Lockdown Gratitude

Whilst I know this is not an extended holiday and the world outside is suffering I can also admit that some things about this Covid 19 lockdown have not only been enjoyable but also changed our day to day life.

It has been lovely not having the morning stress of getting ready for school every morning. We wake up later and most of the time without an alarm clock. Is that as nature intended?

Having Husband working from home means the girls and I see a lot more of him. We have lunch together, he potters round doing jobs if he needs a break from his screen and generally I like having him around! 

I think food is where we have most changed. We look up recipes regularly and we adapt our menu to use up food that is on the turn. Last week to get rid of our natural yogurts that were a week passed their sell by date we made flatbreads. They were a great success. We've made baked apple slab to use up pastry, fish cakes to use up mackeral, apple crumble to use up some sad looking apples, endless aubergine recipes and had a go at making falafel and really have started ignoring use by and sell by dates and trusting our own instinct instead. We freeze any leftovers instead of throwing away.

Last Friday was a bank holiday and a good example of our new found love of baking. Amaia wanted to make Victoria Sponge cup cakes by herself. She was successful with the baking but less so with the clearing up!!

That evening while I prepared vegetables for the green chicken curry I also prepared a banana bread. And then before I put the banana bread in the oven I used some of the mix to make banana and Nutella muffins. Normally baking is a HUGE task, actually any kind of cooking is a chore but here I am rustling up a dessert while cooking dinner!! Thank you Lockdown for making me bond with baking!! 

On top of that I think we've eaten really well especially with Husband cooking at the weekend... salmon teriyaki with truffle mash, grilled tuna and salsa Verde, slow cooked lamb, curries, home made burgers, various new pasta dishes not to mention cakes!! It has all been rather wonderful and actually a real family bonding experience. It took a pandemic to show the family that loves to eat that actually it is pretty good at cooking too!! 

We've also found other ways of passing the time together - playing football (adult v kids), playing cards and board games, watching all the Star Wars films together, we've read several of The Malory Towers books while also watching the CBBC series, seeds have been planted and watered as necessary, water fights have cooled the girls down on hot days,  we've found our creative sides writing and drawing, Lego has provided endless hours of play and the girls have taught themselves a few acrobatic tricks on the swings. All in all it has been a fruitful time without the many (necessary or unnecessary) distractions our normal lives contained. I now try and think about what filled my days so easily and how much of it was necessary or desired? I hope that is something I can remember in the future- a full schedule isn’t always the best one!