Coming up roses

The 'getting better' feeling seems to have stalled today. C'mon Amoxy, do your stuff!

The roses in our garden are lovely; proper old English roses with buzzloads of bumblebees to boot. They all sound very nasal; perhaps this is a consequence of the virus that has stricken bumblebees?

I'm still off sick but rather than go on about that, how about this - our resident squirrel who has now emptied two bird feeders full of peanuts. I bet he is sitting in the tree stroking his overfilled belly and feeling a bit flatulent.

I started my new job yesterday. A day during which I should have been feeling excited about all the new challenges and things to learn - but instead I was concentrating on trying not to cough, wondering if the sheen of sweat on my face was noticeable and attempting levels of concentration inconsistent with seven nights of disrupted, coughing sleep. Today I took a decision not to go to work in the hope that if I sleep lots and don't move, don't do anything, I might crack this. Sick on my second day in a new job. This is a previously unplumbed depth. Please please let it be worth it!

I've got bronchitis, which is handy, the day before I start my new job. I haven't been this sick since I had whooping cough age 13. This morning I frightened my other half who thought I'd given myself a pneumothorax (actually had just pulled some muscles from excessive coughing ... at least we think so). I am really really sick of the sound of myself, and the sight of tissues, and the horrible congestion first thing in the morning and at night. Very unhappy. What a way to start a new job.

Birmingham Belle

This was actually the title of a Mills & Boon book I saw at our hotel on holiday last week. I am not claiming to be a Birmingham Belle, although I am most definitely now in England's second city and I'm a lot more belle-like than our fellow tourists were.

In the last few weeks I have left my job in London, packed up a 4 bedroom house, moved 150 miles, gone on holiday, unpacked a 4 bedroom house into a three bedroom house with very little space and started preparing for my new job, which starts on Monday. I'm a little bit tired and more than a little bit unwell as body finally realises there is time for a small collapse. Please get better by Monday though.

This picture shows the end of our new garden, which as you can see, features two ceramic chickens. If I can't have the real things here (and I probably can't) then these will have to do for the short term, but the eggs won't be favourable.

Old people talk to you in the street here - but may or may not be involved in OAP mafia. They are observant little buggers and so far we've given out information about ourselves that we would not have told anyone remotely burglar like (I think we are about to be taught a lesson about assumptions). One of them has even offered us use of her garage for our second car. Whether this is related to a protection racket is anyone's guess ...

Our house is beginning to look slightly more inhabitable and less like a storage depot. It's starting to feel quite good but already our mortgage has increased - only our second payment coming up and already an increase of £50. Incredible. But then I remember how much we spent on rent last year - almost £17k - and it seems more worthwhile to actually be paying for something we own. Or will do one day when the bank deems it appropriate :)