I haven't posted here for a while, that doesn't mean the CH community doesn't still have a soft spot in my heart.

I wish every one of you the very best over the coming months, be wise and remember, practice Safe Distancing if/when you really need to go out.

I'll check back here in a few months or so, if i find out any of you were foolish enough not to do so i'll resume regular posting... you have been warned!

Seriously though, this virus is indiscriminate, it doesn't care about age/race/gender/size, let your guard down and it WILL bite where/when you least expect it.

Thanks Doddie.

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Same to you, Doddie. Be careful and stay safe......

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

Ditto Doddie, hope you are following your own advice.

You stay safe and I hope all your family are well.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Doing my best to follow my own advice Joan, it actually hasn't been that difficult so far (aside from the neighbour who thinks his apartment has an Italian style balcony for a TV company to record his attempt at making life for the masses better by pumping music on a scale of 11 on a knob where 10 is the Max, the anonymous letter he got through his door has so far done the trick lol)... I'd booked annual leave at the start of the year for two weeks starting Saturday 28th March (talk about bad timing for annual leave!) so instead of going to work i'm just watching the world go by until i go back to work on Sunday.

Talking of work, i'm a category 3 key worker according to the UK Govt (i don't personally think of myself as a key worker but...) that needs my presence on site so life for me will go on as normal (yes, i do feel lucky in that respect) with the added exception of remaining well away from others when i return to work.

The family are all well so far, but as with most families i guess, some cause more worry than others.

One of my nieces who is 25 has aspergers and ADHT etc, and who for some odd reason thinks i'm some sort of god, asked me a few weeks ago before the UK lockdown started what she should do if the Govt ordered her not to go out, what should she should do because she doesn't want to be cut off from her twin sister who has really bad asthma and other mental health issues...

It broke my heart to explain to her that she MUST to do what the Govt tells her, that if she doesn't there was a very real chance this virus might kill one or both of them because of they're underlying health conditions.

She's now become the champion for keeping the rest of my extended family in England apart from each other

Stay safe.

Sorry to hear of your nieces Doddie. It must be a hard situation for your entire family.

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I'm glad to read updates from our little community here. I am heartened by the fact that your niece is following your advice and taking it to the next level and insisting that everyone else follow the rules!
I am doing well and being safe. I rarely venture out to the store and when I do, I'm wearing a mask and gloves, plus I have a bottle of hand sanitizer in my car. We have a spray bottle of lysol disinfectant and I wipe down groceries before they come into the house. This week I skipped the weekly grocery trip, but I did need to venture out yesterday for dog food at the pet supply store. Tomorrow I will be making a quick trip to the pharmacy for my wife's medication. My wife normally suffers from anxiety and depression, so the current situation has really hit her. My wife is too afraid to go out herself, but she then fears for me when I go out and she feels guilty besides. Her family is over 6 hours away and there's no place for us to stay even if we could travel down since the local hotels are closed due to the virus. We were house hunting remotely, with a plan to move closer to her family since none of my family remains in our area. Of course, house hunting is now on hold. The unknowns that we face both in the near term and the longer term are pretty anxiety producing.
Stay safe!

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

I've been on self-isolation for years, a bit like Penny Stephen, I'm frightened of car travel I've been in a couple of crashes where I was the passenger and came off the worst.

I can't move many steps before I struggle to breathe, because of my osteoporosis my spine is collapsed in several places top and bottom so my lungs don't have room to expand properly because of pressing on my other internal organs, which of course then causes bladder problems. The annoying thing is though that after being nearly 5' 9" all my adult to now being barely 5' 3" I can't reach the cupboards that used to be easy before.

I'm fine if I don't move and I wake up every morning so that's something to be thankful for.

Thank goodness for home delivery on my groceries, I live in a village that doesn't have a shop and hubby is not fit enough to do grocery shopping. A couple of months ago he got bit by a stray cat and it went bad, he was in hospital a couple of days being pumped full of antibiotics because his blood sugars and blood pressure where all over the place, he's diabetic and he found out earlier in the year the top wire of his pacemaker had become detached. At present the bottom wires are keeping things going but of course with this virus around he's got to wait.

We're both retired so we're used to being at home so at least we aren't missing work.

Hope everyone stays safe and I'm sure we'll come out the other side to a better future hopefully.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

I'm also thankful that you wake up every morning, Joan.
And I'm glad that you are both staying safe!

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Thank you Stephen. It helps that at the moment the weather is good, we've had sunshine every day for just over a week now, although it is still on the chilly side but just seeing the sun lifts the spirits.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Thanks Jay, it is but there is little any of us can do other than follow the guidelines the experts and our governments tell us we must follow.

Under normal circumstances i'd pay little regard to what any "expert" has to say because normally "experts" can't agree with themselves about anything.

Covid is different though, there are no experts for this virus, just scientists trying to give us the best advice they can.

Some will be right, some will be wrong, we will have no idea who was right or wrong until this is over and the data can be poured over.

It'll be years until we know that, all we can do is follow the advice from our governments and pray they got the call right.

Stay safe and practice social distancing.

Given that today is the first anniversary of the first lockdown within the UK i thought i'd revisit this thread and it's nice to see we are all still here.

There have been some very sad losses for some along the way, and complications for others, but essentially everyone who posted into this thread almost a year ago is still here

As for my warning about resuming regular posting if you didn't follow social distancing etc, what can i say?, my bad!

HUH??

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What Jay said.......

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BB
http://barrypatch.net

I hadn't posted for a while here when i made that comment last year, at the time i made it as a tongue in cheek threat that if you all don't take care when the pandemic was spreading i'd come back to haunt you.
(Right or wrong, at that time all the evidence this side of the pond pointed to the US being in denial that a pandemic was unfolding in front of it.)

The 'my bad' was simply i had no idea how much i'd come to rely on this Forum to get me through what would later become to be known as Long Covid, my 'regular' posting went through the roof no matter what anyone said because i needed an outlet to deal with what i was living, and to a degree i still do... I still struggle to believe that i opened this thread in April 2020 yet we now know all the evidence points to me having caught Covid in February 2020, during a time that even now is still not recognised that the virus was spreading in Scotland.

I am glad that you relied on this forum to get you through the last year!

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

You and others like you on this Forum will never know the depths of gratitude i owe you, i still have corners to turn and days to get through but without this outlet i don't know how i'd have got through the darkest moments.

I cannot and will not ever be able to thank any of you enough.

In ways that none of you will ever know, your support, comments... whether contradictory or not, have all helped me with my mental health... and for that i thank all of you.