Saturday 8 January 2011

Ringing the changes

The village in snow
It is, once again, a long time since I posted anything. Indeed, since I have written anything at all either online or in notebooks or on scraps of paper that I often look at and think, "what?!" I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.

So much has happened that I am going to have to speed through or else it will be March and I will still be catching up on December. A week before Christmas Mr Bell and I braved the blizzards and moved house for the second time in a year. Due to the snow we were delayed by four days and caused quite a stir in the village as we ended up being towed in as our van had got completely stuck. In the midst of our frenzied move we went down to Sussex for a lovely family Christmas but we were fairly dazed at this point so everything was a bit of a blur and we never got around to putting up any of our decorations. It felt a bit of a shock to go to mum's and see a Christmas tree as I didn't have time to get obsessively Christmassy (which I usually do). Anyway, I gorged myself on Christmas lunch and had lots of cuddles with my very cute eleven month old niece.

Tonight is the first time we have connection to the internet (long story) and we are still sorting out the utilities (tedious) BUT every morning I wake up to my lovely tabby cat nosing his way into my consciousness as he demands his breakfast and the views from our windows change from day to day depending on the light which reminds me why we moved in the first place. For the past six months we have been without our beloved tabby cat as we couldn't find anywhere in the centre of Oxford to rent that would accept a cat. Ironically, London seems to be more amenable to animals! Anyway, we had to send him to my best friend who lives in Sussex so he has had a six month sabbatical from us, enjoying himself no end and being thoroughly spoilt. We didn't cope so well in his absence. Soft as we are, we never got used to being without him so despite the mad move it has been totally worth it.

So now we are country dwellers. A whole new experience and, so far, an interesting one. We are still a cycle ride from the city centre so we are not too isolated, before you start imagining an hour's hike to the nearest shop, but it is quiet enough that we have more peace, we have a lot more space and it is fun to experience such a contrast from the flat in London that we crammed ourselves into.

In terms of reading, moving house doesn't aid literary pursuits so there has been a bit of a drought. I am currently reading The Group by Mary McCarthy and The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch which are getting me through the dry spell. My only resolution for 2011 is to be a more diligent blogger as things have lapsed of late!

12 comments:

  1. I look forward to hearing what you think of both those reads - I was a bit ambivalent about The Group, I think, although it has an important historical place...

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  2. You and that bloody cat!

    I miss hearing these stories from your mouth! With hand actions! x

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  3. House moving is anyway huge - it takes ages to sort out stuff. Glad you are reading though so will wait to see what you think of the books.

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  4. You must be ready for a good long rest after all that! And what bliss to be reunited with your kitty..it must have been heartbreaking to be separated (Rachel, you have a nasty streak don't you!, hee).

    Looking forward to hearing about life in the village, I want to live vicariously.

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  5. Welcome back to blogging! So happy you are settled in the country and reunited with your kitty. I just posted a review of The Group last week... hope you're enjoying it as much as I did.

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  6. Welcome back BB! All the upheaval of moving must be so worth it to now call such a lovely village home, and reunited with tabby cat too. Bliss!

    Enjoy your reading.

    Jeanne
    x

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  7. Darlene, she knows I care really! ;)

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  8. All best wishes to you in your new home and hope your reading doesn't have to stay on the back burner for too long.

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  9. What a dreamy village picture..especially from here in Texas where we rarely see snow.

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  10. So jealous! Countryside AND a cat? These are my sole ambitions in life...

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  11. Gawd, I had to squint really hard to see any snow in that photo. Must because I am from New York were we just had 14 inches!

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  12. Of all the times to have moved !
    Good that you have your cat again . In the winter , there's nothing quite like sitting reading with a cat on your lap to keep you warm .

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