So as if to highlight the type of person I am here is what we did in the summer….

Despite our pain and grief life has gone on, and in typical ‘us’ fashion we have sucked it up and got on with it.

Our son loves to call us ‘Boomers’, in the way that people do like to put labels onto things – when really a label is just a word. He obviously feels that we have outdated and closed minded views, although anyone who reads this would know otherwise. I don’t buy into the ‘Boomer’ ethos. I find that people of our generation have tended to be the type of people who were not given everything, despite the common myth. We had to work for it. I do however believe that the world was more open to providing us with opportunity, but opportunity is only good if you take hold of it and run with it.

Generally RD and I have always been people who have just taken what has been dished out and done our best to make it work. Over the years we have done one full renovation and two partial renovations of our homes. We would come home from a full day’s work and just crack on. We didn’t think about it, we didn’t talk ourselves out of it, if it had to be done then we did it. We worked hard.

This summer as anyone who reads this blog knows we were in emotional pain, and we had covid. But we also had a two week window to do a major job that we wanted to get done. We were sick of our bungalow being the awful dirty mustard colour that it was, with the attractive brick red detail around the windows. It was and it was always our plan to paint it.

So sticking two fingers up at Covid we did get on with it. The render on the house is uneven and it was hard work working the paint into it: but despite the increasingly hot weather, within four days it was done. On the last day we worked from 12pm until 9pm, with few breaks, resulting in RD suddenly feeling incredibly ill and having to sit down urgently.

We need to start to remember our age, and our limitations, but for me there is also something about whether that then makes you give up. In fairness perhaps nine hours was too much!

I am finding this new stage in my life difficult to find the balance.

Have to say it looks great though. Like a little traditional Irish cottage.

Just need to do the front wall now!

Rosie