Oh the excitement - on Friday night we went out. OUT! To have dinner with friends, inside their house! Something we used to do regularly, taking it in turns to host, something we took for granted and on Friday it was something which became the social event of the year so far! It was even nicer because we had a takeaway meal from my favourite Thai restaurant - and ... my favourite Thai dishes (salt and pepper squid with a sweet chilli sauce, red Thai chicken curry, pad Thai noodles and crispy chicken) I was as happy as a pig in ... clover ;-)
We've also booked a day out for next weekend. Going to Hyde Hall which is only just under an hour away from us but even so, we are going OUT! Fully masked up of course and keeping a distance from others but they are restricting numbers and allocating times so hopefully it'll be relatively safe especially as it is mostly outdoors.
So what does this week hold? Our daughter has her vaccine booked for Friday which is good and our son's age group must be coming up soon too. I've mentioned before that we have tests done every month as part of a research project but from this month onwards we are also doing blood antibody tests to see how the vaccine is working. We had the first one last week, it was a bit daunting to have to stab our own fingers to drip feed the blood into the sample tubes until we had 0.5ml saved, but it was easier than I thought it would be so it will be interesting to find out the results.
Zumba will be back in the hall again, that was so good last week. I definitely put more effort into it when I know the instructor is watching rather than being part of a zoom meeting. It was nice to be part of a group again, and to actually see people face to face (or mask to mask!)
Hopefully I'll be spending some time doing my crochet, although I have slowed down a bit, I felt a bit tired after my vaccine last weekend and I haven't picked up the pace again just yet.
In other news, I think that my Duolingo journey may be reaching its end. I've done a lesson a day for 424 days without a break which is longer than I expected but 'object pronouns' are driving me mad! Spanish adds extra words into a sentence depending on some vowels and changes the order of the words. We say 'I know you' or 'I buy it', Spanish says 'I you know' and 'I it buy'. Then the 'it' changes depending on which gender the object is and I am making so many mistakes! Another issue I have is that it is an American app and as we all know, we speak the same language but with different words! So sometimes I translate something into English and get it wrong because it is different in American. When I click on the 'comment' box I can see that I am not alone, there's a whole host of Brits saying 'it's not fair!' It's frustrating to find that 'It is cold here in the autumn' is wrong but 'It is cold here in fall' is right.
¡Ay, qué pena! Such a long run of learning Spanish is admirable, and you must be quite advanced if you're into object pronouns. (In practice when you're speaking, no-one will notice the difference between 'le/l/lo', if that's any encouragement). That's a lovely photo that spells normal life again - it must have been wonderful, especially when no-one had the stress of cooking. Hoping you regain your vitality a bit more this week, and the Zumba is fun!
ReplyDeleteBravo you sticking with the Spanish lessons. Oh to have friends for dinner, to actually be able to go into someone's home or have them come to you, must feel so good. I like the idea of getting dressed up, jewelry, makeup, pretty clothes, not t-shirts & yoga pants!!
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of anyone having had regular COVID testing or now for blood testing of antibodies. I wonder if we have that on offer here. I am part of a daily wellness check in on the computer & the after jab follow up, but again just computer connection.
I chuckled about using your American app & expressions being different ... try living right next door with the same type of differences. (lol)!!
So glad to read that Rachel will be getting her vaccine and Jon soon to follow. Yay yay yay!! Will Coco need one?
ReplyDeleteYou look smashing, my friend, on your evening out. Isn't it fun to get dressed up again. I am even brushing my hair these days. Ha!! You guys look very happy 'round the dinner table. So happy for you.
And yay for Zumba returning to the studio. We gave up our gym membership and I think we are working out as much or more here at home. And saving that money, too!!
I have kind of lost interest in Duolingo for the time being. I am sure I will return to it but I have encountered some issues, too. Silly but things like getting dinged for not speaking a sentence correctly when I did say it the right way. Boo. You are way ahead of me on the lessons so I can't speak the issues you have encountered but sometimes I think the way the words are pronounced throws things off.
Hope you have a warm, spring-like week. We are going into the triple digits later this week. Going to be HOT!!
Gosh, how lovely to go out for supper in, if you know what I mean! Such a hopeful sign for the months to come, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI'm really impressed that you kept up the Duolingo for so long, well done!
It's terrific how well the vaccination program has gone - we'll be in the 20s before long. I have my fingers crossed that The Boy will be able to receive the Pfizer jab in the autumn. :)
How nice to be able to enjoy a dinner with friends after so long! I know that this is the first of many for you!
ReplyDeleteDinner with friends, Zumba class, a scheduled outing -- it is sounding like normal again. And now that you have more freedom and the vaccinations are progessing to younger and younger groups, it won't be long before the masks are history as well.
ReplyDeleteKudos on the 424 days of learning. I am kicking myself that I didn't start lessons of some type back at the beginning, although I know I wouldn't have had that kind of amazing sticking power.
And if it is any consolation, I curse the American who thought fall was better than autumn. Why did we have to dumb it down? Autumn sounds so much better, almost onomatopoetic.