Physical distancing has meant coming together socially in different ways - from chatting to rarely seen neighbours during the 7pm cheer for frontline workers to getting to see friends in different cities more than once or twice a year through Zoom happy hours.
I've become a COVID cliche, raising a sassy sourdough starter, going back to my early '90s dream of learning Welsh, exercising to Youtube videos in my bedroom (funk it out, Jane Fonda!).
But the real upside of spending more time at home and not eating out all the time (as I try not to think about the devastation to the restaurant industry) is learning to cook healthier and more interesting meals. I joined a Facebook group that cooks their way around the world, each week posting pictures of the recipes they've tried from different countries, A-Z.
We've made it through the alphabet now and are starting back at A. This time we're sharing information about the country we've chosen, as well as the recipes we cooked. And since I'm constitutionally incapable of researching anything briefly, I thought I may as well finally use this blog for something other than biannual reading challenges.
So starting from A:
