Diary of an average Joe...or Sam in my case. I share my life, my thoughts, my family, ups and downs - and when it goes side-ways.
So - time for some more before and after pics! Such a long time since I have been able to do this - and it is a sign of a little normality!
So - some before pics...hard to find actually considering how many pictures we have of the house!
might just skip to the completed pics....
So - its the end of April and I've not posted anything since February. A lot has happened since then!
Andy had his first dose of the vaccine a few weeks ago - maybe longer than that? It seemed everybody around me, my age or younger had the vaccine but me - but then i got mine yesterday - hence why I have the time to catch up on my blog! Its my day off and I am having a couch day as I feel so tired and yuk! I was quite a wuss about the needle. I've been nervous about it for a while as I have a thing for needles, and it didn't help that the vaccine and its progress has been on the news loads and every time they play film of people having the needle or a photo of a needle!
I got the vaccine at Taunton Race Course - Andy got his at our doctors surgery. The people doing the injections were so good with me - it was obvious I was struggling - but I got through it - and the injection itself was nothing! Then as the day went on I just got mega tired! I had a sleep - and ended u in bed really early - and now I just feel like I have a mild flu. Andy just went to the shop for me and brought back a ton of cake and chocolate - so Keto went straight out of the window!
In other news - Andy got a job and is working again! yay!! What a relief! He is working for a cyber security company - sounds like he is already bringing them a lot more than they expected - and he is really enjoying it!
This has meant we were able to use some of the redundancy money - and we got our front carpark transformed into an actual driveway! I'll put before and after pics up on another post.
We also decided to splash out on carpets - so I went on a huge painting spree before they were delivered/fitted. Wanted to get some wallpapering done too - but ran out of time. Because they had the wrong size for one of the rooms, and didn't allow enough time - they are not finished yet, but we're almost there!
Ehhh I feel sick! Not sure if that is the carrot cake I just ate or because of the vaccine...probably both!
So - where are we with the lockdown? So - we locked down early in the year (again) on 6th January 2021 because things got really baaaaad and then some of those restrictions were lifted on 12th April 2021 - so it was a long lockdown! On 12th April - the main differences were - you could go to the shops, hairdressers, meet a few people outdoors. During this time vaccinations were surging ahead and hospital rates and deaths went right down.
The next change is 17th May - where two households can meet indoors....then by June 2021 all restrictions should be lifted. I am not sure this will happen however, because there is always the threat of a new surge.
The UK are aiming to have everybody vaccinated by July 2021 - apart from the few that can't be vaccinated for medical reasons or the weirdo's who think the whole thing is fake and a scam (annoys the crap out of me!)
The news at the moment is reporting on the disaster occurring in India - they are running out of oxygen, there are photo's of people dying outside hospitals, loads of funeral pyres - and just death and heartbreak. They have just reported over 200,000 deaths. It is so tragic....
The UK have had 127,451 deaths. Although we have all lived with the pandemic for over a year now - it is still difficult to believe that this hit the whole world like it did - still feels surreal. I'm still finding it very difficult to come to terms with losing my Dad. It was the anniversary of his death on 15th April 2021. I allowed myself to wallow in the sadness and let myself think of the memories - all of which I push down most of the time because it is too painful.
So - its my 50th Birthday in May - and I am hoping to get to see all the kids, and Helen and Paul. That will be awesome - we are all going to take covid tests before we meet up - Helen and Paul will be the first to come over- and then Adam, and then Lissa. You can get tests really easily now - just go online to the Government website and every 2 days you can order a pack of 7 tests per household.
Connor is still living with us - and it is great having him here - we socialise together almost every weekend - play pool - and now poker too! I get to see loads of pics of the grandkids usually via WhatsApp - it does feel like I've seen then grow up to some extent - even though I haven't been able to actually see them in person. They post pictures daily which is awesome.
I hope the weather is nice when they visit - I bought them a garden swing lol - and it will be awesome to be able to play in the garden and have BBQ's.
we'll have to see!
