Christmas preparations

Just TWO days to go, as Oakley squealed in my ear this morning.

Which means we've missed the last post and apologise to those of you (most of you!) who didn't get a card this year. I have three (genuine) excuses; please take your pick

1. I left all of "Quent's side" to Quent and they just didn't happen.
2. I spent so much time spelling out the names of Oakley's friends as he ploughed through his, I never seemed to get to my own.
3. Everything happens slowly around here. We have to factor in the "stare" factor. Gazing at the garden, staring into the firelight. We have taken W.H.Davies at his word and are fitting in plenty of standing and staring.

Today, Quent is at work and I am on Christmas preparations. At least I was. I was even cleaning the kitchen floor, when I was tempted away by a 4 year old explorer (he became an explorer when his Mummy went to heaven apparently. Hmm.) He asked me if I'd like to join him on his journey to the Virgin Islands or whether I wanted to stay and do boring jobs. I was immediately tempted. Once I heard the bits about the hammock and sipping coconut milk whilst we sunned ourselves, I was in.

We (Felicity and Jack) set off with our imaginary back packs and had a lovely time. I was very impressed to hear that Jack always carries a tent with a chimney so that Santa can come. And a Christmas tree. And crackers. No wonder that pack felt so heavy. We had a fabulous morning, in spite of our horses nearly being attacked by wolves and one of our hammocks being stolen. It was 3.20pm before I remembered the time-honoured tradition of sticking your children in front of the TV in order to get the jobs done.

We all hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. Here's a Christmas card in the making, in the form of our front door:

Time pressured, time precious

I have finally recovered from writing the last post. We haven’t totally recovered from the news, but each of the last two weeks has been better than the week before. The lingering feeling is one of extreme time pressure, not helped by Quentin’s return to work. I guess that would always have been hard after a year together. But it’s even harder, knowing that we are back to living day by day, unable to plan ahead and not knowing what the future might hold. Even Quent, who is ever-patient and uber-optimistic, has shown signs of frustration and impatience – not to mention extreme tiredness on his days off.

Our two sources of great joy at the moment are the new house (and garden) and Oakley.

We are so pleased we moved. We haven’t yet sold our Chiswick house and that is a bit of a worry, but we haven’t regretted the move for a minute. We can’t quite believe it’s all ours or that we have the town (High Street and London Underground) out of one gate and country (wood and river) out of the other. The house is pretty cold – I had to thaw the olive oil before I cooked last week and Oakley’s new trick is to stick his hands up your back to warm them. But who cares? It’s a very magical, calming place. If I feel sad or stressed I retreat to the garden and instantly feel better. Quent loves pottering about in his workshed or chopping logs. Oakley watches the birds feeding as he eats his breakfast. And we have all become open fire addicts.

The view from my office window (doesn't do it justice).

Ten yards from the back gate.

The fireplace.

Oakley is going through a “couldn’t be more charming” phase and we are loving his company. He has settled really well at school and seems to have a party every week. He is really enjoying learning to read and to ride his bike without stabilisers (though not yet at the same time). And he loves showing people round the house. He seems to be getting a real buzz from so much excitement – he is a chirpy, affectionate bundle of fun and we laugh together all the time. I know that everything with children is "just a phase", but we hope this one lasts as long as possible.

Oakley (very much) at home.

Oakley's room - a rare tidy moment.

We are aware that we can't freeze time, but we can certainly make the most of it.