Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Thank you everyone.

The vaccination went very well thanks: a lot of my colleagues had appointments about the same time but we've also had another case at work so we are officially An Outbreak. I will get another test tomorrow but there's still a while to go before we find out if it's got any further. This seems to have originated with someone who is asymptomatic but the test picked up traces of the virus after the person returned to work from isolating.

Some spending to declare today: I have free postage from a clothes retailer so I ordered a couple of tops for DH to try (he loves one that I got him for Christmas but he wears it so much it will be worn out by March at this rate, so I've taken the opportunity to capitalise on his liking it and try to expand his wardrobe). I may also have ordered some underwear and socks for myself. The total is £46.94 if we keep all the items.

It's been a very soggy day but I really wanted some exercise so I went for a walk after having my jab and waiting the required 15 minutes to ensure I didn't have an allergic reaction. I managed 6K and wet socks but it was worth it. Tomorrow is also forecast to be wet - further south than us has flood warnings.

A has borrowed a plane off us so DH saw him briefly - it feels most unsociable wrapping things in a plastic bag and leaving them for adult offspring then leaving them in the rain while we stay indoors, but it's for the best.

I had my video meeting with my friends tonight which was nice - and one of them has transformed some yarn I passed on to her into a scarf which she is going to give back to me! As soon as she pointed out how nice it would look with a navy top I had to agree with her - it's a pale egg shell colour and my friend's handiwork is exquisite.

So tonight I'm thankful for my vaccine, for the support of my friends, for the scarf to look forward to and for shopping day tomorrow. I do enjoy it even if I'm wary of shops now!

Cherryfudge

This morning has been spent waiting in. My friend hasn't dropped the scarf off yet but I can't blame her as it's so wet out. DH was supposed to hear from his consultant but the consultant rang early and left a message to say he was early and would ring back, so we're still waiting for that one. It's a routine appointment so no particular worries.

My work rang: there are now sufficient staff off isolating to have to close the service for a few days, and did I have a preference where else I'd work? Now going to another service is a bit out of my comfort zone (same goes for nearly everyone, I think) especially as there are risks of encountering the virus. As I mentioned yesterday, that's now a risk at our service too, and I was getting a bit nervous. The vaccine takes a while to take effect so all I have is a slightly sore arm at this early stage. Anyway I said I wouldn't be working elsewhere and gave her a slightly bolshy talk on 'we should have been shut before this' but she wasn't having any... I spent some of Monday on a course when it would have been my day off so I will take that time back and use the rest of my annual leave, which might be enough to cover my shifts for a few days provided we reopen next week. I only have Monday at work as the rest of the week is leave but DH will be working some of that so I might try to find shifts on the days he's working, thus saving a little bit of leave for when we go to work on my Mum's old house.

It looks as though I need to find constructive things to do with my time over the next few days. There less chance of rain from tomorrow so I might be able to run some days (I know... I won't dissolve if I run in the rain). DH has started on decorating our bedroom so there's a lot of clearing I ought to be doing, but which I struggle with. I also need to sort out which course to do next. That's been on hold while worrying about H but I feel okay to do it now, and maybe balance screen time with a bit of crochet. Someone had better hold me accountable for doing constructive things and not just playing computer games or online shopping!

Cherryfudge

My friend dropped off the scarf she'd made me and it's really something. I'm sure she could do this for a living, though people don't pay living wages for handmade things, do they? I will be proud to wear it.

I braved the rain - no question of what footwear to use to get to work, it had to be wellies. There were a couple of managers in, busy finishing rotas and so on, but no clients and no support staff. It had an after-the-end-0f-term feeling. I got my Covid test done. It's the sort that takes a few days but I found the name of someone else who's currently off-rota and it's someone I've been working with and who had been standing chatting to the person who initially went off with a positive test. I hope he doesn't have symptoms but I suspect that, unless he was tested on the early shift this morning and got a rapid positive, he will be symptomatic. This puts me and my colleague next in line for possible positive tests, vaccination or not, as we worked with him that afternoon (though he was careful to distance). However I know my colleague is on shift with me on Monday and that's not been changed so far, so perhaps the chain stops there?

The good news is that my arm was a bit sore this morning, is nearly normal now and I've not had any other side effects from being jabbed.

I went on to do the week's shopping. The lady in the eco shop was glumly wondering how she would get home because she has to drive through an area that often floods. We did end up having a laugh about her bringing a sleeping bag and a lot of gin in case she got stranded, which was fun. She's one of these people who can look at reality and still be cheerful. I do hope she got home all right.

The supermarket was rather quiet: there are signs up about shopping alone unless you are a carer or have children, and frequent (rather subdued) tannoy announcements about masks being a legal requirement unless you are exempt from wearing one. It was reassuring to see all adults complying. I also noticed they are playing music between the announcements - is this a new thing or have I just never noticed it? This particular supermarket seems to like music at Christmas but I just never notice it the rest of the year!

I think I've overdone the buying! As I went in I saw they had bowls of sprouting bulbs and a flowering primula and they looked so pretty I bought a bowl for H and A. Other than that I think I stuck to what I'd planned to buy, making sure I bought enough tins of fruit to last DH a week, and various ingredients to make meals over the same time scale. I have a rough meal plan drawn up, taking into account we are both home all day till Monday. I have rather a lot of fresh fruit, so I need to make myself eat some every day.

DH collected me from the car park and we took the bowl of flowers to H and A. I tried to hold a distanced conversation but the rain was so loud on the umbrella that I couldn't hear everything! It's still raining now...

Dinner was supposed to be liver and bacon casserole but the bacon didn't smell right so I binned it. I feel guilty but there's no way it was going to be eaten. The casserole isn't the same without it. The extra portion (why can't I cater for two even now?) is in the freezer and I can add fresh bacon to it when it comes out. Note to self: there's no room in the freezer which is why the bacon is in the bin. Make sure more gets eaten before you shop again!

I've started a list in my bullet journal to help me make good use of the days ahead. Only about half of today's items are crossed off, but that includes fixing a lampshade that was coming adrift at the seams my small contribution to the redecorating that DH is ploughing on with.

Oh, and the items I ordered yesterday have been dispatched but I then got a text to say there is a customs charge as they are coming from Ireland! Brexit bites, I suppose. My list for tomorrow will include contacting the company to find where I stand.

Spending:
Gift £3.00
Housekeeping £72.95.

Tonight I'm thankful for seeing A even if at a distance through the rain, for the ability to do a week or more's shopping all at once and have it driven home and for an unexpected day off tomorrow when I had bee worried about going in to work (and the same over the weekend).

Sun_Addict

Fingers crossed for a negative test. A friend of mine currently has COVID for the second time. She had the vaccination a couple of weeks ago as a care worker and unknown to her she already had the virus. 

The scarf sounds lovely, what a talented friend you have.

VelvetFreak

Fingers crossed for a negative test!

Honeysucklelou2

I’ve noticed music playing in the supermarket after Christmas. I put it down to the supermarkets trying to keep everyone cheerful.

Cherryfudge

Thank you everyone. @Sun_Addict, I do hope your friend recovers quickly. I've just been texting a colleague who has been ill for a couple of weeks and she's absolutely wiped out. Her family has been ill too, one of them possibly for the second time. Some care workers are under such high exposure.

@VelvetFreak and Sun_Addict, yes, I got a negative again! I must admit I jumped when I saw who the text was from but the longer I go from the time the infection was present at work, and from my vaccine, the more chance there is of my not getting it, or getting it less noticeably. It seems the second and third people at work to get positive tests didn't even feel unwell.

@Honeysucklelou2, I think you could be right. It makes the mask announcements less stark!

I seem to have had a very unproductive day today, apart from mending a pair of socks! The clothes I ordered have arrived so I have squirreled away my new hiking socks in the hope of some good family walks in a few months' time. Dh is still deciding whether or not to keep his new things.

The storm seems to have blown over now after all that rain (and a bit of snow overnight which is now gone). In fact, we had a beautiful day, but a bitterly cold wind so I chickened out of running. I braved the garden long enough to empty the compost bucket into the compost bin and was delighted to find it's giving off a bit of heat so something's going right in there. DH was working till three but we wrapped up and had a walk later on the premise that the sunshine is good for us - and we noticed it's light quite a lot later.

We had a knock on the door and there was J to say hello on the way home from having her vaccine! I hadn't even realised she was due one as she has no underlying health issues. However she's a keyworker and has to have contact with various people through work so it will all reduce the chances of infection.

Nothing spent today.

And the things I'm thankful for: a sunny day and an end to the rain. Seeing J and having a talk (I felt a bit mean leaving her out in the freezing cold garden but it's better than not seeing her ). J's vaccination and my negative test. New hiking socks. Seeing snowdrops in the lee of a hedge and primroses coming into bloom.

Cherryfudge

Another nothing-spent day.

I have heard from all the children in one way or another: DS2 replied to my texts en masse last night and had a day off today so I hope that's gone well and he got some rest as well as time away from the hospital. J is feeling really poorly after her vaccine and had to take the day off: DS1 said he felt off colour as well but I've been fine. You would have thought as the oldest of us I would have been most likely to feel unwell.

A texted me in the morning to ask if I wanted to go for a walk. I was still in pyjamas! However that was soon rectified and it was a beautiful sunny day so perfect for walking. He told me H is still on a couple of medications and is signed off for a while longer. She hasn't been able to keep up her usual fitness levels for some months and that is also having an impact on her recovery but she's now able to do short walks.

After A went home I continued the walk: the day was far too beautiful to go inside so I intended to repeat the route he had showed me. Part way round, though, I decided to try a field track that he'd pointed out as a somewhere he goes running. I met a family with a puppy called Teddy, but no one else. Having explored along a field edge or two I decided against risking any more mud and made my way to the road, which joined up with one of my favourite routes. From there I did 'my' route in reverse, getting some pictures of the distant snow-topped hills and flooded fields nearby as I did so, then back down past our house and added on our shortest running route because I'd noticed I was approaching 10 miles. I managed to achieve that before lunch - though lunch was rather on the late side!  

So it's been a healthy day - it's so nice to have all the time I want just to walk and feel the sun on my face. I had a veggie curry for tea: in fact it's been a veggie day which tends to make me feel energised. I haven't done much at home but Dh was working so I probably wouldn't have even if I'd stayed in.

Today I'm thankful for lovely weather, time spent with A and countryside I can exercise in.

Cherryfudge

Another day of not doing a lot, but a few things have happened so it's not wasted. We've had fair weather again but it's been so icy cold out of doors that I didn't get any exercise at all. I have, however, restarted keeping a track of calories because I want to improve on last year's weight loss and I'm increasingly convinced that easy carbs are not the way to make myself stronger, more energetic, leaner.

I spent 99p on a recipe book, £2.60 on some study material and am planning a small craft project, but I haven't actually cooked, studied or sewn anything yet. We also bought a gift for A and H (£27): they need something to lift their spirits. H also has a birthday soon but I already have her gift and DH got her a card while out collecting his prescription today.

We had visitors! I spotted J and L walking past so I yelled and they came to the garden to chat. It was freezing standing in the kitchen doorway so they must have been even colder but they said there was some warmth in the sun. J is over her reaction to the vaccine but I made them both a hot blackcurrant as I was a bit concerned at her being out, so soon after being incapacitated. Later H arrived to collect some items we are lending them. She had walked all the way, which is the furthest she's been in months. Apparently A had offered to be taxi if the walk was too much but she seems to have coped well. (We had offered to drop things at theirs but she wanted to get out and build up her strength again).

Work has been in touch and offered me a sleep in and a shift next weekend. It it helps us open again that's good! It also means I get back one of the days of leave which were going to be 'dead time'.

I've done a little decluttering (it haunts me and I've started getting flashbacks to areas where I go walking near Mum's old house which goes to show how much the rest of the clearing is bothering me: at least if I can do a bit here then I can justify a few more bits coming back to ours). 27 paper decisions on my stuff and 2 on papers from the old house. I think I have a way to go but it's something!

Today I'm thankful for the girls' recoveries from their very different health issues, for being able to see them both today and for small but real progress in the house - and for the log burner keeping us snug tonight.

Honeysucklelou2

Glad  to read that H is able to be out and about and that J is recovered from vaccine reaction.