Week 36 - Tier 3

 

Blogger is insisting on loading my photos for this week in reverse order and it is driving me slightly insane as I really don't want to spend any time on my laptop. 

Anyway, so...

Saturday (yesterday) 

was a really nice day. We got up and Mark made us pancakes then he and Bunnykins went over to the park to meet Jason and M. The two girls were re-creating parkrun.  I went over to meet Ben. Ben and I had a wander around and cheered the girls on as they passed. We then sat a good while chatting until we got too cold in the damp chilly air. 

Mark got the fire going in the back room. The girls and I sorted out a couple of boxes full of old colouring books and activity books. We then just sat by the fire with the ones that were being kept, Woo and I did some colouring and Bunnykins was creating fashion outfits. I made us some smores. I had put a really nice veggie chilly in the slow cooker for tea. After tea we carried on by the fire until it was time for Strictly. It was so nice.

Oh yes, so Bunnykins had been busy in her dolls house in the late morning, she got out all her Christmas decorations and was getting the houses ready for Christmas. 

Earlier in the week...

We have had a couple of really chilly days this week. Bunnykins and I have walked to school. When I have walked back or got back from dropping Woo at the bus stop - the sky has been beautiful. 

This was on Friday morning after walking back from seeing Bunnykins to school. The cobwebs were frozen.

(Another of my new work/yoga outfits... these are stretchy gold velvet joggers and I love them! 😄)

I think these photos are from Thursday, which was another stunning morning (in reverse order of course)

I tried a different outfit on Thursday as it was really really cold. I had my thick thermal yoga leggings and long sleeved t under a maxi dress and then a v-neck jumper over that. I really liked it. It got a fairly unimpressed reaction from Woo "Mummy, why are you wearing that? Did you buy it?!" and from Hannah who asked "what were you thinking?" when I sent her a picture. Well apparently Audrey Hepburn said "To pull off any look, wear it with confidence", and so I pulled it off as far as I'm concerned 😄

My work week has been busy. A lot of meetings. I have been testing my introvert self quite a bit and so I need to be aware of that and find time to recharge. I have managed to fit in my yoga and a walk with Mark at lunch so I have been hitting my step target which is good. I am very tired in the evenings, but I am settling into the routine and enjoying the work for the most part. I have a lot of worries and insecurities. It is all a jumble of feelings really, but managing to keep it positive on balance.

This week we had a couple of announcements. First was that we will be allowed to form a Christmas Bubble. This basically means that between 23rd to 27th December you can form an exclusive bubble with two other households for the purpose of celebrating Christmas. You can stay in a private house together, hug, eat together etc. All very lovely. 

And indeed, the thought of it is so tempting, so wonderful. But I personally think it is dreadfully reckless thing for the government to do. It is such an emotive time of the year. All the advice is caveated with saying it is at our risk, we must be sensible etc. But people are going to think that because it is allowed that it is safe...and it isn't. Even the most intelligent people can't help being swayed by their emotions at these times. 

There will be a spike in cases after this, we will have more restrictions coming as a result. People will die. There is a vaccine now, we are so close to getting that rolled out. Other religions had to have their main celebrations changed this year. What is so precious about Christmas that it is worth risking people's lives in order to sit around a table and eat turkey? We can celebrate in other ways and at other times. I think this just increases the stress. You have to choose who to form a bubble with, this isn't an issue for us as we wouldn't be going up to see Mum in the care home. But for many people this means - picking a set of Grandparents. Then what if not everyone agrees on the safety of it? It's already a time for people feeling isolation, or feeling forced to visit relatives, or for old family tensions bubbling up. So lets throw in people not getting chosen, people not visiting because they worry about transmission but that getting interpreted as something else. Boris just wants to see a headline of "Boris saves Christmas"...really it should be "Boris sacrifices your elderly relatives for his popularity". 

Mark and I haven't decided what we should do yet. The second announcement of the week also adds complications to the decision. 

So the second thing was that when we emerge from Lockdown 2.0 our region will be in Tier 3 which is for the highest level of cases and transmission. This makes the thought of us travelling to see family seem even more risky and reckless. The restrictions going from Lockdown 2.0 to Tier 3 don't change much. I think we can meet as maximum 6 people in a public space, rather than just meeting 1 person. No interaction still in a private garden, so I don't think Ben can be back for Ukulele Thursdays yet. Some shops and facilities will open back up but not pubs, cafes or restaurants. Mine and Ben's Christmas walk is next week which we would have then gone onto a pub for a Christmas meal. But I guess we will have to take a pack up and our own crackers...though I guess you need a big cracker to be socially distanced!

So yeah. It is all a bit meh. We are keeping an open mind about what is best. If vaccination roll out happens quickly for some of the vulnerable - yay! If we could get our hands on a test before we travelled - yay! If our region comes out of tier 3 - yay! These are not massively likely, but then knowing what is ahead at the moment is rather hit and miss.