Day 3 of self isolation

Well I have gotten into a routine already. I get up open curtains and then get dressed, even though it would be easy to stay in pj’s all day. I start work after my first coffee. Kiara or Devin bring the kettle to outside my room where I leave the flask unopened so that they can pour water in without touching anything. After they leave I collect it from the outside table.

My dressing table is now my work area and it just feels more professional to work at a makeshift desk and not sprawled across my bed.

Work starts and it’s standup meetings for the first hour and a half. I try to have a coffee break with a 15 minute teams meeting with a work friend everyday, but we don’t always manage between meetings.

Today after work I felt like I needed to exercise so while Devin was doing his routine on the grass I did mine in my room.

2 days of isolation done

I have been isolated in my bedroom and bathroom for 2 full days now, here are some things I want to share.

• It’s very challenging being in a small space but I know entire families live in less space than I have now
• I’m very grateful for my big windows so I don’t feel totally isolated
• I can get visits from my amazing family outside my window and that is the greatest treasure
• Tarryn figured out how to have 4 of us on a Whatsapp call so that’s great
• It’s great to be able to do a full days work from my room
• I have to make time for breaks; it’s easy to switch on my laptop first thing and then stay working until the end of the day
• I have to make my 10 000 steps interesting 
• Washing dishes in the bathroom is something I haven’t had to do
• I try to limit worrying about the situation but it’s difficult 
• I have a fabulous group of friends and we have creative ideas to keep busy
• I appreciate technology more than ever

Getting home from Russia

I was very happy to be safely back on South African soil on Sunday morning.  I decided I would self isolate for 14 days. Got home and went straight into my room through the side entrance of the house. The kids had made my room so perfect. They cleaned it and made it my haven for the next 14 days.

Kiara moved a small fridge into the room, fresh milk, juice, overnight oats in jars. Candles and a lighter, cutlery and crockery, a big snack box filled with goodies, my favourite mug, books including one called ‘Behind closed doors’ which a Kiara thought was very funny!

Food is delivered to outside my door and once they have walked away I open to collect.

My brother made a whole lot of delicious food while I was away and that’s been wonderful. Nanna makes me lunch everyday too, so Im very well looked after.

I had an assignment to do for Unisa so got stuck in and

Christmas decorations

I love Christmas and decorations make me happy.

I have several that are very significant and the photo decorations are probably the most special to me. I first found silver frame holders when I was in America in 2001 and bought a whole lot at the new year sales. I can’t believe that was 19 years ago.

The one with Richards photo has top position on the tree and then it’s free for all. 

Not every one gets on the tree every year and some people have waited longer than others 🤔 Devin sneakily moves the Arsenal one I made for him higher than my Manchester United one and the way we are playing at the moment, that might be appropriate.

I have decorations from all over the world. Santorini and Venice with Linda, Brugge , Amsterdam Sydney with Tarryn and Luke. I got a Harrods ball from Tarryn, Claire from Wales, Angi from America, the Bookclub ladies always spoil me with beautiful decorations from their travels and I have a handmade treasure from the kids in nursery school.

Some are just pretty and some are special, a bit like the people in my life.

Richard’s 60th

Richard’s 60th

On this day that would have been Richards 60th birthday, some of this school friends asked for photos and I got my collection out. The photos of him all live in one box. For years I could not bring myself to look at a photo of him, so I sorted them and put them all in a box. I decided yesterday to take digital photos of these printed shots in case they deteriorated or got damaged. So many stories were re-awakened by these photos. Here are a few.

This is my favourite photo of Richard and it depicts his personality so well. I remember taking this photo so many years ago. I love seeing the disc he wore around his neck that I gave to him. I still have it

These two show the others loves he had, animals were always part of our

And then one more reminding me how much he loved the telephone. He loved people from all walks of life and loved talking to everyone. Being in the sun and around our swimming pool was another favourite pastime. He loved using the Weber and we still have one the same patio over 20 years later.

How I study

The study journey for me started three years ago. I had been out of school for 35 years when I decide to start my first degree. I knew that I was interested in psychology so that was an easy choice for my first major. Communication seemed a logical choice for me and then I decided that I liked the sound of criminology. I registered with Unisa to do distance learning for the first semester of 2018 and I have never looked back. I love planning out the year with assignment due dates and exam dates and my year planner helps so much with this. I use post it notes in my bathroom window with all my assignments on them and I move them to the other window when I’m done with them. I love the visual aspect of seeing progress and this motivates me.

I buy lovely note books, cheap but lovely for each module and then get all my guides and tutorial letters that are so efficiently delivered soon after registration. My textbooks are kept in the same place, so I have no excuse. I have a huge plastic tub that has beautiful gel highlighters, post it notes, markers and pens.

I like my workplace to be comfortable, so I usually go on to YouTube and search ‘music to study to’, alpha wave music. I have everything I need in arms reach, a big jug of water, my stationery, and then, I set my phone timer for 40- minute sessions. I don’t do more than this without a swim, a walk-about or some other distraction. I draw crazy pictures when making notes and employ techniques that I have recently discovered called memory palaces. So far this has worked fine for me.

My 2020 list of goals

So this is my third list of around 101 goals that are meant to be completed in 1001 days.
I hope to finish these a lot sooner.

1		100 blog posts for 2020
2		48 hours no technology
3		arrange my photos
4		attend a barista course
5		attend a wine course
6		attend another cooking class
7		back up all photos onto dvd and external drive
8		be able to have a conversation in Spanish
9		be in a floatation chamber
10		blog once a month for 6 months
11		botanical gardens in Stellenbosch
12		cape town aquarium
13		complete 10 scrapping unfinished projects
14		complete a one line a day journal
15		complete my coaching certification
16		complete the Neuro Linguistic programming course
17		complete the parkrun alphabet challenge
18		Continue Sunday family lunch
19		create 2 more photo books
20		detox form sugar addiction
21		do a Camino/walking tour
22		Do Jocks trail
23		do the Fresh start challenge
24		Do the Gorky Park parkrun
25		do the tunnel tour in cape town
26		Document “A Day In My Life” in photos.
27		drink green tea once a day
28		drink Vodka in Café Pushkin in Moscow
29		Drop off something to eat at the police station
30		earn my volunteer shirt
31		eat at a Michelin restaurant
32		eat at chefs table
33		Eat at de strandloper in Langebaan
34		eat at Fermier
35		Eat at Marble courtesy of Bethuel and Corne
36		eat at mosaic
37		eat at rockets
38		eat at the Fat Duck
39		eat Vegan for a week
40		Explore the Winelands on the Franschhoek Wine Tram
41		fill my joy jar again
42		finish my degree
43		finish the Zanzibar photobook
44		fly to East London for parkrun
45		fly to George airport for parkrun
46		get a coach
47		get all my bingo times on parkrun
48		get another tattoo
49		get my credit card into credit by year end
50		get my cv up to date
51		get my international tourist badge
52		get my time under 45 minutes for 5 kms
53		get my windgat cap 100 different parkruns
54		get to level 5 in all areas in Spanish
55		get to my next weight loss goal
56		Go on a hike
57		go on a silent retreat
58		go on a spiritual retreat
59		Go to Neetlingshof
60		go to the Franshoek chocolate factory
61		gym once a week for muscle strength
62		have 3 couples over for dinner
63		Have a board game evening
64		have a sanctuary in the garden
65		high tea at mount nelson
66		host/attend a cocktail party
67		Keep a “My Day in Six Words” journal for a month
68		keep my emails under 200
69		know all the European capitals and flags
70		learn new things every month this year at our Fabulousness group
71		learn to remember peoples names
72		listen to Bennie Lewis Ted talk
73		make 10 things from Pinterest
74		make 3 new friends
75		make a Bali photo book
76		make a deck under the tree
77		make all my 900 vitality points weekly
78		mentor someone at work
79		no alcohol in January
80		overnight train trip
81		parkrun in Swaziland
82		pick 5 countries and try a meal from each
83		play a game of croquet
84		read 5 of the books on Susan Frances' EQ reference list
85		read moonwalking with Einstein Joshua Foer
86		read the magnetic memory Anthony Metiver
87		research and practice memory palaces Joshua fore
88		road trip with friends
89		run another training course
90		Rust en Vrede for lunch
91		see Linda once a month
92		send a message to each Facebook friend
93		Send flowers anonymously to someone who needs cheering up
94		shower in a waterfall
95		sort out all my clothes
96		sort out my scrapping room
97		sort out old photos with Dolores
98		speed reading course
99		spend a night at the palace
100		spend a night in the desert
101		spend time with Devin
102		spend time with Kiara
103		Start a compost heap
104		stay at Enjo farm
105		swim at the gym once a week
106		swim with dolphins
107		Take Nanna for a massage regularly
108		Tea garden called birdcage
109		The spice route in Franschoek
110		touch my toes
111		try 10 new wines
112		try Anki
113		use my stamps in scrapping
114		visit 3 new wine farms
115		visit a new country
116		Visit a psychic
117		visit a reiki healer
118		visit Asmara estate for a meal
119		visit Cairns
120		Visit Cancun
121		visit Clarens again
122		visit New York
123		visit Old Trafford again
124		visit Russia
125		visit Scotland
126		visit Swaziland again
127		visit Tangalooma
128		visit Tarryn and Luke
129		visit Turkey
130		Visit Victoria Falls
131		wake up an hour earlier every day
132		watch all the family DVD's