Instead Of ...

Our world has been turned totally upside down with this COVID-19 virus. Many of us had a multitude of plans which have now been drastically altered.

Doc and I had planned to be on a 24-Day Walkabout in Australia at this time.  Instead, due to COVID-19, we are Walking About our local area!

We (I) made a list of 24 Action Items to do instead of being in Australia.  (There are now over 80 items on that list).  We are working daily on those items and sure getting a lot done around the house and yard.  Thank goodness the home improvement stores are still open.   

Of course we are disappointed that we are not Down Under having fun with our friends. Rather than lamenting our situation, every day we are having fun with some “INSTEAD Ofs.”

Here are 12 of our INSTEAD OFs:

1)  Instead of enjoying a glass of wine on “The Rocks” ** overlooking Sydney Harbour, we enjoyed a glass of wine on the rocks overlooking our back yard!

**The Rocks is a historic laneway community in the shadow of Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

 

Wine on the Rocks 

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2)  Instead of lounging near a pool at a hotel, we enjoyed lounging on the sofa at home.

The dogs are sure loving this “Shelter at Home” stuff.

 

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3)  Instead of enjoying a picnic lunch in a lovely park with Aussie Meat Pies and Eucalyptus Trees, we enjoyed burgers from a fast-food place in the rain in an asphalt parking lot with Palm Trees.

 

  

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4)  Instead of being pampered with exotic facials at some ritzy salon, we sewed and wore custom facemasks.

  

  

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5)  Instead of the Mighty Murray River flowing past our hotel room, we have the Shelton Stream flowing past our patio.  After several years of intermittent-operation, we finally conducted the repairs and have it flowing again.  Such joy!

   

 

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6)  Instead of trying out new Aussie eateries or pubs, we tried out new frozen meals from the grocery store.  This frozen Wonton Soup is pretty tasty.   Plus it is cheaper than going out to dinner, there is no preparation work, it only takes five minutes to heat, and there are zero dinner dishes to wash (except for the spoons).

 

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7)  Instead of viewing brush in the Outback, we were viewing local snow capped mountains.

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8)  Instead of rotating around the Eye in Melbourne, we rotated the hose reel we helped install for a friend.

 

Rotating the Reel

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9)  Instead of enjoying fabulous Australian botanical gardens and parks, we spent days “flat out”.  We cleared rocks, prepared the soil, and planted flowers in this HUGE area of our back yard!   LOL

Creating Our Own Garden

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10)  Instead of sleeping in unique and Down Under hotels, we slept in the Aussie guest room of our home.

The Aussie Guest Room

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11)  Instead of appreciating famous paintings on the walls of art galleries, we created our own paintings – the concrete on our driveway and the walkway to our front door.

Concrete Staining

  

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12)  Instead of writing dozens of postcards from the passenger seat of a hire car, I wrote dozens of postcards at our dining table.   Pros – Postage mailed in US is only 35¢ versus $3.20 per card if mailed from Australia!  LOL

Postcards, Postcards, Postcards 

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CONCLUSION:  When life doesn’t go quite as planned, LOOK FOR THE INSTEAD OFs.  Sometimes they can be pretty amazing (as well as humorous).