Tuesday 9 March 2021

State of Play: Mundane Yet Productive with some Positives

FL Dolphin near shore
not afraid of people

Our watery friends as seen on two sides of the pond!
by Broni Lloyd-Edwards
Seal at Putney Bridge, London

yellow circle is people in the water and the red one is the dolphin in close to 
shore!

Across the pond is a seal basking on the foreshore of The Thames in London.



The beginning of this year saw the annual charity basket making and filling - these go to lower income elderly living in facilities at Easter to brighten their days (starting of baskets noted in previous post).

Next was a basket project -- 'Painter's Double Twill' -- I really like the pattern on this one, but found it a bit of a challenge. There is a wooden bottom and one weaves around a form - in this case a plastic painter's bucket. 

Normally one takes out the bucket before applying the rim at the top, but I left my plastic bucket in to make a smooth inside as I intend to use the basket for scraps on my "sewing table."

Having finished the basket, I turned to a quick decorative mat for a friend's birthday - with my unique two-sided design (which I find slightly trickier) to match her interests. My work not as ambitious as several postbox toppers in Britain - I love the seaside themed one and just have to share a few of them.




Hope these make you smile ... cute & creative -- aren't they great by strangers and friends ... but beyond my skills!



Trying to see the glass half-full (or more like Sir Tom here) as we pass the year mark of COVID restrictions without a vaccine in sight for the under 65's ... there are some positives that have come from finding new ways of doing things ... for example

  • Zoom calling with friends more often than when I could get together in person and attending a wedding I would have otherwise missed
  • new Zoom volunteering mentoring a student 
  • less make-up and hair styling, more crafting time
  • less pomp and circumstance such as Presidential Inauguration Balls which instead featured 'real' people around the country
  • etc, etc, etc,
  • And lastly the headline, Why has Covid’s toll been surprisingly low across much of Africa and Asia?'' does this means there may be some small justices in the world???  Read ‘An epidemiological whodunit’.
Believe the Pandemic/Isolation Is Messing With Your Brain'?  Read this article.

Now for some language fun: let's look at the verb for a common parliamentary procedure as explained by Wikipedia - I forget where I am and thus am no longer able to use this phrase!
In the United States, to "table" usually means to postpone or suspend consideration of a pending motion. .

 In the rest of the English-speaking world, to "table" means to begin consideration (or reconsideration) of a proposal.

And if you want some Florida COVID news along with some Route 66 movie fun click here:

Spring Breakers Take Over Florida amid COVID Pandemic: 'We're Very Concerned,' Miami Beach Mayor Says ... " as a 21 year ol Michigan visitor states "I was here two years ago and came back to see what it's like now with COVID ...Florida hasn't skipped a beat.'

"A lot of things are happening simultaneously," Gelber said. "You have the variant down here, and we still are having sometimes dozens of deaths a day in our county."

"And at the same time, we've got incredibly cheap round-trip tickets for 40 bucks from anywhere in the Northeast down here, discounted rooms and people who have been really pent up and wanting to get out with no other place to go than here," he continued. "So we are very worried that there's going to be a convergence of people here and a real problem in the aftermath of that."
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has officially welcomed spring season with open arms. To kick-start the much-needed fun in the sun, the destination has asked visitors to sign a spring break safety pledge that they will mask up, socially distance and be patient with workers at busy beach spots.

Don't miss the message in the sand ...


2 comments:

  1. Update on the Thames seal: A tag has been discovered on our seal friend’s flipper and the team was able to unlock the identity of this sea puppy. He is, in fact, a boy named Freddie Mercury. Surprise! Almost a year old and the same seal that was rescued in Teddington after getting a hook stuck in his mouth. Freddie was initially rescued in the Netherlands and then again months later in France. After previous attempts to move him to the estuary with his fellow seals, he seems to prefer it here. So long as he continues to remain healthy and happy the British Divers Marine Life Rescue team is happy to let him remain here on the Thames in Hammersmith as long as he likes.

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  2. Freddy Mercury update! He was only rescued from Teddington Lock a few weeks ago with a fish hook in his mouth which was removed. He was then taken to the Isle of Sheppy and released. Looks like Freddy decided return home! Freddy is not quite a year old.

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