if we were having coffee

If We Were Having Coffee – Life Musing #14

Gemma - Wheelescapades

If we were having coffee I’d tell you I feel a bit like I’m dangling in a weird limbo. It’s the end of January but Christmas feels like years ago. I haven’t got used to saying 2022, but then I never really felt at ease with 2021. It’s like I’m still in 2020 but it’s gone on way too long. It feels as if there’s always been a pandemic, that this is just life. But it still doesn’t feel possible that pandemic is even a thing in my lifetime. I don’t feel as though pandemic life is a mayor struggle, but I do feel as though I’m waiting for something.

If we were having coffee you’d realise that this is going to be a ramble.

After almost two years of semi shielding I tested positive for Covid-19, at the start this year. It came from nowhere really, I guess it always does. I had a couple of days where I felt a little sick, not quite right, and so did some lateral flow tests (I do these regularly anyway, with having people in and out of my house). They were both negative. I’ve been taking part in the Zoe Covid-19 Study since the early days, and so was subsequently invited for a PCR test. Just over five days later (which is way too long) I received a text that I had to read multiple times before it sunk in. My result was positive.

If we were having coffee I’d be honest with you and say that I’d always thought that when this day came it would be terrifying. The grim reaper knocking. And it was still concerning, a little scary, but I was apparently on day 6 without even realising.

So, I had the odd headache. My eyes weirdly hurt. And my sleep was more restless than usual. But these things were mild and so sporadic that I didn’t link them all together.

I’ve been asked if I’m going to ‘get on with life a bit more now’ and if I ‘wish I had done more’ meaning not been so cautious. But how I see it is I’m extremely lucky, but I also caught Covid without going far. I hadn’t left the house since Boxing Day and have only seen people with negative lateral flows. That’s a little bit scary in itself. Exposure also plays a huge part in how Covid works (in my limited knowledge anyway), and so maybe I got a tiny dose.

With restrictions/protections now lifted I will continue to be the same level of cautious. Not being a complete recluse, but not quite ready to party.

If we were having coffee I’d point you in the direction of this interview with an acquaintance of mine (weird word ‘acquaintance’). It’s like she’s speaking my thoughts, only much more articulate.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you there’s one thing I’m certain of. And that’s that the vaccine is doing it’s job. Not only possibly saving my life, but also reducing the amount of exposure I could have had. So if you haven’t had yours yet, and you can, then why wouldn’t you?? Honest answers please.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you I went out for the first time this year, a couple of days ago. By ‘out’ I mean to Home Bargains, because that’s the kind of life goals I have right now. Oh I did stop by at Greggs for a sausage roll. He’s quite the master of them, it’s my guilty pleasure.

Mostly my little trip just made me remember how much of an afterthought I am. I think there are 7 tills in Home Bargains. Do you know how many of them are wide enough to fit my wheelchair through? My fairly narrow wheelchair compared to some. One. There is one accessible till. And which till was every customer queuing at? How’d you guess. That one. As other tills were opened and people offered for me to head to them, I had to decline. Telling them that this is the only till I can access, the only one for wheelchair users.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that just a centimetre or two extra allowance in design would have made every till accessible to everyone. Is it really that hard?

Then when I got to Greggs I thought I’d use the loo. Well why not, while I’m here. Oh, because the door doesn’t close on the accessible toilet that opens out onto the whole cafe.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you I didn’t think I was going to make it back to the car. Wheeling around Home Bargains the battery icon on my wheelchair started to decline greatly. It seems that like me, my wheelchair is becoming fatigued quickly from not enough exercise!

And so I’ve decided to go out a bit more. Not the partying mentioned above, but in the garden, walks, that kind of thing.

I’ve been craving summer and the outdoors, like I’m in withdrawal from it. I appreciated summer the past two years like never before.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you know what Wordle is? I had to Google it if I’m honest, and I’ve been on a mission ever since. If you don’t know, it’s those little squares that keep popping up on social media. Rows of them in grey, green and yellow. It’s basically a word guessing game in which everyone in the world has the chance to guess the same word as each other, a new one being released daily. It’s always a five letter word, and you get six guesses with clues along the way in the form of coloured letters if you get something right. I’m not explaining it very well, but go check it out yourself.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you my best score so far is guessing the word in two. When I get it in one I feel that life will likely be complete.

What’s your best score?

The good thing about Wordle is that it’s just a little daily thing, and so I can’t get obsessed or waste too much of my day on it! Or so I thought, until a friend sent me the link where you can go back and complete all the previous Wordles that you may have missed before you knew it was a thing.

I have 210 words to find. Which is why this blog post is days later than it should have been.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you watch The Great Pottery Throwdown? It’s like GBBO but less edible.

I’m a sucker for these creative competition kind of shows. There was even a woodworker one late last year. I love the camaraderie and how people can make something out of nothing. It reminds me of my time at Art School, where we would all have our little station and be working to the same brief but come up with something totally different and personal. You can tell a lot about a person from their makes.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you’re creative and what you like to produce?

Talking of creativity, #The100DayProject starts again soon. On 13th February if you’re interested.

This will be my third time taking part. You might remember the cross stitch squares I did, or the stone painting obsession. This year I want to do something a little different and am going down the digital route. I used to love painting and mixed media mark making, but over time it’s gradually become more difficult for me physically, meaning less freeing and enjoyable if I require too much help. So I’ve downloaded a couple of drawing apps, had a play, and decided to go from there. I’ll be creating daily little digital paintings.

You can follow my progress and take part yourself on Instagram. My creations will all be shared with #100DaysOfMiniMarks

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you watch This Is Us? If you don’t then you should. I won’t give anything away but we are on the final season ever and I’m going to miss it way more than you should ever miss a fictional thing. With its flashbacks and flashforwards, it’s like I’ve lived these peoples whole lives. It has a clever way of making you always feel there, whatever the decade, it always feels ‘now’. I’ve been through everything with these characters and the show is so bloomin bittersweet, it just gets you right in the everything.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you know of any good shows with all the feels? Because I’m going to need something.

If we were having coffee what would you tell me?

An image to pin. Title text If We Were Having Coffee - Life Musings #14 is in white text placed over a photo of a clear glass mug filled with dark liquid.

Published by Gemma - Wheelescapades

Whenever friends and I are out we always end up discussing, critiquing, analysing where we are and what we are doing. From talking about the food we are eating, the soap in the toilets, the awful bus journey to our destination, anything and everything we encounter. Because of my disability (SMA type2) many of the situations we get into, issues we discuss and laughs we have can be due to wheelchair access. Often me getting stuck in mud or shingle, or me making my way through the most cram packed shop you can imagine, wondering how I am ever going to find the way out again! I aim to write a blog that describes these dramas, tells stories of our laughs, adventures and frustrations, while giving detailed information on accessibility and wheelchair access. Also I like tea. ALOT. The quality of the tea often determines my return just as much as the accessibility.

26 thoughts on “If We Were Having Coffee – Life Musing #14”

  1. if we were having coffee i’d tell you i’ve been super late in reading this post. and i finally know what wordel is, i think lol.
    also that i haven’t blogged in ages and seems like i’m missing it 🙂
    its fun catching up with blog posts again 🙂

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  2. A weird limbo indeed. Who would have thunk it, that two years later and Covid is still going on and feels never ending.

    Your experience with symptoms and testing shows my concerns – that lateral flow tests are very unreliable with a high false negative rate. This is partially how the government have artificially reduced the infection rate, as more rely on only lateral flow tests (and not everyone would report a positive test on those anyway).

    I was curious about how your Covid infection may or may not change how you felt about the situation. The thing is, we can’t be confident to “get on with life” even after infection because there’s a lack of information, so we don’t know if we could catch it again or be worse the next time. In your case though, I’d like to hope if you caught it again it would be similar to the first time given as how you’ve had three jabs and a prior infection. But the not knowing, the uncertainty with it all, is a horrible place to be.

    Oh my, you talking about Greggs made me think of bacon rolls from there. Mmmmmm.

    Well, I’m glad you’ve been out to do something that feels like normality, but not glad it served more as a reminder of how accessibility still sucks in a lot of places.

    I’m 100% with you on wanting the summer. My body is mighty pissed off with the cold. Wrong country to live in when you wait all year just for a few days of summer warmth.

    I’ve seen your Wordle scores on Twitter and have downloaded the app, just not played it yet. Funnily enough, my dad watches Lingo on TV and a few weeks ago I joined in – it seems to be the same thing! It’s 3pm ITV.

    This Is Us is brilliant, isn’t it? I’m a season or two behind though. I’ve watched Dead To Me and The Politician on Netflix, both of which were good and I’d recommend. Not really get you in the feelies types, but a little lighter around the edges, yet smart at the same time.

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    1. Ooh I’ve not had a Greggs bacon roll, I take it they’re good then!

      Yes I’m dubious that people register lateral flows, and so the numbers are far from accurate and we should still be more cautious than they’d like us to think. But then soon we can all roam around positive…

      Ah I have watched Lingo, it’s quite fun to play along. My fun level has definitely changed these past could of years!

      I’ve heard of Dead To Me, but not The Politician. I’ll have to take a look, thanks. You must catch up with This Is Us when you can.

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  3. Oh, how lucky we are to have vaccines. I don’t understand why people don’t get them, unless it’s for a medical reason. So annoying that you had covid, but obviously the vaccine prevented you from getting seriously ill. And of course, the load viral load would have made a difference. I think you’re wise to still be cautious. Covid hasn’t gone away. I don’t know if it ever will. I have been careful throughout in order to protect myself and my family and I won’t be changing.

    I used to watch This Is Us when it came out at first. Think I watched the first couple of series, then forgot about it until you just mentioned it. I know I enjoyed it.

    I’ll need to look for The Great Pottery Throwdown. I’m sure I would love it.

    Oh, Wordle. And Worgle. And Nerdle. I need to do them every morning. Emphasis on ‘need’. I am addicted. Worgle is the six-letter version and I got that in two goes one day. I felt like I’d won the lottery! I think the best I’ve done on Wordle is three.

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    1. Yes, I think I definitely have the vaccine to thank. Don’t think we will ever be rid of Covid either, but hopefully with regular vaccinations and caution when needed, we will some day worry less.

      I love This Is Us, it’s coming to an end and all available on Prime and Disney+ if you ever feel like catching up.

      The Great Pottery Throwdown can be found on 4OD, just watch out for Mr Emotionsl
      Judge…

      Oh I haven’t seen Worgle, which is probably a good thing because I’m totally hooked on the others. It’s one of the first things I do everyday! Well done on the 2, it feels accomplished doesn’t it?!

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  4. Enjoy these as feel I’m catching up with you. Glad to hear you are recovering from COVID, sad you got it. Heard about the weird eye thing – co-worker’s daughter’s eyes hurt when she had COVID. Yes I think the vaccines are working. Excited over your 100 day project. Have it on the calendar. We are having weather bombs they are calling them snow storms & freezing rain usually end of the week or weekend. So take care. You have a good immunity for a while now. But still be smart and safe.

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  5. New follower here for the 100dayproject. Sorry to hear the plague found you and hope you are feeling better. I’d be curious to know what drawing programs you downloaded. I have many, but decided against doing anything digital for the project, but I haven’t settled yet on what exactly I will be doing. It will be an adventure. 🙂

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    1. I’m feeling well thanks, very fortunate.
      The apps I’ve been using are Sketchbook and Concepts. Only the free versions at the moment and doing very abstract marks.
      I look forward to seeing what you’re doing, drop me a link or # or come find me on Instagram.

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  6. So sorry to hear you contracted Covid even with all of your precautions…this new variant especially seems to be impossible to hide from – BUT, by being vaccinated, the symptoms are less dangerous – while still dangerous I know – and it’s frustrating that so many people have contracted it due to the lack of protection from others who are fighting the cure…

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  7. I’m just useless when it comes to popular stuff–never seen This is Us, never tried Wordle. Because I know I’d get sucked in! I’ll want to know what your new show is though. Living vicariously. And I love the idea of more garden-going, etc. We’ve had a very cold winter here with more snow than usual for Maryland–and I love it. A good excuse for my boys to go outside and wear themselves out and for me to stay in by the fire! Been catching up on my Goodreads. Read a bunch last year I forgot to post. Kinda fun to see what I achieved there.

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    1. It’s probably for the best that you haven’t discovered either, I’m totally absorbed by both. And so less actual productive stuff gets done.
      Oh we haven’t had any snow yet this year. I’m hoping for a flurry or two, I too love it. Until it goes grey and slushy anyway.
      Just checked out your Goodreads and saw you read The Dutch House. Loved it. I listened to the audiobook and it’s narrated by Tom Hanks. He has one great storytelling voice.

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      1. I listened to the audiobook of The Dutch House, too. Wasn’t Hanks wonderful!? Also, I just read her new essay collection, These Precious Days, in which she talks some about the cover of that book (she commissioned a local artist to paint the cover) and how she came about the plot. Originally, she was thinking it was going to be the mother’s story of her going to India–that was going to be the novel’s thrust. Crazy, huh? And she writes about Tom Hanks and his assistant, who became a close friend of Patchett’s. I read that as an audiobook, too. Patchett herself narrates, and also does a nice job.

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      2. Hanks really made it for me. Oh that’s really interesting to know! Might have to check the essay collection out. I haven’t read anything else by Patchett and really should. There are just so many things to read and so little time!

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  8. Hey there : ) So good to catch some of your writing again. Sorry you got COVID, I’ve been lucky so far, but this week the Fathership has been a close contact so it’s a nervous wait for the lateral flow results each day. Hope you are feeling ok and on the up and I’m so with you, we do still need to be cautious, but weird as it seems I like a trip round Home Bargains to cheer me up, even if the few bits I went in for turn into a bill of about 30 quid cos I’m all, oooo I just have one of those in my life. Then I come home and realise I already have one ffs!! LOL

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    1. Hey 😊 good to hear from you.
      Sending Covid free vibes your way, hope all those flows stay negative. I was extremely lucky to have been so lightly hit.
      Oh yes, I always come back from Home Bargains with a load of stuff I don’t need. It’s all part of the fun!

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