Well, at long last, a red letter day!

At the third attempt, LOML aka TopMan got to empty the car at the dump. Two previous attempts failed when the queue was obviously two hours long. Today is get-up-early-cleaners-are-here day so he took advantage of that and got to the dump not long after it opened.

On top of that, some of Scotland’s restrictions are lifting early! Woohoo! Tomorrow, we can leave our local area and travel around Scotland (but not stay anywhere overnight). That means with a bit of juggling I can get to see my mother … the plan is to meet halfway between Huntly and Lenzie for a picnic – with Christmas presents!

And then, from 26 April, it looks like we are allowed to visit England! Our horizons are unlimited!!

Well, that was a strange Easter, no-one to visit, no-one to cook for and just another 4 days of lockdown! But there was a v-e-r-y large Easter Egg! Nearly all gone now.

Strange weather – bright sun, very cold and snow! You might be forgiven for thinking the snow was actually cherry blossom floating down.

Hairdressers and garden centres now open, can meet 2 other people outside (but it is too cold to do that!) and click & collect operational. We’re getting there.

Having had a great clear out, loaded the car and trekked to the dump, we were disappointed to find a queue that would take an hour of waiting. We’ll go back another time.

It was so kind of LOM, an old blog friend, to comment on my last post … and I mean last – 34th day/February 8th! Brought me back here and contrite that I didn’t keep up this lockdown blog. A factor being that it all gets so boring and the days run into each other. So here we are on day 86.

Since then, we have had Scottish Water dig up our pavement twice – first time to correct some work they did in November which was badly done. But they timed it at the same time as Scottish Gas were replacing other people’s gas main. So got told by East Dunbartonshire Council to fill the hole in and come back later! Came back later and took over 10 working days to do something that should have taken 2! The associated traffic lights just went yesterday.

That means the people who have been working on our chimney, driveway and outside lighting can come back and finish those jobs. Of course they have all moved on to other things and forgotten us. So we’re left with scaffolding, a half laid drive and wiring that goes nowhere! It’s so tiresome and boring – I can’t be bothered to go into more detail!

We are allowed out of the house from today (er – think we were doing a bit of that already) and can meet 2 other people in the garden but only within our council area. This is Scotland where the rules are a trifle different to England, annoyingly. We might be able to leave our council area after 26 April. We might be able to leave Scotland and travel to England then too. Might being the operative word.

Anyway, to sum up:

First jab – tick

Second jab – still waiting

Leave the house – tick

Meeting people – still waiting

Travelling – still waiting

The blue envelopes arrived!

Our vaccinations are on Friday (day 39) but a drive away rather than at our local vaccination centre! No matter, the appointment is the thing! Plus, we get out!

The first haircut of this lockdown was yesterday and Top Man looks well groomed again. I’ve decided to leave my fringe as it grows – first lock down I attempted a trim and it was a bit of a disaster so leaving it well alone this time.

Shops are much the same, a few folk without masks but on the whole better managed than the first lockdown. We notice we are more relaxed this time and not disinfecting all the shopping on arrival in the house. A result of the discovery that ‘rona doesn’t live so long on surfaces as we thought?

Daily Vinyasa yoga stretch is carrying on and I’m n noticing changes already! Seated wide leg stretch is actually wide leg now! Am trying out different longer sessions once a week. First one was good but a one off so finding another that suits me not so easy. The second was a Sweaty Betty which I didn’t take to as I didn’t like the outfit the instructor was wearing – frivolous, I know – but she didn’t either as she kept fiddling with it! The third turned out not to be a full session but I have another to look at.

Snowing on and off for the last couple of days but not staying yet.

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Day 24? Day 24! And how many more to go – both Boris and Nicola seem to think another 28 at least. No non-essential foreign travel until 2022? Speechless.

I think I have forgotten to mention that my mother did eventually get her vaccination – about 10 days ago – and her follow up appointment is in place. But, of course, with this fight with the EU over vaccine, who knows how our stocks will hold up. No blue envelopes have arrived here yet but (a) they’re not blue but white apparently and (b) we don’t really expect them for a couple of weeks.

We continue to bash on. Doing a bit of exercise; outings for shopping; observing workmen when the weather is a degree or two warmer.

I started to write an aside about our building work travails but it got so long – and boring – that I will need to either abandon that idea or severely précis it once complete.

Learning from 2020 and my (too) late Spring attempts to get vegetables grown from seed, I have ordered everything now. Still hard to get exactly the seed I want but at least I can get things started in time to give them a chance of fruiting!

Top Man has taken delivery of most of his new golf clubs, just one more to arrive. He’s cleaned up his old ones. Can’t play at the moment of course but he’s ready ….

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Well, second day of the 15 minute yoga stretch and, oh, I felt yesterday’s stretched muscles this morning! Shows I am doing something right.

Dull and rainy this morning but we have an amber warning for heavy snow from 3pm. Temperature hasn’t risen above 1C yet so with the rain, the pavements and roads are quite slippy.

We are in the midst of getting our driveway re-aligned around the house but are at the stage where cement needs to be poured. That requires a temperature of 4C and rising – not likely in the foreseeable future. Also our dear leader Nicola may be tightening restrictions today (Wednesday 13 January) which might affect the construction industry. But, if the temperature is right and the men remain outside with no interaction with us, I think we would be OK.

I hear of friends getting vaccinated but no word here yet. I saw that only 2% of the over 80s living in the community have been vaccinated in Scotland. They are prioritising care home residents and workers. I wish there was a bit more communication about this.

Meanwhile, all the cupboards in the shower room have been sorted and now to start on a bedroom that is really a dumping ground!

Expecting interesting news from the US Capitol today, wonder if the impeachment vote will go through.

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Another cold, cold night and frosty start to the day. Sun is out now, but not much warmer!

I reviewed the 30 minute Pilates session on You Tube but decided after a month or two of inaction that the 15 minute Daily Stretch would serve me better. And it did! A lovely guide to stretching, no talking just music and timed. Some stretches a bit demanding but that’s something to work up to! https://youtu.be/g_tea8ZNk5A Will do again tomorrow.

Top Man walked up to the shops and said they were very quiet. He also noticed that traffic was reduced so something is working.

I see Nicola Sturgeon is saying it’s unlikely these restrictions will be lifted at the end of January. Well, we thought that, didn’t we?

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