Coronavirus has forced all of us to change our lives overnight. Plans have been put on hold, work looks completely different, and everyday activities such as shopping are now done only when absolutely required. For me, the hardest part of this pandemic is the social isolation. Being forced to stay home, when our nature is to socialize and enjoy life with others around us. I don’t want to come across as complaining – I am completely grateful that my family and friends are all safe and well. I will be forever grateful to those who work the front lines for us, they truly are deserving hero’s in my books.

I am very fortunate to have my daughter and her family living directly across the street. It’s incredibly wonderful to be able to just walk across the road to see my 3 beautiful grandchildren any day of the week. I often take advantage of this opportunity and love to read with them at bedtime. But social distancing called for an immediate halt to that luxury. They are so close, yet so far now! How I yearn for those little hugs once again! We are very lucky that we aren’t separated by miles, and I’m often found at their front bay window waving and blowing kisses.

My granddaughter Madison and I have been reading Harry Potter for the last 4 years. When an illustrated version of the series came out, I jumped on it as an excellent way to engage Maddy in these wonderful adventures. She was hooked right from the start, and we’re now on the 4th book “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. I can’t say enough about these illustrated versions. The pictures are simply spectacular.

Maddy and I have always read together, side by side. In our new state of being (COVID-19), this is no longer possible. When I asked Maddy if she’d like to keep reading via a video call, she readily agreed, and we now read via video link every night. I really treasure these times together. The layout at the top of this post was my attempt to document how we’ve adapted to our surroundings and found a way to carry on.

The papers for this project came from Harry Potter lines from Moxxie and Reminisce. The book cut file is by Paige Evans and is called “Open Book”. I loved that it provided an opportunity to journal directly on the “pages”. The title cut file – Just One More Chapter – is part of a larger cut file from Cut to You called “Book Lover”. You can find it here: https://createdbygwen.com.au/product/book-lover-cut-file/. The stickers used came from 2 separate Harry Potter sticker sheets by Paper House and Scrapbook Customs.

Wishing you all continued good health and happy reading as we weather this storm together.