Lockdown Continues. A new grandchild is born.

 

Ramona Lily

The best news of February was the safe arrival of Ramona Lily in California. She is our fourth granddaughter and our second American grandchild. We were sad that we could not visit to help Simon and Erin and almost two year old Nina. Fortunately, both parents took maternity/paternity leave from work so they were able to cope.

Playing in the snowdrifts

February in the UK began in much the same way as January ended as lockdown restrictions continued. Winter struck with a vengeance with the temperature dipping to an incredible minus 23C in the north of Scotland. Even here in warmer Suffolk, we had several days when the wind chill factor was minus 8C.

Happy faces

 Ellie and Sophie loved the snow and wasted no time in building an igloo and snow bridges in their garden. They brought their sledge to our house and delighted in being dragged along by Jeremy. The lanes nearby were so full of snow and ice that we could sledge on the road as there was little or no traffic.

Pushing granny is hard work

 Just as the snow fell our local hospital invited me for a dermatology appointment. I was unsure about going and had to consider the weather and the large numbers of Covid patients in my “risk assessment”! I had been referred last October and who knows when my next appointment would be if I didn’t go? So, I went, taking extra warm clothes, a hot drink and a snack in case I became stuck in a snowdrift. All went well. The roads were practically empty, the hospital carpark deserted and only a handful of people were in the dermatology department. 

Waiting for a Covid jab

 The skin lesion that had developed in Australia had dropped off before Christmas, leaving a barely visible scar. It was decided that I should monitor the site for six months and report back to the hospital if the lesion came back.

Jeremy’s brothers and sisters-in-law had their first vaccinations against Covid. Within a week or two, we received text messages and emails from the local GP group and booked our places. We had our first Covid jabs on 12^th February.

St Valentine's Day meal at home

 Towards the end of February, Boris announced the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. All schools and colleges would reopen on 8^th March. There were cheers from parents, grandparents and children alike.

Storytime

 Yesterday, we had our last day of homeschooling. It has been a challenging 8 weeks with many ups and downs as we all adjusted to our new relationships with each other. We are looking forward to being just grandparents again.

After the snow....floods

 Meanwhile, home maintenance continues. Jeremy has recycled our neighbour’s old fence and it now replaces our rather tatty and disintegrating back fence. The garden is looking tidier although there is still quite a bit to do. Perhaps we’ll decorate our spare bedroom. 

Swing ball in the park

 I’m hoping the Isle of Man Government will let me visit my Mum and sisters after 30^th April, when I’ve had my second Covid injection. As for travelling abroad, if all goes well with the cautious lifting of lockdown, this will be allowed no earlier than 17^th May. We’re not making any plans….yet.