More waiting; lots of talking . . .

. . . but not much actually happening, or so it seems.  What we have done is try to get some information about renovations, repairs, maintenance and, naturally, prices.  It all comes down to money.

Following on from the surveyor's report, we thought it prudent to get a proper quote for some of the work which will need to be done almost immediately.  We also made some enquiries about the removal and disposal of asbestos tiles as that is a cost which needs to be factored in to our budget.  We have spoken to a number of companies who have given us various bits of information on different jobs, looked up DIY tasks on YouTube, and read up on the internet.  We have talked over budgets, what jobs we think we will be able to tackle ourselves, what we need to leave to experts.  We have discussed timescales, compromises and realities.  We have made lists, made notes, doodled with to-scale drawings and plans.  We have built the house several times over, but we haven't actually signed the contract yet - we're a little way off that stage, to be fair.  

Our heads are juggling with so many issues that we were in danger of losing sight of the ordinary day-to-day things that we should be taking care of, so today we have tried to get things back into perspective (again!) and pay a little more attention to the business of living.  In doing so we have been able to make a couple of decisions which will hopefully take us forward instead of the endless going round in circles which we seem to have done for the last few days, and which haven't, of course, actually got us anywhere!  I think there is an important lesson to be learned there.

For a brief few minutes, a rainbow brightened up the leaden sky

There's not much let-up in the wet and windy weather yet.  The ground is water-logged - whilst driving to and from a hospital run this morning we were surprised to see just how much surface water there still is running off fields and across roads.  The road drainage system seems to have reached saturation point (pun really not intended) and we passed several storm drains bubbling and overflowing, creating huge puddles stretching across the roads.  Thankfully the localised flooding here is nothing like on the scale that parts of Somerset have been experiencing since Christmas and the new year - judging by the pictures we have seen on the television, the folks there must be having a really miserable time of things.

And finally, the quilt is in one piece :-))  I have found pinning, tacking and hand-stitching very therapeutic - I seem to be able to collect my thoughts better with needle and thread in hand.