Distracted by sun, tea, doughnut, coffee ...

40. Tuesday 3 March 2026

I have finished going through version 4 in Eclipse (steno software) again. Editing has been minimal but I know that every single time I reread it, I make changes. That’s one of the many reasons why I know it’s not ready yet. Tomorrow, I’m going to have a chat with Narissa (who’s just finished its first ever read-through by someone other than me), make a few changes from our conversation and then I really am going to switch from Eclipse to Word and print it out. If all goes to plan, I’ll have the weekend off with Kyla (who’s staying from Thursday to Sunday) and then for the next two(?) weeks, I’ll be working with paper and pens. No screens or computers! I love doing that. There are few things more satisfying than going through something with a red pen!

                Today, I worked for a few hours in the early morning, then went to Peebles on errands. It was the first blue-sky day in ages and it was glorious. There was a frost first thing, though I didn’t have to scrape my car windscreen as the sun had melted it off by the time I set off. I did my errands, came home, sat in the sun up the garden with a post-lunch doughnut and tea, lit the multi-fuel burner and then came upstairs to do a spell-check on my manuscript and sort a few formatting issues, all of which are quicker and easier to fix in Eclipse than Word. I didn’t do much work today but I’ve reached the stage where I wanted to be (subject only to any changes I make tomorrow from having spoken to Narissa) before printing the book for the first time and taking a break from it.

In other news, sourdough is making good progress. I enjoyed the 50-minute drive to/from Peebles and being out in the sun in town. I spent an hour or so with a great picture framer, planning some framing for a friend. I sat in a café and drank coffee and wrote a letter to my friend Kaori in Japan (for her birthday). And I loved every minute of seeing and feeling the sunshine.