Day 19, Tuesday, 31st March 2020, Covid-19 school closure, Ireland

I headed to the shop today to get food for my family and for my mother and father. It was a lovely morning, bright, clear, sunny, and still cold from the Nor'easterly wind. I got the food at the local shop and drove to my parents' house. Mam was doing her daily walk , around their house, as they are now cocooning, and are not to leave the property.
Dad was using a slash hook to cut down some bushes that were getting too big for the spot where they were planted . Great to see them, even if only briefly. Mam gave me two plates of apple tart (=pie)  to take home, my children will be delighted!
Once I got home, I made lunch for myself and the 4 children. We sat together and chatted, and then ate tart! Yum.  Husband works from home and is off in his office all day. He already had his lunch, he can have tart later with his coffee.

Dandelion.

(Apparently, people in the past cleared grass away so they could grow dandelions.
There is a lot more to this plant than meets the eye. Dent-du-lion, lion's tooth. )

The day was lovely, and I headed off for my first walk. When I got back , I took a shovel, a crowbar, a metal rake and a hoe. I started to dig up some very large stones at one side of the driveway. The plan was to lift the stones, move them back further from the edge of the driveway, rake down the large heap of loose gravel that had gathered in front of the stones and in this way, to slightly widen the drive, even out the gravel to take away the 'lip' that had built up and to make it less troublesome for the dear daughters when they are driving in and reversing out of the driveway.
My son came out and offered to help, so that was great. We succeeded in the plan, the stones are moved back and the gravel is more level,  and I am well pleased! I might get a man to come and put down kerb stones or wooden railway sleepers and to do a right job on the driveway at some point, but right now, it is just fine.
I got so many steps with that work that I only needed to do a short walk at 7pm to get to the 10,000 steps. I am so grateful for the pedometer app and for the road I live on that I can get this walk every day, as there is definitely plenty of home baking being made and eaten by me these days.
Now I am going to try to get some paperwork looked at, I want certain things done and dusted by Friday!

Day 18, Monday 30th March, Covid School closure, Ireland

Another bright but chilly day, especially chilly in the North East wind.
I did a little bit of knitting on my grey shawl that really needs to get finished soon, as I have had it sitting too long waiting until I can decide what might be the nicest way to finish it off. I am not following a pattern for it, I am kind of making it up as I go along, based on the basic pattern for a triangular top-down shawl. This morning, I found a few ideas on a Ravelry search of patterns for lace shawls, so now I just have to decide, print a pattern off and get knitting.

This was the sunset two nights ago.

The cows can be very curious!

I had a walk, then I hung out some clothes, changed the water in the trugs with the Zwartbles fleece and had a look at my outdoor plants. They seem alive, thankfully. They survived the night frost.
Lots of potatoes and veg for dinner, plus some meat for those of us who eat meat. I lay down and read a bit in my book, but drifted off to sleep.
After my nap, I headed back out for my walk to get the rest of my steps.
Supper, a chat with the kids, a cup of tea and a homemade iced bun.
A few games of FreeCell.
The blog.
Done for today!
Stay well all.

Day 17, Sunday, 29th March, 2020, school closure Ireland

Some days you think you will get lots done, and you get nothing done, and you wonder if it will be like that always. Other days, you think you will get nothing done, and amazingly you start by doing one thing and it leads into another and suddenly you have lots done!
Yesterday was one of the first type of days, I really did not get much done. 

Today, well, it didn't start great, first I had to get up at 7.30 am to drive my DD#3 to work in the local service station/grocery shop. The thing is, 7.30am on 28th March is really 6.30am according to my body clock, as the clocks went forward during the night.
So I was kinda tired. I drove DD to work and bought the Sunday newspapers and drove home again. I went back to bed and slept until 12 midday! Eeep.
 I had a slow start to the day after that. I drove over to my parents to give them their newspaper. Before I knew it it was time to collect DD at 3pm.
When I got back from collecting her, I started by opening the shed to get my watering can to  water some plants I have outdoors in pots. While I was in the shed, I took out an unwashed Zwartbles fleece in order to wash it.
I swept the shed floor, tidied up some bits in there and grouped together some things that will go to recycling or the bin in the next 2 weeks.
Then I got the shovel in the corner of the shed and started to shovel some loose stones from one area of the driveway to an area in the grass where two ruts have developed from the tyres of the daughters' cars. I filled in the ruts with nice chunky limestone stones, and there are more stones available if more ruts develop.
From there I moved on to the gateway, where a build up of small stones and compacted earth had meant that we could no longer close the gates. I attacked the compacted ground with the shovel and got the gate closed. Extra stones and grit were moved to the area around where the girls park their cars, where the grass meets the gravel driveway.
I skirted the Zwartbles fleece and got 4 trugs to soak it in. It was a big fleece, in great condition. The fleece is getting a cold soak overnight to start off with. I need to use these next few days to get it washed and dry, as the weather is set to be fresh, dry and bright. In fact, I noticed that the weather forecaster mentioned that there is a record High Pressure over Ireland currently, was it 1049 hPa, I think? I have just checked and the pressure at Belmullet, Co Mayo was 1050 hPa at midnight between 29th and 30th March. Apparently the highest pressure ever recorded was 1052hPa. So, very close.  

Zwartbles fleece before skirting

Sunset

There will be a bit of frost tonight, I hope the outdoor plants I watered today survive. Having said that, they can't come indoors, so they have to survive. Mostly it is daffodils, narcissi, other bulbs, some violets, primroses and cowslips and a few climbers and small trees. Fingers crossed.

I was very pleased with the work I achieved today, and all because I started by wanting to water the plants.
At 7.25pm, I went for a walk to get to my 10,000 steps. With the clocks gone forward today, there was light until 8pm and after. Oh joy of joys!  The sunset was lovely; a clear sky slowly turning coral and peach and silky dusky pinks.
My DD#2 had made apple crumble, so I had some of that after my supper.
I have lots of things to be grateful for.
Stay well everybody.

Day 16, Saturday 28th March, 2020, Covid, school closure, Ireland

The day looked like another lovely day, the sun was bright and the sky was blue; however, the wind had changed, coming from the NorthEast today and boy was it cold. The various outdoor jobs I had been thinking of doing got left to one side, that wind was biting.
My husband went to town to Aldi to do the shopping early, before 9am. When he came back later ,he said that they had a queuing system in place, which is good to hear. The queue wasn't too long, he said and he got what he went for, so that was good to hear.
I went for a walk, took the newspaper to my parents and a reel of purple thread for my mum; in return, I got a packet of dried yeast sachets from mum.
Home I came and started getting the flour etc ready for baking brown bread in the bread maker. Only to discover when I turn it on, that the breadmaker had a problem: it wouldn't turn/knead. It turned on, and made a small noise, but no kneading was happening. I had to turn the mixture into a bowl and knead by hand and I had to find a warm spot in the kitchen for the bowl to stand while the dough had a chance to rise.
Later I realised with help from the internet that the belt was probably gone. So with almost all the hardware shops in Ireland and UK shut for the next 2 weeks or longer, it is unlikely that I will be able to get the part any time soon. Sigh...
Then I cheered up when I remembered that I have a beautiful Kenwood Chef mixer in the press which I used to use when I lived in Sweden to mix yeast dough with, so now I will have the chance to get that out and use it.
In the afternoon, I listened to a podcast of a radio programme on RTE1 about Helen Lilias Mitchell, the woman who started the Irish Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers. That was very interesting. Even more so was the piece of music chosen to go with the article: it starts "Mellow the Moon light to shine is beginning, " it is about a girl at her spinning wheel in the evening time. If you demonstrate spinning in Ireland, you will have this song sung at you several times. So it is as well to learn it all and be ready to sing longer than the singers!

Mellow the moonlight to shine is beginning

Close by the window young Eileen is spinning

Bent o'er the fire her blind grandmother sitting

Crooning and moaning and drowsily knitting.

Chorus:
Merrily cheerily noiselessly whirring

Spins the wheel, rings the wheel while the foot's stirring

Sprightly and lightly and merrily ringing

Sounds the sweet voice of the young maiden singing.

Eileen, a chara, I hear someone tapping

'Tis the ivy dear mother against the glass flapping

Eileen, I surely hear somebody sighing

'Tis the sound mother dear of the autumn winds dying.

What's the noise I hear at the window I wonder?

'Tis the little birds chirping, the holly-bush under

What makes you shoving and moving your stool on

And singing all wrong the old song of the "Coolin"?

There's a form at the casement, the form of her true love

And he whispers with face bent, I'm waiting for you love

Get up from the stool, through the lattice step lightly

And we'll rove in the grove while the moon's shining brightly.

The maid shakes her head, on her lips lays her fingers

Steps up from the stool, longs to go and yet lingers

A frightened glance turns to her drowsy grandmother

Puts her foot on the stool spins the wheel with the other

Lazily, easily, now swings the wheel round

Slowly and lowly is heard now the reel's sound

Noiseless and light to the lattice above her

The maid steps, then leaps to the arms of her lover.

Slower... and slower... and slower the wheel swings

Lower... and lower... and lower the reel rings

Ere the reel and the wheel stop their ringing and moving

Through the grove the young lovers by moonlight are roving.

Here is one of my favourite spinning wheels, made by the good men of the Shiels family in Carndonagh, Co Donegal. I have this photo as the background on my phone.

I had my walk and got to 10,000 steps again.
Then back in home to check the dough and to bake the small brown bread rolls, eat supper and get set up for a Zoom meeting with my very good friends, A, B, D and W.
I decamped with spinning wheel to hubby's office and had a lovely natter with my friends about how we are all dealing with the current situation.
 Now it is time to go to bed, as the clocks will be going forward tonight and if is 23:29 now, well that is the same as 00:29. So time for some shut eye.
Good night everyone and sleep as well as can be expected in these days.

Day 15, Friday 27th March, 2020, Covid school closure Ireland.

Another lovely morning. DD#2 Birthday, 23 years old.  Her presents might arrive in  the post, I don't know at this point what will happen.
This morning I got out for the morning walk in the morning, so that I didn't have a repeat of yesterday's marathon evening walk to do.
The day was lovely again, the daffodils and dandelions turning their yellow faces to the sun.

Dandelions

Dandelions

Sunset

My son mowed some of the lawn and for the first time since I was about 11 years,  I raked the grass. I didn't mind, it was helping to get my steps in. The day was lovely.
Later, around 6.30pm, I headed off again to get the last of the steps for today. Once again, a beautiful evening.
I had almost forgotten that my spinning group (that would be a spinning wool group, not spinning bikes) were going to have a Zoom group meeting at 7pm. Nevertheless, I joined in at 7 while I was still walking and then got home, took out the wheel and sat to spin for about an hour, chatting to the ladies. Wonderful women! I love them all.
At 8.30pm or shortly thereafter, our Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was on the TV again, telling us about the latest round of restrictions. Nobody to leave their homes from 12 midnight tonight,  except for food, medicine or purchase of household goods, all unessential retail to close,  no work unless an essential service and exercise to be taken only within a 2km distance from your house.
I was thinking of the lovely plants I have on the window sills at school, and by 9.45pm I was in the car with my 2 kids to go collect the plants from the school. So now there are 2 boxes of plants in the back of my car. I will figure out what to do with them tomorrow.

Day 14, Thursday, 26th March, Covid School Closures, Ireland

I do not know where the days go to. Well, I do, I guess, that is partly the reason I am writing this blog, to have a record of what I did on each day of this school closure, however long it lasts.

Thursday was a lovely day again, dry, bright, sunny.
I went to the local shop to get some things for my mother and father. While in the village, I posted a letter I had; it was the envelope for the ballot paper for voting for the Senate (Seanad) in Ireland.

It was afternoon before I got out for my walk, and I had to walk for about 90 minutes to get the 10,000 steps. That was long.....
Still it was a lovely evening and a real pleasure to be out and about in the still air, with the clouds in the sky just turning gentle shades of coral and peach as the sun went down. The sun was a red ball at one point.
Later in the evening, I decided to bake: I made a batch of scones (doubled the recipe) .

Then I got out the Bread Maker to make a loaf of yeasted bread. I had Strong White Flour and dried Yeast , so it was very easy to mix up the ingredients for the bread in the breadmaker.
It was midnight before the bread was done (it took 3 hours!  Note to self: start the breadmaker earlier!)

More of those purple/pink primroses

Scones. I just rolled out all the dough and cut rectangular shapes before I baked it.

Needless to say I had to taste both scones and bread before I went to bed, and that is what I did.
Off to bed after that then.

Day 13, Wednesday March 25th 2020,

Another lovely day. Sun shining, wind not as strong, not as cold, as yesterday.
Clothes were hung out. I went for a walk, then I drove to the post office to collect a parcel ordered before these restrictions began, (it seems a long time ago now) and to the shop to get the newspaper for my parents and onions, of all things, for home; the kids are cooking more at home and apparently we all love onions. Hopefully it will help ward off evil spirits!
Some Spring flowers from the first walk of the day.

Primroses, such delicate spring flowers; and where did that pink colour come from?

Second thatched cottage along our road

Look at the detail in the finish around the chimney!

It was a lovely calm evening. I took my third walk of the day to get to my 10 000 steps.
The restrictions mean that we should only leave the house to go to work if necessary, or to buy food or medicines, broadly speaking. We can go out for a walk, but we must stay 2m away from other people. Luckily our little country road is quiet and there are not too many people around.

Day 12, Tuesday 24th March 2020, School closures, Ireland

Tuesday, Day 12, and it was a day of action! I wanted to get some things done, in case Leo the Prime Minister announced severe restrictions on movement.


First job: nipped to the pharmacy for hay-fever stuff, my hay-fever comes around Easter every year.
Got the newspaper for my parents and dropped it to them.
Had my tyres checked at the tyre place, the tyres are still legal, phew.
Took my DD#3 into town to her student accommodation to collect all her stuff, I really do not think that they will be back at college before the summer.
I bought vacuum bags for the Miele vacuum cleaner along the way and some large zipped storage bags for stuff. 
Got some food at the supermarket on the way home.

Some shots from the past few days:

Spinning on the deck in the March sunshine!

The stream at the little bridge near our house

Leo announced severe restrictions and now schools will stay closed until 19th April, for now. Non-essential shops will close, etc.
So now we just have to buckle down and keep on keeping on, stay at home and stay away from other people.
I am going to do a bit more spinning before I go to bed.
Stay well all.

Day 11, Monday 23rd March 2020, school closures, Ireland

Today was a stay at home day. I helped my son to pull out and put up the net on the trampoline (we take it down in October when the first gales and storms are forecast). There was an interesting spider on the net when we pulled it out of the shed. I don't like spiders too close to me unexpectedly, but I can observe one at a distance, once I have been warned it is there. This one had a large body and relatively short legs. It had an interesting pattern of stripes on the abdomen.

Spider.

Well, we got the net up eventually  and the kids hopped and jumped on the trampoline for the afternoon.

I went for a walk with my husband after he had finished working from home for the day. In this way, I managed to walk past a house with a very large shaggy barking dog. I really do not like big barking dogs, especially ones that I know have gotten out of their yards. 

It was a lovely walk, hard to believe that the times have changed as much as they have.

Here is a photo of the 3rd thatched cottage on our road, the owner really has put in a lot of work into it.

Here is a quick glimpse at the cottage with a galvanised roof; I think that this cottage once had a thatched roof too.

Later in the evening, I had to go back out to reach my 10,000 steps. Then I sat down to spin. Here is the progress so far on the blue/purple/red fibre. 

Covid news; this evening, Boris Johnson announced much stricter restrictions in UK than heretofore. So now I am beginning to think that our Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, will also introduce stricter restrictions for us in Ireland, maybe on Tuesday?
And we will need to know shortly if the schools will remain closed or not after 29th March, the initial date for this first round of restrictions to end. My thoughts are that they will announce soon that the schools will remain closed until after Easter, i.e.,  up to and including 19th April, and even then it is possible that the restrictions will go on longer. I don't even know if we will be back at school at all before the end of June.
Stay well, everyone.

Day 10, School Closure Ireland, CoVid, Sunday 22nd March 2020, Mother's Day

Mother's day, March 22nd 2020.
A beautiful sunny day. I got 7000 steps at my walk in Glenstal this morning. We are so lucky that we have this lovely place to go to and walk in. There were wood anemones, magnolia trees, rhododendron bushes beginning to bloom; a stream gurgling, a line of cows walking across the fields.

 

Magnolia bud

Magnolia flower

Actual size of the Magnolia flowers

Rhododendron

Wood Anemone

In the afternoon, I took my spinning wheel out on to the deck to do a bit of spinning. The wind was chilly, but the sun was shining and I got some spinning done. 

Back out for a walk to get about another 3000 steps or so around 6pm. I made my target of 10000 steps, again. Phew.
Now to do some reading, with a cuppa.
Good night all,
Hoppas att ni mår bra allihopa. Håll er 2m ifrån varandra, men håll kontakt med varandra ändå.
Kramar
liz