V-Day

It’s Vaccine Day for one of us and having had several conversations about DNA stealing, microchip injections, indoctrination, lemming mentality, vaccine passports and green corridors, the decision to trust the science was made.

I spent five years on a melanoma vaccine so am quite used to the idea of experimental vaccines being injected into me but for others, it’s a new, exciting experience.

By weighing up the pros and cons, the best option being a return to a sense of normality with the possibility of travel thrown in and the worst being death from Covid, it seemed the first option won.

Every person is entitled to their own opinion of course, one’s body therefore one’s choice so whatever choice is made, it’s the right one.

Let’s see how he feels afterwards!

Jabs at Lord’s

Big T has just received a text, he’s off to get his COVID vaccine at Lord’s on Wednesday as the UK vaccine rollout continues.

Let’s hope he doesn’t come back and infect me!

Only two months to go!

Exciting news, I have a hair appointment in two months time!

I can only imagine what I’ll look like by then, so roll on April 23rd unless more mutant virus strains emerge and we’re not let out after all.

Hope springs eternal

The signs of Spring this week are coupled with the government’s plans for the end of the interminable lockdown. Hurrah, we cheered, the end is in sight as the vaccines continue to roll out. We might even get one soon!

The country is focused on June 21st for the reopening of the pubs. Only four months to go for those who want a pint!

Except for Big T who is now brewing beer in our shed from a kit I bought him for his birthday. It’s a “just add water and yeast” concept so only requires patience. The “pub” is called the Maid of Ale and seems to be quite Tardis-like from the plans to install a pool table and dart board.

With all that comes the bloom of daffodils, buds on the magnolia tree and bird song in the garden so we’re hopeful we’ve turned the corner and things will get better.

And in the meantime, Big T’s brewing stout this week!

Accidentally teetotal

It would seem I’ve lost my taste for booze. A strange thing indeed.

Perhaps I’m COVID positive and I’ve lost my sense of taste in a very specific way!

I tried a sip of gin and tonic and it tasted like poison. Red wine tasted sour and white wine, while slightly tolerable, wasn’t very enjoyable.

It’s a bit surprising as I’ve always enjoyed a drink but there’s really no point if I don’t like it and so for now, I’m accidentally teetotal!

The Big Freeze

It’s been a cold week with high temperatures of minus two and lows much lower than that.

Snow fell for two days but couldn’t be bothered to stick. It was very small snow not like the lovely big flakes we had last time. Mean snow. Then ice. And a cold wind which felt like minus seven. Brrr!

Two pairs of everything and I was very glad to have my sheepskin gloves as nothing seemed warm enough. Hat, scarves, puffer coats, boots, jumpers, layers and layers.

We celebrated the birth of Big T quietly, stayed in and turned up the heating and shivered through the week.

It was a challenging week as summer in France felt like a distant memory and an unachievable dream for the future.

We went to Trafalgar Square where the fountains had frozen.

By Sunday it warmed up to a balmy two degrees and we walked to Hyde Park (again) taking our hats off to enjoy some fresh air to the hair, returned home for lunch and later the rain started falling signalling the welcome end of the Big Freeze.

Dry February?

February 3rd and not a drop of alcohol has passed our lips since midnight on December 31st. It’s taken a while to look better but there’s certainly been some weight loss, a definite improvement in sleep, toxicity and overall coping mechanisms so it seems gin may not be not the answer to everything!

After a month, I think I’m looking better but more important is that my mood and stress level is much better and work has been going well with a sense of humour intact.

I would like the willpower to keep going and after this weekend’s celebration of Big T’s birthday, I’m keen to resume the drought. Not sure whether I’ll continue on alone, but we’ll see…

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…