Naming and blaming

I am scared to get on the scales for a little while.  I fear that the fact that I have been wearing elasticated waist leggings and harem pants more often than normal may be leading me to mistakenly believe that all is well in the waistline department.  But it's not really my fault, I'm blaming you, Jamie Oliver, for that tv series you have on at the moment, the one that shows you varieties of ways to use the same ingredients and mix and match things you have got in your cupboard for things you haven't. You know, the one where you showed the cake you can make if you have no eggs, this one here.  It looked deliciously, scrumptiously, chocolatey and easy - and it was.  We had it warm last night for dessert and I shall be reheating some for dessert today to have with ice cream.  But the trouble is Jamie, that it makes 12 portions.  Twelve.  There are only two of us here, and unlikely to have visitors drop in for the foreseeable future.  And in my mind, I know that I should freeze half so that I am not tempted to keep it in the cake box in the kitchen, so that I am not tempted to have a slice with morning coffee, or afternoon tea and we all know that if I don't do it now, then I won't and that is a slippery slope.  So yes, any increase in waist size or weight is totally down to Jamie.  

I'm also blaming Joe Wicks for the fact that my legs are aching every time I go up and down stairs.  Joe is better known as The Body Coach and he's doing daily workouts for kids on his youtube channel.  They're aimed at little children, they can't be that hard can they?  This would be a good thing to do every morning to keep me active.  Well it turns out that they can be hard and I'm clearly far too old for kids PE.   It's not just Joe though, it's a lady on youtube called Cindy.  While looking on youtube for inspiration for a dance style of home exercise I came across this class.  It was good, it was fun and it had the word 'Senior' in it.  Then I woke up the next day and realised that perhaps my leg muscles weren't quite as fit as I thought they were.

While we're on the blame train, I'm blaming Netflix for enticing me into watching YOU and ensuring that our meals are not being cooked at their normal times.  The tension is mounting with each episode and Season Two seems to be even more intense than the first one was.  Oh go on then, I'll just watch one more episode before starting to cook lunch.

Finally, I'm blaming the lockdown situation for the fact that all hairdressers are closed when I was only one week away from an appointment for a cut and colour.  Which means that Snapchat has devised a filter which predicts exactly what I'm going to look like by the time this lockdown is over

Feelings

...

Last night, at 8pm people all over the UK stood at their front doors or windows and clapped their hands as a show of gratitude for all that the NHS workers and carers are doing for us at this unprecedented time of Coronavirus.  We are told to stay home and safely isolate ourselves while they are having to turn up for their shifts day after day, dealing with the most sick and vulnerable.  Their dedication for duty is unbelievable and there is little that we can let them know just how much we appreciate all they do other than stand together and give a round of applause.  As I stood at our front door, I could hear my handclaps being echoed around town, it was an emotional time.

So today, as my little sign says 'Today I'm feeling grateful'

Grateful for

• the fact I live in a country where our health service is free to use and available to all
• the fact that we had a family meal together with all our family just days before the 'stay at home' message was received
• the fact that we have a beautiful country park just minutes from our house so dog walking can happen frequently and in lovely surroundings with plenty of room for perfect 'social distancing'
• the fact that we have a garden and the perfect excuse to get out in the sunshine when ever we wish
• technology which means that my exercise class can take place on line, plus I can do some extra Joe Wicks 10 minute classes -  we're going to be a nation of keep fit fanatics at the end of this!
• a well stocked kitchen and the knowledge of how to use up left overs and make a variety of meals from not very many ingredients
• Bloggers who keep blogging through this and give me a welcome distraction when good news seems sadly lacking from the news reports

But I am also concerned

• our little grandson Max is poorly and has been to hospital twice in the last two days with a very high temperature and being very listless.  They think it is 'just' a virus but at the moment you can't help but be concerned.
• for my daughter, whose job has come to an end.  She works for an estate agent and no one is buying or selling houses in the foreseeable future.
• for my grandson Leo, who suddenly has no nursery school to go to, he can't see nanny and grandad or meet up to play with his friends.  It's a confusing time to be three.
• how long this will go on for and how it will impact on the mental health of so many

I am also concerned about the effect this will have on my waistline as I find cooking is a good way to spend spare time and there is no end of delicious recipes being shown on tv using store cupboard essentials (I'm looking at you Jamie Oliver, taunting me with that delicious eggless chocolate cake that ends up being 438 calories a serving!) *

*Yes of course I'm going to be cooking it for dessert tonight

Days in with a dog

Well it's all very strange here and I have to say that it isn't a bad time to be a dog.

I've been thinking about how all these new regimes are going to affect me ...

and - speaking as a dog, it isn't all bad.  From what I understand the humans are not going to be going out for a while.  What a result!  They go out far too often for my liking.  No more being escorted to my bed in the kitchen, door closed and them disappearing for hours on end.  Me, in charge of the whole house, on my own - too much responsibility for one small Cavapoo.  

I can still message my friends using the filters on Snapdog

And I am happy to hear that the pet shop where my food comes from does home delivery.  I thought it was a bit odd when my humans came home with an early supply of my food the other day even though I hadn't completely run out.  I mean, does it matter if I eat the last of the kibble?  I can always have human food, chicken, pasta, rice, eggs ... 

Oh wait a minute though, I heard one of my humans say that she couldn't believe that the shops had completely run out of chicken, pasta, rice, eggs ... well done humans on making sure I have my next month's supply of food in the garage!  Talking of food, my lady human came back from the shops yesterday in a state of high excitement - "I've got some fresh vegetables!" Honestly you would have thought she'd won the lottery.  I was very disappointed to see it was just broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, aubergine and courgette - none of which are appealing to me.

Now another positive thing about all this social distancing malarky is that you can still take your dog out for a walk.  In fact it's encouraged!  Result!  I see me having many more than normal trips over the park.  They may want to rent me out to people who don't have a dog and want an excuse to get out in the fresh air.  And the weather report for next week is dry and sunny - pass me my lead, I'm ready whenever you are.

I don't like to criticise but she's looking a bit scruffy, that lady human.  Something about not being able to go to the hairdressers next week as planned.  Well that's her own fault for going to the wrong hairdressers.  She should come to mine, 90 minutes of pure pampering.  Warm soapy all over bath, gentle blow dry, trim and spritz down with eau de toilette.  Regular treats and I lose count at how often they tell me what a good girl I am and how beautiful I look.  You don't get that were she goes I can tell you.

I even get a new bandana every time I go!

If anyone is looking for an excuse to get out in the fresh air, I am available for walkies any time of day.

Coco x

No excuses now

This enforced extra time at home has got to have a positive aspect to it - hasn't it?  I mean, I normally spend a fair bit of time indoors at home anyway, but that's my choice, being told I should limit the time I leave the house just seems different.  So I have to fill the hours in a constructive way so that when this is all over, we have something else to add to my 'ta dah!' lists.

I could do more baking.  But that uses up precious ingredients and will I be able to restock my flour, eggs, sugar ... I have enough in my cupboard for normal times, but these are far from normal times!  Also, we do have to consider the impact of more baking on my waistline!

Especially as all exercise classes are closed.  I had my last Zumba class yesterday.  My daughter gave me a quizzical look when I said I was going but it is a very large hall, and the majority of my class are over 70 and wouldn't be going so I knew there'd be plenty of room to spread out.  Doors and windows open, it felt less of a risk than queueing up in the supermarket.  Sure enough, out of a class of 40 or more, only 10 of us were there.  Even with just two in a row we only took up half the hall.  Oh how I enjoy those dance sessions.  They really lift your spirits and it is so good for us to keep active.  But the instructor has set up a private Facebook page for us and will be posting a live class once a week for us to join in with.  It won't be the same doing it in the lounge with the dog watching but it is better than nothing!

Coco is oblivious to the fact that she may be getting longer, more frequent dog walks as we have a legitimate excuse to get outside and into the fresh air.  I suspect gardening activities are going to increase too once the weather improves, but in the meantime ...

Decorating.  Our bedroom.  That job we've been talking about and not doing for the last couple of years.  The time has come.  No excuses!  We will be popping out to the local Homebase later this morning, before they have time to close 'non essential' shops.  Paint, lining paper, masking tape - all on the shopping list.  We're going a bit darker this time, and it's clearly a colour that I'm liking at the moment because look how the sample looks next to a t shirt I bought at the weekend!  

Photo does not show colour well, it's actually more blue than this would lead you to believe!

Are you going to be using these extraordinary times to get things that you have been putting on the back burner done?

Strange times

We seem to be living in a time that would not be out of place in a Stephen King novel.  A rare virus sweeps the world, major towns and cities become ghost towns as people lock themselves away in their homes.

I walked round to the supermarket this morning with Rosie, I'd done a 'big shop' for the week yesterday but as always, got home and realised that there were a couple of things on my list that I'd forgotten to get.  I was on my way to the frozen section when I bumped into someone I knew and ended up walking with them to the checkouts instead of getting the last two things on the list!  So I thought I'd pop in while out for a walk - big mistake.  It was so busy.  I've never seen such empty shelves - they were even giving out public announcements over the tannoy to ask people to only buy what they needed as they had plenty of stock being delivered regularly.  Fortunately we have our own ice cream factory at home, and a very helpful sales assistant!

My friend Karen, who lives in Spain, says it is like being under house arrest over there.  You cannot leave your home except to walk your dog for 100 metres, or to go food shopping or to the chemist and even then you have to be on your own.  Police cars driving up and down the roads telling people to keep indoors.  

Our neighbour, originally from Italy, has her father from Rome visiting.  He cannot go home, even if he could, he is elderly and better being here.  There you are given coupons to hand in at the shops so that you can only go shopping once a day.

My sister cancelled her trip to Portugal last weekend - her husband is 70 and therefore considered 'elderly' (they are not impressed by that!) plus has an underlying health condition.  He will now be confined to home.

Another neighbour flew out to Lanzarote on Wednesday and has been confined to her hotel room since Sunday, they've been assured they will fly back tomorrow as planned but until they are on the plane, I don't think they'll be able to relax.  It's not been the holiday they expected.

Both my 'children' and their spouses are working from home.  My daughter in law works for a charity who take donated left over food from supermarkets and restaurants and turn it into free meals for the homeless - due to stockpiling there is no left over food and the restaurants are now closed so there is no excess food there either.  

At the moment Leo's nursery school is open but it is rumoured that it will close soon due to staff shortages because of having to isolate, and the childminder that has him and Rosie on Wednesdays and Thursdays is still working at the moment.  But if both those situations change, it will be very hard for Rachel and her husband to work from home as 3 year olds and 1 year olds have no respect for a peaceful, quiet house!

I think Paul and I ought to stock up on multi vitamins in case extra childminding is on the cards!

How's everyone else coping?

Being smart

Hello, hello!

How are you? I can't decide if I'm being naive in how I'm reacting to everything that is going on the in the news, or maintaining a sensible attitude.  My house isn't full of toilet rolls, dried pasta or tinned tomatoes.  Our freezer is comfortably full without being overfilled.  I went out to dinner last night with three friends and we did hug each other goodbye.  Acting normally or being reckless?  

I did wash my hands after returning home from the supermarket, but I would have done that anyway.  And I am trying to remember not to touch my face - remember the rhyme 'elbows into your waist and you cannot touch your face'.


One way in which we are being 'smart' is that we have had a Smart meter fitted which shows us how much gas and electricity we are using and as it automatically uploads to our energy supplier, we will no longer have to do meter readings.  I said specifically that I did not want it to be positioned in the kitchen where I would regularly see it, I didn't want it to affect the way we live our life.  We aren't wasteful in our energy use, and are mindful of not leaving lights on etc.  The guy who fitted it told us that the most common over users of electricity are people who use an immersion heater for hot water and forget to turn it off, and underfloor heating in conservatories.  

So this is a photo of it earlier this morning, stationed in the study

Showing that at that moment we were using 3p worth of electricity per hour.  But I have gone from a person not wanting to look at how the usage changes, to one who is wondering 'How much will it go up when I switch on the washing machine/dishwasher/tumble drier/phone charger ....'  (It went up to 39p when I put the washing machine on for a hot wash in case you were wondering!). Will it affect my day to day routines?  Probably not much.  Will it make me more aware of what are the energy guzzlers in our home?  Yes!  

Do you have a Smart meter?  Have you noticed a difference in how you use energy in your home?  

10 on the 10th

From the number of posts I've done recently you may have noticed that I am following a few fellow bloggers with different memes and today it is '10 on the 10th' as seen on Leslie's blog.  

10 questions, based on this time of year.  10 answers ...

• How did you celebrate Easter as a child?  When I was growing up we would always have toasted and buttered hot cross buns for breakfast on Good Friday and that was the only day of the year that we would eat them.  Nowadays you can buy hot cross buns all year round and it has somehow taken away the 'special' feeling of eating one but they are so delicious I cannot resist buying them.  However, we only ever have the traditional fruit buns, I'm not one for chocolate or salted caramel hot cross buns - something about messing with the flavours doesn't seem right. We will also usually have fish for dinner on Good Friday.  And last but by no means least - I almost forgot to mention chocolate Easter eggs on Easter Sunday ... 

• Do you spring clean?  Not to the extent that my Mum used to!  She would clean everything - no cupboard was left untouched.  I have phases of ruthlessly cleaning one room at a time so I guess I could say that I do spring clean, it just takes me a while to go through the whole house.  There is something about freshly cleaned windows and a dust free room though.  We have a window cleaner come and do the outside of the windows every couple of months and I always go round and clean the inside on the same day - I do like a sparkling clean window!

• What’s spring weather like where you live?  Impossible to predict!  We have had sunny springs, and we have had snowy springs - I wonder what this year will be?

• How green is your thumb? I have to admit that Paul is the gardener in our home, I am just the part time assistant.  My speciality is pruning things back but have a reputation for getting carried away! In the interests of being up to the minute with this post, this photo of our back garden was taken this morning.

• AC on or windows open? No need for air con here in Hertfordshire!  I do like to open the windows when the sun is shining and the temperatures pick up, there is something about airing a room which makes it nice and fresh.  

• How do you decorate for spring/Easter/Passover?  This is the first year I have bought anything to decorate the house at Easter time but I'm pretty happy with my little Easter tree.

• How do you get bathing suit/shorts/warm weather ready?  I'm not sure I ever do 😊 I normally have a little panic when I start to try on last summer's clothes - amazing how they can shrink a little when they've been hanging in the wardrobe over winter!

• Is your closet arranged with just the current season’s clothes?  We can have all four seasons in one day here so I always have a variety of clothes in my wardrobe.  Sleeveless dresses and shorts get put away in about October and thick jumpers get put away when I bring the summer bits back down in about May.

This is a picture of my wardrobe space.  When I see pictures of American homes with walk in wardrobes I am amazed!  So the tall wardrobe space is for the clothes I am wearing at the moment and any out of season clothes are in vacuum packs in my half of the small cupboards above the bed.  I also have 5 drawers in a chest beneath the bedroom window for underwear, nightwear and sweaters.

• What’s your go-to spring uniform?  Cropped trousers with t shirts or dresses with a blazer

• What outdoor activities do you enjoy in the spring?  Longer dog walks!  I'm not one for competitive sports.  Trouble is, I'm just not competitive so no one would want to be my partner!  

So that is it, 10 facts about spring over in Deb's World!