Life in Lockdown Part 2 - Keeping Myself Entertained

First of all let me start off by saying I am one of the fortunate ones who was able to work from home when the lockdown started.  I have never worked from home before, but I found it easy to adapt and being able to avoid rush hour traffic on a daily basis has been just one of the upsides of the lockdown for me.  Saving money on petrol and parking are a few more (my food bills have gone up though, which is definitely one of the downsides).  That being said being forced to stay at home has meant that I have had to find ways to amuse myself outside of working hours and here are some of the things that I have been doing.

Catching up on new and old TV shows & Films

More time at home has given me the chance to work through my stash of TV shows that I have recorded.  Some of these episodes were recorded as far back as 2018 and have just been sitting there waiting for me to have time to watch them (Xfiles Season 11, Blindspot and The Blacklist are just a few examples).

I also found some new TV shows that I am really enjoying.  First up is Roswell, New Mexico.  I was a fan of the original Roswell TV series in the 90's about a group of high school teenagers who are the aliens that crash landed in Roswell back in 1947. The original show followed the trials and tribulations of the aliens and their high school friends and love interests.  I highly recommend this series if you like a bit of 90's nostalgia.  Now onto the new series, this follows the same characters in their late 20's (although it doesn't necessarily follow on from the original as some of the back stories have changed). There is also a lot more diversity in the new version which is great.  I will say that I originally didn't want to watch this show as I loved the original so much, and I didn't think this one would live up to my expectations.  Curiosity got the better of me and once I started I couldn't stop watching.  Luckily the show is on every weekday and I am already on season 2.  A great cast and great storylines make this must see TV.

I am also enjoying Stumptown, starring Cobie Smulders as a newly qualified private detective with a lot of personal issues.  Dex (played by Cobie) is a ex-US soldier with PSTD who lives with her brother and is best friends with a local bar owner who would definitely like to be more than just friends with Dex, but has come to accept he is definitely in the friendzone right now (although who knows what will happen a couple of seasons down the line).  Dex makes bad decisions all the time and keeps messing up her relationship with a local police detective who she works with on a regular basis. I love that this has a strong female character as the lead, but that she is so flawed and constantly does the wrong thing, but usually ends up coming out on top with her cases.

I don't know if anyone with access to Netflix and Amazon Prime is like me but I have a hard time deciding what to watch on them and can spend why to long just scrolling through there films without picking anything to watch.  There's too much to choose from.  Anyway I decided to watch The Old Guard on Netflix with Charlize Theron and really enjoyed it.  I won't go into detail as I don't want to spoil it for you but if you like a good female lead action film check this one out.  It's really enjoyable and sets itself up for a sequel.

I used to be an avid reader when I was younger and was always borrowing books from the library (does anyone still use libraries?).  As life got busier with work and other things, I rarely have time to read books, even though I buy them constantly from charity shops (keep an eye out for a post about all my great finds in charity shops, not just books).  Not being able to leave the house as much, I have taken the opportunity to start reading my collection.  I am nearly at the end of Lee Childs Jack Reacher novels, which follow an ex-US Military Policeman, who plays by his own rules when dealing with criminals that cross his path.

I would also recommend Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan novels which follow a forensic anthropologist from South Carolina who also works with the police in Quebec, Canada to solve cases involving bodies that are reduced to bones (the TV series Bones was based on these novels and follows Kathy Reichs own line of work).

I have also taken the time to declutter my vast makeup collection. I was pretty shocked that I had 4 boxes of lipsticks and glosses alone, so I have been getting rid of some old and well used ones, throwing away expired brand new ones😒😢 and pulling out some unused products that I can sell on eBay.  I think that's a whole new post though.

Leigh💜