Black Dog Gang 6

Hello all. Quiet day for us today. I have been painting (not very successfully but it keeps me out of mischief. Lots of neighbours have been in the garden keeping their distance but having a chat. We have stayed in today might try a secluded walk somewhere quiet tomorrow. I have cut my own hair for the first time in about 30 years, it was annoying me so much
so I got my scissors and cut some off. Not too bad as it happens and feels much lighter. annie a little nap when you feel like it is so wonderful. Just to feel sleepy and drift off for a while. I have been watching the Pentecost service at Canterbury today. I enjoy the gardens and the buildings as well as the services. Such a beautiful place.
Hope you are all ok. Sleep well all x

Doodle I wish I could cut hair, can’t even cut my nails now,
it wasn’t a little nap ? , over an hour ! listened to it again this
evening, and stayed awake . I love jazz. X

Hope everyone is coping x

Hi all just popped in to give Why a virtual hug for tomorrow although not sure I have the correct day anyway virtual hug still there.
Been very hot here today in fact too hot for me to sit in the sun so been in the shade and doing wee bits in the house. Garden beginning to look nice with the bushes almost in full bloom. So grateful to have a garden.
Feeling bit annoyed at all these people out and about not keeping to the social distancing rules. We are one step forward and feel it will be two or three steps back.
Bit sleepy tonight so off to bed.
Night night Annie, Doodle, Nonnie, lavender, Rafi, Dawn, Joyce. Why. Sorry if I have left anyone out by name but wish you all a good nights rest. God bless .

annie it must be lovely to drift off like that.

Doodle please come and cut the back of my hair! I normally wear it quite short but had been thinking of growing it longer and of course have no choice now. The bit at the back of the neck is really annoying. My hair is now an 'interesting' colour, the sun has bleached it and one side is almost white, other side is mixed and the front has no grey at all. Question is going to be what colour do I want when this is all over .

Flutter difficult for people to know what to do at the moment, we just do what is right for us, staying home. Friends who live in parts of Europe are not so locked down, some just been on long Pentecost weekend to a family resort, lots of things for the children to do with other children. Others have been to the dentist for routine treatment. Be interesting to see the outcome. Why is no one talking about summer killing it off like flu? It was suggested at the beginning but not heard it recently.

I didn't sleep well again last night so tired but not down.

Have a better day all.

Good morning all, hope things are ok with everyone. Difficult times for us all.

To understand what people do is a difficult one, I think all we can do is go with how we feel about the situation and use our own judgement. I go out only to walk the dog and the occasional visit to the shop, which I have done for a long time. Supermarkets are out for me for quite a while after my experience the other week.

Annie how are you? I think just falling asleep like that is lovely, I can drop off like that in the afternoon and will often have a lie down on the bed. Funnily enough when I do that, things that are worrying me or things I have to puzzle over, often come to me when I do that and I can see an answer to it all, its almost as if my body relaxes and I can see things differently. Quite different to how I feel if I wake in the night. I am not mentioning "the bottles" xx

Nice to see you Flutterby and Nonnie, Doodle and all.

Hope everyone has a good day. The sun is out here today and it will be hot again I think.

Take care, stay safe and love to all xx

Hi all x

I am having mixed thoughts !

When lockdown started I felt so sad for those who had to stay
in their homes, I was use to it.

Now I am happy for those who can now start going out a little
but I am still in lockdown, have been for three years, the thoughts of starting recovery again seems a battle.

Morning annie. I think there are many who are looking forward to getting out more but also many who are scared at the thought of more contact. DH is on the shielded list and we will be going for little walks away from people but not doing anything other than that at the moment.

I can see why it will be difficult to gear yourself up to getting out and also getting the help you need to do so. Mixing with others will seem strange I feel.

Hello flutterby, nonnie and lavender hope you are all ok. Glad you are feeling less stressed nonnie .
Have a good day all x

annie in the Canterbury service today the Dean read the John Masefield poem I must go down to the sea again. It really captured the essence of the sea and the waves. I am beginning to see why poetry means a lot to you. ?

Hi friends hope you are all ok this evening and have had a good day.
Annie 3years is a long time for you to cope with what you do but you being you does just that. I know you must have ups and downs but you are so strong with a wisdom money can’t buy. Lovely Annie.
I wonder if Why has managed to start her journey.
Now I would like to share a thought that is bothering me tonight and I hope you don’t mind. Today I went a short walk to post a letter. A gentleman stopped to talk to me. Although we were social distancing I have it in my head that perhaps it was not exactly 2metres so know I am getting uptight.
I do not venture very far from my home anytime I go for a walk as prefer to be in the garden at the moment. Seems to me I am getting more nervous and maybe the cause is the fact I have not gone out very much at all. Sorry if I sound pathetic but I just had to share.
Thank you everyone for caring.

Good evening all xxx I hope everyone is doing OK. I am well. Still having cuddles with fat cat and Marshall and still feeding my feral binks. He now comes to find me if I am late with his food! I am sleeping in a spare room at the moment with the cats. No big issue i just adore them. We have had 2 rabbits 1 mouse and 1 bird bought in as gifts!!. Son moving back home in 6 weeks so he can save a deposit to buy a place...he hopes in wales as he wants a place with a bit of land for chickens and veg patches. I will catch up better when I'm on the laptop as this phone is very small! Stay safe ?

flutterby going out again will be a new experience for many of us and I’m not surprised you’re a bit nervous about it. I have read that the virus doesn’t travel well outside or in fact in the sunshine. I am sure you were perfectly safe and that you were far enough apart. Don’t forget the incidence of cases is lower now so try not to worry too much. Do a short walk every day even if you go to the end of the road and back just to try and help with the fear. It’s not pathetic it’s just anxiety brought about by this virus.
Hope everyone sleeps well x

nanny how lovely to hear from you. Glad Fat cat and Marshall are both looking after you. Are you happy with the thought of your son moving back in? Hope everything ok with you.

Doddle thank you so much for answering me late at night. It really helped so hope I can get to sleep now.
Meant to say well done for cutting your hair. New career perhaps! I have only managed a fringe cut not going to even attempt my hair. I tend to just wear it up in a clip.
Night night and God Bless all.

Doodle 'the incidence of cases is lower now' - but lower than when? Daily new cases (reported) are a little lower than when lockdown began, lower than April and early May - but still alarmingly high. Take a look at the graph:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom#/media/File:COVID-19-United_Kingdom-log.svg

Flutter not a lot of point in worrying now but just think, many countries recommend shorter than 2 metres and the virus doesn't spread well outside.

DS just came round to raid the compost bin and to move some heavy pots for us. We talked about whether we should start going out and he was very much against it because we don't need to, just want to. He suggested that we start by meeting friends in their or our garden. We are lucky that we have the choice.

Another piece of good news, when I opened the credit card bill yesterday I saw that the cancelled holiday had been refunded on the day of cancellation. They had said it could take 3-4 weeks. Compared to the awful treatment by some companies we have been very fortunate.

I'm still feeling positive - will try to send it to all of you

Hello everyone, how are you all doing

Dearest Annie you are understandably nervous as you contemplate going out again. You will do it, remember what you tell us lot - small steps at a time xx

Flutterby you are feeling nervous, just as Doodle says we have all been in for such a long time and had to digest all this information that is given to us. Don't worry, you were outside and a distance between you. It will all be ok.

Nice to hear from you Nannie and all your lovely cats. Animals are such a comfort aren't they. The bring us so much pleasure.

I have been doing a little more walking down the fields with my four legged friend but today I have some jobs to catch up on so it will be a short walk.

I woke this morning at 5.45 a.m. and listened for half an hour to the birds in the trees at the back, so many of them competing with each other to be the loudest!

Glad you got your refund Nonnie what a nice surprise.

Hope you are alright Joyce, you will have been to see your lovely grandchildren I am sure.

Take care everyone, stay safe, love to all and those I have missed xx

Hi all x

Doodle I love that poem, I do have a love of poetry, this morning, whilst still in bed ! I was thinking about ‘things’, then
read Jenny Joseph’s poem ‘Warning’,
I now think ‘I will do as I choose, what is comfortable for me’.
but I won’t wear purple ? x

nanny lovely to hear from you and know all is well with your
cats, my two dogs sleep with me. I can say in all honesty -
Wales is a beautiful place to live ??????? X

flutterby you do not sound pathetic, the virus is frightening
and the media is swamping us with fear. I support the advice
from Doodle , x

hetty thank you for your post. I am not trying to be complacent about the virus as my DH is on the shielded list and we have been very very careful. However late at night when someone is anxious I was trying to be reassuring. flutterby is obviously being cautious as a rule and I certainly wouldn’t encourage anyone to flout the social distancing but I think in her case she will be fine and should not worry. Thank you for your concern.
nonnie glad to hear you sounding so much better. Glad you got your cancellation fee back. ?
lavender I love listening to the birds too. We have geese and ducks as well which make quite a lot of noise in the early morning but I love hearing them.
annie I think doing your own thing in your way and doing what is right for you is the right way to go. Wales is certainly beautiful. I think I can remember you saying you can see mountains from your window. How lovely.
Stay safe and keep well all x

Hi all. Moving day getting nearer as my friends have organised a van. Fingers crossed as I'm getting a lot anxious now. Have the best day that you can.

lavender I had a wobble, thought of the venturing out because of all the virus rules together with working on the
agoraphobia, a double dose .

Both fears can be approached in the same way really,

Agoraphobia- if I meet someone what if I feel trapped if they
want to talk.

Virus concerns - if I meet someone what if they stand closer
than the two metres.

So both bring ‘whatifferies’ , one more troubling than the
other I accept.

So yes, small steps, don’t take long steps outside our comfort
zone. How lovely to wake to bird songs. Enjoy your walk with
your four legged friend x

nonnie Great you are positive after much stress x

Warning, don’t go to IKEA

read on a thread that people were queuing from 5.00am

?

annie you remind me of DGS. If I meet someone what if they want to talk to me.

Annie, Doodle, Lavender thank you for supporting me.

Doodle I lived with it for 9 years, and the questions and comments were at times brutal, my elder granddaughter told me last week she was subjected to a verbal attack just over 2 years ago, she was only 20, I didn’t know.

Even my 3 sisters heaped on the criticism,

So I started avoiding people which led to agoraphobia .

Stand your ground Doodle x

Annie those fears that you have described so well. Lots of us feeling exactly like that at this time but you have been coping with these for a long, long, time. Oh Annie you are one in a million. God Bless you. I know the saying goes good things come to those who wait - well where are they you ask I have waited enough.
My friend once told me that there is a saying ‘you get what you need not what you want’ well I for one can’t quite believe that and you are a classic example as to why I struggle to understand that. Xx