The Daily Echo: Day 225

Monday. Start of another week. And what a beauty the day was. The sun was shining all day, the trees were wearing their most colourful clothes and the moon shone exceedingly brightly this evening – even sporting a rainbow hue through the clouds. (Photo courtesy of Michael)

So, what do you do on a glorious day like today? Work inside of course! A job from my snagging list to get the kitchen finished, I actually put a coat of paint on the skirting boards today!! I will put another coat on tomorrow (I hope) and then that job can be crossed off the list.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as it sounds. The paint I used is quite old, so there was a lovely thick skin on the top of a third-full tin. It transpired that, underneath the skin the paint was actually OK, but it was a bit of a fiddle to get down to it. John helped me fish out the last bit that was still floating on the top, and then wished he hadn’t. This satinwood paint wasn’t water-based after all. And where on earth had we put the large container of white spirit we bought at B&Q recently? Couldn’t find it – but I did find the accoutrements to the fish tank which I hadn’t been able to unearth yesterday instead.

I settled down to paint….. oh! I had forgotten to put the masking tape down. But you know how masking tape has that horrible habit of ripping, just as you’re on a roll? (Sorry about the pun) Yep. That. Bloomin’ stuff. Anyway, once I got going, not too bad to start with, but then there was negotiating round the waste bin and the radiator and the pipes. And I am arthritic – knees, hips, wrists – so, after about fifteen minutes I remembered why I am trying to keep up with yoga. I am not as supple as I was. Creak……

John, in the meantime, was furkling about with the lights on the trailer as it transpires that they are not fully functioning. So, the ol’ man got up and at ’em this morning, and was out there by mid-morning having a good old rummage around to get the reluctant things working. He thinks he’s done it, but we’ll see…..

He’s still not feeling great and is a proper Puffing Billy, so every job he tackles takes a superhuman effort. I applaud his determination – you can’t keep a good ‘un down, can you?

We both sank into the sofa after our hard work and watched the mid-day news. The question of what to eat for lunch was too much for John, exhausted as he was, and he said he didn’t really care what we had. In the end, I did a middle class, posh lunch…. made up some guacamole and served it with paleo bread and crudités. That’s mashed up avocado, cashew nut bread and raw veg to you and me. But whatever you want to call it, it was delicious.

After lunch, I knew I had to get over to Mum’s this afternoon to take her for her flu jab. And it was a matter of planning…….. working back from the appointment at 3.45, what time did I need to get there to get her out of her chair and out of her flat? That was the question. I decided I needed to get there an hour beforehand at least. No matter how many times you tell her and write things down, it would still be surprise to her that I was taking her out.

“Mum, I’ve come to take you for your flu jab.” She nodded and smiled. “Yes, dear.” she replied, “Nice of you to come.” I put her washing away, tidied a few things, and then got her shoes, socks, and a cardigan ready. “What, we’re going this afternoon?” Ah….. she hadn’t clocked that it was today. All of a sudden, she had tummy ache. “Oh, dear, oh, dear,” she moaned. “Mum.” I said, very firmly, “We’re going.” And then teased her, “A bit of tummy ache won’t stop you having your flu jab, you know.” She laughed weakly and looked at me appealingly. I shook my head. “We’re going.”

The upshot was that we made it there and back in on piece, and she managed to wear her mask and have the jab without too much fuss. A bit of a struggle getting in and out of the car though, which we had a giggle about.

While I was out, John cleared and removed the shelves in the old office/gym/snug so that he could hang them in the garage for his beloved Lotus bits. He looked pretty done in when I went in, but he ploughed on and he started putting them up in the garage. I was going to nip up to the shops, so went in to tell him. He was having a bit of a fight with the shelf, the wall and his drill. “Do you want me to help, John?” No, he was alright. “Well, let me know when you’re doing the next one and I’ll come and hold it up. And just be careful on those steps!” I hoped I didn’t get back to find him in a heap on the floor. As it turned out it was OK, but he did go to bed for a while as I cooked our evening meal.

All in all, a very busy day for both of us but quite a satisfying one for a change. Even if we are feeling our age….

And COVID? How’s he doing then? Oooh, really rather well, spreading nicely, thank you, to 20,890 people today and killing off 102 in the last twenty-four hours. The hospitals report 67 deaths over the weekend.

Take care everyone. God bless.