Well, for us it was a perfect Christmas, but for the vast majority of families it was all very subdued. After much promise that Christmas would remain sacrosanct, a new variant of Covid (apparently more virulent and terrorising much of the SE) emerged and the government capitulated and we went from a 5 day reprieve where 3 families could meet together indoors, to 2 families allowed to meet for 1 day. Bah humbug. This was followed by a massive upscale of counties tipping into Tier 4 restrictions, basically a lockdown in all but words, including Hampshire because we border a county already in Tier 4... ridiculous. So we are now back to only being able to leave the house for work, education of exercise, with most secondary school kids expecting to do at least the first week of school from home in the new term.
If you had looked forward this time last year and predicted that we would end the year with the vast majority of the country confined to their houses for all but essential trips out, that school would be delivered remotely and that shops, bars and restaurants would be closed for months at a time, you would never have believed it. Who knows what 2021 will bring but above all I hope it brings some respite from this corner we have backed ourselves into. Coronavirus still only impacts a very small number of people, most of whom are either very old or suffering from underlying conditions. Instead of shielding the vulnerable to allow everyone else to get on with it, we have spent billions on a fools errand of 'keeping everyone safe', regardless of the financial, emotional or social cost. I will end my rant there - it makes me sad that this year has been so overshadowed by something that may become more prevalent in the future and therefore I feel very strongly we should have spent our time, energy and money working out strategies to live alongside such a threat, rather than hiding from it.
In better news I've had a lovely week off, albeit much of it spent thinking about how we will fit all of our stuff into the new house! Glenn didn't sleep last night for rearranging his motorbikes into his new workshop (he has 600 sq ft to play with - I'm sure he will manage), and I have been trying to choose worktops online because of course shops are closed and so we cant go and look in person! While we angst about the details, the kids are in their element planning what horses we should get, how many stables / outbuildings they'll need, where these should go and how they might decorate their rooms! At least we all have our priorities!
Christmas Day dawned bight and sunny after what seems like weeks of rain and so we made the most of it by packing the dogs into the van and heading up onto the hills for a walk. It was very chilly, with the temperatures obviously having dropped pretty low if the icy puddles were anything to go by. We were clearly one of the first out as the kids got to break all the ice as they went so had a lovely time - you are never too old for a bit of puddle jumping! After a bracing walk we headed for home, jigsaw and games followed later by our normal dinner of ham, egg and chips - actually it was one of the best Christmas's we have had for ages!
Betty is loving her walks now that I'm taking her out everyday on her own at a time when there are plenty of people out for her to say hello to. She's a real people pleaser and is keen to greet everyone, particularly if they are prepared to come down to her level and give her a proper hug. As soon as she sees someone she sits down very neatly and waits for them to come to her, which many do, and then gives a wiggle until they cant help themselves but to give her a cuddle - she's got it down pat! I think I may have to try and keep this up when I'm back to work in a week's time.
As for the rest of the week, we have very few plans of course. On Tuesday we are making the most of one of the exceptions to the 'no travel' rule and heading down to the barn to meet Steve the builder to talk worktops and other such details. We have bought a proper digital measuring gun so we can take the measurements properly and maybe even knock up a floor plan - the lack of one is driving us both a bit mad - even though we know it's basically a series of square rooms divided by a corridor! How we are going to wait until June before we move in I don't know - I suspect we may be pushing for an earlier completion date if there is even half a chance...
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