Now that I have so much time on my hands, one of the things I love to do on sunny days is sit out in our back garden for the entire day.

After a morning walk, I come home to breakfast and take it outside. I move everything out there, my yarns, my craft projects, French homework, novel that I’m reading and sit out there for the entire day. I put on some music low in the background usually the radio or some folk music, Don McLean, Hawaiian music (The Descendants soundtrack usually) or anything that takes my fancy to while away the hours out here.

I have nowhere I need to be; no person to see; nothing I need to do. I know that this is an extremely privileged position to be in.

I bring Pud out too who usually lies in the sunshine watching me, the birds or the butterflies. Sometimes I just watch him for long periods of time. We are both as lazy as each other. Sometimes I think “who is the cat here? Me or Pud?”

I love this outdoor space. I’m so glad we fixed our garden this way. It brings me such peace and happiness being out here. It’s our own little oasis from the madness of the world.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been crocheting. I’m trying to teach myself to read crochet diagrams and create different motifs of different styles, circles, squares and triangles for something different. I much prefer to knit but it’s nice to have this other skill up my sleeve.

As I tap this out on my phone, I realise that I’ve already been out here for five hours and they passed so quickly. I cannot believe how quickly this year is flying by and as I take stock of what I have achieved and learned about myself and the world so far is that what I deemed important in the past is no longer.

The world is a different place to the one I knew a couple of years back.

To be honest, I don’t recognise it anymore. I’m disillusioned with a lot of things, people and governments.

If my year of not working has taught me so far is that none of it matters other than your health and well being and enjoy each day as it comes. The dawning realisation when you see that what you thought was important in your working life, really, no one else cares about it one iota.

If anything, it’s the moments of awe, peace, appreciation and love that come at you while you’re with friends, loved ones or doing something creative that makes you appreciate what’s most important in life.

You have lived such a gentle life upon this earth
that I am stunned by your sight.
If I could give but a token of the love you have,
then I might not be this lonely tonight.

Let them have their smug and their cool, confined by fashion and peer.
I love you for your courage in this frightened atmosphere.
I love you for your courage in this frightened atmosphere.

Oh, there are so few brave one’s like you. Need I explain?
Never wondering what to do, what to venture, what to gain.

And, you have loved, in a total way, from flesh to soul.
You speak, without coy without pose.
Your eyes can see that the emperor has lost his clothes.
And what’s more, you’ll tell the whole world what he stole.

Let them have their fad and their fix, confined by fashion and peer.