It’s no secret that things haven’t been all that easy here in Melbourne for a number of months now. Whilst I have definitely had some rough patches along the way, over the last little while I have been trying to focus on some of the things I am seeing as silver linings of lockdown. Most of them are very small, but each of them has been helpful to keeping my spirits up. I’d love to hear about any of your silver linings of lockdown too!
Getting to know local traders
Spending so much time within close proximity to my home, and wanting to support local businesses as much as possible, has meant I have become quite the regular at a few places. Back in the day I only occasionally got coffee from local cafes on weekends, and mixed up my visits to cafes and restaurants. Whilst I am still trying to spread my dollar around as much as possible, there are a few cafes and a bakery that I head to so often that I now have a great relationship with the staff. It’s definitely a nice feeling when I can’t see anyone else regularly!
Trying more local takeaway options
I was never really a takeaway person before this year. It was really only something I did when I had friends over, or otherwise a handful of times a year, otherwise I was much more likely to eat-in somewhere. Given I have been lucky enough to have had secure employment this year I made a choice to order a lot more takeaway to do my small part to support local businesses. As a result I have been trying a lot of restaurants I had never ordered from before (plus a bunch of my favourites I used to love sitting-in at) and I have a lot of new favourites. My list of places to visit when everything re-opens is getting pretty long, that’s for sure!
Daily walks in my neighbourhood
I’ve always loved where I live – I chose to buy around here after living in the area for a few years beforehand so I’ve been in the area for a decade now. However, it’s safe to say I have never walked my local streets anywhere near as much as I have this year. I have been trying to take different routes, walk on different sides of the streets and go down every alleyway as part of my morning walks, and I’m loving it. I’ve seen all the trees change over the seasons, noticed things I’d never seen before and really gotten to know the area. I’m lucky enough to have a good mix of urban streets and access to the Yarra River and parks for nature, and I’ve never appreciated it more.
Regular video calls with friends and family
I know lots of people are well and truly over zoom catchups, and I’m definitely not doing as many as I was in lockdown 1.0 either. However, one of the absolute silver linings of lockdown has been establishing regular catchups with friends – some who don’t even live locally so I wasn’t seeing them all that often anyway. It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to realise this was a useful thing for us to do in-between times we could physically see each other, but here we are! My sister moved to the US earlier this year and we have instituted a family chat every Sunday morning which we may not have done in we weren’t in lockdown at our end, but I’m so glad we have. Silver linings of lockdown for sure.
Rekindling my love of reading
I have talked about all the reading I have been doing previously on the blog, but it’s definitely been one of the silver linings of lockdown. Finding myself needing to have non-screen time activities I can do every night – in between all my puzzles! – I turned back to books and it’s been excellent on so many fronts. I have been jumping around genres, but no matter what having a good book to read as I wind down at night has been absolutely key to getting through lockdown. It’s a habit I fully intend on keeping up whenever things go back to some kind of normality.
Getting to enjoy my home
I renovated my little apartment at the start of 2019 and whilst I’ve got lots of enjoyment out of it since then, it’s really come to the fore while spending so much time home this year. I’m so very, very glad I upgraded my kitchen as it’s been getting more of a workout than ever, and it’s so much easier to keep clean and organised these days. I’ve also spent way more time in my spare bedroom (now home office) than I ever had before, so it’s given me lots of ideas for ways I can make it more functional and comfortable once shops re-open. It’s going to continue to be a space I need to use regularly for at least the rest of 2020, so I might as well make it work for me!
Seeing how my plants are changing
Speaking of things I love in my home, my ever-growing indoor plant collection is definitely one of my favourite things. Being able to pay closer attention to how the light moves across rooms at during the day, and move my plants around accordingly has resulted in some pretty happy growth. Being able to watch the growth has been a highlight too! This certainly falls into the small-things bucket but really, in lockdown times the small things are sometimes all we have!
Have you found any small silver linings of quarantine?
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!