Staying Home: Day 64

I often have to give talks on behalf of the archives, which I have no problem with - I can talk to a room of 150 people without any real nerves. Anything that involves recording, though, freaks me out. There is no logic to this. It just is as it is. This morning I had to do a recorded video interview about using certain types of records for genealogy, which was way outside my comfort zone. Fortunately I was one of three people being interviewed, and didn't have to speak for too long. I decided that putting myself through mild personal trauma in the name of promoting the archive service entitled me to finish a bit early this morning. Some more freelance work came in today with a short deadline, so the rest of the week will be busy. 

I have done quite a bit in the kitchen today. I made soda bread to go with the stock left from yesterday's chicken pot roast, which I turned into soup with mushrooms and noodles. Tesco's own brand plain chocolate digestives are the only dairy free ones we have found, and they keep being out of stock, so I decided to have a go at making my own. They are a lot more substantial than the shop bought ones and everyone seems to be enjoying them. H and TG had chicken katsu curry for dinner, but as our fish box arrived today and M doesn't like curry I made a fish pie for the two of us instead.

It was hot today, so we went for a walk in the woods where it is nice and cool. On the side of the path which leads from the road into the woods I spotted these mallow flowers. I didn't notice until I looked back at the photo just how delicately coloured the petals are. They look like fairy wings. I took the picture below looking up into the canopy of a horse chestnut tree. It was like being inside a green tent.

Poor M, who is oblivious to nature except in a general "this is nice" sense, had to put up with me shushing him repeatedly when I spotted a jay and tried to photograph it. Unfortunately bird photography really doesn't work on an iPhone. I can never get close enough. He was then reduced to eye-rolling exasperation when I stopped to stroke the moss on this branch.

Before dinner M went out for a socially distanced walk with a local friend, taking advantage of the slight relaxation in the rules brought in last week. I do hope they relax a bit more soon, as poor H has not seen her boyfriend since March and it is his birthday next week. They are used to being apart, with her being away at uni or (last year) in Italy, but until now have always been able to plan visits. 

One side effect of lockdown is that I watch a lot more TV than I normally do, mainly because it is a social thing to share with the rest of the family. The girls and I watched most of HP and the Deathly Hallows part one, and M and I watched an episode of Grand Designs. Neither of us has any desire to ever build or design our own house, but it is fascinating watching other people do it. Before writing this blog post there was a minor drama when H decided she was being attacked by a crane fly and I had to rescue her.