how long is a week?

My good­ness, I know all 24 hour-peri­ods add up to a day each, and pre­sum­ably the whole 24/7 is true, and there are sev­en such peri­ods per week, but this has been the longest week ever! And yet a good one, and so much has changed.

Since I last spoke to you, the cats have been deliv­ered to their week in Kent relax­ing in their “Fam­i­ly Chalet”, and I final­ly stopped call­ing to check on them because the news was always… no news! Still the friend­liest cats any­one has ever met. No doubt they will have to be dragged kick­ing and scream­ing to come home tomor­row. And we spent our last few wretched days in the Mar­ble Arch flat, watch­ing as the last ves­tiges of our own pos­ses­sions that made it homey were stripped away. Poor Avery felt quite bereft the last night, and spent her read­ing time that evening ensconced in her (dry) bath­tub, sur­round­ed by pil­lows, say­ing, “It’s the only room that’s still the same.” Only Beck­y’s lus­cious gift of chick­en cooked with prunes, olives and capers made the night bearable…

But then it was onto the onslaught of mov­ing itself, and more on that lat­er. Suf­fice it to say that we are very much set­tled in, on day four, at the price of total and com­plete exhaus­tion. Our great friends Vin­cent and Peter came to din­ner tonight to help us cel­e­brate, and it was a fab­u­lous moti­va­tion to get things arranged. As you see, the kitchen and din­ing room were ready to feed peo­ple! Slow-baked bar­be­cued chick­en wings, pota­to sal­ad with chives, dill and red onion, and red cab­bage and fen­nel cole slaw with a spicy dress­ing. Plus choco­late mousse with straw­ber­ries! A prop­er din­ner par­ty. We are SO hap­py to be here. Tomor­row we get the kit­ties back, plus we have Beck­y’s girls for the evening, and an audi­tion for Avery, out in the hin­ter­lands. And the deliv­ery of our long-mused-over part­ner’s desk: blue leather, gild­ing, all very worn and untidy, but that’s all right! And a pair of worn-out red leather arm­chairs to go with. Pic­tures when ready! But right now… I’m col­laps­ing. Wish you were here…