So I left you in August last year when lockdown had eased, but we were not out of the woods just yet.
In September, I had a checkup for my eye. Decided I should travel down on the train and do it in a day as we were back in Lockdown. I had a seat in First Class but because of social distance everyone had to sit far apart. Very strange. Then the hospital was odd too. Every other seat was taped so you had to sit apart, but there was hardly anyone in the waiting room anyway.
I was lucky as I saw Miss Minihan and she was happy with how the eye looked. Nothing had changed but she is still keen to keep it as is. We agreed to a yearly checkup.
Lockdown caused issues for T as he needed to visit his Dad who was going through chemo. Sadly chemo didnt work and his Dad was now terminal. He saw in his 83rd birthday, but sadly passed away in the early hours of 1st November. Luckily T had travelled there the day before so was able to be with the family to cope with the news.
The funeral was on 13th November and we put the dogs into doggy care so that I could be there to say goodbye. A funeral in lockdown is not good as we were limited to 30 people at the funeral and then no Wake afterwards. We were able to have a quick chat with everyone outside the Crematorium but when you are in masks its not always easy to know who is who!
It hit the family hard. He was able to die at home which was a godsend and he passed away quite fast after the devastating news, but even so its difficult for it to be final. T's Mum took it hard, but so did T as he never had a chance to talk to his Dad while his Dad was with it. Grief is a funny thing with all the different stages and there is still a lot of anger there.
T kept visiting to help support his Mum and we planned to spend Christmas in Wales with a camper van for us all, however, the rules changed for Wales at the start of December so we were not sure we could still go. Then 2 weeks before England changed its rules and suddenly we were not able to go as we were not part of the bubble. We decided that T had to be with his Mum for the festive period so he went over on Christmas Eve while I stayed at home with the dogs.
Actually Christmas on my own wasnt half as bad as the thought of it. I enjoyed watching what I wanted on TV. The dogs and I had a lovely Christmas Day walk, I had a fun Zoom chat with my family and I enjoyed cooking my Christmas dinner. Time went by pretty quickly!
Apparently Christmas in Wales wasnt easy, but they had some laughs, even if the gap at the table was noticed.
T came back on Boxing Day so it wasnt so long alone at all.
The next day we cooked a huge Roast Chicken dinner and had our presents.
NYE we stayed in LOL not much option to do anything else as lockdown was in play. We cooked Tomahawk steaks which were OMG!!! with corn on the cob and sweet potato fries, gravy and a mushroom sauce. Lush!!!! and Huge!!!!
January till now lockdown has continued. We are now in a staged release.
T has continued to pop across to support his Mum. She struggles to be alone in the house at times.
We have managed to get through workwise, while we took a hit for the years takings, T has been amazing bringing in work when many were struggling. Im now working on the books site to try and get it back up and running.
We have continued to run the quizzes on a monthly basis and its lovely to see the family and some great friends on a regular basis.
Zoom has made things bearable. Ive had some fab Fishbowl games with my family that have given me some amazing laughs. Even though Ive not been with them, I feel like Ive seen them more than I ever would have done if Covid19 hadnt happened.
Seeing the extended family on a monthly basis is great too!
We have had a few posh meals too as many restaurants are offering cook at home packages.
We ordered a 3 course meal from Tony Parkin at Banquist for Valentines which was gorgeous. The Sea Bream Sashimi with the sauce was amazeballs. The hassleback pots with the Surloin Steak were special. The Lemongrass panna cotta was ok and worked as a dessert with the rest of the meal
We also had a Gordon Ramsey Beef Wellington which we had to build and cook, but it was delish. The jus and mash worked really well with it.
Finally last weekend we spent our Staff Annual Entertainment allowance and had a 6 course meal from Dinings via Restokit. Again we had to build and cook some elements, but it was great!
Roasted beetroot Monaka, Tahini miso, watercress salad
Yuzu kosho cured line caught sea bass ceviche (Brixham, Devon), cured heritage tomato, pickled shallots, organic char caviar, coriander cress
Truffle Tamago-sando - Steamed buns, truffle egg salad, truffle mayonnaise, Oscietra caviar
Grilled potted native lobster (Beer, Devon) - Half native lobster, Spiced miso
Roasted wagyu beef (Gumma, Japan) - Sweet soy glaze, wasabi cream cheese, pickled shallot
Dark chocolate fiondant - Tonka bean ganache, spiced Umesyu porched pear
Im a bit apprehensive about going back to "normal' life if Im honest. I have been lucky in that I have taken the dogs out so Ive not been stuck in the house, but the lack of pressure about having to do anything or go anywhere has been lovely.
Both T and I have had our first vaccines - The Astrazenika one. Was amazingly smooth to get it done at the local Sports Centre. Next one is June.
Marlie has been through it again though - he had his dew claws done in October and so was shocked to see how curled they were again a few weeks back. He was starting to lick them so they were hurting him. We agreed with the vet it was better to remove them than try to get them cut every 5 months so he had both rear claws removed. Hes done well and I think hes happier for it.
Matti is just still cute.
Finally, the Duke of Edinburgh died at 99yrs of age yesterday. Its madness the pomp and circumstance that goes on. Very sad that he was a few months away from his 100th Birthday and I feel for the Queen as they were together 70 odd years. Funeral plans have not yet been released but he didnt want a State Funeral and we are still in Lockdown so will be interesting to see what they do for him.
Hope you are all healthy and safe
See you again soon