(with apologies to Dickens)
I have a wonderful new Dell laptop with a ‘spill-resistant keyboard’. I have access to the Internet. I have lost an IT support provider. Life goes on ..
I am in my Essendon teeny apartment, and I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I use that adjective because it’s really much smaller than it seemed when I viewed it empty. But I don’t care about its teeniness: I am enjoying it immensely !
Oh, and I also have Covid.
“Unclean, unclean ..” she intoned dismally, ringing the little bell around her neck ..
Did a RAT on Friday and it came up as positive instantly – no waiting for 20 minutes, no sir !
Its source ? – no idea.
DOWNUNDER WITH BOODZ 
Oh no. Sorry it turned out to be the Dreaded Lurgi. I hope you are managing okay. But THANK YOU for being sensible and not letting me visit you last week. That could have been dire. (BTW I did go and visit another friend instead that I hadn’t seen in years and we talked for about 7 hours straight. 😄 so it was still a good multi-purpose trip.)
Hope you feel better soon and glad to see you back in the webby world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah mate ! :( Week in iso. Tickled pink.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pleased to hear your enjoying your tiny apartment. Teeny can be really good. Sorry to hear you have Covid. Hope you see it off quickly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bit of a change, eh, Chris, for me not to be whingeing ? [grin]
Thanks for your good wishes; I shall suffer stultifying boredom till Friday. Sighh .. :D
LikeLike
Hope you only have a mild case M-R. Seems to have been totally forgotten about here, no isolation, no testing. Just advice that if you feel ‘unwell’ to stay at home. Sigh…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think so, Jude me love. The cough has been the worst: had to have my electric bed set so that I was virtually sitting up all night, or I couldn’t stop coughing. But that’s not nearly so bad now.
Apart from that it’s like a bad cold. I am grumpy that I got it though: I thought I was too superior. :(
LikeLiked by 1 person
So far, touch wood, the OH and I have managed to avoid the dreaded lurgy. But then we do keep away from people. Scary visit to the supermarket last week when the cashier was coughing and blowing her nose whilst scanning our purchases. We unpacked at home and quickly washed our hands. Paranoid? Us?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Impossible not to be, really: people are so STRANGE about healthcare – especially Covid measures. It seems to stir up OTT attitudes: certainly did in the Good Ol’, and now everywhere else. You guys just keep on being paranoid, Jude, OK ?!
LikeLike
This is music to my ears, M-R. About the apartment that is, not about Covid. Vitamin D is supposedly helpful in your recovery. Fingers crossed you don’t have any lasting after effects!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you, Amanda ! :) Yes, I ADORE the little place, and Boodie is mad for the balcony. Bit different from the 7th floor at Maribyrnong, being the 1st floor at Essendon; but a balcony is a balcony and that’s that: he’s rapt ! :D As for the Covid, I take a drop of D every morning, so I should be fine, eh ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully you won’t be feeling crook for too long with some Vit D already in your system! A first floor and a balcony close to the city sounds perfect!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You could be right, my dear ! – meaning the steady infusion of the D might’ve already helped ! :)
The shopping ’round here is terrific ! – pharmacy, barber and Parisian bakery across the road, and everything else around the corner. :D
LikeLike
Parisian bakery? I am coming to visit!! Lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would enjoy that ! – and you’d enjoy the Parisian bakery. It’s the only one I’ve ever found to produce baguettes exactly like those we used to buy in France.
LikeLike
Wow – that is impressive. Are the croissants and pain au chocolate equally as good?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stringer was the one who consumed croissants in France; and I know nothing of pain au chocolat because I am a virtuous woman. I can speak only for the baguettes; but as these are fantastiques I will assume the rest is up to the mark. :D
LikeLike
I will take your word for it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hooray, glad to know you got moved, and that you love your new place! I love tiny places where everything is just so. And glad that Boodz is happy with the balcony, too! When you say first floor, is that the the floor above the ground floor (European style) as opposed to first floor being the ground floor (American style)?
Sorry about the Covid. I had my first PCR test the other day and they went so high I think they sampled brain cells! Negative, though. Trying to stay Covid free through this month at least; I have things scheduled that I don’t want to mess with!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear clever Michele: the thought of The Travelling Teacher going down with the dreaded lurgy is ghastly !! And I’m wondering about your test – although you did make me laugh. :) It’s slightly worrying to read about that kind of heavy-handed testing .. It could cause actual harm .. Anyway, you’re fine and all’s well. And my teeny apartment is undergoing a rearrange – not just to keep me occupied but because it was imposs to get it right first time.
LikeLike
Sorry; forgot to clarify that 1st floor Downunder is the first one ABOVE the ground floor.
LikeLike
I was wondering if you were all right M-R- and sure ehough, you have been stricken with covid! I’m sorry to hear you’ve been ill with that and hope for a speedy recovery.
I look forward to hearing more about your apartment – I have been reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and am happily decluttering and reorganizing with a future downsizing move planned in the future – so a small unit with a cat and balcony sounds excellent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Swedish Dea— WHAT ?? Good grief, woman ! I hope this is humorous !!! But being Swedish, I rather fear it isn’t.
I’ve decided that downsizing is A Good Thing; but as I am a minimalist by nature, can claim no virtue for such a decision.
And I’ve managed to find a shitload of things to be shifted about – all enjoyable, of course. :)
Only 2 more days of iso. I have to tell you – iso drives you batty. Well, that’s my excuse.
LikeLike
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson, M-R – a book of wise and sage advice! She recommends at age 65 you start a major declutter to make life easier, so that you can spend time enjoying those things in your home and surrounds that you most enjoy, and above all, so that your family or anyone else does not have the job of getting rid of all your belongings after you’ve gone! It sounds like you have no need of this advice being minimalist already, and I am dying to hear more about your new home – but do concentrate on getting fully well first!
I’m glad your cat is enjoying the balcony – I am considering getting a rescue kitten, our local vet has a group of young kittens found dumped in the local cemetery along with their mother – and we are having sub-zero temperatures here,, those poor kittens – and the kind vet sells them for a very affordable price fully vaccinated and neutered – the sweetest little things – but I’m unsure how my elderly small dog will react to an interloper in his territory here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I LOVE that you’re considering a rescue cat, Sue !! – and I’d lay odds that your little old dawg would be surprisingly pleased by such a family addition. :D
The Boodster was one such, although his exact origins are .. erhmm .. somewhat obscure. And he wasn’t neutered until he was EIGHT MONTHS OLD. Disgraceful ! – no wonder he still waggles his tail at things from time to time (but never sprays because he can’t, deo gratias !).
I would urge you, were I sufficiently much of a busybody to do so, to getcher hands on a wee kitty .. :)
When I’m no longer Covid-bound and all the furniture moving is done, I really will take photos. This is the place I would be perfectly happy to kark in, after all.
XO !
LikeLike
I’m so glad your new apartment is working out M-R – you had to be very resolute to find it in these discouraging times for renters in particular.
I am hankering for a little ginger cat, it’s nostalgia – I had one as a young teenager, it used to walk with me to the end of the street and wait with me for the school bus and occasionally hopped on the bus as well and had to be shooed off.. He sadly was killed by a passing car, so a wee ginger in fond remembrance might be nice methinks! Especially if it’s been dumped in the cemetery in sub-zero temperatures! I guess whoever did that felt safe from being seen!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A MARMALADE !! – now there’s no choice: you MUST have him !!! Lui Stringer was my beloved moggy before Boodie, and very beloved he was, too ! I’m trying to put a photo into Imgur so you can see him; try this > https://i.imgur.com/XlZAklB.jpg
LikeLike
He’s gorgeous M-R! It’s definitely going to have to be a ginger then – maybe with white paws…
I just got a lovely recliner armchair for my reading nook, thinking a future moggy might also enjoy it – but it’s been claimed by my elderly and slightly arthritic shitzu-maltese cross (it’s near the heater after all) so I can see a future power struggle ensuing between the new moggy and the resident hound! I suspect the cat will win – Sam is a bit intimidated by critters of the feline variety!
Meanwhile I am relegated back to the sofa – in the cold part of the room of course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course !!! [grin]
LikeLike
Oh NO to the stupid lurgy-fication. May you recover swiftly and fully. Stupid stupiding pandemic, getting in the way of our yarnery. Please take care of yourself in your beautifully bijou new apartment and get better fast.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Phil, such absolute pleasure to see you here ! :)
Tomorrow I must test myself again: were I a believing person I would be praying NOW ..
I so look forward to life’s returning to normal ..
LikeLike
I must have last checked your blog just before you posted this. I’ve been waiting so patiently and then I missed it! I do subscribe by email but I get so many emails I don’t keep up, so just do occasional searches when I can. I am SO glad you love your new place. I look forward to hearing more about life there, and seeing some pics. Small is beautiful isn’t it?? Less to clean. As long as you can fit in the things you need to fit in. Is Boodz happy? Do you have a storage cage? Maybe you have a whole car parking spot you can put stuff in!!
I’m hoping that you are over the worst of COVID now, ie that you had a mild dose because you are vaccinated?
Anyhow, so lovely to know you are back on the air again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep I are here and raring to go. Already found an optometrist and a pharmacy as well as making friends in the PO ! :D
LikeLike
You covered the “highs” and the “lows” in one post, M-R! Covid, and love of your new home. I am so sorry that the you found yourself ill, but also tremendously glad for you to have found a home that pleases you so much! I am confident you must be feeling better by now, and glad to see you posting again! Feel better!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I do, Deb – MUCH ! It’s all water under the bridge now; and I don’t see myself as a poisson who catches the dreaded lurgy more than once. :) I am happy, my beautiful friend !!
LikeLike