Earlier in the month, our customary January picnic for B’s birthday. Another year, another Iron Age hill fort. This year was much, much colder. The pushchair, wheels jammed with mud, was abandoned half-way up the path, and collected again on our way back a couple of hours later. Whenever I think I might be safe to be let out into the countryside, I make a mistake like this. Who would try to push a Maclaren buggy up a very muddy hill? In our defense, we’ve just given our Phil & Ted’s — perfect for muddy walks — to a friend, desperate to rock her newborn to sleep in her living room. Anyway, mistakes were made, but fun — of a very muddy kind — was had, & the Pip-Pop proved himself to have some very sturdy walking legs. From the top, on a clear day, you can see the Isle of Wight. We couldn’t see that far, but the wind buffeting us up there was so strong that it sounded very much like the sea.
This week has been all about the colds. Our whole house smells delightfully of Olbas Oil to those who can smell anything. Experiments in scheduling continue. Early nights & episodes of Twin Peaks are keeping us going through the darkness of January. I’m in week three of getting up at six & writing first thing. Early conclusion: there is only so much time, it’s all about how you juggle it. I’m probably getting more writing done, but by about eight in the morning I can’t remember what I’ve written, so who knows about quality. I’m certainly getting less reading done because getting up early requires a fixed bedtime & lights off at ten. Some nights T has still been awake when we’ve been going to bed (she’s got a reading-with-a-torch-under-the-duvet thing going on, but that’s another story).
My plan to read/reread Penelope Fitzgerald is next up — The Golden Child, her first novel, arrived this morning. It’s one I haven’t read & I’m really looking forward to it. She wrote nine novels (five of which will be rereads for me), so if I aim for one a month I should have time in hand. These already sound like famous last words…
edge of evening 