Well the storm clouds gathered and the heavens opened this morning. Fortunately Steph’s mood improved as the day progressed and we were safe to venture out of our rooms by lunchtime.
I am, of course, joking and it was another day in paradise where the kids kept us entertained rather than it being the other way around. As has become tradition, Saturdays start with us listing all the things we need or want to get done during the day and finish with me writing my diary wondering where the day has gone and feeling disappointed that very little on the to do list has been ticked off.
The heavy rain did curtail any desire to head out and about and so a lazy day at home was in order.
A bit of a random mix in the top 5 today but lets take the plunge together:
1. I start with hugely exciting news. Apparently the lockdown in Durham has been declared as over and we can go back to our normal lives. I mean, I missed the announcement myself, but having ventured to the supermarket for the weekly shop this afternoon it is quite clear that everyone else has heard something I haven’t. No face masks, no social distancing, all usual protocols like the one way system ignored and no attempt to enforce by the staff. I think everyone is just fed up especially when we see so many pictures on the news and social media showing lots of people gathering in large groups. I have been very careful not to use my diary as a platform to share my personal views on lockdown and I’m not about to start. I just ask people to think about what they are doing and keep themselves, their families and all the rest of us, as safe as possible! 🦠
2. I’ve also made a quite distressing discovery today. It’s common knowledge that alcohol sales have skyrocketed during lockdown as people are drinking more at home. We have been no different – I challenge any of you to look after our two darlings 24/7 without turning to the bottle pretty quickly! Our recycling bin is testament to that! But this isn’t a short term situation so we have made a conscious effort to try and drink responsibly and reasonably. This has meant I’ve been trying not to buy any booze as part of the weekly shop, and managed to achieve that again today. The idea is we will drink down our supplies rather than topping them up. My discovery is that whilst we have finished a number of bottles of spirits and not replaced them, we seem to have just moved onto a whole pile of miniatures we found at the back of the sideboard. Mounds of tiny empty bottles are now gathering in the kitchen – I worry if this continues we’ll be left to move onto some of the more obscure bottles in there. Anyone know what to drink a 10 year old half empty bottle of Curacao with? 🧉
3. The dressing up continues and today E wanted to be a fairy princess. Now I didn’t know fairy princesses had unicorn horns but then again there is a lot I don’t know. What I also didn’t know was that fairy princesses, just like superheroes, have sidekicks who get to follow them around. In E’s case her sidekick is a butterfly who has the most beautiful wings and he runs around in circles at high speed. M absolutely loved being part of her game and really took to his new role with vigour and passion. It’s going to be quite an experience when he takes to the stage for school plays in a few years. I’ve no idea how I ended up with two such extroverts for kids! 🦋
4. As part of the make believe games, E was going around granting wishes. She appeared in the living room with her wings and fairy wand and asked me what I wished for. I said “for my gorgeous daughter not to be stroppy for the rest of the day.” She waved her wand and my wish was granted. Reflecting on it now, it did actually come true and she’s been great ever since that moment! Mammy then wanted to know why she didn’t get a wish. And so it became her turn and she said “to have a tidy living room.” Cue the eye roll from the fairy who announced, “but that’s just tidying up and not a proper wish.” She then turned on her heel and marched out of the room. Jeez these fairies are more difficult in real life than you see in the movies! 🧚♀️
5. As always, Saturday night is also quiz night here with our back to back quizzes. I’m trying to work out if the questions are getting easier or if people’s general knowledge is getting better because of all these online quizzes! Either way, it’s been a fabulous way to keep in touch with friends and family in a very relaxed and sociable way. Who knows whether this will be the last Saturday with such decent numbers as the pubs begin to open from next weekend. I hope not as there seems to be a way to go still and I’m not sure what I’ll do when the quizzes stop. I need some outlet to share my new found knowledge of obscure flags, airport codes and hits of the 1970s! 🤓
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