I also have to say a huge thumbs up not only to all the doctors, nurses and carers at rest homes all over the country but also to the cooks and cleaners that leave their bubble to make sure our most vulnerable are looked after.
That goes to everyone out there working on the frontline. Supermarket workers — you are amazing.
It's not been a good week with the death toll steadily rising. Although the good news is that new cases are falling and lots of people have recovered.
As Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Monday: "This is the largest number of deaths we have recorded in any day in New Zealand from Covid-19 and it is a sobering reminder of what is at stake."
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
So true. There are lives at stake and while the majority of us are doing the right thing and staying home, unfortunately there are others that seemingly don't give a damn.
They are not going to read this so I won't waste my time or yours ranting on about it. I will say though that if you do see people blatantly flouting the rules report them on www.105.police.govt.nz
It's not being a snitch, in fact it might just save their life or someone close to you.
It's not all doom and gloom though. My social media feed has been full of friends posting pictures of their home baking or preserving.
It's great to see people using this time at home to have a go at something they have never done before or at least not for a long time.
On Saturday I decided to make some bread. I had no yeast and only gluten free flour. Someone told me to look up Chelsea Winter's lockdown loaf. Basically it was a fancy beer or soda bread — looked simple. The only ingredient I had trouble getting was the beer. Had to talk Mr Neat into that one.
The gluten free version called for chia seeds. Pretty sure I didn't have any of those but after a search of the back of the cupboard, lo and behold there was a packet. It was outdated but they were seeds so i figured they would be fine.
Whipped it up, put it in the oven for the required 40 minutes. In the meantime my daughter was making one as well and she sent me a photo of her lovely finished loaf.
Time was up — loaf was still stodgy in the middle. After an hour I gave up and took it out. We did have some with our lunch but — well it was horrible — even with piles of butter. Think I'll stick to making relish — there's heaps of feijoas in the backyard and no one to give them to.
I tried putting some at the end of the driveway with a sign saying "picked up wearing gloves. Please help yourself" but I only had a couple of takers.
Never mind. Next year I will make sure I share them far and wide.
As we head into the last week of lockdown (I hope) take care and remember how lucky we are to live in this beautiful country.
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
