As it’s Christmas Eve, I’m taking a break from including all the many sections that I usually include in the blog! It takes ages doing research on everything, reading it, paraphrasing, etc…I am not always in the mood to do it, but I do it anyway – however, as today is Christmas Eve I am taking a break!
You may have noticed yesterday’s blog (Day 275) had a different URL on social media, compared to all other blogs. Usually it has the ending – ‘day-xxx-reflections-on-lockdown’ – where the ‘xxx’ is the number the day it is. This makes it very easy for me to find other blogs, by just changing the numbers.
However, yesterday’s blog had the ending – ‘8382-2’. After posting on Facebook, I noticed this ending, so changed it to the previous format. Worried that if future blogs had random numbers, it would cause havoc trying to find previous blogs! When I saved to the usual format, it resorting back to it’s new format on its own! I then realised that my Word Press version (which the website is built on) needed updating. So I updated it (always nerve racking, as I don’t know how to back up my website content on the FTP Space, so could lose everything!) and was able to change the address – but interestingly you can access yesterday’s blog via either address, so it’s being automatically redirected.
This morning it was super cold, the outside of the boat was icy, Honey slipped on it, which warned me to be careful.
But as it was cold, it was a lovely morning!
On our morning walk, I spotted a couple of girls looking at the canal, realising it was frozen!
They initially were testing how strong the ice was by trying to stand on it, but recognising it was cracking, they stopped, picking up pieces of ice and throwing it over the iced up canal. Then later just admiring pieces of the ice in their hands
They didn’t notice me, taking photos of them 😉
Then we headed along to the flat, to meet Gandolf to finish off the work of sticking mirror tiles on the wall in the bathroom. We did half of this yesterday, realising the first set of tiles needed to stick, before we put more on.
I’ll clean the glue off after a few days, once it has hardened and the tiles are stuck well on.
But I think it is looking good 🙂
The flat is absolutely freezing at the moment, as there is no heating on, nor lived in. Plus with windows open to help with the paint fumes, Honey always curls up into a tight ball in my flat. I think it gets colder than the boat!
Then a trip along Easter Road to get some bits and pieces. I noticed a billboard which is relevant to our Covid times:
After a quick internet search I find that this campaign was launched in November, however it has only just reached Easter Road!
It has appeared across Scotland.
In yesterdays blog (Day 275) I wondered whether the Hardware Shop on Easter Road, which is also a post office, will remain open? Nicola Sturgeon announced that hardware shops will be shutting down as she tightens the definition of ‘essential shops’. However, I saw a sign in their window, saying they will be open and when I was in the shop, I double checked and they said it was.
I wonder whether Edinburgh Council are going to be going round and shutting shops, which shouldn’t be open, which happened in October with cafes? Remember the blog section ‘Is it a Café or is it a Restaurant Game’ (see Day 201)? Cafe Grande in Bruntsfield was shut down by the council declaring it was a restaurant on 18th October (Day 209).
I also saw another shop next door closed down completely. Can anyone remember what was there, probably a hairdressers, there’s too many on Easter Road!.
Then I headed to Lidl to buy some more food, it was surprisingly quiet.
Then back home, to collect Honey the Dog, heading back to the Ear Shop, to get Honey a Pigs Ear for Christmas.
Then we walked round the cemetery as the sun was setting, it was a lovely sunset 🙂
After a bit more painting, Honey and I headed to the Easter Road Community Christmas Meal, before heading back to the boat!
When we arrived at the boat it was 3 degrees centigrade on Discovery! But it wasn’t long until the temperature was up into the 30’s 🙂
It is forecast to drop below 0 degrees tonight and I am wondering, whether to get up in the night to keep the fire going or just relight it when I wake up?! I have so many covers on my bed, the cold doesn’t wake me up! I will see if I wake up and get the urge to keep it going, I worry about Honey staying warm through the night.
It Made Me Smile
This made me smile 🙂
As I come to the end of today’s blog, I must admit it, for me, it doesn’t feel any different to any other day – it doesn’t feel like Christmas. Without all the Christmas parties that I usually perform magic at. The last time I didn’t perform at a Christmas Party was 10 years ago in 2010! Plus, without my own ‘works’ Christmas Party, it really does feel very different this year.
I’ve been listening to BBC Radio 2 this evening and they are talking about what everyone is doing, and I’m thinking, apart from not going to my flat to paint, I haven’t got much planned. A relaxing morning, a walk with Honey the Dog, a Zoom Call with my family and some food in the afternoon.
Looking at everyone’s Instagram and Facebook posts, I see lots of people having Christmas fun, lots of trees with presents under them, families together, I don’t even have a present to open tomorrow. I’ve heard I have a load of presents down in the south of England with my family. It was too late to send them all up – kind of annoys me Christmas was not cancelled earlier, so folk could get presents to each other.
I had arranged for Danny to come over for Christmas, for me to cook a Christmas dinner and sit outside the boat with the chimenea, however, Danny last minute had to head down to see his Dad as he hadn’t heard from him and was worried about him. I have other boat neighbours about, so I won’t be on my own, but still feel sad I haven’t got a present to open 🙁
I have some presents for Honey – so that would be nice – to watch her excitement 🙂
I am sure it is the same for many people this year, with many people home alone for Christmas. Does it feel like Christmas for you?
Listening to Radio 2 just now, they featured the comedian Sarah Millican, who has set up a Twitter hashtag for the last few years – #JoinIn (capital J and capital I), so may check this out. It’s a way to have an online chat for those on their own this Christmas:
https://twitter.com/SarahMillican75
Check out the image below –
Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!
Happy Christmas from myself and Honey the Dog xx
Jim x