Day 34- Back to Level 3

I wake to the alarm and remember what getting up and out the door early is like. I add baking cheese scones for the boys. They've just arrived and unpacking when I pull up. It's finger rubbing cold but we're in buoyant and banter centres on how much around the house work we did, how early the first drink of the day was, the new procedures, and getting back into gear. Kirk gives a common sense rundown of sign in's, hygiene, and distancing. Tells us his arse is on the line so we need to follow rules. Not sure what all of them are, but if post earthquake regulations are anything to go by, it's a heap, all of which are not actually practically possible.
There's movement and activity after a quiet of so long, and a sense of relief. I'm happy to enter the building which I've roamed about on my own all those days. I go through a list with Kirk- manhole location, internal doors, shower recess, etc. Lance arrives to start painting the outside. He got lots of work done at home but is happy to move outside again too.
I have an English department Zoom call which I rush back for and miss half of. We discuss the logistics of long-distance learning. Various points but they come back to student welfare. It's a balancing act, especially for seniors, between assessment and mental well being.
I'm back on site mid afternoon. The front door is being put in place. Feels like a house. Lance is making progress and Pete from Ambrose Heal contacts me. I drop in, shirt over my mouth till I get in the door. Not sure of the rules for his type of business. It's a long chat as Pete polishes the ensuite vanity. It's made from rimu from the house and the design is from a picture I showed him. Awesome. Meanwhile, the old door which needs thinning by 4mm is on the operating table in the shed. Zhu is dealing with it.
Edgeware Road and Barbadoes Street are busy as I drive home and I realise I haven't driven these roads for what feels like an age. As I turn left onto Colombo Street from Burlington, I nearly rear end a stationery car. It's the last in a line which snakes out from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The hype generated by opening fast food outlets has resulted in people waiting two or more hours in drive through lines. The night of lock down it happened too, though not to the same extent. People in long queues to get a fast food fix denied in the imminent lock down. Down the road there's an empty small takeaway shop, Mediterranean Foods, with its doors wide open.
At home I put my feet up in front of the tele. Reassured by increasing levels of activity, albeit of a limited nature. Life is assuming normality.