An Update and a Meme

I've been a bit quiet because I've been waiting to hear back from my agent, and she in turn has been busy moving house and such, so it's taken a while.

But I had a nice long chat with her yesterday, and now I have more work to do. We're getting closer, though, and she says she's only pushing so hard because she thinks the book has the capacity to be really fantastic. Which is encouraging, even if the re-writes are simply soul destroying...

Anyway, I'm scribbling away with my ideas in my lovely Bird Tree notebook with my beautiful vintage Parker 51 pen, and the changes are coming together, I think. So soon I'll be back to the start with my word counter, and slogging away through the manuscript. In the meantime, Bonnie has tagged me with an Unimportant meme, so here you go:

Rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

SIX UNIMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT MYSELF:

1. I'm incapable of following a recipe. I love to cook, but everytime I start to cook to a recipe, I find things I think are stupid, and that I want to change. ("This would be so much better with some ginger in it.")
2. I firmly believe that any bad mood can be shifted by a little sunshine and some cool, fresh air.
3. I sing in my head. Pretty much all the time. Mostly old family songs, folk songs, that we sing on Boat Sunday and other family occasions, whenever Uncle Stephen has his guitar with him.
4. I think afternoon tea is the best meal ever created - especially with Darjeeling without milk and cucumber sandwiches. And I love proper tea china. I had a big sulk day earlier this week, and when the boys came home I was curled up in the rocking armchair under the stairs, my ancient, frayed eiderdown (which Simon keeps trying to throw out) wrapped all around me, a comfort novel in my hands, and my small, stainless steel teapot full of Darjeeling (made with loose leaf tea) and a pretty, floral tea cup and saucer on the table beside me. I refused to cook dinner, or to move at all, until I'd finished my pot of tea.
5. I love re-reading books. My mother-in-law can't understand why I do this, but an old, familiar book is very comforting and, because I'm a fast reader, I find something new in the text, every single time.
6. My favourite scents are lavender and roses. Lavender hand lotion, or rose body lotion, clean white sheets and cotton pyjamas, and the breeze through the window, make a perfect evening.