It is Ok - to not be OK

 Somewhere in the Mess that is our place at the moment I have lost my Mojo!

It is serious - when I can't even walk into my sewing room without feeling depressed.  

I have survived Lockdowns and all the "Rules and Regs" that came with the First 2 years of COVID.

People talk of  life "Post COVID" - This is far from over!

We have been Vaxed, Double Vaxed and even Triple Vaxed, we have had Whooping Cough/Tetanus Shots (recommended when new babies were on the way)  Last year's Flu shot, and this year's is next on the list.  

All those needles and not a Stitch in sight!

In 11 years of Blogging I haven't missed a month - let alone TWO.  Something I must remedy with some 'Catch up' posts that I can fortunately post date (including this one).

All I need now is to find the energy to look for that missing Mojo!

It's Over.

 No more Lockdowns - or so they say...

Time to dust off the tables and press your Work Gear.

It's been long enough.

NOW after 84 days - We are out of "Lockdown No. 6".

It hasn't been the longest, last year Lockdown #2 went for 111 Days.

120 if you were caught in the #1.5 Postcode lockdown that preceded it by a week.

We kept our Sense of Humour and made friends over Takeaway Coffee.

And between these times we must not forget that we had 7 months when life went back to almost normal, as we watched the numbers drop.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could bring back all those Zeros by the 27th November again?

These announcements can then become just a Memory and the Government will have other things to Tweet about.

In the meantime - I am happy to be able to GO shopping again. 

I will still prefer to do my shopping when it is quiet.

Maybe not THIS quiet. 

But it will be a while before I venture into the crowds again.

And that is OK.

Birthdays Lockdown Style.

Yesterday we were given a bit more "Freedom".  

Our 5 km restriction was stretched to 10 km.  (Although I am starting to feel like a Puppy on a Retractable Leash, I understand why we have to do this.)

As a Kid, Try as I might I just could not understand Venn Diagrams.  

Today I happily drew one - 10 km from Us and 10 km from DD.

Somewhere in the middle they Overlapped.  

And we were able to see her for her Birthday!

Now, we ARE allowed a Picnic (with conditions) BUT I am sure the wind was straight off the Antarctic.  

So Picnic in the Car it was!

[And Bessie has a Great Cubby in the Back ;) ]

And while the Grown-ups were sorting Whose Coffee was Whose...

In swooped 'The Strawberry Thief"

For a Little One that has only just turned One - She did a very good impression of the Seagull that Stole my Sandwich!

There wasn't much left of the Birthday Cake Decoration by the time Miss A had finished - 

This Girl LOVES her fruit and devoured every single piece she took.

So Happy Birthday to MY DD.  

It may not have been the Celebration we would have liked but a precious memory anyway. 

Hope the next one can be celebrated in Style!

Vaccine.

Last Monday my DH and I rolled up our sleeves and had our Second AZ Vaccine Shot. 

To mark the occasion we got souvenir Stress Balls.

But this story is not about Us.

* * *

He came into the Church Hall behind us.  He didn't have an appointment, we was a "Walk In" but they welcomed him anyway.

Taking the next seat he raised his head and softly spoke to anyone who would listen.

"I have just lost 4 Members of my Family to This....."

"In Indonesia - My Cousin, He could not breathe.

Just 52 - He was not Old."

He then bowed his head and waited for his turn.

* * *

I have a Sore Arm - He has a Broken Heart.

The Absence of Posts

I haven't fallen of the edge of the Planet although 

I do feel like I am on a Merry-go-round.

We are once again back in Lockdown.
- a 7 day Circuit breaker to try and halt the spread of the "Highly Infectious Indian Strain" of COVID which has put an end to our 3 month run of no community infections.  

All it took was just ONE case.

On a brighter note - it will give me the opportunity to get on top of things that I have put aside for the last month - Including catching up on my Blog Posts!

So here we have a definite "Blast from the Past" - Yowies are Back!

Well Done Melbourne.

Over the course of Melbourne Lockdown we have been tuning in to (Premier) Daniel Andrews Daily News Conference. Sunday's conference was one that everyone was eagerly awaiting. He sounded tired and very emotional as he told everyone that we could start the road back to our "New Normal".

There will still be rules and restrictions but Shops can open and yes, You can go for a Beer - or in our case Coffee.  

How Sweet was it to sit down and have a Latte in a Glass!

It's not the Coffee that I have missed but the "People Watching" - the company of strangers.  The banter at the tables.  

These people are the Friends we haven't met and we have missed them.

Sunday's announcement also removed our 5 km travel restriction - expanding it to 25 km.  We can now have that 'Spatially Distant" Coffee elsewhere.  

This is what we found at the very end of our allowed 25 km. 

Oh to see the Water and Feel the Sea breeze on my (masked) face! 

It did more for my COVID muddled brain than any therapy.

Then there WAS an added extra - 25 km happens to intersect with where our DS#1 works.

We have not seen him since they put the "Barrier of Steel" between Regional Victoria and Melbourne.

It was SO good to see him again.

We eagerly await each announcement. 

As Infection numbers fall so do the restrictions.

We have brought down our Second Wave. 0 New Infections/ 0 Deaths

 Well done Melbourne! Keep it Up.

And we Celebrate? - with Donuts!  (Of course we do.)

Lockdown - Stage 4

Six Weeks of Stage 4 Restrictions came in place on the 2nd August at 6:00 pm.

We got an 8:00 pm to 5:00 am Curfew and a few other fun things too - like face masks and no sitting in a Cafe for Coffee. These things we can work with.

Not being able to Travel or even "Go for a Drive" is a bit disappointing as I have a new car and time to go places - But they too will still be there when this is over.

Holidays may be cancelled but we can revisit those we have already enjoyed!

I am currently Scrap-booking my way thorough South Australia.  

It has taken me TWO WEEKS of solid work to get just TWO DAYS into the Album!

There are Folk who when they think of South Australia only think of It's Capitol City Adelaide and the surrounding Hills and Wine Regions. 

We spent 3 days in Adelaide before moving on to explore as much of the State as we could in 20 days!

Picking up the Project - We had just taken a Shortcut across Spencer Gulf and landed on The Eyre Peninsula.

A mere 161 km of very straight highway away from our next overnight Stop at Port Lincoln. 

With Three in the Backseat all with recently acquired Learner Permits...

It was the perfect opportunity to get in the required 120 hours of tuition. 

We even added a couple extra rows to the "Required Experience" in their Logs!

From Port Lincoln we travelled 170 km West to Elliston - The Map says it takes 1:45 hrs.  

It actually took us NINE! 

After all Getting from Point A to Point B in the quickest possible time was not the purpose of the Adventure!

According to our records we actually travelled 253 km that day and stopped at no less that 7 different "Points of Interest" all requiring a Page of their Own from the many photographs taken on 4 different Cameras - Of which NONE were set on the Correct Time Zone!

I am Going to need a Bigger Scrapbook!