Signs of spring

After a fairly insane week where we had a carpenter in to build a wardrobe, slept in the spare room in a tiny bed, had late night zooms going on for work and had mad barking dogs and foxes at 4am, it stayed light until almost 5pm!

It’s always good when it starts getting lighter as spring is certainly on her way and with spring comes hope.

The trees are in bud waiting patiently for their moment and the first daffodil popped up bravely in the garden. A bold move as more snow is forecast but an encouraging sight nonetheless.

With the lightening sky comes a lighter mood and whilst we’re not exactly skipping in today’s heavy rain, perhaps we feel a little more optimistic.

One day at a time!

100,000

It’s a depressing milestone this week as the UK passed 100,000 deaths from COVID.

It’s hard to know what to say. Are people in the UK fatter, unhealthier, more susceptible? Is the super mutant strain responsible? Is our government completely shit? I suspect most of the answers are yes but it’s still an enormous number and warrants a moment of thought.

How is this tiny island fifth in the world and first in Europe for deaths and worst in the world for population death ratio? It’s not something to be proud of as we struggle to contain this beast almost a year on.

Will the vaccines be the magical answer or will we be too busy fighting over who gets them?

All I know is that my initial thought that this would last two weeks was way off!

Snowflakes falling…

After weeks of anticipation, it finally started snowing and suddenly the world felt a little bit more magical!

While we were all excited, one of us was ecstatic…

Hopping along

Yesterday Agnes and I went to the vet. The excitement of leaving the house and going in a taxi (with face mask of course) was quite heady and finally seeing an osteo vet was worth the wait indeed.

Upon examination, the vet couldn’t find anything wrong with Agnes’ little tiny kneecap and suggested that she might have a torn cruciate ligament but wasn’t sure without sedation and x-ray. Hurrah, no surgery for us (yet!).

As we’ve been making progress with rest combined with glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin (which she thinks is a treat because it’s meat flavoured) we’re continuing with observation rather than sedation for the next couple of weeks. I’m going to add fish oil into the mix as Agnes is very keen on fish although it’s not so good for the breath.

Agnes seems to be much better in general and her mood has improved as she’s back to her normal happy self. In the spirit of solidarity, I am also taking multivitamins, D and bone health supplements so we’re feeling quite mighty this week.

Hopping along!

Staying retro

This weekend’s excursions consisted of a trip to the butcher where Big T bought a retro Chicken Kiev.

This week the ‘70s continued with the delivery of a lovely pair of sheepskin gloves, perfect for the wintery weather.

I’m gradually building up my collection of sheepskin as I’ve had a lambikin jacket for years which is still going strong, an old pair of Ugg’s, sheepskin slippers and now gloves. While not exactly kind to sheep, the warmth is lovely and the garments last for years.

I’m not quite sure why we’ve gone retro, life just seems quite simple and the 1970s, the years of our childhood, seemed like happy simple days.

Maybe a hat next?!

Dry January Day 14

I have entered the smug phase of Dry January where, after two weeks without alcohol, I realise what I should really look like.

My eyes are brighter, my skin is smoother, healthier-looking, a better colour and less angry or maybe I’m less angry! I’m sleeping brilliantly and am needing less sleep to feel more energised. Hurrah!

Oh the joy of not drinking, not feeling toxic, not feeling tired or hungover. While I enjoy a drink or two at the weekend as we try not to drink during the week anyway, I prefer the alcohol-free version of me. Smug, smug, smuggity smug!

Of course, I say this every time. I decide I’m never drinking again until Big T’s birthday shows up in February and then it’s all over for another year (or until Oct-Sober comes around). Why am I such a lemming?

Maybe this year will be different…

Living in the 70s

We seem to have regressed to life in the 1970s.

I’m baking and cooking a lot and strangely all recipes seem to require a lot of butter. At the weekend I made a meat pie for the first time and it felt very retro (my version of the classic Fray Bentos). Before Christmas I made a Black Forest Trifle which seemed to combine everything from the seventies. Will the next step be fish fingers followed by Angel Delight?

The working day continues to consist of hours of zoom calls interspersed with doing loads of washing, vacuuming a lot of dust, waiting for bread to rise and doing a daily yoga class of breathing.

I’m not sure Covid has done much for the emancipation of women as I feel I’m doing a lot of cleaning and cooking these days but we are eating well, staying reasonably clean and keeping warm!

Week One 2021

What a week!

From the chaos of Brexit to the super mutant virus with numbers spiralling out of control to protests, death and political insanity on Capitol Hill, it’s a sci-fi writer’s dream come true. Seriously, you couldn’t write this shit, or could you?!

Conspiracists are out in force, anti-vaxers refuse vaccines based on 5G implants, Trump supporters are right wing extremists. It’s a world gone mad and yet all we need to do is wear a face mask and all our problems are solved.

How do you begin to cope with the chaos?My solution is to hibernate and domesticate.

I cook a lot and I clean a lot it seems. Today it was Indian dal, spicy cauliflower and basmati rice. For lunch a homemade celery soup and homemade wholemeal bread.

Between loads of washing, I do my job and walk the hopping dog slowly in the park.

And then sleep. Alcohol-free sleep is good. One dreams and sleeps more heavily. It’s pure escapism from the madness, each night imagining you’re on a tropical beach, skiing down a snow-covered mountain or swimming in balmy azure water. Bliss.

Thank goodness we have imagination to take us out of our reality!

I wonder what happens next week!

The yoga challenge

I have started a 30 day online yoga challenge this week (on Day 4) as part of my 2021 Stay Sane through the Pain Campaign. Starting on Day 4 pretty much sums up the situation!

I took a break from yoga over Christmas as routines went out of the window but now I’m back at work (back in the kitchen) days are slightly more structured again.

Combined with yoga and sobriety, I am also listening to HeadSpace and Breathing. It would seem Breathing is all we have left, unless one is outside and then it’s best not to!

And breathe (inside!)

Groundhog Day… again

The other night I dreamed it was Groundhog Day, the film where the same day keeps repeating over and over again.

Waking up, it seemed my dream was indeed a reality as we have sunk back into the depths of despair in the UK with one in fifty people now apparently contaminated. Except us.

We are now worse than we were in the jolly beginning of all this, when working from home was a novelty and we all enjoyed exercising in the kitchen. That lasted for two weeks.

Nine (or ten) months later in the depths of winter and we’re now in Lockdown 3 for the rest of our lives. The novelty has well and truly worn off.

We are not drinking alcohol and are banned from travelling so have no means of escape whether mental or physical. The temptation to get into bed and just stay there is great. As next Monday is actually suicide Monday in a normal year, I can only imagine 2021.

Of course we’re coping. It’s cold, dark and not much fun but for the moment we’re ok.

We have fun conversations of “where would you go if you could travel?” And “where else in the world would you live?” The answers range from anywhere to Barbados and the Scilly Isles. I still have my hopes pinned on a getaway vehicle campervan.

And so it’s not looking good for 2021. This is making 2020 look good!