We are now in our 9th week of lockdown – 59 days to be precise.  What has that meant for us?

For the first couple of weeks we just got on with it.  What choice did we have?  But then there were days we lost our positivity and needed to kick ourselves in the butt.  Thankfully it hasn’t happened that often and as I have said before, and will say again, we are lucky to live where we do in such lovely surroundings and scenery.  It really does help to be able to sit outdoors and enjoy what we have around us.

We are trying to keep busy and that is not difficult at all.  The hardest part is finding the energy each day.  There is so much to do and our ‘to do’ list is never ending.  I have painted in several areas of our cave house, built two tables by the back door, we have a new front door step, everything in sight at the front of the cave has been jet washed  (including the cane furniture), made a pair of concrete wellies, updated the sign post and …. we are trying really hard to keep up with the weeding.  This last task is the one we mostly fail with. Weeds just grow anywhere and can be inches tall overnight.

 At the moment we are still unable to go food shopping together and we can only go to our nearest shop.  It’s not a deal breaker but John and I have different tastes and what I would purchase is not necessarily John’s first choice (or second come to that).  He is a vegetarian who likes ginger, marzipan and nuts (my worst nightmares) and I am a meat eater who enjoys ribs, marmite banana toasted sandwiches and chicken curries (Johns worst nightmares).   We are very different in our tastes that’s for sure.  So over the 9 weeks my solution has been to take pictures of the items I would like John to get for me.  Generally it’s successful but sometimes not….  it can be exciting to see what I get.  We are trying to stick to the rules and go shopping only when necessary not only because we have been told but because we feel safer not going out.

As of last Saturday I can join John on the daily walks with the dog.  We are allowed to go for a walk within 1km of home and to walk together has been good for us.  We do not have specific times to go out as we are in a small populated area so have the freedom of going out at a time that suits us.   It is good to see the spring flowers, especially the poppies we have all around, and to feel the warmth of the sun as we amble along with the three boys.  As fate has it we have rain forecast for this week but the sun will be back soon.

Other than not being able to take a drive out in the car, or go to our favourite bars and restaurants, its life as usual for us accept that our rental business has obviously been put on hold.   This year was to be our first full year and it started off better than we expected.  We had so many advance bookings we were over the moon.  However, from March the cancellations have poured in.  We have accepted that business will be slow for the rest of the year and money will be tight but so many others are in the same position.  We are not on our own.  Hopefully we can all enjoy our freedom and breaks away in the very near future.

If you would like to plan ahead, please take a look at our cave rentals.  Go to http://www.caveholidays.com and choose a cave that is right for you.   I will be happy to answer any questions you may have or pass on information about our area in cave land.

Stay safe everyone and one day we will look back and hold our heads up high and say we did it.  We got through it and came out of it.