After our two weeks of quarantine we eased into life in lockdown – the only difference being that we could go to the supermarket and deliver groceries for Pete’s parents and vulnerable neighbours. So not too much difference really. However, the first visit to the supermarket was very exciting but who’d of thought there would be a shortage of rice? Trying to restock a whole kitchen was a bit frustrating with things unavailable or limited in quantity. The shopping trip was also very expensive and Pete suddenly wished we were back in Bulgaria, shopping in Levs.
Unbelievably, we have had the driest and sunniest April on record in the Isle of Man.
Thankfully we had fence paint and got busy painting the fence and shed. Then we found somewhere that would deliver interior paint so placed an order to start decorating. The continued nice weather made it difficult to be inside decorating, and anyway, what is the hurry? We are going to have months of this social distancing. We shouldn’t rush through the list of jobs.
So that’s become the pace of life. Maybe do a few hours of decorating, do some daily exercise, learn some French, check in with a friend or parents on the phone, maybe even a Zoom video call and before you know it we are back to another evening of tv. What day is it?????
“Oh, is it Thursday already? We mustn’t forget to go out at 8pm to clap for the NHS”.
We are also really grateful that, unlike some European countries, we are allowed out to exercise and, after a couple of weeks of lockdown, the time limit and distance allowed to travel has been lifted. We have some beautiful places to see, especially with all the Spring flowers and lambs.
We even went for a walk to a Glen that neither if us had ever been to on the Island.
So now we have completed six weeks of quarantine or lock down on the Island. The time has certainly made me appreciate the small things in life such as the value of the internet in helping us see our friends and family virtually. It may take half the call to get everyone sorted on Zoom or Houseparty, but we get there eventually and have a great laugh. We have done Easter bonnet competitions, quizzes and synced virtual workouts. Talking of syncing …. I tried a virtual Zumba class – keeping in time with music and the teacher when the internet stutters and stalls and sometimes loses the music or images totally – it us a challenge. Freestyling is a must!
I have struggled to stop multi-tasking – sorry, years of practice – but I should mindfully do each task to fill the hours. I have even had a go at baking Canadian Nanaimo Bars, once I was able to secure possession of the Holy Grail in the form of dessicated coconut – who knew?
The Isle of Man has now allowed small gatherings at 2m apart in people’s gardens so it has been nice to see Pete’s parents and have a chat in their garden – thank goodness for this lovely weather. A bit of sunshine makes these meetings and standing outside the supermarket, in the socially distances queue, so much better.
I have also recently started working a couple of over night shifts a week as a Care Assistant. I wanted to feel that I was helping the community and what better way than to support our elderly who are more vulnerable to this awful virus? In order to reduce the risk to the clients, the agency want to limit how many staff see each client, therefore I am the relief carer twice a week for the staff member who is there pretty much full time. It’s a bit weird sleeping over at someone else’s house but the client is lovely, very interesting and has a gorgeous cat to cuddle in the evenings. Having a couple of shifts a week also helps me know what day of the week it is!!!
I wasn’t too happy, when coming home from a shift at 8am the other morning, and Pete had locked both the house doors and left the keys in the locks. No amount of doorbell ringing, knocking or throwing pebbles at the window stirred him. Thank goodness I could sit and read in the shed in the warmth while I waited for Pete to wake up!
