One of my favorite lines from Downton Abbey comes from Maggie Smith, as Lady Grantham. When the former lawyer, newly made lord, Matthew Crawley says that he’ll be able to manage both his career and the job of running an estate by working over weekends, Lady Grantham looks askance and asks the rest of the dinner party, “What’s a weekend?”

I feel very much like Lady Grantham these days. Our former division of time between work and life are gone.

I have enough entrepreneurial projects going on right now that I am working seven days a week. The new chores — feeding boys and amusing the younger one — will stretch into the weekend without respite; there are no trips to the restaurant or visits to grandparents to ease that burden.

And our usual fun weekend activities are gone, too. We can’t tromp through state parks, because they are closed. We can’t attend dinner parties with friends. We can’t go to the movies or malls or museums.

So, we’re in the process of reinventing weekends for ourselves. I’ll quit my writing and book projects after noon. Then we’ll make the most of a nice day in a backyard. I’ll take Ian for a jog and play HORSE at the basketball hoop, which is finally getting used again.

I’ve decided that Fridays are Steve’s grilling day, Saturdays are a new special meal, and Sundays are for cooking something that takes a long time and can be eaten for three days.

I’m tackling some home decorating tasks, like hanging up artwork and organizing the basement. (More on artwork and office decor later in the week.)

I’ve been doing a lot more experimenting with food lately. I have to write up my discoveries. I might start a new Pandemic Cookbook.

We might stream mass from St. Patrick’s cathedral on the television.

With the weather getting nicer, we’ll be able to use the back patio a little more, so we’re hosing down the furniture. Maybe we can hook up some speakers and put out comfortable chairs for backyard reading. Maybe we can start learning to make and appreciate fancy cocktails. I’m not sure.

What are you doing?