Fellowships

Day 5 of (currently??) 7 day lockdown at NZ’s highest Covid alert level, L4, to try to eliminate the emergence of the Delta variant in the community.

One thing I’m not doing that I did do last lockdown is obsessively follow the international news. I’m tuning into a certain amount of daily news and am distressed by, eg, news from Afghanistan, Fiji, but I am not so utterly immersed in what’s happening in the USA in particular. Not “doomscrolling” in other words.

It’s a relief, but I do remember that it was strangely consuming and even a welcome distraction from lockdown.

Today it’s just been good to talk to my fellowships. My bestie is having a birthday in lockdown in Melbourne today. I know she’s going to make the best of things and enjoy herself with virtual family catch ups. I posted her card a while ago but I know it’s going to take ages to arrive - fortunately (as I’ve told her) the sentiment, like Gandalf, arrives exactly when it’s meant to.

I was so lucky to celebrate my birthday 2 weeks ago with a lovely family dinner out at a Mexican cantina. A fab warm evening even though there was such a terrible storm going on in Wellington. Remember those stormy days? Yes, seems like an aeon ago.

And, some great other catchups with family and friends, including a lovely long group chat with friends down in Waipara in Canterbury NZ where earlier this year we were harvesting pinot noir grapes.

Last night I video chatted with old school friends - actually something we’ve now been doing regularly since lockdown last year. My oldest and closest friends. Joy! One friend mentioned something I had also seen in the early morning - the silvery light of the big full moon shining into the house. It cast such a lovely, hopeful light. In fact, I woke up the beloved to come and see - and he was glad too.

The news today didn’t provide much reassurance about when we might defeat this Covid resurgence and when we might emerge from lockdown, but there’s plenty of other reasons to hope - yes, Sam, we won’t lose hope!

And Theoden’s helmet moves steadily forward. A plaster failure but an exciting discovery - Polyfilla! So I lost myself for hours slathering and moulding!

A few cool fellowships, fun crafts, what more could a person want for? Happy birthday Liz, and keep hoping folks, cheers, Kathy