Do It Yourself

A quick break from political ranting and struggling for peace and justice to say that I am sleeping better and a lot less stressed. To celebrate this new lease of life I have started painting the bathroom daffodil yellow. Sixteen shelves have been put up by our friend Long Dave, and painted white. They are floor to almost-ceiling, either side of the chimney breast in the sitting room, so I now have a place to put my book collection, which must be over a thousand books, currently jammed into higgledy-piggledy bookcases in a scruffy study.

The flat is in utter chaos and stinks of paint and white spirit, but it will be worth it because the idea is by Easter everything will be painted and fresh and tidy. And I will feel much better when it is. Life admin and general household tasks have gone tits-up for the last nine months: I am hoping that this break and getting my house in order will feel like a new start. It's good that I am thinking about the future again. Planning the wedding, decordating, digging and planting a bed of different kinds of lavender and rosemary in the front garden. Pulling up the weeds and slinging out the rubbish. Moving forward. Moving on.

About bloody time; not everything in life is about politics. The Rachel I was before July 7th was busy and interested in lots of things, and hopeful. She's coming back. It's spring now, (not that you'd know from the snow and the chill in the air). But the buds are out on the trees, the daffodils have almost finished and the lillies are growing in their pots. I have a dozen violas to plant out, and when it gets a little warmer I will clean the windows and let the sunshine in.