Travelgal on the move

Disclaimer. Images have nothing to do with this post, they are there to add colour and hopefully cheer you up.

What crazy days we live in. By the time this blog gets posted, who knows what news will come down the line. Everything is changing so quickly.

And many people are now restricted in their movements by voluntarily socially distancing themselves or consciously uncoupling with the rest of the world. A whole new vocabulary is being created . . .

So, if you aren’t debilitated and choose, wisely to distance yourself from the hordes, how are you going about being home alone? People with children will have plenty to do without making a plan, but us solo living beings or with partners either living separately (me) or having to make a space between you, if you have the virus and need to be constructive before cabin fever sets in.

I live in a small flat, one tiny kitchen, one bathroom, one living room and one bedroom. I have a little verandah/sunroom/westwing/office/ gunnadoroom/sad mess space that could get some attention.

My plan for the next few weeks (and I won’t be locked in the entire time; there will be walks, shops, and weekend outings), will be to free my mind to travel without going anywhere and to reimagine my surroundings (that means tidy a few things).

First off, begin the days with a quick look at my computer, then turn it off. Shut my phone down for a day to destress myself and only listen to the ABC radio 702 to hear if the world hasn’t totally lost its shit, while I have breakfast. Then the radio goes silent, and so does my head.

Projected projects:

• Empty the sock drawer and any errant socks with no mates are put in the bag that will disappear all useless items. Slowly partner up the socks rememberng the walks they have shared with you.
• Drag out three suitcases of different sizes plus carry-ons from under the bed and sit with them and talk about the trips we’ve done together, the adventures had and the glories they have transported back from far away places. And, give them a serious cleaning of under-bed dust.

• Look in the wardrobe to begin the spring cleaning tidy-up in autumn. Shut the door and leave as is.
• Make a cup of coffee and lie on the bed and read one of the books by the bed that hasn’t been opened for months.
• Stuff. Head cautiously into the ‘office’ and look through the largest pile of stuff. Some of this stuff is material that can be utilised and wrtten up as travel listicles for a blog. Also dig out the pile of notebooks – as these will yield treasures from past trips. Stuff that hasn’t been written up or used ever can be crafted into stories or special interest itmes – you know – all that stuff that can’t be worked into a commissioned story. In fact the good, bad, ugly, outrageous, weird stuff that we travel writers encounter along the way.
• Make a cup of tea and lie down again and read through the notebooks. Have a little nanna nap. Maybe re read Love in the Time of Cholera.
• Another day, hit the computer and start to cull the photo library – this will take all day.

• Dig around the freezer and right at the back there will be a packet of some sort of mince covered in icy crystals. Drag it out and go Greek. Make mousakka for dinner. Imagine you are on a Greek Island.
• Bathroom antics: check out how many toiletry bags you own and ditch most of them. Wash makeup brushes. Reconsider this blog post as it exposes my slatternly habits.

• Ponder the consequences of opening the big box from IKEA that contains parts of a wing back chair. Do I fill in time and get to assembling this or wait until my partner comes to the rescue with this job? Unponder and do the wise thing – wait.
• Dig out all the postcards purchased and unsent and write anonymous mysterious messages to people I haven’t seen for years. That old address book will yield some beauties.
• Rewatch the final season of Game of Thrones before watching everything on Netflix, ABC iView and SBS on Demand.
• Actually do some work and finish two commissioned features that need work.

• Perfect baking the banana and walnut loaf.
• Set myself up with cups of tea and nibblies and lie on the bed and ring up every person I have pissed off and make amends . . .ha ha, just joshin’.
• Make a list of places in  Australia still to be visited  . . . and plan for the future.
• Explore ‘that’ kitchen drawer and discard any implement you have purchased with good intentions but have never used. Mmmmm the egg separator?
• Maybe stay in bed and read books and eat chocolate.

This is all a fantasy, maybe will tidy up maybe not, but will get cracking on some ideas for articles to suit the times we are living in, and may live in for a long time to come.

What I won’t do is check on my superannuation – I do not need that heartache.

Here, reposted

 https://staythefuckhome.com/

Suggestions from fellow scribes

I’ll be launching a cookbook: “1000 ways with white rice” It’s part of a trilogy. “One potato dishes to last all week” and “And you thought bone broth was boring”. Christine Retschlag

I’m searching out bookie odds on a baby boom from around December/January onwards. Jeremy Bourke

Explore ‘that’ kitchen drawer and discard any implement you have purchased with good intentions but have never used. Mmmmm the egg separator? Leura Lady

I’m sure you have many other clever suggestions to fill time either constructively or not. Doesn’t matter. Tell me . . .