Sunday 29 March 2020

That was then




I left you just before Christmas Day.
It was eventful.
The little one turned out to have Norovirus
and so in turn did we all.


The oven blew up with Christmas dinner
not quite fully cooked,
but as luck would have it,
none of us had much of an appetite.


It took a while to get a satisfactory new stove installed.
This was the third one.
It met all the buildings regs requirements which the others hadn't.
Meanwhile,(not pictured) a Belfast sink fell off the wall,
and that took a few weeks to replace.


And while they were pulling out the old stove,
the lino got ripped up.


So here is the new lino modelled by grand daughter and Tall Cat.


And here it is modelled by grandson,
because early in the New Year they came to live with us


because their new house wasn't ready for them.


And for five weeks we had a jolly full family house.


And then they moved out
and it was very quiet.




Spring made an early appearance
and I started taking the usual pictures of flowers


and rainbows, as I have for the last eleven years.


Birds started nesting.


Moss flowered.


But in the distance, clouds gathered.
A cruise ship. Somewhere near Japan. An illness.


With only a vague sense of unease,
I went with a friend to the ballet.
She was keen, despite having a serious health difficulty of her own.
It was a big thing to achieve and it was a wonderful afternoon.
I saw a tourist with a mask at the end of our row.


Covent Garden was quiet.


 I made some more marmalade.



I covered some chairs.


I was happy to see mimosa flowering everywhere.
And now ..
well I wanted to upload some pictures of the tulips that are flowering 
just as I hoped they would when I planned them last autumn.
I might have shown you the view of the blue sky
un scribed by con trails,
next door's magnolia,
but my computer refuses to upload from my camera.
It has gone into lockdown.
And so I will leave it here for now.
Suspended as we all are,
until released and fully operational again.











10 comments:

  1. These are strange times indeed. Small things bring comfort, a newly covered chair (beautiful!)a soft evening sky and some fresh jars of fruit preserves. Stay the course...

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  2. I think the internet is melting under the strain of so many people at home and online.
    For South Africa, running even slower as one of the 4 undersea cables has been cut. For the second time this year.

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  3. Beautiful pictures as usual. So THAT's what you've been doing all this time. Isn't it awful, being separated from the little ones?

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    Replies
    1. Yes. And I still can't comment on your blog although reading regularly to keep up to date with you and yours.

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    2. Oh, how odd. Ah well. I will sense your hovering presence.

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  4. Doing my usual monthly check on quiet blogs.
    Hope this time round all is well with you and yours. Lockdown slowly lifting, altho we are still only going out for essentials and exercising in our garden.

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  5. I am so very behind in reading blogs. This was such a good post. March 29 seems ages ago. What a time it has been. Things are opening up here, and I find I am anxious for really the first time. I haven't worried much because we are in a very rural area, with very few cases. But now it is tourist season, and people are not going to abide by the distancing, I fear. And some are not wearing masks. I worry there will be a second wave. I am sure you did love having the little ones around. Is their new house near you?

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  6. Where are you? I hope you're ok. You're very quiet. Come back!

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  7. I have returned to writing my blog and have been re-discovering blogs that I enjoyed. I hope you and your family are safe and well and you write again soon.

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