Just bleeding...

I read a good tweet today: "The fact that I can mostly work through the holidays because my children mostly don't need me any more is a proper double edged sword." (@CairneyPaul, since you ask).

In my case, the fact that I mostly work through bank holidays because the University does not recognise them and gives you extra days of leave instead (which I mainly struggle to take) is mostly a double edged sword. I have a mixed relationship with "Easter". Some of the best of them have been when we've taken off and had a holiday - e.g. on Mull 2009 (when, coincidentally, taking photographs on my blackberry and uploading them straight to facebook started to turn me back on to the idea of photography...and look where we are now...). I have also, at various times in my life, done really significant work over Easter. 1996 was a case in point. I recall that my then eight year old son spent a week or so with friends and I worked 24/7 to finish a book manuscript. I'm pretty sure that I repeated the medicine - slightly less effectively and with slightly worse effects on my health - in 2000.

So today I tidied my desk and parts of my study (e.g. I turfed a load of unwanted cables out of a drawer). And worked for the rest of the day, mainly reading and doing a bit of writing. And didn't go out in the sunshine. I've made progress that needed to be made, but I'm not sure I really feel better for it.

Thank goodness for some new life on the balcony. We need to sort out the balcony and get some new plants, but even now there is new life respringing.