As I'm sure is the case with many during the current pandemic, my unemployment has meant that this time has been one of personal projects.
Obviously, my 100 Day Project was one of them though I would have tried to undertake it even when employed full-time. And very little of my project directly referenced the current global crisis.
My situation wasn't directly caused by the pandemic. My redundancy was due to a restructure already in the planning before coronavirus reared its ugly head.
The pandemic has had relatively little impact on my life in that I'm an introvert who spends a lot of time at home, indoors, working on my own projects when not in my day job.
In all honesty, had I been made redundant at any other time, life would have been much the same for the past four to five months.
The greatest exceptions:
I wouldn't have washed my hands so often and obsessively.
I would have been able to take at least one city break with Simon.
I would have spent more time in pubs.
I would have spent more time in galleries.
I would have spent more time face-to-face with friends.
I would have spent less time on videoconference platforms.
I would probably not have been able to spend quite so much time on my 100 Day Project. It may have been incomplete or not completed within 100 consecutive days.
I would have spent a lot of downtime in the gym losing weight and enjoying BodyPump and yoga classes to regain flexibility, balance and strengthening my ankle.
I might have seen more films at the cinema.
I probably wouldn't have cooked as much.
I probably wouldn't have grown or resurrected as many plants as I have. And I definitely wouldn't have been able to start to develop our front garden with the aid of Simon and my downstairs neighbour (whose garden it, in fact, is).
And this last project is one that has, surprisingly, taken up a large part of the past week (and before that, many conversations and time spent researching, contemplating and planning).
Surprising mainly because I've never really been a green thumb at all. Mostly my thumbs (and the rest of my digits and palms and half my forearms) were purple or red from picking mulberries and strawberries in my parents' garden. That's as close to gardening as I ever used to get.
Although our front garden is a work in progress, it's taking shape well so far. Hopefully, most of it will be completed within the next few days, slightly behind schedule.
Our front garden is not nearly ready enough to unveil. But thinking about it this evening reminded me of my visit to Helmingham Hall with my parents in June 2017.
Despite the gardens being a little knocked around from a storm the day before, they were quite impressive and gave me plenty of opportunities to focus my lens on the colours and shapes around me.
So I thought I'd share some photos I took in the gardens at Helmingham Hall. And hopefully, I can share some from my own garden soon.
What projects have you been focussing on during the pandemic, whether in lockdown or not?