Project 366 week 22

Well in Scotland we have got some more freedom than we had last week but does not mean I am going to be doing anything risky. Just because Nicola says I can visit family does not mean I will be. Three of us work for the NHS, two of us in a hospital and one in a clinic but she has to use public transport to get there. If I go and sit 2m away from the local grandchildren they are going to want me to play or they will want cuddles or to sit on my knee and that is putting them at risk, so it wont be happening any time soon. I also have to consider that the other grandparents will also want to visit, so if I give it to the grandchildren they may well pass it on. Also Bob is still covered by his shielding letter.

Weather has been far to warm this week for a day time walk but time evening comes the woods are full of midges.




Sunday

A late start at work again today, think this is going to be me until we can either find a suitable mask or there is no need for a mask at work, a late start gives time to do things before work, an early start after work so does not make much difference to me. Just happy to still be working.

This is the only picture I took today, the latest in my Rainbow of hope series, this one is for Fifi as she loves cacti.

Monday

Housework and a walk with the dog and some crocheting.

Changed over the seven tog winter quilt for the four tog summer one, until it gets to warm for that and we just use a quilt cover.

Got the quilt and two other loads of washing done, out and dried.

Also put the oil heater up the stairs and brought down the fan.

None of my caterpillars have come to anything, they are all still small caterpillars

Tuesday

Today a repeat of yesterday.

Trying to find a new series to get into but cant find anything that appeals ten minutes of one thing fifteen of another, again my mood rather than the quality of programme I think.

This lovely little treat came through the post today, a lovely gesture from Fifi. Really brightened my week up.

Got a message I had won a voucher in another "tag your NHS friend" I was nominating by the same person that won for me last week.

Wednesday

When I turned the tv on this morning all we got was a flickering picture on, off, on, off, a second or so at a time.

I took a video of it and sent it to LG and they suspect a bulb is away, far to expensive to sort so bye bye tv. We won it four years ago so four years of free tv was ok.

By this time we had brought the old one down, and by the time we tried to fit it to the stand and realised it would not fit  it was gone 1pm. This left us with the dilemma of a stand as we bought the up right stand for the tv we won and we gave away the old table type stand we had. We hunted Facebook Market Place and found one localish so we went and picked it up, they had put it in the garden for us.

Went for a walk while we were out, a different part of the river walk to what we normally walk.

Had a phone call from work to see how last weekend went, and to wait on a phone call tomorrow with an update.

Thursday

The day just seemed to disappear, no idea where it went or what we did apart from an evening walk down and round one of the fields with the dog.
Phone call back from work saying they have sourced a different type of mask for me to try same as last week.
No crafting in the last two days at all.


I got this today, a nice home made bag from the Facebook friend who keeps wining competitions for me.

Friday

Had a prescription to pick up so combined the day with a walk and some shopping. Sadly the queues were massive, and then even more massive at the first two supermarkets and way to warm to stand out in a queue. So went to the industrial estate where there is a choice of three shops, one of which had no queue so in I went, but hey seemed to have stopped social distancing and the queue was inside, maybe thirty deep at the check out, but was better than being stood out in the sun.Time I got out they had somebody on the door gain with one in one out.

Just picked up the stuff we needed to tide over the weekend, will worry about the rest next week, will probably add it to DD1's delivery.

DD1 had wanted eggs and jam, could not get her eggs, but we have one lovely local woman that keeps chickens and does not eat eggs, so messaged her but she had no egg boxes, I did have so took her my empty boxes, pick up half a dozen eggs, dropped them at DD1 along with the jam and picked up bottles pf sparkling water that came with her shopping for me along with a few tins of beans. Spoke to the three wee ones while I was there. They had been in the paddling pool.

The weir walk we did yesterday, don't think I took any today.

Saturday
Meet Vincent, a rainbow sausage dog, hubby wanted one and he also named him. Will need to try and find a knitting pattern if I do another one.

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Project 366 week 21

Sunday

A day off work. Spent it doing the same old things. But did get round to making the cake I was making on Friday.

Got the two dolls finished, they are for Spud and Dinky.

Amazes me how trees manage to grow on the rocky parts but I guess erosion has worn away the ground over the years.

Monday

Listening to audio books, the end of Things We Never Said by Nick Alexander, an enjoyable novel based on a series of cassette tapes and photographs the wife leaves to her husband to read and look at after her death from cancer, and doing diamond art painting. Then tried something new with crochet. Time will tell if it works.

Had a laugh at a bit of a memory. We bought our first microwave over thirty years ago. The girls called it Ping, because it pinged when the time was up. Years later when I bought another, smaller better one, my by then ex took it. Well DD1 messaged me to say Ping has finally pinged it's last. RIP Ping.

Had gone down to DD1's to go and post a letter for her and picked up some coloured big hugs that the three wee ones had made for me. Spud had put a monster on the back of hers, but she has hidden it's eyes nose and mouth to protect me, and now it has gone boom into space. 

Tuesday

Had a slow morning, was up just before six as for some reason these days I seem to have a lot of weird dreams, nothing scary just really weird, usually involves people I know or family members but the ages never work out with them, seem to mingle the kids and grandkids in combinations that are not possible. 

Finished off the diamond art picture while listening to a new audiobook, Good Little Liars by Sarah Clutton, will let you know what I think later on. 

Went to Morrisons in Troon to do a few bits of shopping I never got last week, hoping the queues would be shorter and if not hubby could walk the dog on the beach while I was shopping. Forgot that all the beach car parks would be blocked off and hubby did not think to park in the supermarket car park and walk the dog. 

So got my shopping and then parked near the cycle path for a walk instead. It was drizzly but did not really rain.

Started watching Dreyfuss on Prime, watchable but not stunning, another one of these "specialists" helping out the police type programmes. 

Wednesday

More audio book and diamond painting, got 3 bags of beads done on Bob's one, only another 31 bags to go.

Finished off another rainbow baby and started a NHS worker, have 3 more of these needing done.

Had a zoom chat with the other cycle/walking volunteers. Learning about up coming things they have going on as well as catching up with how the others are fairing. 

Walked the dog and found some caterpillars. 

Have a chat with neighbours either side and a friend along the road, all at different times of the day.

Won three Facebook competitions today, two of them were nominate NHS workers. First was a £10 amazon voucher, one for me and the colleague who nominated me. Mine went on cable ties that were in the basket waiting on pay day. Second up was a stainless steel tea pot and two mugs, again a nomination and  thirdly was a runner up prize of 50% off on a vape site, no used to me so was used by somebody else. 

Thursday

A lovely sunrise just after 4.30 this morning. 

Hubby did more gardening, I did more kitting and tv watching/audiobook listening. 

Had a chat with next door, their wee one through in our garden, and he loves playing in water, he was very good at finding it all.... found a watering can, a bucket with water lying on the lid, and the dogs water bowl to play in. 

A couple of phone calls from Staff Care to see how I was and to update me on the plans for this weekend, they have different types of masks for me to try and see what happens. Fingers crossed. 

Popped the dog in the car and drove a few miles to a different piece of woodland to walk in for a change. 

Friday 

Made an early start, rain was due to come in about 10am, walked the dog and picked up hubby's prescriptions.  Home just after ten and yes it was spitting, to some social media and more knitting and TV. 

My tea pot and mugs turned up, well they turned up yesterday originally but we missed the delivery while in the garden.

Rotating between Dreyfuss and Unforgettable on Prime. 

Saturday.

Rather than bore you with all my makes every day, most have which have already been shared then done a collage of them. 

Two of the three NHS dolls, a mandala, the crocheting I tried out on Tuesday, balls of wool in rainbow colours that DDD3 bought, my diamond painting owl, and two rainbow dolls that have NHS 2020 on their bodies, these are for Spud and Dinky, will make a couple for here as well at some point. 

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Project 366 week 20

We have started watching Series 5 of Outlander, I watched a 4 part series called The Bad Seed - tells the story of two brothers from a dysfunctional family, tried various others and watched half an hour of this and half an hour of that as I could not get into others I tried. Watched an all right film for a boring day at home -  A Prayer for Mary. Took a notion to watch Watership Down but you need to pay for the film version, I could find a 4 part tv version of it but could not get into that either. 
Been enjoying Millionaire but apart from that nothing much different.  

Have to say I am quite glad Scotland has kept us locked down a bit longer, will be interesting to see if there is a spike, make Nicolas next decision easier based on the stats in England for us at the end of May. 



Sunday

My usual shift at work. Had decided we were going to have a Chinese as a treat but time I finished work I was not feeling to great, sore throat, itchy mouth and was to sore to consider eating anything. As the evening went on my tongue started to swell and my throat got tighter and the itching in my mouth got worse. Took piriton and ended up sleeping with my epi pens next to the bed in case it got worse over night, thank fully I got away with it but only just.
 Never quite sure at this stage when to use them. It is obvious if it is an instant reaction, but always ponder should I use them when it creeps up before it gets very very uncomfortable and then phone an ambulance and take some help and advice,but that seems a waste of resources as not technically an emergency situation. Had this problem more than once. Maybe I should just to ease the reaction quicker? Maybe need to go and have a discussion with the pharmacist.

Have to say really fed up of these allergies having such a massive impact on my life. 

Managed to spill my breakfast into my knitting box, overnight oats, fruit and yoghurt -  toast would have made a lot less mess  - this was just some of what I rescued for rinsing off. The stuffing bag got thrown away.

Monday

More piriton to keep the reaction down, itching in the mouth was better but throat and tongue still sore. Walked the dog and did some knitting.

Face timed with DD2, Ziggy and Roo. Roo is doing well with her speech.

Tuesday

Tongue feeling a lot more comfortable, throat still sore and hoarse. Same old same old today. Found a butterfly while out for a walk. Was trying to get a decent close up but it flew away. Makes for an interesting shadow of it.

Wednesday

Had put in for a repeat prescription last week. These two are the same tablet, just in different packaging. No wonder people get confused and take the wrong tablets. The white packet is the new one and looks exactly the same packaging as another tablet I take. Have had to write on the strip what they are. Maybe I should leave them in the boxes but cant be bothered opening a packet, taking the required amount out and then popping it back in, I just keep one strip of each in the top drawer to make my life easier, or more lazy!!
A walk with the dog and knitting again. Took some video of walking along the paths through bluebell wood to share the beauty of it at this time of year.

Spoke to Staff Care today about the issue at work at the weekend and she is going to speak to her consultant and get back to me with her suggestions.

Thursday

Staff Care phoned back and the consultant agreed with her it is not safe for me to be in at work wearing a mask. So going to speak to my line manager on best way to deal with this. They will arrange for allergy tests at some point to see where the problem lies.
Line manager has put me onto medical exclusion until they decide on how I can work safely.

Yes you guessed it more knitting and a walk with the dog. Got the bigger owl finished, just scaled it up to allow for what will become history in the writing.

Friday

Thankfully now my throat is feeling better, still hoarse at times but fine apart from that.

Hubby had to go for blood tests this morning to see if the new tablets they gave him have helped to lower his blood sugars. Decided while in the town anyway to get a few bits of shopping, nothing desperate right now but to save me a run back in next week.  Drove into three different supermarket car parks but the queues were ridiculously long so just left again.

Walked the dog along the river while we were out as well. Got some video footage of a cormorant fishing, and some tiny fish swimming about it the shallows as well. Not something you see every day.  Will pop them onto a blog post some time this week. Also spotted a heron near the cormorant.

Saturday

Sat around waiting on the rain that had been predicted and looked like it would be here any time. I was fine I was knitting and watching rubbish on the tv. But still had not rained by 2pm so decided to take the dog a walk. We decided to stay close to home but withing a few minutes of us leaving the sky was blue so we went down the woods again. The river is very low as we have had no rain to speak off for weeks. Went down to the bridge and took a few photos. Dog went right under and along the banking on the other side. We probably could have as well but a lot of bricks have fell off the bridge and it would have involved to much clambering,  maybe another day at the start of the walk.

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Staying Connected To Your Family During COVID-19

Your family are probably the most important group of people to you, I know mine are, so having to distance

yourself from them during this pandemic will be proving tough for many people. Staying connected to the people you love may feel like an impossible task, but there are a few things you can try. It might not be the same as a hug in person or a barbecue in the back garden, but it’s better than nothing at this time. Read on for some advice:

talking over the garden fence is as near as I am going 

Set Up A Zoom Quiz

Zoom is one of the newest and most efficient platforms for staying up to date with what your loved

ones are doing. Why not set up a zoom quiz? You could do this every week, or every other week

if certain family members are still busy or working. Each week select a different quiz master

and have fun with your own virtual quiz. 

Catch Up With Food And Drink

If you don’t fancy a quiz, then you could always arrange a family ‘meal’ with your own food and

drink. Grab some Domino's Vouchers, order pizza, and arrange a time to catch up using

Skype or Zoom. Make sure everybody knows that this is a family meal, so dress accordingly

and make sure they have yummy snacks/drinks to reach for! 

If you want, you could even arrange to watch the same program or movie and then discuss later. 

source

Start A Whatsapp Group

A Whatsapp group is a very simple way to stay in touch everyday. You might get tired of an

older relative’s jokes or the pictures of your cousin’s baby, but it’ll give everybody some relief. 

Practice Active Listening

When you do arrange to catch up with a family member, practice active listening. Don’t just

wait until the other person has finished talking to interject and say what you want to say. This

isn't listening! Other people are having a hard time too, so hear them out. You don’t need all

the answers, just be a safe place for them. 

Have A Netflix Party 

A Netflix Party uses a plug in that you install so that you can all stream the film at the same time,

and pause if you need to. There’s even a chat window so you can catch up while you enjoy the

film! 

Start A Virtual Book Club

If you like reading and you know some of your family members do too, why not start a virtual

book club? Pick a book and discuss each week. This will give you all something to do if

you’re struggling with boredom, and you’ll get through your reading list faster. Win-win! 

Enjoy The Simple Things

You don’t need to do anything crazy to connect with the people you love. Just enjoy the simple

things! Share songs you’ve enjoyed, share old pictures, and take and share pictures of what

you’re getting up to at home. Memes and videos are great for lifting spirits, too! Not to mention a blog that family far away can see what you have been doing.

This will all be over before we know it - until then, stay safe and connected with your loved ones. 

This is a collaborative post.

Project 366 week 19

Sunday

A work day and came home to defrost the freezer, not much in there apart from a few vegetable. A walk down the wood with the dog in the evening 

Monday

Going to get freezer food, easiest one to park near is in Irvine, local one in centre of town but would need to carry it to far to a car park, so decided to do our daily exercise while out and went and parked near a cycle path at the nature reserve.
A few walkers around but mainly cyclist, well it is a cycle path.

Tuesday

Bits and pieces of housework, some blogging and wandered off by myself down and round the fishery. 

Walk after tea with dog and hubby. 

Some knitting in the evening.

Wednesday

Went to do none freezer shopping today so went back to the same place as Monday and did the same walk again.
Dog enjoyed it and with few people to pass, everybody happy to do social distancing, then it was another nice walk. 

Weather so far this week has been beautiful.

 Crocheted the rainbows and the first the clouds were crocheted and the writing sewed on. The second one the inside of the cloud was knitted with the writing knitted into it and then crocheted the cloud shape on after. 

 

Thursday

A drizzly day, had no notion to go anywhere so I didn't until 6pm when we walked the dog. Spent the day knitting and doing housework. 

Got a competition prize today from Prestigious Car and MX Competitions over on Facebook. . Not bad I won it on Friday over on Facebook, they posted it on Saturday and the post man attempted to deliver it on Monday, but we were not in so he left a card saying was putting it into the local post office. Sadly the post office placed it into the bags for uplift so it made it's way back to the Glasgow before being redelivered today. 

It is great been using it for various bits and pieces. Shame it only works plugged in and is not portable.

Friday

Bob has never broken a pair of glasses since he started wearing them about ten years ago until last week, and again this week.....so had to pop into the town with them again. 

The girls were playing in technically a sand pit DD1 bought and filled with water. So I had to play catch with Spud and watch Dinky run from one to another when I picked the glasses up. Spud's hands were wet, the ball was wet and I had washed mine before leaving home so thought playing catch would be safe enough. 

Saturday

A day at work and came home to another prize. This one was also being run on Facebook, thanks to a fellow comper who takes me in all sorts of key worker competition. For this one she just had to nominate a deserving person, and she won for me. 

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Project 366 week 18

Have to say my mood has been low this week due to circumstances beyond my control. On the plus side I have won two competitions, no prizes yet but maybe sometime soon. Also got a much appreciated gift from a fellow blogger.

Hubby has spent much of the week in the garden again. The potatoes and peas are coming up and the pots are all looking great.


Sunday

Working as per normal. Home for a shower had a sleep, had my tea and then went for a walk just before sunset.

the moon through the trees 

Monday

Caught up with the housework as hubby has been in the garden most of the weekend. Washing is out on the line, dishwasher on and the facetimed DD2 and the girls. Meant to catch up with them last week, but last week seemed to disappear far to quick.
Started another rainbow jelly baby, some time on the bike and a walk with the dog.

Ziggy and Roo

Tuesday

Went and did some shopping for DD1 and walked the dog while we were out. Started on Bob's diamond painting he got last year and was struggling to do it himself, at least this way it gets done.
More knitting, adapted the pattern on the rainbow jelly baby again.
Got a phone call to say one of the electric bikes has been handed back if I want it, but the criteria for them going out is for commuting as a lot of public transport round here has been cut back. Sadly I would use it for pleasure but not commuting so I had to be honest and say no. Did not think it was fair to take it as much as I wanted it.

barely any water in the river, usually the water spans right across to the wall 

Wednesday

Barely slept all night, way to much going on in my head, was up before 5am watching tv and cycling.
Started knitting a wee surprise to post to a friend as I am posting her some pieces of crochet as well. Sending a little kindness. This is the next adaptation of the rainbow dolls, moved the writing further down. Much more visible. Also added him a bow tie. Next one will get the date a bit closer. The ones I have knitted so far are away to my SIL.

much more readable and looking smart in his tie  

Thursday

Bob broke his glasses so they needed running to the optician to be sorted. Walked the dog along the river while we were there. Amazing how much greener everything looks, how much the leaves have come out on the trees and the wild flowers have all become much more vibrant after yesterdays rain.
Nipped to Asda while we were out and did some knitting in the evening.

power washing the slabs, buns and the wall. He drilled holes at the bottom of the wall to allow the water to run away 

Friday

Yaahhh a whole day at home, apart from walking the dog via the post office, which was shut, then down to a friends house to pick up some free range eggs from her chickens, I did not go anywhere. Knitted another monster did some housework and not much else.

I never knit two the same. so this one has hands and feet. 

Saturday

Another month is over -total mileage to April 30th was 630.76, that is up by 165 this month.Slightly down on last months 171 miles.

the green is this months mileage.

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