I have been seeing a lot of motivational posts, and that’s good. We need them at a time like this. Even if I say “Been there, Done that” for staying home for a long time, I wouldn’t dare because we have different ways of tackling things. But I would like to share with you how was it for me being solo most of the time.

Aside from the normal home duties like cooking, washing, cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping, school runs, etc., I found a knack in DIY. When we were new in town and moving to our rental, I did a solo trip to IKEA. I picked out the stuff I needed and have them delivered. I enjoyed assembling all the flat packs. This IKEA furniture was my biggest achievement yet. And I am so proud because I did it all by myself. Well, I needed another pair of hands to raise this upright though. Sweet.

It didn’t stop there. When my Thai neighbor was selling her stuff to go back to her home country, I picked up her drawers and upcycled it to look like this. Bought some coasters and wooden squares from Spotlight's craft aisle. Sanded the drawers. Attached the coasters and painted the entire thing. I used spray paint and brush, because I wasn't sure which one will work for me. I even turned her coffee table into an ottoman. (Sorry, no picture for that one.) Ah, time well spent.

So when we moved to our own house, I dabbled with gardening this time. I researched all the plants that will be low-maintenance because I thought I don’t have a green thumb. I looked around for the right plants and remembered their names (yes, their scientific names too). I even talked green with the landscapers (I mean horticulture-wise) to show them I know what they are saying. Who would have thought that this Pittosporum Silver Sheen will grow as big as this? That’s low-maintenance caring. What more if I showered it with love? It will look like a beanstalk. But it needs trimming. I can’t control it anymore.

They say take on a hobby. So I learned how to bake. Since I have a sweet tooth, I focused on cakes, mini cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, cake pops, macarons, mousse, tarts, breads, the works. I even learned the difference between buttercreams - American, French, Swiss and Italian. I love frostings. I’m no expert yet, but I am glad in what I can do now, since I graduated from boxed cake mix level. Decorating cookies is a challenge for me. I used mainly fondant and have not tried royal icing. But I am willing to learn. I also love to make a full-sized cake. I was asked if I can make a wedding cake. I said my cakes are only for personal consumption. But with a lot of time in lockdown, I wish I can learn to do a proper cake, say a la Katherine Sabbath, yes?

For exercise, I do walks. But I am terrified of dogs. One time, there’s a stray that looked like a fox or wolf. It is dirty. So I figured it came from the wild, looking for food. I panicked and hid in the towncentre. When it is alright to go back home, I decided to do home exercise instead. I got myself a DVD of Jillian Michaels, 30-day challenge. Nup, nowhere near her body. When the kids got the Wii, I tried the WiiFit doing yoga poses. I feel it is still better with a real yoga instructor and mates around. I also tried the Zumba craze. The Zumba party DVD is great. Fun, fun, fun. But what worked for me in the end was just random dancing with my Spotify Disco Playlist, and a pretend cocktail in hand. Cool.

My favourite activity still is doing crafts. I love color. I love paper and fabric. I have been into scrapbooking, cardmaking, decoupage, jewelry making, beading, paper cutting and sewing. I knew how to crochet and cross-stitch back in high school. I just need to re-learn it. Even before my family moved to Melbourne, I have been creating handmade wedding and party invitations in Manila as a side-hustle, (my day job was in HR). I also love gift wrapping. Presentation is important in my opinion. Since I love stationery, wrapping gifts is one of my favourite form of creative outlet. You can’t compare the joy of the recipient when he/she sees that pretty packaging. It yells effort, and with that, I love sharing my time.

Of all these, I think creativity is important in our life. Put a little bit of color in your activities. You’ll see the difference and joy it brings. Since then, I have added journaling and writing as part of my to-dos. What’s next for me? I wish to do pottery, calligraphy and tap dancing, (Yes, I am old-school.)

One of the things I would love to do when the crisis is over is to join a weekend away in art camp to meet new faces and be around like-minded people. Yeah, that would be a different connection altogether.

Tess xx