Day 18 - Sunday 5th April
I wake up ridiculously early again, which is getting really annoying now. But it's a beautiful day. Over breakfast I see an ad for a webinar on building an online business which looks interesting so I hop on that for an hour, then get some laundry out on the line to benefit from the weather.
Before the crisis I had finally got round to attending The Sunday Alternative - it's a social gathering loosely defined as "church without god". The one I went to had a guest speaker on sustainable food, cake, some communal singing and chats - I had intended to return, but then gatherings were cancelled for the virus. Anyway, they've taken it online and so at 11am I join a zoom session with them and chat about this and that over a coffee.
My son has not materialised by lunchtime, so I grab something to eat and brief hubby about my preferred lunch options for them both. I had to throw something away this morning that had gone mouldy in the fridge and I'm more aware than ever about food waste when things are harder to get. Then I head over to my Mum's house.
I've agonised about this, as it's marginal whether it would be considered essential. Travelling to help somebody vulnerable is allowed, and decide this is essential to her mental wellbeing during the lockdown. I'm not going to socialise (we can do this on the phone and now What's App video, although she has only learned to make calls, not answer them!) She has limited mobility and can only walk confidently with an arm to hold, but she lives alone so has nobody in her household with whom to take exercise or get fresh air. When we last spoke she mentioned that a friend has been using a walking machine while watching videos of exotic places, and we happen to have a walking machine sitting idle that belonged to my mother in law.
I drive over with it and set it up for her, keeping the appropriate social distance, then attempt to show her how to use it. She finds it tricky to exert the pressure on the belt to drive the rollers but promises to practice. Making space for the walking machine has displaced other items, including a lawn-mower which was previously in the conservatory which had been used as a bit of a dumping-ground since Dad died. My sister had cleared some space so Mum could sit out there with the patio doors open to get some fresh air, and after conferring we decide to put the lawn-mower in the shed.
It turns into a bit of a project - there are other bits and pieces in the conservatory that aren't really needed and so consulting Mum at a distance I consign some stuff to the recycling and trash and move all the clutter to the shed. At the end of all this she has a means of indoor exercise and a pleasant place where she can sit on a sunny day and enjoy some fresh air and an outdoor view. She's having frozen ready-meals delivered and my sister, who lives nearby, drops round other grocery items so she's pretty well provided for. I'm touched to see she has also received a note from a stranger offering help if needed.
Back home, I organise online deliveries from Mum, whose birthday is on the 7th, and my nephew whose is on the 9th. I still can't get a grocery delivery slot though. I take down our Christmas lights which had started to look really droopy in places as the clips gradually give out - I've been urging hubby to do it but it's a job he hates. That done, I relax in the hammock with a cold drink and a book to enjoy the last of the sunshine. I have been waiting all day to hear from my friend who has been so ill, so I message her again and try not to worry. A few minutes later my phone rings, and it's her - she hasn't been up to talking for a few days so this is immediately reassuring. She tells me she's feeling much better, but had thought she was a goner on Thursday when she was feeling breathless and coughing up blood. Our conversation is punctuated by coughing fits and her voice is still a bit croaky but she sounds much more like her normal self and that's fantastic.
I embark on dinner in a much more optimistic frame of mind, knowing that nobody in my immediate family or social circle is currently in danger from the virus. Turkey and leek pie for hubby and a lentil mushroom and ale pie from Jack Monroe's book Vegan-ish for the rest of us. We're not yet having to compromise on ingredients, but earlier I saw a video about making a pulled meat substitute with banana skin which, I have to be honest, I'm quite excited to try.
Before bed, hubby and I watch the latest instalment of Race Across the World which already feels like a relic from another era. Several pairs of travellers racing to travel from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina without flying on a budget equivalent to the air fare. International travel had become a controversial issue for me due to the carbon emissions caused by flying, and this show offers a compelling exploration of the benefits and pitfalls of travelling over land and sea. But how long will it be before we have the freedom to travel widely again?
Tonight I am grateful that I had the opportunity to travel.
Before the crisis I had finally got round to attending The Sunday Alternative - it's a social gathering loosely defined as "church without god". The one I went to had a guest speaker on sustainable food, cake, some communal singing and chats - I had intended to return, but then gatherings were cancelled for the virus. Anyway, they've taken it online and so at 11am I join a zoom session with them and chat about this and that over a coffee.
My son has not materialised by lunchtime, so I grab something to eat and brief hubby about my preferred lunch options for them both. I had to throw something away this morning that had gone mouldy in the fridge and I'm more aware than ever about food waste when things are harder to get. Then I head over to my Mum's house.
I've agonised about this, as it's marginal whether it would be considered essential. Travelling to help somebody vulnerable is allowed, and decide this is essential to her mental wellbeing during the lockdown. I'm not going to socialise (we can do this on the phone and now What's App video, although she has only learned to make calls, not answer them!) She has limited mobility and can only walk confidently with an arm to hold, but she lives alone so has nobody in her household with whom to take exercise or get fresh air. When we last spoke she mentioned that a friend has been using a walking machine while watching videos of exotic places, and we happen to have a walking machine sitting idle that belonged to my mother in law.
I drive over with it and set it up for her, keeping the appropriate social distance, then attempt to show her how to use it. She finds it tricky to exert the pressure on the belt to drive the rollers but promises to practice. Making space for the walking machine has displaced other items, including a lawn-mower which was previously in the conservatory which had been used as a bit of a dumping-ground since Dad died. My sister had cleared some space so Mum could sit out there with the patio doors open to get some fresh air, and after conferring we decide to put the lawn-mower in the shed.
It turns into a bit of a project - there are other bits and pieces in the conservatory that aren't really needed and so consulting Mum at a distance I consign some stuff to the recycling and trash and move all the clutter to the shed. At the end of all this she has a means of indoor exercise and a pleasant place where she can sit on a sunny day and enjoy some fresh air and an outdoor view. She's having frozen ready-meals delivered and my sister, who lives nearby, drops round other grocery items so she's pretty well provided for. I'm touched to see she has also received a note from a stranger offering help if needed.
Back home, I organise online deliveries from Mum, whose birthday is on the 7th, and my nephew whose is on the 9th. I still can't get a grocery delivery slot though. I take down our Christmas lights which had started to look really droopy in places as the clips gradually give out - I've been urging hubby to do it but it's a job he hates. That done, I relax in the hammock with a cold drink and a book to enjoy the last of the sunshine. I have been waiting all day to hear from my friend who has been so ill, so I message her again and try not to worry. A few minutes later my phone rings, and it's her - she hasn't been up to talking for a few days so this is immediately reassuring. She tells me she's feeling much better, but had thought she was a goner on Thursday when she was feeling breathless and coughing up blood. Our conversation is punctuated by coughing fits and her voice is still a bit croaky but she sounds much more like her normal self and that's fantastic.
I embark on dinner in a much more optimistic frame of mind, knowing that nobody in my immediate family or social circle is currently in danger from the virus. Turkey and leek pie for hubby and a lentil mushroom and ale pie from Jack Monroe's book Vegan-ish for the rest of us. We're not yet having to compromise on ingredients, but earlier I saw a video about making a pulled meat substitute with banana skin which, I have to be honest, I'm quite excited to try.
Before bed, hubby and I watch the latest instalment of Race Across the World which already feels like a relic from another era. Several pairs of travellers racing to travel from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina without flying on a budget equivalent to the air fare. International travel had become a controversial issue for me due to the carbon emissions caused by flying, and this show offers a compelling exploration of the benefits and pitfalls of travelling over land and sea. But how long will it be before we have the freedom to travel widely again?
Tonight I am grateful that I had the opportunity to travel.
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