This is a long-winded diary style catch-up written between 27 January and now (March 18) during a second term of furlough. I think that the tone will show how I have been feeling at the time of my updating the diary - normally on a train journey to London. I hope it is bearable, and not too confusing... Having been surprisingly busy at the office and being actively praised for all that the Swisspost-run Postroom at Canon has been doing to keep the company running in very awkward times, it was a galling and unexpected surprise to be told that with effect from last Monday (25 January 2021) I would be put onto furlough leaving just my supervisor to do two people’s work for the following four weeks. Avid readers may be aware that this will be my second furlough shift, my last being from April until May last year during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Initial anti-feelings (we are sure that there are other ways to save the client the £1400 a month which would not involve one person running themselves ragged), have since been replaced by resignation and a resolution that this “free“ time could be more adequately filled than Lockdown #1. Jenny and I have moved homes with Layla, we had quickly decorated 2 of the 3 bedrooms, but the rest of the house needs freshening and demands that we put “our” stamp on it. Jenny is currently on “flexi-furlough” and is at home on Monday and Tuesday of each week. Layla is in first year of secondary school, and Jenny is a key-worker (catering at a Primary School) so she goes in each day. The routine will be beneficial, and less stressful and confusing for her. Any way, over Saturday and Sunday, I took a brush to the bathroom, which did the job there - we still need to replace the inadequate storage, but that can wait. Monday we moved downstairs to the lounge, which was an altogether big and more exacting job. Shelves came down, rawl plug holes and picture hook removal scars filled. Plain woodwork needed white gloss paint and the walls emulsion. Storage was moved off the floor too. Where do we want the TV to go ? On a wall bracket. We rediscovered “forgotten” power sockets which to be frank, would be useful in other positions in the room. In times gone by, I would have moved the sockets myself, but that is not such a good idea in these more safety conscious times when appliances need to be connected installed by a CORGI registered electrician / gas man. I ran a couple 2/3 gang extensions behind the corner sofa to where the outlets can be accessed, and fixed them in place to give the impression of wall sockets. Light fittings need replacing - what style ? No idea, none we have seen are “right” for the lounge. Maybe just a plain pendant, with a nice shade for now. I also replaced faulty / no good light fittings around the place. Two new security lights for the garden and a better light in the downstairs toilet/shower. For the record, I much prefer the crisp bright light given by a old school tungsten / halogen tube for garden security - the LED greener options which are more readily available really doesn’t have the same “What the hell is that ! ???” shock factor. Another gripe is some “One Coat” Gloss Paint we were given. It really is laughable, in that AT LEAST two are needed to change plain woodwork to white. That might be fine, but it takes at full 16 hours before a re-coat can be applied rather than the 6 hours between coats on other varieties which are more convenient and water cleanable. We moved on to the Dining Room, which should have been easy but was quite an effort due to the very high sloping ceiling. Jenny and I thought about the loft space, which is split 50/50 storage and accommodation. The plan is to use the “cosy” end as a chill out or quiet space. Both sides were full of boxes (a legacy of two houses combining to one). There was stuff to keep, stuff to sort and dump, stuff we might need in the mid term. The solution hopefully is some shelf storage units. These arrived and did a pretty tidy job, to be fair. Space is tighter than we would like, but we are getting there. Another job that Jenny and I undertook was to sort, consolidate and digitise the thousands of 35mm photographic slides that my Dad as well as her family took many years ago. This is onerous, but has needed doing for at least 20 years in my case. Just whether to use professional services to digitise the images is in debate at the moment. We have achieve quite acceptable results using a handheld viewer and mobile phone ! More bit-biting and with Jenny managing to sort the accommodation side of the loft, it was straight on to the conversion from junk store to chill / viewing / entertainment space. We quite fancied cinema/theatre opulence, so dark blue paints were chosen. Jenny found some LED strip mood lighting, so this was fixed and plugged in. TV and sound bar set up, DVD player and PlayStation 4 connected. Chairs and footstools (IKEA Poing) and a couple of IKEA Billy short shelf units completed the transformation. Even if I do say so myself, it is very cosy and I like it a lot. In the meantime, my Mum was behaving badly - or at least her dementia made her behave badly. She refused care / medication / meals and became very agitated so we had to get the GP to investigate. The blood test revealed slightly borderline thyroid levels which may have been due to medication refusal. Apart from that there was little of concern. There is a hair issue (matted and tangled hair which needs attention when things return to normal). The GP suggested another test in a month to see if that reveals more. On the up-side, Mum had her first COVID-19 vaccination during the first week in February. I had a long overdue appointment at the dentist (one year since my last check up) - a second visit to tidy up and clean a few things was necessary on 15 February. Out of the blue, I received an invitation to have a COVID-19 vaccination, which I wasn’t expecting until the end of April. I booked an appointment for February 28, and the first jab was done. I did feel a little out of sorts that afternoon, but otherwise had no ill-effects.
Last week (I am typing this on Friday 12 March) thinking that my time on furlough might be ending, I quickly freshened up the downstairs toilet/shower on Monday. So that is most of the inside made over until the kitchen is redone in April. The hallway will wait until after that. Just the shed and Summer House to go now Jenny is back at work (normal hours) and Layla’s school is now open for business too. Conversations with my manager have not brought good news on my return date to the office. I suspect that the earliest I can hope for will be 29 March when the first stage of the government’s lockdown easing materialises. That is about it for now. Lego construction will fill some time until I go back, whenever that may be. Until next time, Dear Reader. Take Care and Be Kind. [Update 22 March] I have received the phone call from my manager, and as suspected I have been asked to return to the work next Monday, 29 March. I need it too !!!
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