Well, this week is interesting. Enforced time at home with the kids and work is bloody hard and not quite the utopia some on social media are trying hard to get us to believe. ‘Cherish this time, slow down, read books, bake, spend quality time together…..’! One website offered the following words of wisdom: “I like to wake up early before the children and do some yoga. I also take 20 mins quiet time after lunch. My children know that this quiet time after lunch is in their and my own best interests and so they read/look at books in their room or play with play dough etc”.

I’d like these children please – mine are up at 6.30am (getting me up any time before this is only for trips to the airport to go on a nice holiday) and while they are really pretty well behaved, the constant ‘mummy’ ‘mummy’ ‘mummy’ ALL DAY is wearing. On Monday I found myself gently rocking on the stairs and it was only day 1!

Quite frankly, it’s awful and reaffirms my decision to work full time away from small humans. The kids’ school has devised a fully online teaching schedule (which is utterly amazing) but trying to manage 2 kids online (while herding the third) across multiple online platforms and in two year groups, each with their own background class chatter and two full time jobs (which have taken online calls and meetings to a new level) is beyond my fairly good organisational skills. I need a PA to manage online activity in the O’D household. Obviously, now, that would have to be a virtual PA so yet another blasted platform………..

This strangest of times we find ourselves in has however, spurned some of the best global humour ever! The memes, gifs, videos and songs made in the past few weeks have made me laugh to the point of snotting many times!

It also means that I am home and so can actually put dinner on the stove or in the oven in time for us all to eat together. It hasn’t however allowed me to find a dish that all five of us can eat without moaning- the search goes on! In the meantime, here’s one COD and I love!

Squash, tomato and spinach pasta (GF, VG)

This recipe is one I’ve made a few times. It is from our fantastic local veg supplier Living Larder who send a recipe card with the box every week and we often try them out.

I’ve put the recipe below but as with most recipes, I ‘tweak’.

I used spinach instead of kale (do people actually like kale?) although cavalo nero is also a great option and as you probably wont have the same veg box, the amounts are about as follows:

4 medium size tomatoes
1/2 a bag of spinach
1 small onion (it doesn’t need too much onion)

I also used gluten free pasta. Having run out of parmesan (lockdown issues), I found some manchego in the cheese drawer and used that instead. Worked well….

I also add some chilli flakes when roasting the squash.

In other news:

• The world has gone topsy-turvy. It’s day 4.75m of Covid-19. We’re home, we’re going nowhere and the future is kid-filled but we have the beach and we found some unicorns out on our allotted daily walk! It’s bad but survivable.
• LOD, EEROD and ACOD all seem happy being home and the cats are beside themselves with happiness at having lots of people to cuddle them
• I miss my amazing Ryde Harrier running family. I’m managing to get out running but it’s boring running on my own. My current running companion options are aged 7 and 10 and a tad moany!
• The first of 2020’s veg planting has begun. Actually it’s strawberries that have had some attention but the seeds have been ordered and a tonne of compost has been delivered so we have some work ahead of us! Having decided not to do too much planting this year, that decision has been revoked in light of Covid-19.
• I’ve also sown my first ever British wold flower bed (the bee variety). Looking forward to seeing what pops up and of course having lots of bees to pollinate my veg.
• The kids are on holiday for the next 4 weeks. I’ve not bought a single easter egg and the queues to get into the shops look somewhat akin to the images from world wars but with slightly better clothing.
• My first virtual drinks with friends has been arranged. In fact, drinking will feature highly going forward! Commiserations to my SA friends and family “South Africans won’t be allowed to go running, buy alcohol or walk their dogs in the streets during a drastic three-week lockdown”. That’s a bitter pill.