Poppies

I haven't been able to think of an uplifting title for today's blog so here is a photo of a painting I did some time ago  and one I really like and enjoyed painting.

We have been home all day again without mixing with anyone, and will continue doing so for as long as we have to.  We will of course have to do some shopping, but we have enough supplies in the pantry and freezer to keep us going for a while.  I have not had to bulk buy anything as I have always had a small supply of basic foods in the pantry and also laundry and cleaning products too.

We are quite happy to be at home but I do miss my regular art class with friends, but I will try and keep in touch with them by phone or email.  Also our regular contact with other friends is now by phone too, and will miss having meals out with them.  Our way of life is certainly changing day by day and it is sometimes hard to believe what is happening as we never expected this to happen in our lifetime and it is also something we can't actually see, not like the floods and bushfires that we have experienced in recent months.

We are both keeping busy at home,  Ron has been fixing things that have needed his handyman skills, and there is always the garden that needs attention.   The weather is still warm so it is lovely spending some time in the sunshine and it is good to get some sun on our skin and hopefully keep us healthy.

I am trying to keep up with the extra cleaning, disinfecting the bench surfaces, doors and light switches, and doing a load of  laundry every  morning, just to keep ahead of it,  and a bit of gardening too when I have time.  Luckily the weather has been mild, with overcast mornings and sun in the afternoon.  The most difficult part of this isolation, is that we have so many "projects" on our list and our bodies can't keep up with them!!  After an hour in the garden we have to come in for coffee and a rest!!  I am not sure how long we can keep this up but I guess the weather will soon put a halt to our gardening.

I have been trying to spend some time in my art room enjoying some painting.  I have some watercolour paper for greeting cards so that is my project to keep me busy and is a useful way to use my paintings as usually they just go in a drawer, a few of them are framed but most are just stored away, especially the ones I am not real pleased with.

As at Friday 20th March South Australia had 50 cases of Coronavirus, but by 22nd March there were 100 cases, so things are escalating at an alarming rate.  On the news reports today,  we were told that there were 18 tourists in the Barossa Valley  from USA that were here before the virus alerts were in place, but have now become ill and have been tested and they are positive and are now quarantined.  They have spent the last week attending wineries and sightseeing.

Schools are still open but we are not sure how long they will remain open.  We are worried about our grandchildren as they catch buses to their schools and we think they will be at greater risk of infection, but because they are young and healthy, we hope they will be ok,  although both our grandsons have asthma and are on medication.  It is a very worrying time for us.

We are also wondering what will happen to our planned Easter break with family and friends at Rawnsley Park in the Flinders Ranges.  The caravan park there have said they are taking all the precautions but I think that by Easter the caravan park will be closed, but if not, Ron and I will camp in the non-powered area away from the rest of the group, and we can socialise with them in a more remote way, and we will be able to keep ourselves safe.  We will wait and see what eventuates and we may cancel or the caravan park might cancel, and I really believe that they should.

We have heard on the news reports today that people are buying live chickens so they can have fresh eggs, I just can't believe what people are doing.  These people probably haven't got any idea of how to keep chickens and will they be able to feed them and look after them properly, it really is shocking to see what people will do.  Hopefully the chickens are well looked after, but I am becoming very disillusioned at the way people are behaving and it is difficult to believe what the news reports are saying as they do seem to show the worst side of human nature.  I definitely won't be keeping chickens in my back yard.

And on a brighter note, here are some photos of my paintings, which help to cheer me up and I hope they do the same for you.

Take care everyone and stay safe.

New Holland Honeyeater

Thistles

Jetty

Pots

I painted some of these a few years ago so I might have another go at painting them again and see if I can improve them.