations and a little bit of planning before I returned to the kitchen for tonight's masterchef preparations. Another day gone.

 I am still sharing the house with the eighteen year old who, after a morning of Netflix, had a school assembly this afternoon. There is now no school work requiring completion as her school has been informed that they cannot use anything completed after lockdown towards her final A level grade.  She emerges from time-to-time to cruise the kitchen cupboards in search of food then disappears into the void that is her bedroom. To keep the connection to both family and the outside world, she introduced family film fridays - each member of the household chooses a film that we all watch together. My turn this week, although I have been informed that I am not allowed to choose any war films. Shame, I was looking forward to another re-run of A Bridge too Far.

 Everything feels slightly disjointed and yet time ticks on. Last night I had a meeting with our Guiding International planning team. It was good to see the familiar faces but we had to make the decision to postpone the trip to 2022, knowing that families might be struggling financially and reluctant to send their off-spring abroad following a global pandemic. In a matter of months 2020 changed and the impact has been felt locally, nationally and globally. The talk now is how will we get out of this and return to some sort of normality. A huge question and who knows when it will happen. What I do know is that at somepoint we will reopen the Museum, to welcome our visitors and volunteers and re-establish events and activities. 

 Right now, however, it is what do I have to get on my weekly Sainsbury's shop tomorrow as I'll need to make sure that I have something ready for tea-time ! Now where is my shopping list...

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