I infrequently, write about five things that have made me smile this week, but I actually thought I would write about a few things that have made me happy in lockdown. They’re mostly small things, but easily overlooked so I thought they would be good to share and I have a feeling I could write a few more of these!
- Morning Cuppa
Do not underestimate the power of a cup of tea. Every single morning starts with one of these – either first thing or after we get in from our dog walk. Sitting down, looking out the doors and enjoying that first sip is something I enjoy every single day. I have a favourite cup and saucer, a favourite teapot and a favourite type of tea (English Breakfast).
Not only that, I’m very conscious about the teabags I purchase, they have to be biodegradable, end of. I’ve tried lots of teabags and the ones I always end up with are Clipper; they don’t disintegrate, they pack a punch and they have a lovely flavour, I just find it a shame that I have to pay so much attention to the tea I buy to make sure it doesn’t have plastic in it.
2. Bella
This girl is the sweetest, goofiest ball of fluff there is. We rescued her a few years ago from the Dogs Trust in Evesham and it’s the best thing we ever did. There is not an hour that goes by, let alone a day, where she doesn’t put a smile on our face and make us happy, so spending lockdown with her has been incredible. The only thing I worry about, is that she doesn’t know how much we love her.
3. Cooking
I love being in the kitchen, it’s actually my favourite room in the house and one that had the most amount of work done to it. I’d always wanted a fire in the kitchen and luckily we were able to make that a reality. At the start of lockdown, I was working in the kitchen and Dave was upstairs, but he struggled with the darkness of the room and I struggled to separate work from home, so we swapped. He works in the sitting room and I work in the spare room, and we’re both much happier.
I get to enjoy closing the door once I’ve finished work and heading down to the kitchen to create something for supper – what veggies can I use, what do we fancy, what needs using up? I hate waste, but I’ve been known to overfill the fridges and begrudgingly have to throw things out, so now I pay much more attention to what we have and actually end up buying less. Winner, winner chicken (or lamb in this case) dinner!
4. Spending less time in my car
I mean, this is a pretty obvious one, but not having to commute to and from work four days a week is just incredible. I get the opportunity to catch the evening sunset, I get to enjoy the rain from the inside without worrying about driving home and aquaplaning across the road and I enjoy that extra money in my bank that gets accidentally spent at H&M buying more table runners that what you may deem as essential…
5. Spending more time outside
In the winter, as well all know, the nights are longer and the days are shorter, so getting out in the daylight is much more difficult. However, being at home means I’m not bound to walk Bella at a certain time so I can get to work, I can enjoy those lunchtime walks and I’m generally less rushed, so I can use my camera.
I hope you have found little pleasures that make you smile in lockdown.
A x
Abi in the Garden 