Not tackling the big questions in my world, namely:

+ How did we get to April so quickly?

+ How have I so far managed to avoid The Covid despite extremely prolonged exposure to two infected people over the course of a week?

As ever – this is reasonably epic, so you may want to grab a tea.

♥

01. Use the things!
✅ Fancy glassware and the bowls I made are still in regular use.
(I! Made! Bowls! – Amazing!)

I’d been saving four adorable souvenir tea-towels for many, many years, thinking I’d acquire more and turn them all into a quirky picnic quilt.

2x London from Joan? Hobart from us? Courtney Barnett from Courtney Barnett

But then these thoughts occurred to me:
+ When do I ever picnic? (spoiler: I do not picnic)
+ Am I really going to acquire further adorable quirky souvenir tea towels?
+ Why not just put them into regular rotation which will spark joyful thoughts while doing dishes?

I keep thinking quite a bit about people here and abroad who have lost everything – probably a lot of items that they had saved for special and now will never use.

Use the things!

02. Put my feet in the sea
Not Yet!

03. Buy more indoor plants
✅ Yes! Succulents! Fern! Chain-of-hearts!

quite pleased with these pots, but they are a smidge too shallow inside

Must write a concreting adventures update post in April!

04. 30 days of Yoga With Adrienne in January
✅ Completed January

Told myself I would get stuck in in March. Did not get stuck in in March.

05. Achieve Big Financial Goal
End of September!

06. Use my dremel.
Not yet – but I think I have identified two use cases for the polisher attachment

07. Choose the loving action.
✅ Several items that may on the surface appear trivial, but are big strides in terms of self-worth and disrupting this inclination to deprive myself of stuff

+ We had take-away mid-week for dinner more than once! For many years I’ve very much been way too caught up in the ‘must make all meals from scratch’ thing – in order to feel like a worthy human or the be type of person I aspire to.

+ Likewise we ate pre-made quiche more than once!

+ Conversely, I slow cooked a quite delicious lamb curry despite Don and Joe/Frank being not at home. Usually I’ll mostly eat toast for dinner if they are not around

+ Spent an outrageously large amount of money to have Gelato Messina delivered on the day The Covid visited.

+ I chose to drive the car to a couple of work related catch-ups, rather than face an obstacle course of public transport. This is quite unprecedented and felt somewhat selfish and environmentally terrible. Push past those thoughts carolbaby, the earth will not be destroyed because you drove somewhere twice.

08. Try/learn one new skill each month
I’m reasonably confident new skills were not acquired in March

09. More music through speakers in ThePalace(OLove) on working days.
Alas, no.

10. Show support financially to creators I believe in
✅ Subscribed to David Lebovitz’s paid newsletter. I’d been meaning to for ages, but was prompted by his fundraising for World Central Kitchen’s work in Ukraine

11. Take myself on an adventure in the goget (car share).
Not yet.

12. Attend another sound bath
✅ Was not quite so trippy second time around, because I had an idea what to expect. I did take lots more padding (camping mattress + yoga mat), but offered my yoga mat to a dude who forgot his and used the mattress only. Both mattress and mat would have been quite excellent. I did feel like a very kindly human – so worth a little discomfort!

I felt utterly energised and completely refreshed for at least a week afterward. Everything seemed alive with possibility! I have no idea if this is just because of the enforced laying still for two hours or whether the sounds do anything – but does the why of it even matter?

I will definitely attend the winter solstice one. And take a snuggly blanket! Action item: acquire snuggly blanket

very (very!) quickly constructed lavender and barley eye pillow

13. Take a photo of the sky every day.
March was not great for this – so very much rain. 18/31 days.

25 March: 7:26pm

14. Stay in the country for a weekend
Not yet – we have a $50 voucher from the NSW Govt for Covid stimulus that we should use and also credit from the trip we couldn’t take last July because of lockdown.

Perhaps May for this one?

15. Update supportive footwear.
✅ Completed January

16. Have a serious crack at meditation.
Not yet. Could definitely lay in a darkened room listening to forest or whale sounds right now. Does that count as mediation?

17. Go for a morning swim in the local pool
✅ Completed February
Planned to go once more, but the weather was uncooperative and the pool closed for the season on 31 March.

18. Have a Reiki session.
Not yet

19. Disrupt the daily routine at least once a week.
✅ Nothing particularly earth shattering, more in the realms of micro-disruptions – but those are actually the most achievable.

+ two different lunch catch-ups with former colleagues

+ amazing zoom call lasting almost 2 hours with two incredible new friends from my DFH course. I love these women, and so magical and rare just to find people you kind of instantly bond with.

+ during a rare sunny day amidst in the relentless rain I climbed onto the roof – just because – and took a few photos

+ bit of ruthless decluttering – in Pleasures of Leisure Robert Dessaix calls this nesting which I ADORE and will use henceforth.

+ bought a wee pot of flowers to make the work days brighter


+ isolated for the last days of March. Resolved to never let a day pass without walking outside once we are permitted out.

20. Cultivate a healthier relationship with work
✅ I think still yes, if not giving many fucks is healthier? It probably is.

I know I have been eerily calm in the face of incidents that I would have formerly found rage-inducing.

I was bouncing back and forth between the Information Superhighway and composing this post, and I read That, I began to realise, is the most harmful feeling of all. Not anger but apathy. (from here** via here^^) – which was a bit “oh fuck!”.

Is apathy healthier? It probably is.

21. Get a haircut/trim
✅ Completed February

22. Experiment! Tiny experiments with all sorts of things!
+ Mid way through the month I started eating vegan or vegetarian lunches – and experimenting with falafel or veggie fritters on fresh sourdough – A+++ would eat forever!

I’m thinking to update #3 eat no meat for a week on the 60before60 list to make it a little more sustainable and long term. A week is a bit stunt-y I think. I think at the very least I could be meat-free once a week for dinner and most lunches.

♥

Newsletters:
** Joanna Fuertes: A spoonful of dread
^^ Jessica Stanley: Read Look Think