As I am writing, it is Sunday evening and Aaron and I are watching Eddie the Eagle on plus one. For at least the second time in the last year. Probably the sixth time I’ve watched it in total. As we watch I am finishing off the background of my diamond embroidery (my new hobby). If you’ve not heard of diamond embroidery before, YouTube it; it’s ASMR for the eyes.

Diamond embroidery isn’t the only thing that I’ve picked up since I last sat down to write a blog post. I’ve picked up and finished a book that has entered my top five all time favourites (The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri), I’ve picked up making my own homemade garlic bread when we ate spag bol and I’ve picked up an on-and-off blocked ear. (And I’ve overdone the “Pardon?” joke any time someone sympathises when I tell them about it.)

I’ve picked up another year to also had a lockdown birthday – something that feels almost like a rite of passage at this point. Four people sung me ‘Happy Birthday’ across video call or voice note and I’ll be sure to hang on to these to show my future kids. “You might be celebrating your birthday on your shiny new hoverboard but there was a time when I turned 25 and spent most of the day in my pyjamas and watching The Great Pottery Throwdown on catch up.”

We’ve even picked up watching Masterchef; something I’ve never given a go before. Watching aspiring chefs innovate, though, inspired Aaron to, at the eleventh hour, add fresh and crushed chillies to the side of baked beans he was cooking, just prior to serving. Even after he wiped his own eye with his spicy fingers, Aaron admitted this wasn’t the his worst decision that evening.