Franglo

The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster. I realized this morning that  perhaps I have been eating my feelings,  as indicated by the number on the scale this morning. 

As with other parts of the world the second wave of the virus is upon us. The first round of restrictions that were imposed, included the closing of all bars and restaurants in Montreal but they kept gyms and recreational facilities open. We are not allowed to socialize with anyone outside of our household. My husband and I were back to our bubble of two, with that bubble expanding to 5 on weeks with the kids.

As the number of infections continued to climb, the following week everything was closed except for commerce and schools. Grade 10 & 11 students alternate by attending one day at school and the following day is virtual. So we have a third person in our home office.

When these restrictions were imposed, they dangled a carrot that we had to accept our reduced freedoms for the next 28 days, we would be paroled and regain some of the freedoms we had in the summer  if the infection rates declined

The first round of restrictions had little impact to us, other than we would not be able to go out for date night dinner every other week when we don’t have the kids. We will continue to support the restaurants by ordering take-out from our favourite spots. I know that losing the dinning rooms for the restaurants is devastating and I truly hope, that they are able to survive. 

I should preface that this time of year is very hard for me, I always have a hard time adjusting to the fall/winter season and do suffer with seasonal affective disorder. I try to mitigate with supplements, lighting and fitness to help navigate the waters.

When the second round of restrictions were announced, I feel into a deep depression and could not stop crying for several days. I have been managing working remotely at the bottom of the stairs in my house for the past 7 months. . In the summer, I really enjoyed my slight freedom of gong to my masters swim club three times a week and to the gym twice a week. The workouts were great for my health, and I got to see other people which was amazing for my mental health.

This year with the craziness of a pandemic, feels a little bit like an atom bomb. I have good week and then some really bad weeks.

I tried to make the best of it two weeks ago for Canadian Thanksgiving, making a delicious turkey dinner for 2. We did a drive by my mother -in- laws and dropped some dinner off to her too. Clearly I have been watching too much Food Network, because I was getting creative in the kitchen, with most of this being made from scratch.  Who knew it was so easy to make those fancy parmesan cheese crisp things. 

Starter : Butternut, mushroom bisque

Dinner: Turkey meatloaf with brie, dates and cranberries, garlic mashed potatoes with  gravy, a parmesan crisp, spinach and arugula salad with brie, candied pecans, crasins and fig balsamic dressing 

Dessert: GF graham crust, chocolate cream cheese mouse, with a whipped cream shiraz cherry topping. 

This past weekend we have the kids, so I am trying to be more positive. My other half is starting to feel the effects this week, so trying to stay positive for him. We went for a walk in a local park to help lift our spirts and with views like this, how can your soul not sparkle a bit. You can always fake it till you make it.

Recognizing that we are not going to be enjoying freedom anytime soon, I went out and bought an adaptor for my MacBook, so I can repurpose our summer outdoor theatre to my indoor cycling studio. I took back a corner of the basement and created a cycling space for me, and have made a commitment to myself to ride 5 days a week in a base building program building over the next 6 weeks.  I was inspired by a friend, we caught up last week and I found out she has signed up for Ironman Mont Tremblant next year

For my mental health I will hit my yoga mat for 30 minutes a day, this will also help ease the muscular tension that will occur from spending that much time on a bike. I am already feeling a little bit broken, so spent 45 minutes on the mat today doing a bit of zin to help release some of the tension. I think I may need more blocks, my flexibility is gone. 

Fingers crossed that this will help get me through the next month or so, and then the holidays will be here. Who know what they will look like this year. I may start putting up the Christmas light after Remembrance Day, I feel like this year we may need a bit more sparkle.

Stay healthy my friends and try to find a little sparkle.