There is also a curious aspect I hadn’t thought of – that of writing facing the front of the house again. Our bedroom faces south, to the back garden – I am now adjacent to the north-facing window looking out onto the front garden. And, suddenly, there is a strange mental shift to being part of our village facing the front rather than the back.
Notebook, Lydia Crow, 7th January 2023
Lydia
As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m currently managing a tracking journal. There are twenty-one actions I’ve been tracking since early September, and I’m really pleased with my progress. Though not perfect (which I wasn’t expecting, especially given current circumstances), I feel my pencils reflect the measure of my success.

I really enjoy homeworking. I can get so much more done, and (especially right now) it’s nice to be able to relax properly during my lunch break. But one of the tricky things to deal with is Scapa. Mostly, she curls up somewhere nearby after her walk, and is quite content and peaceful. But, if she wants strokes, she has a habit of knocking my right hand upwards until I stop using my mouse and pay her some attention.

At the moment, I am keeping a form of tracking journal – I’m sure I’ll explain more over the coming weeks – and, if I leave it out on my desk and Auri sneaks into my room, I sometimes come back to find a little hand has used my fountain pen to carefully make a mark, and then coloured it in, just like I do.

After the last two (three, four) years, it seems strange to actually have a social life again. Last night, we went round to dinner at a friend’s house, today I got the train to Blair Atholl for dinner with friends (while Auri and Euan had a splendid time at an afternoon party), and this evening two other friends arrived to stay the night. A marvellous weekend of all good things – and still two more days to go! And it felt good to be on a train again.
