Feeling the Fail

I've just accidentally deleted a lovely comment from wherethejourneytakesme - thank you for the kind thought and I'm sorry that I managed to delete it.

I feel like I ought to be better at the whole business of getting through a lockdown. DH is quite poorly now, although bear is a lot better (and seems to have grown a couple of inches). This resets the isolation. I'm more worried about DH than staying in, but it would be easier if I was able to go shopping for bits to tempt him.

I have some deliveries due. One, which is due tomorrow, is a veg box from a sandwich shop.

Tip on Getting Deliveries - if you go onto Google Maps, and look under the search bar, there is now a button that says 'Delivery' which shows places that should still be delivering, although you have to check. I get slightly different results on my laptop and on my phone. I found the sandwich shop, that also has the veg boxes, and the lunches from there look very pleasant indeed, and if the lockdown continues I may suggest them as a once-a-week treat.

Another tip is to think sideways. Normally I'm very good at this, but I'm failing a little at the moment. However I'm getting a delivery of chocolate biscuits from the stationery company, Viking. I've bought printer paper from them before now, but remembered that they also do office catering stuff. They have tea and coffee for sale as well, I think, but there was a truly awesome sale of coffee not so long ago when I completely committed, and we don't drink much black tea.

Although that does lead me to the delivery of tea from Twinings that should be here sometime this month, as I thought it would be fun to try some teas out with bear, especially if it gives him something other than rubik's cubes to obsess about. I have no idea when that will come.

And as soon as I can go out, I'm definitely going to go around the farm shops. They are far more interesting than Tescos.

Mind you, we're not too bad. We have plenty of coffee, as I said, some useful tins, an overloaded freezer and I'm not afraid to google. I am counting my blessings.

Today's daily briefing included support for charities. I am sure that there are all sorts of bits of politics and economics and sociology intertwined, but I feel a little reassured, and I know that the email I had recently from Tesco said that the company were committed to supporting Foodbanks. I will keep an eye out to see what I can do, especially once everyone is a little better.

Hugs and good health to all.

Still Trundling

Thank you for all the good wishes. Bear is still rough in the morning and the evening, but not as bad during the day. I think he is on the up. DH is not well. I'm hoping it's just a cough or cold as he wasn't well a while ago. To be honest, I'm feeling a little worried.

I'm finding it hard to get moving. Bear likes my company so I find myself just hanging out in the same room. Still, I've sorted out a load of recycling and put it out, and I've spent some time with Scottish Power (nobody knows why, but I no longer have my boiler cover, and it will be a while before I can sort out whether I'm owed money or not, dammit). Tonight we all watched Monsters Inc together, which was awesome. We are seriously getting our money's worth out of Disney Plus, far more than Netflix. I also managed to call one of DH's aunties just to check how she is. She is older and not in brilliant health. We had a good chat talking about some of the tricks that they used in the war to eke out rations and supplies.

I also did a small amount of writing for the writing challenge (here) and I found these live cams from San Diego Zoo here.

I need to find a way to push myself with work while still keeping bear company. I'm sure I'll figure it out.

By the way, did you hear about the two men who were caught stealing a calendar? They each got six months.

Hugs and good health to all.

Bear Continues Poorly

I phoned the GP reception about something else connected with bear, mentioned his symptoms, she told me to call 111. I called 111 (NHS helpline) and they said that bear had all the corona symptoms and we need to self isolate. We are continuing to stay in.

Bear goes through waves of it. At the start and end of the day, he is quite rough, but he's not so bad at other times. I'm keeping a close eye on him.

Scottish Power have happened to me again. I don't know if anyone remembers the saga last year when Scottish Power had inexplicably set up a second boiler care agreement, and no-one could work out why. Today I got an email saying that they were sorry that I had cancelled the agreement and if I want to take out boiler care again, these were the rates that they could offer me. I hadn't cancelled the agreement.

I should add that the boiler care is part of the price plan and gets be a better gas and electric rate. Goodness knows what's happening to that.

I rang Scottish Power. Scottish Power are working a skeleton staff due to the current crisis and couldn't take the call. I said some rude words. Then I rang Domestic and General who run the actual boiler cover scheme. They were very nice (they always are!) and looked at my account. I could hear the boggle through the phone line. They have no idea what's happening. According to their notes, my boiler has been written off. Actually, it's working just fine! I have no idea why this has happened. The poor man at the other end seemed baffled. I'm going to have to switch away from them. I have a number I can ring tomorrow, so I will take some calm breaths and see what comes up.

Writing stuff - this week's writing challenge is here. All are welcome, especially as I haven't a clue.

Hugs and good health to all.

I Did the Freezer

I actually pulled stuff out, threw out some lingering ice pops and rearranged the shelves as much as I could, but one more frozen chicken nugget and the poor thing will explode. It's left me with a better idea of where I am with food.

I'm good for frozen peas, frozen onions, and an unexpected extra bag of sprouts. I've got some bits of frozen potato products, but I want to use up the fresh potatoes I got first. I bought a sack and I'm happily working my way through them.

Today we hung out and watched the Incredibles and Incredibles 2 and we all enjoyed them. Two of the best superhero films I've ever seen.

I found this, links to virtual tours of all sorts of places. I haven't clicked on the links, so use caution, but it's a little escapism.

Hugs and good health to all

Frozen Assets

Thank you for all the good wishes, and sending all good vibes and hugs to those who are suffering at this time. We all are affected, and if all we can do is keep putting one shaky foot in front of another then we are triumphing every time we take a step.

Also, Jessica left a comment with a tip that I thought is definitely worth sharing.

I peel my carrots and put them into a lidded container interleafed with damp kitchen towel and they keep for at least a week and are ready to snack on if needed. I also do this with washed and spun spinach and lettuce and it stays crisp and fresh. Jessica.

Thank you for sharing, I shall definitely try it as carrots seem to take one look at me and fall apart.

Today I got the last delivery I will get until things get back to normal. I booked it a few weeks ago, and considered cancelling it, but bear is still unwell and I am trying to minimise how much I get out. I'm hoping to have no reason to go out for a week now. And in the delivery, there were frozen items.

I have an upright freezer. It isn't the biggest, but it's bigger than an under the counter model. I should be able to cram a fair amount it. Apparently, I have. I've been meaning to run it down so I can stash soup in there, but I seem to have got carried away. You cannot get another frozen pea in there without a crowbar. I swear that the freezer was ready to burst. And the worst thing is that I'm not exactly sure what's in there. There is too much 'miscellaneous'. I know that there are some tubs of sorbet that DH and bear enjoyed last summer, or, at least the last two spoonfuls in the tubs. I'm sure there are ice pops as I've been giving them to bear (still poorly but slightly better). There are half packets of peas, a few nuggets, the last of some hash browns and a bag of red cabbage and apple. As I was trying to cram in the last bag of peas and the frozen chicken pieces, the last frozen pizza fell down the back of the drawer and seemed to disappear. I could have cried. I manhandled drawers out, used some very inappropriate language and managed to just about get the door shut (I checked!) before staggering away.

Tomorrow I have to sort out what is in there. If I come back with some sort of excuse, please feel free to tell me off. I am sure that some of it is just badly packed, and the rest I need to make sure that I use up appropriately. I do not want to keep going out if I can help it. The main issue we are likely to have is bread. I can make mayonnaise rolls, and even pancakes or drop scones, but DH really likes his sandwich made from a loaf. I could maybe freeze bread if I can make sure that space is being used efficiently and I can get things used effectively in the right order. I won't be using much from there tomorrow, though, as I have some turkey mince I'd like to use up.

I think it's a very positive thing that I'm being forced to look at what food I have in and be creative in using it. I wonder how it will change shopping habits after all this is over?

Hugs and good health to all.

When I Work Out What Normal Service Is, It Will Be Resumed

Thank you for all the kind words. I really appreciate them and they have made a serious difference. I have fragile mental health. I have good days and bad days and I know that I am in a much better position than many. I try not to dwell on it. Yesterday wasn't good.

I'm pulling myself together, though. The last thing anyone needs is more doom and gloom. I am promising myself to post something positive every day. There is always something.

Today I was reminded that I'm in a good position on a lot of things due to erratic shopping habits. I have around half a dozen large bottles of Presto washing up liquid from Amazon. I bought a box of 12 in the summer of 2018, and I would almost recommend them. The liquid is incredibly concentrated and you only need a small squirt. It cleans really well and is great on grease. It's not even terribly expensive. It doesn't have a fancy scent, but that isn't the most important thing. The clean dishes are the most important part. I had a quick look on Amazon, and I don't think that they are doing them any more, which is sort of a shame. I say that it is sort of a shame because while the washing up liquid is amazing, the bottles are sent out in a box and they don't tape down the lids. My box had one bottle that was slightly open.

Washing up liquid is a lubricant. It is a really good lubricant. I couldn't pick up the dratted bottles, they skidded out of my hands and the stuff got everywhere. It was like a comedy moment. It took me ages to get all the bottles cleaned and safe for use. Two inches of washing up liquid went a looong way - and I nearly did when I was skidding over the kitchen.

I'm running low on pasta, though. I normally buy it in very large quanitities once a year when the gluten free stuff goes on its yearly sale. It's coming up to that time of year again, but I'm not expecting the same deal.

Bear continues quite poorly. I continue to fuss him.

Hugs and good health to all.

Could be Worse

I'm having a tough time today. Back tomorrow.

Hugs and good health to all.