Grey and gloomy.

Day 4

The beautiful weather of the last few days disappeared this morning, to be replaced by thick fog and overall greyness. I had a longer lie-in than I would have liked and felt groggy this morning, so it was a slow start to the day. My Mum called before 9am with the bad news that she'd tested positive for Covid... how this had happened when she hadn't been anywhere was a mystery, especially as my Dad was negative. To my dismay, she said that because of this she will have to self-isolate for two weeks, even though the care home think it's a false positive result! It's her birthday tomorrow, and I was planning on seeing her in the afternoon!

Keith and I went over to the tip with the garden waste and had to wait ages to get in. Obviously, this weekend people have been out in their gardens! We were eventually allowed in, and spoke to one of the regular men who always addresses me as "Darlin'" as in "Whatcha got, darlin'?" We heaved our waste over to the huge skip, and I managed to get a lovely, itchy rash all over my arms as I was wearing a top with three-quarter length sleeves. It was horrible!

Before heading home we popped to the Co-op, and Keith bought the newspaper. I asked him to get a Chicken Chasseur sauce mix but they didn't have any so I planned on getting it from Beckworth where Sophie wanted to go later in the day.

Back home I sorted out my Mum's cards and presents, and Keith tried to get Mum and Dad's petrol lawnmower working. I had offered it to Lynn yesterday so she could mow the greens on our estate, and she had jumped at the chance of having it. Our garden is not big enough to warrant having a petrol lawnmower, and I wanted it to go to a good home. Keith couldn't get it to start so I said I'd go and get some petrol when we went out.

Everything felt damp and gloomy today - what a difference from the gorgeous weather of the last few days! Sophie and I headed to the care home where I dropped off some shoes for my Mum, and a card and present I'd bought from my Dad. We stopped outside her window, and I managed to have a chat with her on the phone. She was a bit tearful, and I felt terrible.

Sophie wanted to send a box of treats to Zain, so we went to Beckworth to do a bit of shopping. The restaurant wasn't open, so all we could do was shop. I bought some goodies for lunch, a new Christmas gonk, and a very expensive Chicken Chasseur sauce for our dinner this evening. 

We headed home, and although the sun tried to make an appearance, and I caught a glimpse of blue sky, the weather didn't really improve much at all. We enjoyed a late lunch, and I gave Keith the can of petrol to see if he could get the mower working. Even Mike tried! However, it wouldn't fire up but Lynn said she would still have it as she was confident her husband could fix it.

Sophie and I prepared the evening meal - the sauce smelt delicious, and I added a splash of wine and chicken stock as well before letting it marinate for an hour. Sophie had peeled all the vegetables, and it was time to relax for a while! We played Scrabble again and enjoyed a glass of white wine in the conservatory before switching to cards. I prepared some dumplings and finished off the dinner which was smelling lovely, although there was a hint of a herb or spice in the mix that I couldn't identify. We all agreed the meal was a success, and I fished out the packet to discover the mystery ingredient was mace, something we don't normally use in dishes!