When I was a kid my mum made this rule that if my sister or I had a friend over, we would both have a friend or some mix of friends to make it an even number. She started this because if only one sister had a friend over, someone from the group was left out and would end up upset, left out, angry, or crying.

For a long time, until my mid 20’s, I would never do things in threes. Even the simplest things like eating nuggets, buying things, or actions I had to repeat, it was almost always two or four. I was conscious of it daily. I’d hold back on eating something if it made it three or I’d have two more to make it four. I hated things in three, I avoided it wherever I could.

When I was 18, I dated a guy for two years and three was his baseball number, I tried to like the number but it was never going to work out. I carried my fear of three (Triskaphobia) until I was about 26 and then one day, I decided to stop.

My grandad always said 13 was lucky and one day I made a tattoo appt for Friday the 13th. I had drawn it on paper, sixteen evenly placed dots to go on my left forearm. Eight dots of two different custom shades of green, two by two, in a pattern around my arm like a beaded bracelet. Sixteen, a square number, two times my birthday number 8, the fourth power of two.

Since that Friday the 13th, I have been tattooed on that day a bunch of times. This month, Friday the 13th was my last day out and about in the world before isolation diary started. Today was our first full day up at the cottage with Sean’s daughter and I felt that fear of three sneaking back in like when I was a kid.

Today was challenging. I am finding it hard to stay calm and positive. As much as I am outgoing and fun, I crave order and structure. Dealing with this pandemic is challenging. Being an entrepreneur, a partner, a parent, they’re all tough jobs and they’re even harder right now. Also, being a pre-teen girl and living with one has its challenges. Living in the age of the internet comes with challenges. Living through a global pandemic where nobody really knows what going on, while isolated, has a lot of challenges. Trying to stay calm and not freak the F out right now is challenging.

We are all in this together and we’re also all figuring out how to adjust on our own. I don’t know how to do this. I am trying. Behind the smiling selfies and colourful photos, there are challenges that I’m facing too.

Writing has always been there for me. It helps me deal with my feelings, to remember them, to learn, to move, change, and grow. I’ve been writing here for 15 years and never imagined I’d be documenting this situation that feels like a movie, but it’s not.

I feel a weighted blanket of anxiety on my chest and it’s heavy.

I went for a long walk in the woods, to the end of the road, then a bit further. It was eerie and quiet. The only sound was nature, moving and melting. I was about 1.5k from home when it started raining, so I turned back, and let the rain wash over me.

I don’t know how long this will last, how the world will change, or if anything will go back to the normal we used to know.

I do know that tomorrow is a new day. I am responsible for facing my fears and challenges, just like I did with the 16 evenly spaced dots on my left arm, that one Friday the 13th.

We will get through this.

Today we went to the city with the trailer to get supplies, my plants, our bikes, and Emily. Having new clothes feels like a dream. This pose is inspired by my friend Maca in Montreal, she always takes these at her studio. Check her out at @hey.maca! You will love her. Read my post on IG, maybe you have some tips to share!?

The drive was a breeze because there was no traffic. It was pretty weird to be on the roads with so few people.

We picked up Emily from her mum’s and she got in the car with fresh baked cookies, homemade soup, and fresh ice tea. It is really great to have a supportive co-parent team, especially now. Her mum also sent a folder with lessons, a schedule and some work she’s completed. I am so thankful! Despite my efforts to plan, I’m not a homeschool expert so teamwork is key. We are all figuring this out as we go.

Sean stopped into both offices to get some gear while I packed up all our remaining food and got everything on our list at the house. I put most of my plants into two big bins and I can’t believe how much I missed them. Is that weird?

I was pretty surprised to see how busy the neighborhood was, SOOO many people out walking, riding bikes, two families playing soccer with their kids’ in the courtyard. Do people not understand STAY TF HOME? Do you want this all to be over? Yes? Ok, stay home pls. The curve is not flattening!

Maybe this will help? Briony wrote a book inspired by Go The F*ck to Sleep and had some of her friends read it.

I am stoked to have my Apple Pencil to work on a letting course I started last year. I packed heaps of art supplies, my tap shoes, a light-up skipping rope, clothes, and a ton of beauty products. Apparently being a hoarder all these years is coming in handy!

PLS STAY HOME. TY, BYEEEE!

Feeling good today. Danced in the morning sun to my fav Friday mix from the radio. Did some work then jumped rope. Tuned in for a great talk w/ the founder of Fohr about the state of influencer marketing. I’ve got a blog post with the details to share. Sean and I played outside on the frozen lake near the cottage. It was so warm in the sun. Sean set up the Muskoka chairs on the front deck and tanned in the sun to a meditation.

We finished Tiger King. I really like the outfits. The story is wild. Tomorrow we’re going home to get supplies and pick up Emily. She’ll be here with us for two weeks.

I feel like next week I’ll be more productive and creative. This week I felt so many emotions with everything going on, the weather, my moon time, it was a rollercoaster.

It’s going to be different with Emily here but I think it will be fun. We chatted about things she wants to do and I’m looking forward to the homeschool part. My mum spent heaps of time teaching us and it was so valuable to learn from her and spend quality time together. I hope the weather warms up so we can get started on the yard work.

Here’s to staying home and making the most of the time we have.

Have a great weekend. ?

I woke up not feeling great but pulled myself out of bed to make coffee. The Y&R has 2 new eps on the Global TV app, happy to see that!

I’ve been staring out the window a lot and I’m thankful to be up here. The other day I wanted to go home, I was thinking about my plants and organizing my closet. It might also be nice to put on some of my fancier clothes and do my hair & makeup.

I did a few workouts and spent a couple of hours doing actual work in the afternoon. I rearranged the kitchen furniture to make more room for exercise.

I have been saving onion peels to make a fabric dye, they turn things a nice yellow. Kept a bunch of recycling to use for planting seeds and vegetables. I don’t know if this will work but it’s worth a shot. Who knows how long we will be living in isolation, might as well try!

Today I am thankful for technology to keep us all connected. I’m grateful to have Sean here with me. I am hopeful that after isolation we will emerge with new survival skills and stronger connections to the people we care about. We will get through this.

I swear if it wasn’t for this quarantine diary I would have no idea what day it is. It’s hard to believe we’ve been up here for over a week already, the days have started to mesh together. I’d have a hard time thinking about what I did to pass the time if I didn’t write it down.

via GIPHY

This morning Sean let me run with him which he has never done before. I only went to the end of the road & back which is 1.25km, he continued for about 6k. At the gym I used to run 1-2km, it felt nice to be back. I’m on track to get 40Km this month. These little goals are really keeping me stay motivated.

Taking a break from beers & hangouts today. Thinking I’ll try some new recipes, do a bit of work, and relax. I made these amazing black bean brownies. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! We made steak & potatoes on the BBQ for dinner with a salad. It was nice to sit at the table together. I heated up a couple of brownies & added dairy-free chocolate fudge ice cream for dessert.

Sean painted my nails for me after the disaster manicure I did yesterday. He did a pretty good job! I have limited supplies here so the colour selections are very limited. ?

I haven’t been talking much about COVID19. We can all read the news and it’s anxiety-inducing to stay on it all day. It doesn’t look like the curve is flattening and it seems to just be climbing.

As of today, Canada has 27 deaths and last week the first death was recorded in the Muskoka region where the person died at Barrie hospital. Adding this to my diary so I can look back, once this is over and remember this day.

Canada has closed all playground facilities and off least dog parks. They also implemented mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone who was traveling. I have been checking my temperature and had a bit of a low-grade fever but I’m feeling ok.

Today on the lake there were a bunch of snowmobiles zipping by, we also saw a family walking by. It was kinda crazy to see people out & about after being isolated here for so long.

I haven’t been running but I picked up skipping again! My sister and I used to be a skipping demo team for the Heart & Stroke Foundation as kids. We would tour around to different schools doing routines to music, double dutch, and cartwheels in & out of spinning ropes. It was fun. I’m sure I have a photo of us in our uniforms under my bed at home.

I forgot how much of a workout skipping is, it’s hard! I started listening to Roz & Mocha again on 92.5 and if a song comes on I like (ex. Lady Gaga), I grab my rope and skip. I can still do most of these need to work on a couple of the harder ones.

We ventured out to get some supplies today like groceries, TP, and gas. We divided the list so we could do a quick job. Walmart wasn’t too busy and people were keeping their distance. It’s hard to believe this is really happening. A lot of shelves were empty but we get all the things we needed and don’t need to get anyting for another two weeks.

I went to the LCBO and then cracked a beer when we got home. I have had more beers in the last week than I have in a while. Not making new habits but being in quarantine is hard sometimes. I had a few FaceTime & Houseparty hangouts again. It’s a weird thing these online hangouts, have you ever joined a Houseparty and been like, ‘whoops nope, leaving now?‘ It’s awkward.

I took off my shellac using this tutorial which went great. However, painting my own nails? They’re brutal. I’m embarrassed. Gonna take my polish off today and go au natural. At this point, I’m giving up on having nice nails. Shorter nails are better for hygiene in this unique time anyways!

Monday! I always loved Monday because it’s the start of a new week and you never know what can happen. Today though, I know what will happen and the unknown is kinda scary. I am trying not to think about everything too deeply but it’s hard.

I got back on the workouts this morning and it made me feel better. I love the IG Live workouts but at the same time, it’s a bit overwhelming to see what everyone is doing and how hard they’re working. I’m really trying not to eat all the snacks. I’ve been sticking to intermittent fasting but the night is hard, the anxiety kicks in and I want to grab the chips.

I got out the art supplies and painted a couple of pieces of paper. I’ve been saving onion skins to use as a fabric dye. I have a pile of recycling for making an indoor garden. We’ve been very conscious of waste as we don’t have pickup, I’m not sure what we’re going to do about garbage & recycling yet.

I made a curry but we are getting a bit low on supplies. We need to get groceries sometime soon. This is a helpful tip if your house is feeling dry, feel free to add something to the water to make it smell nice ex. citrus, vanilla, cloves & cinnamon, essential oil (not all at once!).

Some of my activities today included a Mexican inspired breakfast scramble, National Ballet on IG Live, multiple pushup challenges, a DJ set by Kardinal w/ workout (15min), making energy balls, making toasted coconut macaroons, a chickpea curry in the Instant Pot, and watching the entire first season of ‘Feel Good’ on Netflix.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

I finally washed my hair today. I feel so refreshed! Last night was super fun! We joined a live stream dance party, laughed w/ friends on Houseparty, and chatted with a few people on the phone. It has been a loooooooong time since I have been this social. I find I’m connecting with more people in a day than probably ever.

Today I was ready for a break from isolation hangouts, FaceTime, and Houseparty. We started watching Tiger King on Netflix which is a totally insane story. We’ve also been watched Collateral and an Icelandic show called The Valhalla Murders. Yesterday I watched Where’d You Go Bernadette on Amazon Prime and although Cate Blanchett was good, I thought the book was better than the movie. Sorry to be one of those people, it’s true!

Short update today. Need a break from everything. Tomorrow is a new day and I am planning to make coffee and workout like I used to. I love this video from Briony and love the idea of making a collage over the next couple of days. We have lots of knickknacks around there I could put to good use. Cut & paste, crafts are something I’ve always loved and I have heaps of letter I cut out the other days from magazines.

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Hi All! I wanted to be able to help everyone and I thought I’d teach you some Arts + Crafts, specifically how to make your own collage, and hopefully take your mind off things. I made this by only using items I found around my house so that you don’t have to leave to get supplies 🙂 Learn how to make sparkles using only two ingredients! I was going to do a live video to teach you how to collage but I figured this way you can save it and do it when ever you please! Would love to hear what you think and see the pieces you make ❤️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Original image: Model: @oddfreckles Photographer: @porus.vimadalal Appeared in: @fashioncanada

A post shared by Briony Douglas (@briony) on Mar 21, 2020 at 11:36am PDT

Sending love from the woods. Please stay inside or keep a safe distance from people when you are out!

Hi from the woods! ☀️??❄️Went for a nice walk this morning. It’s very cold but refreshing. Saw one neighbour out for a run and shared a smile & wave with the 2 cars that passed us. There is true beauty in the way we are all connecting right now through technology. ?

How are you doing? I did yoga this morning w/ Misfits Studio and watched Snoop Dogg on IG Live. I think today I will try some new recipes and see what other workouts I can join in on IG Live. At noon I did a bit of the Fit Factory and some Barry’s for about 15 each. I didn’t feel like doing the whole class but something each day is better than nothing.

Sean packed a couple of film cameras and has been shooting film. Yesterday he cleaned the whole fireplace. He hasn’t seen it that clean since he was a kid.

He put a GoPro on the remote control truck. It’s pretty rad!

Yesterday was so cold & gloomy I didn’t feel like doing anything. I basically lazed around all day eating snacks.

The sunshine today makes me feel alive again.

I have a feeling tonight’s internet part will be LIT, lol. If the internet was ever going to crap out, tonight’s the night! Everyone will be online. I wonder who will be going live? I might hang out with my BFFs on FaceTime and put IG Live on the iPad.

Tonight is going to be the biggest internet party in history.

— CASIE STEWART ☀️ (@casiestewart) March 21, 2020

Sending you love & sunshine!

It’s raining and I woke up feeling tired. It could be the weighted anxiety blanket we’ve all been carrying or it’s the beers. Today, I’m giving myself a break from the routine, schedule, and everything to be in my feelings. Yes, there is a BBQ behind me in these photos.

The other night I watched two movies and sat by myself at the kitchen table cutting out words from magazines. I use to love cut & paste to make art so I figured why not give it a go. It’s still kinda fun and I picked so many good words in great fonts, not sure the next steps at this point. ? The green/white thing is a digital thermometer I was sent a couple of years ago. I’ve been checking our temperatures each day. I checked Amazon for a link to it and the price is over $685 right now for a product that’s about $120. Whoa.

How do I feel? Uncertain. Unsure. Idk how to feel about all this, it’s hard to process. Today I realized there might not be anymore Young & The Restless for the first time in 40 years. I know this is a bit silly when you think about the real issue but it was like a wake-up call. I’ve been watching this show my whole life.

Looking back to the things I was thinking about this time last week, the world has drastically changed.

Last Friday was my last time at the gym, I had a lunch meeting at Drake Commissary, and walked freely around in my neighborhood. I probably should have stayed home now that I think about it.

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A post shared by Craft Boner (@craftboner) on Mar 17, 2020 at 2:56pm PDT

Today I’m giving myself permission to do whatever makes me feel good. I packed a bunch of beauty products and I’m gonna use them. I might listen to a podcast or book on Audible. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I need to relax, chill, and not give myself grief for needing a break. This has been a heavy week with emotions flying high.

In other news, I changed my blog format so the front page is full posts, so you can single page scroll, no sidebar, the way it started. Last month I posted 50 Self-care ideas, most you can do at home and with things in your house, that list is here.

This perfect avocado was a simple pleasure in my day.