Busy Days

“Grandma…. What are you doing here again?” William said this morning, when he saw me. “Ah…. I’m still helping Mummy with the decorating.” I said, “But I will be going home when I’ve done the papering.” Poor William – we would normally be playing when I see him – but not for the last few days and I think he’s getting confused.

Anyway, I did a reasonable job of the wallpapering in Michael and Danielle’s room, and it looks quite good. Then I came home to write a couple of rounds for the Quiz this evening.

John, meanwhile, was busy tidying and cleaning the house, much to my delight. The only trouble, of course, was that the vacuuming exhausted him, so today’s walk went out of the window. Ah, well, maybe tomorrow?

Quiz night was a great giggle – we all did a round each instead of one person being Quiz Master – and honestly, there were some crazy rounds with much laughter involved. Thoroughly enjoyed it and it topped off what had been a busy day.

Yesterday was busy too. I popped to see Mum in the morning which was very enjoyable as we had a good laugh. We looked at photos of the family again, and I was keen to show her the recent half-marathon event that Michael had been involved in.

She duly admired him with his medal and then admired him still more as she saw him in full running mode – only to say: “Why, he looks really…. you know ……..really….antique!” I burst out laughing. She knew she’d got the wrong word and searched some more in her memory for the right one. “Do you mean athletic, Mum?” She did. “Yes!!” she said, relieved. We giggled for a while together over her mistake. Eeeeh, but it was funny.

I had another full-on belly laugh a bit later on, too. “Do you want a bit of my chocolate?” Mum asked as she offered me some of the Flake I’d taken for her. “No, thank you, Mum. I’m on a diet.” Mum looked surprised. “What ever do you want to diet for? You don’t need to go on a diet. You look alright.” How kind.

Not more than a minute later, as I sat next to Mum and once again refused a bit of chocolate, she looked me over critically and said, “Do you know, I think you’ve put on a bit of weight….” Well, I could hardly contain myself….. Laugh? I should say so!

It’s such fun visiting Mum now, because you never, ever know what she is going to say next. She’s on top form and looking so very well. Blessings, eh?

In the afternoon, I did a spot of shopping – I actually went to a supermarket. Not a bad experience though, because in the Kenilworth Waitrose you can rely on many people to wear a mask and keep their distance.

We were relieved to take another phone call from Graham and Gail in the early evening yesterday. It was good to know that they continue to be safe after the floods, but they tell us that getting supplies is a bit of an issue. The electricity was out for a while of course, which has meant that all the contents of their freezer have gone and now they need to buy food each day.

The town of Lismore has been completely washed away and it’s in a dreadful mess, with stock in the shops damaged and decimated; the streets mud-filled with sludge; businesses gone under; and homes broken and swept away. Fortunately Graham and Gail’s home is OK and the local shop has been able to get some things in, so they’re relying on that, but there’s not a great deal of choice and I think it’s been minced beef three days in a row now. Better than nothing, of course.

I am very thankful for all the blessings of all the days and am busy trying to count them just now, as we see the horrors of war on our screens every few hours. The sun was shining today so that lifted my spirits a little and it made me hope that it will shine on everyone who is suffering, and its warmth translate into people’s greetings to support them wherever they are.

Take care everyone. God bless.

COVID figures are up (what a surprise!) and 346,059 people were reported as having tested positive for the virus over the last 7 days (up 46.4%); deaths reported were 778 in the last 7 days (up 19.5%); and hospital admissions were listed at 8,950 for the last 7 days (up 12.2%).