Illustrated Epistle Extract: We Got Covid

Well, it was almost inevitable: finally we got Covid. I probably caught it from going to bridge lessons, as fewer and fewer people are wearing masks (our Lyttleton table have been insisting anyone who plays with us wear a mask, but we are in the minority).

It was like a heavy cold with extra aches for a day and a half. Even my eyeballs ached. How is that possible? One of my neighbours called to say that she had made muffins with a special ingredient. I was hoping it was marijuana (not legal in New Zealand, unfortunately), but it was chocolate. Nearly as good. And it was the first of many deliveries we received during our isolation.

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I did a lot of lounging around in bed, especially after a sleepless night. I couldn't concentrate to read so I listened to Lisa Tarbuck on BBC Radio ). Her show is so entertaining I had to switch to Joni Mitchell to finally drift back to sleep.

The boyf got it two days after I did and my sister in Auckland got it two days after him. New Zealand is surging.

This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out once a month-ish. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Being Healthy in New Zealand

As I write this we are still Covid free, but getting fed-up of mostly sitting outside bars and cafes, especially as we have had a burst of wintry weather. The boyf is super fed up as he doesn’t have as many down jackets and woolly hats as I do.

Because of my reducing-the-money-I-give-to-polluting-dairy-companies, I have amassed a small fortune with the money I've saved from having my coffee black instead of enjoying a latte. But my jar will keep filling up for a while before I feel it is worth the risk of eating out..

I'm waiting for three weeks to pass without hearing of a someone we know here getting Covid before I venture inside to mingle with people at random, without a mask.

We've also been looking into our long-term health. We are generally healthy, but we're getting older (shock!)

So we want to know that should anything happen we’ll be covered. New Zealand has a public health system that covers emergencies, but it is patchy when it comes to everything else.

This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out once a month-ish. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Is it Safe to be Let Off the Leash?

We are waiting this week for more details of the new COVID traffic light system which comes into effect on December 3. It will mean less lockdowns and less restriction of movement.

People who are doubly vaccinated will be let off the leash, particularly in Auckland, where they have been in lockdown for over 100 days. Travel out of Auckland is is kicking off from the 15th of December. My sister has booked a flight to see us in Christchurch a week later. Hopefully by then they will have ironed out the kinks.

Not being let off the leash as much is Molly. She has been a very bad girl, attacking other dogs for no reason. Only a few, but randomly, nice dogs, and luckily dogs that belong to people we know. It's upsetting and embarrassing (she hasn't drawn blood, but she has come away with mouthfuls of fur on two occasions. Not a good look.).

A dog trainer came out to the house on Thursday. Although she gave me some general training tools that I will put into practice, she couldn't explain why it was happening. Only to continue to work on training her to not only to obey our commands, but make her own good choices! I'm not sure how this is going to work…

This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out once a month-ish. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Level 4 Lockdown in New Zealand and Loving It

When I emailed our extended family to say that we were back in lockdown in New Zealand, my almost brother-in-law asked how many cases had put us there. The answer is one. This has been a focus of attention of foreign media, but was no surprise to most Kiwis who valued the relatively normal, COVID-free lives we had been living during most of the pandemic.

I’m delighted that we have a trigger-happy government that put us into complete lockdown within a day because one person in the community tested positive for COVID-19. Because we have the luxury of giving elimination another try. And it just might work.

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Level four is the harshest lockdown level in New Zealand and it is way stricter than lockdowns in other countries. Only essential workers can go out to work. Everybody else has to be at home unless you need to buy groceries, go to the pharmacy/post office, or go out to exercise. I had a cold when we went into lockdown and though I said I had no reason to think it was the novel coronavirus, the local health centre invited me in for a test (like all COVID-19-related healthcare, testing is free). The last time I did it it wasn’t so bad, but it’s really uncomfortable if you have a sore throat. Then we had to absolutely stay home for two days whilst I waited for the results. Thankfully negative.

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Click to see options for using the image

This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out once a month-ish. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.