Coronavirus lockdown diary weeks 5 and 6

The past two weeks have been much the same as the ones before. The reality of the situation has become increasingly difficult as the weeks have gone on. That said, hopefully things will improve as the news is reporting a decrease in cases and outlines of the 'exit strategy.'

So, again this is what I've been upto...nothing new!

1. Gardening
The weather has turned a little recently, cooler wetter weather with the odd sunny warm day here and there. I was able to get some of the runner beans in a large pot and all of the tomatoes potted up. The Spring onions are coming along but roughly only half of the seeds I sowed in March and early April germinated. So yesterday I sowed another batch of spring onion seeds and some chives which also need a bit of a boost in numbers. I've also planted a couple of extra cucumber seeds to replace the two which have failed but the other four seem ok so far. The flower seeds however have been a mixed bag. Out of three trays of lobelia seeds, two failed completely! Only a handful of pansies have germinated too, but the zinnias look more promising - there are nearly forty seedlings - and the sweet peas are looking healthy too. We've started weeding the border this week so I'm hoping the sweet peas can go out shortly and will be soon followed by the other flowers. A rhododendron and lily of the valley both burst into flower this week, brightening up the garden and the lilac is still blooming and the gorgeous scent fills the air when you walk by.

2. Cooking/baking
I did some more baking and cooking over the past few weeks. I made a banana loaf which was so good that I'm hoping to make it again this week and my mum and I made some sweet unicorn cupcakes yesterday. I also made some apple and parsnip soup as a starter one evening and tried a recipe for cauliflower Mac and cheese. The latter was not good so the following week I reverted to my favourite tried and tested recipe.

3. Reading
I didn't even pick up a book over the last fortnight so absolutely nothing to report here!

4. Sewing
I made some homemade face masks just in case it's a requirement to wear them post lockdown, as I had some basic and elastic stored away by chance. It gave me a chance to dust off my sewing machine and practice so I enjoyed that.

5. eBay
I finally got around to listing some of the things I've been wanting to get rid of for ages. So far I've listed about six items and one has sold, but the remaining items are clothes which don't seem to sell well anymore so I'm not hopeful but it would be great to declutter.

I think that covers everything really. My hopes for next week are some more baking, finishing the garden border, sowing some flower and courgette seeds and listing some more items on eBay. However, it's very much a one day at a time approach now so I'm just planning to take it as it comes.