But who’s counting..
24 hours after getting tested, we were notified that we were negative. Yay! Next test is on Day 12. Until then, we get temperature checks every other day and the nicest nurse calling to have a lovely conversation about how we are doing. The lovely conversation could go on past quarantine as far as I am concerned.
6 days down, 8 to go!
Yesterday was a hump day. It just seemed to drag. We opened a bottle of wine at 3 pm and then watched some of Season 4 of the Crown. Definitely not enjoying Season 4 as much as the earlier seasons. Gillian Anderson is terrific as Maggie Thatcher, but the whole time period is depressing and we’re weeping for Diana. So, maybe not the right choice for quarantine viewing.
This afternoon we get to watch the Georgia returns. Oh, wait … will that cheer us?
We’ve mentioned how important our exercise yard is. The other day, we spotted large green penguins on top of a couple of parked vans in the distance. Hopefully you can see what we saw in the picture attached. We had to crane and reach to snap this. Our subsequent sleuthing suggests that these are vehicles used for the Antarctica exhibit at Christchurch airport. There must be a story why the penguins are green, but we do not know that … yet.
Yesterday, the size of our exercise area was reduced by about a third. Over several days we had observed some of the NZDF (military personnel) discussing moving the fence as we made our laps. Yesterday they acted. Today, Jim learned from fellow returnees (a couple from NC that we had met at LAX – as much as you meet anyone behind a mask) that a separate exercise area (with the piece taken from us) was to be used by a contingent from Russia who are to be housed in a separate building. We are only relying on hear-say and we will let you know if we hear any Russian from over the fence. I did quiz Jim on how he was able to have a conversation while moving, he said something about shuffling in the courtyard area while keeping distant.
Additionally, we have now learned a purpose for our blue wristbands. Our lunchtime newsletter informed us that exercise hours are now assigned to wristband color. We’ve lost the time after dinner and 1pm – 2pm. Ridiculously this feels like a takeaway, even as we feel grateful for the generous amount of outside time that we get! Our check-in nurse today told me that some returnees quarantined in Australia only get outside 3 times in 2 weeks. Thank goodness we didn’t get a yellow band or go to Australia!
