Are you all bored yet?

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Ruby Slippers
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Are you all bored yet?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Just thought I would come on site and say ‘Hello’ to you all, and find out how you are all faring during the lockdown. I’m beginning to feel jealous of my husband’s once a week shopping trip, so I guess I’m starting to feel the effects of almost total isolation! I’ve been doing lots of reading; quilting; cooking - and not much housework! :lol: How about the rest of you? What are you doing to pass the time?


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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Grandad »

Hello RS and everyone else.
My wife feels much like you RS with regards to being housebound. We last went to do the weekly shopping together on 12 March. Since then her only excursion outside the house was on Sunday 29 March for an eye appointment and injection in her eye. Since our last trip to Sainsburys we have joined the 'Online shopping' brigade. Raise another order today which makes our 6th online.
Like your husband I DO have the occasional trip out on a scooter either to get sundry food items or to collect prescriptions. I do enjoy my trips but feel guilty that my wife doesn't have that experience. She could use my other scooter but, but, but.....that would never happen. :lol:
As for keeping occupied, I have never known days to pass so quickly even when we do very little each day. We have always been late to bed, around midnight, and late risers, and breakfast in bed. It means that we are not out and about before mid morning. We have coffee and sit outside and chat. She will do some housework and I will do little jobs about the place and generally 'potter'. Lunch around 1pm and watch the news. Before we realise it is 5pm and time for the No10 Covid briefing. We are now waiting tentatively for Boris's recovery roadmap at 7pm. I doubt if there will be much in the way of easement of the restrictions, just a few concessions to keep the public onside I guess.
Too much relaxation too early would risk a serious 'spike' that could put us back a couple of months and even more deaths. Germany and South Korea seem to be at risk of that. We need to get the economy going again but only when the time is right....and that is not yet. :(
Stay safe everyone. :up

PS: Just added a snap of the patio this morning. Should at least have some colour to look forward to in the weeks to come.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

Hello to you too. We have been very busy in the garden. At least the lockdown has given us plenty of time too work out there. As it is a fairly new garden there is still a lot to do.

The metalwork on the light fitting in the dining room was pretty tatty so we replaced it but I loved the shape of the wood part. It has been sitting in the garage since we took it down but I persuaded Barry to convert it into a bird feeder this week.

France has been divided into red and green zones depending on the virus, luckily we are in one of the lowest regions in the country and people certainly do seem to take social distancing very seriously here. I can't say I enjoy shopping but by timing it right I manage to get into the shops when they are really pretty empty.

Our full lockdown ends tomorrow, we no longer need forms when we go out for exercise and the restriction on going out once a day has been removed. A lot of shops will also open provided they can have social distancing so will be good to get to a builders merchant. We really need to net some fruit but need tensioners for the wires. The dumps are also opening next week with strict new spacing rules but will leave it a week and then hopefully get rid of some of the 3 bags of garden refuse!
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

How lovely to read both your replies AND see your photos! Totally unexpected but very welcome! My attitude today is ‘does anyone know what’s going on and what did BJ actually say?’ My immediate answer is that I will not be budging from my house until I am sure that the virus is gone or there is a vaccine against it! Going on the news from Germany etc. They relaxed their rules too early and now the death rate has started to rise!

Fablux, that’s a great idea in your photo! I have a hall stand similar to your photo which became surplus to requirements recently so I think I will be utilising it in the garden - as a bird feeder! What do you think? Grandad, I thought about Mrs G when I posted. What on earth is she finding to do with herself? I have a friend who is registered blind and she is getting annoyed with her husband; annoyed with shopping (which her husband does) and mostly annoyed because she can’t see to cook or sew any more! I do feel sorry for her but, apart from a phone call every couple of days, there’s nothing I can do. She has trouble with the settings on her PC and I know it would only take me a short time to fix it but there is no way I can safely get to her!

I have almost finished a single quilt top for a little girl in the Sunbonnet Sue style. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it but I’ve never made one before so it’s kept me amused for a week. Just got to get it quilted and bound and stick it on the finished quilt pile! Then on to the next one! In the meantime, keep busy both of you, and stay safe! :up
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Restrictions were pretty severe here in Ibiza - still are compared to UK and USA, even Spanish mainland. Police really effective using everything, helicopters and drones etc. to make up for lack of manpower. Worked well though.

We are hoping for a bit more freedom this week and will be able to go in the sea for exercise, but not linger on the beach. Two people from the same household can exercise together for one hour during newly extended two hour exercise slots morning or evening.

Very few shops open, really need the hardware shop and the Garden Centre.

But two or even three people from same family can travel in the same car - wearing the usual gloves and masks. It was strictly one before.

As I was virtually housebound before I came here I'm used to it, but not used to my Daughter and Grandson, the lovely garden, the dogs and last but not least the lovely weather.

I only came for a couple of weeks to sort out my new studio flat which of course is not completed. My lovely new scooter I had to leave behind because I couldn't get a direct flight - the second part was with Air France who wouldn't take it :dv ,

My Grandson is being educated online and doing exams poor soul.

Amazing what has happened so quickly - I can't guess the next bit of the drama.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

Wow RS you have been productive. I have managed about 1 hour of cross stitch and that was it. That was only because it was too hot to do any gardening! :oops:

Had rain Monday, first for weeks so very welcome for the garden but a shame it coincided with the first day after lockdown ended so no walk! French lesson and long walk yesterday which actually felt strange not having a permission form and not having to watch the clock.

Have ordered some meat and pies from a wonderful Scottish butcher (they rear their own animals and make all their own pies on a smallholding) but we haven't managed to get to them yet this year as we got back from Egypt too close to lockdown. We then felt we couldn't justify it as "essential shopping as near home as possible". Have done an online order for collection tomorrow for about a 2 -3 months supply. I fear there will be another surge in CV a few weeks after the end of lockdown so want our freezer well stocked this time!

RS I think your hall stand would work well, we just screwed cup hooks in and hung the feeders from those. Have had to modify it slightly as they seemed nervous of the fat ball feeder being so high, it was low down before, so it is now on a bit of chain that we had to make it about a foot lower and a bit of bamboo through the centre to stop it swinging so much & they seem happy with that. It even had a woodpecker on it today for the first time this year :D

MD Its strange the shops you need isn't it? We are going to the hardware shop on the way to the butchers tomorrow & maybe even get some plants if we are lucky.

Glad you are in Ibiza, really would not want to be in the UK as they don't seem able to make any decisions about safety. Will you be able to get back to the UK or do you even want to at the moment? I can't see us flying until after a vaccine is available or the virus has finally gone. Our son & his family agree with RS & are staying indoors still as neither can work anyway.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Mad Dilys »

I hope I get back to the UK as I have residency here now and hadn't finished making arrangements over transfer of pension etc. Let alone post - we do live in the sticks here and my last two parcels sent by royal mail from Cardiff to Ibiza got lost and went back to the UK and since the house is empty God alone knows where they are.

I agree about the shops but have found that our local Bio Shop is now having pretty big deliveries of plants and trees twice a week. If there is anything we particularly want they will save it for us if available. The problem is I badly need several kinds of compost and pots up to tree size.

It's been raining steadily all day today - "Good Growing Weather" temperature is a bit nippy at 16C should be back in the mid twenties by next week. At least it's warmer than Cardiff. :up

Been doing a lot of gardening - and making marmalade. Lots of Kumquat and now about to go onto lemon and Saville orange which is quite a relief. Kumquats are so fiddly and time consuming.

The casual workers like cleaners and gardeners are allowed back at work so our gardener who comes a couple of times a week and maintains the pool as well did a great job pruning the pomegranate which wasn't done last year and grows at a fantastic rate, also the ivy on the boundary fence which had run up the telegraph pole and made a huge bundle at the top over 8 light weight wires and a couple of heavy duty ones. I'm a bit concerned a two broken ends now dangling, I hope that was done a long time ago. :tk
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Am not quite bored yet but it is getting close. Here on the Island we've only ever had 126 cases and have only had 1 new one in the last 8 days. We're still under all sorts of 'rule' however we will be entering Phase 2 come Tuesday when shops will be allowed to re-open, surgeries are re-scheduled (Granddaughter will get the tubes in her ears towards the end of June now) and the Dtr was able to get to see a Dentist when one of her teeth abscessed.

I've been gardening, sewing quilts, walking daily (usually 2 to 3 miles) and watching lots of TV. I started a group on Facebook that I am the Admin of and in only 3 months have up to 877 followers with lots of people posting daily re: crime and social issues which has come to include almost everything else under the sun so it is almost like the good old days of L4U and E4U. For a while we were almost known as The Covid Group! ;)

I've got the garden in, a few seeds have germinated and soon as the weather stops going from wet and cold to super hot and sunny everybody in the garden will figure out how to grow.

All the plants in pots across the front of the house are well on their way
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Been walking along the Bluff which is up behind my house and the Arbutus are in flower along with all the other shrubs
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And Broom is out in full force. Allergy suffers hate it
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

MD we still have pensions paid into the UK and transfer funds every so often using a factoring company (get better rates that way ;) ). Maybe you can do the same or even make the pension transfer arrangements from Ibiza, either online or by phone?

I love kumquats but as you say they are fiddly. I usually put them into ice cubes for my drinks.

We had a tree surgeon friend over to deal with a very overgrown shrub, I did some cutting back last year but it is right out of my reach this year, so he came in and cut it into a nice large ball shape. Tree surgeon didn't count as an essential occupation until after the initial lockdown ended, although he was allowed to deal with emergencies. We did social distancing even to the point of putting the money in a plastic bag on a table it was raining by the time he had finished) and him taking it out with his gloves on. His wife works at the hospital in the elderly care ward so they are very conscious of not catching anything, there haven't been any cases at the hospital.

Those are lovely photos LLL, you were lucky not to be restricted on your walking. We found the 1 hour, 1 km radius from home each day the hardest thing.

Barry had his postponed non urgent op at the end of April, still during lockdown but they phoned to say come in. Security was very tight, he had hand sanitiser and a mask on arrival, I wasn't allowed in, had to drop him off at 7.30 a.m. & then collect in the afternoon, great fun as it is over an hour each way! He had to have a Covid test 48 hours before admission as well. All went well & probably at least as, if not safer, than after the rules relax.

Wearing of masks is becoming much more common, with many shops refusing access without them now. Still only 1 person per trolley and strict social distancing especially at checkouts. We have resumed our French lessons in person instead of on Skype, but Linda has kept to 6 people including 2 couples, who obviously can sit together, but has set up the tables so that they are in a 2 + metre block to ensure distancing!
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I’m glad to hear that Barry has had his surgery and it all went well, Fablux. I must admit that as the days and weeks go past, I’m feeling less motivated indoors and longing to go out! My son doesn’t understand and told me that seeing as how I rarely go out anyway, it shouldn’t make much difference to me! But, for some reason, it does! Medically, I am supposed to have a review on June 3rd, but I’m not sure what the advice will be. It all depends on the situation and the government I suppose. :(

Today will be a very sad day, because a long standing friend of over thirty years will be buried with only immediate family in attendance. Fortunately, we will be able to watch it online, but it doesn’t seem the same somehow. Still, be thankful for small mercies - as my mother used to say!

Food and cooking are starting to get to me big time now. Anyone else feel like that? I don’t normally do the grocery shopping but there are times when I really want to try a new recipe and DH comes back with the wrong stuff or nothing at all! Luckily, today’s ‘treat’ is clafoutis, which I already have the ingredients for. With a predicted temperature of 26C today, my kitchen will be ultra hot by the time I’ve finished! Thank goodness for ceiling fans! Stay safe everyone.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

:oops: RS are you able to get out into a garden at least? I can't imagine not getting out into mine.

That is very difficult for you not being able to get to the funeral but at least online is better than nothing.

Must admit have never made clafoutis, but we can buy them in the local supermarkets, we had blackcurrant ones last week. I rarely eat pastry so tend not to make it.

It has turned warm again though hasn't it? I did some gardening this afternoon and came in saying I don't know why but I'm really feeling the heat today. Barry checked the thermometer which was in the shade & it was 31.8 & I had been cutting back the lemonbalm in full sun. Oops

Good luck with your review on 3rd RS. Stay safe everybody
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Grandad »

Hello ladies. I see it is about two weeks since I last checked in and like everybody we continue to be mostly housebound. In my opinion the numbers for new CV19 cases and deaths is still far too high to begin any serious easement UNLESS they can seriously start to pin down the areas and reasons for the continuing infections.
I am just a simple bloke but from the start of the year the WHO was saying you MUST TEST TEST TEST. We didn't and have only just started to really increase the testing capability.

In February/March we were told that Italy was two or three weeks ahead of us which SHOULD have given us a lead to introduce lockdown right away. We didn't and waited a few weeks by which time we were at our peak of infections.
In early march we had a program to start 'Track and Trace'. This was suspended and only now are we trying to introduce Track and Trace at this late date. It seems there are problems with the App and there are now around 27,000 people waiting to start Track and Trace the long way with phone calls and pencils and paper, which won't start until mid June.

The planned return to school of SOME children has become chaotic with parents and local authorities effectively given licence to do their own thing. Why don't they bite the bullet and keep kids off until the new year in September. Surely it is more important to focus on getting the economy going than getting kids back to school. The kids can catch up......the economy can't.
To sum up I believe that the whole business has been handled weakly by the government. We needed strong action in March but didn't get it and now we are getting some easement which is really to keep the public onside but I thing many have lost faith in the government. I am not inspired by any of the ministers who lead the daily briefing and I am sure the science and medical people are bound to toe the governments line and not speak their own minds.
End of rant. :xx

Our main outing will be tomorrow morning each to have an injection in our 'best' eye. We each have one eye that no longer gets any treatment.. That'll be fun won't it. :lol:
We now call our rear patio 'The Courtyard' so that is how I will refer to it in future. Sounds posher than patio or backyard ;) Anyhow, the courtyard will look OK in a few weeks when the new bedding grows. I have a few tomato plants as last year. We still have visiting foxes every evening and I put together a few short clips on Youtube so that I can share them here. Just waiting to see some cubs now.


That'll do for now before I bore the pants off you all.
Take care and stay safe.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I wish I could chop onions like a professional chef! :cry: I’ve been making Cornish pasties! Yesterday, I tried out a Paul Hollywood recipe for scones and they turned out quite well, but I’m getting fed up with this cooking lark! :x

I am running short of quilting inspiration at the moment, so I know I’m getting bored, bored, bored! I was hoping to join another quilting group this year but coronavirus seems to have stopped play in that area. I have three finished quilt tops and no idea how to quilt them at the moment. I’ve realised that I do need input from other like-minded people, which is strange because I’ve always thought I was quite reclusive. However, I will battle on, as we all are doing.

How is everyone? Are you all still busy in your gardens? Have you had any trips out? Loads of people are complaining about their hair problems so I don’t think it will be long before the government gradually filter all the different professions back to work. My granddaughter is going back to school on Monday, although her parents are still at home. I had a very quick surprise visit from her on Tuesday which is the first time I’ve seen her since January. I felt quite bad about it though because she had been out for a long bike ride with Daddy and just decided to visit. I had to chat to her through the window when I would normally have given her a drink and a sandwich. Still, there will be other opportunities soon, we hope.

Keep safe everyone.
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

Good to see you Grandad & it was lovely to see your foxes again. Those tomatoes look really good and strong.

We have said throughout how appallingly badly the whole pandemic has been handled in the UK. We may not have enjoyed the daily forms and restrictions here but they worked and we are now completely out of lockdown, all businesses reopened, with social distancing obviously, and the expected second wave hasn't happened! :D The figures are still going down, only 2 people in the Vienne (our region) in intensive care, most are round Paris.

We even went to a local bar for a drink last night for the first time, in the garden with spaces between tables admittedly, but it was the first day open again and we felt we should support them & it was good to feel a sense of normality.

That was a shame about your granddaughter RS but as you say hopefully you will be able to invite her in soon.

Stay safe everybody
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Wow Fablux! All your businesses etc open? I wish ours were! However, looking at all the pictures in the press of the crowds that are crowding onto beaches, parks and open spaces - we might as well be, and as for the demos in London???
I’m glad to see all the photos of your different forms of gardening. My own little patch is all paving slabs, and just an enlarged patio really. I have got some big pots but nothing in them at the moment. I keep promising myself that I will grow some soft fruit but we seem to lurch from one crisis to the next at the moment, so it hasn’t happened yet. Today it’s my upright freezer which seems to be on the blink! At this time of year and with the current situation as it is, that’s the LAST thing I needed! We are just getting round to a general clean up and sort out here too. Why on earth do we keep the things we do? It’s a time to be brutal over all those ‘souvenirs’ that have been so carefully hoarded over the years. After all, they are only meaningful to us, and just mean lots more junk for someone to clear up when we shuffle off this mortal coil! I don’t really have a problem with that but DH is a prize hoarder! I’m working on him though. The latest thing is videos! I want to throw them he is stashing them up and I feel as though I’m bashing my head against the proverbial! Is it too late to swap him? :lol:

P.s. where have Kiya and Hurgharda Pat got to? Has anyone got news of them?
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Re: Are you all bored yet?

Post by FABlux »

RS I should definitely try some some fruit in your tubs. It is lovely to go out and pick fresh. Had tayberries and strawberries from the garden last night. The wild strawberries are still going strong but back breaking picking them as they have just taken over the area they were in which is about 3 ft out from a wall and about 8 ft long so really awkward to get to. It was a dead area under the clothes line so I can't grow anything tall there so have just left them to it. Had irises at the back which were lovely but now finished so our Egyptian butternuts have gone in at each end and are now heading for the strawberries :?

Hope your freezer lasts RS, our son needed one in March and there were none to be had.

I think the advantage of changing countries twice is that it forces you to get rid of a lot of stuff each time. We had to get a new printer (cheaper than a new laser cartridge) so I have just sat and gone through a box of manuals for things we bought here, mostly out of warranty and if I don't know how to use them by now I never will! Half filled a recycling sack, very satisfying, so I know how you feel about clearing out.
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