I still feel like I’ve been run over by a steamroller so was very glad when I woke up this morning and realised I’d agreed to spend the day working at home today on a proposal that I should have done last week but for obvious reasons didn’t.

It’s as though someone has opened a small tap in my big toe and is slowly draining the life out of me. Drop by drop. Drop by drop. I wish I felt better – I thought I would – it’s more than a week since I was first smitten and I just don’t feel that much better to tell the truth.

David said to me last week that my being ill had drained the life out of him. Without my energy he was left feeling listless and floppy. It’s quite true to say that I’m the driver of the things we do. When we started our relationship, David lived in a damp, cold, dusty house with no plaster on the walls, daily invasions by snails which left silvery trails across the floor overnight and he only had a microwave, toaster and kettle functioning in his kitchen. He’d bought his house, done the essential and put in a new damp course then sat back.

I can totally understand why – DIY isn’t much fun on your own and getting on with stuff like that when there is no one to encourage and egg you on is really depressing. He’s very capable and very good at doing stuff, just not motivated to do it for himself.

Within weeks, I’d organised him a plasterer and got his refurbishment underway….if for no better reason than I hated picking my way across the snail trails when I’d spent the night with him. I’m a ‘dab hand’ at the DIY myself, in fact I can think of little I enjoy more than having a power tool in my hand and building something! In fact, I took umbrage with him when my builder friend Tony asked David why he wanted a weekend between taking off the remains of the old plaster and starting the new. David replied that he needed to rewire and the best time to do it was when there was no plaster on the walls. Tony said ‘Linda will do that for you’ and David’s aghast face suggested he didn’t think I was capable of changing a fuse let alone rewiring.

What Tony knew and of course so did I was that I’d rewired two houses with my Dad – my flat in Southall and my first house in Oxford. Dad did most of the technical stuff but I learned how to do it and have never forgotten.

I decided that I wouldn’t let this man, no matter how much I fancied him, think I was a silly girlie who couldn’t do anything for herself so I casually said, OK – I’ll be round on Saturday morning and we’ll do it between us.

I duly arrived at the appointed time hopelessly ill-attired for the job in hand – I was still trying to impress him, remember? But within minutes, I was lying in the brick dust fitting new sockets and I think something happened to our relationship on that day. I think David realised he’d met an equal, maybe he’s better at some stuff than me (well of course he is) but I have my good points too and the main thing I have is boundless energy and a real ‘can do’ attitude, so much so that I sometimes get angry with myself when I find I can’t do something I expected to be able to….like that bl**dy motorbike riding – I fell off so many times I thought next time I’ll hurt myself so I quit!

I first realised he actually cared about me when we were finishing the wiring a few weeks later and I electrocuted myself, fortunately only lighting circuit and fortunately I just gave myself a belt up the arm, dropped my pliers and was more scared than hurt! He came dashing out from behind the door where he’d been fitting a new faceplate on a socket and as I’d finished mine I’d started on the lights – my only mistake was forgetting we’d not got the lighting circuit switched off, just the ring-main!!! His face was a picture of concern and worry. It was ‘one of those moments’ if you know what I mean.

Later I helped him to finish off the house and that meant we could sell it.

Today he wanted a pic for his ‘urban landscape’ theme and I said I’d go with him to get me out from within these four walls. He provided me with my own PotD!

One good thing about this posting is it has reminded me that I do usually have some life - it's just AWOL at the moment!