Recently I read an article in the paper stating (in a slightly exaggerated an excited tone) that life in the country is so much more stressful than the city life. It’s author was hoping she would be able to go and relax in London soon (tongue in cheek, I believe). But she was onto something. The past couple of months have introduced us to life that demands more than falling into a rut.

We are staying in and having to cope with families round the clock. One of my FB friends said that cleaning house with the family in is like trying to brush your teeth while eating an Oreo.

Parents are scraping the barrel of creativity to keep their little darlings occupied. Perhaps that explains the complete disappearance of POL hens for sale (point of lay). Yes, it is really lovely to let the children collect the eggs and get friendly with the chickens. Less lovely when you have to trudge through the mud to clean out the coop  in the middle of December.

Meanwhile people who rely entirely on fast food, eating out and takeaways have to at least try to cook the odd meal at home (that’s where the pasta went I think…)

And gardening! Being a lazy gardener myself, this is the first year when I didn’t have the luxury of buying plants every week to replace the ones that I managed to kill. Most of my plants came from seeds that I looked after and watched over for weeks (I also frequently sent them reiki just to help them on their way). The rest of the plants in our veg patch came through swapping with friends. I have NO new ornamental plants of any kind.

Except for the two bonsai trees given to me by a friend at Christmas – they are the source of constant headache to me. The pressure to keep them alive…. I know you are reading this Mrs B!!

The lockdown has truly been a homemaking heaven for many of us. We garden, we decorate, we cook.

Meanwhile the other life, the wildlife, is carrying on. Making homes of their own.