Things I haven’t done

Besides posting here, there are a few things I haven’t done or won’t be doing this month. Didn’t go to see Nick Cave in Cardiff at the start of May. (The gig's been rescheduled for next year.) Won’t be going to Malaga at the end of it. (We're quite relieved we hadn't got round to booking our big September holiday either, as that'd probably have to be abandoned too. In fact, I didn’t go anywhere that wasn’t Tesco, the butcher, or a one-mile loop through town for exercise. Still haven’t put the buttons on the dress I’m making. This month is looking like an awful lot of NO.


One thing I did manage was a nice birthday for Mr Robot. Knowing it might take longer to get presents, I ordered them during April. Usually I’d get him a pile of little things, but this year he had to settle for two big ones, a bottle of Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur aftershave, and a bottle of Ardbeg 10-year-old. (He’d better not mix up which one’s for drinking and which one’s for wearing…)

We also had a nice birthday dinner at home, as going out for a fancy one wasn’t an option. The first two courses were sensible, a celeriac remoulade (recipe from the Brasserie Zedel book) followed by steak and truffle fries, but the pud was a little silly. Earlier in the week he’d said he wanted lemon drizzle dinosaurs with a raspberry ice cream meteor for his cake, so that’s exactly what I gave him. I made the dinos in a silicone mould he gave me for Christmas, and the ice-cream was made in my mini ice cream maker. I got carried away and made a biscuit crater and foliage, and ganache mud too. Mmm, dino apocalypse.
While I may not have completed my dress – Mr Robot did ask “Do you have a fear of completion?” and I fear the answer is “Yes!” – I did finish my Switch sock. It’s done in 2x2 ribbing so it’s nice and stretchy, sliding over the sticks and buttons easily. It should stop my Switch getting scratched in my bag, not that I'll be commuting anywhere for a while yet.
And, of course, I’ve been making magazines for my day job. Still doing the ol’ 9:30-5:30 (unless I’m on deadline when I work for longer; I do a good chunk of unpaid extra time each month). Because shops are shut, Edge 345 was for subscribers and online purchase only; my employer’s online store sold out of copies in 24 hours! It was a special issue devoted to calming, heartwarming feelgood games. Copies are now going for about £25 a pop on Ebay, but I’m keeping mine.
I haven’t dressed up much. Daily Google Hangouts with one of my teams means I do put makeup on every working day, but dressing beyond ‘standard’ is often beyond me, so fancy Fridays haven’t been happening. The space cats skirt made it out of the wardrobe, but that’s about it. I did treat myself to a new cardi (photo at the top of this post); I try not to buy new too often but as soon as I saw the leaf-patterned cardi from Banned I had to have it. It’s very soft, and the leaves are knitted in, not printed on – it’s pretty well made.
Anyway – we endure. All of us. And maybe next time I post here I’ll have finished something.

Stay safe!

Comments

  1. Yep it's definitely endurance at this point, but I'm trying to take the long view about all this. I'm a bit of a slob on the quiet so all this time at home makes it hard for me to dress up but I'm differentiating between work & home wear. Putting on a bit of makeup helps too. I haven't made any grand plans, but trying to read a bit more. I think whatever works for you is the best approach, one day at a time. We didn't get to have our civil partnership or properly celebrate his 50th, but like I say trying to take the long view. Stay safe x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh missing two big events must be utterly awful. One of my Tweeties had to cancel his wedding (the bride to be is American and it was going to take place in the US) and I felt so sorry for him. I hope your civil partnership is extra-beautiful when you're able to have it.

      Delete
  2. That Birthday cake is wonderful. You're never too old for a novelty cake. Congratulations on the special issue. That's great that it sold out online.

    No reason to rush through things as there's going to be plenty of time to do whatever needs doing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, all this time! As I usually feel like there's never enough time for things, I'm quite enjoying having extra.

      Delete
  3. There's lots of things I haven't done or won't be able to do either. We had to cancel our Easter holiday in Holland, and the same will be happening with our UK holiday in June. Looking back, it seems I have done quite a lot - gardening in particular - but still not the amount I thought I was going to do when I was put on reduced hours. It's a relief you still have your job. I'm not sure what will happen with mine as it depends on when or if business picks up again. I've decided not to think about it too much, and just get on with living day by day. I'm loving that dinosaur dessert - it put a big smile on my face when I came across it on IG - and that cheeky photo of you in the garden! Stay safe! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's such a shame you can't come to the UK - everything's still all closed up here. Maybe you'll be able to make it later in the year instead.

      Delete
  4. Loving that saucy photo of you flashing your thighs!
    happy belated birthday to Mr Robot. That dinosaur pudding is an absolute masterpiece, I bet that more than made up for the lockdown birthday.
    That knitted phone case is lovely! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like taking silly photos.

      He's loving lockdown. He's a massive introvert, so not having to see people, and being able to spend all day with his cats, is his idea of heaven.

      Delete
  5. That dessert is amazing! Wow, it really looks delicious!

    We have tickets for Nick Cave in Vancouver in September - I have a feeling that the 10K-seating arena will not be open for a concert then. Sigh. He has been on my "must see" list forever!

    I love your cardi - it's always nice when a pattern is woven in, instead of printed on, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does make me feel like the cardigan will last a good long time.

      Yeah, I can't see them opening a venue that large - not without spacing everyone out loads, and I can't see that being cost-effective.

      Delete
  6. Look at you with your swirly skirt! Cheeky...

    I love your new cardigan and the knitted cover thing is very cool. At first I thought you had knitted some socks!

    Mr. Robot's birthday dinner sounded fab and the dino apocalypse was brilliant.

    Every person I know has had to cancel or miss
    out on holidays,concerts, theatre shows, day trips etc. Hopefully we'll catch up with what we've missed out on later this year or next year when things get closer to normality...

    Take care
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'm looking forward to things starting to be a little more normal, when it's safe. My mum really misses seeing my little nephew.

      Delete
  7. lovely that you could manage a fancy dinner for Mr.Robot!. I'm totally in love with the fantastic dessert you made, those dinosaurs look adorable & tasty! and you even made ganache mud! ;DDD
    Sorry that you have to cancel your holidays, I still hope we can go to Algarve in September, a yearly favourite trip!
    This new cardigan looks lovely!, and you rock your cute dresses!
    Wish you luck with all those projects!
    besos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully you will get to the Algarve - Portugal's not been too badly hit by Covid, has it? And Spain's now starting to loosen up a little from lockdown.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts