These were Facebooks updates I posted during the second half of 2020. So much excitement!
Postcard #1 – August 3, 2020
Hi everyone. How are you guys doing?
We are okay. Craig is still working from our living room and running his business via Zoom. This has greatly curtailed my ability to belt out 80s classics at random times of the day; however, I have noticed lower tenant turnover in the building.
We’ve been reaching ever greater heights of introversion and nerdiness as we basically just work, read, watch our stories, and do geeky projects. Oh, and there’s an expedition to Coles once a week for groceries and added excitement. As I’m allergic to the preservative in hand sanitizer (which of course is on everything) this involves some fetching blue surgical gloves, which alas do not always pair well with my ensemble, but do assist my goal of having people keep their distance.
We are staying positive in these trying times. Craig is naturally unperturbable, which is annoying, bien sûr. I am naturally neurotic, so for me the challenge requires immense reserves of both self-awareness and chocolate. Another tip is to filter the week’s news through comedy – Have You Been Paying Attention, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering and Mad as Hell are all excellent.
Covid-19 has meant many adjustments: staying home as much as possible; avoiding crowds; maintaining physical distance; no hugs, handshakes, high-fives; frequent hand-washing. Wait – this is exactly how my life looked before. Guess I was born corona-ready.
One thing though – I get a hurt vibe from my unworn heels every time I open my closet. I tell them, it’s not you my lovely ones, it’s the pandemic – but they don’t understand. They have not stayed abreast of world events. Still, they sure are pretty.
I get a hurt vibe from my unworn heels every time I open my closet. I tell them, it’s not you my lovely ones, it’s the pandemic – but they don’t understand. They have not stayed abreast of world events. Still, they sure are pretty.
A positive development is the chicken place across the road from us, which for years has provided many of our meals, closed down. Well, that’s the bad news – the good news is the owners have taken it over with a similar menu of their own. I don’t know how I would have survived both a global pandemic and the loss of on-tap hot chips (extra crispy) all at the same time.
Well, that’s all from me. So, how have you been doing?
Postcard #2 – October 19, 2020
Bonjour friends. How are you doing? Is everyone ok?
I’m still very much in my pod of hermitude, going out only for weekly groceries and when the cleaners come each fortnight to purse their lips at my pile of neatly stacked pizza boxes. They are neatly stacked! I’m so in love with my gorgeous friends, who keep in touch and prod me to make dates and then stay sweetly silent when I say I’ll need to check my diary (they know there’s nothing in my diary).
Although I’ve definitely had my share of difficulties, this has also been a rich time for me. I’ve made progress on my website and seen my readership swell to now reach fives and tens of people. I’ve become adept at several evidence-based psychotherapies which I self-administer with surprisingly good results and for only a modest fee (chocolate) – plus I’m always available for an appointment. I’ve taken up calligraphy so I can now produce illegible scrawl in both regular handwriting and also a charming script. I’ve completed several art history courses and I’m currently doing a class on classical music (misnomer – it’s correctly called ‘concert’ music, one of the many, many, many factoids I have been bestowing upon Craig when he makes the mistake of asking me about my day).
What else? Ah ouai, I’m also learning French, très slowly, via a 10-minutes-a-day podcast. At this point I can express very basic ideas with poor grammar and limited vocabulary – so I’m ready to declaim against science and disparage women on French websites.
At this point I can express very basic ideas with poor grammar and limited vocabulary – so I’m ready to declaim against science and disparage women on French websites.
As for shopping news… I got a beautiful white handbag for my birthday, but as I go nowhere I’ve been considering carrying it with me to the sofa to watch TV at night. I can keep some Ferrero Rochers in there. I also bought a pair of rose gold Eiffel Tower scissors, which I love so much I just randomly cut up paper. They have made me so very happy, though the librarian has asked me not to visit there anymore.
So friends, what’s been happening with you?
Postcard #3: Emerging From My Corona-Cave – December 17, 2020
Bonjour mes amis. This will be a brief missive because I’m weary from working long hours and eating a surfeit of chocolate and chips.
As 2020 draws to a close I’ve been reflecting… This is the first year I won’t see the fireworks because of Covid. Normally I don’t see the fireworks because I find them boring.
Still, things are starting to return to normal and even I have begun to emerge back into social life. I feel like an Austen heroine preparing for ‘the season’ as I order dresses from London (white jeans from Country Road) and try to remember how one walks in shoes. This reconvening with society has been delightful, because I have delightful friends.
I feel like an Austen heroine preparing for ‘the season’ as I order dresses from London (white jeans from Country Road) and try to remember how one walks in shoes.
Work-wise, I have released a new product. It’s called A CHIC YEAR: 52 Style, Simplicity, and Self-Care Projects For Creating A Chic Life. I have included a link because I know completing chic projects is a high priority for many of you.
Finally, as a Christmas gift to Craig and me, I’ve ordered a new coffee machine, a Creatista Pro. It allows you to name your preferred coffee (make me a Michele, Siri*!) and has a fancy screen. So my life is pretty much complete now.
*Nespresso is not affiliated with Siri and also has no voice activation.
So friends, what’s been happening with you?
Photo by Matthew Henry
Note: Postcard #2 first appeared on A Chic Life.
