For any reader of the articles in ‘We’re all in this together’, you will know that Catherine has been regularly contributing. The theme, throughout her pieces, is the sense of isolation, the importance of a routine in our daily lives, the importance of things like meals and food, the people we miss, pets and those glimmers of joy from the most unexpected of things. A brief glimpse over a four day period confirms all this (and we know we face several more weeks of it). Cats play a significant role in giving structure to Catherine’s day, hence this is the tea towel I chose for today:
“2 April 2020: 2 pm
Really out of sorts today and I had the shakes. I had got up at 6.10 a.m to re-put the food bin out for collection; I decided to feed the cats as they were hovering. Made a cup of tea, then I went back to bed for two hours: Big Mistake. My ‘system’ had gone haywire. Breakfast late, I did the cat trays late and washed the the shower mat. That is all I’ve done.
2 April 2020: 4.30 pm
Still not done much, had a sandwich, fed Tilly, Tinker and Blackie. I can’t think what to have for dinner with everything being late. Barbara texted me: I had gone ‘viral’ again. That certainly bucked me up no end.
I went up market with my dinner tonight. I did cauliflower rice, trial and error but very nice. My stomach wouldn’t be able to stand it every week, it was churning all evening. At 8 pm, I did my clapping and ringing a bell: shouting for NHS, Amanda, dustbin and food bin men, post people and Fedex. Back to my nightly ritual, combing Tilly next to Bruce so he can see I’m doing it properly. Early night tonight!
3 April 2020: 2.55 pm
Life back to normal, up at 7 am, fed all cats, breakfast, shower. Amanda called, already working on her computer. I’m back to the ‘Tilly Ritual’ of combing and doing Tinker as well, posted my letter, came home, phoned Brian (brother-in-law). I made him laugh so he was happy. I told Tilly and Tinker I was going to hoover, so they scattered to the corners of the living room, looking fearful. Did upstairs, I found a cobweb that was knitted from the window to the wall! Doing downstairs tomorrow. My lawn is overtaking my feet and ankles. My mower broke but I have some long handled shears and I’ve started cutting it, taking my time, as the ground is very uneven. Will give me something to do over the weekend.
4 April 2020: 7.45 am
Phone call from Amanda, saying she’s on her way with a food box, cat food and garden rake. Different vegetables this time: patty pans, aubergines, peppers, fruit, orange juice, lager, cider, fizzy lemonade and steak for Sunday dinner. Aren’t I lucky? In all this excitement, instead of putting milk on my cereal, I poured it down the sink. Had to start again. I do miss the Saturday Mail for my favourite crosswords and I know Barbara misses my texts asking for some of the answers! Today Amanda mentioned the hair I have on my chin, how long will it be before Amanda is able to get the tweezers on it; she’s dangerous with them. I said I will get Bruce’s razor, do it myself!
5 April 2020: 10 am
Today was superb. I went for a ‘walk’ with Amanda. Well, she walked and I chatted to her on the phone from home. I managed to talk non-stop for 40 minutes. Is that a record? I had a lovely steak dinner and two glasses of wine. I was going to carry on cutting my lawn with my long-handled shears but I thought better of it, as I was probably under the influence of alcohol. I was about to go for a nap when Lindy phoned to say she was outside. She had bought the Sunday Mail with a general knowledge quiz. She left it on my doorstep; she is a breath of fresh air. Barbara and I managed to complete the crossword for the second week. We are so clever! Though I expect Liz helps too. This was the best weekend so far.
Thank you Catherine.
Virtual Tea Towel Museum 