Auds Blog

Last day of lockdown, for 53 days we have been restricted in a way we never have seen before!! As of midnight tonight we are officially in Level 2 which means we can visit friends (go into their houses), have a haircut (Sophie rang today and booked me in for Friday, yay!), go into cafe and have a coffee/food, visit the Plaza and shop (I need a new whisk as managed to break mine 50 days ago), hug Zane, and travel out of our region - we may pop up to Taupo this weekend. Still some restrictions though. Initially the govt. had a 10 person restriction on weddings. tangi and funerals. Within hours today it was changed (under pressure) to up to 50 people. It is all about contact tracing. Hygiene and contact tracing in place in school, we start back on Monday. Children left at the gate, manned by Matt, Louise and I in the morning. There will be a pick up plan each afternoon too so parents don't need to enter school grounds. It's going to be interesting. New Zealand has got off lightly ...

A couple of work zoom meetings today - one the Leadership Team at school and the other all of the staff. Great to see people's faces. Scott, Kelly and the children went to the beach this afternoon for a swim (bbrrr) and fish and chips....unfortunately we couldn't go as I had a 3.30pm meeting. Photos were sent...it looks like they had a great time! Another round of baking, this time bran muffins. Don't think they will last long! Matt rang late afternoon to check in, not sure when I can go in this week. Yay, we are going to Level 2 at midnight on Wednesday (tomorrow). Schools go back next Monday, 18 May. Thank goodness. Roberts still waiting to hear when he can get into stores.

A bit of a milestone today, reaching past 50 days in lockdown! Both Robert and I worked off and on all day. Catching up with people on the phone (Robert) and computer work (me). The highlight was our fluffy latte at morning tea, and the cheese puffs I made (an old family recipe from Jessie Meder who was Roberts mum's oldest friend). Mother's Day yesterday was a reminder of our two mums who would have handled this pandemic in their usual stoic way!

Lovely to wake up with the kids here this morning. Robert had gone at 6.45am for a run in the Gorge with friend Brent 'Noodles', while we had a sleep in. Breakfast involved big pikelets, really pancakes! Today is Mothers Day. Ava found some little 'smelly' things in the present box for Kelly, and both children made her cards. The morning involved hut making, bubble blowing and a game of Scrabble. Wayne and Sally came for a fluffy coffee. Still not inside and sitting at a safe 2m distance. Kelly put on a High Tea for Mothers Day this afternoon, it was lovely...a real treat! Blair, Bridget and Oscar FaceTimed, great to see Oscar walking around the big footstool in front of the TV watching the Wiggles.

It's the weekend so no work, it reminds us to stop and avoids the "same old, same old" days running in together. Robert went for a 85km bike ride, I snoozed and read the paper. Brooklyn and Ava came over in the afternoon for a sleepover, great to have them join our 'bubble'. Zane called in on his way home from work just after 3pm. He wanted me to trim his hair. I only have dressmaking scissors and no experience (just a razor back when the boys were teenagers!). As he's "not in our bubble" it was outside with rubber gloves. The kids came to say goodbye to him...from a distance. Home-made hamburgers for dinner finished off with Nanny's chocolate brownie. We all headed to bed about the same time.

The weather has definitely turned, heatpump now on! Around midday we went for our weekly drive to get our milk then the eggs. It's nice to drive out in the country! Had a Zoom meeting with Matt, our Principal, and the other DP Louise in the afternoon to discuss what Level 2 means for our school. A few changes but not too much, I hope it's soon.  Scott, Kelly and the kids here for dinner tonight...so glad they are now in our bubble.

Just another day - the highlight was the 1pm News special on every weekday with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Ashleigh Broomfeild, Director General of Health. Level 2 was explained for when we get there.  Hopefully next week. I was particularly interested in what that meant for schools, and for people like me with compromised health. Looks like schools will open again, and no mention of me having to stay home!  I needed some potatoes so braved the dairy around the corner....rubber gloves and antiseptic wipes (one customer in and one out).  Then in the afternoon (I don't know what possessed me!) I said to Kelly I'd get some gluesticks and craft supplies from a "$2" shop I saw open called Happy Variety. Well, it was exciting I must say! While in there, gloves and antiseptic wipes using my paywave card and social distancing, in came the Police to shut it down! I was their last customer and escorted to the car where the kids were waiting all agog!

Cold today - time for slippers! Most of the day spent working - zoom meetings, emails, and keeping in touch with parents. Looked at Meaningful May and today was "take a step towards one of your life goals, however small" - think it might be to not worry so much especially about things I can't control.  I am not going to worry about the unhappy parent at the mo and her complaint via an email today. Can't do any more than I have!  So that's the plan, just something small.

A wet day today! And cold too...first day we needed the heat-pump on 15' was the high temp today. I sent some flowers to the onsite staff at school, and sent a photo and big thanks to the offsite teachers. Lovely bouquet from Forget Me Knot (Sarah's daughter Alex owns it) a good way to support her business too. Another Zoom meeting tonight at 6pm, the Zonta Board. Nice to see people on the screen if not in person. I also followed the Meaningful May Calendar and sent photos to Pam, Kristin and Gill of "a time we enjoyed together". Pam sent one back from 1996 with Robert (Harry) her and I, OMG!

Most of the day spent on the laptop working. We make sure we don't work at the weekend otherwise days would merge in together. Robert and Scott got Roberts old mountain bike seat fixed so Brooklyn could ride it. Surprisingly it was perfect. Ava is now on Brooklyn's bike and loving riding. They went to Paneiri Park to ride along the tracks and through the trees - photos show they had so much fun! Now our bubbles have joined we can visit and go inside...went to their place for dinner, delicious casserole and chocolate self-saucing choc pudding for dessert! Yum, and the only second dinner I haven't had to cook in 6 weeks. Many takeaway places are open with online and contactless ordering and collecting. Mmmmm wonder what we will have when we have our first takeaways??

The biggest excitement of the whole time in lockdown was Oscar's first birthday! There were balloons, a cake and candles, some fairy bread and we all sang the 'happy birthday' song! A virtual party with us at ours and Oscar, Blair and Bridget at their place in Geelong. Sad not to be there but fun all the same. The weather has turned colder and the rain (good for the farmers) has come down, so it's slippers and a fire (Scott and Kelly's). We watched a movie in the afternoon '7 Days at Entebbe'. Iv'e seen a few good Netflix/Lightbox/TV on demand series: Ozark, The Secre ts She Keeps, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, One Lane Bridge, The White Princess and Outlander. 

Two exciting things happened today to break the monotony. Our Click and Collect groceries were ready for pick up at 10am, and Bargain Box arrived at lunchtime. Woop woop. Hard to explain the delight of having groceries/food delivered - really like this, good for someone who doesn't like supermarkets. Though have been doing Bargain Box for 2-3 years and Click n Collect for the past year. Mid afternoon Scott and Ava went for a big bike ride, from our place to the Fitzherbert Bridge, coming back on the roads. Apparently the Bridle Track was packed with walkers and dogs and buggies. Delicious fish for dinner, followed by Oaty Caramel Slice made this afternoon from Nadia Lim and her comfort food programme (on each week day when in Level 4).  Found this Meaningful May 2020 'action calendar' on  a teachers site called Sparklers...think I will do this!

Friday again a work day for Robert and I, both kept busy most of the day.  We did have a break at midday when we went to collect our milk from Gorge Fresh near the beginning of the Gorge Track. We are drinking so much milk with the frothy lattes we're drinking that we had to buy two more 2L containers. Fresh raw milk makes the best froth and tastes so good! It's always a treat to see the countryside, we have noticed the temperature starting to drop and the grass turning greener. Coming back through town we drove around the square - only places open were takeaways with their contactless paying and passing over of food on tables at door fronts.  I went for a walk late afternoon to Kristin's to say hi, social distancing of 2-3m kept. It's funny not going inside anyone's house and having a coffee made for me.  Ding dropped off a big box of veges again from the prison gardens, lovely and fresh but far too much for us. I took half of it up to Scott and Kelly's while t...