Blogging n the Time of Covid 19 Part Two

We returned from Ireland and by the end of the week we were in Lockdown. But not me...oh no! I am the official Gofer. I had to endure these scenes which I’m sure everyone is familiar with, but I had to show my Mum why I couldn’t quite get everything she wanted from the supermarket.

My husband is over 70, my Mum is 92 so it’s down to me even though I have type 2 diabetes. I am quite fit and my ‘numbers’ are good so I hope I’m not at risk. 

My mum was in a state of anxiety and panic for the first three weeks, but seems to have made a complete recovery but is lonely. She goes to the local shop every day for a newspaper, which is probably not a good idea, but I think she’d go mad if she didn’t. 

She has no internet so that’s the only contact she has with the outside world apart from phone calls. 

Anyway..what have I been doing?

This collage is from quite a few years ago and you can see that there are one or two virus like shapes there. 

I thought I’d make a topical one just for fun, this may remind you of something! 

This brooch received a lot of comments on my Facebook page and some people wanted to own one. 

I had also been thinking of the food bank missing out on all the donations because people were so worried about getting enough food for themselves, that they couldn’t also buy extra to donate.

I usually take a bagful to church , as do others, but there’s no Church either. 

So..I decided to make a number of brooches , to fill in my income gap ( as my teaching has been cancelled) and to donate £5 from each sale to the food bank. 

                                       I sold them all immediately and had a long waiting list. 

So two weeks later I made another huge number. 

This time, I was able to donate more than £100 each to two hospices, who are also experiencing income drops. 

I felt useful, I felt creative and it kept me upbeat and motivated. 

But then......

Someone made an unpleasant comment on my photograph, and I got an ‘angry’ emoji too. 

I realise that the Corona virus has had a devastating effect on many hundreds of families, and that perhaps my brooches were in poor taste. 

So I stopped. I still get requests so I may do a few quietly and list them in my Etsy shop. Of course, they’ll have to be more expensive to accommodate Etsy fees but that’s how it has to be. 

The weather has been amazing and we have taken full advantage of the lovely area we live in. We are lucky to have a variety of walks nearby. 

We have Moorland 

And farmland

Tracks both high and low

We can look down from the moors onto our village and if it’s clear, you can see the sea and Blackpool Tower. 

We find old ruined farms above the woods. 

And peaceful spots with reeds. 

The woods are lovely now , full of bluebells and new leaves. 

The grass verges have been beautiful

Full of wildflowers, 

But even the lockdown didn’t stop the Sports club strimming them. 

Very sad. 

So to counter that we’re encouraging weeds. Aren’t these gorgeous?

Also gorgeous too are these Aldi ranunculus, well they were until the recent cold wind. 

It takes my garden a while to burst into bloom but there’s joy to be found in colourful leaves and the blue of the forget-me-nots. 

We have our own bluebell patch and they look amazing with the euphorbia. 

This blurry photo fills me with joy. Once I only saw these in a museum showcase but now they come to the garden. 

Global warming? 

Now I’m sewing in a different way. 

I’ve tried and tested various patterns and this seems the best. 

I’m just waiting for a delivery of elastic. 

A couple of years ago I read ‘All Among the Barley’ by Melissa Harrison. 

This was my favourite passage and I think it means more in theses days. 

Let’s look forward to a better future.