Hello out there dear people of the blogosphere, how are you doing? I have to admit I feel a bit strange asking this question almost daily. Do we want to focus on our feelings? Wouldn’t it be better to just ignore them and distract ourselves with activity? Well, my experience is that suppressed feelings come back and bite you in your behind one way or the other. You either get properly depressed or you get physical problems like headaches, stomach pains or colds. The age-old adage of body and mind being a union is very true.

So what to do when you have enough of isolation or hearing about our slightly out of touch with reality politicians? If you have a good friend or patient partner allow yourself a good old moan via phone if need be. As long as you don’t keep moaning for the rest of your life it will clear your system. Or allow yourself to cry. Nothing wrong with crying alone or together. We are losing and have lost a lot even if no one close is affected by COVID-19. And grief is best expressed with crying. I have started to think that these feelings have developed for a reason so why not using them properly? But it’s also absolutely fine not to do either. Just get on with what works for you!

Does all of this sound patronizing? I hope not because that’s not how it’s meant. I just try to make sense of all this commotion.

In general, I have decided to rather write about more positive matters. There is enough sadness, stress and uncertainty out there I don’t need to add my portion to it. However, I also try to stay true to my experience and in recent days it has been one of sadness. I miss our walks at the beach. I feel for everyone who has lost someone to this virus and I am in absolute awe of anybody working as a health worker, carer, cleaner and other key workers.

Yes, it’s Thursday so I try to provide my bit of clapping for the new heroes on our lives 😉

But how was my day so far? Well, I have to mention for newcomers that I schedule my posts for about 1 AM my time (GMT) for reasons unknown. I write these posts the day before in the morning, so we are talking Wednesday between 9 and 10 AM. My day seemed to start at 3 AM when I woke and needed some more painkillers. At first, I could not fall asleep again, so I used the time to send out my prayers and blessings to all of you. At 4.30 he clock went because the best husband (Jeremy Clarkson voice) in the world has to work early. As I can’t walk he dog, currently, he gets it in before he goes. I could, of course, stay in bed, but I feel that would be unfair as he does so much for me. The least I can do is make him a cup of coffee and say goodbye when he leaves.

Today I decided to get dressed. I’ve been a proper couch potato since I ook the dressings of my wounds because I was scared that any clothes besides my dressing gown would rub on the scars. The unwanted side effect was that I became less and less motivated to do anything. That had to stop. And guess what? Instead of directly heading for Farmville2, I wrote this post first. Result!

The tv is running while I write, and the back door is open. It’s rather warm already, and I like to hear the sparrows bicker 😉 . I don’t seem to get enough of housing programs like “Escape to the Country” and “Homes under the Hammer.” Thanks to Freeview, all of them are repeated continuously sp I won’t get bored anytime soon. I even had a short walk to the front of our property to check on our front flower bed.

Let’s remind ourselves why we are here:

Linda over at “Life in Progress” has started the “What day is it anyway” blog event. She invites us all to share a little of our new daily routines, struggles and successes. She writes: “

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are going to be hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

I want everyone to know that you can start discussions with each other in the comments, and if you’d like to write your own “What Day is it Anyway?” post, you can link to this one. Hashtag #WDIIA.

Let’s keep in touch!

And I can only encourage you to take her up on the offer 🙂 . Here is her post from Tuesday.

So peeps, some of us have a little bit more time on our hands than usual. Why not use i for learning something new? I researched free learning possibilities a couple of years ago and decided to share them for your convenience 🙂

HowCast: HowCast is a collection of freely available videos to any topic conceivable. You can learn how to wax your surfboard, how to keep your relationship going, and how to fry your eggs on the sidewalk. Yes, there are the odd topics in there, but if you like learning things in a fun way, this is the right place for you.

IVersity: IVersity claims to be the first platform that offered MOOC in Europe. It offers both free and so-called pro courses which are professional development courses for training professionals in a business. You can access material for free, however, if you want a certificate you have to pay. There are also courses for credits available.

Khan Academy: The Khan Academy is a non-profit organisation with the mission “to provide a free, world class education for anyone, anywhere.” It not only aims to let learners learn but also to support parents and teachers to offer help to their children and students. Certainly good for any homeschooling parent.

Kindle ebooks: Now, of course, not all Kindle books are for free. Also, offering books for free is a bit controversial for authors who have to make a living from their writing. However, if you are interested in classic literature, poetry and philosophy, you can find an array of free ebooks there for self-study. And that can’t be bad?

That is it for today. I hope you can be the rainbow in someones cloud, enjoy some quality time with someone close and learn something new. Take care of yourselves, wash your hands and stay strong despite everything 🙂

Just one more thing before you go: The hospital that is treating me is fundraising for a dedicated breast cancer unit which would allow same-day diagnosis and better premises for patients and staff.

Please, if you can spare a little money hop over to their Just Giving Page and give as little or much as you can. Or share the page on your social media. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

Thanks my dears, for staying with me until the end. I appreciate your presence. Please stay safe, stay kind and remember that you rock!