Skip to main content

Happy new year (let's hope it's a better one)

Well, that's the end of 2020 and aren't we all glad to see the back of it! The last 2 weeks have been a great chance to have some downtime, although I will freely admit that with everything going on (life more so than the move), I'm heading back into work feeling less rested than I might have hoped for. If I'm honest I think I, like a number of others I've spoken to, just feel a bit emotional about what's going on right now. The pandemic continues to have a grip on everything we do and all spontaneity has escaped us. At the same time the vaccines started to give us hope for an end to all the madness, the new variant of Covid increased transmission rates by 70% and so we are all heading back into lockdown again (or something which looks and feels like a lockdown even if its called 'tier 4'). The kids start back at school tomorrow and have 2 weeks of remote learning to look forward to before they have any hope of being back in the classroom, and even that doesn't fill them with joy as the restrictions mean they are constantly being told off for not wearing a mask / standing too close to a friend / walking on the wrong side of the corridor / sharing some stationery... madness. 

In better news we have been back to the barn twice now and every time we go it just gets better. We seem to be spending money like water and we are nowhere near exchanging contracts - lets hope our trust is not misplaced. The opportunity to input into the final finish is wonderful, even if we hare having to take a punt on a few things and buy from website photos because we cant shop for anything in person!!  Despite the much smaller space, I think we will be OK and Im enjoying the process of simplifying already.

This week I sorted out all of my glass and put the kilns up on a FB forum where they took less than 10 minutes each to sell. The lady who came for the smaller kiln rather surprised herself and her husband by mot only buying the kiln but also all of my left over glass, tools, fire paper - everything! She walked away £2000 poorer but very excited with her (bargain) horde. Her husband looked less pleased, muttering to himself "I don't know where this is all going"! Sorting it all out did make me a bit sad. I came to realise (bit of an epiphany moment) that I'd bought a lot of the glass as an antidote to how work was making me feel at the time. - much of it bought on the train home after another frustrating day. It's no surprise that I haven't felt the need to do anywhere near as much since leaving EY. I have loved the creative process but I'm not sad to leave it behind for the moment. I think I will come back to it in time, but not now - I don't need it just now which is a sign of how much happier I am professionally. 

Glenn has also sold a few tools which he hasn't used for ages and is planning on downsizing a bit more, if he can bring himself to do so. We just want to get going now - it's the waiting that's a killer.

So back to work and a very busy month, which will at least pass the lockdown time more quickly. I can't wait to get to the end of January, it's always such a slow month, so that we start to feel the benefit of the days getting longer and more hope of an end to the pandemic. In the meantime, deep breath and dive in - will all feel better in the morning when I'm in the midst of it rather than on the sidelines just thinking about wall to wall Teams meetings again...

If only always so well behaved!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diary management!

This part of the summer is definitely typified by me trying to remember who is supposed to be where and when. Abi likes to be off doing something with someone while Izzy is happier to know she's close to home and so for the last week they've gone their separate ways. Abi has been down in Somerset making the most of Ben and Laurie being about. From what I can tell she's having a lovely time. Apart from the covert phone call one evening to tell me she was 'starving'  (Mum was cooking for the hordes and so it had been delayed), I've barely heard from her. The few calls I have had have very quickly ended in "can I go now" like I'm making her speak to me! Today she switches from Mum and Dads to a night or two with Kerrie - not sure who is more excited! Izzy didn't want to be away for that long so she opted not to go. She's very conscious that Abi and Laurie are joined at the hip when together and Ben has his own things he wants to do so she ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All about Izzy

This weekend has mainly been about Izzy, mostly because Abi has been off riding again and so we've hardly seen her. This has its pros and cons - on the one hand Izzy gets lots of attention and the choice of what to do. On the other she misses Abi and when big sister arrives home we have the inevitable few hours of resettling which seems to involve tears as a matter of course. I did have a moment of despair this evening when I looked across to the table just before Sunday dinner - normally a happy time - to see both of them, heads on arms, holding back tears. Luckily a bit of food and a game of 20 questions to share what everybody had enjoyed about their weekend and we kind of managed to get back on track by dessert. When asked what she wanted to do, Izzy immediately shouted "Jo Jo" so my task was to sort out a visit with Jo, the boys and Ellie. No matter how much time passes they still love to see each other and the first task is always the same. Edward and Izzy have t...
Post a Comment
Read more