Tag: Lockdown

Coffee Catch-Up #36

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee we would still be walking and drinking as our region is still locked down. The government is saying it will end only when 70% of the adults are double vaxxed. The catch is that this freedom will only be for the double vaxxed population. If you haven’t been able to have your first or second dose or you are an antivaxer you will not be able to travel, go to the pub or get your haircut. It will be interesting to see how these new freedom will impact the severity of Delta as we learn to live with it.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I am with how our garden is growing. I have a never ending supply of rocket, chillies and several varieties of lettuce. Our wild cherry tomatoes are tasting great. Yesterday I was excited to eat my first snacking capsicum. I was also pleased to grow my first cos lettuce that formed a complete head. Usually I just have multiple leave and I don’t care as they taste great anyway.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about Wacky Wednesday a few weeks ago. The idea was relieve the frustrations for the staff and patients of the lock down. All staff wore their clothes in some sort of wacky manner. It was great fun and brought a smile to everyone faces. All of the staff on our ward had their hair coloured with hairspray. This was a first for me, as my hair had ever been pink, green, blue and yellow. In choosing my outfit I put together things that I didn’t think go together. However, to my surprise everything did go so I now have a alternate winter outfit.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much fun I have been having this week getting out our original Wii. It has been many years since I last played it and I was pleasantly surprised when my Fitbit age was 41. My actual age is 59. Now to keep working at it and see how low I can make it go.

If we were having coffee I would tell you able the mask tree I found on my walk yesterday. It’s on a public walkway next to the harbour. To remind everyone to wear a mask and keep safe it has been decorated with multi-coloured disposable masks. The tree looks great but I don’t know where they got the masks from as I’ve only seen them in blue.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what has been happening in your world?

Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare

Newcastle Window Wander

inspiringmax

This week again we will be having takeaway coffee as New South Wales remains in lockdown. As we cannot have visitors to our homes or most shops we will take a walk with purpose. Today we will be exploring the Newcastle Window Wander. A group of local businesses have gathered together to increase their shops profile while closed and at the same time give locals something to look at during their daily exercise. The idea is to follow the map, look at the specially created window displays, take a selfie, upload it the social media and then go in the draw to win a gift voucher.

Today was a beautiful day for walking with Spring just around the corner. It was interesting to go walking with the specific goal of looking in shop windows. What surprised me was that I don’t really notice what is in the windows when I walk. As I followed the map I found most of the window displays. On 3 occasions I was so impressed I will go back to the shops when they reopen. Unfortunately being window displays they were hard to photo graph without something being reflected in the glass.

I smiled at the first window I saw that used humour to catch our attention. They created a “shitty” birthday cake made out of toilet paper rolls.

The next shop a few doors down in Darby Street was a men’s wear store that I didn’t know existed and they keep my husband’s favourite John Lennon brand shirts. I loved the one in the window.

Some were a little bit clever.

The birds at the gallery were spectacular. They were amazing replicas of some of our iconic birds. Unfortunately, due to the doors breaking the line of vision my photos don’t do them justice.

The last stop on our journey was Pappa Sven. I have walked past this small shop many times but never looked inside or at the windows. It is a Swedish shop and looks amazing. They had created their window display to represent celebrating the joy of Swedish Midsummer.

Coffee Catch-Up # 35

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you I can’t believe how fast the last 3 months have gone. Life goes by so quickly these days. Today our takeaway coffee is from the café at Merewether beach. This is because Newcastle is currently in lock down so can’t have visitors to our homes.

It was a beautiful winter’s day out. We enjoyed watching the surfers and smelling the fresh sea air. It was also great to see the ocean looking so clear and clean. Here’s some photos we took to remember our walk.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about my latest favourite pastime. Buying second hand books. I love the thrill of the chase. They are everywhere and sometimes I am amazed at how new the books I find are. I have several authors I look for and based on them I have found many new authors. Most I am able to pick up for a couple of dollars however on our latest holiday, I was lucky and found many exciting titles for only $1.00. Needless to say, I had fun.

If we were having coffee I would ask if you have been doing a jigsaw puzzle during lockdown. I have. My latest puzzle is of the people skating on the frozen Rideau Canal in Ottawa. Its a beautiful puzzle that reminds me I need to go back to Ottawa in winter to complete this bucket list activity. Back in January 2015, when my husband and I were in Canada winter was late and the canal opened to skaters the day we arrived back in Australia.

If we were having coffee I tell you that today is both my 59th birthday and National Rum day. Ironically, my husband baked me a fancy birthday cake from scratch yesterday, while I was at work. His choice a chocolate rum cake. Imagine his surprise to discover this morning the rum day connection. Rum is also my favourite spirit.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I love wattle. It is the floral emblem of Australia. I am also blessed that it begins to flower in August. It is a bright yellow and pops up everywhere. Wattle never fails to bring a smile to my face.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what has been happening in your world?

Simple Pleasures

inspiringmax

In New South Wales, Australia at present Delta has everyone terrified. Nine weeks ago it started in Sydney. Eight weeks ago all of Greater Sydney was locked down but the regions were free. Then suddenly last week the virus escaped Sydney. People doing the wrong thing brought it to Newcastle my home town and we were instantly locked down. Delta was free and there is no stopping it. Everyday another part of regional NSW or Australia is infected and instantly locked down as we work at containing it.

Because of the health orders in place our lives are very simple. Stay at home unless you are allowed to go to work, are exercising or attending medical appointments. For me this got me rethinking my priorities in life. While I am currently appreciating what I can’t do, I am gaining joy from the simple pleasures I can do. For example creating a meal from scratch, being more mindful, reading, walking and getting back to my blogging. All of these activities I had lost focus on as my life got “too busy.”

Today while walking for my essential shopping I stopped in my tracks as I walked past a house. I smiled as I remembered seeing the same chalk board last year during lockdown.

Such a simple idea and I love the fact that the kids had invited the community to join in. For me it was also personal. When my father was very sick in hospital as a family we also created a joke of the day on his white board. It gave us something simple to focus on and share with the nurses and doctors – many of whom added a joke of their own.

Coffee Catch-Up #26

inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you how pleased I was last Sunday to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee at its place of purchase. In New South Wales you can only have 10 people in a cafe or restaurant so I was grateful we chose a less popular spot. Sitting down for a coffee made it feel like life is getting back to normal.

If we were having coffee I would wish you a happy Mother’s Day for a fortnight ago. For me Mother’s day weekend was so busy. It was my mother in laws 90th birthday and the first time I had seen my mother since lockdown. As we were allowed our first visitors to our house, my son and daughter in law surprised me with a special visit. It was the first time I had seen them since their Australian wedding.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have joined a three week push-up challenge raising funds for headspace. The first time I attempted my push–ups I was able to make 7 which surprised me. Over the next week I have increased my durability to 15.

If we were having coffee I would ask you if you had been to the beach this weekend to check out the enormous surf. It is mesmerizing. This morning we walked from Bar Beach to Merewether Beach. At times you couldn’t see any sand as it was covered in white water from the high surf. it probably won’t surprise you to know the fisherman left catch less, although I would give him points for trying.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I am today having cooked my first amazing roast chicken. Yes. I have cooked a chook before but not in over 10 years and they usually don’t turn out well. Last weekend my husband and I went to buy a new frypan as the old one was no longer non stick. After exploring our options, I choose the Bacaarat 2 in 1 multi cooker. Today, for some unknown reason I decided to test it out by cooking my chicken. And I am pleased I followed my gut. The beauty of the multi cooker is that it is frypan, grillpan as well as roasting dish and lid. I used the roasting dish and lid for the first 2 hours and then for the remainder of the time let the chicken cook without a lid in the grill pan. No extra oil was used and a flavoursome, moist chicken was the result. With all the oil that came out of the chicken, I am sure it is healthier than the usual shop bought roast chicken.

If we were having coffee I would ask you how you have been filling in your days. Let me know in the comments.