Morning friends - I am up way too early today but I cannot lie in (yet) since I am so used to jumping up and getting ready for work.  However it was rather nice to get up for a breakfast in front of breakfast TV and I can use some time exercising on the rower - all before I need to get dressed.

It was lovely yesterday to spend time with Brian and Shirley Thorogood - good friends of ours, and we enjoyed a proper Sunday roast dinner at Mulberry House - a beautiful place in Essex at High Ongar.  The weather was uncertain but we still had a chance to walk through the gardens.  They serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea every day and it's the kind of place I would love to spend time on a sunny day - so relaxing and beautiful grounds.

After expecting the house to be 'advertised' over the weekend, surely this is the day - we will get to check the particulars before it goes on and then the hope is that people will request viewings.

This is a strange week since I am actually using up annual leave before my last day of service this Friday.  Alex has been away for a few days and will be back 'home' tomorrow evening so it will be lovely to have her company.  I have no regrets about leaving work - I am really grateful for this opportunity to focus on other parts of my life.  I am fairly confident we will sell the house over these summer weeks but it is awkward not being able to seriously seek out our new home.  In trying to avoid too much pressure on us we have chosen to sell first - make sure that sale is secure and then we know what we are working with and can go ahead and find somewhere.  We are prepared to trust for the future as we have in the past.

Of course - as with other things in life - it would actually be quite easy to just 'stay put' but this move will be a positive one for us - we will catch up again with family and enjoy Scotland together.

I don't know what lies ahead in terms of what I will do - paid work or otherwise but I need a break first from work - I have worked with heaps of pressure over the past years and I need to relax more - inside as well as outwardly.

Life is strange for us all and yet we are all given opportunities in life - and we need to take them with both hands and appreciate new starts.