Transformation

I'm delighted to see this guest room finally transformed into something peaceful, where closing my eyes doesn't leave me with flashes of midnight blue and orange burning through my eyelids - okay, so I exaggerate! 

It was one of the last rooms I tackled in L&R's house (1 more remains to be done), but it is definitely one of the more satisfying turn-arounds I've dealt with. I didn't capture enough of the garish orange skirting boards and trim when I took this early picture - but maybe it's just as well.

 It's actually a lovely room!

And, now that we've re-taken possession of our Chelmsford house (the tenants moved their last items out on the weekend), the painting begins there. The scuffs and marks from furniture and who knows what else make the rooms look pitifully uncared for, so a major undertaking has begun before the photographers arrive to take new pics. Two and a half rooms painted, with one and a half to go. What a rush we're in to get the house freshened up for the staging props.

No Rime or Reason

I found this beautifully outlined beech leaf on my lawn in the sun, but none of the others had a white edge like this. It's definitely not frost or rime,

so I suspect it must be some kind of fungal growth. It creates a fantastic edge.

Careless People

I'm reading a fascinating book about working at Facebook, written by a former employee and director of public policy. The book was released in 2025 despite the company's objections. 

Wow, their focus on growth at all and any cost is frightening. The author uses the term 'lethal carelessness' to describe the lack of awareness and inadequacy of ethics or principles guiding such a huge global venture.

It's riveting stuff : Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Losing Avalon

We lost out on our bid for Avalon, the 'restorative place,' we desired buying in Wales. It's been a blow, but we're probably better off for not taking on more restorative WORK to get the house to a 'restorative place' when it's meant to be restorative in and of itself! So many property listings in Wales hint at the raininess with photos of shiny, wet patios and misty clouds over the trees - perhaps Avalon the cottage would have been too "misty," since Avalon supposedly exists "in the mists between this world and the next"!

Ah, well, I guess that's the end of my quest to immerse myself in the Arthurian legend, which I've always been enamored with.

It's a new concept for us to get our heads around the fact that homes along a road don't have street numbers, just unique names. The next house we've set our sights on is also in Wales, and has a lovely valley view, with a name of Llwyn Y Garth. So much for moving to an English speaking country! Quite picturesque, but more cultivated, less wild.

This house is move in ready, and has some solar panels and a conservatory, which would make up for losing our solarium in Maine.

I want some of the uncertainty to go away! We're not sleeping well in between putting in bids for houses across the pond, and not having our Massachusetts home sold yet. This week it will be staged and re-photographed, with a price reduction as enticemnent ...