26 Jun Unlucky… or Karma?
P-i-C and I recently returned from a week in New South Wales, staying with family. The day we arrived in Sydney there were COVID cases reported. By the time we left, we knew it was the new Delta strain and hotspots were springing up all over the city like fleas on a dog. Fortunately, we were on the northern outskirts of Sydney most of the time, and about four hundred kilometres north for a couple of days, where they have only had one case in total. We weren’t surprised to learn, after applying for our G2G pass to re-enter Western Australia, our home state, that we would have to have a COVID test and stay isolated until we received a negative result. It’s the only time I, as a teacher, like receiving a negative! What we hadn’t banked on, and the reason why I’m not a gambler is the fact that mid-flight the Premier handed down a home quarantine for fourteen days for all returning travellers.
We’ve had two lockdowns in WA this year: one for five days and the other a three-day stint… short and sharp. I’m not getting into a political argument over whether they were right or wrong, but they did the trick. No spread of infection for us. Quarantine, however, is a whole new ball game and I’m not sure I like the rules! Like our seven-year-old granddaughter when we play her at UNO, we could bend them, or even outright cheat. The consequences, though, are pretty harsh.
To throw a cat amongst the pigeons, we had sold our house prior to our holiday, and settlement was supposed to have been ten days after our return. It would have been just enough time to complete the necessary last-minute packing, selling of extraneous furniture, and a quick mop of the floors as we close the front door for the last time. Then we would go down to a rented holiday home with the three grandkids for a week of R&R. Which, for us, means rest and relaxation rather than Rock ‘n’ Roll. The only thing that does that nowadays are our joints; especially with the freezing morning temperatures we’ve experienced lately!
Well, those plans have been thrown out the window. Settlement has had to be put off by a week. And we’ve had to learn how to Docu-sign as we can no longer go in person to the real estate agent and settlement agency to sign the mountains of paperwork required to hand over our home to the new owners. That was a fun new skill to learn… by yourself, without any help. Somehow, we managed it. The signatures look nothing like our real ones but we really didn’t want to play around, using trial and error, so we accepted the first one offered to each of us. The signatures look a little like something one of our grandchildren would scrawl; childlike and loopy. But they were legible… something my P-i-C’s is usually not!
In addition, for our sins at having to cancel the holiday with the grandkids, we get to babysit them at their house for the other two weeks of their school holidays. The additional part of the deal for staying there, as we can’t move into our new property yet, is to do all the cooking, cleaning, and washing. I draw the line at ironing unless it is something that is desperately needed at a moment’s notice! I think we can manage that, especially after two weeks of quarantine with no washing machine or dryer and not being able to go to the laundromat. On the positive side, for the next few weeks we can live in our PJs and wear them several days before washing. No one will notice that we smell like the old socks we’re wearing!
Seriously, quarantine is a different head-f*$k to a lockdown. During the lockdowns, I had absolutely no inclination to leave the house. In fact, I’ve often stayed home when I’ve been engrossed in my writing and not left the house for over a week. Now, I am like a prisoner planning the great escape. And eat! I’m rapidly working my way through the pantry and fridge. I can’t seem to get enough, even stuffing my face with things I don’t usually fancy. I’ll know I’m in serious trouble when I start eating Milo from the tin. I hate that stuff with a passion.
So, send coffee. And I mean the proper stuff. I need my skinny flat white; the withdrawal is kicking in already. Chocolate would also be gratefully appreciated. Lots of it. Please, don’t forget the potato chips… Samboy Atomic Tomato is my favourite. If not, sea salt flavour will suffice. Anything in my time of need. Lollies would also go down a treat. The jelly ones like Snakes and Fruit Jubes. P-i-C prefers Pineapple Chunks… though my need is greater, so source mine first! You’ll be helping him in the long run by stopping me from strangling him, with ‘kindness’ of course!
Three days down… eleven to go. O. M. G.
No Comments