It's an absolute blizzard today and it's still snowing, the phone rang at 9.30am it was Dave and Anne asking if we needed anything, so kind of you but no thanks, you would do it for us Anne replies.  So my walk is out and sitting around is the next best option at least it looks pretty out the window.  Faye has received her calming bath foam and says she will try it tonight to see if it stops her weird and stupid dreams, it's so hard after 10 months to still be housebound, home schooling and basically given no choice.  Lisa has managed to backheel her second job and is now angling for two half days off to be with Harry, I'm pleased she stuck to her guns as I don't like her crying in frustration and loneliness, it's not good.  So I'm off out into the garage to drag the clothes out the drier, they've hung there for three days and have just frozen to the drying rack.  I've no idea if my bulbs are peeking through in the garden as it's covered in snow, the bird bath is so full of snow the birds are perched on the top like the Princess and the pea fairy tale, at least they have food, oh by the way the rat has gone, I think my spare Norman has got rid of him.  Take care all of you, love Carol x 

Well I might as well live at the North Pole as it was minus 9 degrees last night so this morning there is about a foot of frozen snow on my car, nothing will clear it and the bushes have attached themselves to the bonnet.  Maureen's friend who is not the best driver decided to visit and ended up skewed across the road two foot behind my car, have you got a snow shovel she asks!  I was quite mad as not only should she not be at Maureen's but she had nearly hit my car.  So my spare Norman came out, used a metal shovel, put Maureen in the driver's seat and pushed it away, I'll tell you how bad a driver she is, every time she reversed out of Maureen's drive she landed on Norman's lawn, so he put a boulder on the man hole and she reversed onto it leaving her car balanced precariously on two wheels!!  Ann is not well but she has been going out when she should be resting, so I gave her a telling off!  It's only 3 weeks since her surgery so not good.  Hubby has slept the afternoon away more from boredom than anything else.  Take care all of you. Love Carol 

Dear Carol and Friends,

A funny couple of days I've had.  I thought I was rostered on this weekend at Anam Cara, but silly me misread the roster, and it is next weekend I'm rostered on.  So after saying I couldn't help with the Bunnings BBQ I was there helping.  It was quite hot but felt even hotter as we were under a tent, but it is great being out there doing something.  Our Rotary meetings start up this week, on Wednesday rather than our usual Tuesday as the RSL aren't serving meals Monday's or Tuesday's yet.  People are still being cautious, and are still a long way from pre COVID behaviours.  I'm hoping a dear friend doesn't have bowel cancer.  She was going to hospital today in preparation for the test tomorrow.  She doesn't react well to the mixture you need to take, hence why she is in hospital for it.  Her husband is lovely but doesn't have any idea how this will affect them all.  He seems to think even if she has cancer, you treat it, she gets better, no big deal.  He is in so many ways like Neil was.  I really feel for them.  They still have their youngest (adult) disabled son at home, who will be devastated.  Mum (Bev) does so much for him.  She has already asked me if it's ok for her to talk to me about what she is going through.  I of course said she could anytime.

Nick was going to get on the roof to remove the Christmas lights this weekend but as it's mid 30's, just a tad too hot to be on the roof doing that so will have to wait a bit longer.  It's really hard to inmagine that it was -9 overnight in the UK.  Maureen's friend definitely shouldn't be driving in those conditions.  So lucky your spare Norman was able to help getting her back on the road.

I bought a lipstick the other day. although not entirely sure why, we still have to wear a mask if we visit anyone or go shopping.  At least with your eye shadow people can see it.
My mobile phone has an app on it that logs how many steps you've done, mind you I really don't use it, but for the boys birthday last weekend at the park, it logged that I did 3000 plus steps.  I should probably carry it more often and get an idea how many steps I actually do,  I've got no iidea if I do anywhere near what we are supposed to.

Billy, Hope both your and Brenda's appointments go well.  Does seem strange that your appointment is face to face, although I'm sure all precautions would be taken.

Not much happening here, Rotary meeting on Wednesday, and I'll watch Eli Wednesday too.

Take care, stay out of the cold, love to all.  Sue xx

Dear Sue, it's defrosted a little but I've had to shovel a foot of frozen snow around my car you don't realise how much it weighs until you do it at least I worked a sweat up.  How I wish we could see friends, have a laugh, a meal and a drink, we really are in for a long journey as at the moment 1,000 people a day are dying here.  I sent letters last Tuesday by first class mail, they still have not arrived, the flowers sent to Lisa did not arrive, I e mailed them and apparently they are going via royal mail, I messaged back that they would probably be dead by the time they arrived, what a waste of money.  Ann has not been well and starts chemotherapy next Friday but she has not taken it easy and needs to rein it back in.  So many people think you have treatment and that's it, you are right they don't know.  Let's hope she is OK and that all goes well Sue.  Once again Mary has totally ignored me and I'm hurt that she doesn't even call for a chat, it's always me, I will be rethinking this relationship when we come out of lockdown as so many other friends have kept in touch.  Norman has accepted that we will be in this situation for months and has today been on his bike in the garage today, he says he needs to do it each day, I agreed with him.  Norman is having left over beef curry for tea and David has gone shopping for me today, I did laugh though, I asked for a pan au raisin, I ended up with a chocolate croissant, bless him.  Sarah is back tomorrow so some help, if it's better I'll have a walk.  Take care, Carol x 

The snow has nearly gone so I managed a walk, I'm sure there is an experiment going on, fatten us oldies up by keeping us home (hubby got his fifth letter today, Stay home etc.) then when they run out of food for the young ones, bam there we all are, like Christmas turkeys!!  Anyway to make sure I bought him a large bar of chocolate and he's munched that whilst watching the blue *** and Robins eating the fresh bird seed I've just put out.  The day is truly beautiful the sky is pure blue and the sun is bright, my hyacinths in the conservatory love the cold and have grown so large they have fallen over.  So Faye started her new job yesterday after a horrendous Sunday, after throwing a glass of water over the chrome book she went for a walk to calm down, when she got back she decided to go through the garage into the kitchen, something had fallen on the floor so she threw it back on the shelf and a tin of green emulsion fell off, the lid came off and she was cuvered, Gordy had locked the door so she had to walk through the paint to hammer on the front door which was also locked, eveyone had their ear phones on so no one came!!  Eventually Gordy came, stood in all the paint then walked in the kitchen to get a cloth traipsing it all over.  Then the toilet downstairs started over filling so when they found the stop *** it was under the stairs in the cupboard boxed in!  After breaking into it, it then turned into a nightmare as someone had wrapped tons of insulation around it all which then filled three carrier bags, a plumber was coming today, but her first day went well.  Lisa has just sent me a before and after photo of Zippy, he's been in a doggy parlour for two hours being groomed, can you spot the difference she asks as he hardly looks any different, £35 in total, how come dogs can be pampered but we have to all look like yetis.  Don't laugh, a parcel arrived yesterday. What have you been buying I ask hubby, some hairspray for men he replied, it's called Bristow hairspray for men, natural hold, he'd been ages on the internet looking at what would be best for keeping his hair in shape,  I'm not sure what the difference is as that's what I use and mine doesn't say "for women". Never mind it kept him busy for a couple of hours.  See you tomorrow, love Carol x 

Dear carol,sue and friends.

My appointment was chaos neighbor took me no problems , went to proper place ok found booking in machine not working so back to main entrance to book in then back again sat waiting 10 minutes got a phone call from specialist saying I shouldn't be there it was phone consultation but with me being there he'll being me a blood form and I can get it done now went there no one waiting thought good went in satdown vampire looks at form asks where I've come from then tells me to wait outside for 20mins my breathing isn't very good, anyway get it done.    Go to parking meter to play do regestration everything okay only£1 put money in comes out again try another coin and out again I look at screen its now£2 after swearing for a bit Go to another entrance to another machine hurrah so walk back to neighbor,and home ,thank them and offer to pay won't take anything.    Walk in house sit down and fall asleep been asleep neatly all time since.feeling slightly brighter this morning so hopefully getting back to normal (well new normal).

Love to all take care.

Billy XXX

Dear Billy, everything is a mess re hospital visits, it's traumatic and the pandemic is used as the reason constantly.  I saw the pictures of elderly people waiting for their vaccination outside, everyone was saying this is atrocious, old people will get ill, they have no clue as this has been pretty much what we've endured for months now.  One of our friends was rushed into hospital last night, he'd had a covid test but was clear so no one knew why his breathing was bad, I've just been told he's got pneumonia and is in the same hospital as Peter was, he who had no covid symptoms, caught it in hospital and died, poor Isabella can't visit him and like us he's in his seventies but plays golf, keeps fit so I'm keeping my hopes up.  I was already to go walking this morning but it started snowing so I chickened out!  I decided to knit baby Phoebe a cardigan but the pattern wasn't working out, after three attempts at the same row I added it up and there were ten stitches missing, baffled by my mathematics I rechecked and I was following the wrong size, so it's now unravelled and ready to go again but the moment is lost and its cold so my knitting needles keep getting caught in the scarf wrapped round my neck, hubby just laughs at me but I am sick of just sitting around.  Lisa's flowers finally arrived, having ordered them a week ago they should have been there Saturday, they didn't arrive, I messaged the company, back comes the reply that Royal mail were delivering them, I sent a message back saying, let's hope they're not dead when they arrive!  So let's hope Billy that you get some results back soon.  Love Carol x 

Another blizzard I felt like staying in bed but being the only person that can make tea without spilling it everywhere I got up!  David rang and got me some food, Anne has had chemo cancelled due to a runny nose but I said to hubby she is so scared I think she knew if she said she was sniffing they would cancel.  Although our neighbour had four covid tests, all negative, even in the ambulance on the way to the hospital he has now been diagnosed with covid pneumonia and is on the covid ward, poor Isabella, it's Peters funeral tomorrow from. Heighington village, Margaret rang to say they will be watching it from the roads but I'm staying home safe.  I'll call Val next week as that is when you need friends more.  So obviously not much happening here apart from bad news.  Take care, Carol x 

Freezing cold but beautiful, minus 12 degrees last night but I slept well, its as if I'm hibernating.  So once again hubby has phantom pain so not good as he had slept badly and he has a cough, I'm hoping it's the cold and nothing else. So it's Ella's 8th birthday and they face time us, light the candles and we all sing happy birthday, she looked so pretty in her pink dress with silver stars and a little bolero cardigan, so we saw all the presents, lots of unicorn presents, still popular apparently, they all said they miss us so much and I struggled not to cry.  I'm sat now with a white wine spritzer and a thick cardigan on to keep warm.  Gordy asked if we'd had our vaccination yet, no I'm far too young I tell him, so he laughs.  Well the weekend has come round again.  See you soon x

We still have lots of snow but it's thawing.  So I've been doing some weights in my front room but it's so boring!  Lisa is going to face time so a happy Harry to see.  I've just watched a programme about the difference between men and women during the covid crisis, apparently 60% more men are dying than women, being more ill and not recovering as well, so they have decided to see why.  I'm so pleased it's only taken a pandemic to realise that men and women react differently, we're different sexes after all!!  So we women have two X chromosomes and the Y in men doesn't give out as many good receptors as us, that's why we are basically brilliant.  Hubby just nodded and said, we'll of course you are, especially you, I think he was being sarcastic in a humerous fashion.  He's going on his static bike, it's so cold in the garage but he refuses to not go in there.  I made him put a vest on today, I don't like vests, he moaned, they make me feel uncomfortable and not much warmer, oh for Gods sake just try it I say in exasperation.  Guess what?  He's much warmer and I was right.  Who would have thought that.  My new book is very good, Barbara Erskine is the author, if you fancy a good story look her up on Amazon.  Its so nice to snuggle up with a hot water bottle and a good book, bliss on a cold night.  Take care all.  Carol xx