Lockdown Diary - Sunday 7th February 2021

In no hurry to get up today, as usual, though still downstairs for breakfast before 9 a.m.  The second set of carers arrive whilst I am making my breakfast, so I wait until they've finished before I go to my office to eat my almond croissant and drink coffee without fear of distraction. I'm starting the online shopping order for the week as my gentle introduction to the days chores - less to do than Saturday, but still some I must do, including wash a load of towels and stuff the the carers need me to clean for my wife.

Valentine's Day is a week from today and so I have some things to organise for the day, so there will be some surprises, though of course there is no direct correlation between effort, or intent, and outcomes. At least not in this life, which is rather unfortunate as there is only the one.

Since the latest lockdown began around Christmas, our cleaner has stopped coming, I guess because she doesn't want to travel on public transport with things as they are.  I know she and her family are OK, which is good, as I've been in touch with her but I don't want to put pressure on her to return if she doesn't feel safe.  One consequence of that is that I/we need to do the cleaning instead, though I have to confess I'm not as good at it or as frequent in doing it as she was. The en-suite has got the point that I can't live with, so I'm doing that today on top of the usual stuff.  Son #3 vacuumed the stairs and kitchen, without me asking, which I was very grateful for, and so I must find the time to vacuum and dust in the living room and elsewhere. I literally cannot wait! (N.B. That sentence contains a deliberate misuse of the word 'literally' and, to top that outrageous aberration, it also contains a barefaced lie.)

I'm not entirely sure why, but I don't seem to have managed to read much of the weekend's papers and I'm still reading Saturday's despite the day coming to a close. I think my mind has been on other things. 

Not quite like clockwork, but not far off, I get a call from my father-in-law on Sunday.  It was a brief call during which pleasantries were exchanged and he asked how everyone was, though he didn't really seem to want to hear the answers.  I know he is going a bit deaf (pardon?), so perhaps he can't really understand what I'm saying, and, unusually my stepmother-in-law was taking a nap, so didn't ask me the same set of questions, but with added interrogation-style soft skills.

Trout for dinner tonight and I begin prepping the spuds for the oven, then getting the fish readied for baking by adding some herbs and butter. As if by magic son #3 appeared at this point, offering to help. It was good time as Hernia is getting irritating.  She is very warm, with a burning sensation and a small but obvious swelling: time for her to sit down.  It's odd, for most of the week I've barely noticed her, even after a 30-minute plus walk on Monday there was no sign of her.  As she's due to be scanned at hospital on Tuesday next week, I was thinking, 'Typical, as soon as an investigation is arranged, she disappears'.  That'll learn me!  She's back with a vengeance and out to make her presence felt.  No offence, but the sooner she's gone, the better. 

There was a brief amount of debate about what we should watch tonight: start series 3 of 'Mr. Robot', or something new.  I was persuaded we should continue with 'Mr. Robot' and will probably now watch until the end, before starting something new. It's still good, though I do wonder if they're gonna pull some 'Lost'-style ending on us.

After that, I felt wide-awake and full of energy and decided to go out clubbing. See you tomorrow!

In keeping with the songs I've been listening to as part of a seasonal project, today's song is 'Baby', from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's album 'Mature Themes'.  Apparently it's a cover song, though I don't know the original. Do you? (The original was by Donnie and Joe Emerson, for the record 😉)

[[]]