We don’t really have a routine at the moment. Yes there’s some structure to it: certain days are school days and J has to log onto the school system to check for and do work. Other days J is with his Dad so those are different and there are the days when he is moving back and forwards between his house and mine. So far we are mostly walking backwards and forwards. J isn’t scared of a walk and neither am I. It’s quite a long one though: 40 minutes for J and I walk him most of the way, then come back so say an hour for me. We aren’t too hung up on it though and a car journey is the way to go if it’s pouring with rain.
I know some people are following a set structure and I guess its horses for courses. We don’t get up at the same time each day, but J does make sure he’s up before school was due to start normally and I’m up by then too. Weekends are a little more relaxed and a lie in is always welcome. I do try to get a few key things done each day from the to do list. Most of the time I have 3 meals to prepare, cook and clean up afterwards from and that takes up a fair amount of time. Then there’s the basic housework: vacuuming, mopping, wiping down surfaces, etc, plus the washing and ironing. Then I’ve got gardening to do. There’s also cleaning I don’t do every week like lesser used rooms. I don’t have much work on, but I check my email a few times a day and action anything that needs doing then.
Whilst the weather was nice I’d do my chores in the morning and the evening and spend the afternoon reading in the sun – I’ve got a tan now for the first time in a while. The plan now the weather has turned is to shift my attention to some bigger inside jobs: tidying, sorting, decluttering, spring cleaning that sort of thing. The garden still needs work too, so I’m busy with that as well. Gardening is so therapeutic and if you are short of space, you can always grow some herbs on the kitchen windowsill. I’m trying to do a bit of language learning: I enjoy it and it seems like a good use of time.
What am I not doing? Well I’m barely watching TV. There’s no binge watching of series going on in this house and I’ve not been tempted to subscribe to extra services. To be honest at the moment I’d rather read a book. That might change over time, but for the moment I’m happy that way. If I do want to watch a little, I have stuff either recorded or I can pick something out from catch up services. I’m nearly through the nine library books I had out at the time of lockdown and I’ve plenty of unread books around the house to tackle next. I’ve got a growing list of things I want out when the library reopens and it will probably take me ages to get through that list.