Which week is this?

I have lost track of how long we have been in lockdown and in all honesty I am feeling like a slowly winding down clock. Our world is a few walking kilometres east, west, north and south of the apartment. Fortunately there are lots of parks and it is amazing how I get a sense of joy when I take the dog for a walk in the sometimes, golden sunny afternoon and I see people(!), kids and parents playing ball games, or scooting along on scooters and bikes or just walking their dogs like I am. I am not alone in this world.

I have been busy being domestic. I have made pots of cumquat jam, preserved the olives picked from the trees in the park, baked a couple of cakes and cooked some pretty good meals. I have finished another scarf, though it is again somewhat longer than I expected. Still it is cosy and useful. Joy of joy, I have discovered a cumquat tree in the park! I will be able to make more jam. These gorgeous pots of golden jam give me such pleasure and a sense of achievement. I will have to give some to my neighbours though because there is not much pantry space in my apartment.

I am getting better at selfies too! On the odd occasion that Hazel is up before 4pm ( She works all night and sleeps all day) we have had a game of scrabble. I love to play the game and have no pretensions to being clever at it. It is just fun. My darling Mum loved it too and we played daily before she passed away. Getting Hazel to play was a coup and even better, she enjoyed it.

I am still doing the Zoom gym sessions and actually think I might be getting fitter. Today I wasn’t quite as shattered as usual. My balcony garden is flourishing with herbs and flowers. Because I am actually here to feed and water, the plants are rewarding me.

When I look across to the city, Autumn is evident in the red and yellow tops of the trees. When I first moved here the changing of the seasons through the colours of the trees was a novelty. In Warrandyte, where all was native grey/blue/green the autumn colours were less apparent. It still gives me pleasure to see the seasonal colours and their marking of the year passing.

What a strange year it is. How long we stay in this lockdown is the main topic of conversation and with the governments’ seeming to be getting the upper hand on the virus, hopefully we will see some lessening of the enforced isolation. I have been proud of how Australia has been so proactive in combatting the spread. We will suffer financially but we have not seen the thousands infected and hundreds dying that has afflicted so many other countries. Some have said it is all an overreaction by government, but when you look at the figures this is not such a simple story. I am intrigued by the fact that while many recover the number listed as recovering is never equal to the infected and those who die. There is a huge gap between infection and recovery of people who remain sick for quite a long time.

Keep well, keep washing hands and physical distancing.