Self-imposed isolation, day 17

Not much to report today (not that there usually is). I cleaned, I cooked, I… don’t know what I did. So I’m just going to post a picture of an Easter egg – I favour the ones with fillings, not the surprise eggs where the chocolate is… not sure you can even call it chocolate. But we sometimes buy these Moomin Easter eggs, because, well, they’re Moomins!

 

I keep the Groke (Mörkö, on the left) by my bed here, because Mörkö doesn’t just appear in the Moomin stories, it is a sort of bogeyman, the creature that children are afraid of in the dark (”Mum, dad, there’s a Mörkö under my bed!”). So, surely having a Mörkö guarding me while I sleep will drive all the other Mörkös away. 😄

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 16

So there’s this story I’m not supposed to be writing 😄 and I’ve been struggling with a question: when should it take place? Back when it was just a budding idea, it was clear to me that it had to be the 19th century, but when exactly? Last night, just as I was about to go to bed, I suddenly knew it. I want there to be a performance of a certain opera! (It echoes a central plot element and it might just give me a setting I need.) So today I’ve been reading about that opera – when it was written, when it was performed and where, just what happens in it (I have seen it but are my memories correct?). Could my characters have attended a performance? Can I make it work?

What complicates things is that there are other occurences that need to be happening within the same time frame, or at least should have taken place in the not so distant past. Now I’m trying to figure out if it all fits! This is just an example of how something that is, in the end, a small detail turns out to require a lot of reading (and I haven't really even started!) – and might end up discarded altogether if it doesn’t fit.

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 15

It has now been two weeks. The idea of this post was to look at what happens when you spend two weeks in (self-imposed) isolation. But since the answer is not a lot, this post seems rather pointless.

There are reasons for that answer, though.

- It has not been a complete isolation. I meet my family in video chats several times a day and have even met them face-to-face… if that term applies when we keep our distances and cover our faces with masks. I also have a couple of dear friends providing me company via messages. 💙

- I’ve had practice. For over a year now, since the pandemic came to be, I have stayed at home. I have only ventured among other people when I must go to the hospital for my infusions or blood tests or other necessary medical appointments. Other than that, I have only left the house for walks in the woods or to go to our summer place – which, being on an island, is a rather good place to isolate oneself.

- And look, more practice! I am an introvert and a hermit lone wolf. There have been times when I have spent weeks without the company of other people, mostly on the aforementioned island. All of it voluntarily.

As to what (little) has happened during these two weeks: Some inability to concenrate. Things I normally enjoy (such as reading) fail to interest me – but then my sister-in-law was so kind as to let me know it was the same for her when she felt lonely, and that helped (”OK, so this is normal.”) 💚. I seem to find hot showers comforting, which might be a way of compensating for the lack of human touch.

But there have been no inordinate amounts of chocolate devoured (OK, that may depend on how one defines inordinate amounts 😉). No sitting all day long, staring at the walls. No talking to myself (apart from an occasional ”it’s going to be all, all right.” I read that phrase in a book and it’s driving me crazy not to remember which book!). If I was going to use this blog to document myself going mad with cabin fever, I’m afraid we need a better plan. Going mad for other reasons, of course, is not out of the question! 😄

In the woods about a year ago

Self-imposed isolation, day 14

 Today I have

- had too much coffee (two large cups in the morning – daylight saving)

- cooked (sweet & sour chicken for tomorrow)

- had three video chats with family (one more coming up later!)

- talked to dear friends (OK, wrote messages)

- read (when do I not?)

- done some writing (a story I’m really not supposed to be writing, so no more about that)

- read about Victorian fashion, particularly about popular colours (research! And yes, related to that-which-should-not-be-written… sigh…)

- eaten a solid chocolate nougat egg that comes in a real egg shell (Mignon by Fazer)

- named a character in a story my daughter is writing (just a casual suggestion, which, to my surprise, was accepted – if you know teenagers, you know that your suggestion being accepted is kind of a big deal! 😀 Also very proud of my daughter writing a story.)

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 13

An unexpectedly busy day in isolation! It all started with an oven and a desire for pizza.

Since we dared not get take-out from our favourite pizza place, we picked what seemed most appetizing in the freezer section of the supermarket (cheese. Lots of cheese.). My DH brought one pizza for me to heat in the oven, but as I went to switch the oven on, it did not work. Nothing happened. No lights, certainly no heat. The stove worked, though. The user's manual was of no help.

I messaged a question to my landlady, who advised me that the oven does not work when you’re using the dishwasher, but I haven’t used the dishwasher yet. My DH baked two pizzas at home, delivered one to me, picked up the frozen (well... mostly) one I couldn’t bake, tried to get the oven to work, but nothing happened - surprisingly, as he is rather good with this sort of stuff. But he went home, baked the last pizza, and finally we all met in a video chat while having lunch.

Later my landlady was so kind as to come over to have a look at the oven. It turned out that for the oven to work, you have to switch on not two but three buttons, one of which is the timer (which I had tried, but not at the same time with the other two). So, everything worked out and now I know how to use the oven! (Actually, I haven’t tried it… this piece that I have left will go in the microwave, just to be safe. 😄)

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 12

Not much going on today. My daughter came to see me after school, we stood outside in the sun and talked. That was lovely. And hey, Easter is coming…

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 11

 Even in isolation, exercise is important. 😃

 

 

Not just to keep fit – which should also help your immune system – but as a distraction and a routine, and, hopefully, to cheer you up and/or help you cope with stress/anxiety. Those endorphines! I just realised there are lots of quarantine workouts available, and though I’ve thus far stuck to my own routine, I might take a look at those. (Actually, I had this cunning plan to start trying yoga now that I’m supposed to have all this extra time in my hands… right, no, I haven’t found the time yet! 😂)

Self-imposed isolation, day 10

Today was cleaning day! It is a small room, true, but cleaning kept me busy most of this morning. We also had to place our grocery order, and getting a week’s supplies always requires some planning (what to cook and when) and even more coordination now that we live in two separate places. Since the pandemic began, we have ordered our groceries and other supplies online. Only when we forget something or they don’t carry a particular item, does my DH venture into the supermarket. We’ve grown used to it by now. The online selection isn’t quite as good and you can never get fresh bread – but other than that, it is convinient. This may well be a permanent change for us, especially seeing how much I hate going shopping for groceries on dark, cold, dreary winter evenings!

As far as shopping in the time of covid goes, I’m afraid I have bought even more e-books than I did before – as I may have mentioned, I am a big fan of libraries, but going there is not an option now. Luckily, e-books are easily available. Rather too easily… 😏

And here is a magpie posturing on a nearby rooftop.

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 9

I had a good laugh when I looked at the two books that had been left here in this room (by the owners? Previous tenants?). In one of them, a woman isolates herself (😲 What are the odds of going into isolation and there being a book about… isolation?) and the other is titled ”Getting Things Done” (Should I feel attacked? 😄). I have not opened either one, but a day may come when...

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 8

It has now been a week since I moved here. If I was hoping for things to get easier with time, I was wrong. It helps not to think, but for a typical overthinker... so much easier said than done. 😂 Even books fail to distract me, and for someone who loves reading, that is a clear indication that I’m not doing well.

But I did get to see my family today, although briefly (outdoors, safe distances). My daughter made the cutest snow owl ever!

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 7

Today I cooked! Earlier this week, we mostly ate stuff from the grocery store, something you just microwave – it was easier, as the move came rather suddenly and it is hard enough to get used to this situation without having to worry about cooking. My DH and DD also needed something quick to eat on lunch breaks or after school. But none of us was very happy with those foods, and I actually started to miss cooking!

So, once I got some supplies, I made two different meals, and now we all have food for today and tomorrow. It does take some planning and imagination (I have a limited store of appliances, spices and other ingredients) as well as some driving back and forth, but it was a very good distraction – and now I don’t feel quite so useless.

 

A vegetarian bolognese sort of thing - not very photogenic, I'm afraid! 😄

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 6

I may have spent all day in a single room (not counting bathroom visits!), but in my imagination and/or virtual life I have been to the 17th century Amsterdam and on a voyage to Batavia (reading ”The Company Daughters” by Samantha Rajaram) as well as Germany (30 years war – although I also talked to a rather more contemporary friend there 💙). A short trip to Thailand:

And I started a virtual visit to the British Museum (looking for Celtic artefacts from around 50-60 AD) and… somehow managed to get completely lost within a few minutes! 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 5

The definite highlight of today: food delivery! My DH brought me a big box of supplies, and he had thrown in chocolate! Lots of chocolate! I also got to see him and our daughter (from a safe distance) as they dropped off the provisions.

 

It is almost weekend. We have this habit of celebrating the weekend on Friday evenings. I usually bake something, then we watch a movie and eat ice cream. When our daughter was little, she used to tell everyone that we have a party every Friday! Well, true, only it’s a very small party. 😄 This time will be different, but we’re doing our best to stick to the traditions, perhaps to give us some feeling of normalcy in this weird situation. We will have a video chat, and we even have some Carelian pies (though not home-made, from the store).

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 4

Not much new today. I seem to be unable to concentrate on anything, and even translation failed to distract me. 😄 It feels as if my life is on hold while I wait to go back home. Not knowing when that will be makes it all the harder. But we had a long chat with my DH and DD, which was fun. And it was a bright, sunny day!

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 3

Today was a good day. I got to see my daughter! I know, it’s only been one day when I didn’t actually see her, but we’ve been together very nearly every day for 13 years. She must have been 4 or 5 before I ever spent an entire day without seeing her (we had been apart for a night, but never for a whole day). Now we figured it should be safe if we went for a walk – meeting outside, not getting too close, wearing masks. It was fun, I got to hear about her day, school, friends… but it was sleeting and the streets were icy – so you had to look where you were going but my glasses kept fogging up. Still, that was easily the best part of today! 💗

And there's more! In the hallway, I discovered this bookshelf. For a bibliophile, that was almost like going to the library: a treasure hunt! I do love going to the library and just browsing between the shelves, picking books up randomly. You never know what you’re going to find! You might discover a new favourite series or a new favourite author – and you can try anything at all! Anything!!! This is one of the few areas where I can say I am adventurous. 😁 (In case it’s not clear yet, I love libraries and have actually written about them before here. Now I haven’t been to the library for over a year and it is one of the things I really miss.) So I picked a couple of books, and they’re now in a quarantine of their own. I can’t wait to see what they’re like! 

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 2

The first night here is over. It was not a good night. As a chronic insomniac, it is difficult for me to sleep in a new place (or even a familiar place, at that). Without my family, under these strange circumstances… impossible. This is an old house, so it creaks and groans constantly, and when you have an overactive imagination… well, you can imagine! When my husband is travelling and not at home at night, I usually sleep with one of my swords within my reach (though it would be little use in case of a fire, which is one of my greatest night time fears).

It seems I forgot to pack something quite essential (along with my melatonin, which my DH – Dashing Hero, in case you’re wondering – had to bring me last night): a cheese slicer! Now I have one! So much joy over so small a thing. 😀

I kept myself busy all morning, but after lunch, all this seemed awfully depressing. Even a good book failed to distract me, and that is saying something. Writing seemed too demanding, and so I turned to translation: we are working on an English translation of our first novel. That did give me something else to think about, and now we’re just about to start our first family group chat for the day.

Self-imposed isolation, day 1

Today, after a long period of learning at home, our daughter had to go back to school – and I moved out. The number of covid cases keeps rising and I am in a risk group (and so far non-vaccinated), so we decided to rent me a room. It was not an easy decision – we agonised over it – but there was no alternative that would have been both safe and tolerable. (I did consider barricading myself into the bedroom and using a bucket as a toilet, and my DH gallantly offered to empty the said bucket when needed. True love!!! But due to hygiene issues, that plan was discarded.)

Now I have moved into a small room in an old wooden house. I have unpacked and am trying to settle in. I don’t fear being alone or getting bored, it is the separation from my loved ones that makes it very nearly unbearable. We three are something of a very close-knit unit as it is, perhaps even more so now that we have spent a year almost entirely in each other’s company. They are not far away, however; I can go home whenever I want to. There is that. It is entirely possible that after three hours of this, I will ask my DH to please come fetch me home.

It has now been two.