A Matter of Choice

Hello, my long lost blog readers, just when you thought I'd left you all I'm back for a random blog post or two! I'd been quite happy with not blogging for ages this time with the other things that I've got going on, but I was looking up an old post the other day and realised that after all the years of blogging, hundreds of posts, comments, shares etc, that there was no way I could leave it with the last post being about Fruit Pasta   - I mean what a terrible way to go! I thought I didn't have much to update you on, especially as it seems strange to blog about every little thing these days,  but of course we've had birthdays, and the odd day out (although nothing major due to  a bit of a pandemic going on!)    We've both been double jabbed  - ( I don't want your opinions on it, just saying!) and this means we have our 'safepasses'  and can go to shops and restaurants by showing it to gain entry,  however because Leo is over 12 now he has to be ...

As part of the relaxation of lockdown in Cyprus primary age children (and those in their last year of high school) return to school today after the latest covid measures shut them all down again.   We saw it coming in December as our cases were rising so it was no surprise to anyone that they did not open as planned after Christmas.  Home schooling was a 100% better for us this time round, although we are so glad to see them back in today.  Last year home school was a nightmare with tears and tantrums, and the kids weren't much better, but for a host of reasons this time was so much easier.  I think main reason was that it was less of a shock for everyone, I wrote about getting up for school when I didn't have to and reading it again reminds me how strange everything felt back in March last year.   Of course schools were not prepared and there was so much uncertainty everywhere.  This time round Leo had online lessons from 8 am till 10:30 am ever...

After starting a new blog to be able to rant and write about more about things on my mind I cheered up and my first post came out all cheerful, but I was feeling like it was not acceptable to be cheerful so had not wanted to put it 'publicly on here'  Maybe one day I'll progress to not putting a 'disclaimer' on how I feel!  Here's the 2nd 'Talking on Eggshells' post (written 15th December 2020 so apologies for the mentions of Christmas)  So where to start with my shiny new blog? The overthinking is going well and I've had so many post ideas pop into my head in the last 24 hours that I now don't know where to start!  I thought it strange that I've felt happy / excited about it, and one of the reasons I started 'Talking on Eggshells' was so I could talk about things that made me sad or angry without worrying so much about people I know in real life reading it all so easily.  I forgot though how I love a new thing, even if one of the thi...

 Happy new year!  We had a nice New Years Eve,  on the last day we were able to visit other peoples houses.   It was a sudden announcement that had come in with just a few hours notice on the previous Tuesday but New Years Eve had been given as an exception to the rule.    Which was good for us as it meant we were still able to celebrate as planned with my parents.  We opened our memory jar  and the boys really enjoyed opening up all the slips and reading out the memories. It took a lot longer than I thought it would and there were a fair few in there that we had all forgotten. It went down so well that we've already started again for 2021.  We'd printed out a few quizzes and puzzles to be completed throughout the evening, and some questions to get everyone talking about the year.  Of course a lot of answers were covid related, especially with questions such as 'Most Challenging thing this year'  and 'An unexpected obstacle thi...

Christmas was always going to be strange for many people this year, for some a little strange would be more than they could hope for of course but I'm staying away from the absolute sadness and horrors of the world like I've always done on my blog.     I'm talking about the people I know and know off in Cyprus, those who would have traveled back to the UK, or elsewhere,  those who were expecting family to come here, those who would have met friends for Christmas dinner in a restaurant, or had a large gathering at home.  Our restrictions changed mid December and a 9 pm curfew came into place. Soon after  all bars and restaurants had to close.   We were allowed to have up to 10 people in our houses  (but randomly only 2 people could meet outside).   Most Christmas events had been cancelled, so no markets, school shows, parties etc.   All the towns still put up the Christmas lights which were lovely to see as long as you were...

Here we are in what is usually the strange week of the year between Christmas and New Year, when you you're not quite sure what day it is, and you feel vaguely guilty about sitting around doing nothing, feeling like you should probably be eating more healthily, drinking less and getting outside more.  2020 may not have given us much but it's made me feel a lot less bothered by this week!  I love Christmas and the whole run up but every year around this time I feel a little uncomfortable,  happy but also like I *should* be doing something - getting outside for a lovely winter walk,  especially when people are doing in through snow and frost and we usually have gorgeous blue skies over Christmas (the rain comes in the next couple of months)  But this year I am not being lazy, I'm just being sensible by staying home!  I've made peace with over eating and drinking,  assuming we are about to enter into another full lockdown we can reacquaint ourselves with ...

Christmas is coming,  whether you like it or not, covid isn't going to stop it. It's going to be a strange one for many this year of course but it's still going to happen regardless. Lots of people have had sudden changes to make with the latest lot of Covid restrictions meaning all bars and restaurants have to close (unless offering takeaway) in Cyprus, and many have known for a while they would have to make changes to their usual plans.   I hate seeing that 'Christmas is cancelled'  though there has been a lot online to be sad about this year but that is the most depressing thing yet.   Christmas plans may have changed either a little or a lot but the 25th December will roll around regardless!  I love Christmas, and the month of December and I feel so very lucky that our Christmas will not look much different to usual.   Apart from school celebrations being cancelled (which one of the boys is very happy not to have to take part in...