Lockdown Fun March/April 2020

Last day of Level 4 lockdown. Woohoo!!! Not that Level 3 will be much different for us for the first week at least. (Will I continue to blog during Level 3, watch this space.) This will truly be a very short blog as today I have done absolutely nothing except lounge around watching TV. My excuse is I am resting to get rid of the lockdown lurgy and thankfully a day of complete rest seems to heave helped and I am feeling much better. Five more cases today and one more death, total deaths now 19. What I am thankful for today: The weather has been crappy today so it has been easy to stay inside doing nothing.

Another lovely Autumn day today. We had a busy day in the backyard today, Geoff splitting logs and cutting down a couple of dead trees. My job was to wheelbarrow the logs that have been drying out against the back fence and stack them in the woodshed next to the garage. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too flash today, some sort of lockdown lurgy that made me feel quite lightheaded, tired and dizzy. I'm proud to say I soldiered on, taking breaks as necessary and got the wood stacked. Nine new cases today, a bit higher than I had hoped but still in single figures. What I am thankful for today: Sunny days which even when I'm feeling a bit under the weather can cheer me up.

Lest we forget. Today at 6.01am (I woke up unexpectedly at this time) I went out to the letterbox in my fluffy dressing gown to observe Anzac Day in the same way as many other New Zealanders were. It was a very mild morning and a small group of neighbours had assembled on the berm next door. Because they were all dressed I chose not to join them and stayed at the letterbox just long enough to listen to The Last Post reverberate softly around the hills before I quietly snuck back to bed. Today there were a couple of family birthdays to celebrate: Happy birthday Tane (2 today), and Kane and Santana (12 today). I FB messaged Dad and was able to wish my nephew and niece a happy birthday as they celebrated outside at their Grandad's place. I spent the rest of the day mowing the lawns, front and back and stacking some firewood that has dried out. I really wanted to cross mowing the lawns of our list but I crossed it out last time I did it, and I don't suppose it's worth cross...

Happy 83rd birthday Dad. In all Dad's 83 years he would never have dreamed that his 83rd birthday would be spent in a lockdown caused by a global pandemic! Went out for my normal morning walk this morning. The sun was shining and the Autumn trees looked quite stunning. Today is the day that we were supposed to be jetting off to Queenstown for our luxury getaway. The autumn trees must be quite stunning down there now. Never mind, we have a credit for our flight and hotel booking so hopefully we can go down this time next year. Had a FB chat with Dad this morning to say Happy Birthday. Grant, Sharon and the twins were at his fence bringing goodies and a happy birthday sign. Geoff ventured out of the valley this afternoon to go to the Master Builders to get some signage for his building site when he goes back to work (whenever that might be). I decided to make a mini chocolate birthday cake for our Zoom birthday conversation. Not my biggest success but I am hoping that Zoom wi...

Normal morning, out for a walk then back to have a chat to Dad on FB. Had a practice Zoom chat with him too so hopefully tomorrow we can all connect for his 83rd birthday. Only 3 new cases today and no deaths. This afternoon I set up a Zoom meeting with the Silverstream crew, it was great to literally see everyone in their bubbles. What I am thankful for today: Being able to connect with friends even though we are not in the same place.

Today was supposed to be the last day of level 4 lockdown, but we have five extra days before we go to Level 3, which for us won't be much different at all. This morning we ventured out on yet another walk in the bush around the valley, going up the Kopara Grove track (which has to be one of my favourites because it's a nice track no matter whether you're going up it or down it) and coming down the Green Track. We worked out that there are ten tracks in the valley and many different walks you can do by combining them in different ways. Six more cases today and sadly one more death. I had a well deserved lazy afternoon after our 2 1/2 hour bushwalk this morning. What I am thankful for today: I have got through the initial 4 week lock down, still blogging and still sane (relatively speaking😊)