Settling In

As you know I do love a routine. A rut  is a comfortable place for me to be. And we've quickly established one here. I often get up early to work, and take work calls in the evenings too. So I always walk away from my desk around 7am for a leisurely breakfast and lengthy conversation about animal sounds with Lady P. I love that time together, when she's full of the news from her dreams and her décor ('hoo hoo' for the owl, and so on), and thrilled by the birds flying over the patio, and her morning milk, and pushing her little cart around. It's also the perfect time to skype my much-missed little sister and catch up on her news, which is more intelligible.

Whenever I can, I log off early too, so I can dispatch Dani, the nanny and get some more quality time with Lady P. We usually go for a walk, run some errands, and wander along the Strand. There's a swing set there that Dani won't use for fear of the buggy being stolen (it's not very sand friendly, so you have to leave it by the path while you use the swings which are about 30 feet away). Dani's from Rio, so I can understand her concern – I was once mugged by a 6 year old on Copacabana beach – but this is Hermosa, so I park up the buggy and forget about it while Lady P kicks excitedly as soon as she sees the swing set. That wade across the 30 feet of sand must feel like an eternity to her, and she's usually fit to burst by the time we reach the swing set. Sometimes we go home via the shops, sometimes we take the scenic route up a walk street or along the woodchip path. Whatever we do it is a highlight of my day, as Lady P is such good company and so full of wonder at the stuff we pass: overhead phone wires, dogs, people playing volleyball and the apple stand at Von's are all sources of delight.

Trundling along the Strand

The swings I like best

So the fact that I'm away with work, on the East Coast from Sunday night till Friday this week, is making me a bit miserable. What's worse is that our container is finally ready for delivery, which means TLOML has to deal with the hassle of that on his own. That's a double blow because I feel guilty for not being there to help, and also anxiety about where he'll put things without me there to micromanage the unpack. I have delivered a strict briefing about the kitchen system, but fear some of the details may have fallen on deaf ears.

Ah well, it's not all bad news. There are at least three silver linings in the cloud: 1) I get to have dinner with my favourite New Yorker 2) When I'm back we will be truly settled, sofa, egg timer and all. And 3) I intend to clawback all the extra hours I'm now 'owed' from this week of travel and spend them all hanging out with Lady P. In a fully furnished Sugar Cube!