Wanderings Lately :: January, February and March 2022

Recap of the first three months of this year; We spent New Year in Scotland which was lovely, then back to Surrey to work on the house. We powered through two days straight painting the living room which was well worth it. I joined a local 6 week gym taster challenge which encouraged me to get out of the house to try and reach a 10k step goal (which I still rarely reached), and mum and I went to The Swan at Shakespeare's globe for afternoon tea.

February; my birthday month! We got a rescue cat! Sootica is at this point now the queen of the house but back in February on that first day she came out of the carry bag and hid under the chair. I managed to coax her out with some treats eventually but she was incredibly timid at first. She's now very confident and has spent the whole night outside a couple of times! We also had our wardrobes delivered and built in February which made a huge difference to our bedroom, we had the small bedroom plastered and my mum came over to help paint it. So I've got my home office back again. And for my birthday Victor took me to Duck and Waffle for breakfast, I have wanted to go for such a long time and it didn't disappoint. The view was great and we were really lucky with the weather so could see for miles. I really enjoyed my food - I had poached egg with avocado and crab on my waffle.

and March - finally Spring is coming. We were able to take advantage of having a garden finally, there was a week of fantastic weather which meant we could cut the grass and finally cut back the bamboo at the back of the garden. I planted some seeds I bought from the supermarket and had lunch outside a few days in a row. We also finally did some small jobs around the house - putting up the kitchen blind, fitting a lock to the bathroom door and putting up my spice rack. Quite small jobs but they made a big difference. We're making slow but steady process in making this house a home.

Wonderings Lately :: March 2021

March marks a year since we started working from home, social distancing and really taking things seriously. This month everyone seemed to feel quite reflective, thinking back to last year and the naivety that we had around how long things would last. I remember wondering whether I would actually get to the end of the 30 day yoga challenge I started the first day of wfh. It feel stupid to think that now, but really at the time it was only supposed to last a few weeks.

On the 1st March I dug out the Mărțișor that I bought in Moldova when I visited for interviews in 2019. This little broach symbolises the coming of spring and the tradition is to wear this everyday in March and on the last day of the month tie it to a tree. I like learning about little things like this when I've travelled abroad and I enjoyed wearing this just for me on the first of March.

I took this photo one evening when I walked to Balham to refill my washing up liquid. I don't usually walk as it's a nice cycle but my bike was vandalised and is now out of action. The walk obviously took slightly longer but it was also a nice route through Wandsworth common and strange and exciting to be out of the house when the sun set!

I've finally got into a nice routine with working out at home. Pilates and Barre classes through an online zoom subscription. I'm also pleased that my ivy plant has started growing again, after giving me a scare over winter immediately after I cut it back.

This book was slow to get going but once it did I devoured it and it's a trilogy so looking forward to the next two being released!

I went on a long walk to Wimbledon park which has this great big pond (lake?) and a delightful sunset. 

I met a friend for a walk in Battersea park and decided to walk home, past Albert bridge; one of the prettiest in London (in my opinion). I over-estimated my capacity to walk this far, after so much time barely moving and my legs were seriously aching for a couple of days afterwards.

I don't know how I am going to survive my first netball game when things start up again.

One whole year since we were all instructed to work from home. One year since that Monday evening when I walked in from work and Victor was watching Boris Johnson announce that all who could, should start to work from home and minutes later we were texted from work telling us not to come to the office in the morning.

This office space in our spare room has made wfh so much easier for me, I am luck that I can use Victor's desk, keyboard and monitor for work. Sir Woofington helps out on cold days so I don't have to have the heating on for the whole day!

The view from the window could certainly be improved upon though, that's for sure!

Wonderings Lately :: January & February

Well the year begun with that usual sense of anticipation and excitement. New Year is a celebration I prefer low-key in normal times so I was quite happy with a nice meal at home and fireworks on the TV. It's a shame that the tele-visual offerings were so dire - especially with such a captive audience - but thankful for surprise fireworks anyway.

So January began, and we all kept our optimism for a few days, remembering that there was a vaccine now, surely things will be getting better from now on? Unfortunately, the reality was that things were pretty much the same (or slightly worse) than before and we were back fairly quickly in a national lockdown once more.

So what is there to update each month? We've not really done much of anything. We are lucky, very much so, and we still have jobs and these lockdowns allow us to save money, which we really need to pay for our wedding. But that's so hard to plan for when things are so unknown, and life becomes so boring when it's so monotonous. The weather is grim, the days are short and I'm basically hibernating at home.

So I've not taken a lot of pictures, and I don't have a lot to write about as wanderings or wonderings.

As we move through March, the government's plans for easing are starting to be implemented and I am glad these are being done slowly and cautiously. Hopefully it is for the long term this time; third time lucky? I'm also anxious about returning to 'normality', life is very boring but it's also very easy at the moment. I have no plans and I need to go nowhere but home. What is life like post-COVID? Are we ready to find out?

As March starts to bloom, spring is in the air, days are longer, and the sun shows up a bit more. There is much optimism, and a little bit of trepidation is probably wise. We proceed with caution.

Lately...

I bought a new (to me) phone. Snazzier than my old one, which will soon be recycled.

Got this new tea pot for my birthday and absolutely love it! So much joy!

Here's Boris announcing the 'road map' out of lockdown. I really wish he'd brush his hair.

I went for a long bike ride on a nice day in Feb back to my old neighbourhood in Canada Water. Loved a change of scenery and revisiting somewhere familiar.

I enjoyed my birthday, despite the lockdown. I never expected that we would still be under such tight restrictions on my birthday but alas we were. I enjoyed a walk in the park with a friend, although less impressed with her sellotape (!) and Friday fish and chips. Since it was Valentines weekend Victor and I also enjoyed a fancy waitrose 3 course meal deal dinner. <3

Got a tiny bit of snow and it was very exciting!

And the majority of the past few months have been wedding prep. I'm crocheting and creating felt flowers plus drying rose petals for confetti. What else can you do with every evening in front of the TV?!

Victor's Christmas chocolates lasted about 2 weeks and I ate only about 3 or 4 of these.

Took a long walk along a new to us bit of the Wandle trail. Unfortunately not a particularly attractive outer London walk but nice to visit somewhere a bit different still within walking distance. This was probably the nicest part of the walk.

These photos are in the wrong order, so these last two are from our New Year's Day visit to Whitstable. Not too busy (unlike the parks in London), we had a lovely but chilly walk along the sea, blowing away the cobwebs and starting the new year fresh.

Wanderings Lately :: December 2020

How to top off the year that was 2020? Still plenty of time at home, leaving the house a minimal amount mostly for the supermarket and lots of Christmas prep.

Last minute changes to government restriction meant that my Christmas wasn't quite as planned, but thankfully we were still able to spend time with family. I experienced my first Polish Christmas (Wigilia), managed another successful Christmas pudding and cycled again to the centre of town to check out the lights. Things looked pretty different than they did in April.

Whilst things were different this December, this was more a continuation of the year we have had and are now fairly used to. It's frustrating how last minute the decision was from the government but we should really be used to these U-turns by now.

As 2020 comes to an end, we all look to 2021 with hope and expectation for a better year.

Christmas Prep

I missed Stir-up Sunday slightly as I was not able to find my pudding basin. In lieu of the proper equipment, I used two separate pyrex dishes. This ended up being fortuitous as I was able to deliver the smaller one to my mum and dad and keep the larger one for us. I persuaded Victor to watch Last Christmas, which was a weird film with the premise based on one line of a Wham song - tenuous.

We decorated near the beginning of December, and yet again a new look for our fireplace.

Light Fantastic Train

In between lockdown 2.0 and tier 2/3/4 we were able to keep our plans on the Light Fantastic train on the Epping Ongar Railway. It was good fun and the train was lovely and warm and comfortable. A nice festive way to kick off December,

More Days at Home

I managed to finish my Christmas bunting, which is decorating the kitchen. We managed a meal our at the local pub - although they didn't have mulled wine so I had to be content with mulled cider.

I cycled along the river once more, Craven cottage renovations coming along well. Bought these new sparkly, spotty tumblers which I absolutely love! We invested in a monopoly board, which I of course lost the first game of :-(

And finally I went into central London to see the lights, which were a bit lame on Oxford street but Bond street shops had made more effort. Also honourable mention to Fortnum and Mason for their advent calendar decorations.

It was all a lot busier than last lockdown, despite being in tier 4 and no shops open. The difference being, people there to see the lights, plus more businesses having now been able to adapt and offer take away. Last time I went to Covent Garden it was closed, and empty. This time, a few restaurants were open for take away drinks (and probably food).  Buck House also looked quietly majestic as I passed her on the way back home.

It's CHRISTMAS!

Photos in order:

1. Was stitched up by my brother and had to transport this 16kg on my bike from Dalston to Wandsworth.

2. Christmas Eve tipple of my favourite whisky drink.

3. Christmassy jumpers of Christmas Day

4. Barszcz

5. Zupa Grzybowa

6. Carp, Salmon, salad and potatoes

7. Christmas Day breakfast with homemade hollandaise