Life goes on under lockdown

What can I say that I didn't say on Twitter on the 14th of April: Lockdown has been a continuous cycle of cooking and cleaning

Well I guess you can add in eating to the above!

Here's how our Friday and some of Saturday has been going.....

 

I was running low on coffee so stocked up on some Kenco capsules - last time I stocked up I bought L'Or, but Kenco was on special so I got these instead.  I immediately made a coffee when I got back from the shop and I can report that it tastes good.

Later on Friday evening we sauntered up to Dillingers and got dinner. It sure was sad to see it all lit up but nobody allowed in. As you can see they have a table across the entrance and you have to stand at the door any they leave your order on the table and you can then step up to take it as they step back - it's done well and there is good social distancing.

It was really pleasant walking up the road to pick up dinner. We set off just before 9pm and the streets were so so quiet. Not eerily so, just very chilled.

Once we got back with dinner, I poured a glass of wine.  We then ate while watching TV and afterwards headed off to bed about 10.30pm. I was up early to go back to the vet with Bones (I'll let you know how that went in my next blog).

Ciaran has been busy. Over the past few days he has continued with the online workouts and then on Saturday (after getting a delivery from Evans Art Supplies) he set up to do a bit of painting in the living room - you can check out his instagram here to see how this piece is progressing.

Hope you are well, where ever in the world you are reading this from (do comment below), stay safe and healthy - all the best to you!

Sucked down a rabbit hole

Do you ever get sucked down the rabbit hole that is YouTube?

I happened upon the video which I have linked below of this amazing lady after ending up randomly watching videos about shopping at Costco (very random because we don't even have Costco in Ireland - but I am a little obsessed with bulk food in massive sizes!!) where she had put up a video of herself about a week before she gave birth to twins doing a shop in Costco.
So after watching the Costco video I then took a look at the video oh her and her family after having her twins, to see how she was getting on with them and her 6 other kids!!

Have a look here - it's very up to date as it is right in the middle of this Covid19 pandemic.

I have to say I find her really likeable and boy are her parenting skills very impressive. It also looks like she has a very nice husband (and yes his name is Bubba - at first I thought this was some type of pet name that she used for him) and her kids are so good and very interested in lots of things as well as being very helpful and caring.

All I can say is "Go Jordan - you got this girl"!

Day number ??

So I've lost count of how many days we have been on lockdown, however I have to report that I am not finding every day to be the same. I think I am lucky with my work that I am working remotely bar one day when I am working from the office. The day in the office tends to keep all of the other days straight.  My office day is Wednesday which I think is a good one as it is slap bang in the middle of the week and gives me a break in the middle of two days from working at home. Also on my office day I have an 8am start which I really like as it gets me up and out early.

So other than working, what else have I been doing?

Well the dog is still recovering from his operation and he has been needing a lot of minding. He is still very mopey and I have been dosing him with painkillers and antibiotics. 

But aside from that I have been writing letters and cards! 

So keep an eye on your letterbox you might receive a note from me in the future!! 

On my walk on Tuesday evening in Ranelagh I spotted this beauty. Very nice indeed:

 And yesterday I chilled in the garden with a good book and a Brandy Alexander, which with the good weather, brought me right back to where I was introduced to Brandy Alexanders. It was on the second last night of my Caribbean sailing trip where we landed in Marigot Bay in St Lucia and after dinner, Patricia made the suggestion that the perfect chaser would be a Brandy Alexander - well she sure was right!

It certainly is nice to think of trips past and great holidays at this time - click here to read about our most recent sailing hol.

Since I had my first "Alex" I made it my mission to introduce them to lots of others - you can see here!

Easter Monday

Before the Easter break, I was thinking that I didn't need or want time off work because I couldn't go anywhere or do anything. But looking back at the last couple of days I have to say I had a really nice break and in someways probably because we didn't plan anything and we took a complete break and did very little and we weren't rushing around like we generally are over a Bank Holiday.

Easter Monday started with a little cycle over to the Swan Centre in order to get dog food for the young man. We called in to Barking Mad Boutique and picked up some of their own brand food which Bones is very keen on.

We chatted to the shop assistant and he told us that they are doing free delivery to the local area and that we can ring him in order to arrange.  That's a great service and we may take them up on the offer the next time we need food.  
Their phone number is 01 - 496 8544

This is Bones favourite selection!

Bones came with us to Rathmines - he traveled in the panniers of my electric bike. He loves this mode of transport with the wind in his face and looking at all the sights. He is easily pleased!

And really that was the extent of what we got up to on Monday, bar doing another online Spanish lesson and also watching "Ford vs. Ferrari" with Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Its a great film, I really recommend it.

Speaking of Matt Damon, it seems that he is on lockdown in Dublin, in of all places, none other than Dalkey.  He has been spotted around town and there are a few tweets about what he is getting up to, including going for a swim in the sea locally - doing the most Irish of things, bringing his towel in a Supervalu plastic bag. Love it!!

 

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was far chillier than the day before and the dog was feeling very off so we decided not to take him out for a walk and to have a chilled day instead.  We planned to get dinner from Rasoi and watch the movie "Parasite"

And that's what we did!

Rasoi was really good and I ordered enough to have leftovers for today also.

"Parasite" was just brilliant. What a storyline it fascinated me and held my attention for the whole time.  It was definitely an Oscar worthy winner. It had so much going for it, it was funny but then so despicable in parts and kind of charming too. Along with the bizarre twists it was quite the watch.

In the afternoon, treated myself to a coffee with Brandy and Creme de Cacao (hey, it was Easter after all). It was a sort of mash up between a French Coffee and a Brandy Alexander and was a nice little pick me up!

I was seriously moved by the 1916 Rising commemorations that were shown on the RTE news. You can see more about it here.
Something really got to me when I saw a solitary President and Mrs Higgins laying a wreath in Aras an Uachtarain and by the time the stripped back ceremony in the GPO Courtyard was shown, I was in tears. 
The enormity of the situation gripped me so strongly and apprehensions of how we would ever get going again and back to where we were, played so heavily on my mind. It was difficult to see it ending well. But I pushed through and made myself see the positives.  

We will do it, we will get through this and we will overcome.

Busy Bunnies

So our Easter was surprisingly busy and not as quiet as we expected.

Here's what we got up to over the weekend on Easter Saturday.

Along with bringing Bones back to the vet (he got more pain, meds, antibiotic cream and also oral antibiotics) I got to do a video chat with my twin sister and our bestie Alice. It was such fun and for a change the weather was good in all 3 places - Ireland was particularly sunny on Saturday while Florida had usual Florida weather. 

While Pigsy painted in the garden, I sat out and enjoyed a drink and a Summer read by Diane Chamberlain (she's my new go to as I have read all of Elin Hilderbrand, except for her latest book which was released Oct 2019 - I'm still waiting for this book and I have on reserve from the library) 

Shout out to Dillingers for another great dinner on Saturday night - it was Ribs & Wings again, but we also got Mac & Cheese which is soooo good. I think their Mac & Cheese may be the best I've tasted in Dublin!!

And then later that evening we lit up the house for #ShineYourLight at 9pm

Here's Sinead O'Connor singing Snow Patrol's "Run" as part of this RTE event. It was very moving - Ciaran was more moved then me, I was affected by watching the Easter Rising commemorations the next day on Easter Sunday, I'll tell you about that in my next blog.

  

Easter Doors!

Happy Easter everyone. It is an Easter unlike any other the world over. But it's good to see that some things can be easily done to mark the celebration and spread good cheer.

All over the place, doors are dressed with wreaths for Easter to welcome this event.

Check out my family's decorated doors:

 My door

 My twin sisters door

 My older sister's door

 My parent's door

I love them all and can't pick a favourite! They sure do bring a smile to my face and some cheer in to my life today. And boy do we all need cheer at this time.

Stay safe and well friends!