Last day of Level 4, tomorrow we will be on Level 3, which means that some schools and businesses will be able to go to work. For the rest of us, it is lockdown as before, only going out for essential or for daily exercise.

The one thing hubby and I are missing and will have to wait until Level 2 or 1, and that is a Chinese takeaway. Just think how much we will appreciate it when we are able to order one.

Hubby had a long 1 hour cardio workout this morning whilst I did my Tai Chi. Then for the last time, until the weekend, we went out for our daily walk around the block. I will go out for a walk, but for a shorter walk around the block for the next 4 days.

We have been watching Celebrity Hunted from the UK today. This is a series where 4 teams of 2 are dropped of in one place and they have 14 days to avoid capture from ‘hunters’. There is a team back in the office whom are ex covert ops people and the such and the hunters are all ex police intelligence. The team in the office track all the movements of the hunted via CCTV, cash machine usage, looking into friends and family. They then send the hunters to where they are seen. It is very interesting to watch.

This afternoon we did a 30 minute cardio workout, this is Day 1 of my Two Week Challenge. I set myself a target to get fit and healthy and to lose a certain amount of weight. although friends keep telling me that I do not look that overweight. It maybe that I don’t look overweight, but I know what weight feels comfortable for me.

Well it has been a productive period for us in Level 4 lockdown and we will see what Level 3 brings us and hopefully we don’t go back to Level 4!

Hope all of you are staying healthy and happy and safe in your bubbles. Be kind to one another and take care of yourselves.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

We watched a film last night with a tube of crisps and a glass of wine, although I did not appreciate the enjoyment when I got onto the scales this morning and saw the figure looking back at me. It wasn’t that bad, but it showed me I had swayed.

An intense cardio workout was my choice this morning. OH, my goodness, what a mistake to make. This workout was totally insane. It wore me out and I felt the pain!

Mid-morning we went for our usual walk around the block before it got to hot. Well, it was already warm and getting hotter as we made our way around. Most people still happy to acknowledge us, but I think the reality will be that once this lockdown has finished, most people will go back to the way it was beforehand. Let’s hope I am wrong!

After lunch I made some simple cakes that smelt great whilst they were cooking, but tasted even better than they smelt. Most of them were put into pots and plastic bags and placed into the freezer for future use.

We both did another cardio this evening and I am thinking we must both be slightly mad, and it helps, I guess.

It has been a great day, but I think having the good weather, we are currently having, has a part to play. We have gotten on with this lockdown, as we thought if everyone behaved we would be out of it soon. Lets hope with a drop in our lockdown level people will still do the right thing.

Coronavirus 19 has been a wake up call for us all to be kind to one another, live in the moment, and enjoy life. Keep in touch with your family and friends and those people who mean something to you, because you just never know what may happen at any given moment. This virus is not picky who it attacks and sadly who it eventually kills.

Tonight is a rest and relaxation time for both of us, as is most nights. Guess what? We will be watching another film, but with no crisps, popcorn or glasses of wine. Just be having a cup of tea and cup of hot chocolate before bedtime.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

An extraordinary day here for Anzac Day. We were both up early to remember those fallen and wounded soldiers from both Australia and New Zealand. It was a surreal morning standing in the peaceful in remembrance. People standing at the doorways, down their driveways and even standing in the garden or lounges. No-one standing together as is usual on this day.

A couple of hours later we did a hard 30 minute Pilates cardio workout. Man we did ache afterwards, but it sounds funny, but in a good way. It is always nice to have a warm refreshing shower afterwards, makes you feel human again.

Hubby was sorting his stuff out for his return to work next week, whilst I did the housework before lunchtime. The shops were not open until 1.00 pm. because of Anzac Day, so hubby did the food shopping later in the afternoon and I did the hoovering.

Had another great day today with the weather hot and dry. It appears that we will be on water restrictions next month, because we have had very little rain, if any to speak off for a good couple of months, maybe longer. We had been saving our grey water from the washing machine and poured that into our water butts, although not used to much of it. The only problem with grey water is that is does smell at wee bit!

Tonight we are settling down to watch a movie with a tub of crisps and a glass of wine. What a great evening to end a great day. Missed our walk around the block today, but will be out for a walk tomorrow.

Take care everyone and stay safe in your bubbles. Just remember that we are all still in this together.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

IT IS FRIDAY!!

Oh man , the end of the week is finally here. Normally we would have a rest and relaxation over the weekend, but as with everyone, all over the world, we have been doing that at times during this 4 week lockdown.

Let’s face it, for the most part, we have tried to eat healthy, but at times have succumbed to makes biscuits and small cakes during this period. You know what! Who the heck really cares. If we have sat on our backsides throughout, again, who really cares. We have done what we have done, and it has been okay. When we wanted to chill, we did just that, chilled!

The last 4 weeks have gone quite quickly considering I have been locked up with my hubby, who usually works outdoors. We made it work, but did some fun things along the way.

Tai Chi was my usual start to this day, as hubby did his workout, then it was out and about for our daily walk around the block. The sun still high in the sky and the heat, intense at times, follows us as we make our way around the block.

This afternoon was a sit down and chill afternoon. We watched a film and then did some quizzes online to test our memory, which was not so great, as it happens. There is a set of 60 questions and we manage, at times to get around 30 correct. I guess we should be happy with that, but a few more would be just great.

This evening we are watching the sequel to the film ‘Sister Act’ tonight, although we have no popcorn, but we do have the wine. Just as good, if not better, I would say!

Thank you to all our front line staff who are working hard to keep us healthy and safe. The work you do is totally amazing and selfless. You put yourself out there every day for us all. We appreciate you all.

I will mention Captain Tom who is 99 years old and turns 100 at the end of the month. He said he would walk a 100 lengths of his garden to raise money for the NHS in the UK. He surpassed that and has raised a staggering amount of money for them. He is such an inspiration to everyone. He has also won the ‘Pride of Britain’ award, which is totally outstanding. Well done Captain Tom!

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Nearly the end of the week and it has been a great week.

Next Tuesday some businesses will be allowed to open and schools, but social distancing must still be observed, whilst everything else remains the same as it does now. Let’s hope that it all works out as we will be at that level for a couple of weeks and then it will be reviewed. Please everyone please do this right otherwise we will be straight back in total lockdown again.

We had an intense 30 minutes abs and arms cardio blast first thing this morning, before we moved around all our furniture to hoover up all the dead crickets that had somehow found a place to die. These dead crickets of all sizes were in places that made us wonder how the heck they got in there.

With all the hoovering done we went on our daily walk around the block. It was another hot day outside and I now have definite tan line on my legs, arms and face. Summer was supposed to have finished and we were heading into Autumn, but we are both grateful that we have some great weather to at least get out and about for our walks. A number of people out and about as always, but the silence is still daunting.

After lunch we settled down to watch a film and afterwards I enjoyed a lovely warm bubble bath. Relaxing in those bubbles was great, soaking those muscles of mine. Probably could have had a glass of wine, but we are saving that bottle for the weekend.

Made an amazing Salmon dish for dinner with noodles. We have had it before, but no for some time. I love fish and especially Salmon.

Who knows what tonight will bring as not much on TV and for the first time in a long time, we have not even started or finished a puzzle. Love doing puzzles especially in the winter time, but for some reason we have not opened any boxes. I have been knitting for a long time now, baby jackets, bonnets, mittens and bootees for premature babies. I send them off to our 4 local hospitals when I have a good number for each. During the lockdown I found a baby blanket pattern that starts with 1 stitch and increases to 126 stitches before decreasing to 1 stitch again. That has kept me busy, when I have spare time, but I have now run out of wool and wont be able to buy any until the shops and malls open, whenever that may be.

Still trying to stay positive throughout all of this, but as I have said in previous blogs, it is hard sometimes.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Another new day and hubby did his workout whilst I did my Tai Chi. I have no real knowledge of what day it really is at the moment. All I know is that we are on day 28 and still going okay. It is funny to think that one day really just melts into the next day at this current time. We are trying to stay positive as best we can, but it is a little hard sometimes.

As I previously said, the one thing I am rocking during this lockdown is my sun tan. Today, out on our daily walk I donned my shorts and a t-shirt. It has been very warm, when not raining, so taking a walk whilst it is dry and sunny, makes sense.

It is still eery outside and even when we are walking we hear bird sounds, occasional cars and bikes, dogs barking and lawnmowers, but otherwise the deathly sound is creepy. We live under the flight path here for the main airport, but as most flights have been grounded there is little noise from above either. It has been a weird world of late and I am sure it will be like that for some time to come.

This afternoon we did some work in the garden. With weeding done and watering completed it was now time for a rest and relax and something lovely to eat for dinner.

Keeping in touch with family and friends are important and it has helped us stay sane, if you like. We share stories and quizzes and music that has been done to for this Covid 19 outbreak, I am sure you have seen some of them.

Stay strong everyone and keep you and the people you share your bubble with safe and sound. Be kind to each other even though sometimes that may be hard to do.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Boxing cardio was a hard workout this morning but rewarding, even though my arms ached a little.

The weather was dry and a little chilly as we headed out for our walk around the block. As we walked around there were a few dogs of leash again, but hey ho, that’s the way it goes. Most of the people we saw were happy to say hello or good morning, a few just kept their heads down or turned away as we walked past them. The walk was a pleasant one as we mixed up walking on the pavement and the coastal walkway we have to use.

This afternoon we just chilled and unwound, which was nice. We played a couple of quizzes on the internet and watched a couple of films which was fun.

Messaged my BFF to see how they were doing and they said they had been ill, although not with the Coronavirus. It is not nice when you are ill at the best of times, but in a lockdown situation it is even more distressing. I was sorry to hear about that and sent them my best.

Made a lovely tasty beef stir fry for dinner tonight and had 2 small satsumas for dessert.

Been a quiet day today, but am grateful for my health and family and friends. Very grateful for my hubby. We make a great team together, most if the time.

As always, please stay safe in your bubble and be kind to one another.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

We have had a great day with Tai Chi for myself and a workout for my hubby this morning.

Again, the weather was supposed to be wet, but it never materialised, which was great for us as we went out on our walk around the block. There were a number of people out and about which was nice to see. One thing I will mention here is, that there are a handful of people who, when out walking with dogs, think it is okay to have them of leash. The coastal walkway where we live is a definite dog on leash at all times. There are areas like the park areas where they are allowed off leash. Why do people ignore these sign and just let their dogs run around?

Still chasing crickets in our house. Man they are feisty, jumpy things, but it keeps us on our toes. It is one of those things that I hear first and then out of the corner of our eyes we see the black dot moving. It knows that we are going to catch it because as we get up it hides itself under the sofa or the television unit and we have to wait for it to come out from under there. If it is under the sofa, we just lift it up and place a glass over the top of it and a piece of card underneath.

We came home from our walk and enjoyed a lovely bacon butty with mushrooms. That was well worth coming home for. Around mid-afternoon we did a 40 minute upper body resistance cardio workout, which was great.

We have not learnt a lot of new things whilst we have been in lockdown, but focused on our current studies and getting things done that we have been trying to get done for a few months. We have done quite well and I feel proud of what we have managed to do, but also ensuring that we have a lot of rest time too. We have been keeping in touch with family and friends as best as we can with time differences.

Thanking all the front line staff for all that they have done and are doing during this time. We really appreciate everything you are doing to keep us safe, whilst putting your own life and family time aside. HUGE THANKS!

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

It is Sunday, woo hoo and had the quiz sent over for us to do. There were 20 questions and 20 minutes to answer them. It was hard and we only managed 6/20, so a piss poor effort from us! Oh well, at least we tried and that’s all that we can do.

After our brain frazzle and stress level, we opted to go for our walk around the block to help clear the fog, if you will. The weather was warm and with shorts and t-shirt donned we headed out. Man, it was a warm walk and we saw a lot of lovely people and waved, as we usually do, at the elderly in the care home near us. There were a lot of people out walking and an even bigger number of people on bikes. It was an amazing walk and my tan line is now more visible than it was.

We arrived back home around lunchtime to enjoy a lovely bacon sandwich and we watched the film ‘Smokey and the Bandit’, another classic film. Then we watched ‘Johnny English’, the second film before we did a 40 minute cardio workout. Now, don’t think we watch films and TV as often as we have been because we actually don’t at all, but these are exceptional times at the moment.

Tomorrow we will be finding out about our lockdown, as we are nearing the end of our fourth week. Who knows which way it will go, but it will be what it will be, and we cant change that, so we will just have to wait and see.

We have done a fair amount off our list and had exercise and rest, so we cannot complain. I personally cannot wait until I can catch up with my friends and have a coffee in the café, but that may still be a way off and that’s okay.

Hope you are all staying safe in your bubbles.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

So, today we started with 25 minutes Pilates workout. It was a greats start to the day.

It was housework this morning, then hubby went shopping and came back home quicker than normal. It seems to be settling down a little now, which is good news. We did a wash which we were going to put into the tumble drier and as I opened the sliding back door to vent the tumble drier, putting the hose out through the door, I saw 2 black crickets in the slot of the slider. It was like a comedy of errors as hubby tried to catch them and put them outside. They played hide and seek under door, so hubby used the hose of the tumble drier, which he put on to try and flush them out from under the door. Successfully, and after a few minutes they were both bouncing around the patio outside the back door.

After lunch we played a couple of quizzes on the internet, to test our brains and put them to work. Have to say. maybe I should have left mine asleep! Occasionally we will try out different quizzes just to keep active in the mind. I do okay sometimes, most of the time I know the answer but fail to get it fast enough, but sometimes I just have no clue.

Helped hubby try to get a website set up for his work and hopefully he has that sorted now.

It was supposed to have rained and had thunderstorms, but alas there was no sign, even as I write this blog. We decided to leave a walk around the block because of the expected rains, so we both feel a little crappy that we had more rest this afternoon. As I write this, we have both decided that we really shouldn’t feel guilty, it’s okay to have a restful time or day sometimes. It’s all good!

Tonight we will find a film to watch and hopefully both get a good nights sleep. Have a quiz with family via What’s App in the morning, which should be fun.

So we shouldn’t be to hard on ourselves because it’s okay to chill out every now and again. Be kind to ourselves and everyone else.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂