Sentence a Day, March 2021

 

Background Update:  For the last 12 months I've been covering the UK Covid situation in my Sentence a Day posts.  In March 2021,  we are still in lockdown - a slight easing of the rules for England came later in the month but means only that six people can meet outdoors:  no pubs or restaurants, or non-essential shops, are open yet.  We are told to work from home if we can, and not to leave our local area. The vaccination program is going extremely well but the UK still heads the chart showing the highest number of deaths per million of population, worldwide.  

The Jab, A Quiz, 200 Miles Down: Sentence a Day February

 

Covid situation:  The UK is still in lockdown, imposed shortly after Christmas.  Non-essential shops, restaurants, pubs and gyms are closed.  We're allowed out for daily exercise and trips to the shops.  Workers are encouraged to work from home if it is feasible.  The vaccination program reached 15 million by the end of February with the goal of all adults having been vaccinated by July.  I am working from home, full-time, as a digital marketer.

Monday Feb 1

Did a workout at home. J's jab booked for Thurs. Hand held vacuum came. I can't stop using it everywhere.

Tuesday Feb 2

Didn't do a walk, looked like rain. Also v busy with work. Not a very satisfying day. Lots of irritating things to deal with. Captn Sir Tom died aged 100. What wonderful achievements he had, particularly in the last year of his life when he inspired so many to walk and to raise money for charity.

Wednesday Feb 3

Did 4.4 miles trails. Good to be out even though it was raining lightly.  Quiche and salad. Busy day.

Thursday Feb 4

No walk. So busy had to do Zoom calls without any makeup on!! J had jab.

Friday Feb 5

Beautiful day. Had day off. Did a tabbing walk Tesco (large loaded-up rucksack walk).  J took a lot of old electrical items to tip.

Sat Feb 6

Did trails walk.  J and his son went for a run and you can see them in the distance. Pick of the Pops was unusual in that it featured 1976. Radio 2 is so determined to get younger listeners it is now banning POTPs from playing music earlier than 1976. I tried a home gel manicure -see what I thought. 

Sun Feb 7

Did workout. Did a blog shoot in the conservatory which J has tidied. Roast chicken for lunch. 

Mon Feb 8

Woke to snow, not v deep. Minus 2 degrees. Did golf course walk with J so he could use his 360 degree camera to create a snow video.  Horribly busy and felt under pressure. Watched The Great, The Bay 

Tues Feb 9

Slept badly for just 4.5 hours. Was visualising the village where I grew up. Busy day but got a lot done. J got down a sack of clothes from the attic I hadn't seen for years - see more on this. 

Weds Feb 10

Still a lot of frost but blue sky so did trails walk with water jump. Squidgy texture of mud and frost. Tech issues with blog and link-up didn't go live. Was afraid I'd been hacked  (I hadn't). 

Thursday Feb 11

Bitterly cold. Thin layer new snow. Did workout. J ran. Came back freezing and sniffing. Busy afternoon sorting ads for work. Had salmon fillets. Watched last Call my agent and started Valhalla Murders  (we didn't watch it again). 

Friday Fri 12

Minus 1. Day off but feel tired and sad. Social distancing may continue until autumn. Then had good news, invited to book my jab online.   Watched News of the World film (6 out of 10).

Saturday Feb 13

V cold but sunny. Walked to Waitrose to get saffron (5 miles). Haven't been there since Dec. Watched Spurs, who lost:  I captured a bemused Hugo Lloris after letting in a goal. Then we started The Killing series 2 ep 1.

Sun Feb 14

4 degrees.  Didn't go out. Did a 3 outfit blog shoot. Roast beef.  Seems we may not be out of lockdown until April. Sad to miss my 2 favourite times of the year again, Mothers Day and Easter.  We didn't mark Valentine's Day - not for us. Bird bath and water butt are frozen.

Mon Feb 15

Walked Tesco in rain, back hurting. Seem to have pulled a  muscle somehow. Snipped my fringe as it's getting ridiculous. Had quiet day work-wise.

Tues Feb 16

Set off on walk but had to turn back. Could barely walk. Back very painful. 

Weds Feb 17

Jab day!  Such a great day out.  J drove me to the health centre as it was a few miles away and not one I've ever been to. The young man who vaccinated me with the Pfizer/BiONtech jab was more than happy to facilitate a photo - in fact his mum, also working there, took it.  The feeling of relief afterwards is immense.

Thurs Feb 18

Blue sky walk, 'reverse ferret' which is a trail walk but reversed..  Clouded over when I got home. V busy. No side effects from jab  (and never did have). 

Fri Feb 19

Weather forecast was good so wore light jacket and short sleeved top. But the wind was colder than I expected so I didn't enjoy it v much. Busy day with a big virtual event happening from 1 March and lots to do. Normally it would be a live event in Nuremberg and it's sad not to be going there.

Sat Feb 20

First day in nearly a week that I walked without pain. Warm, 15 degrees and sunny. Walked to Waitrose, 5 miles, to get birthday card for R and daffodils.  Did family Zoom quiz for the first time. Predictably lots of technical problems before everyone got into their groove. We finished the 2nd series of  The Killing. Loved it.

Sun Feb 21

Did blog photos for a beauty shoot. Made a tagine for tomorrow and freezing.  Roast chicken.  Started The Legacy (Prime). 

Mon Feb 22

Promising warm day. Did trails walk 5 miles. Took a wrong turn. Stressful day. The lamb tagine was nice but disappointing in that I couldn't really discern saffron dates or apricots

Tues Feb 23

Got straight to work at 8 as I had a lot to do. Finished at 6.30. I could have carried on until midnight as I had booked for a virtual marketing conference in the US.  But work life balance important so will watch the sessions on demand.

Weds Feb 24

Trails walk. Beautiful spring day. Horribly busy at work.  J surprised me with a new leather strip for my desk, under the keyboard, replacing one that had become very tatty.  He likes to buy useful presents, he's not one for flowers or fripperies.

Thurs Feb 25th

Workout first time for ages. Hoped it wouldn't be too busy but it was. 

Fri Feb 26

Day off, day of care. Our company allows us an extra day off each quarter. 12 degrees.  Sunny. Did 5.2 mile walk with J.  He showed me a clump of snowdrops hidden away in the forest. Sadly, they have now been dug up by thoughtless people. Did a couple of hours in garden, weeding brushing pruning.  Nothing has died except possibly erigeron (fleabane).  Cleaned bathroom, wrote Fri favourites.

Sat Feb 27

Another lovely day.  Did the Mud Walk. Wasn't expecting quite so much mud, as it's been dry for last few days. 5.3 miles. Started watching Shooter

Sun Feb 28

Cloudy.  Wrote blog post. Drove to Epping, first time  since Jan 3. Got a few bits in M&S. Sadly the clothes have gone! Roast beef. So far I've walked more than 200 miles since Jan 1, so on target to do 1,000 miles in 2021, if I actually do it seriously again.

How was your month?  What's the Covid situation where you are? Do let us know in the comments.

I'm back tomorrow with #WowOnWednesday. See you then.

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Sentence a Day: January 2021: Welcome Lockdown #3

 

Friday 1 Jan

New Year's Day. Cold no frost. My stats for 2020 showed I did a total of 1,070.90 miles walking.  Put the Christmas decorations away. Had roast beef, which we don't have very often. 

Saturday 2 Jan

Not quite so cold. Did trails walk, 4.5 miles. Then some cleaning. Early night. 

Sunday 3 Jan

Did home workout.  Went to Epping for a few bits. Lovely sunny day. Roast chicken. 

Monday 4 Jan

Last day of holiday.  Did walk with J just over 5 miles. Cold wind. New seersucker duvet set arrived.  Govt announced another national lockdown. 

Tuesday 5 Jan

Lockdown #3 officially started today, although as London had been in tier 4 since before Christmas, we didn't notice much difference.  Back at work. Fairly quiet. Easing in gently. Had flu jab at local surgery.

Wednesday 6 Jan 

Walk of forest trails, usual mud fest on Plains.

Thurs 7 Jan 

Good day at work, met a couple more members of the AI team I'm now working with.  J not very well, seems to have respiratory infection.

Fri 8 Jan 

J had choking fit over breakfast. Worried about deterioration in his respiratory situation.  I did an urban walk. J went for a Covid test.

Sat Jan 9

J in bad way when he woke up. Improved over day. Blue sky so we did short walk around the nearby golf course.  Saw (and heard) parakeets.  There are lots of them in some of the London parks and woodlands. Legend has it they escaped during the filming of The African Queen. J's Covid test was negative. 

Sun Jan 10

Did walk Holly/willow tails, avoided water jump. Roast chicken.  J still poorly, not sleeping well.

Mon Jan 11

V cold. Forced myself to do a weights workout.  Long day. Finished at 6.30. J slept better but still coughing a lot. 

Tues Jan 12

Walked to big Tesco, 4.4 miles.  J improved my home office set-up so that I now use a large monitor, external keyboard and mouse with my work laptop, and have a switch to select between the laptop and my personal PC. Have a new webcam and halo ring light. Takes 10 years off on Zoom! Here's Molly waiting for her close-up.

Weds Jan 13

Drizzly and cold. Only did short walk. J had phone consultation with doctor.

Thurs Jan 14

Awful day weather-wise so did online yoga workout with Adriene. Difficult to angle myself on the floor so that I could see her on the PC screen. V busy at work. J started antibiotics.

Friday Jan 15

Not raining so did an urban walk. Finally watched last 2 episodes of The Killing.  J v keen to try something new. Made chilli and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's winter salad. Yummy.

Sat Jan 16

Excited to see snow but it only lasted about 2 mins and then it rained. Boo. Did 2 of my least favourite cleaning jobs, fridge and cutlery drawer.  Watched The Great. 

Sun Jan 17

Early walk Yates Meadow mud revels.  Sun came out. By end of day had walked 9 miles and burned 2,402 calories. Roast chicken. Snowdrops starting to emerge. Started Pembrokeshire Murders. 

Monday Jan 18

"Blue Monday" when we are all supposed to be depressed. I was cheerful. J is a lot better. Urban walk. Overcast.  Quiet day at work. Tried Finding Alice and The Mallorca Files but not v impressed with either.

Tues Jan 19

Busy day. Did home workout.  J well enough to do a program on his bike trainer. Changed bed, J wanted less toggage. 

Weds Jan 20

Did short walk 3.7 miles, it was too grey and showery to walk for longer.  Forest is saturated. Busy day again, twice yearly planning session every afternoon this week. Normally this would be held in Cambridge or the US. Watched final episode Pembrokeshire Murders. Started Informer. 

Thurs Jan 21

Blue sky walk. J's 360 degree camera arrived.  I was invited to go on Newsnight to talk about Covid in light of the Is This Mutton survey.  It's a very robust and serious news program so I said no.  If blogging was my career, I would have done it. But I was afraid they would trivialise my beloved blog and me as "an influencer," although I don't consider myself one as the blog is a hobby. Call My Agent back, yippee.

Fri Jan 22

J and I went for early walk 7 40 so he could try out new camera.  Lovely day. Walked around Connaught Water (top picture).  Had good meeting where new team told me they were thrilled with the start I'd made. Started watching The Bay series 1. 

Saturday Jan 23

Did mud walk 5.7 miles. 2 degrees, hands freezing. Did indoors blog shoot, 3 outfits. M&S Burns Night hamper arrived. Did a Zoom call for a Waitrose cookery class where they made caponata to demonstrate batch cooking.  Watched film Close, 5 out of 10

Sunday Jan 24

Did workout. Ironing. Sorted out some eBay listings. Wrote a blog post. Roast lamb for lunch.  Started snowing but soon disappeared in garden. 

Mon Jan 25

Walk in forest, dusting snow quite pretty. Slippery.  J was out running with his 360 camera and raced over to me.  

Burns Night, had traditional haggis and wee dram of whisky. We're not Scottish but it broke the routine and the haggis was tasty. 

Tues Jan 26

No walk too busy. Dropped parcels off at post office.  Worked through to 6.30pm. 

Weds Jan 27

Long day working from 8am to till 7pm and no chance for a walk. Number of steps was terrible.  Lots ebay listings went live. Three sales right away so pleased with that. 

Thurs Jan 28

Urban walk, 4.4 miles.  Had online delivery from Ocado, first time I've been been able to book them for ages. Sold more on eBay. 

Fri Jan 29

Cut walk short because it looked like rain and I wasn't properly dressed.  Wear big noise reducing headphones so always a bit nervous about rain if I don't have a hat and hood.  Went to post office to despatch eBayers. Watched film The Dig,  7 out of 10. Pleasant little film, would never have had this amount of hype if it had been shown at the cinema in normal times.

January 30

Rained all morning so no walk. Did some indoor blog photography and lots housework.  Started Bridgerton. 

Sun January 31

Pleasant day blue sky. Did forest walk 4.4 miles, sticking to trails because I didn't want to get my boots filthy after J cleaned them so well. Then did the RSPB Birdwatch for an hour. Saw 2 blue tits, 2 great tits, 1 coal tit, 8 sparrows, 2 woodpigeons and a robin. Garden is quiet at this time of year, quite often we have blackbirds, finches, sparrow hawk, feral pigeons, thrushes, magpies and starlings.

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December 2020 - A Sentence a Day

 

Tues 1 Dec

Spectacular sun rise today followed by blue sky weather. Did holly trail walk in Epping forest. Had NHS letter giving me the all-clear from recent mammogram - plus another letter about upcoming home bowel cancer screening test, which is next on the list. 

Weds 2 Dec

A good news day. The second month-long national lock down has ended and my gym has reopened!  Everyone so excited. Pfizer/Biontech vaccine now approved for the UK, first country in the world to give it the all-clear. 

Thursday 3 Dec

Raining all day. Did walk, Holly trail. Wore new Rab waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers. Booked for free make-up masterclass with Charlotte Tilbury. New Christmas lit garland delivered.

Friday 4 Dec

Day off - everyone at my company was given this as a "care day." I went into London to see the Emin/Munch exhibition which I pre-booked a few weeks ago in the hope it would happen. Read my review here. Quiet in town. Later had hair colour/cut in Epping. Shorter style. 

Saturday 5 Dec

Did the Yates meadow and Holly trail walk, just under 5 miles. Lovely day. Afternoon dragged. Watched film Last Christmas, based on the George Michael song and starring Emilia Clarke. A bit lame, 6 out of 10. 

Sunday 6 Dec

Overcast, cold. Walked to gym.  Got the tree and decorations down but didn't put tree up. J has a cold. Roast chicken. 

Mon 7 Dec

V cold and foggy. Did 5 miles. 30 to go, by the end of December, to complete the #Walk1000Miles challenge.  Put Christmas tree up. Letter from NHS offering the flu jab. Since I hit 60, the NHS has been all over me. 

Tues 8 Dec

Foggy again. Walked 4.3 miles. First vaccine given in the UK. Yet another letter from NHS offering me the over 60 health check. Cold enough for winter duvet - 15 togs.

Weds 9 Dec

Walk, Willow trail.  No fog and a bit milder.

Thur 10 Dec

Walked to gym. Cold. Study by Office for Nat Statistics says lockdown life was antisocial, lazy and marked by heavy drinking. Not chez Mutton, I'm glad to say (except for the antiosocial bit, but you can't avoid that in lockdown!). Attended Charlotte Tilbury virtual masterclass. Well, waited for 21 mins but she still hadn't appeared so cut my losses. 

Fri 11 Dec

Too tired to walk, needed rest day. Only have 9.46 miles to go. Cloudy. Had my first meeting at work with the new team I'm working with. Like their enthusiasm. Fish n chips,  1st time for weeks. Barbara Windsor died. Watched film Happiest Season with Kristen Stewart. Patchy, not very funny: 6 out of 10. 

Sat 12 Dec

Walk, lots of mud via the Yates & Holly. The "river" is wider and a group of people had come to an abrupt stop. Eventually I did a run up and jumped. They all cheered. Fortunately I managed to clear it for the 1st time, thanks to having an audience! 

Sunday 13 Dec

Don't need to walk today as I only need to do 4 miles to get my 1000, and I plan to do that tomorrow with J on a day off work.  Drove to gym and then did some shopping at Epping. 

Monday 14 Dec

Day off. Sunny start. J and I did the Copped Hall and deer tunnel walk. Very muddy. Saw the deer. at a distance, not in the tunnel. J took photos of me wearing medal, but my nose was very red like that of a certain reindeer! My bowel cancer testing kit came - oh joy.

Tuesday 15 Dec

Had over 60s health check. J did too and we were seen together at a practice a few miles away. I seem to have lost an inch in height but otherwise everything was fine. My chances of having a heart attack, stroke or type 2 diabetes are mercifully very low. 

Weds 16 Dec

Sunny start. Did 4.5 forest trails walk. Winding down at work.

Thurs 17 Dec

Blue sky. Did urban walk to post office and dropped off a card further along. 

Friday 18 Dec

My last day at work and busy with meetings until 6. Then pleased to put my "out of office" on. Two weeks off! 

Sat 19 Dec

Showers.  Urban walk 4.2 miles.  Boris announced London now in tier 4 from midnight and Christmas  effectively cancelled.  Immediately amended online shopping order to remove canapes and various desserts for Boxing Day, but was unable to cancel a click and collect order for a huge gammon (ham).  

Sun 20 Dec 

London has gone into Tier 4 restrictions from midnight, effectively a lockdown, which has put an end to families gathering over Christmas. My gym is now closed again so did a virtual class with them for the first time. 45 mins and rather arduous!  Roast chicken

Mon 21 Dec

A rest day exercise-wise.  Lorries unable to leave Dover. Big log jam. More lorries than usual have been on the roads prior to Brexit, resulting in delays, and now Macron of France is demanding that all lorry drivers have a Covid test before crossing the Channel. Some of the drivers, from Poland and other countries, won't make it home for Christmas. 

Tues 22 Dec 

Walk, forest trails. "River" getting bigger. Went to Waitrose for click and collect of the gammon. Then Ocado delivery came. Christmas food sorted. Watched Love Actually as we always do at Christmas. 

Weds 23 Dec

Urban walk which took in the large Tesco, 4.5 miles. No shortages except run out of mince pies. Had been predictions of no lettuces or broccoli because of haulier problems. Near home there are long queues for walk in Covid tests at the town hall. My mum had her first vaccine. 

Xmas Eve

Sunny day. Did virtual gym class, wore antlers. Did a blog shoot for Style Not Age - "Out and About."  

Xmas Day, Friday 25 Dec 

Cold, sunny. Dropped presents off at R & S's new house, not far away. Peered in through window as we couldn't go in. Opened presents when we got back. Christmas lunch went well. I'm a nervous roaster of turkey in case it's tough and dry. Watched Home for Xmas - sweet Norwegian comedy drama - and The Night Manager episode 1. 

Boxing Day, Saturday 26 Dec 

V cold. Went for walk, Yates, muddy. Nipped into local Tesco for baguette and salad - yes they still had some. Watched George Clooney film The Midnight Sky. 5 out of 10. 

Sunday 27 Dec

Virtual gym class. Sunny. Gammon. John was watching Spurs and I watched a documentary about Bridget Jones. 

Mon 28 Dec

Walked to big Tesco, picked up too much and had to get bus back. Cold.

Tues 29 Dec

Forest walk. V cold. Started watching The Killing.

Weds Dec 30

Oxford vaccine was approved. Quiet day doing blog photos. Sunny but v cold. Took photos of a couple of sparkly New Year's Eve outfits for Instagram tomorrow. 

New Year's Eve, Thurs Dec 31

Cold. Walked to big Tesco to get a few bits for tonight, quiche and salad. Afternoon: watched original Far from Madding Crowd, one of my favourites of all time (nine out of 10). Evening: watched film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018), seven out of 10. In bed by 9 as usual and asleep by 9.30.  The loud fireworks at midnight woke me briefly. Welcome 2021, we've been awaiting you! 

COULD YOU HELP?

If you're a woman over 45, I'd love you to participate in the annual Is This Mutton? survey. This year the questions are mainly around how we experienced lockdown life. No email addresses are being captured and you don't need a Google log-in to complete the survey. Responses are entirely anonymous. The results will be featured mid-January.  Take the survey. 

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I'm back on Wednesday with the #WowOnWednesday link up. Hope to see you then.  Wishing you all happy and healthy New Year. 

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An End to Lockdown? Sentence a Day July 2020

For the last few months my Sentence a Day entries have been a journal of lock down life in the UK. I'm in a more fortunate position than many, working full-time from home in a tech industry job and having just a retired husband and cat at home. It's been a worry not being able to see my mother, 250 miles away, but this month we finally met up for the first time since early December.


Weds July 1
Did a forest walk 3.5 miles. Attended a free Perfect Posture webinar offered by John Lewis & Partners and featuring former Olympic champion Daley Thompson. Today we should have been going to the Greek island of Skiathos, but UK flights to Greece don't start until 15 July and our holiday was cancelled.  I saw online that the first international plane to arrive was from Serbia and it was hosed down, as is the tradition.

Thurs 2 July
Did the food shopping.  Mystery shortages: rubber gloves (still), Lea & Perrins Worcester sauce and peshwari naans. Finished at 8pm. Thank goodness for a day off tomorrow.

Fri 3 July
Having a day off - this is called a care day which was kindly awarded to everyone at my company to take before the end of July.  Bright start, got windy. Went for walk with J, golf club and Yates Meadow, 4 miles.  Then did Mrs Hinch's  Freshen Up Friday. I did have to log in for a Zoom call between 5 and 6 for work, but a small thing to gripe about.

Sat 4 July
More of an easing of lockdown from today.  Hairdressers, pubs and restaurants are now open, with social distancing and other measures.  Did some shopping in Epping. Granddaughter Rosie, 16 months,  came round. Started to watch the 2019 comedy film Plus One., but it was awful so stopped after 30 mins.

Sun 5 July
Sunny but v windy. Did a home workout.  Weeded and watered the rose bed after applying their fertilizer. Should get lovely second flush. Watched film A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, about two older chaps walking the Appalachian trail.  I enjoyed it, seven out of 10.

Mon 6 July
Did an early walk, urban and boring. Surprise delivery from my boss, gin sampler and sweet treats ready for a virtual team planning meeting next week. Had a busy day but feeling less stressed. Containers outside the front door are looking colourful.

Tues 7 July
Workout at home. My procrastination habit bit me on the bottom. Forgot to prepare quarterly report and has to be presented tomorrow. Pressure. Published Sentence a Day June. Notified that the Elton John concert I booked in 2019, for Nov 2020, has been moved to Nov 2021.

Weds 8 July
Lots meetings today inc a 4 hour planning meeting so no chance for walk. Weather still bad.

Thurs 9 July
Weather still dismal.  Went to Waitrose. No mystery shortages for a change. Fairly busy. J did a cycle ride with his brother.

Friday 10 July
Fairly quiet day, had a lot to do but was unfortunately in procrastination mode. Watched film film Military Wives. 6 out of 10.

Sat 11 July
Went M&S Epping.  They gave me a free hessian bag. Intended to go for walk but decided to sow forget-me- nots which led to 2 hours of weeding and getting rid of ivy. Had a delivery of Huel (drinks that are very popular with the younger set at work....).

Sun 12 July
Sunny day. Did early blog shoot in garden, then went for walk 4.5 miles Yates meadow. Saw cattle on trail path (top picture) and was a bit nervous at walking around them, but they took no notice. Roast chicken.

Mon 13 July
Sunny. By 9.15 had done a workout, wiped the kitchen, cleaned up fox poo in the porch and hoovered. Then settled down to work. Last day before a week's holiday. Ordered Sunday Times beauty box.

Tues 14 July
On holiday! Had hair done by Jodie in her home - haven't seen her for 18 months. Soon felt like old times being on M25 - congestion- and saw the deer!

Weds 15 July
Long drive to Plymouth to stay with Mum.  Stopped at Leigh Delamere services for lunch. Quiet, with social distancing being observed.  Arrived at her house around 3pm.

Thurs 16 July
Did a walk of my old haunts  (I grew up in Plymouth) - see it here. Then took mum to an electrical store to get a new oven, followed by a trip to our habitual haunt, Otter garden centre. We didn't buy any plants. Lunch was ok. Plenty of room for social distancing, lots of sanitizers.

Fri 17 July
Mum had back pain so wasn't up to the trip we'd planned. Did a walk, weeded, set up her new tablet.

Sat 18 July
Left at 9 15. Home by 3pm. An M4 closure made my heart sink and fortunately thge diversion was quite short. Had an online shopping delivery. Started 2 new series on Netflix, Norsemen and Cursed.  Read what I thought about them here.

Sun 19 July
Cloudy. Did a lot of housework. Roast chicken. Been a bad week exercise-wise. Only 2 short walks. Will do better this coming week.

Mon 20 July
Urban walk 3.5 miles. My Power Plate gym is reopening on August 3 and their new booking system is now working. It was so  good to book some classes. Back at work. Eased in gently

Tues 21 July
Didn't feel great when I woke - very tired - but 2 paracetamol and a bath put me right. Quiet day finished work at 6 30.

Weds 22 July 
Short walk 4.4 miles. Thrilled to jump to 67th in the Hibs 100. Was ranked 402 back in 2017 when I relaunched blog.

Thurs 23 July 
Did food shopping early. An early buy for autumn, a technical wind stopper jacket from Montane, was delivered. This will help me carry on walking during winter. The roses are now in their second flush.  Below: Queen of Sweden.

Fri 24 July 
Did favourite forest walk, Yates meadow and a forest loop. Squeezed in a blog shoot when the sun went in. Published Friday favourites. From today we have to wear face coverings in England when we go into shops.  They have been mandatory on public transport for several weeks. We have several ready, in plastic bags.  My nice cotton patterned coverings from Baukjen and J has grotty old paper ones - you see them discarded in the streets.

Sat 25 July 
Overcast and drizzly.  Did some weeding and gathered seeds from the nigella (love in the mist).  I will sow these and they'll make sturdy little plants which will flower early in spring.

Sunday 26 July
Fine day on the whole. Urban walk 4.5 miles. 2 nice things happened. I dropped off some colourful kids' masks at a neighbours.  They sent round some flowers and a card to thank me, which was v kind. I later shared my Jane Fallon book review on Twitter and she replied "Lovely. Thank you" and kindly retweeted it.

Monday 27 July 
Miserable weather.  Cold and grey. Did workout at home.

Tues 28 July 

Overcast.  Did walk around Connaught Water, local man-made lake in Epping Forest.

Weds 29 July 
Booked to go to the Titian exhibition at the National Gallery on 15 Aug. Ordered my spring bulbs for autumn planting. Narcissus tulips camassias for 1st time and anemones.

Thurs 30 July 
Quick walk, Kings Head circular before lunch after early start. Booked a week in the Lake District with J in September. Trying to start new food regime which means having Huel for lunch (added blueberries).

Fri 31 July 
Hot day got to 35 degrees (95 F). 95). Did 5 mile walk, crossed Yates Meadow twice (v steep) as need hill practice for Lakes. Set up new VR headset. First thing I watched was a guided tour of Anne Fran's house. Amazing. 

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Lockdown Continues: Sentence a Day, April 2020

Quick scene setter - the UK went into a form of lockdown on March 20 - schools, restaurants, pubs and most non-essential shops are closed. We are told to work from home, unless it is impossible. We are allowed out daily to exercise and we can go out for basic shopping.  My company mandated working from home a week before the lockdown started.

Weds 1 April

Had good intentions- walk daily, eat only healthy foods. But didn't work out today. Published blog post about silver linings. My brother's wife Claire thinks she may now have Covid-19  (he had it last month). Wanted to send them Easter eggs but delivery would not have been until May!

Thurs 2 April

A more active day - a Joe Wicks workout and a walk with John, all before 9.30. Then work. Clapped for carers.

Fri 4 April

Fairly quiet day. Feeling a bit of FOMO as everyone seems to be doing Zoom or Houseparty calls and we aren't!

Sat 5 April

Lovely day. Did early 6 mile walk in forest.  Unfortunately had gastric problems so had to cut the walk short. Went to bed early and slept for 9.5 hours

Sun 6 April

Another lovely day. Feeling a bit better. Got Easter decorations out. Also summer clothes and sorted winter clothes for charity shop and attic.

Mon 7 April

Woke to the news Boris has gone to hospital with respiratory problems caused by Covid-19.  Meanwhile the Times, struggling for feature content in its supplement, leads on Princess Marie Chantal of Greece's new book about etiquette. But good to read anything non-Coronavirus related.  Did Joe Wicks workout but a bit low on energy

Tues 8th April

Busy day working. Didn't get time for a walk or workout.  Need to prioritize that.

Weds 9 April

Walk at 8am, a short circular 2.2 miles. This is the local village green. Went to the small M&S in Epping for some groceries. Hardly any queuing time, very enjoyable. Made a chicken casserole for dinner.

Thurs 10 April

Worried about economic forecast and care homes tragedy. Did short walk.  Sunny day. Tried to set up a Zoom call with old friends for tomorrow but it fell through.  Clapped for carers.

Good Friday 11 April

Lovely day. Sunny. Queued to get bread. Did housework and weeding.  Ironing while watching Jesus of Nazareth part 1 from 1977.

Sat 11 April

Walked to Waitrose to take a John Lewis parcel back.  Took 1.5 hours to get in. Didn't need any groceries so this was frustrating, but at least it was sunny and I had my headphones. Watered roses. Garden is very dry. My Easter beauty egg arrived from Look Fantastic. Read what was in it here.

Sun 12 April

Sunny. We did an early walk, bluebells and then Strava Art exercise with heart shape. Lamb for lunch.  Watched the Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter service, conducted from his kitchen, with other speakers at their homes. Did a video call with J's kids and granddaughter.

Mon 13 April - Easter Mon

Bit of a long dull day. Consumed a Lindt Easter egg which I wouldn't normally do. Watched last part Jesus of Nazareth.

Tues 14 April

Back to work.  Did a walk at 8am and able to get into the Co Op without queuing to get salad veg. Did a LinkedIn course on Google PPC.  Lots of lovely lilac trees are flowering as I go round on my walks. I love to breathe in the heady aroma.

Weds 15 April

Highlight of week  supermarket trip. Sainsbury's. The queue was in a different place, their side car park,  and it took 1.5 hours snaking round a slalem route which featured upturned trollies as route markers.

Thurs 16 April

Went for early walk with J to do a Strava art route. They're quite complex to execute and I didn't have too much time before my first meeting, so I had to come back early. Clap for carers.

Fri 17 April

Busy at work. Did short walk. Baby Rosie has taken first steps.

Sat 18 April

Woke at 5 thinking this is the best time of the week. But breakfast news was dominated by PPE crisis and UK probably going to have worst death toll in Europe. Went to M&S, very enjoyable, not much of a queue. They had plants!! Got a couple of pink pelargoniums. Did an indoor workout.

Sun 19 April

Sunny but cold. Did an urban walk 4.4 miles. Saw this gorgeous apple tree. Roast beef. Video chat with Christopher, Katie and grandchild. Did a bit of gardening.

Mon 20 April

S**t day. Didn't finish until 7.45. No chance to do a walk.

Tues 21 April

Went out at 8 to do walk. Nipped into Co Op for bread. They even had sourdough! Managed to do a quick blog shoot.

Weds 22 April

Did a workout. Productive day, felt on top of game. 1st time for ages.

Thurs 23 April

Walk 3.5 miles. More cars and people around and people getting complacent.  I was the only one taking avoidance action by walking in the road.  Went to Sainsbury's - noticeably more expensive this week. Queuing took 30 minutes, down from last week. Saw this wisteria on the edge of their car park. Clap for carers.

Fri 25 April

Short walk. Sunny. Short queue for Co Op to get milk and eggs. Fairly busy with work.  Did very quick blog shoot.

Sat 26 April.

Cold start, sunny later. Did a forest walk with J, 3.5 miles.  A lot of people out.  Chris and  Katie were out walking with the baby so called by and we chatted 2 metres apart in the drive. Watched penultimate episode Game of Thrones.

Sun 27 April

Sunny. Took photos for 4 blog posts. Roast pork. Watered garden front and back. Last GOT. Spoke to Mum but not for long as her phone wasn't charged (land line). Should have been flying to America for an annual sales/marketing conference.

Mon 28 April
Early short walk. Survey says J and I am "accepters" meaning that we accept the restrictions and make the best of it. Boris back at work.  Made J a salad  for lunch but I had cheese and crackers, one of my absolute favourite meals. The baby robins in a nest box in our garden have fledged.

Tues 29 April

Virtual event replacing work conference started. Lots team banter on Slack which made it fun.  Molly was fascinated (below). No walk today, did an indoor workout as it was raining.

Weds 30 April

Rain cleared away. Short walk. The rain made everything smell fresh, except for dog waste which makes me very annoyed. Why can't people do the right thing? Busy day. Virtual conf continued, with exercises during the break (!). Salad lunch.  In the evening looked over at J and thought for a moment the Grim Reaper was standing behind him!

Thurs 30 April

Wet and blustery. Did walk 3 4 miles. J found a dead squirrel in the water butt. I was quite sad as we've had a squirrel in the garden for years and enjoy its antics  (I don't know if it's the same one).  Sent mum a VE Day hamper from M&S.  She was thrilled. I worry about her as she's 87 and on her own; she wasn't on the list of 1.5m who were told not to go out at all, so she does venture out occasionally for a short walk, but do-gooders often tell her she shouldn't be out.

Stay safe everyone, and hopefully in a month's time we'll be out of lock down to some extent!