Contrasts

Having had a bath, conscious that ours wouldn't be quite ready upon our return, I packed up and ate breakfast in the morning sun. It was a little cooler than previous days but still a simple joy to be able to sit outside. We then packed, ate what we could of the small amount of leftovers and then emptied bins and general clear up. We didn't have to be at the airport until the late afternoon, so we headed off to an art gallery - small enough and interesting enough for all of us to enjoy it. Before that we'd had found some Sicilian street food, essentially a filling in bread then covered in more bread crumbs and deep fried. Delicious and filling. 

What is great about spending a holiday with the Ws is that we are practiced at it and have a similar sense of what is a full day and we can be honest about what we want to do. Our last day proved this with us popping to the beach for a short throw of a frisbee and then the airport and we managed not to get too bored while we waited to fly home. And of course we love each other and have loads of fun. Some things I neglected to mention last week, BigA bought me a beautiful ring and matching earrings from Mount Etna for Valentine's Day. Also it was Lidl not Aldi. These things are important. 

It was raining when we landed, we says our goodbyes and took the short taxi ride back home to the cats and lots of dust. I could see the progress but was too tired to really take it in. A and BigA sorted the cats and M and I headed to bed. Sunday felt a little strange. My brother's 50th if he'd been here. It was heart-warming to know friends of his remembered. Sending mum messages and leaving a balloon on his grave. I didn't really know what to do to mark the occasion. It felt like one of the more difficult dates this time. It was perhaps some type of irony that my mum called on Monday evening to tell me that a very close friend of our family had experienced an acute tragedy as she found her daughter who had taken her own life. This awful news was very hard to hear and my heart dropped. Her daughter, who I only really remember as a childhood playmate and a bright and happy girl was in such a place that she needed it all to end. 

Monday was my first INSET day at my new school, I had planned an easy day for staff and built in lots of time for staff to do work they needed to do, but I felt that this wasn't really utilised by many of them, which anyone who teaches now or ever has will find extraordinary, time is usually the most precious thing. The week felt oddly mixed, with some moments where I felt quite disheartened and down and then on Thursday I had such a great day I was buzzing when I got home. I suspect the sad news had a significant part to play in my low mood. 

The bathroom and various other building works are now almost finished. It's made the contrast with a lot of the rest of the house more stark, we will save up and see what else we can update and sort out. We were very worried at one point as despite all sorts of extra jobs the water kept pouring into the little toilet. The estimate to do a full exploration and then fix another massive amount. But - and we'll see if this lasts - the fix was to empty the gutter which had been filled with debris (I suspect from next doors works) and once cleared the rain seemed to stop getting in. I'm looking forward to being able to clean the house and the cats should be able to go outside soon. 

I had my last face to face day for the NPQH yesterday so one more assignment and I'm done. 

My new pal Sarah came over last night. She's leaving Copthall too which I'm pleased about. We had a very good laugh and it was lovely for her to meet A, M and BigA.