It’s somehow August? The END of August? I’m not entirely sure where that’s all gone… Well, I do know: we moved house. And I’m changing jobs. And we decided to pick August for doing All The Trips.
So, good news first! We moved house! We’re still in Oxford, but have moved down to one of the tiny little villages to the south of the city. We’ve got an adorable cottage with wonky floors, a hidden well and lots of beams to whack heads on unexpectedly. It promises to be a lot of fun!
And the bad news… unfortunately our small black grumpy housemate passed away. Bobble’s arthritis had been getting worse for a few months and just after we moved, one of his back legs gave up, and we made the decision to put him to sleep. The Otter and I were both with him when he fell asleep at home, and we miss him terribly – the house is far too quiet! But he had a lovely retirement with naps, humans to yell at, lots of biscuits (although of course NOT ENOUGH, WHY IS MY BOWL EMPTY, I AM BEING STARVED) and so much love – and we were honoured to have his company through lockdown. We’d definitely consider taking on an older cat again, and he had so much personality and character that it was great fun to spend time with him.
And the… medium?… news – I am changing jobs again! Still in the journals business, but moving into Production at Taylor&Francis for a year. It’s a bit of a pay rise plus I can cycle to work, so that will be a good bonus. They’ve been lovely so far (and my old team at Elsevier are lovely too!) so it’s been as easy a transition as possible.
Trips-wise, we managed to get out to the Great Dorset Steam Fair this year; it was VERY HOT but we had a good morning wandering around, poking through the jumble and watching the steam engine playground. We’ve also managed to see some family, watch the powerboat races on the Solent, visit friends in Oxford and enjoy our garden – which still feels like a day out in itself! We saw a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth (so quick! so pretty!) and we’ve got loads of bees on the lavender and it still feels like a holiday cottage… if you excuse the piles of boxes.
Beyond that; no writing yet, and very little reading – my brain seems to be mostly consumed with logistics. I’m still grey, albeit with more energy; but I just can’t get excited about much. I’m still hoping that if I stay on the anti-depressants (which are working the best out of all the ones I’ve tried) then things will start coming back? And if there’s a bit of normality and chill in the new house, and the job settles down, then that will help. It’s something to aim towards anyway.
Oxford has been beautiful in the sunshine though!
