Tier 0 – Nearly Normal

Coffee and Notebook

It’s 6.15am, pitch black outside and that’s before the clocks change tomorrow. Saturday morning and I could be lying in, instead I’m keeping the bread machine company as it whirs and wobbles. I’ve gone for a peppermint tea when really I wanted a coffee, which means I can get one a little later!

The wind has got up, which will be stripping the trees of their amazing colours and I’m pondering how to face into the last 9 weeks of the year as the half term holiday comes to an end and the days become shorter and shorter.

To add into the pondering we are still in a strange kind of loch down here in the UK where it’s hard to know what is coming next instruction wise. I’m trying to stay away from the news as a way of controlling my mental state but it’s hard. There’s mention of a 5 tier system in Scotland, cited to come into place from the 2nd November and I’ve no idea what that will mean travel wise.

I can thoroughly recommend taking up podcasts or audio books and walking as solace. Getting out into the day light when you can. Movement is key and I can thoroughly recommend this podcast from Rangan Chatterjee : How to Keep Your Immune System Healthy with Dr Jenna Macciochi and The Surprising Truth About Exercise with Professor Daniel Lieberman

I hope where you are you are safe, thanks for joining me at the weekend coffee share.

How to Keep Your Immune System Healthy with Dr Jenna Macciochi

The Surprising Truth About Exercise with Professor Daniel Lieberman

 


The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.

The Last Piece of Christmas Cake

As I’ve worked from home all week, the phone has sometimes needed an extra top up charge during the day.  The idea that I might have more time by being at home quickly got bashed on the head, after Monday.  Instant messenger has been on fire and the number of emails seems to have been ramped up significantly.  A piece of Christmas cake with a cup of coffee around 10.30 has been a welcome pick me up.

Managed to get into an exercise routine, out at 6.20 for a 20 minute run Mon, Tue, Wed, a cycle round Arthur’s seat in the mist and rain Thursday with a rest day yesterday.   Got up early this morning despite it being a weekend and ran as well to avoid anyone.   Have to say my body feels broken, my back aching and a sore hip.  But for brain and sanity I’ve forced myself through it.

Food shopping seems to be the hardest part in terms of self-isolation, we’ve a big supermarket down the road, a fairly quick moving orderly spaced out queue to get in.  Once in it’s strange with some people body swerving with others just behaving normally in terms of spatial awareness.  Met my next door neighbour in there  Then there’s the masks, the gloves with some folk wearing goggles.  A very unpleasant experience from a shopping perspective and I think the staff are amazing to carry on working in such an environment of what could turn nasty in any moment.  On the plus side there was plenty of food, unless you want pasta, rice or flour.

The boys being off school is hard, we’ve carved out sections round the house and being a man of technology (and a hoarder) there are various old pieces of kit hanging about that have been put back to life.  Even had to make use of the wires that I’ve collected over the years.  So everyone has a makeshift workstation and trying to keep themselves busy.

We are trying to rope them into more household chores, some cooking lessons and a generally it’s been met with good humour.

Friday night was movie night.  We covered Les Man 66 (Ford v Ferrari), and once you get past batman having a broad north English  accent it’s a great film.  Thoroughly recommended.

FORD v FERRARI | Official Trailer 2 [HD] | 20th Century FOX

I can also recommend a podcast on Anxiety (coronavirus-special-how-to-manage-anxiety-in-the-face-of-a-global-pandemic), given where we are as a global society.

The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.