NOT so back in the game!

The age-old advisory phrase 'don't speak too soon', or even 'don't count your chickens before they're hatched' could well have been echoing around our house yesterday, but the pair of us were oblivious - high on the exhilaration of having got plenty achieved on Goose Island during the day, we were busy celebrating our apparent ability to show jet lag who's boss. Well, it turns out that jet lag was still very much the boss, after all.

We headed to bed feeling too tired to stay up any longer at around 10pm and went straight to sleep. Two and a half hours later - PING - we were both awake. The long and short of it is that we each fidgeted, tossed and turned, trying to get back to sleep, but to no avail. Stuart got up and went downstairs to read his book at about 2.30am, while I battled with trying to get back to sleep. I think I started to drift off again some time around 3.45am, and Stuart came back to bed to give sleep another try at some point after 4am. Suffice to say, it was not a restful night!

Naturally, by the time my alarm clock went off, I was having a lovely sleep - but, having been disappointed to have missed my opportunity to exercise yesterday morning, and feeling decidedly unfit after a week of US-sized food portions, too many fried foods and too many sweet treats, I hauled myself out of bed to face the fresh air and the turbo trainer.

I have to say that, as hard-going as I found it (my legs were starting to complain after the first two minutes), I really enjoyed my hour-long turbo training session. I don't think that is a phrase I will be repeating too often!

By the time I had finished my exercise and packed everything away, it was 9am, so I headed for the shower. Stuart appeared to be sound asleep, so I tiptoed around the bedroom so as not to wake him.

I then headed downstairs to boot up my computer and start on some work.

At 10am, I used the excuse of going to get another jumper to go back upstairs and check on Stuart - he was still sleeping soundly, and showing no signs of getting up. So I went back to my desk. At 11am, I was starting to worry a. that something else might be wrong with my husband (other than the five hours of missed sleep during the night), and b. if he was just making up for the jet-lag-induced loss of sleep, then by sleeping in he was running the risk of perpetuating the problem and being unable to sleep again tonight. So I finally went back to the bedroom and started attempting to make the gentle suggestion that he ought to get up now. I started by taking him a cup of tea. He really did look wrecked and as if he could have slept for several hours longer, but he drank his tea gratefully and eventually hauled his weary body out of bed.

We then spent a couple of hours both working in the office, with Stuart tinkering with some tweaks to our website, while I ploughed on with some editing work. Come 1pm, it was time for lunch (for me) and breakfast (for Stuart).

After the sodden and misty day that most of yesterday turned out to be, today was crystal clear, with hot sunshine and blue skies. Somehow, with the changing autumnal light, the view across to Pietrabuona at lunchtime today seemed to be extra sharp and clear, almost like the difference between watching a normal TV and watching in HD - except of course, it's real and far more vivid than anything a digital image will ever be able to produce.

This doesn't really do it justice.

After lunch, I tied up a few loose ends in the office before heading out to join Stuart on Goose Island. My job for the afternoon was finishing off tying the new chicken wire to the old and pegging in the new sections along the ground, while Stuart pushed on towards getting Goose House finished.

Come 6pm, I had had enough, so I headed indoors to make what will probably be this season's last batch of home-made pesto, while Stuart worked on until 7.30pm - by which time darkness had fallen and I was beginning to wonder as to the advisability of working with saws and hammers in the dark!

Goose House now has a new set of "upstairs" windows, and cladding all around. While we were working this afternoon, Stuart casually asked me what I thought to the idea of a green roof for Goose House. 'Er... yeah, I don't mind green,' was my reply, at which point he laughed at me and explained that he meant a green roof - as in one that has alpine plants growing on it. All very 'Grand Designs'. Kevin McCloud would be impressed.

Architect, project manager and main contractor.

We await the visit from Kevin McCloud...

So there remains the issue of the roof to ponder, and two coats of wood stain to be applied, some kind of ladder device to be built to help the geese wander up and down the terraces, yet another strim of the terraces to keep those dastardly acacias and brambles in check, and then we should finally be ready for our new neighbours...

This week has disappeared into thin air - I can't quite believe that it's Friday tomorrow already. I guess that's travelling and jet lag for you. Here's hoping for a better night's sleep tonight!