What a lovely night last night. The Boarding House in Howwood was lovely.

We started off for a few drinks in the Gateside Inn and then Lesley drove us to the Boarding House. It looks super festive.

Tee hee Evelyn is holding the door open while I take my photos!

I don’t have any photos of us at dinner as it was a big round table and impossible to get us all in… here I am before I go out.

Although you can’t see it, I must tell you a funny story about the dress I wore.

First of all… me in a dress. Doesn’t happen often.

More importantly…. Where on earth did that dress come from?

I was looking for a black dress for the funeral today and came across a black dress that I have no recollection of buying. I have wrecked my brains. I don’t recall EVER having seen it before and it fits like a glove.

The dress I was looking for is nowhere to be seen and yet this one seems to be in its place. It has lovely lacy see through sleeves.

Not a clue where it came from.

A couple of pics of the lovely Evelyn and Anne!

Wait till you see the food!

I had sesame chicken strips with mustard mayo and Evelyn had bang bang cauliflower to start.

I had monkfish with chilli and garlic oil with flagrant rice and flatbread. Evelyn had Turkey with all the trimmings. (other meals were available but I wasn’t stretching over everyone for photos! 😂😂

Dessert was Cranachan Pavlova. It was beautiful! also tasted as good as it looked.

We had lots of good chat and put the world to rights as we usually do.

We had Secret Santa and all got lovely gifts. It was such a nice night. I hit a wall after dessert and could have slept at the table!!

Thanks to Lesley for driving and to all the girls for a great night!

It was a crazy wild day today and I had so much anxiety about driving up to Perth. I was so nervous setting off…. Overthinking how bad the weather was. It was only a yellow warning and I’ve driven in red warnings before… I knew it would be nothing but I think I have an “appetite for drama”…. I pinched that from a podcast today! I heard it and thought that was SO true!!

I do and I have…. An appetite for drama and suffering. I want to feel hard done to at times, I want people to feel sorry for me. Recognising it is half the battle. I will slap myself in the face with “appetite for drama” quite regularly….. upon reflection… Craig… in case you’re listening… slap me with this and I’m likely to slap you back 😂😂😂 that’s just my ego talking. I’m allowed to recognise it. I’m not ready for anyone else to.

Apart from narrowly missing a pile up at the Braehead exit of the M8 (wow the adrenaline flooded through me!) and being blown off course on the M80…. The drive was actually quite lovely. The sky cleared blue, although the wind was still blawin’ a hoolie. It was nice to see so much of Scotland just before Christmas… and in the daylight.

Once I found where I was going, I completely relaxed.

Driving home was a breeze…. (That’s a bad metaphor as it was still wild!!) I drove like a pro. It’s like I’m two different people at times. 😂 (actually I’m way more than two different people but that’s a different story. 😂😂). Not a worry mmmon the road at all, weaving in and out of traffic. Second nature kicked back in.

So back home now. Christmas jammies on for a relaxing evening after more socialising than I’ve done in years. 😘

Today is the shortest day with sunrise at 8.46am and setting at 3.37pm.

The light is being born again. I love that idea. This is it folks…. Summer is a-coming. Get those flip flops at the ready!!

Also today is my fast-aversary!! Ok I made that word up. It’s a year since I started fasting and I have managed it for 365 days. Who’d a thunk it?!

I feel I have a long way to go but I am down a couple of dress sizes and I’m way more comfortable in my own skin. I always struggled with feeling bloated and I can honestly say I’ve not felt bloated once in a year.

Would you believe it’s 35 years since the Lockerbie disaster.

I was sat with my dad in the car… we were delivering Webb Ivory Christmas catalogue orders to Dad’s Scout troop…. We were outside Kevin O’Reilly’s house in Penicuik….when we heard that a plane had come ONE HOUR AND EIGHTEEN MINUTES drive away from our house. It’s also sad that Kevin O’Reilly is no longer with us either. He was in my year at school.

Only 4 more sleeps until Santa comes. I’m not dreading Christmas this year. I’m embracing it quietly from the couch beside the beautiful Christmas tree.

So many bad things are happening all around me. To people that I love. These are not my stories to tell but they do have an effect on me. Not everyone is happy this Christmas and I’m more aware than ever that life is today, here and now and it is what you make it.

Appreciate everyone you have around you.

Tell them.

Make it awkward.

Be vulnerable.

The world needs way more of that right now.

Stay safe everyone 🎄🎄🎄