Month: February 2022

Mid-week, and we always look forward to Quiz Night. No exception today with an interesting mix of rounds put together by everyone. No particular Quiz Master this evening – we all threw our hats into the ring. It was good fun as always, even though one or two of our number were missing, each out on missions to support sons and daughters overnight. John was on top form and knew lots of stuff, which complemented me, ‘cos I didn’t. Dates? Not a chance!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we had got up in a leisurely fashion this morning and got ourselves ready to enjoy a morning coffee with friends. I went round to Dawn’s, to meet up with her and Alison and Sally; while Peter walked round to our house to enjoy a coffee with John. It worked well and we both had a very pleasant morning.

This afternoon, I decided to consult my list again and found more household things to do, so gritted my teeth to get on with them. As it happened, I enjoyed what I was doing – finalising the tidy-up of the main guest bedroom and re-potting my orchids, which were looking very sorry for themselves.

A little motivation is all that’s needed and I found this quote on Facebook which reminded me (once again……) to take things one step at a time.

John spent the afternoon on the computer doing his accounts and checking over leases on properties. Phew, rather him than me!

All in all, a pleasant day, which has handed me a little boost. Not feeling quite so low now – for which I am grateful. I wonder if it’s the cold showers in the morning that are doing the trick?

In reality, it’s not quite a cold shower every morning, but it’s an exciting experience because I never know whether the shower is going to stream hot or cold. Invariably it’s chilly, so I tell myself that the research shows that it’s good for me, so I’m not changing it just yet.

I hadn’t realised, until today, that the first of February used to be the start of Spring in the pagan calendar, and it is known as Imbolc. Apparently, Imbolc is a time for personal growth and renewed energy, with spring cleaning and handicrafts customary around this time. Maybe that’s it? Maybe I am enjoying a bit of Imbolc……whatever it is, I hope the mood improvement continues.

In other news, I forgot to share Susie Dent’s ‘Word of the Day’ yesterday. They always make me smile, and it was a follows: ‘psittacism’ (19th century): the meaningless or mechanical repetition of words. From the Latin ‘psittacus’, ‘parrot’. Anyone watch PMQs today?

Take care everyone. May the Lord hold you in his massive arms, protect you and shield you from harm – check out Psalm 91 vs 4, but find a modern version, that works best.

The government reports 88,085 COVID cases today; 534 deaths and 1,474 admissions to hospital.

Well, not quite mid-winter, but we are six weeks into it and wondering when it will actually arrive here in the Midlands. So far, we have been very lucky and the weather has been pretty mild for winter. Not only that, but January was the sunniest on record, so the weather forecaster told me this evening.

And today was no exception – the sun shone beautifully for most of the day and it was particularly pleasant to be outside. Not that we did much of being outside really, but we did dip our toes in a tiny bit.

It was a hospital morning for John, with the monthly infusion of immunoglobulin. “I’ll drive myself today,” he said, “Can you wait in for Western Power to come and fit a gubbins to the fuse box, ready for the Smart Meter?” Of course I could.

So John set off at about 8.30 to go over to Heartlands and left me with a morning to myself. What was I going to do with it? I looked at my list…..it was all household jobs, but I decided I needed to tackle something. I didn’t have to do it all, I could just do a bit at a time.

It may not sound like much, but I cleared and tidied the main guest bedroom, which was still in a high state of disarray after Freddie and William had made one of their dens in there. I also had the satisfaction of hanging Andrew’s suits and shirts in the wardrobe (they’d been on the back of the door since we’d had them cleaned), all neatly cached in protective covers and ready to be returned to their owner when he has any wardrobe space of his own. Wrapping paper and Christmas bags and ribbons all found their way into boxes ready for next year as well, and the pile of Christmas cards was checked and re-cycled. I was rather pleased that I’d got that room all sorted.

At lunchtime, Michael and Danielle called in on their way from Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield to University Hospital in Coventry. Having moved house, Danielle has been transferred across to Coventry to have the baby. ‘Would it be possible to call in on the way back to pick up the planer?’ Michael wanted to know. John wasn’t in, but no matter, we just needed to rummage in the Man Shed to see what treasure it might reveal.

‘It’ll just be a drive-by thing…’ Michael warned, so as not get my hopes up of an exciting playtime with William and Thomas. In the end they all came in, bar Thomas who was still asleep in the car, and William immediately said, “Come on, Grandma, let’s play.” So we played for about half an hour in the sandpit under the blazing sun while Michael searched in the Aladdin’s cave at the bottom of the garden for the planer. Hehehehe. It was lush.

Michael came back, triumphant, from his foray into the treasure chest of tools just in time to greet John who’d just arrived back from the hospital. So they stayed a few more minutes to chat outside in the warm sunshine before setting off to the second hospital visit of the day. A scan of the baby to check on its growth was in order, plus a general chat to the medics who will be looking after Danielle when she has the baby. All good.

This afternoon we drove over to the garage where I’d left the VW yesterday for repair. The CV joint on the passenger side had bitten the dust, so we’re a few quid lighter than we were at the beginning of the day. With the weather being so delightful, John was motivated to go and get the other car washed and brushed up, so we waved goodbye to each other at the garage. “See you later!” we called, spirits buoyed up by the warm day and seeing things in brighter colour. Winter? It feels like Spring to me……

This evening I went to my Bible Study/Prayer Group meeting, which was lovely. Although it’s not cold, we were sat in front of a roaring log burner and among a group of lovely people which gave great comfort. Mind you, we were looking at an Old Testament story which foxed everyone, not just me, so we had our brains addled for a while. That is, until our leader, Eileen, put us out of misery and explained it all. 🎶You gotta have faith, faith, faith……..🎶

Take care everyone. God bless.

‘Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.’ Theodore Roosevelt

Stats: 112,458 people tested positive for COVID-19 today; 219 people died; 1,472 people were admitted to hospital