A Jack Frost

Goodness me! The world was white this morning, but not from snow. Jack Frost had been exceedingly busy during the night here in Balsall and everywhere was heavy with hoary frost. Not only that, but there was a thick mist which reflected the whiteness of the ground, the trees, all the buildings and equipment everywhere. It was stunning – but I was relieved I didn’t have to go anywhere in it.

We are lucky. Our heating is doing the trick and keeping the house warm. John had switched it on overnight to respond to the outside chill and I was very glad he had today. It meant that my yoga session in the SnuGym this morning was absolutely perfect. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Although we didn’t have to go anywhere today, we chose to go for a walk this afternoon. I put my thermals on and we both wrapped up warm with scarves and gloves to venture a circuit of Lavender Hall Park and Katherine’s Wood. It was fantastic. It may have been minus 1°C but we didn’t feel cold at all, and just marvelled at the scenery around us. It was magical.

Michael sent us a picture of the frozen pond in the field where he walks today, which reminded me to check on our own pond here in the garden. As you can see from the photo, the fish are still OK, although they were frozen in and I had to break the ice up a bit to allow some oxygen in.

Once we were back from our walk, hot chocolate was in order, along with a mince pie. Now that was delicious! Nothing better, is there? Hot chocolate after a chilly walk – bliss.

I spent a short while this afternoon looking at and thinking about the taking down of the Christmas decorations. I did a little bit. Gathered a few pieces together, took down the Christmas cards and tore the fronts off a few of them to make nice labels for next year. “Do you know what we should be doing now, John?” I asked. He looked up to check. “We should be going to the garden centre and buying the half-price Christmas cards ready for next year. They’ve got a sale on.” He shrugged and gave a half-smile. “Would that be an essential purchase? Would it be an essential journey?” Ahhh, yes, hadn’t thought of that. Gosh, how easy it is to forget we’re in lockdown. The answer to those questions would be ‘no’, then.

I was pondering the removal, or otherwise, of the decorations today, and puzzled over my reluctance to get on with it. I can always find something else to do instead. Read my book, for instance. Do an e-jigsaw. Or play an e-Scrabble game. Or nibble on chocolate. However, it dawned on me that as soon as the decorations are down, cleaned and put away ready for next year, I have promised to start decorating the lounge. Ah. Hmm. Right then.

After we’d eaten our evening meal, which we ate at our breakfast bar for a change instead of on the sofa spilling things down our fronts, we watched a bit of TV; and then I abandoned John leaving him to watch some more, while I chatted to the College Crew on Zoom. Had a lovely evening. It was so nice to see everyone after Christmas and to hear how everyone was coping. We were missing Lizzie, who opted out due to a sore throat (she promises us it’s nothing more sinister), and Sue D, from whom we had heard nothing. Eventually, just as the Zoom session was about to expire, we texted her to say, “Do you want to join in?” and she did. Of course, the last five minutes wasn’t enough to hear all the news, so we logged back in again and carried on chatting for another half an hour…… marvellous. Boosted my spirits no end. Thank the Lord for great friends.

Betwixt and between all the pleasurable things we have done today, we have been peppered with shocking scenes from overseas, catching up on how America is responding to the horror that is Donald Trump, in particular. Much too late, but the social media networks have finally caught on that his messages incite anger, hatred , violence and insurrection. He is banned from using them – although not indefinitely in some cases. Starve the man of a platform? Yes, please.

In one of the other ongoing horror stories, we hear that the number of COVID-19 infections is increasing still, albeit slightly lower today, as is the death rate. Both of which we expected. Distressing nonetheless.

• 52,618 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours
• 1,162 people died in the community, having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days
• 364 people died on 5& 6 January, in hospitals having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days
• On Sunday, 3 January, 3,600 people were admitted to hospital suffering from the virus.

So, more of the same precautions then, folks! And, of course, a vaccination. Fingers crossed that it really works for us and it enables us to get together again come the summer at least.

On Day 2 of Lockdown 3 and Day 295 since we had the frighteners put on us in March 2020, I hope we can all find some gems in amongst the dross and spend a good portion of our time happy.

Take care everyone. God bless.