The Big Dilemma

I wrote a while ago about the problems that Neil and I had working at opposite ends of Europe.  Where to live?  How to live?  Neil is chipping marble blocks in Pietrasanta - not something you can do easily in the wilds of northern England, and I am writing, teaching and publishing in England - not something I can easily do in Italy.  But we have finally decided that we have to make a decision because we are both tired of spending our lives apart.
I have decided that I'm going to give up creative writing tutoring for a year and base myself in Italy.  I will have to be on planes and trains quite often to keep my commitments - literature festivals, workshops etc - and I'm going to be quite broke -  but it's worth it to be here. 
And  the great news is that we have found a little house on a hill, in an olive grove, with spectacular views of the sea - one bedroom and a tiny room I can use as a study, with a small sitting room big enough for a sofa and a TV.  But the terrace is great - a concrete ledge with a tree growing through.

It 's just (only just!) affordable and will be quite  close to the marble yard that Neil uses.  So - with a large intake of breath - are we mad? -  we have signed the lease and been given the key.  It will be weeks before I can live there - after the end of the university term - but at least I know that it's there waiting for me.

We found this table in a shady corner of the olive grove in what seems to be a rather overgrown garden.

 This is one side of the terrace.

And this is the view of the sea with Pietrasanta just below.   Now we're off to celebrate our insanity!