The “At-Home” Diaries: Who Is This Woman?

Yesterday I thought it was Wednesday; how lucky, it was only Tuesday.

There is something I am feeling and I would love to know if you are too? I am living with a “new” woman and I am not the woman I used to be.

Who is she?

The one who bakes? Yes, I have been baking and three delicious cakes have turned out – thank you for the advice to stick to the recipe. I didn’t follow my normal “wing it” approach and they were delicious and even looked tempting. As I did my grocery shop online this morning I searched for even more ingredients to expand my repertoire. I know – a silly little change – but it is very different for me.

 

And cooks. Twice daily since lockdown and enjoying every moment. I miss the buzz of our local restaurants but truthfully I am not minding eating at home all the time. I dream up recipes and right now I am thinking about a lunch concoction. Thinking spaghetti with chilli, garlic, lemon zest, green beans and roasted pine nuts could work?  One of the luxuries of big city life is becoming accustomed to eating out or take-away. Maybe, ask me in another few weeks if I feel the same. 

Who exercises every day? I mean seriously. I am all for exercising but an online class every morning and a long walk each afternoon? This is not my normal routine; a class 4 times weekly is about my regular limit.

On the phone – regularly. I avoided the phone talk at all costs in the pre-Corona days. I was all about the email, the text or the what’s app group. You never know what you had until it was gone and all that. IGTV, Insta Live and Zoom will be happening – you may never shut me up.

And listens to audiobooks in preference to watching a Netflix series. Ok, there is a bit of watching going on but far, far less. Thank you for the recommendation of Patchinko and The Dutch House. I was gripped and found my walking count upped dramatically with these two. My routine works like this: Fiction in the day and non-fiction in the evenings.

With an appearance that might be a little less groomed. Strike that. It is a lot less groomed. The sweats are winning 5/7 days but on the others, there is effort. The exercise is driving the wardrobe and the trainers are pacing overtime. There is room for improvement here. I’m feeling a red lipstick stage coming on; slicking on the stronger shade lips makes me feel so much more together, despite everything else. Time to add some new ones to my collection. Small wins feel big right now.

The question is, will I change back? xv