Five months in

December's here and I've been trying to work out how I'm feeling about things. I'm fretting because I still don't have any teaching work, haven't done any more on my novel and, quite frankly, now it's winter I seem to spend about five hours a day cleaning out the woodburner, trying to light the fire and then trying to keep the fire going. That's after having had the chimney swept and extended. But for some reason, post the house renovations, the woodburner ain't what it used to be.

After I finally got it roaring last night, the carbon monoxide detector (at the other end of the house) went off at 12.30am. It didn't stop for hours, even when I put it outside - after opening all the windows, closing the air vents on the woodburner and putting the butane bottles in the garden of course. What with yet another prospective job giving me the runaround (I'll explain that later) it does feel like one step forwards, two steps backwards at the moment.

So, what to do? Is it time to start with the life coaching? Or should I just have another think about where I want to be at the end of the year?

The problem is that without working I do feel a bit like I am in early retirement. And then I think, I am on a sabatical after all! It's the right time to take a break, enjoy some new experiences and garner a fresh perspective. And if the work isn't forthcoming, then I can just get on with taming the garden, walking the mountains, painting the house and writing the book.

A major part of my plan was always to get out into the community and work though, and unfortunately, three opportunities seem to have just dwindled away. The last one (a job advertised on tefl.org.uk) was typical. Even though it came up just as I had decided to stop looking for a bit, it seemed ideal and I sent off my CV and reference letter. The academy called a couple of days later and invited me in last Thursday. "We'll send you a message to confirm," they said. The day before, no message had arrived. I followed up, and was told that they couldn't find person they needed to arrange things with (had they tried the telephone??). "We'll call you tomorrow," they said. No call came. I hadn't predicted that employers here were going to be so unreliable. It's making it hard to plan (or get down to writing) and it is rather unsettling - or, to be blunt, a right pain.

So, sorry for a less than positive post. One good thing is the garden is shaping up nicely. I eventually found that willing gardener and he's been coming on Saturday mornings, when we work together. Today (in lovely warm sunshine) he dug compost into the raised bed and weeded a couple of terraces, while I weeded another terrace and planted around 50 spring bulbs - narcissi, black tulips and gorgeous tall alliums. It's going to be wonderful!

Here's the only track for today!