Update and countdown

5 weeks today, Jane and I will be setting out on our walk! 135 miles from Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway along Hadrian's Wall. As beautiful as this is, I'd like to hope that if we see any clouds like this, that we'll be relatively close to our evening's B&B.

And I'm anticipating it will be like the first photo, i.e., empty wilderness (more or less - England is very crowded...). I'm telling you now, Jane, that if we run into something like the above, I might just turn around and head home...

euntes autem puellae! (*you go, girls!)

With the Roman legion behind us, surely we've got this?

We were having a bit of a chat last night, Jane and I, and have arranged to meet in Manchester and travel on to Newcastle together. It's going to be a long day for both of us. I've booked myself a train to Manchester from Southampton leaving at 7:15, but it's a direct service, and will only take just over 4 hours. I want to avoid changing in London. I hate fussing with the underground, particularly when I've got luggage to contend with too. Jane will be arriving into Manchester after a long-haul from Ontario. Phew!

I went out last weekend with my sister and bought a few necessecities and it was lucky I had her with me because she limited me on my spending. As I'm currently using my Canadian credit card, everything is costing me a fortune, so it's good to have someone with you who can cut you off when necessary. I bought a waterproof jacket and pants, hiking pants, two pairs of socks and a microfleece which will be beautifully warm. I'm going to ask her to come over a few of days before I go too, to help me pack and organise.

Otherwise, things are going well. I started my job two weeks ago and so far, so good. It's not particularly challenging, but I don't hate it (so far), like I did the other one. It's a very small company - less than a dozen employees - but well run and far, far less chaotic than the last one. It's a job I can walk away from at the end of the day and simply forget about and there's a lot to be said for that. I've got my train pass, the morning coffee shop crew said they'd missed me and even remembered what I drink (I've been gone 9 months, so their collective memory is pretty fantastic), and it's an easy walk from the station, so it's a pleasant enough commute. I know it's only been two weeks, but why do I feel like this is temporary?

Anyway, it's been going well enough so far.

I spent yesterday clearing, cleaning and tidying my room and it feels SO much better. I still had stuff hanging around in bags and containers from when I moved back from London several weeks ago and it was beyond time that I got myself sorted out. Almost everything now has a place. There's still some stuff to be sorted and/or organized, but it's looking and feeling a hundred times better. I lit a little bowl of incence too, and that's helped renergise the space.

I feel a book (or 5) bursting to come out but I can't seem to find words to put on a page. I know it will come and certainly being back in the Forest is the right place to be. It's wonderful to be back here - Sunday morning sounds are so peaceful: birds, horses' hooves, the odd bawling cow or pony in the distance. I was up and at it by 7:00 this morning. By 9:00 I was feeling restless, so was happy when my sister said "Let's go for cake!" I drove down to the village where she's staying and we spent a few hours hanging out. It's great to have her so close by.

It's a beautiful Sunday evening here and I feel relaxed and calm and content (and still a bit restless, but I'm okay with that). It's nice to feel like this again after having such a hard time in London. Amazing what coming back to where you belong can do for you.

Have a great Sunday everyone!