Day: July 1, 2023

Day 1180 back home, washing done, van cleared out and Starbucks with Gayle!

Once again it’s all in the title! 😂

I have to be honest and say I didn’t feel great when I woke this morning. I’ve been super dehydrated all week, not drinking enough while we were away, and have had tight neck and shoulders for a fair bit of the week. Either that or I was sitting in a draft 😂 It was so tense this morning. My head was thumping too…. But onwards and upwards.

We took the dogs out early on. It’s been like April today with sunshine and showers… we missed the shower thankfully. I cannot believe it’s actually July!!! How did that happen.

Wait till you see my next thistle pic…. I think I should call this one barbed wire instead. It does sum up the day!

We met a couple of neighbours along the way and everyone was feeling a bit down. Must be the weather. It was good to have a chat and a wee hug and try to cheer other people up, all the while feeling pretty grumpy myself.

I pulled the van over to the front door and emptied everything out. I cleaned all the seat pads, swept it out, cleaned the sink and hob. I love getting it all done after a holiday.

As I dumped everything at the door, Craig had it all moved and dealt with before I finished outside. He’d even hoovered up after Bhruic who is now moulting everywhere! He’s a good ‘un 😂 (well, for today anyway…😆😘)

I then went for a soak in a hot bath and actually took some ibruprofen to help loosen my muscles. That really did help. She who normally hates baths, loved this one. It was nice to just lie back and breathe for a bit.

I did have several interruptions…. The first was Craig telling me a lady had just stared into the dining room window as he sat working at the table…

Then literally a few minutes later to tell me she’d just walked in the front door and asked him if the pub was open as she fancied some pub grub!?!?! He was in a T-shirt and boxers as he ushered her out the front door!?!?! That’s a first. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

I arranged to meet Gayle for a Starbucks at 2pm since Craig was making dog behaviour enquiry calls and I caught up on all the shop news. I see loads of new stock in which is exciting. She doesn’t need me this week as Lochwinnoch is closed for holidays so I get some extra days off. I’ll miss the shop banter but will be good to have a short week first week back.

So yeah, maybe post holiday blues, not sure, but my head is all over the place today. Guess I need to take some of this advice… just once I figure out exactly what it is….

Hope you all have a great Saturday night.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1176 a soggy day in Ullapool with a coffee and filled roll at The Bothy ☕️

Freya and I went for a lovely walk before we left Clachtoll.

We couldn’t stay at Clachtoll for the full week as they were fully booked on the Tuesday night so we used it as a chance to pop back down to Ullapool and get some supplies.

Ullapool is a beautiful village in the Scottish Highlands. Craig and I got engaged in Ullapool in 2009. We had done the famous North Coast 500, although it wasn’t called that back then. Craig tried to propose at every place we stopped but the wind was howling so waited until we were checked into our hotel that night.

In true me fashion I couldn’t let that just be all romantic and lovely as I freaked at how much he’d spent on a ring, but that’s another story 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Back to Ullapool. It rained all day… and it was pretty windy.

My first port of call was The Bothy which is a wee coffee shop that’s opened at the entrance to the Broomfield campsite.

It’s such a lovely space.

I had a haggis roll and Craig had a roll with link sausage. My decaf oat milk latte was just perfect, it hit the spot.

Since we had signal, Craig went back to the van with Freya to make some Scottish Dog Behaviourist calls, while I had a wee wander around the shops, as you do, with a keen eye on all things gift shop!!

They’ve widened the Shore road and it just looked SO different. I miss the quaintness of the original street but at the same time, like everywhere else, it needs to change to cope with the amount of visitors.

I had a great wee wander but got totally soaked. There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes and I was definitely wearing the wrong clothes!

We decided to head to a couple of pubs for the afternoon. We started at the Arch Inn where we got engaged.

Now Freya has been exceptional this whole holiday. We have never spent any time with her alone. Freya does not like the inside of a pub. Totally spooked and scraping to get out. Wee soul. I’m much the same but marriage is about compromise and Craig spent the day on a beach with me yesterday 😂😂 not his favourite thing. 😂

We sat outside under cover in the Arch. Freya could just about cope with that, cured up in a corner, refusing treats the barman gave her…. In a total huff!

We then headed along to the Ferry Boat Inn. She came in but really did want back out so we didn’t stay long.

We then went to The Chippy for fish and chips to take back to the van.

It rained and blew a hoolie all evening. I did get out to watch the Loch Seaforth head out to Stornoway.

Couldn’t miss a CalMac ferry could I?!?

Stay safe everyone 🌧️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌧️