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General => The Stay Safe Board => Topic started by: california dreamin on Saturday 25 April 20 20:57 BST (UK)
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A really restless night last night, I don't really know why. Continuing with usual morning routine- and another belter of a day here. Park emptier than usual which surprised me. The trees really are coming out beautifully but the pollen! Oh my! I can see that hayfever is going to be a real issue for the coming days.
Some washing and chores to do and then to town to get some 'essentials' It's such a palaver these days. On my walk to the shops people are leaping out of my way. On the way back with heavy shopping in my trolley people are expecting me to move into the road. None of these scenarios is ideal.
Made a few phone calls I've been putting off, one to my Aunt. There is only one topic of conversation these days and one which we differ greatly over. This is one of the reasons I really hate to ring her. Anyway I've made the call and can now rest easy.
Had a late lunch and the 'eagle' returned! It didn't stay long as it was harassed by a pair of crows. Enjoyed a rest in the sunshine for quite some time...... and finally came inside to answer some emails.
Got tea sorted - a kind of pasta bolognese today and shortly heading for telly to see what wonders are on offer this evening!
Hope all well with everyone - I continue to be very weary of the situation. Much more traffic on the roads today. Boris will be hard pushed to put us all back in our boxes soon!
Stay safe!
CD
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Was so tired when I went to bed last night I could hardly keep my eyes open. No idea why, I did very little yesterday. Perhaps it's all the fresh air I've been getting.
Started off cloudy today, the sun was just breaking through when I went for my walk late morning. Don't know whether it was the weather but there were less people on the field and I was very pleased to be able to do several lengths of the path through the woods before people started appearing. I was also out for a bit longer.
After lunch I rang my friend whose husband died, we had a long conversation and I was pleased to hear that she had everything organised and was calm and relatively cheerful. The card I'd had sent to her by an online company had arrived, along with numerous others. I hated that I couldn't send her one with my own writing and more space to write things but she understood and was pleased to get it.
I then rang my friend whose daughter has coronavirus, she hasn't yet recovered, I very much hope she gets better soon. A large part of the day had gone but it was good to talk to my friends.
Got my chair out and sat out in the sun again reading my Kindle. Haven't done much again, just some washing and making my meals. There's some rain forecast later tomorrow so maybe I'll get some housework done then.
River Tyne Lass hasn't been on Rootschat for a few days, I do hope she's okay.
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River Tyne Lass hasn't been on Rootschat for a few days, I do hope she's okay.
RTL works quite a difficult shift pattern and because of this often goes ‘missing’ for a few days :)
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Aah, that's okay, thank you JenB. :)
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Thought I'd join in and tell you about my very day.
Up at 6:30 because I promised eldest son I would take him up the yard to see the new foal. Left the house at 7:30. Sun was warm and not many people about. When we got there he was more interested in his horse, Sergei (he named him after the meerkat on the TV adverts.) Went off then to see the foal. It is to be registered as Pontfaen Lockdown, no stable name yet the wife is open to suggestions. Turned out the horses that are on full livery, mucked while son saw to his horse. Sat in the sun for a while then put poles out for him to take Sergei over them. Helmet and body armour on off he went while I kept an eye on him. Made our way home more people out some in groups, seems that they think they're immune even after two local deaths.
Lunch when we got home. Quiet afternoon and then my birthday tea. Mum looked after the boys while me and the wife went back up the yard. Sorted everything out in extra quick time then back home. Don't feel tired now so a bit of TV.
Take care and stay safe all.
Corryn
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Slept like a log last night... could be because I'd slept so badly the previous night...
Weather was dull and cloudy, it makes such a difference to ones outlook too and the garden looked dull ...
Usual breakfast... cereal, fruit and yogurt...
Didn't feel too brilliant have devoloped tooth ache which started yesterday afternoon and have taken some paracetamol to dull ache... just what I need st the moment..
Sat and finished my book as it's got to go back to the library... that's the ebook library I use very good just like borrowing books from the normal library..
OH had his Saturday morning Zoom with his golf buddies... good for him to have some male chatter, he's not been out, apart from walks and bike rides since we were told to stay in... I at least have been to shop so get away from four walls...
Had usual lunch..
Sun out and sky blue by now so we decided we needed a walk to shake off that lethargic feeling..
Today we decided to do a longer walk so we did 6 miles round the fields and the two small hamlets and home.. not done it for a while and it was lovely to see the trees all in leaf, mayflower out and bluebells... next time we'll walk through the woods to see the bluebell carpet. Not too many card around today seemed much quieter.
We both felt much better and had a well deserved cuppa..
Just sat down when daughter messaged to see if we wanted a Zoom with them...
So lovely to see them, even if we can't give them a hug..
They all seem happy which is a relief and daughter relaxed and smiling which is great as she does suffer with stress... SiL looks very tired though, his job very demanding and not much relief with schooling boys too between them. Boys flitted in and out showing us bits they'd made etc...
Off for a shower so as not to seize up
OH BBQ steaks ... I love this time of the year as he enjoys cooking outside and we have lots of lovely salads... looking forward to eating our own vegs in coming months..
Watched some tv... lovely programme on Matisse.
Another day gone by... hope this tooth ache doesn't get any worse as not sure what I'll do... try the dentists on Monday... not sure if they're open though.
Take care all... Viktoria hope your gout improves soon for you
Caroline
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Not sure where Saturday went ??? I was cold when I got up and stayed cold most of the morning. Did a quick early trip to farm shop, lovely fresh veg and the best new potatoes we’ve eaten for a long time. Only two people in the shop, front and back doors open, fresh air blowing through so was a quite relaxing shop.
Managed to change the buttons on my jacket but by lunch time I felt exhausted, had a bit of lunch and fell asleep 💤 woke two hours later.
Salmon with new potatoes, broccoli and lovely tender green beans for tea. Watched a bit of rubbish telly and bed by 10, read for a bit and was comatose by 10.30.
Oh, and great result which cheered me up. The little shop in the next village, where I always buy my bread managed to get me a bag of self raising flour.
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Well survived my shift at work.
Got mask fit tested by a dessert rat (solider not the animal obviously). Maybe that means I can say I survived an army training session since you have to excercise during it.
Had a flat tyre in the morning, luckily my colleague had a pump I could borrow. I had worried the beach would be busy on my way home but only saw a couple of people so felt a bit better after the parties the night before.
Was too tired to be good for much when I got home, had the TV on but couldn't follow what was happening.
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Well despite very hot bath and pretty achey and stiff.
I knew it! As soon as I get the garden parasol out it rains,always the same!
However not much it would seem and needed.
Made a strawberry jelly last night, not much in by way of desserts ,usually have yogurts in but not now.
I have evaporated milk and enough milk for custard,so we or I will see.
Have a tin of pineapple rings but a ham coming from Tesco on May 5 th and I may not be able to get another if I use it now.
Well hair not too bad ,but then I am not going anywhere and no one here to see me .
Some housework today I think ,been outside so much.
I also think I will eat my main meal earlier today so the kitchen is all tidy this evening so I don’t miss Country File and Antiques Roadshow.
Must phone Shropshire to make sure all is alright there.
The carers have been stopped by the family as of course they go from one person to another. The person I am concerned about has asthma and has just got over pneumonia at 92 (in May )
I lived with her and her parents as an evacuee and was most kindly treated and have never lost contact.
My daughter has a horse, but does not go to see him( full livery) as the stable owners are too cavalier about visitors and social distancing etc .
He will think he has been abandoned, huge 17 hand Irish hunter,but such a wimp! Won’t pass a plastic bag in a hedge! My son in law has to walk in front of him at a certain place and the horse hides his head in s in l’s back.
Not sure what happened to make the horse spook at that point ,in the distant past. A gentle giant though.
Quite sunny but not blazing like yesterday,must feed the fish.
They come to the edge of the pond when I tap,a raised pond as the tiddler GGrandson came every weekend when I had it made so for his safety but of course no frogs etc can get in much to my regret.
Spoke to my neighbour’s daughter re the phone problems and seemingly her hearing aid is not so good on the side she prefers to use,so when she realises and swaps the phone to her good ear it is O.K
BUT- will she remember- and if not she won’t hear me telling her to put the phone to her good ear. Oh it all makes life interesting .
I usually bake and give her some and neighbour next but one who has my keys etc ,but you can’t do it now and observe all the rules.
Well folks another neighbour has a grandad 90’s who has survived a recent fall and fractured pelvis only to show C.V. Symptoms ,whilst still in hospital.
She is greatly upset as he has not had visitors now for about two weeks.
Some measure of Dementia but also some lucid times when he gets upset no one is visiting him.Was used to daily visits in his care home from children and grandchildren.
Must have been bad news yesterday as she passed me where I was weeding and said she was going for a walk.Hubby in garden all afternoon with kiddies.Mind you she has been very conscientious re daily schoolwork so needed a break anyway I an sure.
What a pity .
Annoyed as I made a big batch of basic sauce ,can be adapted to spag bol or chilli, only to see in a tiny corner of the label,white on purple/pink background that it must not be reheated.
It is a vegetarian option ,so onions,tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato paste ,herbs ,stock cubes,wine etcetc all wasted.
Also of course you cannot refreeze it so I chased the darn stuff all round the kitchen ,wrapped in tea towels trying to halve the block !
Half still frozen in freezer but not worth the trouble really.
It was like a Charlie Chaplin film.
It would have been better had I just done a meatless sauce .
We live and learn.
Cheerio folks ,another sunny day .
Viktoria.
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I am quite sure you can make cakes for the neighbours. Just leave them on the doorstep in a container and ring the bell and walk away and the neighbour can take them in.
We had a home baked cake sent via Royal Mail a couple of weeks ago - no problem.
Pheno
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I don't think dropping off a cake is the issue. Some people are pretty strict with the items they buy or receive because the virus can live on different 'surfaces' for varying amounts of time. Some wash or 'anti bac' the items - some isolate their shopping so I think the cake might have to be in quarantine for up to 72 hours. :-\
Also, just wanted to add to Roobarb's query about people missing like RTL - we've not heard from Trystan for sometime... hope all well!
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Trystan has been online this afternoon, maybe just not contributing to this particular thread.
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Where I live is much better than most have to suffer for isolation. We are on the edge of town, close to a Country Park. It's a large plot of land - there are three trees of over 50 feet between the house and the road. I don't know if I could stand being stuck in a tower block.
Got a couple of jobs done yesterday.
First was to take my mum to hospital to have the dressing on her leg changed. It seems they were pleased to see her. The wound is improving, and they are always happy to share good news.
While there, she enquired about the numbers of CV admissions. Their CV ward has plenty of patients, but none of them are local; all shipped in from the city 11 miles away who hog all the funding. Lots of terrace housing there, but the main cause of spread there appears to be a predominance of large families. In our own town, social distancing appears to be working.
Being 92, my mum is in a vulnerable group. Any excuse to see something away from home is welcome, so I take a different route home.
Decent carrot & pepper soup for lunch. I enjoy making soup and the freezer has a drawer reserved for it - currently 6 different flavours to choose from.
In the afternoon I got around to servicing the lawnmower. It got a good clean too, and I treated the rust spots underneath. Then I removed the dead battery for the electric start. I took the lid off it and refilled with proper water. Ten minutes on the battery charger and it was showing over 12V again. Lid glued back down again and refitted to mower. It started! So much for "no user-servicable parts inside". Cut some grass - not all, as the woman next door works shifts for 111, and her bedroom curtains were closed.
Felt good about the battery - a new one is about £20, and Morrisons only charged £1.50 for 2.5l of water. Topped up the battery in the burglar alarm while I was on a roll. It wasn't dead, but will now last longer.
Sat outside for a while watching YouTube videos, mostly about repairing lawnmowers. ;D
Didn't feel like eating the other half of the chicken casserole from Friday as the weather was too warm. Ended up with one of my mum's favourites - tinned pears, cream and a couple of slices of bread and butter. Canned fruit was a luxury in her ration-era youth. Pineapple Chunks were the only sort to be found until after she was married.
Telly was rubbish, just like every other Saturday evening, so watched a couple of Repair Shop episodes. Feel Good telly at its best!
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I am begining to really dislike the summer months, I would like to sit in the garden with a book, no chance, next door is out in full force with radio blaring, all adults, my husband is just recovering from pneumonia and has just asked if I would go with him for a walk, we have walked around the block plus and no one else in the neighbourhood has any music, in fact you can hear a pin drop except for chatter in the garden, one couple who share a drive is sitting the allowed distance apart having a chat, they waved and we all laughed, why are people so unsociable,?, I am not confrontational in any way, if I was I would be knocking at their door, and so they get away with it, would they like it if their parents lived next door to such an unsociable lot. I know they will be put there till dusk now
Louisa Maud
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I don't think dropping off a cake is the issue. Some people are pretty strict with the items they buy or receive because the virus can live on different 'surfaces' for varying amounts of time. Some wash or 'anti bac' the items - some isolate their shopping so I think the cake might have to be in quarantine for up to 72 hours. :-\
But quarantining things, for those that do, is surely because you don't know who might have handled it in its journey to the supermarket? A home made cake, by someone who does not have coronavirus, and has self isolated for longer than the 14 days, is surely not in the same category.
I can't see us ever getting out of this situation if people are so panicky about things.
Pheno
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I don't think dropping off a cake is the issue. Some people are pretty strict with the items they buy or receive because the virus can live on different 'surfaces' for varying amounts of time. Some wash or 'anti bac' the items - some isolate their shopping so I think the cake might have to be in quarantine for up to 72 hours. :-\
But quarantining things, for those that do, is surely because you don't know who might have handled it in its journey to the supermarket? A home made cake, by someone who does not have coronavirus, and has self isolated for longer than the 14 days, is surely not in the same category.
I can't see us ever getting out of this situation if people are so panicky about things.
Pheno
I have always been obsessive to the point of me wondering if I have OCD. All this has made me worse. I try and quarantine shopping that can be quarantined and stuff that has to go in the fridge and freezer is cleaned before putting it away. Last shop I did I washed my hands 27 times during the process. Then yesterday at work we had a couple of bags of sweets. I didn't take any and I have a very sweet tooth, the reason being I could not be 100% certain that everyone had washed their hands before putting their hands in the bag.
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Louisa Maud, have you spoken to your neighbours at all about the music? If not, perhaps they think it doesn't bother you. You don't have to be confrontational, you could maybe just go round and say do you think you could turn the music down a bit? You could perhaps add that your husband isn't in good health or make a joke about not being so young any more. I do know what you mean, my neighbour had the music on rather loud the other day when he was working outside, it was getting on my nerves because I like peace in the garden too. I didn't say anything because they've been so kind to me in other ways, I think he just gets carried away when his wife isn't monitoring it!
PharmaT, I'm obsessive about washing the shopping too, and any mail that comes is put in a paper bag in the garage for a few days, even after washing any wrappers that I can.
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Well as the spread of this virus is still not absolutely clear,personaly I err on the side of caution.
I have not sent birthday cards or presents to my sister, son, friend,nor will I to G.Grandson for his fourth birthday.
Ansolutely incensed this afternoon,neighbours had visitors to their garden .
All sat at the pic nic table !
Just down the road a near neighbour who had a big birthday party a few days ago,was chatting to his next door neighbour over the shared fence, not two feet between them, then he moved to his car and chatted at close quarters to a passer by ,who spoke to me yesterday indignant that he had seen two people walking up the road side by side with their dogs and they were not partners!
I moved from him as he himself did not know how far two metres were!
What is wrong with people?
Two men chatting at the open back of a van. One walked away ,so not working together but again not 28” apart let alone 2m.
Ah well.
My chicken breast roast was not the best,from Morrison’s,Son got it and left it at the door.I am assuming it was all he could get,but very garlicky and an odd mixture of spices ,was not keen and still got three quarters to wade
through,it was a very small one .
Did gate and sowed some wild flower seeds I had saved but mislaid - found them in the shed with the weed killer etc..Might germinate this year.
Nice sunny afternoon but a stiff cool breeze.
Cheerio folks .
Viktoria.
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Roobarb, when we had the new fence put up she had a go but behind the fence, the f word was flourishing no end, I came in and shut the door, I can't handle arguments, they are not nice people at all, problem is, if we put our house up for sale we would have to let on if there has been any arguments, for 2 pins I would go and live in a retirement apartment but I like my house and my neighbour I share the drive with, looks as if I will have to put up and shut up as I think the saying is.
Louisa Maud
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That's not a nice thing to have to deal with. I hate confrontation too, some people are all mouth until they're face to face with you, then they lose their confidence. Could be worth a try but not if it's going to cause more problems.
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Thank you Roobarb
Thankfully it might only be weekends, I hope they return to work tomorrow
Louisa Maud
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Roobarb, JenB is right. I am fine it is just I have been working long day shifts. Friday was last shift - a 12 hour shift with long commute. Now I am on a block of nightshifts starting tonight. So just catching up now for Saturday. Hardly worth mentioning today, Sunday, as I just pottered about. Anyway, here is a late entry catch up for Saturday .. :)
Woke up at 6 am wondering what day it is and which shift I might be on. Then it dawns on me that I have finished three long day shifts and today is a day off. Wonderful thought! Then I remember that I need to get up quick, to put the garden recycling bin out. When I got in around midnight last night, my mind gave me the usual message when I contemplate putting the bin out so late .. 'Don't go out in the garden there might be an intruder lurking about there'. Looking out in the ominous darkness I think 'okay, I stay put in the house now'. Now at 6 am, it is light outside and my mind seems to say 'All clear now .. no intruder in the garden' and with a groan I get up and put my coat on and drag the bin out to the kerb. My lawns have been looking in quite good shape recently due to my gadding about being cut right back on days off. However, I have noticed that public grass areas locally are well overgrown and dandelions are out in great numbers.
I have some breakfast and go back to bed. I feel so tired and lacking in energy.
After a lie in I walk to the shops. My eyes light up when I see there is some flour in at long last! I get a bag of both plain and self raising. Flour seems to be the 'must have' item in Britain at the moment .. rather like toilet rolls were a short while back. I see one young man practically pounce on the flour when he sees this. He goes away but then a minute later comes back and adds yet another bag in his trolley "It's not for me it's for my parents" he tells another young man standing nearby. The latter laughs and says "I believe you, thousands wouldn't." I wonder what was behind the recent shortage of flour? Could it be that after all the decluttering, d.i.y. and gardening, baking might have become the latest British craze?
I didn't do much for the rest of the day - I am too tired and worn out. I read a little in the evening and chat to my son on the phone. It is good to be assured by him that they are all alright and I let him know I am alright too.
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I believe there is plenty of flour but the people in the packing areas of the producers are on furlough,so no staff.
I have no proof ,just someone told me.Seems likely.
I too often do not know which day it is, no newspaper or TVmag .
We have no newsagents in our town where previously there were three.
Three supermarkets now and they sell papers and mags,but no deliveries of course.
Viktoria.
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You could well be right Viktoria.
Well, I think I had better sign out now as once again I think it is that time of night at the station to start hunting for a bus driver and to warm myself up for a very fast run .. :-\
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Prepacked flour seems to have disappeared from my area too. However on my last trip to my local Morrisons, the shelf had paper bags of strong white bread flour, packaged in-store from the bakery department's commercial supplies.
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Glad you're okay RTL, gadding about seems a distant memory, let's hope it's not too long before it resumes. In the meantime, hope the bus driver put in an appearance at the right time. :)