Summer 2020

June

We're into June now and lockdown remains in place in Scotland. Last week, for the first time since March, it became legal to visit one person from another household at a 2 meter distance and to play sports like golf and tennis but we're still a long way from normality. Surprisingly I'm not getting bored yet. I guess I'm better at entertaining myself than I thought - I'm really quite happy here for the most part.

Last month I ran 10km for the first time ever. It was hard but I'm very happy to have done it! It took me an hour and 10 minutes which I'm pleased with. I've also done a few shorter runs, about 5k, which are a lot more manageable! I've been on a couple of cycle rides which had some really nice views but an awful lot of steep hills. The roads were pleasantly quiet and I met far more cyclists than cars.

I've been doing some workout challenges, some more enjoyable than others. I did two 5 day challenges by Fitness Blender and they were really good. I like that they are only 5 days long and each day targets different muscle groups. I also did Chloe Ting's 2 week shred challenge and hated it. Well, to be fair, the individual workouts weren't that bad but the repetition really wore me down. You do the same exercises every single day with only a small variations and by the third day I was over it. Hopefully it improved my core strength but I definitely won't be doing any more of her challenges.

July

It's now mid-July and lockdown is gradually lifting. We can now do most things but the risk of coronavirus remains so there are still plenty of precautionary measures in place and things are very much not yet back to normal. There are around 20 new cases each day in Scotland and other countries are going back into lockdown as cases rise again. Shops have reopened but we have to wear a facemask inside and stay away from people from other households as much as possible. I've sewn myself 2 masks since it looks like facemasks are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

I've met up with friends and family a couple of times, played some tennis and gone to the beach which has brought a small amount of variation into my life. I've particularly enjoyed walks along West Sands where it is very easy to isolate and there's no need for someone to hide in the bushes every time you meet.

My new favourite thing is podcasts. They're not something I ever tried before but, since signing up for a free trial with Spotify premium, I've been surprised by how good they are! I can listen to them when out walking, baking, picking fruit in the garden, sewing... anything that requires eyes but not a lot of thinking. I've found some great French podcasts so I try to listen to at least 10-20 minutes of that each day. I've also found some really interesting channels discussing current economic and social issues.

I've taken up knitting and made a few easy things including a hat, a cushion cover and a pen pot cover. It's a good alternative to cross stitching but I usually get the size wrong and have to restitch everything multiple times. I've enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and learning new stitches. I plan on joining the university knitting society next semester!

I've read some great books over the last couple of months. I got The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult for my birthday and finished it in less than a week. It's a beautifully written novel exploring some of the lasting effects of the holocaust. I also read Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng after watching the TV series and would highly recommend it. It addresses many important social issues including race, class, wealth, sexuality, adoption and abortion. Currently I am reading La fois où... j'ai suivie les flèches jaunes by Amélie Dubois, a Quebecois author. It is a much larger book than I would normally attempt in French but it was gifted to me by my French tutor when I left Quebec and has sat untouched on my bookshelf ever since. This summer I have finally got round to tackling it and I've been pleasantly surprised by how readable it is. I'm over half way through now and it's seeming far more achievable. I don't understand every word but I understand enough to follow the story and I just read a few pages each day. It's about a Quebecois author who travels to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago which might not sound very exciting but it's so well written that it makes a very entertaining read.

At the moment we have lot of fruit and vegetables ready in the garden which is one of the best things about being at home for the summer. We've got plenty of strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries, peas, potatoes, beans, carrots and cabbage to name a few and I've been helping a bit with picking it all. I've also been cooking and baking and just made some redcurrant and almond biscuits which turned out well.

I'm feeling very ready to get back to Aberdeen. I feel really unproductive at the moment and life has become so repetitive. I do the same walks, see the same people, work on the same projects every day. I miss the city, the constant events, the variety and the social life that I had at university.

#lockdown #summer #lifestyle #update