I started work on 12th September after waiting for five months! I was in the unique position of being able to wait, though I did start to look for something else at one point. Anyway, I finished my training and have actually started on the ward. So now I can stop feeling guilty about being on benefits, even though I was a genuine case and really did need that time off to deal with complicated bereavement and the resulting severe depression. It'll never go and I can't see it getting much better than things are at present, but I am learning to live with it. There is no other choice.
I am lucky in that I see my family a lot and the light of my life is my little grandson, who has learnt the word no, and uses it quite a bit.

Our poor little dog had to visit the vets when he became ill recently...turns out he had a large growth on his spleen, which was the size and weight of a bag of sugar. He had the growth and his spleen removed and is now back on form, chasing  toys around the garden and going for dips in the river again. If it is cancer (the vet thought it was likely), it may come back, but we are enjoying having him here still for as long as we possibly can.

You can see that he's very helpful around the house!

I've started making art again, though I don't have any pics to put up yet. I've got about five art journals on the go, one of which has a castles theme and I'm enjoying putting them together. I spent two months doing an Archaeology course with Brown University, Rhode Island, on the Coursera website. I have a certificate of accomplishment to show for all my work and I thoroughly enjoyed the eight week course, it was fascinating. Here's the Coursera link www.coursera.org