Tonight I am in my flat and it’s super late as I have been working on it all evening.
Honey is staying at Hannah’s and I am missing her ‘shadow’ and constant persistence to go out for a walk or go to bed! In fact it is nearly midnight as I start writing this, which shows how Honey keeps me to a routine and keeps me going to bed at a reasonable time! Pre-covid when I was home alone in the flat, I would find I would stay up into the early hours, as I had some freedom – didn’t have to think about her.
This evening, I have been de-frosting my fridge freezer. Every so often I hear a strange noise and then realise it’s another piece of ice dropping off! It’s sitting on a pile of newspaper with towels around it to soak up the water. Its a self-defrosting fridge freeze, although it’s still collected a lot of ice in the freeze part. I don’t think I have ever defrosted it since I got it – 10 years ago!
Coincidently, Colin the Carpet Fitter phoned me not long after I arrived at my flat this afternoon, saying the kitchen vinyl had arrived and he could fit it tomorrow morning! Bonus, he can do it whilst I am in the flat. Then I just need to get new kick boards and the flat is finished!
Need to find homes for final bits and pieces and clean the whole flat. Plus a few other jobs – it feels like it is nearly there.
The new tenants are moving in at the end of March, they signed the lease today too!
It was such an uphill struggle back in November, I couldn’t see an end to it all – I can’t believe it’s nearly done! Then I can focus on downsizing more on the boat, I got tired of doing that near the end of the move so just brought everything to the boat. Living surrounded with boxes in such a small spaces is hard!
As I headed along to the flat, with my big rucksack, I found people staring at me. I looked like I was going on a long holiday, rather than just one night! I guess, it’s unusual to see people heading on holiday at the moment as we are legally “staying at home”. What with my sleeping bag, towels for defrosting freeze, computer, all of Honey’s stuff including her travel bed – a large rucksack is what I needed.
I tried to take some photos in the reflection of windows of me and my rucksack. I hope those inside, didn’t wonder why I was taking a photo of their rooms!
Lockdown Restrictions Corner
Found this interesting article in The Guardian its called ‘I am desperate to the end of lockdown but I won’t return to my old life’.
She describes how she is living for 21st June when Boris says lockdown restrictions will be fully lifted. Even though friends remind her that this is only a provisional date, she still is pinning all her hope on that date.
But as she pines and plans for the good old days, she also feels nervous about it. Remembering how marvellous it all was and won’t take it for granted when it returns, but in truth it was too fast, too much and too relentless.
She tells herself that she has learnt the lessons of lockdown – the value of quiet, sleep, contemplation, exercise and an under committed schedule. She still overworks, but just in one spot – rather than racing from meeting to drinks to airport to lunch to meeting. She has done restoration on her soul and body.
She also knows that once she can return to her old life, she will be squeezing lots of things in because she hasn’t been able to see people for so long.
Her greatest fear is that things will never be quite the same again and her second greatest fear is that they will.
She has discovered through the pandemic that it’s ok to say she is having a hard week and can’t do things so well, something she would never have said pre-pandemic.
She writes at the end –
“I believe that 21 June is our promised rainbow. I need the thing with feathers. My other hope is that when we are allowed to fly, we remember that we are allowed to find a nest and rest”.
Readers Corner
One post today from Brian.
Brian send me a message this evening saying –
“Hello there! Jim, I’ve been thinking about The Great Blog Dilemma, in terms of what you should do after the first anniversary…my suggestion is you should only write the blog after then if you really feel like it!
My instinct is that you will find lots of things to write about – and take pictures of – not least the changing of the seasons at the canal! BUT I think you probably deserve a wee break after such a heroic effort during which you’ve kept us all entertained AND informed…!
Maybe the momentum and motivation to update the blog won’t be there after the first anniversary. But I think it will – just not every day!
The only certainty of the NEXT 12 months is that there will be lots of amazing and interesting things happening all around us. I’d love to read about them in your blog if you keep it going.
No-one knows what life is going to be like next month, or in the summer, autumn or winter…I’m sure you will find lots to inspire you if you keep the blog going…so anyway all of this is a roundabout way of saying I’d love it if the blog continued in a way that keeps you happy. I’m sure you’d miss it AND of course The Blog Community!”
Thanks Brian! However, I also remember your point on Day 340, suggesting that in 100 years time when historians come across the blog they may wonder why it stopped before the ‘Great British Day of Freedom’. I realise that day may be beyond 21st June 2021, however I have decided to keep writing the blog daily until that day. Then I will stop and reduce it to when I have the inspiration.
My fear is that when I get the ‘Daily Blog Day of Freedom’ I will never want to write it again!
As I come to the end of this blog, it’s not got many photos, I forgot to take them as I was too focused on the flat. Honey didn’t get her afternoon walk, so to speak – instead her travelling to the flat and then to Hannah’s was her walk!
Tonight it will be the first night of sleeping on dry land in 3 months! It’s going to be so weird. I was worried that the flat would be cold this evening, the storage heaters have not been on so it won’t be warm in the flat until tomorrow. But in fact it hasn’t felt cold – which is a clear sign that I am getting used to living outside more and living on a boat which is so much colder!
I must admit it does feel a treat and luxury to be in my flat. So much space to move around and stretch out!!
Stay Safe 🙂
Jim x
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