Inching Closer to Freedom

Hello, dear readers! I hope you are healthy and well!

Things here over the last week have been fairly quiet with a splash of excitement, NZ switched down to level 3 lockdown which meant we could – cautiously – leave the house to get a take away coffee and (delicious) roast veg pie from a lovely cafe around the corner from our home. It has afforded us a bit of a reward for taking walks! How I’ve missed hot chocolates made by other people (haha)!

The days are getting colder and the chill wind gets chiller. Winter is beginning to knock on our door and I’m sad to already see less critters in the garden with the weather being so windy and cold – but we have received some very welcome rain and my plants are much happier for it! I tried my hand at making dandelion tea for the first time which was interesting, needless to say it’s not exactly something you drink for the flavor. I’d read up on it and, to my surprise, found that it has plenty of health benefits (no, really). Being an IBS sufferer I thought I should try it. But to be completely honest I’m not all that jazzed on the taste so I haven’t consistently consumed it to feel those benefits. Instead, I’m thinking of blending it with some red bush tea and honey to add a little flavor. Watch this space if you want to see how badly well that goes…!

We went to the supermarket on Saturday to grab some things for home and ended up in a bit of a pickle when the car battery decided to die in the parking lot. Being in lockdown, I’m sure it’s a fairly common thing at the moment. But what makes our situation hilarious is the fact that we live only 3 blocks away from the shop and decided to take the car to keep it running (and because we were doing a big shop that we couldn’t comfortably carry home). Thankfully we have an amazing friend in the neighborhood who was able to come rescue us with a jumper kit! I hadn’t seen her in so long, and hadn’t been able to catch up yet due to lockdown, and I wished so much to give her a cuddle, but enthusiastic waves and profuse apologies/gratitude had to suffice.

Once we got the car running, we decided that it was worth going for a bigger drive around the peninsula to charge the battery a little. We dropped off the shopping and boosted off to do some sight seeing around the beautiful bays – unable to leave or switch off the car but that didn’t really stop me from popping out to snap a few pictures of the gorgeous views. Call the police.

New Zealand really is such a beautiful place, and each region is different. One minute you are in rural lush green farm lands, and the next in a desert passing massive, snow-topped volcanoes. I hate driving because I can’t gaze out the window and stare into the amazing scenery!

In other news, on 4 May 2020, for the first time since COVID-19 hit New Zealand we finally reached 0 new cases! Followed by another beautiful 0 the next day! I know that it won’t last, and that it will probably come in waves until (if ever) a vaccine is found, but I can’t help but be so happy and grateful that at least for a short while people are safer and can be hopeful again. Like I’ve said before, I love working from home and being in my bubble, but one thing I can’t wait for is the freedom to travel. We love hopping in the car and going on big drives, and I long to go back to Auckland to see my friends there again. I also hope to go to the South Island once travel restrictions end and, eventually, Europe.

I’d longed to see more of the world since forever, but somehow always find ways out of it. It’s too expensive, I’m too busy, I can’t leave my cat for that long… Some excuse always finds me. But the fact of the matter is that I am simply afraid. I get painfully shy and awkward, and the thought of communicating with other people makes me shudder. But during this lockdown (and after plenty of meditation on mortality) I’ve come to realize that I need to suck it up and just do it. Spend the money, find the time, find a cat sitter. Even if the timing isn’t ideal, it’s better than never allowing oneself the freedom. So I would love to start planning a trip abroad to Scandinavia and the UK! I want to see the lands where my ancestors lived before leaving for the Cape of Good Hope, and breathe the crisp northern air, and feel the isolation of rural Sweden and Norway.

On that note, I recently discovered something super interesting about my family tree. But I’ll leave that for another post because it’s a bit of an adventure! In the meantime, be safe and be kind. Thanks for stopping by!

Til next time,

Madi

xx