Today was unexpectedly quite interesting and varied - a nice change to most lockdown days. I woke around 7 and after doing some writing went out for a walk - I decided to drive down Houghtons Lane so that I could walk somewhere different without having to walk to the different place, it was nice to have a different view on my walk and explore a new area. I took my camera and got a few good shots too. It was also quite reassuring that my car started with no issues.
I planned to spend the rest of the day pottering around the house. Amelie had had a bad morning so I hung out with her for a while. Liam and I worked on a number puzzle that has me stumped. The kids and I all played Among Us for an hour or so. My earaches have been getting more frequent and Caitlin's throat has been sore for a while, so we decided to have another COVID test just to be sure. The testing facility at Healesville said it was open from 12-3 Mon-Sat so we headed down there (stopping briefly to see the Masked Lapwings and their babies on the way into town - we only saw one baby, he was quite well camouflaged so the others could have been hiding there too). The testing centre was closed when we arrived at 12.30 and remained so while we researched where else we could go. It looked like Knox Westfield was the best option, so we went for the longest drive I've been on in a while! It felt like so far away, but it's just down the road from Caitlin's Cheer gym - so I drive that far several times a week usually. The roads were steady with traffic but not busy - and when we arrived at Knox it was bizarre to see empty carparks - just cars near the supermarket entrances. The testing centre is a drivethrough one here so we stayed in the car and had our tests - mine was the easiest I've had so far, Caitlin's was more uncomfortable. Driving home I was confused a couple of times which was the best way to go but I soon remembered the way I usually go. It was enjoyable being in the car with Caitlin and chatting and listening to music.
At home I did some dishes and some of my outside work, then did some of my course. Caitlin and Tony went for a bike ride (Liam had gone while we were out), then Caitlin helped Amelie with riding her bike. Caitlin then cooked brownies, I played the piano, Amelie played on the trampoline and Liam on his computer. Caitlin went for another walk, and found a baby wombat with it's mother - she rang Wildlife Victoria and they were going to send someone out. We all went down to see it (it was on the edge of Houghton's Lane and so incredibly cute, and definitely alone. It kept falling asleep while we watched it). A volunteer rang and was still a while away and suggested that we take it back to the house, especially as it was nearly dark. Caitlin threw a jumper over it and got her hands on it, but it fought hard and slipped away from her and sprinted into the paddock and was on the far side of the field in less than a minute - there's no way we could have caught it once it went. It was reassuring to see that it didn't seem injured, and it was probably big enough to survive by itself.
While we were waiting for dinner we went outside to see the International Space Station pass over, unfortunately it was too cloudy to see anything. It was cool being out the front in the dark though, all 5 of us, so it didn't really feel like we missed out. We mucked around with torchlight and hiding in the dark, then came in for meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The girls watched YouTube, Liam did some maintenance on his computer, Tony and I watched Umbrella Academy. I didn't end up getting much done around the house at all but I did have a fun day and am feeling good.
The new case numbers are bobbing up and down either side of 100. Numbers of deaths are high - some of them are not recent, they are deaths that were reported to the Federal Govt and those numbers are just coming through. People are still dying though and it's so horrible to hear that each day. Looking forward (I think) to finding out tomorrow what the plan is from here - I don't think anything much will change for a while yet, but I guess it's good that we're at least at a point where we're starting to talk about it.
