After the excitement of successfully laying the kitchen floor just before lock down, there was a bit of spare laminate, so we thought we’d continue the wooden floor theme into where the old office was, at the back of the garage. Of course, there wasn’t sufficient spare of everything we need, so John ordered the relevant underlay and extra pieces of laminate to fulfil the job. The laminate arrived a few days ago and we had been waiting for the underlay which – ta-da! – arrived today.
I scrambled some clothes on as the doorbell rang and ran, helter-skelter, downstairs to see who was ding-donging so early. Ah….. it was the Wickes’ delivery. In our current state of floating about, early morning deliveries are a bit of a distant memory. I gave the delivery driver the thumbs up and scampered back up to bed. The house felt a bit cool, and the bed was cosy warm. I’ll get up in a bit, I thought.
It was half-past ten before I eased myself out of bed. “Come on, John.” I said, “Dave and Chris’ll be here at eleven o’clock.” I hummed happily as I made a cup of tea and had just sliced myself a nice piece of melon for breakfast, when Dave and Chris arrived. I beckoned for them to go round the back for our garden get-together.
As they walked in through the back gate, Chris offered me a goody bag. She had brought her famous home-made cake. And some lovely fruit. And a gift for the new baby, Thomas, as well as a little something for William. So thoughtful and so exciting. Hmmm…… we’ll just have to make another trip over to Sutton soon, shan’t we? What a hardship that will be….. (does an excited little dance…..)
When we made the arrangement for an outside chat with Dave and Chris we hadn’t bargained on just how windy it would be, nor how cool it would be. It wasn’t cold, but the gusts of wind made it feel slightly chillier than it was. Ah-ha! I know, said John, we’ll light the chiminea and sit right on top of it to keep warm.
So, that’s what we did and ooooh, it was smashing. We gathered the chairs round, all suitably distanced, and settled down to enjoy each other’s company, warming our legs in front of a blazing fire. “We won’t stay long.” Chris said. But we couldn’t stop chatting and we were enjoying ourselves so much that, when we finally thought it was time to call it a day, three hours had elapsed. That’s good friends for you, isn’t it? When you don’t notice how the time flies.
Having got up late myself and fallen immediately into entertaining, I hadn’t checked on Mum’s progress. I finally thought I oughta about twelve-thirty and popped upstairs to see how she was doing. Still in bed, sleepy. I suggested she got up but had no expectation that she would really. However, about three-quarters of an hour later, Dave said, “Here’s your Mum at the window.” Sure enough, there she was peering out at us, all tidily dressed and wearing a bit of lipstick. She even opened the patio door to say hello. I don’t think she had any idea who Dave and Chris were though, because she asked me later, “Who were those people you were talking to today?”
After lunch, John went into the garage to tinker about with the car and glue some more sound proofing material into the shell and boot of the car. He was very successful and once again enjoyed himself. I’ll have to have a word. This enjoying himself is unprecedented. Two days running – it’s unheard of….
I had an hour or so in the garden, despite the breeze. The roses had been absolutely battered by the wind and, from a distance, the white rose petals on the flowerbed looked like snow all over it. But I am delighted with the plants I bought from Bracey’s as they have settled in well and are flowering beautifully. The Gardening Express plants are still gasping. Certainly most of the house leeks look like they won’t survive and the ten echinacea rootlings were rotten, so never likely to take. Disappointing.
Not a lot else to report today. As Chris said, the blog is ‘same, same’ every day. I mean, there’s not exactly a lot to write about is there, when you’re still in isolation? I had thought I might develop deep, philosophical thoughts during this enforced period of seclusion, but no. Just brain atrophy instead. Ah, well. I am hoping that a bit of book reading will help. I am starting to read again with the help of the little book club I belong to, so maybe the grey cells will show a bit of activity before much longer. If only I could find some energy from somewhere though, that’d be a bonus.
So, the latest book we are reading (when I’ve downloaded it onto the Kindle) is ‘The Girl with the Louding Voice’ by Abi Dare. I’ll let you know if it’s any good. Thoroughly enjoyed the last book we read: ‘An American Marriage’ by Tayare Jones, and can recommend it.
Good news in the West Midlands today on the COVID-19 front, with zero deaths being reported in the region’s hospitals. Nationally, 6 deaths have been reported by the NHS in hospitals up until five o’clock yesterday, and 9 confirmed for the day before. The government has reported that by nine o’clock this morning there were 25 deaths in all settings and 815 people infected.
There has been a reported spike in cases in Leicester today, however, and there is a kerfuffle about who is going to be responsible for managing that, so we’ll see what happens. A little glimpse of what is to come, I suspect.
Keep on keeping on, folks. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Treasure your loved ones. God bless.
Footnote: Mum enjoyed her lemon curd sandwich today.