Another week has passed

Another week has passed in self-isolation here in Devon. What have I learned so far?

That we are a lot better off than we think. I hear that my daughter (the midwife) is having trouble getting food delivered where she lives. Here I went shopping on Tuesday and there was plenty of choice and enough to go around. Menu planning has gone out of the window anyway, In the end, I just bought enough food for 8 days meals and we’ll make what we can from it. Any leftovers will either be eaten on the next day or will go in the freezer. In a way it’s good, we were having the same old stuff every week and now we’re trying things we haven’t eaten for a while. I’m making sure that I get a few treats as well, as we can’t go out for lunch.

My family all work in the health service. Daughter one is a nurse, now working on I.T.U., her husband is a Consultant. Daughter two is a midwife and Daughter three is in her second year of nurse training. I’ve always been incredibly proud of them and what they do, even more so at the moment. I make sure that they know.

I’m resuming friendships on social media with people that I’d not seen for ages. Thanks to all the gloom and doom on Facebook, I’m searching out people who have something cheerful to say.

Every day is like every other, there is no more distinction between weekdays and Saturdays.

I’ve got some jobs done, things that I was putting off. Do you know what? without exception, they all took less time than I thought they would. Maybe that’s a function of having all the time in the world to do them in. As soon as the weather breaks and we can’t go outside, I’ll start decorating the kitchen.

I’m writing regularly again. After the initial phase of being distracted and devoid of inspiration, I’m starting to get tuned in. I was hoping that life would return to normal within a few months, I now accept that we’re in this for the long haul. I’m joining in a daily writing challenge in one of my writer’s groups and sharing my totals with everyone else, it all helps to foster a bit of community, the feeling that we’re all in this together. Our writer’s group can’t meet, but we have a virtual meeting arranged.

I’ve decided to update a lot of my marketing efforts, as they are becoming tired. With so many titles (27), it always seemed to be too big a job, now I have time on my hands and with no new books to promote, I can concentrate on getting my backlist in order. That means new covers and descriptions, the works.

I have two books on sale at just 99p (99c or 0.99€), first is my debut cosy crime novel, with reluctant amateur detective Andorra Pett.

second, a tale of betrayal and megalomania. When disaster reveals a person’s true worth, what chance is there for those caught in the crossfire? Get the cheezy cover before it vanishes forever.

with more to follow. Just click on the cover image to get your copy.

It’s nice to sit in the garden and drink tea or coffee. People chat to you (from a distance), the air smells cleaner and you can hear the noises of nature, without the low-level background noises of civilisation.

I’ve started exercising a bit more. I have an exercise bike that I didn’t use as much as I do now. In a lot of ways, it’s easier than going for a walk, there’s no need to practice social isolation. I can put some music or a video on and escape for half an hour (or until my legs give out).

I hope everyone who reads this is coping and that your families are OK, stay inside and stay safe.

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