My Coronavirus Diary

March 2020 - May 2024

An open-ended adventure by Fiona Read more

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Traveler My Coronavirus Diary
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- Apr 9, 2020, 7:23pm
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 31 m
- Ireland Leinster Dún Laoghaire Dun Laoghaire Ferry Port 53.28736, -6.1289153°17’14” N 6°7’44” W
Day 16
Is Mia finally bored of YouTube?!
April 9, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Anna gave Mia her old keyboard and Mia has been practicing non stop since we set it up this morning. I think she is finally bored of sitting around watching YouTube! Hopefully she keeps it up!

She has been doing LOTS of baking which is good...but it also means I'm eating lots of baked goods which is not good! I had great plans to become really fit and toned during the lockdown but now I'm just hoping to come out of it in the same state that I went into it!

She made a delicious banana bread today - she has been following Chef Shane Smith on Facebook who is posting daily baking videos! It's great how many free online resources there are these days.

Today I accidentally ordered my second take away in a row - I've been so busy with work that I haven't been able to think about food - I don't have time to cook, I barely have time to go downstairs to get food! For lunch today I just had a few packets of crisps from Paul's bedside drawer! When things quieten down in work I need to get back on track or they won't recognise me when I get back to the office!Read more
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- Apr 10, 2020, 7:06pm
- ☁️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 27 m
- Ireland Dublin 53.3338, -6.248853°20’2” N 6°14’56” W
Day 17
Morning Pete & an extended Lockdown
April 10, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
I was up early for an 8am Pete session. Lisa, Lisa B and Garrett also joined for it. I only have a 12kg kettle bell at the moment because Mum has my 10kg one - so I cut some of the exercises short!

It was a lovely sunny day today so myself and Paul walked down to the end of the east pier. Mia was still in bed when we left at about 11am! On our way back we stopped off at Supervalu. We queued for about 10 mins and when we got to the top of the queue we were told we couldn't both go in because we were from the same household. Since we didn't know what eachother wanted to buy we decided to just go home instead!

Lounged in the hot tub for a while this afternoon- so nice to have a day off just to do nothing!

Leo made another announcement this evening to say that the lockdown has been extended by another 3 weeks until May 5th - so we will miss the May bank holiday :-( It was due to end this weekend so it's no surprise that it has been extended. We're at about a 10-15% daily increase in cases which is well below the predicted 30% before the lockdown was implemented. We are at over 10,000 cases but they are predicting the worst is yet to come.

I'm happy enough with another 3 weeks lockdown - more time to get in shape haha!Read more
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- Apr 11, 2020, 7:06pm
- ☀️ 17 °C
- Altitude: 27 m
- Ireland Dublin 53.3338, -6.248853°20’2” N 6°14’56” W
Day 18
Paul's lovely haircut!
April 11, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Today Paul got a haircut! After the 3 week extension to the lockdown was announced last night he decided that it was now or never to try cutting his hair. Unfortunately the blade he used was a bit tighter than expected so he now has a fully shaved head! I was crying laughing at him this morning but I am gradually getting used to it! At least he doesn't have to leave the house for another few weeks haha!

Today felt like the hottest day of the year - typical that we are getting such nice weather while on lockdown. It was nice having a very lazy day, sitting out in the sun reading my book & not feeling guilty about not doing anything since there is nothing to do!Read more
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- Apr 12, 2020, 6:50pm
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Altitude: 33 m
- Ireland Leinster Sallynoggin 53.28708, -6.1428253°17’13” N 6°8’34” W
Day 19
Easter Sunday
April 12, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
The past week has been pretty hectic. I've been super busy with quarter end at work so all my quarantine activities have taken a back seat. We got amazing weather for Good Friday & Easter Saturday. - the Gardai were out in force to make sure no one got any ideas about straying more than 2km from home to any of the hotspots! Seapoint, 40 foot and Sandycove are all shut with barriers up.

Yesterday Paul came for a run with me. Yes I know, I was surprised too! We jogged down to the pier and back. Then had a BBQ at home. In the morning we went out to the shops to get easter eggs - first we tried Dunnes but they told us it was priority time for over 70s & the queue was an hour and a half long! So we went to Supervalu instead but they were mostly sold out of easter eggs...I got a mini buttons one for myself!

Today was overcast and rainy - the perfect day for a long run! I ran out to Mums - a bit beyond the 2km radius but I didn't feel too guilty since I didn't come across any walkers..just a few other lonesome runners in the rain! It's not as relaxing running on a nice day when there are loads of walkers out and about & I have to keep stepping out on the road to keep my 2 meters space.

There is a bit of a war brewing between runners and walkers. Some people don't like runners sharing the footpath with them & think they are spreading the virus by sweating and breathing heavily. I haven't had any bad experiences yet but I do feel quite conscious while out running & make an extra effort to move out of peoples way.

Had roast beef for our easter Sunday lunch today & ate lots of choccy! Garrett dropped off a Lindt easter egg this morning which is now in my tummy. Mia just got a delivery of a liter tub of ice cream from Arctic Stone! Hopefully I won't have any later as I already feel sick haha!

Had a little Easter egg hunt with Mia in the back garden - I'd love to be in Rosslare doing an easter egg hunt with Lisa and Anna but this is nearly as good!

I forgot I had booked a Tesco delivery for 9am this morning...Was woken up to the tesco delivery man dropping off a single carton of milk! Nooooo! They charged me €11 for the milk and I already have 2 cartons so it will probably end up going off! Might not bother booking any more online slots for now - I prefer popping to the shops - I go at the quieter times when the queue to get in is only 5 or 10 minutes & I make sure to disinfect after!Read more
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- Apr 13, 2020, 9:00pm
- 🌙 6 °C
- Altitude: 33 m
- Ireland Leinster Dún Laoghaire 53.28717, -6.1427153°17’14” N 6°8’34” W
Day 20
Hot cross buns!
April 13, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 6 °C
I baked hot cross buns today- my first time baking with yeast and what a great success! Chef Shane Smith on Facebook has some great easy recipes.

I'd like to come out of this lockdown having improved my baking and cooking skills...with a few new recipes up my sleeve. Going to try and cook/bake as much as possible. Half the country must have the same idea as the baking aisles in the shops always seem to be cleared out! Luckily today Tesco was freshly stocked so I got my hands on some precious yeast 😁 and no queue to get in either!

Went for a walk on the pier with Paul this morning. Got half way and had to turn around because I didn't bring a coat and got frozen!
Moral of the story = Just because it's sunny doesn't mean it's warm!

I met Garrett while I was on my way out the door to collect my violin from Mums. We went for a walk around the estate while keeping our 2 meter distance! It was nice to hang out with someone different for a change! He is finding it tough being in the apartment on his own...although he also said it definitely has its pros!

I had planned on recording my section for our lockdown quartet today but I got side tracked binge watching Man Hunt instead! Must get to it tomorrow if work isn't too busy.

Had another virtual Pete session at lunchtime today. I'm loving the classes. Even though the banter levels are lower than the live versions it's still nice to keep the Pete routine going & it's another chance to catch up with people outside my immediate family!

I also learned an Oti Mabuse dance routine today for the first time! She is doing evening dance classes a few times each week - today's theme was Beyonce! Mia told me the video should never be allowed to see the light of day haha!Read more
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- Apr 14, 2020, 8:40pm
- 🌙 9 °C
- Altitude: 35 m
- Ireland Leinster Sallynoggin 53.28667, -6.1433353°17’12” N 6°8’36” W
Day 21
A Lisa filled day!
April 14, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 9 °C
Back to work today after the long weekend!
I could have done with an extra few days to recover but I've taken Friday off this week so just 3 days to get through!

I feel like im getting back into a good fitness routine. The legs are moving more easily while out on my runs! I started week 3 of the Emmet Dunleavy plan today - a tempo run down on the usual West pier.

I rang Lisa for the chats during it. She chatted away while I did the tempo sections and I replied while I was on the recoveries! It's a great chance to catch up on all the chats while out running!

It is usually busy enough around the pier if I go running straight after work. And alot of people seem very relaxed about the 2 meter social distancing rules. There were couples walking down the middle of the pier leaving no room for me to keep enough distance. I know there's a low chance of catching it from walking past someone but it means I'm left weaving all over the place trying to avoid these people!

This evening we had another crusaders quiz. This time organised by James Cottle. At the end he asked if anyone wanted to organise it next week. Lisa thought he was asking if anyone wanted to take part next week and really enthusiastically accidentally volunteered herself!! So she's next week's quizmaster haha!

We had our highest number of deaths today- over 40. The lockdown is planned to end on 5th May but I just can't imagine things getting back to normal that soon...maybe some more businesses will be allowed to open but I feel like we're a long way from normality...

Spain and Italy are about 3 weeks ahead of where we are and they have relaxed some of their restrictions but only very slightly. We will probably follow a similar approach to them, but I'm guessing the next couple of weeks will get worse before it starts getting better.

Final thought for the day - I do not have nearly enough lounge wear! Who needs jeans and skirts when you're stuck at home all day every day! I might make an online purchase of some comfy lounge pants and tops!Read more
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- Apr 15, 2020, 9:25pm
- 🌙 7 °C
- Altitude: 27 m
- Ireland Dublin 53.3338, -6.248853°20’2” N 6°14’56” W
Day 22
Stopped by the Gardai
April 15, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
Another sunny day today! Went for a run 'with' Lisa again at lunchtime. Legs feeling a bit heavy today.

Aileen gave Mia a recipe for ginger bread. So I went out to the shop after lunch to try and find black treacle for it. Tried Supervalu deansgrange - no luck. Drove out to Aldi in Blackrock - no luck but did find 49 cent cadburys easter eggs - yummy success! Finally tried M&S - still no luck! Baking ingredients are hard to come by these days :-(

On the way home I got stopped at a garda checkpoint. The garda was very friendly - he stood well back on the passenger side and just asked me what the purpose of my trip was & then asked where I lived. He seemed happy enough when I told him even though I was a bit beyond my neighbourhood!

We had another family quiz tonight with Mum as the host!
She had a round where we had to guess the baby pic - I got mixed up between Grandad and Paul!

Then joined a catchup Paul was having with the cheeky brew crew - it was a bit random, Molloy was telling us all about what's going on in the States in a way that made it seem like he thought America is the only place on lockdown! He was filling us in on how a the shops are shut and how crazy the situatuin is over there. I guess alot of people in America only really hear about the stuff that's happening on their doorstep!

Feeling a bit sick now after eating a whole Easter egg!Read more
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- Apr 16, 2020, 2:38pm
- ⛅ 11 °C
- Altitude: 27 m
- Ireland Dublin 53.3338, -6.248853°20’2” N 6°14’56” W
Day 23
More baking, more virtual classes!
April 16, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Another sunny day in paradise! 😊
Things have quietened down a bit in work which means more time for classic quarantine activities like baking and virtual fitness classes.

Mia baked ginger bread today. We weren't able to find black treacle in the shops so it looks a bit lighter than it should but I can confirm that it tastes delicious!

Luckily I'm doing lots of fitness classes to counteract all the food I'm eating. Today I tried an online Pilates class through work. Lisa joined it too. It was SO tough! I'll be super toned if I keep this up 😄

We are still trying to get money back from our Japan holiday. Finally got through to Vietjet today who said they can refund us in full in 4 months time! Luckily we're not too stuck for cash!
Also found out today that the music festival we were meant to be going to in Hamburg in June has been cancelled..So we will need to try and get our flights and accommodation costs for that refunded now too ☹

People are saying it could be Spring next year before we can start going on holidays abroad again. Hopefully we can go to Rosslare much sooner!

I've stopped watching the news and don't keep much of an eye on the global covid19 tracker anymore. We hit 2 million cases globally yesterday - it's just become so big at this stage with the whole world on lockdown. 2 more weeks of planned lockdown here - I wonder if we will reach our peak before then.

Our CEO sent an email today reminding us all that wer'e not working from home, we are at home trying to work during a crisis. I think it's important to remember the difference!Read more
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- Apr 17, 2020, 9:41am
- ⛅ 10 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Ireland Leinster Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire Harbour 53.30167, -6.1453°18’6” N 6°8’24” W
Day 24
Virtual paint club!
April 17, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Started the day with my usual Friday morning Pete session. Weather is nice so did it outside on the grass! Followed it my a 30 min jog 'with' Lisa in preparation for our 5k time trial tomorrow.

I'm off work today which is nice even though there isn't much to do! Ended up doing a second jog with Paul this afternoon - rude to say no when he's looking for a running partner! 😂
I'm not feeling very rested for tomorrow's 'race'..Ah well!

This evening I did a virtual paintclub class with Mia, Mum and Lisa. It was a butterfly painting. Was really good fun even though our paintings looked a bit dodgy at times haha! They turned out well in the end.

I cooked a lovely Thai red curry from Dervals cookbook for dinner but didn't have time to eat it before the painting class so I just had Apple pie for dinner instead! I'll have the curry tomorrow.

Popped to Supervalu this evening- I must have picked the worst time of the day. The queue was about 30 mins long and it started drizzling while I was standing there! Going to avoid shopping at 5-6pm in future.

Alison had her new baby Clara a couple of weeks ago so I sent her a little hamper which arrived today. She said none of her family have met her baby yet because of coronavirus! It must be a strange time to have a baby.

The HSE have published a map which shows the location of all the confirmed cases in Ireland. They are dotted around EVERYWHERE! Dublin is riddled. It's quite scary to see. We seem to be holding steady at around 700-800 cases and 40 deaths daily - still really high. Hopefully it starts dropping soon.

This day 6 years ago we were in Kenya! Here's a pic of me in a Matatu on my way to visit the giraffe park!Read more
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- Apr 18, 2020, 6:05pm
- ☁️ 9 °C
- Altitude: 35 m
- Ireland Leinster Sallynoggin 53.28667, -6.1433353°17’12” N 6°8’36” W
Day 25
Race day!
April 18, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Today was time trial day on Emmets plan! I also signed up for the Miles that Mater virtual 5k which is raising funds for frontline healthcare workers in Ireland. So today was the big race day!

I was vaguely planning on getting up early to avoid people but decided to have a lie in instead! I went out at about 12pm but luckily it was overcast and cold so it wasn't too busy.
I ran out and back on the West pier and across to finish on the east pier. I'm really happy with my result of 21.49. I pushed quite hard but it's impossible to go full pelt on your own. On a couple of occasions I was tempted to pause my Garmin to catch a breath but I didn't give into temptation!

I had a lovely chicken, goats cheese and beetroot salad for lunch followed by my chicken curry for dinner.

Found a new total junk show today called Too Hot to Handle. It's like Love Island but junkier! Perfect for quarantine!

Here's a pic of what myself, Mum, Anna and Lisa will look like when we emerge from the lockdown haha! 😂Read more
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