Lockdown 3.0

 Here we go again Lockdown 3, in my view it was a long time coming but as Len Goodman's autobiography title says Better Late Than Never. We all need to do out bit now more than ever to Stay At Home, Protect The NHS and Save Lives. I am going to use this third lockdown to my advantage by setting short term and possibly long term goals for the months ahead. 

1. Get my Aminal Crossing new horizon's island to 5 stars 

I am currently at 4 stars to get there I have planted a variety of flowers both basic and hybrid 

Placed fencing around all of my villagers houses my villages are Cobb (Pig), Phoebe (Orsritch), Opal (Elephant), Mott (Lion), Mira (Rabbit), Sherb (Goat), Lopez (Deer), Nan (Goat), Eunice (Sheep) and Anicotti (Mouse). I have used variety of fencing options hedges, imperial fencing and the wooden fencing that Ton Nook gives you. 

Cleaned up my island this includes rocks, excess fruit from trees and weeds. I have seen from twitch streamers that sticks do not count as part of the clutter on your island however I still pick up any that I see laying around, I believe that the shells and coral on the beeches are also not included in island clutter however I still pick up the bottle with DIY recipe in it. 

I have partly decorated my island from head to toe, I have a cafe, musical stage, fashion runway. I have also created a yellow brick road using yellow tiles and in the gaps placed tiki torches, bonfire, tables, board games, chairs, vending machines, lighting, benches and water features. 

I have started to move my trees, this is still an on going process as I would like to sell my hard wood trees and keep my pear and cherry trees. My native tree is pear and I have cherry trees as I used a nook miles ticket and went to a random island that had cherry trees. I would like to keep the fruit trees, bamboo and the fer type trees. 

What I have left to do 

Finish decorating my island, still looking for ideas 

Moving my trees 

I might still need to place fencing around my nook shop and able sisters, I'd rather not but if it is needed to get 5 stars then I will do it but I may need to move them to free up more space for fencing and space to move around for both me and my villagers 

I am close to having every type of flower all I have left to farm for is Purple Pansies and Blue Roses. I am just waiting for Purple Pansies to spawn as I have the two Hybrid Red Pansies but still no Purple Pansies, it might be worth me checking to see if I have done the process correctly. I also need to farm for Blue Roses this is a long process I have a picture saved that has a step by step guide so that can be a lockdown project. I do need to farm for Gold Roses however this can only be possible if my island is 5 stars. 

I would also like to decorate my beaches but I would need to see what items are available and what can be done. I will use a nook miles ticket to get coconuts from other beaches to plant them on my left and right side beaches as well as my two main beaches. 

2. Read more books 

I would like to read at least 2 books, at the minute I am reading The Diary of Two Nobodies by Giles Wood and Mary Killen, I would like to have this finished by the end of the month. My next read is going to Quite by Claudia Winkleman, this I would like to have finished by middle of Feb. I would also like to have started Behind the Sequins by Shirley Ballas, with the hope of finishing it by March. This is ambitous but with the new lockdown it seems a rather fitting yet achievable task. 

3. Watch more TV shows I have been putting off 

I have some shows on my Netflix watch list and some shows on Amazon Prime that I would like to start watching and in this current climate it seems the only reasonable solution. 

Shows I Want to Watch Are 

1. James May in Japan

2. James May Cooks 

3. Gossip Girl 

4. Jack Whitehall Travels With My Father 

5. Michael McIntrye- he has a new stand up show in Netflix 

4. Riverdale Season 5 

Yes this old chestnut I will be watching the episodes I didn't watch of season 4 which were episodes 17, 18 and 19, I know the storylines by now but I will still watch them anyways. The new season is due to air on 20th Jan in the US and it will be available each week on Netflix from 21st Jan. I will wait for all three remain season 4 storyline episodes to be aired before watching them however I am not fussed about spoilers in fact the more I am prepared the better. 

In light of the current situation I would like to say its ok everything will hopefully get better. These vaccines however quickly they are rolled out and administered are the torch we can use to shine a light at the end of a very hard, depressing tunnel. Use this next lockdown to work on your mental health and practice self-care. Take everything the media throws at you with a pinch of salt unless it is from a trusted news source e.g. BBC News. Hold tight, take a deep breath and think we will get through this. Stay Home, Stay Safe and Protect The NHS.