Genealife in Lockdown - Grounded

Genimate Alex Daw over at the Family Tree Frog blog has challenged fellow geneabloggers to write about their lock down experiences in a series of blog posts on Sundays during National Family History Month in Australia.

See what Alex has to say about the challenge here: 
https://familytreefrog.blogspot.com/2021/07/genealife-in-lockdown-nfhm-blogging.html 

This is my fourth post in for the challenge.

Thanks to the dire Covid situation with the Delta variant running rampant  in New South Wales I am physically grounded by stay-at-home orders.

We are fortunate that our regional area, Hunter-New England, is only in its third week of lockdown. Those family members who live in the Greater Sydney area have been in lockdown for 2 months and will continue for at least another month.

While we are physically grounded I am pleased to report that we are also mentally and emotionally grounded, this could be due to personal attributes but, I suspect, it is because of the environment in which we live, the funds we have to sustain ourselves, the people with whom we live or communicate and the interests and activities that keep our minds healthy and active.

My heart goes art to those people who are struggling physically, mentally and financially the pandemic. Mr GeniAus and I are most most grateful for those things that are keeping us grounded.

Having my best friend and husband of 51 years by my side during the pandemic has given me great comfort. I'm not sure that I would be so happy and content if he was not with me. We missed celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in 2020 but in May 2021 we were relatively safe from Covid and were able to join with our family to celebrate our 51st at the Taronga Zoo Retreat.

Celebrating with my best mate

We don't live in a palace but we have a simple and spacious home with a large and lovely green garden that is situated on the edge of beautiful Lake Macquarie. Although the Lake is not a hive of activity those activities we view from our bedroom and living room, as we watch others boating, fishing, kayaking, sailing and even sometimes swimming, keep us entertained and interested. 

 Front Garden - a good place for a wander

The Lake is beautiful in all seasons and all conditions whether the sun or moon are glistening on the lake or when we were sit in comfort watching as approaching storms whip up the water when they creep towards us from the south. It's the Cinemascope on our doorstep.

The Backyard

The Backyard

The Backyard

Mr GeniAus and I, in retirement, are reaping the rewards of of our working days and have sufficient funds to support a comfortable, simple pandemic lifestyle.

We have stayed relatively close to home throughout the pandemic, as older Australians, we did not want to put ourselves at risk of contracting Covid. In April as soon as the  Astra Zenica vaccination became available we lined up for our first jab and we have been fully vaccinated with since June.  This gave us confidence to start visiting our family and the shops. We even attended one social function and a couple of events at the grandchildren's school during June. However, as soon as the lockdown was announced in Sydney we stayed away.

June 25 - Fully Vaccinated

We enjoyed seeing our Grandson perform in Mamma Mia

I rarely rise before 9 a.m.so probably spend too much time in bed but Mr GeniAus, who serves me my daily breakfast in bed,  reminds me that it is a reward I have earned for my years as a working mother. With a stunning view outside the window, my smartphone in my hand to catch up on social media and Michael and Lisa on the ABC News Breakfast giving me the news there's no need to hurry out and face to day.

It's hard to get out of bed and leave a view like this

I have not been bored for 1 minute during the 20 months of the pandemic. While I miss having physical contact with family members social media has ensured that we can communicate and maintain connections.

Much of my time during the pandemic has been spent in the past lane as I travel vicariously through my 4 gigabytes of photos reminiscing and adding extra metadata along the way. My obsession with family history has also kept me busy. As I revisit research done years ago I have been busy visiting new resources and hatching matching and dispatching people from earlier generations. The pandemic has given me time to use my library cards from local, state and the national library for research via their eresource collections. 

Most days find me wearing my lifelong learner and teacher's hats as I soak up and dispense tips and information relating to family history research. I need to add the descriptor Zoomaholic to my social media and online bios. Zoom has made it so easy to maintain connections with genimates from all over the world and attend online learning events for a minimum outlay.

Zooming with Local Genies in Lockdown

I don't watch much television but a daily date with Gladys, our State's Premier, at 11am when she shares the latest Covid news is on my agenda.  It grieves me to see the total lack of respect from the supposedly educated group of aggressive journalists who turn up each day and try, in their questioning, to trip up those who are working so tirelessly for us. I admire the stoicism of Gladys and our health officers who bravely front up each day. 

Gladys Berejeklian, our Premier,  giving her daily update, today's local cases were over 800

Television viewing is not on my regular agenda but, at times, I enjoy a series. I love Lego Masters which I can discuss with the grandchildren, I enjoyed the creativity of the contestants in The Great English Sewing Bee. I don't watch those programs focus on creating tensions between the contestants, I prefer competitions that focus on their skills. Quite often Mr GeniAus and I have a pre-dinner aperitif while watching The Chase prior to the evening news.

Most evenings I take to my bed early with a pink tablet that provides an escape from the world around me. Until Covid came along I rarely read an eBook, I still love the smell and feel of a physical book, but I find my light tablet so convenient and easy to manage for my reading in bed. My Android tablet, onto which I load free eBooks from three local libraries plus a few purchases I make, has given me much joy and saved me many $$$ on book purchases since I bought it last year. I have borrowed and read over 200 eBooks, if these had cost me just $10 each that's $2,000 worth of value I have had from my free library cards.  

One member of our family, Paddy, has been at our sides right through the pandemic. He is always willing to snuggle up for a cuddle, keep Mr GeniAus company when he watches any sport on television and act as an early warning device when a strange dog is about to pass by. Paddy lights up our life.

Paddy 

 

While my feet and head are currently firmly planted on the ground and I am happy with my lot in life I look forward to the day when I can get behind the wheel of my car, board a plane or cruise the seven seas. 

Our feathered neighbours keep us entertained