The transition from summer to school hasn't been going terribly well this year.  While Georgia is settling well into P1, the boys are coping less well with the changes at home and at school. I am at a bit of a loss as to how to help them and, with both Kevin and I struggling with massive deadlines over the next few months, its been hitting home just how hard it is to raise a family without help nearby. I guess I thought it would get easier, but I don't think it ever will.

For my part, I am just trying to show up - to put as much as I can into work while I have working time and then turning my attention to the kids and house.  Our normal parenting strategies of benign neglect simply aren't working and sneaking off to knit a couple of rows while the kids play isn't possible. However, it does mean that I am *finally* decorating the house. After an initial flury of hanging photos in the living room a few weeks after unpacking, the house has largely been untouched in the 18 months we've lived here! So while I am still behind on every single deadline, the house is looking grand and the kids haven't murdered each other.

My rather somber mood isn't helped by the fact that Autumn is creeping in at the edges up here. There is a big horse chestnut/conker/buckeye tree along the road that is turning decidedly red. My postman told me that there had only been 6 sunny days over the school holidays. It seems like we had a couple more, but he could well be right. I am trying to muster the strength to be enthusiasic (blackberries! pumpkin! log fires!) and it may be working as I told someone yesterday that I was looking forward to the hazelnuts being ready. The power of positive thinking, in a nutshell.

The garden, however, is resolutely saying its summer and I am about to harvest my batch of early (!) peas.  We even have a broody chicken who seems to think that sunnier days lie ahead...I am not convinced but have put half a dozen eggs under her for next spring's layers and soup birds.

All change...the only constant, hey?

Have a lovely weekend!