Self isolation with my e-book and computers is mostly what I normally do but I am taking my temperature morning and evening and using essential oils to monitor my sense of smell. My diet is a bit erratic since I no longer just pop downstairs if I need something for dinner but there is fruit and vegetables in abundance. Milk is rationed and butter is in short supply (are all the cows in lockdown?) and I am assuming that the New Zealand butter which I use will become unobtainable along with toilet paper and tissues which seem to disappear as soon as they hit the shelves. Minor annoyances.
More upsetting is the fact that D2 will be back at work after some time on sick leave and she will be at the forefront of the medical workforce. She is going into self-isolation and has asked me to fire up Skype so that she can see familiar faces but I threw away my earphone/mic set a while ago and there has been a run on them and none are available at the moment. Hopefully there will be some more available soon or it will have to be telephone contact as we both have retro phones with very little display.
The trousers which I bought online are stuck in Singapore but they are safe and will not self-destruct. The thing which I have been hoarding is kitty litter and cat food. And I bought a teddy bear to sit on the window sill as a signal that I am self-isolating. Not that any passing raven or white cockatoo will understand the symbolism.
The cats were due for their vaccinations this week and Parsifal had his turn on Wednesday, sedated but still managed to scratched me. Poppy had her turn today, also heavily sedated and when I suggested to Dr L. that perhaps I could hold her still in the kitty carriage while she injected the vaccine and perhaps we could skip the health check she sounded very relieved so we all parted unscathed.
The Limerick:-
A crossword composer named Moss
At joking was quite at a loss.
When asked why 'twas true
He hadn't a clue.
He was two down to put one across.
Friday, March 27, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Scamming Serenade
I normally receive two or three scam phone calls per day which I either hang up on or keep the scammers talking for as long as I can to waste their time as they so often waste mine.
However, my second call today was a bit different. When I answered my phone I was entertained by a very shakily sung serenade in Italian. I listened for a few moments because it was certainly different from the usual cold calls but eventually I interrupted to ask the caller who he was and how much he had drunk. He stopped singing and told me his name (which I have forgotten) and said that he had not been drinking. He denied either drinking or taking any enhancers and I received the impression from what he was saying that he felt that people should get some relief from scammers and instead be entertained.
We chatted for a minute or two and parted on very amicable terms. I, at least, was vastly entertained by the whole episode. In these days of toilet paper shortages and virtual lockdowns I think that we all need a little bit of comic relief.
I have put myself into semi-isolation as I have all of the risk factors for Covid-19 but with the shops just downstairs I needn't shop for long and I have stocked up on cat food and litter. We are in scary times and I am probably vastly over-reacting but I would prefer to wait a while before I risk getting infected. D2 came with coffee and cake over the weekend but tried out her key and fob to make sure that she can get into my apartment if the need should arise.
The Limerick:-
When I asked an old crofter on Skye
What he did in the winter, and why,
I received an offensive
Obscene, comprehensive
Monosyllabic reply.
However, my second call today was a bit different. When I answered my phone I was entertained by a very shakily sung serenade in Italian. I listened for a few moments because it was certainly different from the usual cold calls but eventually I interrupted to ask the caller who he was and how much he had drunk. He stopped singing and told me his name (which I have forgotten) and said that he had not been drinking. He denied either drinking or taking any enhancers and I received the impression from what he was saying that he felt that people should get some relief from scammers and instead be entertained.
We chatted for a minute or two and parted on very amicable terms. I, at least, was vastly entertained by the whole episode. In these days of toilet paper shortages and virtual lockdowns I think that we all need a little bit of comic relief.
I have put myself into semi-isolation as I have all of the risk factors for Covid-19 but with the shops just downstairs I needn't shop for long and I have stocked up on cat food and litter. We are in scary times and I am probably vastly over-reacting but I would prefer to wait a while before I risk getting infected. D2 came with coffee and cake over the weekend but tried out her key and fob to make sure that she can get into my apartment if the need should arise.
The Limerick:-
When I asked an old crofter on Skye
What he did in the winter, and why,
I received an offensive
Obscene, comprehensive
Monosyllabic reply.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Covid-19
I am not hoarding toilet paper! It would be futile to try as there is none available in Coles and although I haven't checked supplies in Farmer Jack I suspect that their shelves will also be empty. Farmer Jack did have skim milk yesterday but not a lot and I snagged the last carton in Coles. I normally buy four cartons at a time and freeze them so I am OK for a while but will be upset if yoghurt disappears. Fruit and vegetables are fresh and abundant; probably locally grown.
The only thing which I have stocked up is cat food and litter. If all else fails and they eat through my stock they will be reduced to eating anti-furball pellets which they do not like at all and which I have only because they refuse to eat them. For litter they will have to make do with shredded newspaper if all else fails.
One of the local wine shops is advertising that they will give away one toilet roll with every bottle of wine they sell. I think that is brilliant. Senor B702 is here and safe. I thought that he had gone back to Italy but he told me that he had been advised to stay here for now. My only real worry is the air conditioning in this building. It tends to blow through even when it is not turned on which makes me wonder how much air we are all sharing.
The stock market has gone bearish and so this morning I ordered four pairs of linen trousers from Shukr.com . I obviously haven't yet let the Stock Market crash upset me too much. I have sat out bear markets several times on the theory that I can't lose money until I sell, which I do not intend to do.
My main concern is D2 who is an emergency physician and will be firmly on the front line but hopefully things will not get too bad here. I have been told that Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world.
The Limerick:-
There was a young lady named Smith
Whose virtue was mostly a myth.
She said, "Try as I can
I can't find a man
Who it's fun to be virtuous with."
The only thing which I have stocked up is cat food and litter. If all else fails and they eat through my stock they will be reduced to eating anti-furball pellets which they do not like at all and which I have only because they refuse to eat them. For litter they will have to make do with shredded newspaper if all else fails.
One of the local wine shops is advertising that they will give away one toilet roll with every bottle of wine they sell. I think that is brilliant. Senor B702 is here and safe. I thought that he had gone back to Italy but he told me that he had been advised to stay here for now. My only real worry is the air conditioning in this building. It tends to blow through even when it is not turned on which makes me wonder how much air we are all sharing.
The stock market has gone bearish and so this morning I ordered four pairs of linen trousers from Shukr.com . I obviously haven't yet let the Stock Market crash upset me too much. I have sat out bear markets several times on the theory that I can't lose money until I sell, which I do not intend to do.
My main concern is D2 who is an emergency physician and will be firmly on the front line but hopefully things will not get too bad here. I have been told that Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world.
The Limerick:-
There was a young lady named Smith
Whose virtue was mostly a myth.
She said, "Try as I can
I can't find a man
Who it's fun to be virtuous with."
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