Mountains

I've had a productive couple of weeks which has helped to take my mind off missing Charlie. 10 days to go until his return and I can't wait to see him. We are all really missing him.

I've completed a complete draft thesis which is a milestone for me even though it made me realise how much work I still have to do.

We are thinking of taking in a German boy for a year starting from next September and the family came to dinner last week as they were in the UK for a holiday. The boy is exactly the same age as Harry and everybody is keen that he comes to live with us for the year. We will just wait and see what Charlie's plans are before we decide.

I am aching so much after a climb up Helvellyn (the third highest mountain in England) on Saturday. I had a great time though. The weather and views were superb and spending time with three friends was lovely. It was the break I needed after the hard work of the previous couple of weeks. We were only away one night but it felt longer as we did such a lot during the time we were away.

The summit of my metaphorical PhD mountain is getting closer with another steep climb ahead before I reach the top! My funding runs out at the end of next month so I have applied for a very part-time lecturing post (6 hours per week) to start in October.

Looking forward to our holiday next month and a couple of days away on our own next week whilst the children are away at Newday.