This area feels more rural and village-y than some we've visited, and is also closer to the city, and therefore rather more expensive. There's always a compromise, and we're not sure yet which direction our compromise is going to be (do we go closer to town, with a smaller garden? Longer commute for more space? We'll see).
I finished off my holidays with a bit more knitting, of course.
Today I went back to work, and it was a fairly gentle re-introduction. It was nice that my job, which is still quite new, after all, felt familiar, and it was good to see my colleagues again. I just picked up where I left off, no stress. I confess I never quite believe people who get all het up about having '500 emails!!' when they get back to work after a break. I had 231, and after 45 minutes with a cup of tea, whittled it down to less than 20 that actually required me to do anything, and after working today, I just have four left to deal with. But then I don't work on an IT helpdesk, don't manage anyone, and everyone knew I was away, so what do I know? Maybe there are people who really do get 500 emails, none of them circulars or duplicates or notices-to-put-in-the-diary, and all of which require an hour of work. If so, I'm very glad that's not my job.
Still, I've been trying to find ways to bring the holiday attitude into my working days. I took pictures on the journey to work this morning, and again on the way home, and made sure I took plenty of breaks for tea today. I went to the library twice, and the second time spent 15 minutes just wandering up and down the shelves - one of my favourite ways to pass a bit of time. I spent the whole day feeling ever so grateful for this most cheerful of jobs, doing just what I like, close to home.