Day 1. Yes I went to Sydney, yes I knew before I arrived that there had been new community transmission. Might I say, apparently arising from hotel quarantine, and how it has happened has still not been explained. Yet the media are not going after the Premier there the way they went after Dan Andrews. Anyway, it meant that Victoria closed its borders to NSW and I had to apply for an exemption to be allowed to come back to my little haven near the sea. A condition of the exemption is that I quarantine for 14 days at home. So this is day 1 of the quarantine. And that is what this post is about - how I pass the time in quarantine.
On the way home I listened to an audible book - Sophie Laguna's Infinite Splendours, confronting in part, but captured the romance of an artist with the Grampians, much discussion about light and colours and shapes of mountains. Thought how a solid grounding in place and connection to the surroundings supports mental health but also can act as a prison. Mused about the way in which driving through Australian countryside gives you such a strong sense of space and size. The wide blue skies continually opening up in front of you, the rolling hills dotted with trees. The hills look like a yellow velour blanket has been draped over them with the yellowing of the grasses over summer. Was conscious of need to maintain isolation while travelling so used the trusty old canister gas stove to make my coffee by the shores Lake Nillahcootie between Benalla and Mansfield. Even had a quick dip in the lake as I know I won't be able to have a swim for a little while. A few people around but large enough area to keep well away from them.
Yesterday I arrived in the afternoon, was tired from the trip so really did not do much, sorted out the fridge to find lots of beer left from one of Beci's friends so thought I should not let it go to waste and sat on the deck and drank two cans. Don't feel under any pressure to unpack the car as I've got plenty of time, but I did bring in the shopping I had done in Albury where I stopped overnight before crossing the border. I walked around the garden, mostly everything looks reasonably healthy although the Mexican cucumber I planted has not grown at all, well it might have one more leaf than it had 4 weeks ago. Tomatoes are going gang busters with quite a bit of fruit but still mostly green, two roma tomatoes that were reddish so I picked them. Today - which is really day 1, I had an outing, a trip to the respiratory clinic for my Covid test, reminded me of how busy this place is now that they have allowed campers back along the foreshore. The trip that should usually take 10 minutes took 20. My fourth COVID test - had to have one to apply for the exemption then another one now I am back. I do feel sorry for the people doing the tests as, no matter how much I try to psych myself into it, I still flinch at the nasal probe. Nurse told me that she had a client actually slipped off the chair trying to lean back to get away from it. . Now waiting for the result. Changed the linen on the bed yesterday and washed the old linen today and hung it out. It was a warm day so it dried and I could bring it back in later with that lovely smell of sunshine on the sheets.
I ventured into the garden, tried to get the tomatoes under control so they are not falling everywhere, attempted to check out the pumpkin but it is now taking over half the backyard and I did not have the energy to follow it. Pulled out some of the native geranium which goes crazy, grows over everything.
There have been a few people staying here while I was away my niece, my grandson and some mates, then my daughter and family with some friends, so spent a bit of the day finding where different things had been put away - the coloured glasses in the wrong place, the teapot in a cupboard when everyone surely knows to leave the teapot on the bench. A friend rang to ask if I wanted anything so picked up milk for me so I can make some yogurt and we did a little dance around the driveway while she put what she had bought on the grass and then moved away so I could pick it up. She has offered to take Jac with her dog to a park where I walk Jac with other dogs. That will be interesting as Jac often won't go with others when I am home, we will see tomorrow.
Back to the garden, thought I would make a point of sitting out the front each day so I can at least see people passing by, but when I made a lovely cuppa and went to sit out there all I could see was the weeds waiting to be pulled out. Which I started to do, but no rush can do it tomorrow. Found a couple of cucumbers hiding where the cucumber vine had grown under one of the unruly tomato plants, Picked them, some rocket - rocket is indestructible like the native geranium, carrots - now that was a discovery - found that carrots have quite beautiful flowers if left to go to seed. But still managed to pick 3 good carrots and picked the flowers to put in a vase.
Noticed when I was hanging out the sheets that one of the ti trees has fallen a bit more while I was away - I love the way ti trees fall, none of this showy crashing to the ground, just a gentle 'oh I'm a bit tired of standing so tall', and just gradually sinking down ever lower. So got out my little saw and cut off enough of the branches to get to the clothes line.
Made a loaf of bread in the air fryer - love that, makes a small enough loaf that is all I need so that will do me for a day or two. The exciting thing was getting onto the Woolies delivery - did try IGA but they don't deliver in this area. Trawling through the Woolies list and put in an order which gets delivered tomorrow morning. I am though a visual shopper - I like to look at what I am buying. Discover they sell potatoes end tomatoes by the piece - so you can get 2 tomatoes and 2 potatoes for instance. How weird is that - what happened to good old kilograms.
I should make a list, I should plan for what I am going to do. Instead I have a jumble of ideas in my head - to only eat the bread I bake, to weed the gardens, to read and, importantly (thank you Em) to record what I read on Good Reads so I can look back and be reminded and not start a book I have already read unless I choose to. Make some beetroot chutney and cook up some capsicums with onion and oil. Challenge is the exercise, today I only accumulated just over 5,000 steps so need to work on that. And Jac and walking, we will see.
Rice salad with red cabbage and garden harvest for dinner with some tuna. Now it's bath time - one bonus of being home is my bath - I love the shape, I love sliding into it, I love lighting candles and losing myself in it.
