Autumn 2017 has seen a significant shift in the direction of our lives and of this blog too.  Despite The Old Man’s typically downbeat assessment of his health last year that he would not be around to celebrate Christmas 2017, he is steadfastly remaining alive and coughing, with the support of his oxygen machines and some visiting care workers.

But the imminence of his demise is still something that remains on everyone’s radar, as even the slightest infection sends his system into a tailspin which is only relieved by the rapid deployment of antibiotics.  So we have always known that we would need to get our own place at some point, and we actually managed to do that this summer, finally moving in October.

With change very much in the air, a week before the big move I left my job at the school that had once educated my mother and took up a position at my old school instead: from mother’s sch00l to “Alma Mater”.  The change was a leap (or perhaps a push) in the dark, but less travelling and a shorter working day will mean more time at home and especially in the garden which holds great promise.

What the future holds is not entirely certain, but planning and planting new beds abd veg will be a fresh opportunity for me.  So it will no longer be a matter of “Taking on the Old Man’s Garden” but taking on my own midlife gardening project.

As I plan the new patch, I will gradually put the Old Man’s Garden to bed for the last time.  I have cleared the greenhouses and have turned a large number of chillis into a red hot jam.  And we will continue to harvest the winter veg, as long as older  siblings do not help themselves to too many.

TOM has new tenants in our old place and seems happy with the income to pay for more care visits.  And we are happy to be property owners for the first time in ages.  The change of residence and occupation has given us the chance to clear a lot of rubbish out of our lives – much of it Australian in origin, although one item still cropped up the other Saturday, but I don’t expect to see that again with any luck.

But we will try not dwell on the past but must take care of the present while looking to the future with friends and family gearing up for a great Christmas.