Day 258 Christmas shopping COVID-19 style🎄🎅🏼🛍🛍🛍🤶🏼🎄

Another amazing out-for-the-count sleep last night. No midnight toilet trips 🙄😆

I decided to have a wee day out today as Abbie the camper goes into the garage tomorrow and……since we have a history of nothing ever taking one day… I thought I’d try and get last minute Christmas bits and bobs while I could.

I had to jump start her first thing…. obviously. I have stopped and started the van 7 times today. I managed to restart her with the turn of the key, a deep breath, a please God, please God and pump the accelerator every time….. until I stopped outside the front door to unload the shopping. Nada…. not even a wee “cough” from the engine. Guess I can’t complain but it’s funny how the starting has become such a ritual.

I headed down to the charity shop with some Christmas decorations and other bags. They can’t touch anything for 3 days to ensure any COVID-19 traces are gone, so I told them specifically that the Christmas bag was full of Christmas stuff just so they knew to empty that one faster.

Then went to my friend Gayle’s shop. The little gift shop in Beith is the best!

I should mention too that “she who is not Christmassy” is wearing a sparkly reindeer jumper hence the reason for the photo. Yet you can’t see any of it. Gayle’s shop is amazing (as most of you will know as I talk about it lots!) but even she has a sanitisation stand at the door, a one way system and only 3 customers allowed in at any one time. Folk have got used to learning to queue outside shops rather than barging in.

Was lovely to get a good catch up and have a wee shop. Got lots of wee bits and bobs for people today.

Then headed round to see my favourite 80 year old. She was almost in tears when I arrived as she’d just had a Christmas gift delivered by the Beith Trust from Garnock Valley Youth. She was over the moon with it and so excited to show me what she had. she said there is lots of information in the parcel about looking after herself too and she seemed really touched by that. I love how “old school” she is…. if she calls my mobile and I can’t answer, she’s fine with that as she just assumes I was out….. bless. Craig phoned today while I was there to say he was home for lunch and she wanted me to head up the road so I could make my man’s lunch. I just smiled sweetly while inwardly laughing and thinking eh naw…. 😆

So back up the road specifically to watch him make him own lunch and then I headed down to Irvine Tesco.

My observations today…. it still amazes me that this time last year no one would ever have worn a mask. Everyone you see is donning their masks as they walk across the car park and into the store. Everyone uses hand sanitiser before you go in and most people were wiping down the trolleys. The shop is no longer directional but there are floor signs everywhere to keep a 2m distance. Not many people do anymore.

The clothes for Christmas wee jaw dropping. Pretty much everything on sale were what I would class as comfies. Jeans and jumpers, joggies and hoodies… the emphasis is on comfort as no one can go out and everything is closed. There were about 3 sparkly tops and that was it. Comfort is the fashion for our first COVID-19 Christmas! Actually as I write that…. I do need to remember is was in a Tesco Extra in Irvine, North Ayrshire rather than the designer shops in London but there was comfort everywhere!! My kind of clothes store.

Driving home through school closing time is as busy as rush hour gets these days.

If you stop to think about things for any length of time we realise just how strange our world has become.

We never had to think about touching anything. We could hug and kiss people without the threat of any virus. These are very strange times but hey…. you all know that just as well as me.

In an effort to remain positive as I try to be as often as possible…. yay to comfy clothes in shops!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️