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Lockdown Journal – Day Fifteen of Twenty-One

Posted on April 16, 2020April 16, 2020 by Denisa

Day 15 – Friday, 10 April

It’s Good Friday in South Africa – the Friday before the holy Easter weekend. It doesn’t feel so good, sadly, for my spirits. I have to contend with some bad news. Heartbreak, melancholy, denial, anger, frustration. I go through all stages, tears and all. There’s no easy way to get out of this mood, so I let myself sulk as much as I need, drowning my sorrow in my husband’s warm embrace – and the cosy duvet. 

There’s bedrest on the cards today. Sometime after going absent-mindedly through the news and social media feeds, willing myself to calm down, I match my disappointed mood with my next book – a dark thriller that I’ve been looking forward to read for a while, Stephen King’s classic novel, The Shining. I struggle to start reading, but when I finally do, I immerse myself in the story to forget, praying that I don’t get nightmares tonight. Outside, the clouds gather once more, the wind shuffles noisily past the tree branches. Somewhere, high up in the Drakensberg mountains bordering Lesotho, snow is falling. 

I don’t know how many hours pass undetected, book in hand, but when I finally go downstairs to the kitchen, I decide on making an early dinner, choosing a recipe that takes a bit of preparation and focus: Thai green curry chicken with jasmine rice and coconut milk. I use some ginger and green chilli paste brought from Mauritius in our latest trip, October 2019, while visiting dear family on the sunny island of love. Happier days back then, when traveling was on the cards. Who would have though that a virus pandemic were to spread worldwide just months later, causing chaos and havoc to our daily lives?  

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books.coffee.creative

Writer, book lover, coffee addict & creative soul

Tiny trees are dreaming 🌳 Bonsai heaven at the Tiny trees are dreaming 🌳 
Bonsai heaven at the Japanese Festival ⛩️
Beautiful memories ❤️💚

#creative #bonsai #japanese #japaneseaesthetic #creativelife #floweraesthetic #creativegrammer #creativegram #japaneseart #treephotography #bonsaiphotography #photogram
Happy weekend! 🌸 What are you reading? 💖 Sta Happy weekend! 🌸 What are you reading? 💖
Started this classic Japanese gem ⛩️❤️ 

Book: How Do You Live? Genzaburo Yoshino 

#bookstagram #bookrecommendation #bookstagrammer #bookgram #booksofinstagram #japanesefiction #japaneseliterature #genzaburoyoshino #bookaesthetic #bookaddict #booklover #bookobsessed #bookphotography #bookphoto #booksandcoffee #coffeeaddict #coffeeandbooks #classicbooks #espresso #coffeeaesthetic #coffeegram #coffeeshots #weekendvibes #weekendreads #weekendreading
Daily dose of #coffee and beauty ☕️🌸💖 # Daily dose of #coffee and beauty ☕️🌸💖

#coffeegram #coffeetime #coffeeaddict #coffeelover #espresso #coffeeaesthetic #coffeemagazine #pinkaesthetic #coffeelife #coffeeshots #coffeedaily #coffeephotography #coffeeculture
Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangements 🌸 So stunning and creative 💖 

#ikebana #japanesefestival #japaneseart #creative #flowerphotography #plantsphotography #flowerstagram #plantstagram #flowerarrangement #floweraesthetic
Good morning! ☀️☕️ I finally have my Engl Good morning! ☀️☕️ 
I finally have my English copy 🤩 

Love this cover so much, I’m looking forward to the whole series! 📖

Book: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi 💙

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bookgrammer #books #bookaesthetic #japanesefiction #toshikazukawaguchi #beforethecoffeegetscold #japaneseliterature #bookphotography #bookphoto #bookrecommendation #bookaddict #booklover #bookobsessed #coffeeaddict #booksandcoffee #coffeeandbooks #nespresso
Good morning! ☕️🌸 Remember to prioritise Good morning! ☕️🌸 

Remember to prioritise your well-being and happiness today 💖 

Book: Energy Secrets, The Ultimate Well-Being Plan, Alla Svirinskaya (Romanian edition) 

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookgram #bookgrammer #nonfiction #bookrecommendation #wellbeing #wellness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #bookaesthetic #pinkaesthetic #booksandcoffee #coffeeandbooks #bookaddict #coffeeaddict #bookphotography #bookphoto #booklover #bookobsessed
October 💙 Happy International Coffee Day! ☕️ Stay sweet, be blessed and #drinkgreatcoffee 🙏🏼 @plato.coffee 

#coffeegram #coffeeaddict #coffeetime #coffeelover #flatwhite #coffeeshop #coffeeart #coffeeday #coffeelife #coffeephotography #coffeephoto #coffee #coffeeholic
Wake me up when September ends 🌸💖 Time for h Wake me up when September ends 🌸💖 Time for hot tea and cake ☕️ 🍰 And a good dose of magic and fantasy ✨✨

A Magic Steeped in Poison, Judy I. Lin 🍵 ☠️ 
The more you give the magic, the more it takes

This fantasy book was super fun to read, and the cover is stunning. I loved the magic system rooted deep in Chinese mythology and it’s ancient tea-making traditions ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Torn by guilt after her mother’s death and her sister’s illness due to poisoning, Ning assumes the role of her mother’s apprentice and travels to the imperial city to compete in the search for the country’s greatest shennong-shi - masters of the magical art of tea-making. 

The winner of the competition will receive a favour from the imperial princess herself, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life before it’s too late and uncover who is behind the tea poisonings that killed her mother amongst many others. 

Between backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics and a mysterious handsome man with a shocking secret, Ning quickly discovers that her life might be the one in more danger. 

Part of a duology - looking forward to reading the sequel, A Venom Dark and Sweet 💖

#bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookstagrammer #bookgram #fantasy #fiction #yafiction #yafantasy #chinesemythology #mythology #bookaddict #booklover #bookobsessed #bookaesthetic #pinkaesthetic #booksandtea #teaandbooks #magic #bookphotography #bookphoto #bookphotograph
✨ Favourite 5-star read in August ✨ The Invisi ✨ Favourite 5-star read in August ✨ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V E Schwab - what a delicious treat (and beautiful cover art, too) 📘☕️ 🍰 

In 1714 France, young Addie LaRue makes a desperate deal in the dark in search of freedom, which turns out to be a Faustian bargain of unlikely immortality: to live forever, but be remember by none. Until 300 years later, after countless dazzling adventures across centuries and continents, she meets a young man in a small New York bookstore, Henry Strauss, who remembers her name. And everything changes.

An unforgettable story hard to put down and brimming with excitement and emotion - wish it never ended ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#bookstagram #booksrecommendation #bookrecommendations #bookstagrammer #bookgram #booksofinstagram #fantasy #fiction #veschwab #theinvisiblelifeofaddielarue #bookaddict #bibliophile #booklover #bookobsessed #bookaesthetic #booksandcoffee #coffeeandbooks #coffeegram #coffeeaddict #nespresso #coffeeandcake
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