Monday 27 April 2020 – Day 33
Today is hopefully our last day of Alert Level 4. We change to Alert Level 3 tomorrow, but of course, there is always the chance that we will return to a full lockdown if the numbers of corona virus cases increase. New Zealand’s borders are still closed and Level 3 does not seem overly different, except for workers such as those in construction, roading or trades that are able to go back. Takeaways, retail and cafes can open on a click and collect basis. My work is not opening in Level 3 as general retail stays closed at Level 3. Many companies, including ours can now sell and process online orders, so at least some revenue will be coming in. Being a courier must be totally chaotic at this time.
Took Mitchell out for a good walk today, about 4 kilometres and on the way home we saw these really cool toadstools. I am hoping that I can use them and their patterns somehow in a journal page. It is amazing that with slowing down how much more time you to take to notice nature at work.
Tuesday 28 April 2020 – Day 34
A beautiful sunny day today, and with Level 3, we had visitors. We have extended our bubble to Nana, Papa and Aunty Kim. While we can’t go crazy with multiple bubbles, it sure was nice to see them. So they came over and had a flat white at our place, now that we have the nespresso. Oh man, just loving that machine. That was a great lockdown purchase.
Nana’s brother Morry passed away on Saturday, and as we were still in lockdown they were unable to see him before he went. Another death from cancer. While corona virus is a worldwide threat and pandemic, and we need a vaccine for that, I sure wish we could find a way to prevent cancer too.
Thought I could introduce our cats today. Max was looking particularly sweet sleeping at the front door in the planter box, so I couldn’t resist taking this shot. Ariel, queen of the boxes, found a great sleeping spot on a plate on the dining table. She is always on the look out for a new spots and as I was sorting photos, she came along and got right in on the action. Both cats are about 13 years old now and are not the easiest house guests, but we love them all the same.
Wednesday 29 April 2020 – Day 35
Yesterday and today, I have been working on creating a medical timeline of Mitchell’s life using a tool I found on wordpress. The process is arduous and although I have attempted making timelines multiple times, I have always given up under the enormity of the job. There are thousands of photos that proffer up memory triggers and I am trying to match the photos to my diary, blog and facebook notes. Since 2003, I have moved from storing photos on negatives, to CD-rom, to SD cards and memory sticks, to online storage like Picasa, and now I use google photos. During that time we have had multiple desktop computers, cameras, phones and laptops, and while I have been diligent with my memory keeping in the form of scrapbooks, I am now trying to gather all my material together to tell a complete story. It’s a huge job. Having lost photos that were not in duplicate when Mitchell was still in hospital, I have also been taking photos of the layouts I have made about his story (and our family stories), just in case, our photos albums are ever lost or damaged. I am grateful for the pages I have created, like this one, which take me back to a moment in an instant.
And some lighter moments in Starship hospital.
Thursday 30 April – Day 36
Got to play GOLF today – 9 holes by myself, but golf of sorts. Golf without flagsticks, rakes in the bunkers, no access to toilets, clubhouse or social interaction. It’s Pandemic golf. Not golf as we know it. It only took me about 1 hour 20 minutes to whip around 9 holes, and the sun stayed shining. That’s a win. We are allowed to play in our household bubbles, but Phil was not able to get away from work today, so I went on my own, as we had Georgia working this afternoon.
Tonight, has been challenging. Mitchell has been on edge the last few days, with a runny nose, more tired and a breakout on his skin, which usually indicates a bit of a hormonal surge. Tonight, that came to fruition with a return to a hyper agitated state for a couple of hours. The whole environment changes when he turns into a different person. Thankfully, by 11 pm he had settled back down and got himself to sleep. One positive, while pacing around he took his pyjamas off himself and put his togs on – he was determined he was going for a spa at 10 pm. Now we know he can definitely put his pants on by himself.
On the news today, the number of Americans applying for unemployment was 30 million since 21 March. Staggering, and President Trump still talking about a positive economy. Boris Johnson announced that the UK is passed it’s peak and that they will be looking to offer a menu of options on how to exit the lockdown. Here in New Zealand, we now have had 1476 total cases, only 2 new cases today and a total of 19 deaths to date.
Keep washing your hands and stay safe
Cherie
Yellow Azalea 