On holiday

WH is skiing this week. Rather him than me, I don't do cold. Lyme and Raynauds put paid to that. In an ideal world and if it were warm I would go, I'd love to see all that snow. I love snow but these days only on TV or through the window.

So while I have this brief respite I'm taking a week off too. No phone calls, no irate contractors/customers/suppliers moaning at me. The peace is palpable, you can almost eat it. It's lovely. The house looks sparkling thanks to my wonderful cleaner and what's more there is no red sand and concrete tramped in 10 minutes after she finished. I eat when I like, I watch what I like, (what is it with men and the remote? I guess that's one of those meaning of life questions)I even sit where I like, the cats having cleared off outside as pester power gets short shrift from me and they know it. All in all I'm having a lovely break. I've read 3 books, eaten cloves and cloves of garlic and found TV programmes I didn't know existed.

The peace will be shattered on Saturday when the wanderer returns, bringing with him a week's laundry and all the detritus of living out of a rucksack for a week.

You know what? I can't wait. Silence is golden but I do miss that all that noise.

Up to the roof

We have finally reached roof height on our extension. The bricklayer had 4 days left to do at the beginning of December and the weather has been so awful ever since it has taken until this week to get those 4 days of work done. Now the timbers are on and we are just waiting for the roofer to add the final layers. Then we can start on the inside, only 11 months since I first set foot in the house. WH is off for a much needed break this weekend, his annual skiing trip. I'm staying in the relative warm here.

Meanwhile this house is for sale and has been advertised once, with 2 viewings. It's being advertised again shortly but it looks like the weather is set to stay wet and floods surround our village. Sadly, not the sort of weather I would go house-hunting in.

Back on the case

Some extremely good news for the new year, Dr Crippen is alive and well and posting again. After rumours of his demise and a spoof obituary, John Crippen has surfaced again after his unscheduled autumn break and I for one am extremely pleased about it. His diagnosis of the NHS is spot on and the points he raises are the concerns of all of us, not just the chronically sick like me. As I have said countless times before, the NHS has done very little to help me over the last 16 years and my recovery and treatment are entirely due to the private sector.

I look forward to new ideas and ever more anger from the good doctor, it really is great to see him back.

The cat with his own overnight bag

Nelson is in love. He purrs, he is happy, he sleeps peacefully and he is calmer than he has ever been. His neurosis on the back burner for once. He spends a lot more time in the house now, to the annoyance of Misty who thinks that he rules the roost. Nelson has found a new permanant place to sit and cuddles up with the object of his affections, totally ignorning the ploys of his mad brother.

It all started about 6 weeks ago. I had ordered some Christmas stuff from a catalogue here on the internet. When the goods arrived they were accompanied by a 'wonderful free gift'. I examined the package. It was a small very tacky-looking, supposed 'overnight bag in faux suede'. Well overnight bag for a dwarf or a Barbie doll perhaps, it would just about contain a toothbrush and flannel. I tossed it on the floor with disdain until I could decide what to do with it. The bin seemed too good, maybe it could go into the next charity shop bag. I promptly forgot about it for 24 hours, being hidden from sight as it was under the dining table.

The next thing that happened was Nelson disappeared. One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. Then he seemed to keep appearing from nowhere. Finally my brain did a bit of joined up thinking: Nelson was under the table. Strange. On closer examination there he was having dragged the bag into the corner of the room underneath the floor lamp, and was happily seated on it purring loudly. Not something he does very often. When he finally moved the next morning I moved the bag en-route to the garage and the charity bag. Nelson shrieked and walked round in circles. He cried, he jumped up onto the arm of the sofa and looked into my eyes. He kept crying, real tears. I put the bag back again and on he leapt and rolled on it waving his legs into the air. He settled down again and, after breakfast, fell into a deep sleep.

So now I have a tatty, tacky hold-all under my dining table and one very happy, chilled-out cat. I presume the fabric is warm as it has a plastic lining and that the 'faux-suede' is soft to his paws. It can't be very comfortable, having two thick straps, a buckle and zip on it's top surface but Nelson loves it. After 5 years he has finally found a bed he loves and a peace which which has calmed us down too, life wasn't easy with a neurotic cat.

4 days later

and it's already 2008.

I am starting this year as I mean to go on. So far we have had a house viewing, a decluttering session with a vengeance, some early nights and the best news of all, the floor is down in my new kitchen! Yay!

I've also found time to read 2 books and my Christmas presents from my sis FINALLY arrived. Ordered on 11th December they got here yesterday. Wow, Amazon really excelled themselves! So now I have a new task ahead, Teach Yourself Greek. Seeing as I have been trying to get a local course for the last 5 years and no-one does anything like that out in the sticks here and when they tried it was canclled due to lack of interest this is the next best thing. Like all good resolutions I will begin in earnest. Actually I think I just found out the reason for the Amazon delay, I have been sent the Canadian/US version. Strange.

So things to look forward to in the next few weeks are:

Planning the new kitchen
Getting the roof on
Starting the new garden
Selling this house
Going to dinner with some very old friends
A whole week of me time whilst WH goes skiing
Another appointment with my lovely Lyme doc
Planning/ research for this year's Greece trips
Learning a little bit of Greek

It's a tough life isn't it?