Friday 9 June 2017

Up in the air



It's almost a week since we returned from our (now annual) week on Skye. Only one rainy day was had - so we lit the fire, took hot baths and did our best to keep Joe occupied - and the rest of the time it was magical.

Dolphins, seal boat trips, castles, rusty old lighthouses, gardens, forest walks, beautiful beaches, mountains, bluebells, cuckoos... And solitude.


Things are a bit up in the air at the moment. In small ways and more significant ones.


My stepdad has sold the house he and my mum shared. It's far too big for just him so in some ways I feel sad but in others relieved. It just doesn't feel the same there any more. I always picture her waiting for us at the kitchen window, or summoning me upstairs to try on clothes. Visiting that house is hard.

He's offered me a few pieces of furniture and I'd like to have them. It's just a case now of figuring where they'll go in our little cottage.

Fortunately one of my friends lives in a house which owned the old village wood yard, so there's an outbuilding where I can store a particularly troublesome desk. The rest... Well, we'll just have to move things around a bit.


We're also wanting to put our house up for sale soon. There are a few health-related problems I want to deal with first though, so no solid plans just yet.

What we'd intended to do in terms of moving has shifted a bit, too. This after plenty of research and speaking to lots of people. But we're still keen to get moving and I'll share more once we actually know the details and mobilise ourselves into action!


And now we need to replace the hallway carpet (which was only fitted last year). On Tuesday afternoon I pulled the ironing board out of the understairs cupboard and tipped a tub of black masonry paint all over the floor. The resulting slick was an inch thick and about two feet wide.

The carpet, by the way, is an oatmeal colour.

I didn't take it well. Jay had to come home from work early to help.


Later that evening I learned that Joe needed a bug costume for the following morning. Cue panicked block-printing of an old T-shirt and stitching of muslin into moth wings.

He came downstairs way after bedtime to see how I was 'getting on' and managed to kick a cup of as-yet untouched tea all over the living room carpet. I may have yelled at him, then issued a grovelling apology shortly afterwards.


So what with arranging transport (and space) for furniture, needing more masonry paint to finish the gable end, and trying to find a carpet fitter, things are a bit all over the place.


Let's not even get started on politics.


And to round off this frankly rather self-indulgent whinge-fest (sorry about that): I just finished a book which had a sort of inconclusive ending. I managed all the way through to stop myself from peeking. I won't name the book (unless you ask) but the whole storyline was leading up to whether (or not) something would happen. And now I'll never know.

Anyway, there are more pretty pictures from Skye (without the commentary) here, if you'd like a look.

Have a great weekend. I've overdone it with the news lately so am hoping to perhaps unplug and do a few more mindful things instead.



5 comments:

  1. Hi Sarah
    I am glad you had a lovely time on Skye - it is such a wonderful part of the world. I hope you are feeling a little better with regards to politics, things are maybe a smidgen less bleak than they were yesterday (for me that's true at least). Staying clear of the news is a good idea though, it will be a stormy few days. I am sorry about your carpet, both carpets actually although tea stains are maybe not as bad as masonry paint. We've all yelled at our children... I have apologised to my children so many times I feel ashamed to think of it. Look after yourself and hopefully soon your health will improve. x

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  2. Oh dear, the masonry paint thing sounds exactly like something I would do too. And the trotting downstairs after hours to knock over a cup of tea is the kind of thing the littlest boy would do. I can imagine your stress levels. Glad you had a good break on Skye though, it always looks breathtaking. I hope you have a good weekend and that all is well with you. Annoying about the book too, I hate a wishy-washy ending. CJ xx

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  3. Hey Sarah,
    It's a dream of mine to visit the islands around Scotland. I think it's the romantic hermit in me. It's just so far away from here! So sorry to hear that you're not 100%. I shouted at Olly last night. Actually I got irritated and tetchy about him being in my personal space with his clingyness. I felt like the worse mother (believe me, a daily occurrence). Anyway you apologised to Joe. He will learn that everyone has their moments, but a sorry goes a long way.
    Have a restful weekend.
    Leanne xx

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  4. Oh dear, I can see why you feel all at sea right at the moment. You describe how I'm feeling about goings on round here too. Things will resolve and pleased you had a restful break away. It sounds blissful on Skye. And yes, we've all yelled at our children!

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  5. I am so pleased that it isn't just me that has days like that. Last week in the frazzled moments when trying to get out the door for work I dashed out to water the beans and trod in some somewhat unformed dog you-know-what. Clearly in my frazzled stated I didn't even notice it was between my toes (I kid you not!!) until I had walked it over the clean doormat and across the living room floor (thankfully wood!). At which point I turned to see where I had left my cup of tea and lazily wondered how there could be mud on the clean doormat in the middle of a drought. Cue some swear words that would make a trucker's hair curl and comedy moments of me trying to hop upstairs to the shower!!! You couldn't make it up :-) xx

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