Well, I spoke too soon about avoiding Covid. After waking up from a 10 hour sleep, something that is pretty much unheard of for me, I took a second Covid test and the line popped up straight away. I was really disappointed because on Tuesday I was supposed to head to Napier to spend a few days with some friends. But, as I told my family, if I have to be isolating someplace for a week (other than my own place) this is where I want to be, in my cozy cabin overlooking the Wellington harbor. I spent the morning reading the Covid self isolation requirements for New Zealand. I have to stay isolated from others until next Saturday, which is a week after my symptoms started. That will still give me a few days to spend with Annemarie before I leave.
Everyone has been wonderful about offering assistance, Annemarie is going to bring me dinner and more bagels later in the week. Luckily, my cabin has a large deck so I can sit inside and she can be outside. As soon as Mary heard, she offered all kinds of support, including providing me with dinner every night and the full use of the house next weekend when the family is gone at a reunion so that Annemarie and I could have time together. She is so wonderful. Luckily my symptoms aren’t too bad, mainly fatigue and sore throat, bit of a runny nose. This is the first time I’ve been sick and not felt guilty that I was staying home and resting, which is really silly. Obviously my body needs to rest and I shouldn’t be out infecting other people, which is the way it is anytime I’m sick, not just with Covid. I guess this is one positive outcome from getting Covid, taking my health (and its relation to others) more seriously.
Mary came down and sat on the deck with her breakfast and we had a lovely catch up, filling each other in about our respective vacations. She and her family stayed at a DOC hut in the Wairarapa and did this incredible chasm hike where they were literally having to swim through a river at the bottom of a ravine for part of the hike, it sounded so cool. Then she and her husband went far up north to spend time with friends, having a wonderful time swimming, hiking, boating, barbecuing until the rain set in. They were staying at another friend’s vacation house that was constructed from 2 shipping containers-it sounded amazing.
Mary offered me use of her books, as well as several puzzles, both of which I leapt on. I had just downloaded a couple of audiobooks, and working on a puzzle while listening to an audiobook sounded like heaven if I wasn’t able to get out and do other things. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, sunny and almost no wind, so I sat out on the deck and started sorting pieces of a thousand piece vintage butterfly puzzle, while listening to an audiobook recommended to me by my daughter, Emmy, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I had just listened to his book The Maidens on my trip over so I thought it was an appropriate book to be listening to near the end of my trip. It definitely helped pass the time.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it already, but I am completely obsessed with the stuff.co.nz website’s daily quizzes. Every day they put out a morning quiz and an afternoon quiz, each 15 questions on any topic from music to geography to politics to language, there’s always a few New Zealand specific questions, and some questions about things I have never even heard of! The best I’ve ever done is 12 out of 15, I usually get about eight or so. So in addition to the daily Wordle, I do the morning quiz, then before bed I do the afternoon quiz. It’s been a good way to learn a bit more about New Zealand history, pop culture, government and other things, and of course it’s embarrassing when I don’t get some of the questions about the US correct!
Last night Mary brought me down a tray with a delicious dinner. I sat outside afterwards enjoying the sunset, then Alby the cat came and joined me while I worked on the puzzle some more before bed.
