Ticking Over

Summer is finally starting to feel like it's finished. Hottest on record worldwide since records began 137 years ago. Too much for me.

I'm still on holiday because I had three weeks of annual leave to take. My first day back at the library is the 28th. (That's 2 days before my 46th birthday). While I've been away, I've seen half a dozen emails about people moving on to other jobs. I love my job as a shelver but it feels like the end of an era. Ho hum. The only constant is change etc. I feel sad because I'm getting a new manager and the library is becoming increasingly more UCL and corporate.

I'm working extra shifts in October because the shelving team is currently understaffed. A six hour shift is tiring, and I'll have three and sometimes 4 a week. Wondering how I'll cope and if I need to get some shoes with squishier soles. I only wear vivobarefoot shoes these days - one option is to fit two pairs of insoles in my most supportive pair.

Huw's working long hours at the moment on a project he isn't enjoying. I've got everything crossed that the client will run out of money so he can stop doing it. His mum and brother are both still waiting to hear when their surgeries are going ahead. His mum is in France, I think hers is likely to be quicker. Owen's could be another few months on the waiting list.

We're still working on getting the house spruced up so we can move out. We go back and forth but our current feeling is that we want to sell. I'll be happy if I don't have to spend another summer in the city. I want to feel grass under my feet that isn't in a park and trodden by hundreds of people a day. We're getting articficial grass put in our garden, and a new deck, it's exciting. I've been selling old furniture on ebay as part of the decluttering process. I enjoy it a surprising amount. Our house is not small (it's the size of a decent 2 bed apartment, about 1000 sq foot), but the proportions are a little mean and there are a lot of stairs, so it's quite a job to move furniture around. Moving furniture around is one of my favourite things to do when I'm feeling restless (I get it from my mum). No wonder I've felt so restricted living here. Yesterday, I carried loads of drawers and shelves up several flights of stairs (Huw helped me with the heavy stuff). It was quite satisfying, and there's a lot more to be done. Cheerleading appreciated.

On Saturday night, I watched something that turned out to be more graphically violent than I was expecting. Then last night I watched a film in which the denoument was a dog getting squashed flat by a lorry. I did it to myself. I'll be ok, but I need to remember that I'm better off watching intensely emotional and/or violent stuff at the cinema, where I feel more detached. I should get into documentaries. Recs welcome.

My head is all over the place today. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to my work supervision group tonight. It will be good for me to see everyone - they always lift me up - but the group doesn't finish until 9.30 and the journey is quite tiring. Plus all the social interaction and soul searching. There's no right answer, but I'm leaning towards taking care of myself and staying home.

Htere's a link to an incredible house under the White Cliffs of Dover. It's beautiful, but seriously who would be mad enough to live here? Come to that, who would be mad enough to insure it?
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