Hebe

Having decided not to drive to Chesham because of the wet and windy weather (makes the M25 even more unpleasant, plus the next job at the flat is out in the garage), I drove to a couple of bigger charity warehouse-type shops in search of a very tall bookcase. There was just one possibility, but it wasn’t quite tall enough and the shelves were too shallow. I need something on quite a grand scale to house my precious collection of old and rare books. I know what I want, but finding it is proving a challenge.

I bought two more replacement ink cartridges from Argos for my printer. I calculate that printing all the necessary paperwork for the probate legals and the conveyancing over the past eighteen months has cost me approximately £200 in ink and paper alone (not to mention the strain on my mental and emotional health and wellbeing). Chicken feed compared to paying two lots of bills whilst the flat is still under my ownership, plus all the petrol going back and forth.

I phoned the estate agent to see if there’s any movement towards exchanging contracts, and she said she’d try and put a bit of pressure on the buyer’s people now they’ve had the Fire Risk Assessment since the beginning of the week. I can’t rest until we’ve got past that hurdle of exchanging - every minute of waiting is agony.

I never knew what the pictured plant was. It grows perennially in patches along the driveway, but has gone a bit leggy. I looked it up, and it’s Hebe (with the gorgeous jewel pink Rose Campion in the background). Apparently I will be able to prune it back quite hard when it’s finished flowering which might give it a better look and a new lease of life. Bit like me, really, still plodding on with the pruning back of accumulated stuff and impatient for that new lease of life to begin…