Keep Track of Julia: June 2021

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since March 20. I was sure that I had posted something more recently than that. How time flies.

You would think that since we have been in a full lockdown since May 23, I would have more time to post. Not the case. Between cooking, some housework, gardening, etc., I don't seem to have much time.

Prior to this lockdown, everything was pretty normal. I was still doing classes twice a week, mahjong was continuing, as was Film Club. I went and stayed overnight with my friends George and Yvonne. We had a lovely time, eating good food, drinking non-alcoholic drinks as I was still in my dry month, and lolling in their pool.

We even tried a snooker night at the Kandy Club now that their billiard room has finally been reopened. A full-sized billiard table, much bigger than I am used to playing on. I did not embarrass myself too much. We met a long standing member who lives in Colombo; a doctor who, of course, knew almost everyone we know.

There have been dinners and lunches at Los Amigos Locos. I haven't had a bad meal there yet.

The gang at Los Amigos Locos. The kook with his tongue out is Chris, a friend of Simon and Pauline's.

Even went into Kandy town one night 5 days before Sinhala/Tamil New Year for dinner at Global Kitchen. Their menu used to be truly global, but has shrunk to Indian only now. Tasty, but despite my asking, it had MSG in it, so I suffered for a couple of days.

On the way home by tuktuk about 2200, we were going down the main artery through Kandy town, D.S. Senenayake Mawatha, which passes by a large clothing and accessory store called Thilikawardena. 6 stories of cheap and junky stuff. However, it is very popular with the working poor. The traffic was backed up for blocks. When we finally did pass by, it was heaving with people. Social distancing, hah! The security guards could not deal. It was the same at every other similar shop, large or small. No controls whatsoever prior to New Year nor during. We are now reaping that whirlwind.

Prior to the New Year period, the number of detected cases of COVID was around 250/day. Right after New Year it climbed to 2,000/day and is now between 2,700 and 3,000+/day. Hence lockdown. The government has completely lost the plot.

We did manage to get in Lesley's 75th birthday party before everything got closed. Held at the Kandy Sports Club (read rugby), it was a good time. Ralph and I did the decorating. The club did the catering and their neighbour made the best cake I have ever eaten in Sri Lanka. About 40 people in attendance. I took my landlady along. She had been invited, of course. It was wonderful to see her reunited with old planter friends she had not seen in eons.

The wonderful cake

The sparkling candles. Part of my decor contribution.

Lesley, the birthday girl, looking like she had just been awarded the Order of Something by the Queen.

Even waving like royalty while her Prince Consort looks on.

And now for the cake

A Sri Lankan tradition; feeding people with your birthday or wedding or whatever cake. Lesley is feeding her husband, Ralph.

I finally got my swimming membership money back from the Citadel and joined the Grand Kandyan along with Douglas King. We joined as a couple so we each saved LKR.10,000. Before the pool was closed on May 3, I had worked my way up to 1km./ swim which I was doing about 3 times a week. Plus at least one swim at Simpson's Forest which we also managed to fit in. One buffet breakfast at the Grand Kandyan before it all went pear shaped as well.

Then came Sinhala/Tamil New Year on April 13 and 14 when all hell broke loose.

April 29 saw yet another trip to the dentist, this time for major surgery on my two upper incisors. They were badly infected so Sajeewa had to cut open the gum and scrape out the gunk. I must have had about 7 anesthetic injections. Not much pain when the freezing came out, but I didn't look very good. Thank god for masks.

Looks like a bad botox job. I should have had my neck done instead.

Mrs. McDuck

I went into self-isolation about this time as the third wave of the virus was starting to heat up. I did make it to the dentist one more time to get the stitches out. Thankfully, the surgery has been a success although my gums have receded so much that quite a bit of root is exposed. I will have to go back after the lockdown is lifted to have the roots covered up as they are very sensitive making drinking cold drinks very painful. The recession is a good thing according to the dentist. It means that the gums are filling up the space where the infection used to be.

Having made it to the dentist by the skin of my teeth, haha, we went into curfew for three days for Eid (the end of Ramadan). After the New Year's debacle, the government finally got the message. They opened up for one day, but prohibited the use of vehicles on that one day. Ridiculous! How were people expected to stock up, carrying their heavy bags on foot? I snuck to the Arpico close to my place with my tuktuk man, Asoka at 0730. The place was busy with all the cars and tuktuks parked in the lower parking lot out of sight of the road. I loaded up on essentials and also got deliveries from my veggie guys and Nihals, another grocery store, so I was set.

The same day, my internet connection crapped out. Thankfully, Dialog turned up the next morning and installed an outdoor antenna and a new router. It took from 0900 to 1530 to get things up and running, but thankfully we managed it despite curfew. It would have been hopeless without internet for a month. Whatever did we do before the internet age?

Full lockdown started on May 25 and was scheduled to go until June 7. That has now been extended to June 14 with rumours that it will be extended to June 30.

My only worry was really getting to the bank. Thankfully, Lesley and Ralph had introduced me to a 3 star policeman, Shantha, who very kindly came and took me in his car to the bank.

I went with some trepidation as early in May, I had been unable to withdraw money from the ATM. I tried 5 times with no success. I called HSBC in Canada and was informed that there was nothing wrong with my card or my account. Another abortive effort after that. The Kandy branch was most helpful and finally discovered there had been some fraud. Therefore, cards with certain prefixes had been blocked from using foreign ATMs. They got me an emergency cash withdrawal.

HSBC Canada was useless. Not only did they not inform their customers abroad in the middle of a pandemic that they had stopped withdrawals, they also cocked up the emergency withdrawal, despite having been walked through it step by step over the phone and a sample form having been sent to them. It took 4 long hours to sort it out. At last, when I went during lockdown, the problem had been resolved.

My other concern during lockdown is, of course, housework, which I loathe. Thankfully, we have a lovely young couple living in the annex now who have been coming every other day to clean the house. Vasantha has done some painting for me as well and Sujatha has done some cooking prep. I have been getting the house re-whitewashed. Unfortunately, I have now run out of whitewash paste and the hardware stores are closed. This would have been a perfect time to get on with it as Vasantha, who usually works for a building contractor in Colombo, is home and has no work.

Tulla, my landlady, has been cooking the Sri Lankan dishes for me. She is a wonderful cook, much better than Vineetha I must admit. So I have been left with dish washing, bed making, laundry, ironing, non-Sri Lankan cooking, and special projects.

So here is a day during lockdown:

Wake up between 0530 and 0700. Read for 20 minute to half an hour. Wash 10 cat dishes and feed the cats. Wipe down the kitchen. Organize the freezers and put any freshly cooked or prepped items in the freezer. Check emails, news, FB and organize any new programs that need downloading or after downloading. Eat breakfast while doing a minimum of 3 crosswords, usually toast with Marmite and jam and sometimes peanut butter or eggs, a fruit smoothie and ginger tisane. Wash breakfast dishes. Make the bed. Vasantha and/or Sujatha come to clean or otherwise help. Do laundry or ironing if it is due. Work on special projects such as cooking or one of two others:

Patching one of my oriental carpets that has some holes in it. I have taught myself how to hook rugs, although that technique doesn't work, so now I am embroidering the pattern with burlap and wool.
Recover my armchairs with leather. I managed to get the leather before lockdown and have been doing it slowly. Things were going along smoothly until I broke my drill bit. The hardware stores are closed, so I have had to order replacements on line. Surprisingly, even non-essentials ordered on line are being delivered. I got an order of upholstery nails one week into it.

Homemade rubber hammer for the upholstery work. The armchairs being redone are in the background.

Have lunch and shower or vice versa. Wash the lunch dishes. Watch programs on TV or read. Snuggle with the cats. Have supper. Wash the supper dishes. Do an on-line jigsaw or play mahjong or solitaire on line while listening to Hungarian radio. Get ready for bed and hop in.

I have made three trips down to Ralph and Lesley's to get some nursing services. Something bit me on the back; right in the middle where I can't reach. It has been bleeding and seeping for almost a month now. At first I ignored it. Then I had to go upstairs to have Tulla put a bandaid on it. Finally, I went down to Lesley's for her to have a look at it. Turns out it got infected. I think whatever it was that bit me, left something in the bite. She has been cleaning it out and dressing it for me every third day. We even snuck in a Sunday lunch this past Sunday.

And finally, my furry babies are keeping me sane, kind of. The three outside cats are all male so they are either spraying and/or fighting. I am constantly cleaning up cat pee. Buddy got in a big fight with DeykaiI and was badly bitten on his hind leg. No way to get the vet, which is just as well as I am leary every since my experience with Aya. In the end, it opened up and Buddy cleaned the puss out himself. He slept for two days straight though and limped around for about a week.

I was quite worried that I would run out of cat food as I am feed 7 cats. Last lockdown, the pet shop couldn't get a curfew pass, so we were all scrambling. This time, things are better organized. I ordered by text and they delivered within an hour.