Fifteen days ago...more or less

I don't think of myself as a panicky person but past life experiences have taught me to be a little cautious and to follow your instinct. My approach to the current coronavirus is to remove myself as much as possible from the outside world and limit person to person contact. Prompted by my concern for my sister who has a compromised immune system. I have started minimising my world to home, daughter, sister and work colleagues. Oh what a joy to be single, I hear myself saying. This is one occasion when I am thankful for this, but once all this palaver is over, look out!.

I am luckier than many who work in the arts industry. While I have been operating as a freelance Arts Consultant for 12 years, I currently have a permanent gig with Resource Work Cooperative which brings in enough to keep the wolf from the door. It also connects me to a whole swag of fascinating and highly skilled individuals.

Feast and famine is the nature of freelance work so I have ferreted some cash away for future bills. While I am not exactly flush, I think I can cope - as least for a while. Being even more frugal and using as much as I can from the garden. Currently it is providing beans, tomatoes, spring onions, figs, apples and in the pantry I have jars of chutneys from a very productive summer fruiting season.

Dipping into savings will impact on future creative and home projects that I had planned to make my future life more sustainable. The water tank and a wood heater, both attempts to reduce ongoing living costs and to ensure a productive garden all year round, is on hold. I really must stop looking at my superannuation balance. It's the first time in a while that I am reassured by the fact that I will have to work for another 16 years, at least, before I can retire. Meaning that hopefully it will bounce back by then.

My new office is the kitchen table. I look out onto the street and in the distance I can see the river. This makes me feel that I am still part of something out there, that I am still connected. Even if I can't touch, hug or kiss it.
The emails and calls have come through from colleagues and clients who want to change face to face meetings to skype or the phone. We are exploring ways to make money and support the community. The problem solving skills are on overdrive as the current situation certainly demands some creative thinking.

I have set up a second making table in the lounge room to sew and experiment. Mostly it's so I can test workshop ideas for Resource, so that when the dust settles I am prepared with a range of doable, upcycling activities. Recycled homemade bags, t-shirt wool and zine making are just a few. Regular breaks allow for watering the garden, picking tomatoes, patting the dogs, feeding the cat, cooking, housework and feeding the cat, again. I stir the freshly cooked pumpkin, lentil and coconut soup, while listening to the latest Judith Lucy podcast, it's a ripper and very relatable. I pick out the seeds from the fleshy pumpkin and place them into a paper envelope to dry and plant out in the coming months.

Sanity rating is still pretty good. Keeping an eye on the news and trying not to panic.