I know we are still in lockdown but this week I had the feeling that I can see the end of the tunnel. Or at least an oncoming train. But I feel this week that maybe there’s a chance that this physical lockdown will lift a little, and with it the mental lockdown that I’ve been feeling too. It feels like this past week was productive or at least positive.
This week I regretted having taught Husband to play canasta. We played canasta Monday night. He plays to a a very different game strategy than I do, and now he beats me. During the first game on Monday he beat me by a considerable amount winning every round and leaving me with a handful of cards in my hand and none on the table. And to my shame I acted like a petulant five year old, sulking and behaving badly and very unhappy at losing so badly. (My excuse is that I had bad hands dealt to me). I made him play a second game in which I copied his strategy (a lot more ruthless than I am naturally inclined to play) so I could win. Not a proud moment for me.
This week we put some time aside for communication. On Tuesday we sat down and wrote emails and WhatsApp messages to people we hadn’t heard from for a while – how are you, how are things, how are you doing? It’s something we kept saying we would do but realised we hadn’t got around to it. If you don’t schedule time to do this kind of thing, then weeks go by and it never gets done.
This week I had two ‘outside’ coffees. On my non-yoga mornings, we now go out for a walk and if we pass a cafe that’s open I’ll ‘support local business’ by buying a coffee. On Tuesday we had a lovely chat with Mustapha at the Oasis Cafe. It’s one of the few cafes we pass on our walks that is still open but I haven’t bought from yet. I asked him about the coffee ‘nos nos’ on his menu (it’s the Arabic term for a cortado) and we got to chatting about how things are and what we’ll do when ‘this’ is over. He said he was keen to see something of the UK, he fancies taking a trip to Scotland. We both commented how we’d lived here in the UK for many years before finally getting down to Cornwall and being amazed at how lovely it was down there and wondering why we hadn’t been there before. Mustapha was the only coffee person I’ve bought from since lockdown who has offered some conversation so he’s my new favourite coffee local vendor.
This week’s yoga was difficult because my hayfever has kicked off again. It’s hard to stay focussed during those downward facing dogs when your nose is running. I also booked for two classes on Friday and Saturday that I forgot about, oops. But I did do a Barre Fit class on Tuesday. Oh my God! It’s like some kind of monster hybrid pilates turned up to 20. Certainly it made me realise that yoga may be good for my mental fitness (when I remember to show up!) but it’s doing bugger-all for my actual fitness. I may have to try this again. I feel ready for something a bit more physical.
This week’s achievements include: netting off the gooseberry bushes to keep the marauding pigeons out; catching up on the pile of filing that has been building up in the study; getting to the bottom of the clothing repair pile; getting to the end of Thou Shalt Not Kill (Non Uccidere) on Channel 4, still with no sign of the advertised ‘sixth sense’; giving husband a haircut; taking a taking an 11.6km (7.2 miles) walk around the neighbourhood; and making a macaroon cake to celebrate having a four-day weekend.
This week’s non-achievements include: not resolving my strange arm and finger pain, although I did get a phone call with a physiotherapist who gave me some stretching ideas; not doing any meditation (was it only last week I started the intention of doing that?); not doing all the yoga classes I’d booked for; and not eating healthy (see cake mention above).
This week’s disappointment: On our walks around the neighbourhood we’d spotted a street called The Drive. It was completely tree lined and looked really nice. We walked down it on Saturday, expecting it to be full of fancy houses but in fact it was full of estate housing apartment blocks. Fancy street names do not make a fancy street.
This week’s weather has changed from end-of-winter to start-of-summer. The sudden change in temperature caught me out, and I had to go hunting for t-shirts and shorts. I’ve gone from sitting in the ‘office’ wrapped in blankets to keep warm to having the window open to let in a breeze. I’ve also got my box of summer sandals out. Yes, it’s that time of year. Hello feet! Hello toes!
This week’s cultural event: We tried to watch A Streetcar Named Desire through the National Theatre streaming. Gillian Anderson as Blanche Dubois, it should have been great, or at least that’s what I was hoping. But after 30 minutes we decided we didn’t like it and didn’t care about any of the characters so we switched off to watch something else. Next week it’s Shakespeare again, Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston. I’m looking forward to that. Let’s see if my hopefulness is rewarded.
Forward planning: I signed up for some free courses this week. One is a Couch 2 5K writers course. Not sure what that involves but I want to keep working on my writing so a one month commitment free course seems feasible. The other is a photography course called A Year With My Camera. Yes, it runs for a whole year so a bit more of a commitment but I want to work on my photography too. Both classes start on 1 June, which is at the end of next week. NEXT WEEK! Does anyone else feel surprised to realise it’s almost June? Considering we’ve been shut down for half of this year, and some individual minutes have been very long, it feels like months have gone by very quickly.
Thanks for reading. I wish you a healthy week ahead.
Tales from Tobhamhor 