There are benefits to the whole social distancing thing. 

Travel by bicycle to Kiddy's home in the west of Berlin was so much more pleasant than normal with fewer cars on the street. And when we visited his new studio and had the entire complex to ourselves it was magical, a strange, beautiful paradise. There is a small pond for wildlife there, and a separate pond where people can swim – complete with a small sandy beach – and he has a small garden patch where he has been planting things. 

My brother and I video-chatted for a couple hours last night. He gave me a little tour of his new Los Angeles flat and I was struck by how perfect the place looked, as if it came straight out of a magazine. Chic furniture, no clutter of any kind, everything new, shiny and clean. 

"I couldn't use my Persian rugs in here because the colour wouldn't work with the overall concept." His Persian rugs are amazing, he rolled them out so I could see. 

I was enthralled and at the same time it highlighted the cobbled-together nature of my own home, a mixture of flea market, second hand and Ikea: Chandeliers that I hung myself and have wires hanging out, towels hanging to dry on the doors and radiator because I have no clothes dryer, and food stacked on top of my small refrigerator because I have no cabinets. 

I make do.

German apartments do not come with closets or built-in kitchens, and I never had the extra funds to invest in such extravagances because having these things installed would be a serious investment.

A part of me likes my home just as it is. But another part of me is embarrassed that my home looks so un-modern, and so DIY. Not magazine ready, unless it was an art publication.

This is my pandemic home. Filled with paint brushes and spools of ribbon and old flower pots. And a pigeon palace. 

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Also, oh my God the earth quake in Zagreb. What a horrible time to have such a tragedy occur. Thinking of everyone in Croatia, hoping for the best.