Day 7 of Lockdown

The day looks nice so far.  It's dry. Maybe I'll step outside and go for a walk.  I haven't had exercise since Monday when I walked with my son to Dunnes so he could get white vinegar; he wanted to make Kambucha from scratch.  

After Dunnes, we called up to my mother:  she wasn't answering her phone or responding to texts.  My sister living in Dublin was concerned and my nephew, in self-imposed isolation since returning from Venice 10 days ago, texted me asking if she was ok.  Mum was fine.  She loves the drama of it all which is more like me than I care to admit.  Her land-line was unplugged - she didn't realise it and her mobile was on mute and she didn't know how to unmute it.  My son - for a small fee - sorted it for her.  

We stayed long enough to share a pot of tea.  A brazen robin that hangs out on her patio waiting to be fed bobbed around impatiently looking for crumbs.  He seemed to ignore the bird feeder.    Then what looked like his baby brother joined him.  "How come his chest isn't red, does that come later?"  I asked my mother.  Mum peered out the window and said, "That's a wren."  It was the cutest thing; he was like a feathered golf ball with legs and beak stuck on.  

So here I am in my 'office' aka kitchen table bracing myself for another day of work.  I had stiff arse again yesterday evening and despite a very generous cushion, I stiffen as the day goes on.  I might try yoga poses every half hour to get the blood flowing.  I have repetitive strain injury - the beginnings of - in my wrists but it's not from typing but from attacking the garden last Monday.  I took advantage of the dry spell to prune my willows and slash the bushes into stumps.  That's the great thing about gardening; hours simply evaporate.

My brother returned on Tuesday from a week in the Canary Islands and is now in self-isolation.  Eight of them went over for a golfing holiday but for the last two days they were confined to their room.  They weren't allowed go to the beach nor even into the sea so they played cards in their room and ordered up wine.  The craic was just as good.

The Taoiseach's speech on Paddy's Day night was good and he's getting positive feedback.  The first in a long time I'm sure.    In the news last night, the reporter had footage of people heading to Glendalough for walking and the cameras showed the long queues of cars parked at the entrance.  Tell tale.  In the same broadcast, we are being shown how to stay a metre a part when out walking.    When my son and I walked to Dunnes last Monday, I saluted every person I passed. Not one of them returned the greeting.  In Dunnes itself, people looked stressed, tired and silently filled their trollies.  

Thank God I don't have small children nor teenagers anymore.  Mine don't fight, they just circle around each other like caged animals.

Yesterday, my youngest son played his Play Station for hours while talking remotely to a friend via his headset.  All I could hear was the drone of his voice in a one-sided conversation and it was dull indeed.    

Middle son is frustrated his gym is closed.  However, drawing on his considerable leadership skills he is rallying friends to go on long cycling trips and comes back reeking of fresh air.  I should get out for a walk myself.....but someone might report me.  

I listen to the news sparingly now.  Yesterday I had the TV on at lunch time to get the latest when my youngest who is 20 barked, "There are people trying to sleep, Mum!"   I looked at him and said, "It's one o'clock."  He retreated back into his lair.  

Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk had a woman on yesterday to talk about the world of farming.  She had a lovely suggestion to stay in touch with older people who are not tech savvy - write them a letter.  By coincidence he had a woman on from An Post as his first guest to announce that this Friday, for the first time ever, the post offices will open one hour earlier to allow the elderly to collect their pensions and, by the way the price increase that was scheduled for stamps on Paddy's Day is postponed.  There'll be a rush on stamps... 

I'm cooking more.  A friend posted on Facebook a recipe for nettle soup.  Well I have loads of nettles.  I encourage them to grow: another friend who is an organic garden told me if you steep nettles in water for a week, it is super nutritious to then feed the 'broth' to other plants.   It stinks something rotten but it's worth the pain.  Anyway I made the soup and it's gorgeous.  Even the boys ate it.  

Hubbie went to work yesterday to attend a 10 o'clock meeting and stopped in Aldi on the way home.  He bought 'Split' cake which is a toffee covered madeira with butter cream icing in the middle.  Totally sinful and pumped full of chemicals - it was delicious and vanished within minutes of him getting home.  It's shocking about the shops closing.  Who cares about Brown Thomas or Penneys but it's still sad it's happening at all.  

I see blue sky and baby clouds.  Please God, let the day be nice and dry enough so that one of my sons will cut the grass.  

I'm going to have my 2nd coffee of the day now.  It's nice being the first up.  It's lovely sitting here in a quiet house and having the kitchen all to myself.  

I hope your day is good.  Stay safe and be nice to yourself.