We're changing our plans for today and heading out for an early walk to avoid the crowds. Apparently outside places were too crowded yesterday and the National Trust have closed their gardens.
I'd be interested to hear how much quieter it was in the early morning. I'm thinking of going for early morning walks too, and was imagining 6am might be a good time, but also not sure if others will have the same idea. But so far I'm not sleeping that well, and am far too tired at 6am!
It wasn't particularly early really - just earlier than we had planned. We went out around 10 and there weren't many people about. By 12.30 when we were coming back there were plenty. Everyone was being pretty diligent about the social distancing but wishing each other cheery "good morning"s and exchanging wry smiles.
Tomorrow is the first Monday of my post-work phase, following redundancy, and I'm putting some thought into what sort of routine to try and instil. I must say when I was telling people I wanted "a different rhythm" in this next stage of life this is not quite what I had in mind.
The latest I've heard here is that house buying and selling is to be suspended, so that'll be my flat-hunting on hold for a while.
Oh dear, I hope not. We're waiting on probate being granted to proceed with the sale of Dad's house. It's miles away from either of us, and the person who's been looking in on it is my uncle who is over 70 and therefore in an at risk category, as are (probably) most of the immediate neighbours.
I went to church around the usual service time and played the organ for 90 minutes *. I noticed when I'd finished that at some point someone had come in and pinned back the doors so that the sound could drift into the churchyard - appreciative comment in the Visitor's Book on the place being open and there being music.
* I thought now would be a good time to start playing through Bach's Klavierübung
Our place was open for private prayer at our usual service time, so I also went in to play the organ. It is one of my means of praying!!
Much appreciation from the few who wandered in to pray and deep confusion on the part of those who'd not realised there would be no church service. (Newly-housed homeless pair who probably genuinely missed out on all that is going on in the world. I know efforts had been made to contact them this week about no church services for the foreseeable future.)
We thought of taking advantage of Sainsbury's dedicated hour for the aged and infirm - but it is, I think, between 8 and 9 am. And in Scotland you can't sell alcohol before 10, so stuff that idea.
We thought of taking advantage of Sainsbury's dedicated hour for the aged and infirm - but it is, I think, between 8 and 9 am. And in Scotland you can't sell alcohol before 10, so stuff that idea.
I'm delighted that supermarkets are introducing dedicated times for NHS workers. Browsing hour 9-10 on Sun at Tesco (before tills open), 07:30-08:00 M-F for Sainsbury & 08:00 - 09:00 M,W& F for Asda. But....
My work hours are 06:30-14:30, and the scanning team work either 08:00-16:00 or 09:00-17:00. So getting your shopping, going home, unloading it & putting it away then being at work on time does not compute. Unless I go to Tesco at 09:00 on Sun (to try & make I can get stuff) then mooching about the store for a further hour before we can actually purchase it.....
I should add I don't currently lack anything, and have other options, but it's possibly not entirely joined up!
Well done, @TheOrganist! I have another organist friend on FB who did something similar today, and I thought what a lovely idea it was. And good on the visitor who opened the doors!
I’ve had a “proper” Sunday! First, I caught up with the streamed service (organist, vicar, curate, soloist, verger, 2 tekkies and lots of cut-out abbesses in the choir stalls) from the local Abbey, then later I joined a streamed Compline via Farcebonk.
Well, the Knotweed and I have been having an erection in the back garden - by which obviously I mean putting up a new cold frame after the old one collapsed over the winter (one of those little plastic greenhouse jobs - it was getting knackered when we moved four years ago, so it's not like it owed us much).
I've also been over to the allotment and had a bit of a dig - it's fairly easy to avoid people over there at the best of times, though I did have a conversation with someone at an appropriate distance. As an NHS worker he wouldn't have had it any other way. May have to pop over there tomorrow when I'm not working (see anon), as I pulled a parsnip and found some beetroot, and promptly left them there. Eejit.
In other news I am working from home, which I never thought would happen - I'm a lab rat, you can't do that at home! But we've split the team in half to reduce the number of people in at any one time, and are doing three-day shifts - Mon to Wed and Thurs-Sat, with home working in between. Given that it's been mucking fental lately and we've had no time to do all the important recording and paperwork, if I can just avoid timewasting, this will be a great opportunity to catch up without having to be in the lab. And, while I still can, I can get on the bike and do a few laps of the area to stay fit without meeting anyone else.
Sounds as good as anything can be at the moment @Sandemaniac. Hope the working at home gives you time to catch up. My husband seems to be one of the few who will be working on site for his company because he can cycle in. That means he gets interesting work, and I don’t have to tiptoe round him working in the spare room. Win/win.
Report on the Riccarton Inn's takeaway: v. good. I suppose it was a bit OTT to have Cullen Skink followed by smoked haddock risotto, but they were both delicious (although I've got the Devil's thirst after all that smoked fish).
The sticky toffee pudding was very nice, but absolutely YUGE.
I think it may be something we'll do again.
I note that on the Riccarton Inn's website, the photo of the bar shows that they stock Ungava Gin! Canadian Gin made with botanicals from northern Quebec, and despite looking like a urine sample (something about the filtration process leaving the colour of the botanicals), is quite delicious and is often my house gin. It's also notable for its label with Inuktitut(?) syllabics.
Mr S and I attended two services yesterday - our last church (before we moved) livestreamed the whole service, with a pianist, organist and worship leader (all from the same family) and two readers, the vicar, and a techie. They had big photos of some of the congregation pinned to the pews!
Then we watched our own church service, more YouTube than the other, but with a real sermon. Both were good in their different ways. And in the evening our favourite sax player, Snake Davies, did half an hour's solo YouTube concert, which was just lovely, as between numbers he'd stop and read all the messages pouring in.
I saw on FB that the Pantaloons have turned one of their plays into a radio play, so I must check that out too. Aren't people resourceful?
Woke up feeling a bit better today. I still have the cough, and am obviously tired, but my head feels clear. So that’s a good sign of recovery and hopefully means I’m going to be one of the lucky ones who don’t get pneumonia (a friend who had suspected corona virus a few weeks ago was short of breath though luckily able to manage at home).
I'm delighted that supermarkets are introducing dedicated times for NHS workers. Browsing hour 9-10 on Sun at Tesco (before tills open), 07:30-08:00 M-F for Sainsbury & 08:00 - 09:00 M,W& F for Asda. But....
My work hours are 06:30-14:30, and the scanning team work either 08:00-16:00 or 09:00-17:00. So getting your shopping, going home, unloading it & putting it away then being at work on time does not compute. Unless I go to Tesco at 09:00 on Sun (to try & make I can get stuff) then mooching about the store for a further hour before we can actually purchase it.....
Turns out that you could in fact buy during that hour in Tesco in Scotland, according to colleagues who went then. No booze at that hour, but most other things.
S. has tried unsuccessfully to register with Sainsburys and Waitrose for grocery deliveries; I might try Tesco or Morrisons today.
I'm not quite sure how absolute the lock-in has to be: I've offered to walk down to the supermarket and get whatever I can, but she doesn't want me going anywhere near it, and potentially bringing the virus back.
I can understand her anxiety, but we still have to eat, and we'll soon be broke if we have takeaways from the Balerno Inn every night!
The problem with most of these ideas is that in the south east most of those suppliers have been inundated with new customers and have closed their books. I've got a continuing veg box, but couldn't have started now, and I've just started getting a dairy box (bread, eggs, butter and milk) because the company that does this normally supplies businesses and has surplus stock (sorry, they don't go south of the river). (I used to get a very local veg box but after the farmers subcontracted it out and the third chancer disappeared leaving a mess, they stopped running a box scheme.)
I know Riverford, who we buy, from has stopped accepting orders, as has Oddbox which was advertising for customers until recently. Having checked, it might be possible to order from Abel and Cole. Or whatever is local to you.
Indeed.
That said, in my locale it looks like veg box folk are ramping up, and there are a number of butchers in Scotland who routinely run mail order UK wide.
If you have local retailers, they are worth a try. Our greengrocer, who was completely overwhelmed on Saturday, has spent yesterday coming up with a Cunning Plan. He's going to take orders between 8 and 1, minimising contact, and then deliver in the afternoons.
I looked up most of those places, and most of them aren't taking any new customers.
My brother got a couple of bags of fresh stuff today, and brought them out and dropped them on the doorstep; we've probably got enough bits and bobs in the freezer to do for quite a while, but we're going to have to be a bit inventive in the next few weeks!
We had a nice speaker-phone chat with my niece this evening, but as my sister said, it's going to be hard not seeing her grandchildren for a while (it was Archie's first birthday today, and she had to make do with some Face-time, which just Isn't The Same).
Yesterday I said goodbye to my youngest son and my brother for the duration.
It still feels surreal.
Mr Boogs is probably stuck in Germany for the duration. But I’m glad he’s there to support my eldest son as he’s a nurse on the front line and will need his Dad there as things get worse, I think.
It’s a lovely flat and there are very good friends next door - and my son and family are just 50 yards up the road. He has a bike there for shopping and exercise (VERY important to my Mr Boogs!)
Thank goodness for the dogs - and Skype!
I’ve made myself a timetable for each day - schoolteacher fashion.
That sounds a reasonable state of affairs for now, Boogie, in these surreal and extraordinary times.
Similarly, my son headed back to Newcastle yesterday. He has a new job at our local uni but that's closed and he can work effectively remotely, so he went back to hunker down in his little house with his partner and their cat. I worried about the journey but as the stations and trains were apparently very quiet it was hopefully low risk. As it turned out, he made it there within hours of the lockdown being announced. But it's hard not knowing when we'll see him again.
One positive thing is that everyone seems determined to stay in touch more regularly and intentionally. We have some family Facetimes planned and today I'm having virtual lunch with a couple of friends and catch-up and prayer time with a couple of others at 4.
This was always going to be a time of new routines for me as I finished work last Wednesday and am starting a post-work phase. Although when I was telling everyone I was planning "a different rhythm" to life this is not quite what I had in mind.
Me either. I even did the ironing the other day, a job I famously hate. Grocery shopping has also turned into a big treat, although as of today the market is gone 😪
This whole business is turning me into quite the domestic goddess. I even made my own naan bread last night (largely because some menu-related confusion meant we'd already eaten rice at lunchtime).
Next I think I'm going to be reduced to cleaning the windows.
Window cleaning and spring cleaning are on my list of productive exercising. Parrly because the offspring really isn't well today so leaving the flat for a walk is not really an option.
My sister has a cleaner who comes in (I think) once a fortnight, but I suspect he won't be coming now. As I'm otherwise unoccupied, I really ought to offer, although I loathe housework - I'm no domestic goddess!
I think a solitary amble might be an idea later on, as it's 10° and a lovely day.
So far today I’ve tidied a corner of my tiny back garden (sort of exercise) - I am limiting my tidying to spread it out over longer. I was also a bit naughty and drove to collect an online order from the local Zero Waste store but it included essential chocolate, and they’d cleverly set up collection so that the distance was observed - they were making the most of the sunshine and had tables outside to where they were fetching the boxed up orders. Sadly elsewhere I observed several instances of lack of social distancing - do people not listen??
I am being good now, mainly because I have rather a lot of admin things to sort, as well as getting ready to host a livestream Compline this evening.
Maybe tomorrow’s excitement/exercise will be a Michael Gove approved visit to the allotment. But I am wary of other allotment holders not recognising what 2m looks like - we are a sociable bunch.
Next I think I'm going to be reduced to cleaning the windows.
Discovered the restoration work on the windows done the other year, which was supposed to make the outside accessible for cleaning, bit defective (hinges aren't in quite the right places and I can't even shift the top panes). However it transpires quite a lot of the dirt is on the inside...
By the time The Plague is over, I suspect that our Clean Ings will be well and truly knackered!
It's a lovely day here, but really not quite the right time of year yet to employ the Paint Ing on those parts of the Ark which need it (most of it, if truth be told)...
Still, I have WINE, and I have PIZZA. Lunch calls!
Having lived in my current house for over 2 years now, it looks like I am going to have to clean it...
... don’t be appalled! I have had the luxury of a cleaner for the last couple of years, but she has now abandoned her business for the duration of the crisis. Not much choice really - most of her clients are elderly I think (rather than lazy busy like me), and social distance doesn’t work if your job involves touching every surface in the house.
I expect I will welcome the distraction for a short while, but then gladly avail myself of her services when she resumes business...
By the time The Plague is over, I suspect that our Clean Ings will be well and truly knackered!
It's a lovely day here, but really not quite the right time of year yet to employ the Paint Ing on those parts of the Ark which need it (most of it, if truth be told)...
Still, I have WINE, and I have PIZZA. Lunch calls!
It does sound lovely, and quite Wind-in-the-Willows-ish.
Some of us have been detailed to call all members of the congregation to make sure they stay connected and know what is happening (or not happening) and to offer help where we can. There is a lady who just turned 100 on my list, and she was a bit slow answering the phone. "Sorry", she said, "but you interrupted me at my spring cleaning". And then I got lectured on the importance of keeping busy and looking cheerful while this stuff is going on. That's fine, Louisa, I get it.
Today's activities: laundry (still drying, to be sorted tomorrow); a short but very pleasant Amble; and cooking salmon for supper.
S. couldn't believe I'd got to my age without ever having cooked salmon before, but as I explained, for 31 years I was married to a man who didn't like it, so we just didn't have it. I'd occasionally have it in restaurants, but there wasn't much point in buying it just for me.
However, my brother's foray to W**tr*se yesterday yielded two very generous salmon fillets, so I had a go, and they really weren't half bad, baked in the oven with roasted broccoli, cherry tomatoes and garlic slices and served with rice.
My wife does a very nice baked salmon, wrapped in foil with a little bit of dill, seasoning, a touch of butter and perhaps a couple of cherry tomatoes, and cooked in the oven for about 20 minutes; then served with (ideally) boiled Jersey Royals and a green veg such as your broccoli. Also works for smoked haddock.
Salmon flaked through pasta with cream or creme fraiche also works. Also good in light, Kerala or Thai style curries, with coconut milk. Or en croute. If tinned, mashed up with spud and seasoning and made into fish cakes.
Sounds delicious!
My husband is getting very stressed because we don’t have all his usual food items in the house, especially potatoes. He is a creature of habit, also type 2 diabetic, so I do understand his need for certain items in his diet, but he is making a lot of fuss, as if it is my fault. In fact we have lots of food in the house, just not exactly what he is used to. I would welcome a bit of variety.
Most of today seems to have been spent, as was yesterday, tapping the redial key on the phone, trying to reach Sainsbury's to get them to add me to their list of vulnerable clients so that I can shop online.
I have an online a/c, but have never told them my age, nor have I had reason before now to mention my heart emergency last year, nor Mr RoS's coronary heart disease.
Other than that, a brief walk combined with a visit to the supermarket to post a parcel and buy bread,and cheese.
Met my best friend from church waiting outside the supermarket for her husband. She was parked on her invalid scooter outside the undertakers, as though, she said, she was waiting to make an advance booking for herself . We had a brief chat, at a suitable distance, and parted when her husband arrived.
Otherwise, I pottered a little in the garden shed, and sowed the remains of last year's leek seeds - a month late, but my whole gardening effort is already four or five months late. The seeds may or may not germinate - I sowed them thickly on that understanding. I decided that it's better to sow them late than not at all, you never know, I might get something to put on the table next winter.
Now 11pm, and I'm still getting the BT announcement that "this network is busy at the moment" when I try the Sainsbury's number - as it has been since just before 8am, and all day yesterday. Giving up for today.
As some of you may recall, during the recent flooding I brought the old 4x4 out of mothballs to do shopping runs, etc, for locals who needed a hand and it rather looks that this will continue for the duration of the current difficulty. To that end, I've taught the unexpected long-term house-guest how to drive it (still some houses sitting in the middle of deep mud patches) so he can share the duties.
ION work on the new addition to the house continues because, having broken through to the extension to the main house it is deemed that the house isn't secure and, as such, it is officially necessary work. All the chaps are working at a distance from each other and temperatures are taken regularly throughout the day. How long this will continue I don't know.
Another bright and sunny spring day over here, in Continental WesShire, but with the vicious well-known northerly, which makes for very chilly outings. Nighttime temperatures have been below freezing point, max 10° C daytime.
No workmen in my house, luckily, though I'd like to get someone in, eventually, to look at the kitchen cabinets and how to perhaps put up new ones. Also, I'd really love to have the piano tuner in and, you've guessed it, have him tune my piano! This is an old instrument, still in good shape, which I'd say is in need of some TLC. I may even have to go and take piano lessons. Until now, I only rarely tickle the ivories, but musician friends tell me I might be not untalented, with some training. We'll see.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was weird. Working from home, and with everything slowed down outside, I seriously began wondering what day it is! I was happy to realise it was Tuesday, and not Wednesday, which gave me a few more hours to prepare further online/distance teaching - we're having to develop much from scratch, but I like the challenge, and it is in fact rather fun!
Food and everyting else stocked up, may venture into the bank for some business today (expect queues), and possibly even for an amblette. Definitely planning one of the same in the next few days with a friend of mine who has a dog. We'll manage the 2 metre-distance, I'm sure. Gatherings of up to five people are allowed, and although I think I might myself be at least two of the five by now, I think we won't be in much trouble. Glad for living in the countryside, yet not remote!
Wishing everyone a lovely (within the realms of the possible) midweek.
I have decided to sign back into work today and give myself light duties as I’m still getting fatigue (by far the worse symptom I’ve had from this virus, the slightest exertion makes you short of breath). So just answering emails today.
I had to go and shop as there is no chance of getting deliveries of milk, eggs and other perishables. No slots until May. Found a silk collar device which pulls up over my nose, and wore gloves now disposed of. The supermarket now not only has first hour for the aged and vulnerable, but only 28 in at a time. So there I am, next in the queue, when a well-dressed woman strides past and pushes the door. "But I'm an OAP," she protests. "So'm I," I respond, and I'm queuing." "But they said the first hour was for OAPs!" she continues. I draw her attention to the notice about only 28 admitted. For some reason, she tells me to calm down and goes off to complain to someone else. I don't think I was uncalm, or even loud. She was the one holding forth as if wronged... Possiby trying to draw attention away from the fact that she was wrong, and hadn't bothered to read any notices.
Inside, despite the numbers limit, it was hard to get around and keep 2 m away from people who parked their trolley in the middle of the aisle and stood perusing their list and the shelves, and the staff resolutely filling the shelves, and the queues for the tills extending down the aisles. But I shouldn't need to go again for a while.
Which is what I thought at the weekend.
I'm working through my shelves to find exactly what I have, and making up a bag of unnecessary duplicates for the food bank. Things I'd stocked up with for D, no longer needed. I've three open bottles of golden syrup, so the two not opened can go. And multiple sachets of instant strawberry custard. I'm hoping I find some more nutritious stuff. I've already cleared out several lots of individual steamed puddings. If we want steamed puddings, I've the makings.
Comments
It wasn't particularly early really - just earlier than we had planned. We went out around 10 and there weren't many people about. By 12.30 when we were coming back there were plenty. Everyone was being pretty diligent about the social distancing but wishing each other cheery "good morning"s and exchanging wry smiles.
Tomorrow is the first Monday of my post-work phase, following redundancy, and I'm putting some thought into what sort of routine to try and instil. I must say when I was telling people I wanted "a different rhythm" in this next stage of life this is not quite what I had in mind.
The latest I've heard here is that house buying and selling is to be suspended, so that'll be my flat-hunting on hold for a while.
It's glorious - taps aff weather. I so want to go out.... (and here I am inside)
* I thought now would be a good time to start playing through Bach's Klavierübung
Much appreciation from the few who wandered in to pray and deep confusion on the part of those who'd not realised there would be no church service. (Newly-housed homeless pair who probably genuinely missed out on all that is going on in the world. I know efforts had been made to contact them this week about no church services for the foreseeable future.)
I'm delighted that supermarkets are introducing dedicated times for NHS workers. Browsing hour 9-10 on Sun at Tesco (before tills open), 07:30-08:00 M-F for Sainsbury & 08:00 - 09:00 M,W& F for Asda. But....
My work hours are 06:30-14:30, and the scanning team work either 08:00-16:00 or 09:00-17:00. So getting your shopping, going home, unloading it & putting it away then being at work on time does not compute. Unless I go to Tesco at 09:00 on Sun (to try & make I can get stuff) then mooching about the store for a further hour before we can actually purchase it.....
I should add I don't currently lack anything, and have other options, but it's possibly not entirely joined up!
I've also been over to the allotment and had a bit of a dig - it's fairly easy to avoid people over there at the best of times, though I did have a conversation with someone at an appropriate distance. As an NHS worker he wouldn't have had it any other way. May have to pop over there tomorrow when I'm not working (see anon), as I pulled a parsnip and found some beetroot, and promptly left them there. Eejit.
In other news I am working from home, which I never thought would happen - I'm a lab rat, you can't do that at home! But we've split the team in half to reduce the number of people in at any one time, and are doing three-day shifts - Mon to Wed and Thurs-Sat, with home working in between. Given that it's been mucking fental lately and we've had no time to do all the important recording and paperwork, if I can just avoid timewasting, this will be a great opportunity to catch up without having to be in the lab. And, while I still can, I can get on the bike and do a few laps of the area to stay fit without meeting anyone else.
AG
I note that on the Riccarton Inn's website, the photo of the bar shows that they stock Ungava Gin! Canadian Gin made with botanicals from northern Quebec, and despite looking like a urine sample (something about the filtration process leaving the colour of the botanicals), is quite delicious and is often my house gin. It's also notable for its label with Inuktitut(?) syllabics.
Then we watched our own church service, more YouTube than the other, but with a real sermon. Both were good in their different ways. And in the evening our favourite sax player, Snake Davies, did half an hour's solo YouTube concert, which was just lovely, as between numbers he'd stop and read all the messages pouring in.
I saw on FB that the Pantaloons have turned one of their plays into a radio play, so I must check that out too. Aren't people resourceful?
Mrs. S, marvelling
Turns out that you could in fact buy during that hour in Tesco in Scotland, according to colleagues who went then. No booze at that hour, but most other things.
I'm not quite sure how absolute the lock-in has to be: I've offered to walk down to the supermarket and get whatever I can, but she doesn't want me going anywhere near it, and potentially bringing the virus back.
I can understand her anxiety, but we still have to eat, and we'll soon be broke if we have takeaways from the Balerno Inn every night!
Might help with food, though not household essentials
I know Riverford, who we buy, from has stopped accepting orders, as has Oddbox which was advertising for customers until recently. Having checked, it might be possible to order from Abel and Cole. Or whatever is local to you.
That said, in my locale it looks like veg box folk are ramping up, and there are a number of butchers in Scotland who routinely run mail order UK wide.
My brother got a couple of bags of fresh stuff today, and brought them out and dropped them on the doorstep; we've probably got enough bits and bobs in the freezer to do for quite a while, but we're going to have to be a bit inventive in the next few weeks!
We had a nice speaker-phone chat with my niece this evening, but as my sister said, it's going to be hard not seeing her grandchildren for a while (it was Archie's first birthday today, and she had to make do with some Face-time, which just Isn't The Same).
It still feels surreal.
Mr Boogs is probably stuck in Germany for the duration. But I’m glad he’s there to support my eldest son as he’s a nurse on the front line and will need his Dad there as things get worse, I think.
It’s a lovely flat and there are very good friends next door - and my son and family are just 50 yards up the road. He has a bike there for shopping and exercise (VERY important to my Mr Boogs!)
Thank goodness for the dogs - and Skype!
I’ve made myself a timetable for each day - schoolteacher fashion.
Similarly, my son headed back to Newcastle yesterday. He has a new job at our local uni but that's closed and he can work effectively remotely, so he went back to hunker down in his little house with his partner and their cat. I worried about the journey but as the stations and trains were apparently very quiet it was hopefully low risk. As it turned out, he made it there within hours of the lockdown being announced. But it's hard not knowing when we'll see him again.
One positive thing is that everyone seems determined to stay in touch more regularly and intentionally. We have some family Facetimes planned and today I'm having virtual lunch with a couple of friends and catch-up and prayer time with a couple of others at 4.
This was always going to be a time of new routines for me as I finished work last Wednesday and am starting a post-work phase. Although when I was telling everyone I was planning "a different rhythm" to life this is not quite what I had in mind.
This whole business is turning me into quite the domestic goddess. I even made my own naan bread last night (largely because some menu-related confusion meant we'd already eaten rice at lunchtime).
Next I think I'm going to be reduced to cleaning the windows.
I think a solitary amble might be an idea later on, as it's 10° and a lovely day.
I am being good now, mainly because I have rather a lot of admin things to sort, as well as getting ready to host a livestream Compline this evening.
Maybe tomorrow’s excitement/exercise will be a Michael Gove approved visit to the allotment. But I am wary of other allotment holders not recognising what 2m looks like - we are a sociable bunch.
Discovered the restoration work on the windows done the other year, which was supposed to make the outside accessible for cleaning, bit defective (hinges aren't in quite the right places and I can't even shift the top panes). However it transpires quite a lot of the dirt is on the inside...
It's a lovely day here, but really not quite the right time of year yet to employ the Paint Ing on those parts of the Ark which need it (most of it, if truth be told)...
Still, I have WINE, and I have PIZZA. Lunch calls!
... don’t be appalled! I have had the luxury of a cleaner for the last couple of years, but she has now abandoned her business for the duration of the crisis. Not much choice really - most of her clients are elderly I think (rather than lazy busy like me), and social distance doesn’t work if your job involves touching every surface in the house.
I expect I will welcome the distraction for a short while, but then gladly avail myself of her services when she resumes business...
S. couldn't believe I'd got to my age without ever having cooked salmon before, but as I explained, for 31 years I was married to a man who didn't like it, so we just didn't have it. I'd occasionally have it in restaurants, but there wasn't much point in buying it just for me.
However, my brother's foray to W**tr*se yesterday yielded two very generous salmon fillets, so I had a go, and they really weren't half bad, baked in the oven with roasted broccoli, cherry tomatoes and garlic slices and served with rice.
My husband is getting very stressed because we don’t have all his usual food items in the house, especially potatoes. He is a creature of habit, also type 2 diabetic, so I do understand his need for certain items in his diet, but he is making a lot of fuss, as if it is my fault. In fact we have lots of food in the house, just not exactly what he is used to. I would welcome a bit of variety.
I have an online a/c, but have never told them my age, nor have I had reason before now to mention my heart emergency last year, nor Mr RoS's coronary heart disease.
Other than that, a brief walk combined with a visit to the supermarket to post a parcel and buy bread,and cheese.
Met my best friend from church waiting outside the supermarket for her husband. She was parked on her invalid scooter outside the undertakers, as though, she said, she was waiting to make an advance booking for herself
Otherwise, I pottered a little in the garden shed, and sowed the remains of last year's leek seeds - a month late, but my whole gardening effort is already four or five months late. The seeds may or may not germinate - I sowed them thickly on that understanding. I decided that it's better to sow them late than not at all, you never know, I might get something to put on the table next winter.
Now 11pm, and I'm still getting the BT announcement that "this network is busy at the moment" when I try the Sainsbury's number - as it has been since just before 8am, and all day yesterday. Giving up for today.
ION work on the new addition to the house continues because, having broken through to the extension to the main house it is deemed that the house isn't secure and, as such, it is officially necessary work. All the chaps are working at a distance from each other and temperatures are taken regularly throughout the day. How long this will continue I don't know.
No workmen in my house, luckily, though I'd like to get someone in, eventually, to look at the kitchen cabinets and how to perhaps put up new ones. Also, I'd really love to have the piano tuner in and, you've guessed it, have him tune my piano! This is an old instrument, still in good shape, which I'd say is in need of some TLC. I may even have to go and take piano lessons. Until now, I only rarely tickle the ivories, but musician friends tell me I might be not untalented, with some training. We'll see.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was weird. Working from home, and with everything slowed down outside, I seriously began wondering what day it is! I was happy to realise it was Tuesday, and not Wednesday, which gave me a few more hours to prepare further online/distance teaching - we're having to develop much from scratch, but I like the challenge, and it is in fact rather fun!
Food and everyting else stocked up, may venture into the bank for some business today (expect queues), and possibly even for an amblette. Definitely planning one of the same in the next few days with a friend of mine who has a dog. We'll manage the 2 metre-distance, I'm sure. Gatherings of up to five people are allowed, and although I think I might myself be at least two of the five by now, I think we won't be in much trouble. Glad for living in the countryside, yet not remote!
Wishing everyone a lovely (within the realms of the possible) midweek.
Inside, despite the numbers limit, it was hard to get around and keep 2 m away from people who parked their trolley in the middle of the aisle and stood perusing their list and the shelves, and the staff resolutely filling the shelves, and the queues for the tills extending down the aisles. But I shouldn't need to go again for a while.
Which is what I thought at the weekend.
I'm working through my shelves to find exactly what I have, and making up a bag of unnecessary duplicates for the food bank. Things I'd stocked up with for D, no longer needed. I've three open bottles of golden syrup, so the two not opened can go. And multiple sachets of instant strawberry custard. I'm hoping I find some more nutritious stuff. I've already cleared out several lots of individual steamed puddings. If we want steamed puddings, I've the makings.