I took the time through April to simply be at home and adjust to what, at the start of the month, looked like the long haul of COVID-19.

It will still be a long haul, and not just because of the physical threat an unknown virus brings. As the days and weeks of April passed, more people were laid off, more had their hours cut and more found it harder to bear the mental anguish of the unknown. A 'flattened curve' brings some hope, and ultimately, hope that things will get better is usually borne out, we just have to be patient, be kind, think of others above ourselves and stay positive.

IN APRIL (with a couple of COVID-19 additions):

I WENT TO... school. Well, not quite school, but I used the time at home to learn. I've been wanting to study photography, and added it to this year's soul list, so I got the cameras out and used the two months of free classes on Skillshare to my advantage.

I ATE... A lot of home cooking. I think there'll be a resurgence in entertaining at home, don't you? We've already had a friend over with the relaxed lock down rules and whipped up a batch of scones to share. I've also been part of two recipe sharing email chains, and spied this story about the resurgence of community cook books to diversify the menus of home cooks.

I OP SHOPPED... Not a dot. I know there's a bazillion places online to shop secondhand, but it's not the same as a good old op-shop rummage. I'll wait until my favourite treasure troves can open again.

I READ... Over the past couple of months I've read Fleishman is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner; Bruny, by Heather Rose; The Nowhere Child, by Christian White; and, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland. Bruny was my favourite. Have you read it?

 MADE... short and long-sleeved shirts from a thrifted pattern and thrifted material. The cut-off remnants were turned into matching masks. I started on my quest to make sourdough: No.3 from this year's soul list. My partner actually started on No.5 from the soul list: the digitising of family photo albums. She's made a surprising dent in what we thought would be a massive year-long task. I also cracked on with No.6 from the soul list and ordered tube stock of native bush foods, and used the free two-months of Skillshare classes to brush up on photography skills. While I had the free access, I also watched a few videos on sourdough starters and baking and printmaking classes.

I LISTENED TO... I was hoping to see Ani DiFranco play a side gig to the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Sydney this month. With Bluesfest cancelled, and all side gigs along with it, I dug out Ani's older albums and have been playing them as CDs and on Spotify.

I FOUND ONLINE... These creative interpretations of living with COVID-19, namely British Red Cross' Kindness poster art and the collective work of New York artists and illustrators who have drawn what they can see from windows looking out over locked down neighbourhoods.