Whatever decade you were born in, you probably think you had the best time of it. Even today's children, driven to school, never allowed out to play and given ipads for distraction, will probably look back and said the 2020s were marvellous.
I have very happy memories of childhood - it was a rough tumble time of grazed knees, skipping, dens and fields full of wildflowers.
Covid situation: The UK is still in lockdown, imposed shortly after Christmas. Non-essential shops, restaurants, pubs and gyms are closed. We're allowed out for daily exercise and trips to the shops. Workers are encouraged to work from home if it is feasible. The vaccination program reached 15 million by the end of February with the goal of all adults having been vaccinated by July. I am working from home, full-time, as a digital marketer.
Monday Feb 1
Did a workout at home. J's jab booked for Thurs. Hand held vacuum came. I can't stop using it everywhere.
Tuesday Feb 2
Didn't do a walk, looked like rain. Also v busy with work. Not a very satisfying day. Lots of irritating things to deal with. Captn Sir Tom died aged 100. What wonderful achievements he had, particularly in the last year of his life when he inspired so many to walk and to raise money for charity.
Wednesday Feb 3
Did 4.4 miles trails. Good to be out even though it was raining lightly. Quiche and salad. Busy day.
Thursday Feb 4
No walk. So busy had to do Zoom calls without any makeup on!! J had jab.
Friday Feb 5
Beautiful day. Had day off. Did a tabbing walk Tesco (large loaded-up rucksack walk). J took a lot of old electrical items to tip.
Sat Feb 6
Did trails walk. J and his son went for a run and you can see them in the distance. Pick of the Pops was unusual in that it featured 1976. Radio 2 is so determined to get younger listeners it is now banning POTPs from playing music earlier than 1976. I tried a home gel manicure -see what I thought.
Sun Feb 7
Did workout. Did a blog shoot in the conservatory which J has tidied. Roast chicken for lunch.
Mon Feb 8
Woke to snow, not v deep. Minus 2 degrees. Did golf course walk with J so he could use his 360 degree camera to create a snow video. Horribly busy and felt under pressure. Watched The Great, The Bay
Tues Feb 9
Slept badly for just 4.5 hours. Was visualising the village where I grew up. Busy day but got a lot done. J got down a sack of clothes from the attic I hadn't seen for years - see more on this.
Weds Feb 10
Still a lot of frost but blue sky so did trails walk with water jump. Squidgy texture of mud and frost. Tech issues with blog and link-up didn't go live. Was afraid I'd been hacked (I hadn't).
Thursday Feb 11
Bitterly cold. Thin layer new snow. Did workout. J ran. Came back freezing and sniffing. Busy afternoon sorting ads for work. Had salmon fillets. Watched last Call my agent and started Valhalla Murders (we didn't watch it again).
Friday Fri 12
Minus 1. Day off but feel tired and sad. Social distancing may continue until autumn. Then had good news, invited to book my jab online. Watched News of the World film (6 out of 10).
Saturday Feb 13
V cold but sunny. Walked to Waitrose to get saffron (5 miles). Haven't been there since Dec. Watched Spurs, who lost: I captured a bemused Hugo Lloris after letting in a goal. Then we started The Killing series 2 ep 1.
Sun Feb 14
4 degrees. Didn't go out. Did a 3 outfit blog shoot. Roast beef. Seems we may not be out of lockdown until April. Sad to miss my 2 favourite times of the year again, Mothers Day and Easter. We didn't mark Valentine's Day - not for us. Bird bath and water butt are frozen.
Mon Feb 15
Walked Tesco in rain, back hurting. Seem to have pulled a muscle somehow. Snipped my fringe as it's getting ridiculous. Had quiet day work-wise.
Tues Feb 16
Set off on walk but had to turn back. Could barely walk. Back very painful.
Weds Feb 17
Jab day! Such a great day out. J drove me to the health centre as it was a few miles away and not one I've ever been to. The young man who vaccinated me with the Pfizer/BiONtech jab was more than happy to facilitate a photo - in fact his mum, also working there, took it. The feeling of relief afterwards is immense.
Thurs Feb 18
Blue sky walk, 'reverse ferret' which is a trail walk but reversed.. Clouded over when I got home. V busy. No side effects from jab (and never did have).
Fri Feb 19
Weather forecast was good so wore light jacket and short sleeved top. But the wind was colder than I expected so I didn't enjoy it v much. Busy day with a big virtual event happening from 1 March and lots to do. Normally it would be a live event in Nuremberg and it's sad not to be going there.
Sat Feb 20
First day in nearly a week that I walked without pain. Warm, 15 degrees and sunny. Walked to Waitrose, 5 miles, to get birthday card for R and daffodils. Did family Zoom quiz for the first time. Predictably lots of technical problems before everyone got into their groove. We finished the 2nd series of The Killing. Loved it.
Sun Feb 21
Did blog photos for a beauty shoot. Made a tagine for tomorrow and freezing. Roast chicken. Started The Legacy (Prime).
Mon Feb 22
Promising warm day. Did trails walk 5 miles. Took a wrong turn. Stressful day. The lamb tagine was nice but disappointing in that I couldn't really discern saffron dates or apricots
Tues Feb 23
Got straight to work at 8 as I had a lot to do. Finished at 6.30. I could have carried on until midnight as I had booked for a virtual marketing conference in the US. But work life balance important so will watch the sessions on demand.
Weds Feb 24
Trails walk. Beautiful spring day. Horribly busy at work. J surprised me with a new leather strip for my desk, under the keyboard, replacing one that had become very tatty. He likes to buy useful presents, he's not one for flowers or fripperies.
Thurs Feb 25th
Workout first time for ages. Hoped it wouldn't be too busy but it was.
Fri Feb 26
Day off, day of care. Our company allows us an extra day off each quarter. 12 degrees. Sunny. Did 5.2 mile walk with J. He showed me a clump of snowdrops hidden away in the forest. Sadly, they have now been dug up by thoughtless people. Did a couple of hours in garden, weeding brushing pruning. Nothing has died except possibly erigeron (fleabane). Cleaned bathroom, wrote Fri favourites.
Sat Feb 27
Another lovely day. Did the Mud Walk. Wasn't expecting quite so much mud, as it's been dry for last few days. 5.3 miles. Started watching Shooter
Sun Feb 28
Cloudy. Wrote blog post. Drove to Epping, first time since Jan 3. Got a few bits in M&S. Sadly the clothes have gone! Roast beef. So far I've walked more than 200 miles since Jan 1, so on target to do 1,000 miles in 2021, if I actually do it seriously again.
How was your month? What's the Covid situation where you are? Do let us know in the comments.
I'm back tomorrow with #WowOnWednesday. See you then.
It's the monthly round-up of TV, book and podcast reviews. I didn't necessarily like all of them - but you can always count on me for being honest and objective! Without further ado....
I have particular requirements for beauty products. For age-related issues like lines, pigmentation, dark shadows under the eyes, dull skin and dryness -we need specialist products to hide imperfections and help us look radiant.
