Monday 25th March

 My step count dropped noticeably last week, but is on the up again at last.

I'd set my daily target to a mere 2000 steps, but you can see I missed it four days on the trot. Still, I managed to add at least 1000 steps to my Camino di Santiago challenge. 1000 steps is translated as half a mile... sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I went on a real pilgrimage walking only half or one mile a day... you get a weird idea of the country you are travelling through. I've been 'walking' between the fields in a flat, apparently tree-less plain for weeks now... at one mile per day, the mounta8ns and indeed any sign of shade or shelter days and days away.

Luckily, when I set up the overall time duration for this challenge I estimate that my progress would be about 6 miles per week, so although I took it easy for a few days I haven't fallen behind. And the weather has been glorious... if only!

This week marks the beginning of my fifth year of severe social distancing due to covid and other respiratory illnesses in the wider community. I should rather say Our social distancing, since my husband has been more or less as restricted as I am, to protect me.

This is not a whinge; I have developed a mindset over the years hat enables me to accept how rethinks have to be.  

The occasional news article reminds me that I'm not alone; I don't know exactly how many people there are in my situation. In the article it says there were 3.9 million people on the clinically extremely vulnerable (cev) list; I suppose as more became known about who was more at risk from covid, and vaccinations became more widely taken up the numbers will have gone down. However we CEV people are still at risk from the general public...

I am actually so glad that for most people life has returned to normal. But for me, and hundreds of thousands like me, one has to become used to no cafes, restaurants, socialising (except outdoors), no shops, theatres, markets, exhibitions, hotel holidays, omly carefully planned family gatherings. 

I have found new interests. The sewing collaborations with Ang have been wonderful, the notebook swaps with another friend, revisiting arts and crafts have all filled my days with colour and creativity. When the weather petmits, meeting up in outdoor spaces and cafes or in each others gardens with families and friends is a real treat, even though I am constantly hypervigilent, assessing distances and even wind direction in relation to me and other people present. 

Hospital appointments are difficult; public transport is a bit of a no-go for me. I try and wear an FFP2 mask when I have to enter a building,  or when we take my father somewhere in the car but it dramatically affects my ability to breathe in enough oxygen.

Like I said, I am really not moaning. My life is good, full, busy, happy. But very, very different to what I planned back in January 2020!

Speaking of new interests, I was glad to be able to be able do more of my March cross stitch today; I haven't given up on the idea of posting it by the end of the month even if that means walking tothe post box at 3 minutes to midnight on Easter Sunday.

And I have reached the toe decreases on the second sock; who knows, I might even make a start on the heel tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

Wallflower seeds and sweet pea seeds are on my list for sowing this week too.