Day One Hundred and Forty One - Soakings and Soupings

I suppose it had to happen. Inevitability. Given the number of days I've been out walking in the morning the fact that in 140 of them I've not once got soaked to the skin because of an itinerant rainshower is pretty good going. Well, you know what I'm going to say don't you! Today was the day. It was dry when I set off but I hadn't walked for more than about 5/10 minutes before I felt spots of rain. They got harder and harder. Until it was really raining. And I was getting drenched. But you know what? It was exhilarating. And I enjoyed it. What was also interesting was the few people who were also happy to walk or jog in the rain. We're the diehards, the heavyweights! If  Miss wet T-shirt was still a thing I might have been a contender! 😉

Here is a lovely little piece of irony. There is a scheme called 'eat out to help out 'where UK diners are being offered 50% off their bills in an effort to lure folk back into restaurants and pubs. It's a government initiative. The same government that is concerned about obesity!

There is a new 90 minute coronavirus test and the Health Secretary is suggesting that it might be used in schools. Schools are still scheduled to open in September amidst fears of a second wave.
And sewage testing is being conducted across England in a bid to develop 'waste water based COVID-19 surveillance'. Apparently scientists discovered early in the pandemic (first I've heard about it) that infected people shed the virus in their faeces. Shit! They are monitoring for fragments of coronavirus genetic material and it will give people a head start on way a new outbreaks are likely to occur. I am tempted to say don't be too hasty in poo-pooing this initiative as a crap idea. But I won't.

After all the work my sister did in the garden yesterday it inspired me to set to and do a little bit more. The end of the garden looks much neater and tidier and I also gave it a good soaking with the sprinkler. I potted up some cuttings and the plants my sister brought down yesterday. There is no easy way to say it. I have too many house plants. When I went to empty the debris into the garden wastebin I also decided to try and clear away some of the weeds from the cracks in the paving. I've got a special tool to do it. It's not terribly effective but it means I can do it standing up rather than down on my hands and knees. But it does hurt my hands. I think it's one of the things that really set them off this season. So I can't do it for long. I was just about to head back in when a guy in a huge 4x4 pulled up outside my gate, and said, 'Your driveway? Why don't you use a jet washer?' I just said "Nope". I simply couldn't be bothered to try and explain that I was weeding but my hands hurt blah blah blah and I wouldn't use a jet washer anyway because I don't own one and they are wasteful of water. He seemed peeved. I can't think why.

And I made a big pan of vegetable soup which was extremely tasty although I say it myself. I seem to have been active most of the day but I don't really know what I've done! I played the pop master game and had a half-hour chat with my friend on the phone. They're putting their quarantine time to good use making things and she didn't sound too downbeat about it. I did manage a half hour or so in the garden reading which was most pleasant.