Day 5: Lockdown Part 2

Lazy morning. Neither of us wanted to get up today. I sat reading my book until almost mid-day, and John, who had opted to sleep in the spare room as he couldn’t sleep during the night, slept on this morning until about eleven.

My philosophy was to just let the day unfold. Not to go at it hammer and tongs like I usually do, but to allow the day’s vibes to wash over and take me wherever it led. That’s why I was still in bed!

We finally got ourselves up and were pulled into those activities that were on our minds. Having cleared the area off the lounge to create a library, we found all sorts of bits and pieces that needed some attention. Last Christmas we had had Sky Q fitted. The engineer didn’t take the old stuff away with him, so it’s just been lying around on the floor. Anyway, it transpires that we can send it back and we could have made the engineer take it all away with him at the time. Ah well. So John spent ages researching that, and then parcelling the things up to take to the Post Office. Not that we got to the Post Office today, mind you. But the parcel is ready.

I chose to run a few errands and ….shhh….. don’t tell John….. think about what to do on Saturday. I certainly don’t want it to be an ‘ordinary’ day for him, so I am thinking hard. But there’s the Grand Prix Qualifying and the Autumn Nations Cup on TV especially for him on his birthday and to keep him happy, even if there’s nothing else….

Last time he had a ‘big’ birthday i.e. when he was 65, he was ensconced in hospital, which wasn’t ideal. Michael suggested that he is avoiding the big occasions. Some of you may remember we had a 25th Wedding Anniversary celebration without him, too…… and now, it seems, he’s orchestrated a national lockdown to avoid having a party. Honestly, the extremes some people will go to…..

Once I’d finished doing my thinking, I decided I’d have a go at sanding down my father’s old bookcase ready for painting the same colour as the recently donated one. It’s a beautiful, oak bookcase that my father made when he and Mum were first married – tenon and groove joints and everything. It was also varnished and a bit treacly-looking. I wasn’t keen on man-handling the thing into the garage to do the job, so thought I might do it outside on the patio. Only to be thwarted by rain. Had to do the man-handling after all.

And, would you believe it? I thoroughly enjoyed the work. Firstly, of course, I was using one of my favourite tools – John’s flat electric sander; and secondly, it was my Dad’s carpentry that I was fondly and closely working with. It felt good – and, wait for it – almost as if I had his approval. Had a lovely half-hour or so in the garage – just me, my Dad’s bookcase and what felt like my Dad’s spirit.

I might have mentioned that I am bit messy. As well as a bit forgetful. I might have mentioned that I got more paint on me than the things I was painting yesterday. I didn’t mention that I hadn’t put the lids on the paint pots properly – or at all, it transpires…..

As I walked through the kitchen, there seemed to be a bit of chuntering. On rounding the corner, John was there, in the utility room grovelling on the floor. Oh. Paint everywhere. He had, apparently picked a pot up that had been on top of another pot, and the lids were insecure (or non-existent) and, in the movement of lifting, paint had poured out all onto the floor. I wasn’t in his good books, so I scarpered and ran. A bit cowardly, eh?

Other than that, the wheels are in motion for a birthday cake – you can’t secretly make a paleo birthday cake, can you, really? So I had to admit what I was doing this morning, as I weighed out all the fruit to soak in alcohol for a rich fruit cake. Marvels of marvels we actually had (nearly) all the required ingredients. Normally when I am prepping something like that I have to shoot to the shops two or three times for an essential something or other.

There was one ingredient missing though, and that was an orange. The recipe calls for the zest and the juice. So, rather than make a trip to the shops (weighing it up – essential trip out? Or non-essential?) I rummaged in the cupboard and found some candied peel which, finely chopped, I thought would make a good substitution for the zest. We did have orange juice, but far more importantly we had some Cointreau – that’s a good substitution for OJ isn’t it? The concoction is sitting soaking up its alcohol as we speak. It’s going to be yummy!

A good day, all in all, on a local level, but still the figures for the viral infections make sober reading. 21,350 people are confirmed as infected, with some of that number being people we know. It’s awfully close to home when your friends’ loved ones fall ill, isn’t it? And they really don’t know where they have picked the infection up from, having followed all the rules. Our prayers, thoughts and all good wishes are being sent across the miles to them over the next few days in the hope that they recover well and quickly.

In terms of deaths with COVID as a contributory factor, there have been 194 people who have died in the last twenty-four hours in the community, and 133 in hospitals on 7 & 8 November.

Take care everyone. Enjoy the week as it unfolds. God bless.