Isolation Day 92

Having promised myself a new routine, I actually did do something different today. Not promising that it’s going to be a regular thing but, from time to time, I may adopt it.

I woke up just after six this morning. Lay in bed, listening to the birds singing their little hearts out and made the decision to go for an early walk. I knew that, at that time in the morning, I may meet dog-walkers or runners, but I hoped that they might not yet be out in force. I wriggled my feet into my trainers, which gave a squeak of surprise, popped on my face mask and set off towards the path that we fondly call ‘The Yellow Brick Road’.

It was a beautiful morning, already warm and very close, teeing up for the storms later on in the day. One dog-walker, doing the opposite circuit to me, on the opposite side of the road, and one very fast walker about a hundred yards ahead of me, stretching out his lead with every step. No-one else. Just me and a feeling of exhilaration that I had broken the bonds of isolation for the first time in ninety-one days. It was exciting.

Once home, I brewed a cuppa and savoured that deliciousness of having earned it. I took my breakfast outside and savoured that, too. Afterwards, I got on with jobs. Just pottering, you know, but hoping to get through them before anyone else got up.

A very large parcel arrived mid-morning, and I was thrilled to see that it was a new mother/daughter lamp, that I’d ordered the other day. I wasn’t expecting it today as the delivery people had promised it for Saturday. Wow!! A parcel that arrives early!! That makes a change!!

In the middle of the hall I promptly set to, to put the thing together. Mum wafted downstairs, picking her way past the bits of cardboard strewn across the rug and made as if to go into the lounge. I called to her to go and get her breakfast in the kitchen. I would be installing the lamp near where she sits, so she’d need to wait a while.

Well, the pesky thing took me a lot longer than I thought it would, and I was disappointed that I had to enlist John’s help in the end to hold it up while I fed the stand into the base and to help me with inserting the bulbs. Boooo…….I’d wanted to do it all myself. Ah, well. Looks nice though. Mum, bless her, was hovering in the kitchen doorway watching the proceedings, with an air of, ‘Can I come out yet?’.

Inevitably, in removing the old lamp I noticed that there was some cleaning to be done. So one job led to another and settees were shifted, coffee tables displaced, blanket boxes re-arranged. Hadn’t planned that!

The second part of my proposed new ‘routine’ was to take an afternoon nap. So I did. At three o’clock, I left John sunning himself under what was a really scorching sun and took myself upstairs to lay on the bed. Hmmm…. perhaps I’ll get into bed? It was two hours later before I woke up. Must’ve needed the sleep then.

While I was wrestling with the lamp, John was wrestling with the electrics. He’d bought some new sockets that include charging points for mobile phones and so he’d thought he’d fit them. That job took a lot longer than anticipated too. First, he lost a screw. Both of our eyes are dim, but between us we eventually managed to retrieve it. Then, thinking the job was complete, switched the power back on, only for a bit of a bang and the electricity to go off again. Not sure what was wrong as he’d definitely wired it up correctly. Decided to abandon one of the sockets and put the old one back on. But we have got one that works with a phone, at least. Yay!! We’ve arrived in the 21st century!

Whilst I was snoozing my head off this afternoon, John was beavering away in the ‘man shed’. He was finalising the garage door aperture and fitting the brackets ready to hang the door. Just needs to find some burly men to help lift it into place now.

The ‘man shed’ is still in a bit of a pickle, despite hours and hours of trying to sort it out. John has had another go at it today, easing out various pieces of equipment that he had for the business but which he thinks he may not need for his future personal needs. Having eased the equipment out, he photographed some of it and posted the photos up on t’internt to sell the stuff. No doubt, a bit like the wood situation, he’ll find he really does need the things once he’s sold them……

Mum, meanwhile, having had the excitement of the lamp-building and the socket-switching was a very contented bunny. Even going so far as to try to tell me how to re-connect the TV after it had gone off due to the thunderstorm, we were having this evening. Not only that, but I think we may be one step closer to her re-hydration. It goes like this…..

Since the debacle of not finding a viable vein in either arm last week for a successful blood test, we have been trying to get her to drink more. Pretty much to no avail. “Drink your tea, Mum.” we say. “I am drinking it.” she’ll reply indignantly, peering into her full cup of cold tea that’s lasted her three hours. Anyway, I decided to offer her a drink of water, not from an old-fashioned glass, but from a Martini glass. Guess what? It goes down a treat. If only I’d known sooner….. fingers crossed enough water has passed her lips for the nurse to find a vein tomorrow morning.

I haven’t watched the news today, but one highlight that I do know of is the ‘U’ turn made by the government in response to Marcus Rashford’s plea to make sure children don’t go without food over the summer holidays. His open letter just hit the right note and the mood of many.

Regarding the Corona virus, however, by nine o’clock this morning there were 1,279 confirmed cases of Corona virus in the previous 24 hours, and 233 people who had died in all settings. The NHS reported 11 deaths in hospitals up until five o’clock on 15 June 2020, and 43 having been confirmed for the day before.

Peace be with you all as you begin to circulate more, and may love be your guiding light.