Number One, despite being treated like a child (the attitude of the nurses has grown more condescending as my hair has turned whiter), I do have decent medical treatment available, and, having turned 60, I no longer have to pay for prescriptions.
Number Two, last Sunday lunch was not as bad as I had feared. I had been worried about the idea of hundreds of people everywhere, coughing and sneezing, but it was almost deserted and very enjoyable to get out. I might be able to re-engage with normal life if it stays like this, though I am actually happy being anti-social.
Number Three, I’ve been given a big bag of potatoes, beans and beetroot (I like potatoes and beans, and Julia likes beetroot) so we have been eating better for the last few days.
Number Four, after a temporary glitch, reminiscent of the empty shelves of the original lockdown panic buying, we now have slightly fuller shelves in the shops. And I can order food today and pick it up on Saturday (I could have had a slot tomorrow but decided Saturday was better).
Number Five, I have a couple of poems in Failed Haiku this month. I’m on page 107 if you want to have a look. Published twice in a week. I’m definitely beginning to feel smug. It won’t last, of course. That’s not false modesty, they have just taken on a new editor. I’ve submitted to her before – sent three, had three rejected.
That about wraps it up for today. It’s been quite a relaxing day and I have started a few changes to my diet and exercise regime, so things are moving. My next shopping trip (we are doing Click & Collect at the moment) features a lot more salad. I am unsettled by the thought, but needs must . . .
The photo is an old one, but it features salad, so is back on topic.
Congratulations, Simon. Oh those awful care-home television rooms!
Thank you. Yes, you can see why people withdraw to their rooms.
🙂
Lots of good stuff: poems, free food….
I have similarly noticed that places are not too busy – well, apart from the restaurant at Belton Garden Centre, though it is spacious and the tables were well spaced.
You say you’re not much interested in socialising but I guess the change of scene is a good thing in itself?
Yes, it is nice to get out a bit and see family. We will be travelling to Lancashire shortly with mum and dad;s ashes – will be seeing my sister for the first time in six months and uncle and cousins for the first time in two years.
I hope you have a good trip.
Fingers crossed. 🙂
I was able to type 107 in a box at the top of the first page and go straight to your excellent piece without scrolling.
I hope that you can find a diet that is both healthy and satisfying. That is not always an easy thing to do.
I will have to look for the box next time. The key to my new diet is, as you have previously pointed out – eating a little less. I will start with that and treat it as the thin end of the salad wedge.
Does a salad wedge have a thick end?
You have clearly not seen Julia slice cucumber! 🙂
🙂
Blessed you may be, but you are a pain for making us scroll down an unpaginated book to find page 107. Yet it was worth it, both for Switching Off and for the image of Julia mumbling downstairs tempted by the smell of bacon
Sorry Derrick – my reader shows the pages down the side, I didn’t realise that others didn’t. I will do my best to get on page one next time. 🙂
🙂
Lots of blessings to count! Always important to keep them in mind.
Yes, it’s easy to lose sight of them because we often don’t realise how lucky we are.:-)
Congratulations on the published poems! I enjoyed them, especially Switching Off.
🙂 Thank you Lavinia.