Hey everyone!
Today I'm doing a post for @anomadsoul's HIVE CHALLENGE! - My Quarantine Goals and Challenges. Here's a picture of me from a few nights ago trying not to feel super frustrated by some current lockdown situations. Lockdown during a pandemic is not an easy thing to deal with when you have a brain injury, but we're all getting through, right?
So this is a good time to get motivated!
Challenge yourself and make a post about what do you want to achieve during this quarantine.
I have a lot of projects on the go that I've set aside to focus on my health (rehabilitation from an injured limbic system) and getting into art school. I have a lot of things I want to write and create but for this quarantine challenge I wanted to do something that would help us get through the coming months.
I live in Canada and we are in a relatively good position, assuming that you have a stable life. I have not been stable in the past with lots of health issues and financial concerns so if this had happened a couple of years ago, I would be having a much harder time. But things have been better for me since I started my rehabilitation program so the impact has been lessened.
Most provinces and territories in Canada are in some kind of local emergency or public health emergency order. Parks and athletic fields are shut down, as well as non-essential businesses. There is barely anyone riding transit but the grocery stores are always packed. Based on the numbers the government are releasing, they are estimating that this first wave of the COVID-19 illness will hit its peak in late spring and end sometime in the summer. But notice that "first wave" bit. Until there is a vaccine, our government is hesitant for life to return to normal for us. I don't disagree but I think I was very naive when I thought we would start seeing some normalcy in summertime.
Like many others, one of the most important things I can do is stay home and isolate with my partner. We enjoy a lot of walking together outside to the gardens and through the neighbourhood. We've been cautioned that while it is important to get outside, parks are popular areas and we could still risk transmitting while we are out if we are asymptomatic. So quarantine isn't just about avoiding others, it's also about avoiding spreading the virus if you have it and don't know it.
This will be difficult because our walks are so important but we are lucky enough to live in an apartment with a sizable balcony. So my challenge to myself for this quarantine is to create a lovely balcony that we can enjoy and that will help us respect best practices.
When you walk out onto my balcony and turn to the left you see:
When you turn to the right you can see:
I took these pictures a few hours ago!
Set some tangible and achievable milestones for those challenges.
Establish how many hours of the day you will dedicate to each of this challenges.
For my quarantine challenge, I want to transform our balcony into a lovely place to sit and spend time. I want to get furniture and plant garden beds and make something beautiful. It will be a success if by the end of summer we have: a place to sit, hanging planters, a trellis, a bbq, and various plants and accents to make it work for us.
I will spend about 30 mins to an hour on this every day until the end of August. That is the end of the summer semester for school and seems like a good end date.
Set dates for each goal. Truly put yourself into achieving them.
Plants - I will have plants in containers, even if they aren't the final containers by May 15th. We don't really grow before May Long outside here anyways so this is plenty of time.
Sitting Area - Hmm.. I think sourced and purchased by May 1st. It's hard to say with transportation and shipping being weird, so it might not get here by then. But I will know where it's coming from.
BBQ - This one can take longer. Like until July 1st.
Hanging Planters - By June 1st. I've got some strawberry seeds hanging out in the fridge pretending it's winter right now so these will be great for hanging along the railing. I won't get strawberries this year from them, but by next year summer for sure. They are a wild alpine variety that is tiny and delicious.
Share with us what kind of person you want to be after the Quarantine and then go get it, go be that person.
I love homesteading and being in the garden. I love making things with my hands and cooking and interacting with plants. So I want to be someone who has a beloved balcony garden at the end of quarantine. (_)
Here are some other posts in this challenge I liked:
- My Quarantine Challenges: Gaining an advantage? by @aussieninja
- My Quarantine Challenges: Building our Income Sources by @eddiespino
Both very good challenges!
xo
Ciel