Author Archives: mcharlottesmith

Today we had a socially distant farewell party for a colleague. A small group of us met at her house for a bbq and I have to say it is amazing to spend some time with work people in person. I loved the friendly banter and the uncontrolled laughter that happens when some story isContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 189”

Just another manic Monday. Be kind. Stay safe.

Today is my niece’s birthday. On the one hand I was sad what I couldn’t celebrate with her this year, or with any of my other nieces and nephew, because I’m on this side of the world due to Corona. On the other hand I could wake up to a picture of her holding herContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 187”

There was a press conference last night again, about the state of the COVID-19 infections. There has been a spike in cases in recent days, and in certain areas such as Amsterdam bars and cafés have to close early to curb infections. Luckily the amount of hospitalised people are less, possibly because the people gettingContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log Day 186”

Today we harvested the apples from the tree in Marinus’s garden. This bucket of apples(and a smaller overflow bucket not pictured here) is like a world of possibilities… Will it become cider? Or Dutch apple pie? Or another apple cake like the one from the Coelocanth Café? Or appelstroop, the thick caramel like substance thatContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 185”

I was floored by a mysterious illness yesterday. Not the respiratory kind, luckily, as this is the big scare at the moment, but I had the worst stomach cramps imaginable. I cancelled my training session and my drinks with friends. Instead I tried to recover at home. What surprised me however, is that although IContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 184”

It’s half a year since we went into lockdown. Life isn’t quite as locked to as it used to be, but it’s far different from life before Corona. Everyone now has a favorite mask; some even have some decorative features on them like a gold trim or sequins. I have one that have a printContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 183”

After the noise of yesterday I requested permission to go into the office today. It is kind of nice to wear office clothes bike into work. I even managed to have an in person meeting that was scheduled to be by video call, but we were both in thd office so it was nice toContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 182”

Mondays are a bit of an adjustment from the weekend and sometimes a reluctant one. Today was that and more. Not only was I dwarfed by the mountain of work that needs to get done this week, but I was also blind sided by the construction going on in tut apartment below mine. They areContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s Log: Day 181”

The charm about living in a different country, is there is lots to explore. The charm about the country like the Netherlands, is that everything is relatively close by! So, after an easy Sunday morning start, we headed out to Dordrecht for some sightseeing and general touristing. I am not entirely sure what I expectedContinue reading “Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 181”