How are things where YOU are? (in relation to the Corona Virus)

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Yesterday was our younger granddaughter's second birthday. We had a video call with her while she opened her present from us. She was so excited. Later in the day after they had dinner we were all involved in a Skype call to sing happy birthday - all the grandparents and our daughter and son in law and grandsons. It was a happy time but sad as well. 

 

Leigh

2 year old would think that was a normal celebration, with her the centre of attention. 

[Aus Traveller]

6 hours ago, possum52 said:

Yesterday was our younger granddaughter's second birthday. We had a video call with her while she opened her present from us. She was so excited. Later in the day after they had dinner we were all involved in a Skype call to sing happy birthday - all the grandparents and our daughter and son in law and grandsons. It was a happy time but sad as well. 

 

Leigh

That's beautiful.

[aussielozzie18]

One of the things I have started doing is baking.  Clearly alot of other people are madly baking too because our local big supermarkets have been out of flour for more than a week now.  Tonight I bit the bullet and drove a few suburbs over to a small IGA supermarket and managed to finally purchase some "premium" plain flour.  

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

One of the things I have started doing is baking.  Clearly alot of other people are madly baking too because our local big supermarkets have been out of flour for more than a week now.  Tonight I bit the bullet and drove a few suburbs over to a small IGA supermarket and managed to finally purchase some "premium" plain flour.  

I hope your premium plain flour makes delicious bread. I wish we hadn't given our bread maker away because we weren't using it.  Love the smell of freshly baked bread.  When I was young, I used to walk to the bakehouse to buy fresh bread, which I'd nibble at on the way home.  

[MMDown Under]

I'm amazed how we have adapted to our locked down lifestyle.  I no longer count the days, but have marked the calendar for four weeks forward mentioned by our PM.  Our local cafe makes favourite Vietnamese meals not on the takeaway menu for us on Fri and Sat nights.  I've ordered bakery items delivered free for the isolated.  We've discovered several new beaches close by.  You know the ones marked "No Through Road" with no mention of what lies beyond.  Lots more people walking past our house. 

Finally, read some magazines in the oasis I've created in my front yard - camp stretcher, table and chairs and dog bed. Today we watched a read through of an episode of Frankie and Grace, which was hilarious. Listened to Andrea Bocelli sing Amazing Grace - food for the soul.  And today's best news is my girlfriend in Sydney received the all clear from her test for the corona virus!!  She is out of isolation, signs removed from her door, masks off, etc. - scary stuff.  Meanwhile my friend in NY is on a ventilator holding her own according to her daughter, a nurse.

[Aus Traveller]

6 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

And today's best news is my girlfriend in Sydney received the all clear from her test for the corona virus!!  She is out of isolation, signs removed from her door, masks off, etc. - scary stuff.  Meanwhile my friend in NY is on a ventilator holding her own according to her daughter, a nurse.

I am glad it is good news for your friend in Sydney,🙂 but very sad the news is not so good for your New York friend.☹️

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I am glad it is good news for your friend in Sydney,🙂 but very sad the news is not so good for your New York friend.☹️

Yes I am worried for her, as she has "underlining issues".  I'm pleased the last time I was in NY, we enjoyed catching up over dinner at a Times Sq restaurant and attendance at the theatre. 

[Docker123]

some people are really climbing up the walls with these restrictions

 

 

Timeball Tower, point Gellibrand, Williamstown (Friday)

[lyndarra]

Before getting my caravan pink slip last week I renewed the insurance. Afterwards I wondered if the insurance companies should give a future discount or rebate because of the lockdown effectively negating any use of it - for some time.

[badgerbill]

Around mid March our home in Brisbane sold and the new owners requested a "3 week settlement" yep suits us...the only issue was we were now paranoid about catching "THE virus" and having to isolate thus putting the sale in jeopardy.....so.........self isolation was the order of the day for the whole 3 weeks and I am happy to announce settlement day on Apr 8 went without a hitch.  It was also the day we began our long haul drive from Brisbane to Cairns as that is where we were relocating to....

 

What a great somewhat spooky, eerie drive it was, very few trucks, cars, caravans or RV's were seen on the open road going either way over the whole 1660+ klms and we only had to overtake once in the whole trip !!!!!!    Even though we had an "allowable excuse"  I will admit we did feel somewhat uncomfortable considering the restrictions we all are living by... it did feel very much like we were fugitives on the run though.   We saw maybe 6 - 8 police cars the whole time, they weren't interested in us they were looking for speedsters and 4wd's loaded up with camping equipment, after all it was Easter....

 

As we are between properties, not tourists,  we were able to short term rent a unit up here on the Northern Beaches and I am happy to announce on Friday we bought an apartment, vacant possession... phew.... so we move in 3 weeks......it's that 3 week thing again.

 

It's been a tad stressful but wouldn't change a thing...happy to also announce I booked a cruise for us today ex Cairns for  November 2021, time to start thinking of the future....

Take care and stay safe everyone.... Shiona

[bazzaw]

Things are good here in SE Qld - we have had about 6-7 people die across the entire State from coronavirus ( but I suspect they really died from something else, noting that a 93yo and a 94yo died in an old folks home from  "coronavirus" in NSW this week!) - in the meantime this year, over 50 have died on the roads in Qld. Not sure how many have died from heart problems, cancer, etc. 

[possum52]

Partly cloudy cool day here. We went for a lovely walk before lunch. There were so many locals out walking, cycling, jogging and skateboarding. Quite a few dogs playing in the dog park. We saw a few neighbours and others we knew but it was just a quick hello and on our way. 
 

Sadly we heard of two young people taking their lives this past week. One a teenage boy whose brother plays football in the same team as our grandson and a young woman who my daughter in law knew. Unfortunately I think there will be more. 

 

Leigh

Edited April 19, 2020 by possum52

[MMDown Under]

16 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Partly cloudy cool day here. We went for a lovely walk before lunch. There were so many locals out walking, cycling, jogging and skateboarding. Quite a few dogs playing in the dog park. We saw a few neighbours and others we knew but it was just a quick hello and on our way. 
 

Sadly we heard of two young people taking their lives this past week. One a teenage boy whose brother plays football in the same team as our grandson and a young woman who my daughter in law knew. Unfortunately I think there will be more. 

 

Leigh

Always sad when young people take their lives.

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, badgerbill said:

Around mid March our home in Brisbane sold and the new owners requested a "3 week settlement" yep suits us...the only issue was we were now paranoid about catching "THE virus" and having to isolate thus putting the sale in jeopardy.....so.........self isolation was the order of the day for the whole 3 weeks and I am happy to announce settlement day on Apr 8 went without a hitch.  It was also the day we began our long haul drive from Brisbane to Cairns as that is where we were relocating to....

 

What a great somewhat spooky, eerie drive it was, very few trucks, cars, caravans or RV's were seen on the open road going either way over the whole 1660+ klms and we only had to overtake once in the whole trip !!!!!!    Even though we had an "allowable excuse"  I will admit we did feel somewhat uncomfortable considering the restrictions we all are living by... it did feel very much like we were fugitives on the run though.   We saw maybe 6 - 8 police cars the whole time, they weren't interested in us they were looking for speedsters and 4wd's loaded up with camping equipment, after all it was Easter....

 

As we are between properties, not tourists,  we were able to short term rent a unit up here on the Northern Beaches and I am happy to announce on Friday we bought an apartment, vacant possession... phew.... so we move in 3 weeks......it's that 3 week thing again.

 

It's been a tad stressful but wouldn't change a thing...happy to also announce I booked a cruise for us today ex Cairns for  November 2021, time to start thinking of the future....

Take care and stay safe everyone.... Shiona

woohoo for you guys.

[MMDown Under]

6 hours ago, badgerbill said:

Around mid March our home in Brisbane sold and the new owners requested a "3 week settlement" yep suits us...the only issue was we were now paranoid about catching "THE virus" and having to isolate thus putting the sale in jeopardy.....so.........self isolation was the order of the day for the whole 3 weeks and I am happy to announce settlement day on Apr 8 went without a hitch.  It was also the day we began our long haul drive from Brisbane to Cairns as that is where we were relocating to....

 

What a great somewhat spooky, eerie drive it was, very few trucks, cars, caravans or RV's were seen on the open road going either way over the whole 1660+ klms and we only had to overtake once in the whole trip !!!!!!    Even though we had an "allowable excuse"  I will admit we did feel somewhat uncomfortable considering the restrictions we all are living by... it did feel very much like we were fugitives on the run though.   We saw maybe 6 - 8 police cars the whole time, they weren't interested in us they were looking for speedsters and 4wd's loaded up with camping equipment, after all it was Easter....

 

As we are between properties, not tourists,  we were able to short term rent a unit up here on the Northern Beaches and I am happy to announce on Friday we bought an apartment, vacant possession... phew.... so we move in 3 weeks......it's that 3 week thing again.

 

It's been a tad stressful but wouldn't change a thing...happy to also announce I booked a cruise for us today ex Cairns for  November 2021, time to start thinking of the future....

Take care and stay safe everyone.... Shiona

Congratulations on your speedy purchase of an apartment in the tropics, Shiona.  Should be nice in winter. 

Where are you cruising in November, 2021 from Cairns?  Should be all sorted by then.

[MMDown Under]

How is everybody?  My curser on my computer got stuck for a few days, so I lost track of everyone.  My tech ability is limited to turning the computer on and off and hoping the curser will work.  

 

[badgerbill]

17 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Congratulations on your speedy purchase of an apartment in the tropics, Shiona.  Should be nice in winter. 

Where are you cruising in November, 2021 from Cairns?  Should be all sorted by then.

 

We are going to PNG.....again 😉😁🙂

[possum52]

I mentioned ANZAC Day in the Virtual Cruise thread so thought I would bring it up here. It will be a very different ANZAC Day both in Australia and New Zealand to what we are used to.  My day usually would start by attending a service at our local war memorial, then stop for a coffee on the way home. Later in the morning I would make my way into the city to see the end of the march and meet up with my brother and sister and their spouses before making our way to the MCG for the big match between Collingwood and my Bombers and meet up with other family. Rob will have attended the dawn service at the local RSL and laid a wreath on behalf of our fire brigade. 

 

On Saturday we will probably listen/watch the ABC coverage of the Dawn Service and perhaps stand outside at the end of our driveway when the last post is played. The locals who usually conduct the service at our little war memorial - a serving police officer and an army reserve member will do their usual service at 7am from their homes and we can watch it online throuh our local small radio station. No football though. 

 

It will be a strange day.

 

What will others be doing?

 

Leigh

[MMDown Under]

I see they are talking about opening up public and private operating theatres for operations.  But will the public be ready to attend hospitals yet?  I have heard that some GPs have so few patients, they are considering shutting down their offices.  The majority of their consultations were by phone.  

 

[MMDown Under]

18 minutes ago, badgerbill said:

 

We are going to PNG.....again 😉😁🙂

How exciting.  Who with?  What itinerary?

[By The Bay]

9 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I see they are talking about opening up public and private operating theatres for operations.  But will the public be ready to attend hospitals yet?  I have heard that some GPs have so few patients, they are considering shutting down their offices.  The majority of their consultations were by phone.  

 

I am keen to have my hip replacement operation. It was two before my scheduled operation that they announced a halt to elective surgery.

[MMDown Under]

19 minutes ago, possum52 said:

I mentioned ANZAC Day in the Virtual Cruise thread so thought I would bring it up here. It will be a very different ANZAC Day both in Australia and New Zealand to what we are used to.  My day usually would start by attending a service at our local war memorial, then stop for a coffee on the way home. Later in the morning I would make my way into the city to see the end of the march and meet up with my brother and sister and their spouses before making our way to the MCG for the big match between Collingwood and my Bombers and meet up with other family. Rob will have attended the dawn service at the local RSL and laid a wreath on behalf of our fire brigade. 

 

On Saturday we will probably listen/watch the ABC coverage of the Dawn Service and perhaps stand outside at the end of our driveway when the last post is played. The locals who usually conduct the service at our little war memorial - a serving police officer and an army reserve member will do their usual service at 7am from their homes and we can watch it online throuh our local small radio station. No football though. 

 

It will be a strange day.

 

What will others be doing?

 

Leigh

I think it is wonderful that no matter how small a place in Australia, there will be an ANZAC Day service of some kind.  I always read the names on the war memorials in every town we visit in Australia. I'm always saddened to see so many names from the one family.

I'll be remembering at Dawn at end of my drive, listening on the radio.  Then I'll watch whatever ABC TV shows in Canberra.  

My usual ANZAC Day would be the dawn service at one of the Gold Coast beaches followed by Gunfire Breakfast at RSL. Then home to watch ABC coverage in Canberra, Turkey and France.  My grandmother lost a young husband and a young brother in WWI, so ANZAC Day remains a sacred day in our family.  No sport, except 2up at the RSL.

When we were children, we used to go to the big ANZAC Day Parade in the City. 

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

I am keen to have my hip replacement operation. It was two before my scheduled operation that they announced a halt to elective surgery.

I hope your operation gets scheduled soon as it will relieve your pain. 

[By The Bay]

10 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I hope your operation gets scheduled soon as it will relieve your pain. 

Thanks.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

A piece of interesting trivia I came across today from wordsmith , Susie Dent....

 

Quarantine - derived from Italian word quarantino . 
Used in Venice around 1300 when the black plague was around , and it required ships coming with trade to  stay at one of the Island off Venice for 40 days before coming into the City .