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.