As of midnight tonight we will be down to Level 1. After all our hard work here, we have finally got there.

It was hard to believe, but we have come a long way since way back in March. We have had no new cases for the last 3 weeks or so and we now have no active cases. Covid 19 is no more, FOR THE MOMENT!

This is a momentous step and it means we can now all go about our business with no social distancing and can travel on the buses and trains with no issues. We did it hard and fast with the total lockdown, but it has paid off and lets hope that this stays this way!

Our borders are not yet open and lets hope they do this slowly, so we can keep this awful virus out and keep it out.

This morning I went for my official haircut and had to wait outside, as only 2 people were allowed to wait inside. When I saw the hairdresser, I told her that hubby had used his clippers to trim my hair about 4 weeks ago and she said that he had actually done a good job. I told him when he arrived home this evening and he was happy to hear that. I felt almost human again to have my haircut. It is so amazing that just one simple thing like having your haircut can make you feel so good about yourself.

So tomorrow is the start of a new era here and a new normal.

I know there are a lot of countries that are still struggling with this virus and I hope that those countries find the way to get it under control and to come out of this as best they can.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Hope you are all well and enjoying your lifes.

I had an appointment to see my chiropractor about 3+ months ago, but with Covid 19 arriving across the world, I never got there. Today was my new amended appointment and boy I could not wait to see how my neck was.

I had a bad car crash many, many years ago in which I suffered severe whiplash. I suffered from pain in my neck that gave me severe headaches that lasted for about 4 months. The doctor gave me painkillers and sent me to physiotherapy and also heat therapy, but nothing worked.

One day, a friend asked me if I had tried a chiropractor. I had not and knew of a few people who had and said that it was painful for them. With my headaches becoming a real hinderance to my every working day, I took the plunge and called one.

His name was David and he took a couple of x-rays and gave me a session. He manipulated my neck and within a few minutes my headache had become just a dull throb. It would periodically lock up and I would have to turn my body to see around. What an absolute nightmare! I had to see him on a regular basis for quite some time and once it settled down, it became less and less.

When I moved to another country, I never thought about the chiropractor, because my neck was doing okay. But one day, I felt a twinge and without hesitation, called the local chiropractor. I went today and all was well, which is surprising considering how long it had been. My neck was a ‘little tight’ and that was all. When I hear my bones crack and make a noise, I know that all is well. Some say to me that I must be a masochist, NO! but I just know that from that noise, all will be well.

Considering how much walking and exercising I have been doing over the last number of weeks, a tight neck is not bad at all. Thank you to Sandy the Chiropractor.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

I have a couple of amazing friends, whom I keep in contact with on a regular basis. We try to catch-up as often as we are able to. I catch up with one slightly more than the other as they do not work and so it is easier.

Other friends I text or call but I do have one that is always saying they are to busy to talk. Whilst I appreciate that work does take up a lot of our time, friendships also take work to keep them alive. Give and take is always a thing between friends, but friendships also take ‘effort’. Sadly this friend appears not to want to make that effort anymore.My question is, “how many time does one have to be told that they are busy and don’t have the time to talk”, do I accept? Should I just leave it and walk away from this?

I have known this person for a number of years, but seem more of a friend when they need a friend but it is not reciprocated, which is a shame. It cannot work just one-way, or am I mistaken?

I do keep trying to make contact, but I am getting weary of the effort I seem to be putting in and getting nothing back from them.

Thank goodness I have other friends who are there, as I am for them, always.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

So, with my last blog, I wrote about a pleasant surprise, that I was going to receive a rebate, which I did receive.

At the end of last week I had a letter that came through the mail and inside was another pleasant surprise. I was due another refund and a further small amount, but I needed to complete the forms that were enclosed and send or e-mail them back, which I did promptly.

My concern was that the letter was actually dated early December 2019!. When I sent the completed forms back to them, I did query why it had taken nearly 6 months to reach me. I am awaiting with anticipation and will let you know.

So, my question is, Where do these things go?

It is not only mail but also texts that seem to get lost in the ether. I had a phone call with a good friend of mine today and they told me they had sent a text yesterday, but I had not replied. Sadly sometimes they do get lost and are never received by the recipient. I always try my best to respond to texts as soon as is physically possible, purely so that I don’t actually forget to do it.

There must be a special place where all misplaced texts and lost mail is piling up.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Whilst working for a company some years ago, I decide to join their health insurance scheme. It made sense at the time and when I left that company I decided I would keep it going. I asked them if I could add my hubby, and, so both of us now have that private health insurance.

I never really used it until I found a lump under my armpit and my boss at the time told me to use it. I did and now use it every time I need a check-up, which is every year at the moment. It covers the fees needed for that check-up, which is a weight of my shoulders.

I had a letter from the company a couple of weeks or so ago to say that they would be giving people a rebate on their payments, which was great to see.

I really had forgotten about this until yesterday when I checked my bank account to see that that rebate had been applied to my deduction. I was so thankful for this rebate, it was a really pleasant surprise to see and so I saved the amount to my savings account.

It may not have been a huge amount of money, but just the action of the rebate from a large company was such a lovely gesture, especially at this time and in this economic environment.

Thank you, it was such a pleasant surprise.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

When we were in lockdown, people were not happy because they could not go out. People complained that our borders were shut down very quickly to stop the virus from entering. Those people who did enter the country, were isolated for 14 days and some were not happy with that.

All of this was to protect people living here. I am guessing that if none of this had been done until later, people would have not been happy because the virus could possibly have infected more of us.

When our PM lowered the level to a 3, people wanted it to go to level 2. It wasn’t at level 3 for very long, but again, it was done to prevent more people suffering and possibly dying.

The limit of social gatherings was 10 people, which, not everyone was happy about and now that our level has dropped again to level 2 and as of midday today the number of people has been increased to 100. That is still not enough for some, but whatever the limit, it will never be enough, as we have all been used to our old ‘normal’, which is now not our new ‘normal’.

We will have to wait another couple of weeks, or so, to find out if we can go down to level 1.

We have had no new cases of Covid 19 for a few days now, which is great news. It seems that everything we have done here has worked. If this weekend, which is a long one, everyone is out and about, travelling away for the weekend, gives us some good numbers for the next few days. I hope that it will help in the decision to lower the level and let us get back to meeting people without the social distancing, but whatever happens, we will have to go with the flow.

All of this is to keep us safe, but at least we are free from the bubble now!

Stay safe and look after yourselves.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

With Summer having now left us, we are into Autumn, although you would not notice this some days. The weather is still sometimes very warm and the sun is way up there in the sky above.

As I was walking around the block, I noticed those tell-tale signs that we are now actually in Autumn. The leaves on the trees are turning a lovely shade of red, or they are beginning to drop off. Some of the flowering plants are now bare and void of all the beautiful colourways I saw in the Summer. I love all the different colours of the shrubs, various green leaves. The leaves are so different in size, shape, colour, variegated ones, shiny and matt ones.

The grass is now turning a rich green colour with just patches of the dry yellow, that was lawns and parks during the drought in the Summer. It just shows you, what a couple of days of rain can do! Water butts are also filling up, which is great news, although we are still on drought restrictions.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

We finally saw the rain yesterday afternoon (Sunday). It wasn’t a lot, but it was great to see it at long last.

We had winds and heavy rain last night though and persistent rains all day today. It will take a fair few days, if not months of heavy rains to fill up the dams here that have been almost emptied. Our water butts were pretty full from the grey water we saved earlier, but they are both full now.

As I filled the kettle up this morning, the garden was filled with a variety of birds, all pulling the worms from the wet soil beneath them. It was a lovely sight to see and a distraction with all the otherwise sad news that is around at the moment.

We are due rain all week from what I have seen. If we only have light showers, I can continue my daily walk, however if it is heavy and persistent then I will have to give it a miss.

The garden looks amazing after the rain and the plants are probably so very appreciative of it too.

Hope you are all still staying safe and keeping your social distancing , which will be the new normal now, sadly.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

This is my second day out and about and I didn’t feel the trepidation that I felt last Sunday.

The mornings and evenings are getting a little chillier now as the Summer has finally left us. We parked up at the parking spot and walked around the town. I called into a to a store and found myself some large balls of wool and decided to buy some. That will keep me busy for a couple of weeks or so. After walking around and enjoying the morning we headed back home.

We went to buy 2 pieces of champagne ham and felt as if we were interrupting the assistant just to ask for them for it. They wandered over and picked up 2 pieces from the back of the counter, but we asked if it was possible to have them from the front. We were not being awkward, but they looked fresher.

After lunch, hubby went and did the grocery shopping, as he has been doing since the lockdown. I feel bad that he has to do it, but he is understanding and is happy to just know that if I am at home , I will be safe.

Our champagne ham was eaten for dinner with cauliflower and broccoli cheese, which I make and sprinkle paprika over the top before I grill it. Needless to say, the dinner was, oh, so delicious.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Who would have thought that self raising flour was still so hard to get hold of!

So, hubby went grocery shopping at the weekend and came back with plain flour. The shelves were empty. That’s okay I thought, I have baking powder to add to it. I had made a couple of cakes a few weeks ago and decided that I would make them again.

All my ingredients were measured out and I was ready to go. Now, I don’t use an awful lot of plain flour, so I googled how much baking powder was needed to be put into the flour. I was ready to go and started mixing the ingredients together and with both cakes made and poured into greased cake tins they were put into a pre-heated oven.

I left the cakes to cook away and tidied up after myself. As I put everything away into the cupboard I read what I had actually used in the flour. It was actually bicarbonate of soda. Now I didn’t know what was going to happen to my cakes, other than them not rising. They both looked different and when the time was up to take them out of the oven, they had both not risen, as I had expected.

I thought I was going to have to throw them both away, but when hubby and I tasted them, they didn’t taste to bad.

A lesson learnt!

Check that you are using baking powder with plain flour and not bicarbonate of soda and your cakes will both rise and taste better.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂