Friday, April 24, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #27 Lockdown Day #28

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #27
Lockdown Day #28
Good Morning and Happy Friday everyone! This morning they had a singalong on our local radio station nova.ie it was pretty awesome! So if you live outside of Ireland and want to listen to a radio station with good music stream it live from www.nova.ie
 normally from about 10 a.m. Irish time before that they talk too much .... lol



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Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #25 Lockdown Day #26

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #25
Lockdown Day #26
Good Morning all you beautiful people.
Only positive news from now on, nothing about the virus - lets cleanse the soul and concentrate on all things good!
Happy Wednesday...
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Monday, April 20, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #23 Lockdown Day #24

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #23
Lockdown Day #24

Happy Monday! New day, new week and possibly new inspiration 😁, I guess we just have to remember that this too shall pass, although life as we knew it might never be the same again we will welcome the day when we can visit each other and spend time together physically.

I was going to have a rant about the 100 kids having a street party last night and not social distancing, but then I guess there always has to be someone who is going to go against the rules, and if you are going to allow alcohol to be sold during lockdown this is going to happen.

On that note I have been having a whiskey every evening and found that my blood sugar in the morning is so much better, however I forgot to check it this morning, oh dear

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Sunday, April 19, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #23

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #23
Image may contain: textI have nothing, sorry everyday just seems to roll into the next lately and I am sure everyone else feels that way, I don't seem able to get motivated. I know we should embrace this time we have to do the things we don't get opportunities to do, maybe I need some divine inspiration.
Take Care and enjoy your Sunday!

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #22

Coronavirus curing the spread - Lockdown Day #22

Another day in Lockdown, today is typical Irish weather, overcast and grey - so me thinks it might be a day for a movie ... really exciting!

I can't wait for the day when I can go down to the seaside and take a walk on the promenade, hopefully that will happen soon enough.

Take Care and enjoy your Saturday 💓
cosy night in? #lazy #saturday #movies… – xle_ox Fashion Blog

Friday, April 17, 2020

Coronavirus: drone footage shows empty streets of Dublin in lockdown

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #22 Lockdown Day #21

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #22
Lockdown Day #21

I sometimes feel that the world is just crazy, Keelings flying in fruit pickers from Bulgaria on a chartered flight when we are in Lockdown, apparently no social distancing either as there were 168 on the Ryanair flight!

I think people are suddenly becoming too complacent with the Virus, I certainly don't want to get it.

They interviewed a woman in her car in the US last night and all she complained about was her roots are grey and she can't get to the hairdresser and they need to end the Lockdown, well lady it won't matter what your roots look like when you are dead! Honestly?

On that Somber not - Happy Friday Everyone, it's been a really short week for me. Take care and #staysafe 

Lets dream about the next best holiday!

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Thursday, April 16, 2020

You've Gotta Love Millennials - Micah Tyler

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #21 Lockdown Day #20

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #21
Lockdown Day #20
Happy Thursday everyone, while we can't make too may new memories at the moment, we can reminisce on all our old memories, we spent most of Easter going through old photographs and remembering special holidays and moments we have had.
Lets hope this will all soon be over so we can make new memories, visit new places and hug the people we miss so much ♥♥ - Sending our thoughts and love to everybody today!
Happy Birthday to a lot of Special people out there, who would have known today would be such a popular day for birthdays, Happy Birthday Dad Rowe, Ann Pienaar, LarissaFunekaMandy and of course Trevor and Kirstin's twins who turned 10 today! Hope you all have a lovely day.
Sharing a beautiful picture that Emily put on her Facebook page, taken in Disneyland Paris in 2015 with her cousin Brandon. Thanks for sharing the photo Bran.

Image may contain: one or more people, crowd and outdoorImage may contain: possible text that says 'GOOD MORNING! WISHING YOU A DAY FULL OF SUNNY SMILES AND HAPPY THOUGHTS!'

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

THE COVID CHRONICLES: LESSONS FROM A LOCKDOWN - By Andrew Pike

So Andrew Pike, wrote a book about the Oceanos which was so factual, I have read a lot of his posts now on Facebook and I think this one is so appropriate for the time we are in and so true.

THE COVID CHRONICLES: LESSONS FROM A LOCKDOWN
Image may contain: one or more people and people standingAs this will be my 21st and last scheduled Chronicle, I thought I might share some lessons learned. Many are trite, very few (if any) are especially profound, but I'll share them in any event for posterity.
1. I have discovered that I have more than I need - clothes, food, toilet paper, whatever else I have used this lockdown. Time to simplify.
2. ‘Use by’ dates on some foods are just indicative to the nearest 5 years.
3. I’ve discovered how happy I am not driving to and from the office. And I get a bonus hour to myself each day.
4. There’s much to be said for working from home.
5. I’ve never felt safer from illness in my life.
6. It’s possible to stay fit and trim without leaving home. (I might just about be ready for my annual Discovery check-up.)
7. You spend way less money if you never leave the house and no one is delivering non-essential goods.
8. It’s probably a good idea for men at least to start the lockdown with a short haircut and for everyone to start with their hair as its natural color. (Man, can you just imagine how busy those hairdressers are going to be when C-19 is no longer a thing?!)
9. There’s a lot to do around the house.
10. It’s exciting to switch off the computer at the end of the day and find yourself at home.
11. There’s not much that I need an office for.
12. I could probably spend the rest of my life doing challenges, watching game drives, listening to concerts, learning and doing other cool things on line without getting bored. Or I could just read a good book. Either way works for me.
13. There’s inherent good and kindness in most people (but a lockdown often activates the stupid gene as well).
14. A lockdown is an incredible way to test the strength of close relationships.
15. You don't need to be physically with people to connect and engage with them.
16. Leadership is everything for the success of a lockdown, but then again, so is compliance.
17. A lockdown is an amazing opportunity to rethink, repurpose, recalibrate and transform your life and each moment of your life.
18. The ease with which you move through a lockdown is directly proportional to the purpose, gratitude, connection and optimism with which you live your life.
19. There is no single profound truth which is unique to a lockdown.
20. Lockdown = Life. How you play this lockdown will mirror how you play Life itself.
Final CSSA awards:
CoMs for MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION to everyone who has provided entertainment, opportunities for growth and distractions during this lockdown.
CoMs for CREATIVITY to everyone who has said 'Yes' to this time and found ways to transform your thinking and behaviour.
CoMs for humour to everyone who made me and others laugh and helped cheer up the world.
CoMs for KINDNESS, GENEROSITY and THOUGHTFULNESS to:
* Everyone in the frontline of the fight against COVID-19: doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, counselors, essential service providers in the municipal sector, government, food parcel providers, transporters, couriers and whoever else I may have forgotten.
KazaletteJeśkaStefan and Joanne, for all that you bring to the world.
I have already awarded a lifetime BRAIN-FART CoM to Donald Trump, so what more can he be awarded? He has once again excelled himself by cutting off funding to the World Health Organisation, essentially blaming them for the 635,000 infections and more than 30,000 deaths in America, when he can personally claim responsibility for the bulk of those. Perhaps a Super Lifetime CoM in this category?
Thank you all for reading my Chronicles and for being willing to play in this space.
I wish everyone well for Lockdown: Phase 2, which starts at midnight tonight.

Are we still going to Greece?

While we were in South Africa in July last year, we discussed with my BFF about a trip to Greece in 2020.   So in October I found really good priced tickets for June and booked them with Aegean Air.  The plan was to meet Gwen, John and her mom in Athens - hire a mini bus and travel to Delphi, and then over to Lefkada and from Lefkada take a ferry over to Kefalonia.

The whole trip was going to be about 16 days - arriving in Athens on Saturday 13th of June and then leaving on the 29th of June.   Hotels, Flights and Car was all booked, Gwen had organized and booked her flights from South Africa, we were all excited about the trip, and then Corona happened 😢 - we all hoped it would be over by April.

However with the situation, it was never going to be that easy!  You just have to look at the Statistics from the Spanish flue in 1918.

Anyway Aegean Air sent out an email to say you could re-book your flights for anytime up to the end of March 2021 at no extra charge, but how do we know when the lock down will be over, and of course we have to take school holidays into account???

To try and get hold of the Airline was another nightmare, so eventually I just re-booked for September over the Jewish Holiday period, but trying to find accommodation is a nightmare for then!  And going anytime after September to March is not worth it as the weather will be cold, so lets see what happens, but at the moment I guess we won't be travelling anywhere this year. 

Lefkada Greece - Lefkada Travel guide | Greeka.com

Coronavirus curbing the spread Lockdown Day #19

Coronavirus curbing the spread
Lockdown Day #19
Words fail me when people put up stupid stuff about the Virus, like how many people die of other illnesses on a daily basis etc. At no one time have there been so many people that need oxygen, or ICU at the same time. Sure probably more people die of other illnesses but let's say there are 1000 people with other illnesses how many would need oxygen and ICU treatment at the same time?
Okay had my rant for the day - Happy Wednesday everyone! At least we weren't on the Titanic as this would have been our final moments, thank you Robin and Moss again for rescuing us from our own "Titanic" at least we did not hit an iceberg  
Image may contain: possible text that says 'Happy Wednesday! Have a Bright and Beautiful Day!'Image may contain: possible text that says 'And the world came together as the people stayed apart.'

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

#Stay at Home

So yesterday Emily and I went out to do a big grocery shop, I gave up on Easter Friday as the queues to get into the shops were a joke, you see with Social Distancing you now have to queue up to go into the supermarket as they only let so many people in at a time, which doesn't actually work!  If they had a one way system maybe it would work. 

So we got what we needed at Lidl and then I wanted to go to Marks and Spencer in Dundrum, on the way there wasn't there a guarda roadblock.


Image may contain: car and outdoor He gave me such a hard time saying that I am more than 2km's from home, but that rule was only for exercising and not for groceries. So I though I should just check this out today, the guard was just throwing his weight around, seriously!   Luckily he let me carry on with my journey.

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/protect-yourself.html

Stay at home

Everyone needs to stay at home to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
You should only leave your home to: 
  • shop for essential food and household goods 
  • attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products
  • care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits
  • exercise outdoors - within 2 kilometres of your home and only with people from your own household - keeping 2 metres between you and other people
  • travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice social distancing

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #18

Coronavirus Curbing the spread -
Lockdown Day #18

No Workday work today, have a list of things to do if only I can get motivated.
So what happened in history today:
On April 14th 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth although he only died on April 15th
1912 - The passenger liner Titanic--deemed unsinkable--strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and begins to sink. The ship will go under the next day with a loss of 1,500 lives.
19** Dianne Kelly is born - Happy Birthday Dianne
Happy Tuesday everyone, remember #socialdistancingsaveslivesImage may contain: 1 personImage may contain: outdoorImage may contain: textImage may contain: possible text that says '@ingraplics.com have a happy tuesday #jussayin'

Monday, April 13, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #17

Coronavirus Curbing the spread -
Lockdown Day #17
Wow what a difference in the weather from Saturday when it was 20 degrees and sunny, today is real feel 0, but it's supposed to get better as the week goes along.
Nova.ie is having a "Stay at home" Music festival on the radio and you can send in old ticket stubs and ask them to play a song, we have many many many old ticket stub, but some of the stuff I came across while tidying up and throwing out, was My program and ticket stub from the Tina Turner concert in 2009, she turned 70 to that year, wow I hope I can get a body like hers when I am 70.
I also came across my program from the "Big Birthday Concert" at Ellis park in Johannesburg, from the 14th of October, 1989! - Wow now that is a blast from the past, remember Marcalex, Mango Groove, Brenda Fassie, and many others! A real nostalgic moment.
Enjoy your Easter Monday and take care   No photo description available.
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Sunday, April 12, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #16

Coronavirus Curbing the spread -
Lockdown Day #16
Was just wondering what the most used words of 2020 will be - top of my list that I have heard are:
unprecedented
lockdown
covid-19
coronavirus
I think the biggest consolation in South Africa this Easter week-end would probably be the number of Road traffic accidents and the number of people killed on the roads, it must be the lowest in about 40 years, maybe someone could tell me.
Happy Easter Everyone! Having my hot-cross bun and coffee for breakfast this morning, hope you all have a wonderful day!

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Saturday, April 11, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - Lockdown Day #15

Coronavirus Curbing the spread -
Lockdown Day #15
Good Morning, I guess in the coronavirus era you need to be organized, I thought I would be able to get a leg or 1/2 leg of lamb no problem, no such luck - my normal butcher who is selling lamb is charging €60 for a leg, so I guess we will just have lamb another time!

I thought I would be up early to get a quick shop done, but so did so many other people, so I travelled beyond the 2KM allowed limit, probably about 7 or 8 and managed to get what I needed without a problem, most of it anyway.

Today is a beautiful sunny day, and as the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines  so off to find some chores - Enjoy your day!

Thought I would post some pictures from Easters gone by -
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Friday, April 10, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day - Not today! 😁🐥🦋🌞 Lockdown Day #14

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day - Not today! 😁🐥🦋🌞
Lockdown Day #14
Happy Easter Friday Everyone, what to do today, lockdown has been extended for so many countries, which is not surprising - there was no way they could just go back to normal with cases still on the rise.
We are very lucky in Ireland that we can still order take outs to be delivered, in a lot of other countries this is not the case and as mentioned before the sale of Alcohol and cigarettes is forbidden in South Africa, which seems weird, they could just limit the sale instead of banning it, but I guess they have their reasons.
Yesterday evening we had our team "happy hour" via zoom and we played 30 seconds, this was the 2nd time, we did this last 2 weeks ago as well! We all sat in front of our videos having a drink and guessing what the word was! I think i could get used to team events like this.
Sending out Virtual hugs to all my friends and family and remember we are just on the end of the line if you want to chat, whatsapp, skype, zoom or any other means of technology you might use!

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Thursday, April 9, 2020

M*A*S*H* - Coronavirus

https://www.facebook.com/rosemarie.kemp/videos/10157665059314702/?t=4

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #20 Lockdown Day #13

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #20
Lockdown Day #13
Happy Maundy Thursday, I had to Google the exact meaning, I just remember it was the day of the "Last Supper", and of course the day before "Good Friday" and the long week-end, for me it's extra long as I have taken Tuesday and Wednesday off - I think I might re-visit all the beautiful countries we have visited in the last 25 years!
No photo description available.I'll try and do my daily post but don't hold your breath, hope you all have a lovely Easter Week-end, take care #stayhome #staysafe 🌹🦋🐣🐥🐰🌞❤️

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #19 Lockdown Day #12

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #19
Lockdown Day #12
Happy Passover to all my Jewish friends and family - I was informed last night that as part of the Pesach you are supposed to drink 4 glasses of wine this evening when the Passover starts, however due to no selling of alcohol in South Africa during lockdown there is a slim chance that not everyone will be able to do this.
Yet another day in Lockdown but only 2 days to Easter and all the children in Ireland have been told that the Easter bunny is an essential worker, so he will be delivering Easter Eggs. (lol ... seriously)!
Anyway happy Humpday till tomorrow.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #18 Lockdown Day #11

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #18 Lockdown Day #11

Dreaming of all those exotic destinations that we can't see for awhile, it's a beautiful day outside today, blue skies sunshine all the things you want except when you have to work, but we will take it! Happy Tuesday - Enjoy your day!

Halkidiki: Mum's the word in my Greek idyll

Monday, April 6, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #17 Lockdown Day #10

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #17
Lockdown Day #10
Well Happy Monday Everyone, I know South Africans are celebrating because they are past the half way mark of their Lockdown, however we just don't know if this will be extended or not. Anyway the next 2 weeks are 4 day weeks due to Easter, and for some of even shorter, so something good to look forward to.
Also wanted to give a shout out to our Prime Minister (Tsaoiseach) who has re-registered as a doctor so that he can help out with the pandemic - kudos Leo!   


Friday, April 3, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #16 Lockdown Day #7

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #16
Lockdown Day #7
I know for most people each day just seems to roll into the next, so I guess one consolation about being able to work from home is that you know what day it is and when it is Friday, so happy Friday everyone.
While the world falls apart around us, economically speaking and this virus grips us, I guess there is a silver lining that the earth is healing itself. Pollution has dropped, no cars, no planes etc etc, so is it really the cows that are creating all the methane we ask?
For those of you who have never been to a Game Park or as they say in America a "Safari Park" here is a link to the Kruger national park and a lot of videos ... happy watching.


Thursday, April 2, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #15 Lockdown Day #6




Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #15
Lockdown Day #6
Good Morning on this Greyish overcast day, the only reason I don't mind this weather is because I have to work, and sitting at the dining room table in the Extension, if the sun comes up especially later in the afternoon, it makes it very difficult to see my screen.
I hadn't thought about what to say this morning, except it's my 2nd birthday in isolation, at least this one I am at home!
Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages, on Facebook, Messenger and Whatsapp you guys Rock! 
If I don't get to send you a personal Thank you it's because Facebook is not very intuitive / user friendly, but at least it's a way of staying in contact with everyone!

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #14 Lockdown Day #5

Coronavirus Curbing the spread - WFH Day #14
Lockdown Day #5

Happy April everyone and happy /birthday Rob Levy, today I want to shout out to all those who are looking after us at this time, those that get up every morning and risk their lives with this virus - the people in the supermarkets, petrol stations, the Garda, the doctors, the nurses and even the News crew and politicians who are out their each day! Our Health Minister Simon Harris who is on TV every night and looks like he hasn't slept in days! We salute you all - Thank you!