I quite enjoy my weekly online 1:1 Pilates session, via Zoom, though the TorturerInstructress sometimes has to stifle her laughter, at seeing me wriggling around on the floor of the Ark...
It's not the same as using the Reformer Machine, of course, but we improvise by using such everyday items as Towels, or Tins of SOUP.
Interesting times...!
OTOH, I'm relieved at no longer taking part in a local church leaders' weekly Zoom session, as FatherInCharge is now au fait with the technology (it took him about 3 weeks to get set up, so I stood in for a while on his behalf).
Even with only 6-8 peeps 'present', I found it very tiring - IIRC, other Shipmates have said that they, too, find Zoom quite challenging.
...I’ve just had an advert for a spectrum analyser appear on a website ...
I thought the website you meant was Indeed or Linked In and that it was a job title ...
It's another nice day, so I have ambled: I passed the time of day with a gentleman who was accompanied by the most adorable (and very hairy) Wee White Dug (i.e. West Highland Terrier). It's not just humans who'll be making a beeline for the hairdresser whe all This Is Over!
The salmon was fine: as it was already cooked, I just did new potatoes and roasted asparagus and tomatoes with it. Not quite sure what I'll do today: my niece dropped in a supermarket bag with some cheese and a box of poppadums (which S. has been looking for for ages), so a veggie curry* might be in the offing.
* There's a tin of veggie curry in the larder, and when added to some real veggies and spices, it might work quite nicely.
We went to the garden centre! It was quite busy. "You should have been here on Monday", quoth the man at the door. "But your website and FB page said you were still closed". It appears that Head Office didn't seem to realise that they have one Centre in Wales, where the rules have been different to those in England! (Admittedly Head Office is in Guernsey and their centre there is still not allowed to open).
We came home and had tea, freshly-made scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream.
No queue to get in this morn at Tesco, but *shock* *horror* there were about FIVE peeps ahead of me in the queue for the tills. I had to wait at least THREE MINUTES before a till became available - Is Complete Outrage!
The nice Man At The Door, when I asked him where everyone was, reckoned that they'd all been sent back to work to act as guinea-pigs for the government...
I had to brave the clothing section in my supermarket this morning - with some success today. I've tried 3 times previously to get some more jogging bottoms type things, not that anything so foolish as jogging happens in Japes' World you understand, but they are comfortable for slobbing around the house in and especially in these unprecedented circumstances of nursing a burst carbuncle back to health. (Healing nicely, thank you and I will spare you the gory details, but my usual slobbing around the house jeans, which had got a little tight anyway, were not up to assisting with the healing process.) I will be so glad to return to my usual quantity of walking now we're allowed out a bit more for exercise.
In the end, I failed as they had none in my size - but I decided that my current pairs of joggers could be designated outside wear and the pyjama trousers which I could buy without a matching top would do the job for the current set of circumstances.
This morning was the walk to the furthest supermarket, through an area of stone-built 19thC villas, architecturally mainly Victorian Plain, with here and there an Italianate campanile or a wee touch of the Pugins. Nearly all retain their grounds, just a few modern houses/extensions slotted discreetly in. There are fine trees, taller than the houses, spreading leafy fans against the blue sky. Through gateways there are glimpses of dense, long-established gardens, trailing laburnum, top-heavy lilac, a crimson shout of rhododendron.
I come back by the less scenic route as I'm now toting a full rucksack and shopping bag, down what was historically the main southern road into the city, once as crowded and squalid as the big houses behind it were douce and grand.
We came home and had tea, freshly-made scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream.
I’m hoping for a rehabilitation trip to Waitrose this evening (I’m not yet confident or fit enough to do a shop by myself so hubby is taking me; last time I had to leave and sit outside to rest) and top of my list is scones, jam and clotted cream after you mentioned it the other day. I quite fancy black currant jam.
The marking is done so I experimented with making a mask. It’s a bit big though so I will try again tomorrow.
There's a huge amount of excellent exercise stuff available online and I'm undecided about whether I'll ever go back to real life classes. While I was working I was spending a lot of money on classes and will need to be more circumspect in future.
I've been enjoying various on-line exercise classes too, but I miss my real life ones, and the local swimming pool. Our leisure centre (five minutes walk away) had to close at short notice in December due to structural problems. I wonder if it will ever re-open.
Today I've stayed in all day waiting for a parcel for my husband, which hasn't arrived. They tried to deliver it twice already, yesterday when we were both in and neither of us heard the door bell. It's only un-roasted coffee so not sure why they didn't just leave it on the doorstep.
I've just had a rather difficult conversation with the Uninvited Guest's mother who called to say she thought he could return home now, but that since their builders are only starting work on Monday to put right their flood damage would it be possible for him to stay for a bit longer? Then launched into a long saga about how difficult the lockdown has been and she and her husband are considering a separation, so could the UG stay a little longer and would I explain about the disintegrating marriage
Well, as I explained, of course the chap can stay but its not my place to get involved in explaining his parents' fraying marriage. She's going to come over tomorrow while son and I make ourselves scarce and talk to her son.
Sticky situation: he was my other half's Godson and the parents were her, rather than my, friends; as it happens I get on well with him but don't really know her. All rather awkward.
I feel for you @TheOrganist. Sounds to me as if you will be expected to provide emotional support as well as continued board and lodging on an indefinite basis. All because of what is for you a somewhat flimsy connection.
How old is the boy? Sometimes teenageers are able to take such things in their stride because family break-up is common in their peer-group, but I've read many autobiographies that suggest that such hurts smoulder for the rest of the person's life.
I was completely Zoomed out towards the end of my last meeting yesterday and need to take it as a lesson not to cram so many online encounters into one day. So I'm ducking out of one of the three I had lined up for today.
@Sarasa I've been wondering about leisure centres and how soon they might open and how safe people will feel going to them. One of my real life weekly classes has a whole social good-natter-in-the-cafe-afterwards side to it, which I do miss, but I don't think things like that are going to be possible anytime soon.
I’m glad my yoga teacher moved her classes online as I wouldn’t have been well enough to do a whole class in person as i’m Currently very unfit! I haven’t been able to do all her online classes either but sign up and pay because I want to support her only income and I can afford to. I miss coffee afterwards with the ladies though.
I’m just off out for a walk and then I’m to do some writing for my research.
I'm finding Zoom and Google Meet sessions hard, from a sensory overload perspective, making me dizzy and drained, and I'm finding a few people I know who are prone to migraines are getting bad migraines, so I was googling and found this article helpful for tips on how to reduce the difficulties of Zoom, for people with sensory sensitivity and migraines. I should mention it also seems to be a plug for something called theraspecs, as it's on their website - I have no idea about what they are. I myself have colorimetry tinted glasses, which I find useful. But the tips in general are very helpful, so thought I'd share, in case it helps anyone.
I feel for you @TheOrganist. Sounds to me as if you will be expected to provide emotional support as well as continued board and lodging on an indefinite basis. All because of what is for you a somewhat flimsy connection.
Oh, he himself suggested that he contribute to the housekeeping when he arrived and I accepted. The emotional support thing doesn't really arise: he's a grown man and, in any case, has always been close to my two.
Rather than it being a flimsy connection (I've always taken the line that the Godchildren of one was to be regarded as belonging to both), its that I get on far better with the father.
How old is the boy? Sometimes teenageers are able to take such things in their stride because family break-up is common in their peer-group, but I've read many autobiographies that suggest that such hurts smoulder for the rest of the person's life.
He's 27. The reason he came here was to escape the chaos of flooding while he finished his doctoral thesis.
As for his emotional resilience, I think he's closer to his father and younger sister than anyone else. And having been through a parental divorce myself in my late teens/early twenties I have a fair idea of what may go through his mind. Yes, you're right that some of the issues raised by a divorce as an older child can remain and be corrosive but, again, I can relate to that and offer advice.
Anyway, the UG's mother is due in 10 minutes so I'm making myself scarce.
I haven't tried that myself, but ISTM that, for me, it would lead to more problems whilst I attempted to sort out in my mind's eye who was speaking!
It's all a work in progress, no?
BTW, the latest effusion from our Diocesan Office waxes lyrical about the possibilities of 'digital church' as we become accustomed to 'the new normal' (I loathe that phrase, but I suppose we have to get used to it).
Hmm. Yes, but let's not forget the many who are NOT online, or tech-savvy...
I hope They (TPTB) are not getting ready to ditch 'ordinary church'...
@TheOrganist I apologize for making erroneous assumptions about the UG's age and dependency. I hope all is well for all of you following the mother's visit.
On my iPad, I sometimes switch from Google Meet to a different screen, like my web browser, so I am only listening, not seeing. It works when there is one speaker, like for big work meetings, when the rest of us all are just listening, muted with our cameras off, so as not to overload the system. However, my connection seems not so good this week, and the Google Meet app has crashed a couple of times when I did that. One time in a big meeting, and I was a bit flustered trying to get back in quickly, and managed to forget to turn off my camera and mute myself. This was a bit embarrassing, as I made a noise of annoyance when I saw my face, all messy-haired, looming on the screen as I looked down at my iPad. And of course the screen switches to the person who makes sounds, so everyone must have seen my bewildered face and heard my tutting noises for a few seconds in the middle of seeing the head of department addressing us all!
Having been in the Big City for the first time on nine weeks or more (I had to go to the crematorium to take a funeral) and having thought I might as well do our shopping while I was there, may I say I had not understood what a stressful and nasty thing that is for city-dwellers these days. And it wasn't that it was excessively crowded, or that anyone was unhelpful, but... But it just was. I will stick to the local with gratitude!
But it was amazing to fill up the car with petrol at under £1 a litre! Still a good 17p over the £ here. Not that I have been using much.
Having been in the Big City for the first time on nine weeks or more (I had to go to the crematorium to take a funeral) and having thought I might as well do our shopping while I was there, may I say I had not understood what a stressful and nasty thing that is for city-dwellers these days. And it wasn't that it was excessively crowded, or that anyone was unhelpful, but... But it just was. I will stick to the local with gratitude!
But it was amazing to fill up the car with petrol at under £1 a litre! Still a good 17p over the £ here. Not that I have been using much.
Well, one hopes that the little local shops come out of the Nightmare, When It Is All Over, better than when they went in. They deserve to.
I haven't had to refuel the Chariot for some weeks, until yesterday, but was surprised to see that Shell ordinary unleaded had gone down to £1.07 per litre. Not quite under £1 per litre, yet!
I think I said upthread that our two local corner shops have been brilliant over the last few months. We intend to carry on shopping as much as we can with them after the crisis is over.
I haven't tried that myself, but ISTM that, for me, it would lead to more problems whilst I attempted to sort out in my mind's eye who was speaking!
A yellow frame appears around the speaker.
Yes, but in my experience, it appears a second or so AFTER they start speaking--so if you're getting short bursts of comments, you're always looking at the wrong person!
The frame thing can make you dizzy too, darting around from person to person. Today what I did, in the Church of Fools service, was when I didn't need to speak, I minimised Zoom, so only a tiny window of the person speaking showed in the top left of my screen. And I turned off my video camera, because if I can't see myself, I don't know if I'm making movement that's distracting, or accidentally making myself go off screen.
Creamy chicken and asparagus risotto for tea followed by espresso and ice cream as I had just watched Michael Scott’s BBC programme on Sicily and he had coffee granita for breakfast (and that seemed like too much effort).
We were supposed to be going on holiday to Siicly ...[sigh]
I sympathise: I have happy memories of Sicily- though mainly of the north-west corner where there is a scientific conference centre in the hill town of Erice. The accommodation is former monasteries/convents so rather small, spare rooms. Except for the time when, by some delegation, Mr F and I had the Papal Apartments. I particularly remember the domed ceiling with a central motif of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove which looked like pigeon roadkill amidst exploding 99s. And outside, the doos of Aphrodite (who returned every August in the form of a dove) cooed and chuckled on the rooftops. A thin place.
Our holidays are going to have to be in France this year. The government has confirmed that they're going to let people travel within the country. Partly we think this is a pragmatic approach because otherwise people will just travel anyway and pay the fines if they have to. We booked the train yesterday as there are going to be less seats available than usual AIUI. So we'll be going to our own house in foie gras land.
I'm looking forward to it tho. Given the strikes this winter, we haven't been able to get out of Paris since last summer. We'd already been stuck here for months even before the plague arrived.
We’re due our dream holiday in Japan in a couple of weeks...
A good day today, I got up and didn’t have tachycardia for the first since being unwell, and managed to go for a walk with a reasonable heart rate. I ruined my lucky streak by doing some yoga (I need to strengthen my upper body more) but I’m happy to be making progress.
Not sure what we’re doing today, I was thinking a family game of boules but eldest is playing dungeons and dragons online.
Our holidays are going to have to be in France this year. The government has confirmed that they're going to let people travel within the country. Partly we think this is a pragmatic approach because otherwise people will just travel anyway and pay the fines if they have to. We booked the train yesterday as there are going to be less seats available than usual AIUI. So we'll be going to our own house in foie gras land.
I'm looking forward to it tho. Given the strikes this winter, we haven't been able to get out of Paris since last summer. We'd already been stuck here for months even before the plague arrived.
We’re more or less resigned to the fact that we’re not going to make it to France in June, leastways because of the UK government’s constant changing and backtracking on who’s allowed where, when and how. It’s getting like the Hokey-Cokey: in-out- in -out and we were due to leave in less than a month. Unless I can masquerade as a lorry driver😉, I fear it’s essential or no travel for the forseeable.
I should be in Montenegro today on a walking holiday with my husband. My UK holiday for late June with a cousin has also been cancelled. The weekend lockdown happened we were due to go away for a weekend, which included a trip to the theatre. The theatre have re-scheduled the performance for late September, so I think that might be our holiday for this year.
The only travelling I had planned was going to Orkney at Easter to scatter David's ashes and hold a memorial service, and that was cancelled ages ago. We'd still like to do it some time, but until choral singing is allowed, I'm not sure there's much point. Don't get me wrong - I totally understand why they're not allowing it - it's just that I can't imagine a less appropriate memorial for him than a service without music.
In happier news, we saw one of my nieces today, and she told us her fiancé, who's a nurse, had his Covid test come back negative, for which TBTG; we also managed a suitably-distanced chat with one of my nephews and his fiancée in the back garden, which was nice.
Not quite sure what I'll rustle up for supper; S. picked up an order of various bits of frozen pork from a local farm shop yesterday, but they're not defrosted yet, so I'll do something with them tomorrow (there was a rather nice looking recipe on Saturday Kitchen this morning for chicken with cream and mushrooms, which we both reckoned could be adapted for pork chops).
@Piglet Don't worry about D's ashes, they're safe with you and there's no "appropriate" timescale. We waited over 3 years until the children had graduated before taking my late-lamented to Saint David's (well, Stumble Head) to release her ashes into the wind while we had a glass of champagne and a cry.
My friend’s dad died early on in the outbreak and very few could attend the funeral; she’s planning to have a proper memorial service with the ashes when this is permitted.
We have just cancelled our holiday in France (late June). Travel within France appears possible at the moment, but ferries are still uncertain, and as we live in Wales we wouldn’t currently be allowed to drive even as far as Plymouth.
@Piglet Don't worry about D's ashes, they're safe with you and there's no "appropriate" timescale. We waited over 3 years until the children had graduated before taking my late-lamented to Saint David's (well, Stumble Head) to release her ashes into the wind while we had a glass of champagne and a cry.
Strumble Head must have been a wonderful place to do that!
My friend’s dad died early on in the outbreak and very few could attend the funeral; she’s planning to have a proper memorial service with the ashes when this is permitted.
We have just cancelled our holiday in France (late June). Travel within France appears possible at the moment, but ferries are still uncertain, and as we live in Wales we wouldn’t currently be allowed to drive even as far as Plymouth.
It’s so sad for family and friends 😢. I’ve already got 3 waiting for when churches are able to have memorials for large numbers of people. It’s a result of being in my age bracket I suppose 🙂.
Thanks, folks - your thoughts are much appreciated!
I could be in a worse situation: I heard yesterday that a former colleague of my dad's has died of Covid 19, and of course his family won't be able to give him a proper memorial until things get back to normal.
It's not such a nice day today: it was raining earlier on, and it looks a bit blustrous, but I think I'll have a little amble anyway, hopefully in between the showers.
I'm finding evening ambles are nice and quiet at weekends, because people are going out during the day when it's hot. Yesterday I went at 6:30pm and ambled three hours, mostly in the woods, and barely encountered anyone.
Comments
It's not the same as using the Reformer Machine, of course, but we improvise by using such everyday items as Towels, or Tins of SOUP.
Interesting times...!
OTOH, I'm relieved at no longer taking part in a local church leaders' weekly Zoom session, as FatherInCharge is now au fait with the technology (it took him about 3 weeks to get set up, so I stood in for a while on his behalf).
Even with only 6-8 peeps 'present', I found it very tiring - IIRC, other Shipmates have said that they, too, find Zoom quite challenging.
It's another nice day, so I have ambled: I passed the time of day with a gentleman who was accompanied by the most adorable (and very hairy) Wee White Dug (i.e. West Highland Terrier). It's not just humans who'll be making a beeline for the hairdresser whe all This Is Over!
The salmon was fine: as it was already cooked, I just did new potatoes and roasted asparagus and tomatoes with it. Not quite sure what I'll do today: my niece dropped in a supermarket bag with some cheese and a box of poppadums (which S. has been looking for for ages), so a veggie curry* might be in the offing.
* There's a tin of veggie curry in the larder, and when added to some real veggies and spices, it might work quite nicely.
We came home and had tea, freshly-made scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream.
The nice Man At The Door, when I asked him where everyone was, reckoned that they'd all been sent back to work to act as guinea-pigs for the government...
In the end, I failed as they had none in my size - but I decided that my current pairs of joggers could be designated outside wear and the pyjama trousers which I could buy without a matching top would do the job for the current set of circumstances.
I come back by the less scenic route as I'm now toting a full rucksack and shopping bag, down what was historically the main southern road into the city, once as crowded and squalid as the big houses behind it were douce and grand.
The marking is done so I experimented with making a mask. It’s a bit big though so I will try again tomorrow.
Today I've stayed in all day waiting for a parcel for my husband, which hasn't arrived. They tried to deliver it twice already, yesterday when we were both in and neither of us heard the door bell. It's only un-roasted coffee so not sure why they didn't just leave it on the doorstep.
Well, as I explained, of course the chap can stay but its not my place to get involved in explaining his parents' fraying marriage. She's going to come over tomorrow while son and I make ourselves scarce and talk to her son.
Sticky situation: he was my other half's Godson and the parents were her, rather than my, friends; as it happens I get on well with him but don't really know her. All rather awkward.
How old is the boy? Sometimes teenageers are able to take such things in their stride because family break-up is common in their peer-group, but I've read many autobiographies that suggest that such hurts smoulder for the rest of the person's life.
I was completely Zoomed out towards the end of my last meeting yesterday
@Sarasa I've been wondering about leisure centres and how soon they might open and how safe people will feel going to them. One of my real life weekly classes has a whole social good-natter-in-the-cafe-afterwards side to it, which I do miss, but I don't think things like that are going to be possible anytime soon.
I’m glad my yoga teacher moved her classes online as I wouldn’t have been well enough to do a whole class in person as i’m Currently very unfit! I haven’t been able to do all her online classes either but sign up and pay because I want to support her only income and I can afford to. I miss coffee afterwards with the ladies though.
I’m just off out for a walk and then I’m to do some writing for my research.
Rather than it being a flimsy connection (I've always taken the line that the Godchildren of one was to be regarded as belonging to both), its that I get on far better with the father. He's 27. The reason he came here was to escape the chaos of flooding while he finished his doctoral thesis.
As for his emotional resilience, I think he's closer to his father and younger sister than anyone else. And having been through a parental divorce myself in my late teens/early twenties I have a fair idea of what may go through his mind. Yes, you're right that some of the issues raised by a divorce as an older child can remain and be corrosive but, again, I can relate to that and offer advice.
Anyway, the UG's mother is due in 10 minutes so I'm making myself scarce.
It's all a work in progress, no?
BTW, the latest effusion from our Diocesan Office waxes lyrical about the possibilities of 'digital church' as we become accustomed to 'the new normal' (I loathe that phrase, but I suppose we have to get used to it).
Hmm. Yes, but let's not forget the many who are NOT online, or tech-savvy...
I hope They (TPTB) are not getting ready to ditch 'ordinary church'...
But it was amazing to fill up the car with petrol at under £1 a litre! Still a good 17p over the £ here. Not that I have been using much.
O.
Well, one hopes that the little local shops come out of the Nightmare, When It Is All Over, better than when they went in. They deserve to.
I haven't had to refuel the Chariot for some weeks, until yesterday, but was surprised to see that Shell ordinary unleaded had gone down to £1.07 per litre. Not quite under £1 per litre, yet!
MMM
Yes, but in my experience, it appears a second or so AFTER they start speaking--so if you're getting short bursts of comments, you're always looking at the wrong person!
I sympathise: I have happy memories of Sicily- though mainly of the north-west corner where there is a scientific conference centre in the hill town of Erice. The accommodation is former monasteries/convents so rather small, spare rooms. Except for the time when, by some delegation, Mr F and I had the Papal Apartments. I particularly remember the domed ceiling with a central motif of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove which looked like pigeon roadkill amidst exploding 99s. And outside, the doos of Aphrodite (who returned every August in the form of a dove) cooed and chuckled on the rooftops. A thin place.
I'm looking forward to it tho. Given the strikes this winter, we haven't been able to get out of Paris since last summer. We'd already been stuck here for months even before the plague arrived.
A good day today, I got up and didn’t have tachycardia for the first since being unwell, and managed to go for a walk with a reasonable heart rate. I ruined my lucky streak by doing some yoga (I need to strengthen my upper body more) but I’m happy to be making progress.
Not sure what we’re doing today, I was thinking a family game of boules but eldest is playing dungeons and dragons online.
We’re more or less resigned to the fact that we’re not going to make it to France in June, leastways because of the UK government’s constant changing and backtracking on who’s allowed where, when and how. It’s getting like the Hokey-Cokey: in-out- in -out and we were due to leave in less than a month. Unless I can masquerade as a lorry driver😉, I fear it’s essential or no travel for the forseeable.
In happier news, we saw one of my nieces today, and she told us her fiancé, who's a nurse, had his Covid test come back negative, for which TBTG; we also managed a suitably-distanced chat with one of my nephews and his fiancée in the back garden, which was nice.
Not quite sure what I'll rustle up for supper; S. picked up an order of various bits of frozen pork from a local farm shop yesterday, but they're not defrosted yet, so I'll do something with them tomorrow (there was a rather nice looking recipe on Saturday Kitchen this morning for chicken with cream and mushrooms, which we both reckoned could be adapted for pork chops).
We have just cancelled our holiday in France (late June). Travel within France appears possible at the moment, but ferries are still uncertain, and as we live in Wales we wouldn’t currently be allowed to drive even as far as Plymouth.
Strumble Head must have been a wonderful place to do that!
It’s so sad for family and friends 😢. I’ve already got 3 waiting for when churches are able to have memorials for large numbers of people. It’s a result of being in my age bracket I suppose 🙂.
I could be in a worse situation: I heard yesterday that a former colleague of my dad's has died of Covid 19, and of course his family won't be able to give him a proper memorial until things get back to normal.
It's not such a nice day today: it was raining earlier on, and it looks a bit blustrous, but I think I'll have a little amble anyway, hopefully in between the showers.