That was March

 

The great thing about March is that we have finished with February!  There are more sunny days, less bitter cold, more looking forward, less moping.

My month started with eight days with the lovely Holly-Dog.  (I have been mis-spelling her name.  Sorry, Holly).  She made me very welcome and has invited me for a few days in May.  

I've had quite a few meals out.  Some time ago I made the decision to reduce the number of times I eat out and so make going out much more of a treat.  This month I have had lunch out thrice and brunch once, as well as a couple of meets for coffee.  

I've been swimming three times.  I'm in a group of five who call ourselves Monday Mermaids.  We are all "ladies of a certain age" and we hire a small private pool for an hour.  It's great.

Jack has been twice and made a start on the garden for this year.  He also came with a friend for afternoon tea and with his son for coffee.  Many years ago I conducted the weddings of both his son and his daughter and it's a real pleasure when I see either of them.  

I've been leading a lot of worship as one (non stipendiary) priest has been away on a cruise and another (stipendiary) has been in hospital.  

275 sleeps

I like to make Christmas presents but I am not the best organised person in the world.  My aim this year is to do one Christmas project (presents, cards etc.) a month and blog about it on the 25th of the month.  Please keep me on the straight and narrow!

So here is my first project.  A covered notebook which will be a gift for someone.  That poppy fabric has been doing sterling  service for quite a few years!   I bought it to make a skirt in 2019 and it has been used for several projects since.  

It has made a very cheap notebook look like a worthy Christmas present.  

Looking back 4

 

Actually, that title isn't true.  I'm not looking back, I'm thinking of the things which the pandemic changed, possibly for ever, although of course most things are the same as ever.  

One thing that has changed for me is colds.  Instead of one or two a year I get one every couple of years.  I think we have become more aware of protecting each other.

So many things never restarted.  A women's group to which I belonged folded, and sadly a lot of small businesses didn't survive.

We do more on line.  I think that would probably have happened anyway but isolation made it happen more.

I got to know my neighbours more which is odd as we were all at home alone.  My wonderful neighbours all contacted me to make sure I was OK and the weekly "Clap for Carers" has morphed into "Neighbourhood Nattering".  

And we all have a new way of dating things - "pre-pandemic" and "since the pandemic".

Looking back 3

 

So, what did you do during The Pandemic?

Not leaving the house and garden became a routine thing.  I didn't have to go shopping: Sainsbury's emailed me very early on saying that shopping slots would be available to me (as a disabled person) before they were released generally so I had a fortnightly delivery and a cousin fetched fresh food for me between times.

I quickly learnt how to made zoom calls and updated my iPhone so I could use Facetime with various family members.  I had a regular list of people to call on behalf of the church as well as personal friends.  I wrote letters.  Each week I went outside to "Clap for Carers" and indeed, the neighbours still go outside weekly to catch up on street news together.  

I was never able to "bubble" as everyone I knew had family members with whom they were bubbling.  At first I felt like a Billy-no-mates but I soon got over that.  

Eventually Jack could come and sort my garden but we stayed at some distance from each other and he didn't come into the house.  When the school summer holidays arrived Annie-The-Home-Enhancer was able to come and sort me out before restrictions were again imposed in the autumn.  

And so the long year of 2020 stretched out.  Wasn't it fortunate that it was a good summer!  I was able to get outside but I also decluttered in the house, sewed, knitted, and did a thousand and one little projects which I'd never got around to.

I'd hate to have to go through anything like that again but, on reflection, I didn't do too badly.

Looking back 2

When I read my "Personal thoughts during a pandemic" I can see those dreadful daily reports of the progress of the disease, the numbers of people who had caught it and the number who had died.  I read both the national and the local statistics  Looking back I can see the speed at which the NHS had to react by reorganising hospitals and rapidly creating Nightingale hospitals.  

No-one very close to me had covid mentioned on their death certificate but there were people I knew who died of it. However, four people close to me died from other causes during that first lockdown and I found it difficult to deal with grief without the usual rituals of visiting and going to funerals.  Neither of those things is easy at the best of times, but I have learned a new appreciation of how important they are.  I went to just one funeral: my aunt (who died of old age) was buried in the local cemetery and her son, daughter and I joined the minister at the graveside for a short open-air service.  

However, there were new rituals.  People stood in the streets to pay their respects.  Flowers were left on front door steps.  

Sorry that this is a sad post but the whole covid story is a tragedy.

Looking back 1

 

Part of the 500 metre covid memorial wall

11th March 2020 was the day the pandemic started to get serious for me.  There had been stay at home messages for several days and we knew a lockdown was on the cards.  I also felt that my pre-existing conditions made me rather vulnerable.  11th March was the day I decided I had to withdraw.

The next few days were a flurry of getting grocery deliveries, making sure I had suitable food and medication in case I caught the virus, sorting a support network and working out how I would spend my time.  

I started a journal: "Personal thoughts during a pandemic" and one of the first things I wrote was, "I want to use this as gift time: time to be used as a bonus in a weird sort of way."

And for the next nearly year-and-a-half I stayed at home.  Actually, for the most part I was happy to be at home.  The summer of 2020 was pretty good and I could sit in my garden.  I had plenty of craft supplies and I made things.  I sorted through a lot of possessions.  Although at the beginning of lockdowns I gained several pounds, I realised that this was a great opportunity to take control of my eating and lose weight.  

Happy Birthday, Jack!

 I visited you on Saturday and you seem set for a very good birthday which will last for several days.  I won't tell everyone how old you are but I thought this photograph from four years ago would be OK for today.  You mentioned a pretty good supply of birthday cakes which have been promised so I don't think you'll starve.

It's quite a long time since you first told me that my garden looked a mess and responded to my challenge to do something about it.  I don't regret the challenge - do you regret picking up that particular gauntlet? (or gardening glove?)

We've had very different life paths and I think we've each learnt quite a lot from the other but I'm sure you'll understand when I say I'd rather not learn your culinary techniques.  Maybe you haven't wanted to learn some of my gardening ideas either.  Tough!

I hope you enjoy the present I left for you when I came.  And I'm sure you'll have a lovely week.

Love, The Vicar. XX

February and March

The number of posts I managed in February wasn't exactly stellar.  Just the one.

For me January and February are usually difficult months and 2025 ran true to form.  Early in the month I woke one morning with incredible pain in my leg, worse than when I was waiting for the knee replacement.  Jim and Sheena, one of my cousins, managed to borrow a wheelchair so I could get to the car, and between them they took me to the doctor.  Strong pain killer and physiotherapy.  I felt more than a little light headed while taking pain relief but eventually everything settled down.

That had eased when I had a "digestive episode".  You don't want/need to know any more.  Except that things were a little miserable for several days until that settled.  

So, my post on being OK (which I wrote between these two incidents) was very necessary and hearing that lots of other people are also surviving by being OK was very comforting.  Thank you to everyone who commented.

I have high hopes for March!  I'm starting the month with eight days dog sitting which is going well.  When I get home I am looking forward to pottering around my garden and making a few plans.  Jack and one of his friends are coming for tea one day so I have to be on my very best behaviour and I have high hopes that his friend will make sure Jack is on his best behaviour too.  

The weather here is gloriously sunny at the moment so I may take advantage of that with a couple of days out.

And with good luck and a following wind I may get a few more blog posts written.