What a beautiful, lovely and gorgeous day but boy, it was bitter in the wind! A maximum of 5°C with a windchill factor of completely freezing!! It would cut you in half!

I want to start by saying that the really bright star you can right now is Venus, which is at its highest point in the sky at 6pm tonight, in Scotland. It will never be that high for the rest of the year.

Jupiter passed the closest to the moon last night but I’d forgot to say. When I did look up, it didn’t look anywhere near as close as the SkyView app suggested! It’s still up there tonight. Here endeth the Rambling Sloth Planet Report 🤣

So back to my day.

For those of you on FB you will know that I did a thing…. 🫣

I announced my new venture Her Travel Circle on my new FB page. It’s not ready to launch yet but we need to start drumming up interest now, for it to be worth anything when I have a website and community page.

Imagine a space where women can connect with like-minded travellers. A network that allows you to experience solo travel—without being entirely on your own. You could travel to a new place and stay with a local woman in our community. Maybe she’d show you around, share insider tips, or simply provide a safe place to stay for a night or two. The beauty of it? You decide how your trip looks. You can be both a traveller and a host, creating meaningful connections and making travel more affordable, safe, and enriching.

That just a snapshot of my intro but it gives you an idea. I’ve no idea how the blog works with the travel page yet but that will come in a few months I guess.

As soon as I posted all that I ran outside with the dogs… to escape the feedback. 😆

It was raw, crisp morning and for first dog walk was in freezing low cloud. I walked with Holly from next door. this is the only photo I took as we were too busy chatting!

Back home and straight out with Bhru and Freya and had a lovely chat with a guy who’d parked a big truck at the end of the village. He told me he has 3 white Boxers and came over to see the dogs!

By this time the low cloud is clearing and the sun is coming out. The temperature instantly lifts!

A few gates today for all my gate lovers! 😆

I love the tyre tracks in the frost.

You can tell how cold it is.

Huge long shadows.

And beautiful views.

I took the dogs into a field for a run around and the burn looked so pretty in the low, winter sun.

Where nature meets man made structure.

This is one of the oldest gates around here now. The metal work is disintegrating.

I came home and sat down to catch up on all the updates…. Can I just say that so many Sloth readers have been incredibly kind. They have posted the loveliest of comments and made me feel incredibly humbled but also very proud.

Thank you to everyone who has liked, commented, messaged or shared.

So after a few hours online, a load of washing done and hung to dry, I head over to the sea… my favourite Largs.

I took a body warmer to wear over a fleece… but thankfully I threw my warm coat in the car at the last minute. As I take these photos…. Wearing the long coat I am literally being cut in half by the cold wind. 🥶

This next photo shows the new promenade wall that they’ve been working on for a while now. This is the first time I’ve seen it. The stones have been swept right up by the storm a fortnight ago.

I always end up nipping to the public toilets in Largs thanks to my overactive bladder and urge incontinence… when you gotta go, you gotta go……. (Love me an overshare 😆)

Today they are 40p entry…. Not seen that before.

Largs to Cumbrae Ferry.

Caught a seagull about to fly off…

And relax….. my happy place.

Of course I hit up all the charity shops…. And didn’t buy a thing, but it was lovely to look.

It turned out that Craig was in Largs for a dog behaviour job, so I arranged to meet him for coffee. We walked down onto the beach so I could take a photo of the height of the stones, it doesn’t do it justice!

We went to Riviera Coffee. What a lovely place.

I had a decaf, coconut milk latte.

Then the mains arrived…. As we decided to eat! Craig had the Korean Burger and I had Halloumi Gyros.

Wow.

We had our first Her Travel Circle business meeting and Craig said I might not get the job, so I may have jumped the gun. 🫣😆

Yeah ok mr hotshot website guy….

I bought new laces for my boots today…. They look very dirty but the new ones are on the left. Much nicer.

I have since cleaned said boots 😆

On the way home I went through a car wash. I could hardly see out the windows. I’m not a fan of a car wash but needs must. It was quick and saved me having to do it… and only cost £3.50.

So I’m back at n my cosy space. There are 3 dogs in that photo! Khaleesi is camouflaged 😆

So thanks once again for all your support.

Stepping out of my comfort zone is scary but I’m using COURAGE, my word for the month, to help me every step of the way. I’m so grateful to Donna Ashworth for her book, Words to Live By and for the journalling process I’m on,. It’s really helping me.

Instead of believing I can’t and this will fail, I need to believe that I can.

I can.

Eeeeeeek 🫣🥴

Stay safe everyone 👯‍♀️✈️🌍

Awwww puppy Calaidh, the OG Border Collie in our family.

I swear that she is human….. she has more hang ups than me.

Cough or sneeze next to her and she will run a mile…. Even if on lead. 😆 She will end up on top of you if one of the dogs coughs close by her.

She has a stubborn streak where she looks at me, with those eyes and thinks I will give in.

She is the defender of our house.

The hoover and any brush are her deadliest enemies.

I would love to see the connection we would have with her, if she’d been our only dog.

Her recall is exceptional. She smiles when she run back to you.

She can always be found with her favourite tennis balls 🎾 😆

Even when I’m trying to piece together a crochet blanket!!

She’s just our gorgeous girl.

Bless her…

So work was quick again today.

My head was all over the place, flitting from one thing to the next and I couldn’t clear it properly to focus on any one thing very clearly. I felt like I had to shake my head.

It felt like there was a bird in there fluttering about from tree to tree.

Skittish.

But happy….

Ellison brought soup in for me which was soooo lovely. We shared Craig’s Smarties Easter Egg for afters…. Shhh don’t tell him, we’ll see if he actually reads this or not! 😆

I left work at 4 and headed up to Silverburn to meet my friend Lea, in Starbucks!

Food for the soul! Lea that is, not Starbucks!!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

My lovely Gran would have been 103 today.

Here she is with our baby Freya when she was still a puppy.

Awwww I miss my Gran. 💜

She left me with a lifetime of sayings….

I credit all the sayings to her when I’m not even sure they were hers.

“Who’d a thunk it” is probably still my most used, where “we worry about the day we never saw” no longer serves me!

She didn’t like my long hair….. we had lots of conversations about eh impracticality of it!

It was getting in her face in this photo. 😆

Bless her.

So back to my day. Awake at 11pm for the loo and again at 3.54am….. I could not get back to sleep. I stuck my fingers in my ears in the hope it would drown out my thinking but no….

I was wide awake.

I ran with Lynsey at 5.45am, as we do on a Wednesday.

It had been TORRENTIAL rain all the while I lay awake. I was sure we’d get soaked so I left my glasses in the house.

Not a drop of rain at all….. not one.

Mars was clearly visible even to my blurry eyesight!

It was lovely weather for a winter run.

The traffic was busy on the Main Road and we had to stand for a while to let traffic pass.

I obviously use that time to try and get my breath back. 😆 It was a really fast time, considering how long we stood still.

Strange teeth action in this photo 😬🥴

So work has been super busy today. It was stock check day but I feel like people said a million different things to me and I have no idea if I’ll remember them all?!?! 🫣 I’ll try to recap in the morning with a fresh head.

The day went really quickly.

You’ll be pleased to know I tried cooking again tonight, after last nights disaster!

This time I had all the ingredients…. But it’s taking an hour to cook in the oven!!

I’m due to meet the Crochet Hookers in the pub, next door, in precisely 12 minutes.

I will not burn my mouth….. 😆

Sweet potato and chickpea curry.

There is a very good chance this will be nuclear temperature 😆

Stay safe everyone 💜💜💜

Picture the scene…. I’m in bed, it’s pitch black but that’s down to my eye mask. I went up to bed earlier than Craig. I wake with a start.

I decide to head down to the loo, so I sit up and he speaks in a normal voice.

I actually screamed!!!

I am still giggling away at the memory, I don’t know who got more of a fright. I have no idea why I assumed he wasn’t there.

I’d been dead to the world so obviously never heard him coming up.

Proper piercing scream!

I had the proper giggles when I came back up to bed. It makes me laugh that I got such a fright!

This morning when I woke for work he said BOO! 😆😆 funny man.

It has rained since about teatime last night, until about 1pm today. It was some drive to work this morning, negotiating all the puddles and floods. One of them took my breath away and gave my heart a jolt, as I hadn’t seen it in the glare of the oncoming headlights.

That’s my 3 shocks for today 😆😆😆 (I’m talking the boo as a shock.. it wasn’t 😀)

There was lots is lovely chat in the Donna Ashworth journalling group today. It really makes me feel alive to be a part of it.

👇🏼 this from the Law of Attraction.

And from Project Happiness.

I’m feeling good just now. I feel like the journalling process is helping me learn more about me. It’s allowing me to be a person in my own life.

It sounds daft but I know what I mean.

The sun came out this afternoon and I had a lovely drive home. We’re due some lovely sunny weather this weekend. Freezing cold but blue skies. Perfect for this time of year.

So check me, I made a coconut curry for dinner tonight…..✅ but something went very wrong… ❌

It did not smell good at all… there was a fusty or damp smell about it…. I persevered.

I used lazy garlic that had obviously been open too long…. I smelled it at the time and wasn’t sure, but then lumped 3 teaspoons in it.

As you do.

Ok I’ll take responsibility… as I do!

It was awful. 🤢

I ate half a bowl as i didn’t want to waste it, but it tasted as bad as it smelled. 🥴

What a shame.

I also had 3 ingredients I had to substitute so that won’t have helped either 😆

Here’s Bhru giving me the side eye.

This next one is something to remember. If you find yourself complaining about things, see how the complaints continue to grow.

I am not a saint. I complain about things but I really do try and catch myself now and it does make a big difference.

I loved this from Happy Breeze. We all need to read this slowly.

And finally……

😆😆😆

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Well that was a day and a half… stuff coming from everywhere, left field, right field, centre field… 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

But I handled it.

It is what it is and it was what it was.

No anxiety at all.

The day flew by!

It’s 7.20pm and I’m shattered.

I’d put off going to the supermarket for all of last week and finally went, after work, tonight.

I actually took a photo in the shop to show how quiet it was!

By the time I’d got to the till I had a lovely chat with the cashier! I told her I had lost the will to shop 😆

I love that level of connection.

We made each other smile.

I’m looking forward to getting back to some fresh food, and I’m planning on cooking.

Back to veggie or vegan for a bit to see if it’s helps my digestion.

I’ve had acid reflux all day again today. Nothing shifts it…. Strangely Craig now thinks he has it too so that makes me think it’s more of a bug, like I said last night.

Hope you all had a great Monday. Sorry this feels like a quick one tonight!

How lovely a thought is this…..

I’m yawning my head off…. Doesn’t help that the stove is creating about 28°C 😆😆😆

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I slept really well but had to get up twice in the night to take antacids.

I’ve been complaining of acid reflux for a while now and it’s only really dawned on me that it has been going on for a bit too long.

If I’m honest the antacids provide respite for precisely 3 or 4 seconds after I’ve swallowed them, which is pointless and my gut is decidedly icky.

I’ve said recently that I don’t know if it’s because I’m eating meat again? The thing is that Ellison at work has been feeling the same so I wonder if it’s just a wee bug.

It’s not stopping me living my life, it just feels a bit yuk.

I went back to bed for a bit but couldn’t sleep. We eventually got up at 8am which is long lie in our house 😆

We sat and had coffee and chatted and did some videos with the dogs for Craig’s business FB – Scottish Dog Behaviourist. I’ve been using the cinematic feature on the iPhone and the videos look amazing. It seems to use a lot of battery and takes up lots of space on my phone though. It’s already a very full photonic at over 65,000 pics/videos!!

I was very brave and deleted them all once I’d sent them to him!

Then it was time for the dog walks. They were split 3 and 1 today. The 3 Borders first, for a good run around, then Khaleesi for a short lead walk to look after her leg.

There is a lovely black and white cat disappearing into the field in this photo.

It’s a very light misty rain. I only really know because it lands on my glasses.

No pics of Khaleesi today 🙊

When I came back home, we just had 3 crates of cut firewood delivered. Craig is a member of the Gateside Wood Committee 😆 but we haven’t had crates of wood delivered for ages. He’s been hand-balling the wood from where they cut it down, to the house, to keep us going. It’s been great to get a big delivery but it needs hand-balled from the back gate, up to the wood sheds.

I filled the shelves in the house.

He’s done the rest!! Filled up some of our empty woodsheds.

It’s been raining all morning and all too often we would have said that we can’t do it because it was raining. Yes we got wet, but it was lovely to be out there enjoying the fresh air.

I swept up all the storm damage from the back patio and the decking.

Sweeping the decking was like curling… the decking is so slippy just now 😆

What a difference.

Why does that flick an instant switch in my head and allow me to feel peace?!

I have no idea but it really does!!

I can highly recommend cleaning up the garden in the rain. There’s a thing I never thought I would say. 😆

So for 2pm I headed to Mocha Jaks near us, to meet Gayle for lunch!

I had a veggie haggis toastie with cheese and Siracha.

And boy did we talk……

We talked for a full 2 hours and only had to stop because Mochas closed 😆😆

It’s very good to talk.

This is my caramel blondie with soya decaf latte.

So I’ve had a lovely weekend. I have my lunch made and my clothes ready for work.

There are so many things on my list that I haven’t done, but that is ok.

I’ll get to them.

Right now I’m back in my happy place in the sunroom. The fire is warming up, the candles are burning and the jammies are on.

My new word of the month is COURAGE.

I need to think about coming out of my comfort zone. I feel like I’ve been hiding in a safe place for a while now. Regenerating.

I’ve had ideas for a new business that Craig has already started working on…. He’s my IT geek and co-founder.

It’s nowhere near ready to go, but Gayle encouraged me to start talking about it now. She’s my business coach 😆.

It’s called Her Travel Circle.

It will allow solo female travellers to connect and make solo travel more affordable. Much more to follow…

Happy Sunday evening!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

1st February 1992 was the day I lost my boyfriend, Keith. He was driving from his home in Peterhead and called me at 6.30pm to say he was leaving and never arrived. I expected him around 9.30pm but he was killed outright in a collision with a truck, sometime after 7pm.

My memories of that night are so clear, so vivid, I can put myself back in that room, with mum and dad. Waiting.

There was no social media in those days, only a landline. It fell to his friend Martin, to tell me the news, only because he phoned to see if I was ok, and I didn’t know.

All I knew was that he was very late.

The police came around midnight but they could see that I knew.

We’d only been together 4 months, and I was only 19, but my world took a turn that day when I realised how fragile life was.

Whether that was the cause of my rocketing anxiety, I’ll really never know. It certainly won’t have helped.

I will always remember him today and on his birthday. On the grand scheme of things, I never really knew him…. But he will be forever 21.

So today, more than usual, is a reminder to me to live my life and appreciate every moment.

I feel like time has slowed down for me through January. I think I said that I appreciated the length of the month instead of wishing it to be over. I’m sure it’s the Donna Ashworth, Words to Live By journalling that I’m doing.

I woke up at 6am and met Lynsey for a run at 7am.

It was starting to get light which was so lovely.

We ran 6.46kms and of course, as it got light, I had to stop to take photos!

It was so calm. So serene. Just perfect. (Bearing in mind, as I always bring it back to reality, I’m using these photo opps as a chance to try and breathe!!)

It looks so pretty and wintry.

The sky was just beautiful. Look at all the colours.

The black of the trees against the sky.

My favourite gate.

I used to walk through life stressed about everything. Drinking wine was the only thing that made me feel happy as it let me forget about the stress. Now I have this. It costs nothing, keeps me healthy and I appreciate the beauty so much.

I had to walk up the last hill! There’s Lynsey up in front.

Craig hammered the window, when we got back and terrified us! I made him take our photo.

By this time the sweat is obviously pouring out of me, so big coat on over the running gear and off out with Bhruic and Freya.

Freya makes my heart burst with her wee backward glances, checking I’m still there…. 🫶🏼

And then I spot the Scotland flag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 in the sky…. Love it!

I made some lovely reels of my dog walks today that you can find on The Rambling Sloth Instagram or FB pages.

I literally stood here and soaked up the light.

It’s these moments of joy that make a happy life.

You can see the frost hanging in the air.

Heading to the sun!

And almost home!

The sun is higher in the sky by the time I head out with Calaidh and Khaleesi.

I wanted to give K a longer walk today, as she’s on new meds, and she did really well.

She’s having a wee sleep now!

When I got back I decided not to sit down, but to get on with the housework and I spent the rest of the morning moving things from where they were, to where they should be. 🤦🏻‍♀️😬🥴

I wish we could just keep the place tidier through the week so I didn’t have to keep doing this, but life gets in the way.

It was 1pm by the time I was happy enough with the state of the house, and I went for my shower.

I’m now in clean jammies… about to start darning crochet blankets that need finished off. They are taking up space in my life but they need work doing!

This is one of them. I had to buy a new darning needle this week as I lost mine 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

So I have had the loveliest of days. Poor Craig has been at work all day, but I have made the most of my time and have refilled my cup.

Auntie Jac bought me this yesterday. Isn’t it lovely?

The future is bright.

Stay safe everyone 🌅☀️🌅

I don’t know what’s got into me today but I am speaking my truth, left, right and centre today and it feels so good to be free of things that have been causing me anxiety and stress for a while now.

Today I said everything that’s been holding me back and I said it calmly, clearly and if I’m honest, with concern and understanding.

I hear myself just now and sound like I’m trying to be some big zen guru that I am absolutely not… 🥴😆

The terrified, crying version of Julie was nowhere to be seen today. Just the calm, in control with a zest for life version.

It feels so good to have confidence and say what you really mean rather than bottling it up and letting it boil over inside.

It makes everything better. It gives you more understanding of the situation, more empathy, everything is clearer. I feel about 5 stone lighter. (I should add here I am not 5 stone lighter or anywhere close to it but that’s another matter!!)

I slept really well.

All of my joint pain is away apart from my index finger.😆

I’ve had a really good day.

I feel very level headed and in control of my emotions, which is a welcome change from the bad days I’ve had in January.

I feel at peace.

There’s nothing else for it after a good day but to get the comfies on and put my feet up.

The sky was lovely tonight.

The stars are out in force again too. Always look up!

I have some actual plans this weekend. I’m getting out and about tomorrow for the first time since we got back from Iceland in early December.

I’ve really enjoyed a relaxing January but I’m looking forward to a wee train trip.

Right now this is my home for the evening, surrounding by puppers.

Check the camouflage Khaleesi on the couch!!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I slept like a log and woke just before my 5.25am alarm.

I was so sore before bed last night. I had paracetamol and ibuprofen before bed.

It would have been so easy to stay home and not run with the girls this morning. Instead, I got out of bed, got changed and did some stretches before heading out at 5.45am.

I don’t think I’m pushing myself to do something I shouldn’t…. I’m proud that I’m pushing past something that I could so easily use as an excuse.

I was heavy and slow this morning. It’s funny how I was faster than I was at the start of my running career and I think not was slow.

I felt like I was dragging a car behind me.

I felt like a hippo next to the two gazelles…. And yet I kept going. I look as heavy as I feel in this photo.

I was so proud of myself when it was over…. 5.43kms done before 6.30am! the sky was lovely and clear, we could see Mars as we ran.

Back home, showered, upside down quick hair dry and off to work.

I didn’t enjoy today quite as much as yesterday but I got lots of stock up for sale! It’s not as much fun as tidying out. 😆 the photos aren’t the best either!

Ellison and I sat outside again at lunchtime today. It was lovely again. It’s so lovely to feel the sun in January.

Would you believe I managed a wee poem when I got in to work this morning. A lady suggested I write about not being able to write a poem and it flowed right out of me.

Now it’s nothing to shout about… but I’ll give you a laugh.

She sits in an empty but messy office

Trying to write a poem

But nothing is coming to mind

Trying as hard as she can

Then the eureka moment

Maybe she should stop “trying”

Stop “trying” and just let it be

Maybe she needs that life lesson

Maybe I just need to be ME

It makes me smile…. Maybe I’m laughing at it but it was funny, I literally wrote it in seconds!!

It was lovely on the way home too, the sky was so clear and it was still so light.

I decided to have the night off crochet tonight and I’ve ended up taking ages to write the blog. I’ve actually been in a lot less pain today too which is great. Still lots of water and mindful eating. Oh and I seem to have lost 4lbs since Monday!!

I have the candles lit and the twinkly lights on. Of course I’m in my jammies and I have my feet up.

I needed this tonight.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I am so sore tonight.

My fingers ache…. 😆

But I did not sit down (apart from lunch) until 3pm.

I had a great day at work!

Morning from Coffee & Quotes!

We had a bit of wind and water damage due to our new hole in the roof, caused by Storm Éowyn.

I spent the day through in Upholstery, with Ellison, and sorted through all our rolls of material, tidied it up, reorganised it, saved some bits for selling, identified some rolls for selling and honestly, had THE best time doing it all!

You know me, I love a good clear out!

I love a good bit of organisation.

My head was buzzing…. I was on a roll. (Pun intended!)

We sat outside for lunch today as it was so lovely and calm… on 28th January, who’d a thunk it as my Gran would say?! I didn’t even have my big hoodie on…. That’s what a day “on the tools” does to you…. Keeps you warm 😆😆

In the afternoon I headed up to our mezz floor…. Or stock room…. Or general dumping ground. 😆

It’s hard trying to move stuff around when there is literally no space in the room but I’m really chuffed with what I actually did.

I had to sit down at 3pm as I felt all shaky and lightheaded.

I have got lots of things to sell and I’m excited to see how much I can make. Think I’ll put it up for sale on FB marketplace to see how it goes.

Failing that it goes in the bin 😆

So yeah, I’m aching like an achy thing. I’m running at 5.45am tomorrow so hope that will loosen me all back up again.

I’ve taken double magnesium and tumeric tonight, in the hope that helps.

I have been drinking lots of water and eating mindfully, so I feel a lot less bloated which is good.

Donna Ashworth’s Words to Live By activity was to write a poem today…. I had nothing. 😆

My head is quite happy rambling away here but the moment it hears the word “poem” it clams up.

I’m going to push that one to the weekend and be hopefully be more creative by then. Not beating myself up about it.

Really…. 🙊

It was lovely when I left work. All calm and peaceful. It’s so welcome after the crazy wind at the weekend.

It’s also almost light by the time I get to work and still light when I leave. That makes all the difference!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

There was really no evidence of the storm on my drive to work this morning.

Apart from a couple of trees down, around the corner from the house, everything seems to have survived surprisingly well.

I think I drove through a village without any lights so they must still be waiting for power.

We have a piece of capping missing off the roof in work. The blue is sky.

So back to reality today as if none of it ever happened.

More importantly I am able to come back to work with clean hair. 😆

I don’t feel great within myself today.

Similar to yesterday, I have a stiff neck, tight shoulders, arms and wrists and a pain in my leg. I’ve also got a pain in right side and my back.

None of this is agony, it’s all just twinges and aches….. that sometimes make me stop and draw breath.

I’ve also been feeling really bloated which is something that fasting has eradicated from my life. I feel like I have bad water retention. I stepped on the scales and I’ve put on 9lbs since I last weighed myself!!!!!

Now I could point a finger at a few things here.

• 1. I started eating meat again around Christmas. Not some big hurrah, just no longer turning my nose up at it.
• 2. I am inhaling junk when I’m not fasting and I’m not actually savouring or enjoying any of it.
• 3. I’ve been pretty sedentary the last few weekends apart from my runs and slow dog walks.
• 4. I ramped up the oestrogen part of my HRT about 2 weeks ago which could result in fat being stored 🥴😳 this I did not look into. 😆
• 5. I’ve not been drinking as much water as it makes me so cold in the office! Dehydration usually makes my tendons stiffen up.

So I’m not right and my body is screaming that something needs to change.

I’m just not sure what.

I love this from Sweatpants and Coffee.

This used to send me into a spiral of action. A panic trying to figure out which part of this caused the pain and the weight gain. It’s likely a combination of all of it.

So today I am drinking warm water this morning to try to rehydrate a bit. That is a start.

Today I am also running to the loo… a lot!

I also had a salad for lunch that wasn’t full of cheese and olives…. And I enjoyed it.

I also mindfully ate my cheese and onion Crinkles at lunchtime and really enjoyed them rather than inhaling them.

I felt a bit better when I left to go home.

Realistically though, we do have a lot of food in the house, so we are going to use that up first before I change my diet overnight.

That way we are clearing out and using up what we have which is our motto for the year.

I will eat more mindfully and try to enjoy what I eat and hopefully feel fuller again, faster.

And from Butterlies and Pebbles.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

So if you read the first blog, you will know we were very lucky to get power back at 12.30am!

Lights on at that time is always going to give you a fright. I conked straight back out while Craig was left to deal with all the lights around the house….

I have friends who STILL don’t have power. I can’t believe it has taken so long. I watched the helicopter follow the power lines again today checking for breakages.

It was a lovely morning. We had condensation inside the windows as the bedroom had been so cold.

It’s so calm and peaceful.

Not a breath when I took the dogs out the back.

Now that we have power I had to re-wash the washing in the machine. Tidy away all the camping lights and stove. Hoover the sunroom again. Get everything back to normal.

I took Calaidh, Bhruic and Freya up the hill for a walk and a run about.

I was not being in the present moment at all.

I was angry and stressed. I didn’t want to do any of the chores but they had to be done.

I stomped up and down that hill. I didn’t appreciate any of it. I can see that now.

The sun was lovely in the sky…. By the time I actually remembered to take a photo.

I stopped to look at it for a while and started to breathe.

My new view again today…..

Then when I was further down the hill I noticed the Emirates flight literally hanging in the sky.

Flights that are bound for Glasgow usually turn just past our village and head north east towards the runway.

Emirates didn’t turn where the flights usually do…. It carried on to the west for ages and then turned and headed straight back towards me.

Right towards me. I’ve never seen that before. (It is in this photo!!)

I actually started to panic a bit as I thought there must be something wrong. It finally banked slightly to the west and turned course heading for Glasgow. It was so low in the sky that I videoed it… I had such a bad feeling!

And yet all was well.

It probably does that everyday! I’ve just never seen it before.

That got me back to the present moment.

I took Calaidh back out with Khalessi, just to give her an extra walk.

I’ve also woken with a frozen shoulder and pain down my arms. Not quite sure what that’s all about? Maybe I was sleeping in a funny position last night, trying to avoid the puddle caused by my leaky hot water bottle!

We have clean bed for tonight… heaven!

I also had a lovely shower and washed my hair… what a luxury…

So this afternoon I had Claire in for a movie afternoon! We watched one of my favourites, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off!

She had never seen it before.

She did tell Craig it came out 3 years before she was born!!

😳

This was Bhruic all cooried up as we watched.

So we had a lovely, calm afternoon. Lots of good chats.

I made the usual fakeaway for dinner tonight! It was good to make use of the food we have in the freezer. We have… I….. have decided that the freezer food will still be good. I’m binning the prawn ring as you can never trust a prawn!! 😆

What a strange weekend indeed.

I am so grateful that we seemed to be so well prepared. We never ran out of lights, gas for the camping stove or power in our phones.

The strangest thing was living without the internet. Without access to any updates.

All through the storm they told us to stay informed but it’s very hard to do that without signal.

Thanks so much to everyone who checked up on us and who offered support.

It’s lovely how everyone works together at times like this.

And just like that, back to work tomorrow.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Our power switched back on a 12.30am!!

The light came on in our bedroom as we slept!

It was FREEZING up there last night. I think about 12°C AND…. The hot water bottle I took to bed created a big puddle in the already freezing bed and soaked all the clothes I was wearing?!? You could not make that up!!!

I did not wet myself…. I can hear a few voices in my head that would say this. 😆😆

This is right up the top of the end as I was cuddling the hot water bottle. 😆

The dogs started barking as they got as much of a fright as we did but it’s lovely to wake to a warm house this morning. I had to take layers off as we went through the night.

Looking forward to a day of just being and not waiting.

Oh and a shower.

That will be nice.

My hair stays up in its top bun by itself now. 😆

Thanks to everyone for your messages of support over the last few days. I’ll catch back up today. I know Mum was going to put a message up to say that we didn’t have enough phone signal to be able to reply.

So grateful for all the chargers, camping lights, stove, gas and candles we have. So grateful.

Anyway, more later.

Stay very safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I’ve not had a shower since Thursday morning and I’ve not washed my every second day hair since Wednesday 😆🤦🏻‍♀️

We are heading into our second full day without power. The wind chill factor outside is -3°C.

The good news is that it has been a lovely day with 13-14mph winds…. It was still really wild even when we went to bed last night. Bed was FREEZING. Maybe tonight I will remember to fill our hot water bottles.

When I was a kid we never had central heating and we just coped and we will again.

We are so very lucky to have a wood burning stove and an open fire but Craig is having to go and collect more wood as we have run out.

I took the dogs for a walk first thing this morning. They hadn’t been far yesterday. Look at the sun!

The calm is so lovely.

I love this next photo. After the strength and destruction of that storm yesterday, the sun will always rise again.

The farm we passed have lost some roofing on one of their sheds.

We met Rachel two doors down and Nacho.

Breathing in that lovely light.

The sky clouds over and there is snow on the hills. We have a yellow weather warning for snow and ice this morning.

These are the power lines that are causing all the problem right now. They are saying we won’t have power until Sunday night at midnight.

I love the reflection of the telegraph poles on the road!

The village hall has lost a length of ridging.

I came back and got Khaleesi and spotted this lovely rainbow!

Then we got caught in a hail storm, you can’t see it in this photo.

It’s just so mean and moody.

This cloud brought snow. I never got any photos of that either. The hail storm turned into snow for a bit. It lay and then melted in the sun.

My new favourite view, I feel like this has taken over from my obsession with gates!!

The puppers were soaking after the hail/snow so have their goonies on to keep dry… they are not getting back out with them on. 😆

Back outside to check everything in the garden… it’s a mess. I tried to clear it up. Poor Craig is loaded with the flu. So I was trying to save him a job but I couldn’t move half of it.

He’s put a big pallet up so hope that will stop the puppers from escaping. We literally just got the garden fully Khaleesi escape proof this summer and now we have to watch her again!!

So I don’t know where the day has gone.

I feel like I’m off sick but we are waiting for something. It’s a very strange feeling.

We went to the co-op for sandwiches, bread and cold meat and might rustle up a BLT for dinner tonight.

Community spirit is great. Many people are leaving to stay with family but those that are left are mucking in together. We have camping stoves set up. We’ve lent out two gas canisters, we’ve the offer of phone charging from neighbours who still have power or have since got generators. There’s something quite lovely about that part of it all.

So the light is just about to fade and I need to get out into the garden to post this.

I have no signal in the house. We’ve been told a mast may be down so we are bouncing further away.

I can’t get on the internet long enough to reply to anyone but it seems to let me post. Mum was going to comment on one of my posts from last night as I can see there are comments there, just not enough signal to read or reply.

It’s been a very strange few days. We are fine. We’ve camped for longer without power or showers. The toilet flushes and the stove is warm. Can’t ask for much more. Except a hot water bottle…. but I will do that tonight.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?!?

Stay safe everyone 🔥🔥🔥

I woke up at 1.17am and it was gently raining. Not a breath outside.

This is our first red alert storm since 2012.

I had to drive in the 2012 storm from Falkirk to East Kilbride as, of course, I had to work through that one. This time a lot of businesses have closed along with the schools.

I wake again at 6.10am and it’s pretty windy outside. I look out the front and our main road is empty. Even at 6.10am there would be a fair bit of traffic by now.

Obviously there are cars passing as some people have to travel but the roads are so quiet.

It’s now 11am and we are into the thick of it now. There are trees down all around our villages but so far everyone seems ok.

Craig took the dogs out for a short walk this morning while I hoovered the house… just in case the power goes out. Check out his Scottish Dog Behaviourist post about dogs in this bad weather.

I’ve also got some of Ellison’s recipe lentil soup in the slow cooker. I grated my finger into the soup along with the carrot. 🥕 of course I did.

It’s so lovely to feel so much better than I did last weekend. My head is clear. I’m a little scared of the creaking and groaning in our house but we just have to ride that out. It’s nothing compared to what some countries face.

So since I wrote this I’ve been out in the garden to inspect the pub beer garden fence.

It is crazy out there, I don’t think I’ve been in weather like that. The wind is so powerful.

The pub fence is down in two places and our wee tree has fallen apart. It’s way too windy to get decent photos of anything. Can’t keep the phone steady at all!!

Then…. I realised the Memorial Hall wheelie bins were heading towards our cars so I went out the front to try and catch them. I realise I maybe shouldn’t have gone out as I fought with them for about 5 minutes and I’ve laid them on their side to lower their centre of gravity (where on earth did I get that from?!? I amaze myself…. 😆😆) it seems to have worked.

At 12.30pm our power went out.

We have electric central heating….

Thankfully the soup was just ready.

So we’re sitting with candles and the fire on and so grateful I made the soup. Our whole house runs off electricity!

I’m not gonna lie, this is all a little bit scary and I just want it to be over now. Our house is very old. It doesn’t need to be battered about like this.

It’s 1.46pm and the power’s been out for over and hour now. I am almost certain a plane just flew over us either heading towards Glasgow Aiport or having taken off from it?!? I would not want to be in that!!!

I think it’s easing slightly now. I feel the worst is past. I say that and a huge gust tried to prove me wrong…. Yup that was a big one!

Wow…. I must have started typing that in a lull…. and it got worse again.

This is between us and the pub.

Our wee tree.

We’ve just have one of our lovely neighbours in for coffee, as she wanted flasks of hot water and we have got the camping stove on.

The mai thing is we are safe.

It’s been a very strange day.

I don’t even know if this will post but I’m gonna try.

Stay very safe everyone 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

I wake just before 6am which is not bad. I get up straight away to start the day. I’m only 10 minutes ahead of schedule!

It’s a beautiful drive to work today. It’s 3.5°C so I don’t have to scrape the car but the sky is clear.

It’s even better by about 8.30am. (Note these are not my best shots as I work in an industrial estate and my foreground doesn’t give me much to play with 😆 check me sounding like a photographer!)

The reality was that these photos were more pink than orange but it was so beautiful.

Damn that lamppost 😆

One of the guys at work took a photo and removed the lamppost.

And finally our Tartan Campervan, Merida showing off that gorgeous sky.

I feel a bit giddy today. A little rush of excitement which I’ve not had for over a week. It’s lovely to feel like that. Especially after feeling down for a week or so.

I’m getting so much out of the connection in Donna Ashworth’s new journalling group.

Like minded people with nothing but kindness and a listening ear. Ok, it’s all written on social media but you know what I mean. I am loving being able to reply to people and give the some hope.

There are some people who really struggle to say anything nice about themselves and it shows me how far I have come.

If you asked me some of these questions in 2018, I would have had nothing good to say about myself either.

As hard as it was, I’m still so grateful that I fell apart, that I had my breakdown, because it’s given me the chance to become this version of myself.

I grew up wanting to please everyone but myself and that tied me in knots. All of the plates I was juggling, came crashing down to the ground and there were so many pieces, it took me years to pick the bits up that mattered.

Even now, when I feel low, I feel like an empty shell at times.

I struggle to connect with my inner child… I’m scared to look too closely at her. I wish she wasn’t so serious and grown up.

When I look back at school, I struggled to fit in anywhere yet I don’t think you would have known that at the time. A lot of my memories are of friendship falling outs or bullying.

I seem to find it hard to remember the nice parts. I think that’s maybe because I was working so hard trying to fit in.

I took that on to my career.

The “knight on a white charger” I was jokingly called as was brought in to my big job. I lapped it up, I’d help anyone, do anything, join any meeting I could. I championed new processes.

Slowly but surely over time I just started to break. I was surrounded by the worst kind of negativity…. Defensiveness.

Nothing was ever good enough, nothing ever changed, every day was a battle and my sunny disposition lost its shine. Replaced by fear, anger, shame, guilt, terror at times.

Hmmm where has all this come from today? It’s pouring out of me 😆

Back when I was off sick with anxiety and depression, people came out of the woodwork to share lovely things with me. I thought about listing them all here but I’d miss someone and that would be the worst thing ever.

There are friends and family, people I have never met but “know” through FB, people who have sadly, long since passed on. They all shared their light with me, or listened when I panicked. They really helped me to change my outlook on life.

It’s lovely to be able to do that for others now.

So in other news, central Scotland is braced for a storm tomorrow and everything is closing down.

You wouldn’t know it if you went outside just now. It’s calm and the skies are clear.

The schools are closed and many businesses are closing. I’m very pleased that Craig’s able to stay home too.

We have literally just had a huge siren sound play on our phones and watches and got this.

Never had that before.

It’s quite exciting but obviously scary at the same time.

We are prone to rotten weather in Scotland but we haven’t closed down for strong winds for as long as I can remember.

Now this next picture is not my favourite crochet blanket. This was a job that was work in progress that I was going to throw out in the big new year clear out. One of our lovely crochet girls tied in all the ends, pulled it together and did the border for me. I crocheted these squares in 2020 lockdown.

It is not the prettiest but it will do someone a turn. If you know someone that could use it let me know, if not it will go to the charity shop.

So I always end my blog with “stay safe everyone”, today I mean it more than ever.

Everyone in the path of this storm please take care. Here’s hoping it passes and turns out to be nothing other than a lot of hype.

Stay safe everyone 🚨🚨🚨

I woke at 5am. I wasn’t quite as rested as last night so I just got up.

I managed to look at my Donna Ashworth question before I ran, think about how your body feels today.

Not going to lie I have random aches and pains. Has the stress of this last week manifested itself in pain… maybe.

It’s good to do a body scan like that in the morning and Donna recommends we breathe into the aches and pains and let them all go.

It was just Rachel and I for a run this morning.

I was really spooked by the dark for some reason today. That could be because we watched a thriller the other night, based on a forest and I was scared of the dark!

The we ran through Spiers Old School grounds this morning!!!

Of course we did. 😱

At one point Rachel said, “what was that?!?” For those of you who don’t know the area, it’s basically a lovely woodland on the ground of an old school that got knocked down years ago. What was that, is never a good question to ask in the dark! 😆

😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱🏃🏻‍♀️😱

Was very glad when we were out of there! (My friend Evelyn will also give me a row for this. She is not a fan of my early morning, in the dark, antics! )

It doesn’t look it, but my glasses were so steamed up here, I couldn’t see a thing!

So 5.92k in the bag and yes I’d have run to 6k if I’d realised but I’d already stopped my tracker!

I feel ok today. My head is still calm and that’s always a good thing.

This is the SkyView Lite app when I got to work…. I knew I could see Mars as it appears slightly more red in the sky than the other stars. The app shows exactly where it is in the sky.

This photo is of actual Mars!

Yup a bit underwhelming, I know but I still find it very exciting!

There was a lovely sunrise at work today and the sun was in the sky most of the day, even although it was chilly.

Ellison brought me home made soup today and Ali got me a Greggs sausage roll.

It was a lovely lunch and I had my salad for dinner.

We have some very rough weather coming on Friday.

Our Alexa keeps telling us the weather for some reason. She just said that Fridays storm has been upgraded to an Amber Weather Alert.

It has a name so it must be bad. Storm Éowyn.

I have no plans for Friday so I will be staying out in case of flying trees!

Alexa also warned us of a yellow alert for snow on Friday morning. Could be exciting if Craig didn’t have to go out to work.

I’m trying to be really active on the Donna Ashworth page and trying to make people smile. It’s so lovely to connect with like minded people. You know how much I love that!

So I’m off to meet the Hookers in 5 next door in the village pub.

Looking forward to my 0% pink gin and slimline.

Plan on finishing another baby blanket!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

It’s Bhruic’s 9th birthday today! She has no idea… obviously… but I did give her a few toys that they didn’t get at Christmas so she was very excited!

Here she is this morning showing off to the others.

Lots of fun with her new toy… simple things eh?!

She was THE most beautiful puppy and she’s grown into a beautiful girl.

We have our challenges Bhruic and … I see something in her eyes in the bottom right photo… there’s a lot goes on in that head of hers. She tests my patience a lot but she’s actually the most easily trainable. She’s determined to do anything for you.

She’s also so much fun and always takes a great photo… when she’s being ladylike 😆

She is definitely our adventure pup….

Though she was not happy out in a canoe!! She kept trying to get out. Not her wisest move.

I’m feeling a lot brighter today. Like a weight has been lifted.

I feel more focused and I have more energy.

It’s such a relief as that’s been a rough 5 or 6 days.

I started my new HRT regime last night. I’ve moved up from Everol 50 to Everol 75. I don’t think, for one second, that this is contributing to my lighter mood.

I slept ALL night. I was in bed before Craig and the dogs, never heard them come to bed…. Never heard the herd of wildebeest come up the stairs…. And I woke to the alarm.

My head is silent. 🧘🏻‍♀️

So I’ve had a good day.

Got lots done at work.

We even saw some sunshine.

Here’s the birthday girl tonight.

She’s already almost annihilated her new toy.

Sadly managed to seriously overcook my second helping of haggis… I seemed to turn it into a sold cereal bar since I coked it on full power for 10 minutes instead of medium power… oops.

There’s a lovely sky tonight. Jupiter and Saturn are visible just now from our south facing back garden. They look like one star as they are so close together.

So I hope you have a lovely Tuesday night. I plan on chilling with the birthday girl.

Assuming she actually chills that is…. 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

The phrase Blue Monday was thought up by a travel company trying to encourage people to book a holiday in January.

It gives many of us an excuse to feel blue. I would have lapped this up in the past.

I still felt really low when I woke this morning and I was determined not to make it a bad day. I invented Happy Yellow Monday 😆💛💛💛. I worked hard to feel bright and upbeat.

I tried to be fully present in the shower instead of rushing ahead with my day. I felt grateful for the warmth of the water, smiled at the lemon scent of the yellow shower gel…. You get the gist…. It’s cheesy but I really have to work at that.

My FB feed gave me so much this morning. I’ll share everything that meant something to me.

Coffee and Quotes is always there with a smile for the day. 😘

I did feel rough this morning but I honestly think this helped.

One of the girls at work bought me this happy avocado to counteract my wee sad olive last week. How lovely is that?! It’s the cutest.

The sun came out today and it’s been lovely to see. We have storms coming against the end of the week.

I came home via the post office, to post another Vinted sale, the chemist to pick up my increased HRT prescription and the village hall, where they were giving us feedback on the Garnock Valley questionnaire on improvements. That was a lot of words to out in one sentence. I’m not sure it made sense! It did to me. They are looking for suggestions for improvements in our local community and it was good to see how they collated that feedback. We will see what they do with it now.

So it was veggie haggis and neeps (turnip) for dinner tonight. Bhru is not impressed. 😆

My friend Emma came to pick up a cat basket for a vet trip tomorrow so I had a good chat with her and she’s just away!

I feel very tired but definitely brighter than the weekend.

Finally my head might be slightly more calm.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️