Staying Home Part 2: Day 27

Today is the last day of the current coronavirus restrictions. From tomorrow all shops and restaurants can open again, and pubs so long as they serve meals, with eating out restricted to household groups. TG's dance classes can take place at the studios again, and we can hold in person band practices again, so long as we stick to the same Covid safe arrangements as before (2m distancing, bell covers, masks when not playing, and so on). 

For the first time in many years (decades?) I have an advent calendar, with a small single measure bottle of gin for each day of the month. Part of me feels a little guilty for succumbing to the commercialisation of Advent, but this year of all years it the rest of me likes the idea of having something a bit fun to look forward to each day, and that part won. I am not a big drinker, but my current preferred indulgence is a gin and tonic in the evening, so I will enjoy working my way through these. 

Today's bottle turned out to be cherry gin, which I have never had before. Neat, it smelled a bit like old-fashioned cherry-flavoured cough medicine, but it tasted good with tonic. I think it would also be a good base for cocktails. While I am on the subject of little luxuries, Whittards are kindly replacing not just the spilled hot chocolate, but the entire box of items. Unfortunately the orange flavoured hot chocolate H and TG were looking forward to is now out of stock, so we are getting cinnamon flavour instead. 

Today was another routine work / school day. The timer on the car climate control is now working well, which makes going out early on cold mornings much more pleasant.  It was a nice, cold but bright day, so M and I did a 2 mile local walk (avoiding mud today!) after he collected TG from school. TG had a catering practical class today and brought home lasagne she had made. As she is the only person who both can and will eat the cheese in it, she ate half of it as a pre-dance "snack" today, and will have the rest tomorrow. She has grown a lot this year and is still getting hung, so maybe the growth spurt isn't over. H had her first trip out of the (home) office for work, to help with a stock count in a cold warehouse about 75 minutes drive away. It didn't take too long and I think she enjoyed the opportunity just to go somewhere and do something!