Saturday 4th April 2020

Today was a much quieter day on the whole. It’s almost like everyday is a Sunday now. It’s just one long Sunday all rolled into one day. Though, although it was quiet on the whole, it was also… exciting?

We went out into the garden today. We’ve seen people in it all week and as there wasn’t anybody else there we thought why not? I sat for a bit on the ledge in the garden and took in some of the sun. It’s been ages where I’ve felt actual air on my skin, and felt the sun. It was cooler than we anticipated. There was a cool, chilly breeze that whirled through, but it didn’t matter, it was okay because we were outside.

We don’t have the luxury of having one hour of government approved exercise and as most of us live in apartments, many have been home for a long time. Lots of apartments around us don’t have balconies either, so there’s been a lot of legs hanging out of windows. The only people going outside are those who are heading to supermarkets, heading to essential work (I’ve seen one near us) and walking the dog. And all those must be done individually.

We had bacon sandwiches for breakfast and watched some TV. In fact, we watched a lot of TV today. We caught up on The Imagineering Story as a new episode is released every Friday. It was focused on the opening of MGM Studios and Disneyland Paris. It was so interesting to see the intricate design process that goes into everything. Even the closest of details we wouldn’t think of. It’s amazing how many “firsts” the Disney company have created. Things that didn’t exist until they made it happen, and years later they become a popular system. Disney have made some outstanding contributions to Science that I think a lot of people don’t know about. The first to release a full-colour film, wristbands with data, robotic clones, touch sensitive plants, the first style of 3D cameras. It’s astounding what Disney have done.

Alex did his workout and I had a shower. It feels like that’s kind of important to say. I don’t know why, I guess it’s just a highlight of the day now. It kind of signifies that I have plans. We played Spotify through the sound bar and I let my hair air dry in the balcony room. It’s much more cosy in here as a corner sofa and seems to have made the room bigger. It’s nicer for laying out on and letting the wind and sun dry my hair.

That’s when we went outside. I popped a bow in my hair and wore my new Levi’s jumpsuit that I got in the january sales. I had no idea the first time I’d be wearing it would be in lockdown. Who knew this was to come?

We had a walk around the garden and stood on the communal balcony. Part of me wishes I’d got a chair to sit on with a drink and just stay for a while, but I don’t think that would’ve been allowed!

We came back up and Alex watched The Mandalorian on Disney Plus and I found a book I was part way through reading but didn’t finish. I re-downloaded girl online and spent some time reading it. I’m now up to 72% of the way through, it was on 30%. I couldn’t concentrate on reading for a long time. But now, I can for some reason. It does say learning a language improves your concentration so maybe it’s that. I assume I’ll finish Girl Online tomorrow. I also do some of my Italian and French. I’m getting better and progressing through which is satisfactory.

We then watched High School Musical, the Musical, the Series. It’s a bit of a naff watch but it’s great trash TV. I’m not sure how I feel about it at the moment, but it’s good to watch to kill time. After we finished the three episodes, we watched High School Musical, the original movie. At 20:00 we heard the clapping for the keyworkers. But at 21:00, we heard it… again?

Turns out there was a kickback, a protest against the Spanish government. Led by a bar owner, and backed by many, the pots and pans were thrashed and banged in fight against the government. Turns out, they were done across the country. From what I can gather from news sources, it seems they’re kicking back over the extension of the lockdown and the lack of support for business owners and individuals. People are still yet to receive any government support or assistance, yet the government are still taking autonomous payments. Every where else, to be self employed you pay around £50 a year in fees, plus your taxes. Here, it’s over 250€… a month plus taxes. It’s astronomical. It doesn’t take into account how much you earn either, so if you don’t make over 300€ a month guaranteed, you can be at a loss very quickly. Putting these fees on top of regular bills to pay yet not allowing people to work and earn a living is putting a lot of people in financial danger, very quickly.

Rio went for his evening walk, he went for an extra one today. He was crying and moaning mid afternoon and he’d already had loads of treats and his dentastick so Alex took him for a walk. I think Rio is finding it weird to adjust too. Even though we only went out for 5 minutes, it’s the first time he’s been left alone since we dropped him off at his sitters. He’s very much out of his normal routine. We had fajitas for dinner and ARio had chicken, rice and carrots. He seriously loves his cooked dinner. He pads his feet, runs around laughing and jumps up and down. It’s so cute. “Why do you think I cook it every night, isn’t he cute?”, Alex says.

I plucked up the motivation to do my evening yoga flow and a 6 minute ab blaster. It was late when I did my yoga, so I started with the ab blaster and then finished with a nice, stretching, calming 20 minute night time routine. The breathing and the stretching is amazing for getting to sleep.

It’s now been announced that lockdown and the state of alarm has been extended up April 26, with warnings that it will probably extend again. There’s been a document released thar predicts that lockdown will be eased mid May, to then go through a recovery stage. Although bars and shops will open, it will all be regulated. Greater distance between people, the advisory of masks and gloves, I assume. It also says only internal tourism would be allowed in the first case, before allowing events to resume in October and international travel being allowed in December. On a brighter note, it has been the lowest date for new infections since March 23rd which is good. If the decline continues, it will start to be more cured than infected, which is definitely positive news. In our region, the number of discharges is higher than the number of deaths so I hope it continues in that trend. This all indicates that the peak occurred for us on March 28th.

It’s Sunday morning now as I’m writing this in the balcony, drinking tea with Rio asleep on my feet. He’s always right by me. Or laying somewhere where he can see me. Who knows what each day will bring, but each day is one day less.

Stay safe,

L x