Diary Entries

Covid 19 has taught me that you can do without public transport and that it is not necessary to visit the CBD, daily, for sport or work. It has also taught me the need to be computer literate. Pre-Covid I had never heard of zoom, garage band or Pages. I now cannot do without zoom for all the face-to-face meetings which are now just as effective online. Covid 19 has also given me the opportunity of sitting in the sun and reading books I would not otherwise have had the time to read. All in all almost sufficient advantages to counteract the disadvantages of not seeing family and friends on a day-to-day basis. One has to learn to adapt to change.

Our school Turramurra North Public School has decided to create a Community Collaborative called A Field of Flowers. I am the art teacher and we have invited the students and families as well as the wider community to create a flower or flowers to bring the community together in our isolation and to have a point of connection between family members via electronic devices. When we can come together as a community we will plant the field of flowers in our school and invite our local community to wander through the field and enjoy the beautiful flowers. Once this is over our students will collect the flowers into bouquets and present them to our front line workers in hospitals. We have <a href="https://tnpsstudentartists.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a website</a> where we have featured the flowers.

Covid: Through the eyes of my pet mice Mice story We overhear our owner talking about new real estate. Marshmallow thinks we won't be moving into a new cage but I'm not sure she’s right. A few hours later our owner is showing us houses. The first one is quite small so we don’t take it but the second one is a futuristic mansion with two houses. We instantly take it. It's got a tunnel between the houses. One of the houses is a cave. And the cage itself!? It’s an invisible force field! The final thing our owner's brother taught us is how to use our wheel. I don't use it that much, but Marshmallow is a fanatic, and gets a lot of praise and attention. All the praise has raised her ego and has made her annoying. After a bit, our owner takes away our tunnel. I've made a small space under one of our houses but Marshmallow has found me. She keeps talking to me about how great she is. After a while our owner finds out what is wrong and gives our tunnel back. I’ve told Marshmallow that I don’t want to hear her bragging anymore.

Covid: Through the eyes of my pet Scout My name’s Scout. I am a three year old Lagotto poodle. I am a medium height, brown and black dog. I have lived with my family since I was a puppy. My personality is happy and lazy. My favourite things to do are to go to the park, eat and sleep. My world changed with the corona virus pandemic. I got really excited because Hugo and his family got to stay home with me all day. I was so happy. I had been really lonely when everyone was out all day but now I was getting a lot of attention. One problem was I got a bit fat from all the treats Hugo kept giving me. Here comes Hugo ready to pounce. “Owww! Get off, get off!” He jumps on me and starts rubbing me where I want him to do it, under my ears. I get so excited when Hugo grabs my lead, thrower and my harness. When he does, I run in circles, and jump up and down but if he drops it, I start barking at him. He needs to know who’s boss!

Cooking over zoom Have you ever cooked a recipe over Zoom? I have! My Aunt lives in New York. She moved there for work five years ago. At first I missed her but then it felt normal. She used to come for birthdays, Christmas or when a cousin was born, but they were the only times I saw her. The funny thing is I got to spend more time with my Aunt over Zoom than I had in person. We bought her a cookbook for her wedding. I got to pick the recipe and I chose a chocolate pie. We got all of the ingredients. It was hard to pick a time because of the time difference but we chose the morning for us and 10pm for her. It was time to cook. We used different methods to make the pie crust. We used a Thermomix to crumble the biscuits and my Aunt pounded them in a bowl. She didn’t have enough cream for the chocolate filling so she had to use sour cream. We baked the crust first and then let it cool. When it was cooling my Aunt went to bed because it was so late. Our pie was delicious but my Aunt’s pie crust was like a rock! She’d left it for too long and couldn’t eat the sides of the pie. But her filling was delicious too!

Funny zoom times with Mr L Everyday I followed the same routine. I got dressed in my school uniform. I ate breakfast. I brushed my teeth. I made my bed. I went to the dining table, grabbed my books, my pencil case, my mum's laptop and I logged in. Mr L liked to have a joke with the class over zoom. If we finished our online learning early, Mr L would let us play Bad Pictionary. He would draw a character and because he had to use a mouse, it wasn't very accurate. Everyone had one guess and there where some funny answers. If you got it right, you got a point. Everyone looked forward to playing Bad Pictionary with Mr L. It motivated everyone to do their work.

Lockdown is driving me nuts! i miss kitchen class at school and im craving some chocolate! i could already imagine the mess i will make just thinking about brownie in a mug recipe. Look! my microwave exploded with chocolate while the mug was overfilling. Sloppy chocolate bits everywhere. When i took the mug out, chocolate splattered around counters, walls and tabletops. My brother came in. Shocked and disappointed, he face-palmed and walked away. Cleaning everything I ruined before my Mum came home was tiring. My bin was overflowing with paper towels and my sink with dishes. Even if I made a mess and ruined everything in the kitchen, I’m not gonna lie… the brownie tasted delicious!

ODE TO COVID There once was a virus called Covid 19. The meanest of critters that you've never seen. It caused such a panic, we couldn't go out, In case number 19 was lurking about. All over the globe there was pandemic hoarding. Toilet rolls, pasta caused so much marauding. But we have to thank you oh Covid 19. This planet we live on was suddenly clean. In only 3 months, March , April and May The wildlife had blissfully come out to play. The whales and the dolphins frolicked with glee, The absence of liners had cleaned up the sea. With no giant jumbos to foul up the air The birdlife was soaring with never a care. The roads were so peaceful without all those cars. Oh Covid 19 you are better than Sars. Now you've retreated I have to confess You were sent here to help us get out of this mess. But the powers that be are so out of touch, I doubt that you've taught them anything much. The world has reverted alas and alack. Oh Covid, Oh Covid why don't you come back !

TO A PRECIOUS DAUGHTER A day of contrast today Of what it was thirty-years ago. It might not be as colourful as Fall Nevertheless, it was a dreamy spectacle That your crib days were rocked in Wonderland Just as how I wished it to be. My hope, my dream, my wish Was granted by Mother Earth; Whose soft nature you gladly inherited, Sweet like watermelon that I craved. From un-dimpled smile to a helpless cry, You're a sweet baby of un-ending bliss. Winter days do come and go As life like wheels move to and fro; Be they dreamy, be they weary; They come year after year. To us this season brings good cheers With Little Zana, your special day is shared. Joyful greetings and prayers blessed From whom above that watched your birth; We are as thankful that you are here A precious daughter a universe behold: Ever patient, ever strong, ever tender A mother of two, her offsprings' dearly beloved.

Covid-19 has changed our lives forever. Watching people fighting over toilet paper on the TV was funny. When you have Autism it can be hard with the change of everything. All of your friends slowly disappearing to their homes, people going mad trying to find a vaccine and hundreds of people dying in a lot of countries. But it will clear up some day right? And I just hope my family is ok, it will certainly be a year I will never forget!