I had the best sleep ever….. after the whirring mind of yesterday I was out for the count. Not a single rogue voice anywhere telling me to be better, do better…. hallelujah!!

I woke up a few times but love snuggling back down knowing that I would fall back to sleep and when the alarm went off at 5am… it was ok.

The Fit Body Farm was inside today as it was torrential rain this morning. We got totally soaked walking from the car to the Farm!

It was a tough exercise today as it’s so much warmer indoors and it was all about the kettlebells.

Freezing cold shower and off to Tartan to start the working week. I’m doing 5 days this week as we have a holiday at the end of next week.

It was honestly just “wan o’they days today”…. Nothing went quite according to the plan we had laid out. But it was ok. The world didn’t end and we will be back tomorrow to do it all again. 😆

Now I thought this was hysterical….. I quite often can’t find the right words to say when I’m trying to explain something to Craig…. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we get angry at other but this made me laugh out loud. My friend Anne posted it on FB. I sent it to Craig as soon as I saw it!!

So I’m home now and it’s suddenly super hot. The rain stopped earlier today and it’s been getting nicer ever since. I think the puppers missed me today….

After a tiring day there’s nothing better than cuddles.

We popped into the pub for a couple before dinner. I had my usual Gordon’s alcohol free gin with slimline tonic.

Happy days.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Oh my god, what is wrong with me today… my inner chatter is in full raging flow. I seem to be thinking at 900 miles an hour… precisely. It’s given me a headache.

Now I woke at 6.30 and checked my phone…. Big mistake. Ended up on the FB page for the NC500 where all the locals are moaning about tourists and I got ended up in that wormhole. Boy people can be so nasty on line. Make you scared to go anywhere in case you upset someone.

Managed to get back to sleep for a bit but woke up about 8.30 so a good long lie. Then looking at all the pics and video from our paddle boarding yesterday…. Why was I one of the only ones with a life vest on, why didn’t I try and stand up more, why are there no good pics of me… why, why, why….

I had a great time and if I wasn’t for social media it would have stayed that way…. No correct that… it’s my head making it something it isn’t.

So we’ve had quite a busy day from the comfort of our own home. We’ve booked a campsite for Arran and Islay for our summer holidays…. That took some time but we did it. We’ve looked into options for our second week.

I think I’m anxious today. For no reason. That age old day off to rest so I don’t rest and wind myself up.

I had a call with our mortgage provider again to reset my passwords etc for internet banking. I was on for half an hour as I kept getting things wrong. The guy was so patient with me. He says that this job (helping rest logins) is his bread and butter and I wasn’t the worst he’s dealt with….. still I managed to put in the wrong password twice after going through the full reset. O.M.G!!!!!

I also put the awning up for sale as we now have too many tents again. That’s a job well done.

Poor Claire invited me for a cuppa…. Maybe I shouldn’t have had more caffeine. I literally talked at her for the whole time. 😆

I did feel calmer afterwards though.

Goodness knows what brought all that on today but writing it down has helped.

My breakfast and lunch are ready for work and the Fit Body Farm is booked and clothes all ready. That’s pretty good for me.

I’m looking forward to work as it will keep me busy.

I need to stop beating myself up when no one else does…. And just chill. Relax.

This is your Sunday evening reminder to have a great week. Don’t beat yourself up for stuff. Do as I say…. Not as I do!! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Had a very good sleep last night. I made fillet steak, potatoes and cauliflower for dinner last night and dozed on and off all evening after my Forrest Gump running/walking day yesterday.

We’ve been watching Jeremy Clarkson’s The Farm on Amazon and I really enjoyed it. Our mate Warren recommended it last weekend and we’ve finished it already! 🤷🏻‍♀️😆

I had proper giggles through it but at the same time found it really interesting and didn’t have a clue about half the stuff that farmers have to think about.

So yeah a good sleep and woke at 6.30am with my mind whirring round like a whirry thing. I was lying counting how many years we’d been married…. Wondering what our next anniversary was, wondering what we’d be doing next week at work, should I have ordered this, should I have done that. None of it worrying, just thinking. Did a wee quick meditation (just picked one off YouTube) and it cleared my head.

Up about 8am and made Craig’s breakfast before he went to work… check me. (I also made sandwiches to take our with us… another revelation 😆)

Then set about cleaning the house… washing on… dishwasher on…. Hoovered… cleaned…. All done.

Then it was dog walking time and I LEFT MY PHONE AT HOME…… 😳🤯

There are no pictures.

I took all three out but Calaidh was pulling really badly so I walked back and left her in the house and took Bhruic and Freya.

Came back and dropped them off and took Calaidh out. She was obviously a bit too hot today. It’s super muggy and we have thunderstorms forecast. She kept lying down in long grass at the side of the road to wait for me!

I love silence. I crave silence. If I’m in the house on my own when Craigs out I don’t have the tv on… no music…. Just peace and quiet to sit and reflect.

I’ve managed my FB feed over the last few years, to only show me positive quotes and see things from people that don’t take my peace away. I know that sounds corny but when you find that place it’s an amazing place to be.

So this afternoon we went paddle boarding with the Fit Body Farm and what a laugh we had! We went to Booker Pond in Irvine.

It was torrential rain on the way down. It was so bad I had to slow right down and got covered by wash from a passing car at one point which totally blinded us.

When we got there the rain stopped.

By this time it’s pouring again.

We did a lot of work up the other end of the pond but finally got back down for a photo opp….

Just getting into position for the team photo when this happened…

Yip I fell off. Not to be outdone I still posed…

Craig did really well and was on his feet for most of the time. I didn’t mind falling in but honestly….. it was like rescuing a beached whale trying to get me up on that board while in deep water.

God love the folk who helped me. It was truly knackering…. First of all there are boobs and then a great big ruddy flotation vest. I could barely reach the other side of the board let alone pull myself up! I just need more practise… and maybe lose weight?!? 🤔 so I spent a bit more time on my knees as it’s easier to balance.

That was all pretty much out of my comfort zone but I loved it. All those years spent as kids, rowing with my dad… you never lose that ability to row. Fit Body Farm has improved my rowing strength too.

I said to Craig on the way home that we spend our lives saying things will be great when I have x, y or z…. I love just appreciating everything in the present and being truly grateful for every day just now.

I’ve had the best day.

Stay safe everyone 🏄🏻‍♀️🏄🏻‍♂️🥰

So day 493 blog would have read a busy day at work and then I was tired. The end.

Thought I’d save that nugget for today!

I actually lay on the couch from about 6pm and couldn’t move until I went to bed. I head butted my book at one point…. Never managed to actually fall asleep so slept like a log at night.

So the fit body farm was very hard work this morning.

• 1600m run (4 laps of the farm!)
• 30 sit ips
• 800m run (2 laps of the farm)
• 15 burpee broad jumps
• 400m run (1 lap of the farm)
• 😳

Now I didn’t do as much as a most others in the class as my second run was cut down to two laps (from 3) but it’s still a lot for me. It’s hard to see others running past you but I need to realise I actually ran 2,800 metres before 7am.

Came home and had a shower and a coffee.

Now this is where it gets crazy as I had to drop the van into the garage this morning so I drove down and walked back with Bhruic and Freya.

So it’s roughly 3 miles home…..

Bearing in mind I’ve already run 2.8k….

It makes me laugh every time I walk to or from the garage… the Highlanders are up at the gate when I drive down and teeny tiny specs in the distance when I walk past?!?

So I gets home. Dogs off the lead, opened some mail and decided to take Calaidh out while I was still moving.

Not even half way on our walk when the garage phoned to say the Van was ready!!! May as well just keep walking then?! Another 3 miles…..

We stopped in at the new Mocha Jaks on our walk.

I had porridge with honey and banana and a coconut milk latte. The heavens opened as I sat outside and they had to find a table inside. Calaidh was so good. She just sat under my chair and didn’t make a sound.

So we walked the full 3 miles back to the garage most of it on the rain.

Not gonna lie I’ve felt sick for a good wee while afterwards…. I’ve had a drink ofwater and eaten something and I feel a bit better now. Maybe just too dehydrated. Also my body wondering what on earth has happened to it. 😳😆

I felt guilty for being too tired to walk the dogs yesterday…. It’s 14.48 now and I’ve done 20,673 steps which is more than I’ve done in a long long time.

I’m now sitting with ice on my knee!

I tried to remortgage but the passwords weren’t working and my squeamishness made me give that up. I did log for a call back. We’ll see….

Hot off the press!!! The mortgage people actually called me back… I did not expect that for a minute. I’d pressed a button for a callback thinking they’ll never ring. But they did!

So check me…. Mortgage details all clear and almost ready to go.

I was so gee’d up by this burst of activity that I went out and did a food shop.

I have not stopped today really but it’s all good. I’ll sleep tonight!

We’ve had thunder on and off all day today though I haven’t noticed any lightening. There’s flash flooding too. A far cry from the scorching heat of the last month.

It’s good for the garden. And ducks 🦆

Stay safe everyone 🦆🦆🦆

I did not feel kindness and love at 5.15am today but I did really enjoy the Fit Body Farm when I got there. A whole lot less yawning than Monday.

It was a beautiful morning again though.

It’s been a busy day at work again. I’ve not stopped but that’s all good. Keeping busy is great and I’m loving the challenge.

I’ve settled back down a bit now that my £400 bump bill has been paid.

So my friend has bought her son a grow your own sloth… to be fair, I think he asked for it….. wait till you see the pictures.

How disgusting is that eh?! Please don’t anyone feel the need to buy me one 😱🤣 made me laugh out loud today when she sent me that. 🤣🤣

It’s a glorious day again today. The forecast is still all over the place and I wear shorts on the days it’s raining and wear jeans on the hot days. Abbie the camper van was 41C when I jumped in after work today. Soooo hot!!

So I had a call with the Doctor yesterday as I have found a lump. Now before anyone worries, I have a history of cysts on the old chest area and I’ve had some drained in the past. This has appeared from nowhere in the last 2 weeks and feels almost golf ball sized.

I had the face to face appointment with the doc today and to say she was suited and booted in protection gear was an understatement. all due to COVID-19 obviously…. Unless she thought I was patient zero… 😆

Undergo the examination and she actually exclaims out loud when she feels how big it is…. She measured it as 8cm!!!

Now this is obviously another very private matter that I’m discussing with the world but if it helps one person check for lumps and find something earlier than they might then it’s worth it.

She says cancer starts small and grows very slowly so my overnight tennis ball size is most likely another cyst for draining.

Another thing to add to the list along with remortgaging and arranging home insurance. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆

So I think I’m going to make spaghetti Bol for dinner tonight. I can’t be bothered cooking meals again and am just never hungry enough at teatime but happy to eat random junk things…. Craigs on his way so I will just go and get it done! I reckon this is the first meal I’ve cooked in about 3 weeks…. She says cringing.

So off to see the Gateside Hookers tonight and I think there are only 2 of us but looking forward to a great chat.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Sorry for lack of blog yesterday… I was a bit shattered and couldn’t quite bring myself to think enough to write.

So I should get to the wetting the bed part first as to be fair some of you may only be reading it for this explanation….. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

So…… I got into bed on Sunday night after a lovely afternoon and evening with Doug and Warren… and Craig obviously. I lay down and something felt very wrong. The bed was soaking wet. Totally soaked right through… I jumped up and investigated and could not figure out where it was coming from until….. aha…… lightbulb moment…. I’d carried my water bottle and clothes through wrapped in a towel after my shower late morning. As I cleared up I realised the towel was soaking wet and the water bottle was open so I quickly scooped the towel up and mopped a teensy weensy tiny spot of water that lay on the blanket over the bed.

Job done. Forgotten.

Until 10pm when it was wet and cold and for the first time, in at least 500+ days, we had someone sleeping in our spare room and using both spare duvets. 😳🤯

Suffice to say I did not sleep that well. I slept on two towels with my WonderWoman dressing gown over me (do not even bother to ask why I own one of them?!?) to try and stave off the cold dampness. I’m screwing my face up just at the memory.

Work has been super busy this last few days. I’m loving it and enjoying learning more about it. My level of control is so much better now that I work longer hours.

The only fly in the ointment has been the £400 that I have to pay to the man who’s BMW I reversed into. It all seems above board and I have spoken to and paid the garage directly and they will send me an invoice to make sure I am covered and I’m confident they will do a great job. One stupid moment of lack of concentration…. Boom…. Here you go stranger have £400.

That conversation was happening at blog time last night and I felt so super grumpy I stropped to myself that I “wasn’t even going to bother with the blog…..” that’ll show ‘em 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆

Last nights sleep was amazing and I was dead to the world. So lovely when you tell your husband that and he says “yeah and you didn’t even snore….” Really???

It poured with rain this morning at Tartan Camper Land. It was torrential and as the ground is so dry it had nowhere to go so all just formed huge puddles everywhere. I was in my shorts today. 🩳 of course I was….. ☺️

So today’s news is that Jemma Reekie is a runner from my local town of Beith and today she took part in the 800m Olympic final in Tokoyo 2020. She came fourth with a personal best of 1:56.90 and was only 0.09 behind the bronze medal. It looked like she was in with a medal chance until just before the finish line.

I’ve just been to the village pub for a wee celebration that my neighbour Holly put on for her mum and dad and family. They are all so very proud of her as are the rest of Beith. She did so well. she even FaceTimed when we were in.

I was telling them that I watched in the office and was screaming at the phone and then my mum messaged the result in case I’d missed it… congratulated them all.

Apparently she’s now “verified” on Instagram which the kids say makes her very famous. 😁

So this is my view now. It’s lovely and sunny again… and warm despite being 7pm. The dogs have been fed and are playing around in the sun.

I’m much calmer now the bump in the van has been dealt with.

All I have to deal with now is to remortgage the house as our mortgage rate is up and arrange new buildings and contents insurance. Not sure about anyone else but this adulting can be hard work at times eh?!? I’m cool with it when it all goes my way.

Oh and just remembered that the village hall has been treated to some new blinds and finally relieved of it’s old threadbare, scabby curtains.

It’s looking lovely and modern now!

I missed this today but there’s been another announcement about COVID-19 rules relaxing in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

I still want to keep a record of all this although we’ve agreed in the pub tonight that life is much more normal than it’s been for a long time and we are all pretty happy with what we can do now so this just lifts the rest of the restrictions.

Think that’s me up to speed now. Just nowhere near as fast as Jemma ran today.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

You so know that I’m overthinking everything today.

Yes I am human. Yes everyone makes mistakes.

But I felt ditsy yesterday. A bit on edge. A bit anxious maybe. And then I reversed into a car without a second glance. Well without a fist glance if I’m honest.

What caused it? Why did I feel like that? Did I drink too much coffee? Did I eat too much sugar? Was I anxious about being away with the dogs? I put out a really positive blog about moving on… is this the universe’s way of saying “don’t get too cocky…” or “ok you’ve dealt with one thing so we can give you another the minute you’re over it”…. What if this is the new me now I’m coming off the meds? Whoa….. there it is.

Whenever something feels off I attribute it to the last few years.

I have a little paddywack in my head as I want to be positive all the time.

I need to learn to embrace it all.

I couldn’t sleep so sat outside and played with the dogs for a bit.

Freya just runs around like a maddie while they play catch.

Claire messaged at 8.30am and said she was awake if I fancied a dog walk so we took them out.

We then cleaned the house like maddies as we have friends coming to stay tonight.

So this happened…. It took Craig about 10 minutes to fill.

And Bhruic 20 seconds to destroy……

So I should mention the big thing down the back of the garden!! and it’s not Craig…. But Craigs new tent.

He got it second hand from eBay but it was an amazing bargain and he got it all for half price versus new.

It all zips in together so you can have as much or as little if it as you would like. We’ll probably only use the main tent and maybe the sides.

So decisions to be made. I might sell my awning and we can use this with the van. Not sure yet.

We have Warren and Doug coming this afternoon and we’re going for lunch in the pub next door!

Great chat out in the sun for lunch and it’s 7pm and we’re still here….I may never be able to move again as I’ve eaten far too much!

Booked the Fit Body Farm for the morning so will leave the guys sleeping. I had to book otherwise I would never go.

Back to it tomorrow.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Will make this brief considering I put out war and peace earlier in day 488….

It’s cloudy and windy but still a warmth in the air.

Sat here and had coffee and cake…. Hard life. The house is a riot and badly needs cleaning but it can wait until tomorrow.

I had a lovely day. Then Craig phoned to say he’s brought food in… I jumped in Abbie, switched on, shoved in reverse and noticed there was a light on the dash…. A door was open. I carried on talking, trying to sea which door it might be…. Still reversing… someone shouted stop…. BANG!

The whole car park… every picnic table and bench turned to look at me. Everyone was staring. I was so shaken. I just wasn’t concentrating in the slightest. The guy who shouted stop was rubbing the front of the car saying it’s fine and no one would ever notice. I shakily wrote a note with my name and number, wasn’t gonna be that person.

Abbie now has a cracked rear bumper. That’s a new rear bumper as it was cracked when I got it. 2nd rear bumper coming up…. If I can’t just repair it.

Thankfully no one was hurt. It could have been a dog or even a child and I was oblivious to the reverse. Terrifying.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️ I should take my own advice!

As I settle into my new career I’ve been reflecting a lot on the old one. I know I need to let it go. To move on and heal from everything I need to think it through and realise what I learned from it and let it go. Social media has been full of things to really make me think.

My spirit was well and truly broken.

Now I’m not naive enough to think that one narcissist changed everything…..

I am the worst kind of person to respond to narcissism. I am a people pleaser…. I make it my life’s work to make everyone else happy round about be….. at all costs. I overcompensate for everything. I become teachers pet to said narcissists and a huge cost to my own peace. I second guess everything and start to live my life by what they would do rather than what I think is right. Huge conflict when the team you manage then has the ability to face the narcissism head on. And question it. And tie me up in knots 🪢 🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

Wow I love that emoji. 🪢 is how my body felt all the time. My mind 🪢 my emotions 🪢 my self worth 🪢🚽🧻🚾 (is it any wonder why my body and mind didn’t allow me to fall pregnant….. there were so many knots 🪢 in there, there wasn’t space for anything else. How heartbreaking is that to have to write. That actually brought tears to my eyes.)

That’s just the whole point. My voice didn’t matter. I had no self worth in the whole situation. I did not matter.

Knowing what I know now…. How bad is that?!? People used to tell me to leave. I couldn’t leave. I needed that job, I needed that status, I needed that salary.

I am living proof that I didn’t need any of it.

I’m gonna stop and say that again. Living proof that I didn’t need any of it. Wow.

My life is a gazillion times better than it was. life has a way of working out and despite how broken I was…. I always knew that I would be ok. I knew that life would work out doe the best.

Those very dark, suicidal moments were just times of extreme despair, almost like extreme panic attacks where I felt like I couldn’t be a burden to anyone else. When I say panic attack it wasn’t manic like you might think, it was sad, calm and resigned. My amazing support network would be better off without me. They must be as sick of listening to me as I was of saying it all. I was a burden to them all.

Those were the times I thought that I couldn’t live without the job, salary and status. But I have and I did.

Not gonna lie…. I didn’t take the first step, I was definitely pushed but that is something I have learned to be very grateful for. A good boot up the backside to move on and stop wallowing in what was.

I may have said this before but Craig remembers me saying that I always wanted to work for Tartan Campers. They were based in Beith when I first became aware of them). I knew my skills were transferable… it was just words… I never pursued it.

Fast forward a whole lot of years and ta-dah! I am so grateful for my new job. Love working the longer hours as to be fair it is still only a 4 day week. Love the work, life, gym balance. I feel more in control now than I have in ages. It really is time to let it go.

In the words of Idina Menzel who wrote the song from Disney’s Frozen… 🧊 👸🏻

I sent this to Craig this morning as I want us to look back on life and realise we lived it the way we chose to live it and not think “if only we had”…..

So yeah…. This needed saying again. I’m not promising that I truly let it all go as it is my story but I need to realise that narcissism has no place in my life and never allow that to knock me down again.

I am valued. I matter. From here on… onwards and upwards.

Earliest blog out ever (9.36am) off to enjoy my day taking Bhru and Freya to the beach as Calaidh still can’t walk that far. May post some pics in Day 488 part 2 later.

Thanks for following my ramblings. It means so much to me.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Do you ever have those days when you are off work but you have so much to do you feel like you are working?!

Today was one of those days but it’s all good.

I woke up at 5am for the gym and talked myself into going for a good half hour then fell back to sleep. I know that I’d feel better for it instead of this lethargic overtired way.

Got up at 8 and took Abbie the campervan back to her 2nd home… Burnside Motorsport…. She needs a seatbelt replacing… thanks to Calaidh for having a good chew of the passenger side overnight in Glencoe… aircon regassing as it just doesn’t work AND, if that’s not enough…. a service!

I joked with the guy when I left that he should feel the need to remove the turbo this time as it’s all good….. think the turbo has been removed the last two or three times for various jobs and it’s hugely labour intensive…. Leave it in there this time!! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆😘

So since I’ve been home I’ve worked on the Gateside Memorial Hall accounts. Balanced them, made payments and generally ticked that box.

Made a few Tartan Camper calls that I forgot yesterday and started to tidy the spare room. Since I’m not using that as an office every day it’s become a camping equipment dumping ground and we have 2 of our Overland Bound friends staying overnight on Sunday. All the bedding’s in the wash for a freshen up. Why did I not do that on the days I was hunting for things to wash?!?

It’s 13.45 already and I still haven’t walked the dogs.

I don’t plan on doing much else today. I think feet up with my book sounds like a plan. The house still needs fitting but I will sneak up on that in the morning before I have time to think about it.

I still need to getting Abz back from the garage so might plan a wee trip somewhere tomorrow.

Hope you all have some lovely plans this weekend but also take time out for you. Do something that you really want to do… for yourself.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

It’s actually raining for the first time in weeks or even over a month. The grass here is very yellow as it’s bone dry… that’s unheard of for Scotland!

So finally the weather has broken. Sadly just in time for my first wedding since long before the pandemic. I must say you wouldn’t want to have your wedding in the intense heat we had last week but as a bride I would have been pretty upset when I saw the forecast.

That said it’s been dry most of the day and the temperature is still pretty high.

I didn’t go to the Fit Body Farm this morning as I had to bring my overnight stuff and my wedding gear with me to work. My multitasking let me down yesterday 😆

I’ve had the loveliest drive down and am staying in the Walled Garden just outside Crosshill. It’s a stunning site behind a giant wall…. Obviously…. And there is not a sound here. It’s adults only…. I always think that sounds dodgy but it just means there are no kids. So far there’s not even a dog barking just total and utter silence!

So I’ve never stayed anywhere by myself… completely on my own. I feel very content, calm and peaceful but also a wee bit like a sore thumb!!! I imagine people look at me and feel sorry for me and assume I must be lonely.

This is the quaintest place. We will be back sometime soon. While I would like to sit and chill I have to try and remember how the hell to put makeup on. The little makeup I have left is probably off by now and I haven’t really worn much for nearly 3 years!!! I could end up looking like a circus clown 🤡 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆

It’s 6pm and I’ve had my shower. I have marks on my legs from where my jeans, socks and Converse boots have been… AND…. There is no hairdryer so I’m sitting with my back to the sun letting it dry naturally. This’ll be interesting. The old me would never have entertained getting ready for a wedding in a campervan… the new me is giggling as it will be what it is. I am willing my hair to dry!

So yeah did I mention it had been raining?!? No sign of it now. It’s scorching hot again!

I’m being picked up at 7.30pm ish…. And I don’t think there is enough signal to load the blog!

Wait till you see the wooden card that the guys made for the happy couple!

So there was no signal at the wedding venue either so the blog won’t upload tonight but what a beautiful place Dalduff Farm is. I have a serious lack of photos but there are a few. Congratulations to the happy couple and so lovely to see people being able to enjoy themselves.

We started off inside but there were no seats so moved out to a lovely courtyard area with a big picnic bench. Sat there for the first few hours. Drank Peroni Libre 0% as it was the only alcohol free option. Got the other drivers onto it too!

Not gonna lie, for Mrs Hermit Features there were a whole lot of people there, it was loud, it was noisy but I actually really enjoyed it. It was lovely to spend time with the guys and gals from work too.

The drive back to the camp site was interesting…. Boss man got us lost (just saying…) and we drove through some really dark, wee narrow single track roads in the middle of the countryside, woods and forest…. All I could think was they were dropping me off on my own in the middle of nowhere to stay by myself in the dark…… 😳😬😱

The reality was… we finally found the campsite…. It was well lit… I ran to the van and they watched until I was in and it shut the door and didn’t leave till the morning!

Now of course there’s a story here too…. I decided to sleep up in the pop top for the first time. It’s now about 11.30pm and I’m trying to make the bed and get in it all above my head… it didn’t feel right at all.

I tried to read my book…. Nope…. Tried to sleep…. Nope… finally gave in and back “downstairs” to set the other bed up and sleep there. I’m not sure I had the best sleep to be fair.

Then it’s 6.30…… and it’s raining!!

When you are as considerate as I am with other people… it is very difficult to leave a campsite without making a noise! Everything seemed so loud!!! I toyed with the idea of rolling off the pitch without starting the engine. So handbrake off and rolled back down off the chocks, technically up the hill. Not far enough off them so I could remove them from under the wheels… obviously. So I had to start the engine. Into reverse, off the chocks… stalled it. Very obviously stalled it. Jumped out and picked up the chocks. Handbrake off out of gear and rolled out through the gate like a silent thing! Is lovely to say no one would ever know I’d been there but oh they knew!

Not sure why that bothers me so much but it’s 7am and most folk are on holiday on a campsite and don’t need me waking them up. 😆

So I got to work bang on 8 and it’s been the busiest of days. I’m not sure that I will be able to speak to anyone for the rest of the weekend. I’m peopled out. I need silence… and a good book. And some sleep. And I have the whole weekend to do it.

Bliss.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Just popping on quickly to say hi…. I don’t know where this day has gone, just been so busy but all good here.

Work all day then home to let the dogs out and they greeted me at the door in their little goonies.

My lovely neighbour Holly and her kids walked the dogs today and I think they’d either been playing in a burn or white the hose as they were wet but all cosied up.

So cute to come home to this but no know what they’ve been up to! They are truly knackered now though….. not a peep out of any of them!!

I had to rush back out to Kinesiology tonight and we worked on issues with my hormones. A very rare occurrence but I was fully balanced before we started. I mean come on….. check me. That never happens!!! Must be something to this working, gym and cold water stuff…

We worked on some conflict within myself. I am working hard on not thinking badly of others and seeing everything from others perspectives and I would say 75-80% of the time I can do that. The other 20-25% I feel annoyed with myself if I moan about something or speak badly of someone.

I don’t think you can be a truly positive person if you don’t think positively all the time and that was causing some conflict inside of me. The work we did tonight will help address a hormone imbalance that may have been contributing to this. I think 🤔 that’s an accurate report!!

I randomly have a wedding reception tomorrow night so am taking Abbie the campervan to a campsite near the venue and staying the night to save having to drive all the way home. Had to rush about and find a dress…. Blah blah…. You get the jist.

I’m rushing everything….. even this.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Didn’t have the best sleep last night. Felt like I was up and down like a yo-yo! I hadn’t booked in to the Fit Body Farm as I was late getting to bed so I booked it for 5.30pm. It would be so easy not to go but I think it gives me more energy. (Despite the fact it knackers me… go figure!)

Work was good and WAY cooler than it has been. The weather is still hot but cloudy so the intensity of the sun is WAY less.

Despite that the Fit Body Farm was sooooo hot tonight! There’s a big difference between the 6am temperatures and the 5.30pm temperatures… I have lost count of the amount of press-ups and squats I did but it was hundreds…. Really enjoyed it though and was a sweaty mess!

So in one of my blogs I mentioned that I follow the Wild Sea Swimming group on FB but have never got round to joining them. Shelagh, who I go to for Health Kinesiology said she wanted to try it too.

And so we did it tonight!!

Here we go……

I just wore my gym gear and for the first few minutes my feet were really feeling it. I think I’d I’d been on my own I’d have walked back out for a bit but we kept going and it gets warmer.

Then it was time for the shoulders!!!! We went for it and once we were in we adjusted really quickly. It wasn’t really the best place to swim as there were quite a few rocks so we floated around for about 15 minutes.

It was lovely to just float around, look at the scenery, relax and be a part of the sea…. The pics make it look like a muddy puddle but we were stirring up all the sand.

So we’ll be definitely doing that again! We moved really quickly when Shelagh said something moved underneath her…. That was me… out!!!

What an amazing thing to experience and so thankful that Shelagh wanted to do it too. Here’s to many more!! 🌊

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I had a wee lie in today. Didn’t get out of bed until 8.40am. Not the longest of long lies but if I go back to the gym tomorrow it’s a 3 hour and 40 minute lie in!

We’ve had a super productive day today and weeded the rockery which was completely overrun with weeds. It was shocking!!!

Craig pressure washed the grass. Wish I’d taken a before pic. It looks like a green carpet now.

Still got a bit of work to do to the old pond area in the foreground… it needs soil and another plant in it.

So it’s back to “auld claes and porridge” for me tomorrow….

I’ve only worked one day in the last 10 and it’s been glorious weather so it feels like a holiday. Back to my new normal. Fit Body Farm at 6am and a full working day at Tartan.

Might head to the coast tonight for sunset too. Will see. Been a good day getting things done that have needed doing for a long time…. And of course… chilling in the sun. Again.

This is your Sunday afternoon reminder that we can all handle everything this coming week throws at us. Remember it’s only they way we react that affects us.

Stay safe everyone 🌞🌞🌞

Clean bed last night with lightweight sheets…. And yet I didn’t sleep quite as well…. We’ve had the same heavy but soft flannelette duvet cover on since before Christmas. I’ve managed to wash it and change it same day every time since then. I felt the need for change 😆

I think the weight of the covers helps me sleep more soundly. I was up and down to the loo a few times last night.

Anyway poor Craigie is working today so I decided to take Calaidh down to the beach for a run this morning. She ran… I paddled. I couldn’t tell you the last time I paddled and it was bloody amazing.

I’m a member of the wild swimming group on FB and have never quite managed to do it. I always have some excuse…. I even bought a dryRobe but still never seem to actually do it. It must be very cold as I felt the pain with the water just above my knees!!!

Still can’t get over the excitement of fitting under the height barrier. Simple things in life eh?!

Now I did see one thing that made me really sad….. someone had placed some rocks on a huge jellyfish… obviously had the fear it would float in the sea and hurt someone but the poor thing was lying in the sun with 2 big rocks on it. I’m sure it was already dead as it had some holes where I think it had been burnt by the sun and dried out. I can’t believe that someone could be so cruel as to do that and not even give it a second thought. Heres a pic of a happier jellyfish…. 💜💜💜💜

So…. Sad stuff aside.

It was beautiful. Stunning. Out of this world.

I have actually had the loveliest day. I have not sat out in the sun all day which is very unlike me… I’ve actually enjoyed sitting inside in the shade too. It’s still scorching and I think it must be in the late 20’s C again.

I forgot to mention the other day that I’d left my bikini top hanging up drying and puppy number 1 seems to have chewed the strap…..

Today I decided to fix it…….. look what I managed to do.

I even checked to make sure I wasn’t sewing it on back to front and I imagined I would do that…. What a muppet. I only found out when I tried to put it on…….. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I sewed it on so well it took me ages to unpick it too. I did actually laugh out loud though.

I also put a new phone screen on and managed to get that right 3rd time. That old saying….. 😆

It’s been a lovely peaceful afternoon.

I have to say I am feeling really good just now. Calm, relaxed and chilled out…. Despite the intense heat! Life is good and long may it continue.

Stay safe everyone 🌞🌞🌞

Oh my word… it’s hot…..I feel I need to explain something to anyone reading that’s not based on the UK…. We never get this length of prolonged heat…. And most certainly not in Scotland. None of us have air conditioning (apart from The Windsor Waffle 😁), our houses are heavily insulated to keep heat in and our bodies are used to much lower temperatures.. We sit outside in the sun if it’s 14C!!!

We love it on holiday, in fact we expect it on holiday and are devastated if we don’t get it but it feels very different at home.

Craig and I were laughing at each other yesterday as it was far too hot to be sitting in the sun (26C here although it feels hotter). Yet we slogged it out. We could hardly breathe, it was like sitting in a sauna! Now we know the dangers to prolonged sun exposure but as I said yesterday, we just never know when we might see it again.

Yet we get up again today and here it is again…. Wow. Another day of glowing with perspiration 🥵😆

Claire and I headed down to the coast for sunset last night and had such a lovely time.

We heard a woman shout “oh there it is….” And we’re scanning the horizon for the “it”….. she just slowly crept down the side of Arran and it actually seemed like her engines were off at one point.

Now last night was great in a good few ways…. First of all Claire agreed to come down for sunset in the first place…. Secondly I managed to fit Abbie the camper under the height restriction in Portencross car park!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is huge. I’ve not been down since I had the van raised as I was scared I’d be too high. Claire jumped out to check (immediately after admitting she has no spacial awareness…. 😬) and I sailed on under…… and thirdly Claire turned the brightness up on a phone and gave my phone a whole new look!!! I’ve been on the dimmest of settings and all of a sudden my pics took on a whole new light. Wow. Every day is a school day!

The next photo is is at 11pm…… arriving back home. Unheard of these days… we went to McDonalds for a milkshake on the way home. The moon rise was just as attractive as the sunset last night. It was very large and pinky/orange. We had the giggles in this pic as I thought a streetlight was the moon as we tried to take the selfie….. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😁🤣

Quick dog walks today before it got too hot.

So I had the osteopath today and he said that my knee has a swollen goose foot….. (only me…..) and that’s the reason for my pain. It obviously has a much more sophisticated name but I can only remember the crazy one. He says I should put some ice on it after exercise I have all the tools to correct it but could do with some new trainers to help support my foot a bit more. Ok then…. I have to “keep doing the exercises” that I have not done enough of…. And stretch. I really must stretch.

Just before my appointment I bumped into Anne from my tapping group…. It’s maybe been about 3 years since I’ve seen her. It made my day to get a huge hug… even if we did only have 5 minutes if that!

I did a quick food shop after the Osteopath… came home and hung up the second last washing of the day and then tackled some of the meadow garden weeds.

Needless to say there is no after photo as it looks a mess and I have nettle stings under my right armpit and on my right wrist. I also got bit on the leg by and evil horsefly that drew actual blood. Booooooo to gardening!

Sitting back down and enjoying the sun. Hope you all have a a great weekend.

Stay safe everyone 🌞🌞🌞

I pinched the headline from my friend Tracey in Canada. She survived a much hotter heatwave than this but jeezo man this is scorching.

I have honestly been dripping with sweat for most of today. I cannot even imply the polite term of perspiring… I’ve been sweating like a beast.

Standing at the closed door of our portacabin felt like warming yourself against a radiator in winter. A door….. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

It feels way hotter than 25C.

Took a pic of the wee note I walked into this morning. It’s the wee touches that make Tartan special. ♥️ I was only in for a day then back off again…. One shift wonder!

Took this photo of Archie the Tartan Camper in the sunshine!

So we got to sleep all night last night! Puppy tummies are all better it seems.

So we’re sitting outside in the shade…. For anyone who knows me they almost won’t believe it… it’s THAT hot.

Forgot to say that I actually punched myself in the face on Friday when we arrived at the campsite in Glencoe. I was sitting in the drivers seat reaching for a bag to pull into the front of the van…. Mustn’t have had a hold of the bag. Full on whacked myself in the nose. Proper eye watering…. Though thankfully no nose bleed! Muppet!

Stay safe everyone 🌞🥵🌞

So yeah…. That happened today! 2nd vaccination for us in the scorching heat in Ardrossan.

As I did start this blog to record life in COVID times, I should stay here that the nurse was super attentive. Asked us both how we were feeling after the first jag, what our reactions were and how we were feeling about the second one. I did say I was a lot more apprehensive his time around as I’d felt so lightheaded after the first one. Don’t know if it was Craigs driving 😆 or me being a bad passenger but I felt pretty dizzy on the way over. He explained that our bodies generate a lot of adrenaline to help us get through the unknown. He said that the adrenaline floods away when the had is administered and the body realises it’s ok…. That’s what causes the lightheadedness. With that explanation I sailed through this jag… mentally talking to the adrenaline saying I didn’t need it before he gave me the jag. (Come one you know I’m a weirdo my now!!)

I told the nurse today if Craig got the chills with this vaccine, as he did the last time, I’d just shove him out in the sun. 😆

We were up 3 times through the night with Little Miss Freya last night. We had her in our room as we suspected she was the one who still had a dodgy tum…. We were right, 1.15am was the first baptism of fire as she started a wee jig at the bedroom door! I was in a VERY deep sleep and bolted upright wondering what the hell was going on. Craig got her out sometime early morning and me again about 6.30am…. Better that way than her thinking she can’t get out.

It was really dark at 1.15am which surprised me as the moon had been so bright at 10pm.

So cloudy again this morning, pretty high level but actually a wee bit of respite from yesterday’s heat.

Only those of us who live here know what this feels like to us. This kind of heat is truly unheard of. Us Scots talk about the weather ALL the time. We often moan about it. We frequently get 4 seasons in one day. This heat feels like we are all abroad on holiday at once. It’s very hot… very draining but so, so lovely. Its expecially welcome as we can’t get abroad for holidays just now due to COVID restrictions.

I did read one thing (which I can’t find now!) that said we crave the heat and 30c on holiday is out of this world but at home it feels like the devils armpit!!!

I think I’ve said before but most of us change our whole daily plan around when the sun shines. We wash clothes, bedding, blankets, towels like there is no tomorrow. We never know when winter might hit at the drop of a hat. It can take us a week to dry washing in winter so we over wash in the summer just because we can. We high five each other for the number of washings we can do and dry in a day!!

So Craig’s at a funeral this afternoon… our neighbours’ mum sadly passed away. A very sad day for them all but what a lovely send off in the sunshine. 🙏🏻 ☀️

This is our last day off work, we are both back in action tomorrow…. Only for one day for me mind you as I’m off on Friday. Hard life eh?!? Tempted to message the boss to ask if working from a swimming pool would be acceptable?!? 👙🏊🏼‍♀️

So in light of the recent holiday and dog-pooping-once-again debacle… we are going to have to rethink our main summer holiday this year. We were planning a CalMac Ferries island hopping tour at the start of September but don’t think the dogs could cope. We have to weigh up our options but I have this romantic idea that someone would love a 2 week holiday in a quaint Scottish village with the village pub next door…. Obviously with the prime objective for us that someone will be here to look after our dogs. They are so much happier when they are off lead and able to run about in the garden. We may decide to take one with us, we may look into kennels but we really would rather not. if the worst comes to the worst we may need to just have a home based holiday with day trips. The price to be paid of building a dog pack!!

I’m relaxing in the sun this afternoon, reading a Lynda la Plante trilogy now starting with the Cold Shoulder. My lovely friend Evelyn has been keeping me going in books for a good few months now. I should say here too that I have the lardy ass out in an actual bikini today. Unheard of in the back garden that can be like Grand Central Station with visitors popping in. I am ready to shove clothes over the top at a minutes notice…. I am hiding down behind our wee fence which is festooned with wet washing as I’ve run out of places to hang it. No one needs to see this but it feels like a real summer holiday. 👙☀️ and literally just like that the door opens and Craig shouts “are you decent?!?” Eh naw!!!! Gimme a minute!!!! 😆🤣

Looking forward to a cold shower before crochet in the beer garden tonight. Life is pretty good right now… pooping puppers aside obviously?!? Anyone fancy a holiday?!? 🤷🏻‍♀️😆🤣

Stay safe everyone 🌞🌞🌞

It is a scorcher today….. 28C we reckon… in Scotland…. In summer…. In July…. Almost unheard of. 😆 it’s certainly the hottest I remember Craig’s birthday being.

7am we were woken with a howl from the sunroom….. we were too late. Little puppers sore tums accident to clear up before I’d barely opened my eyes. The joys of pupperdom….. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We were awake.

Of course Craig was so excited about his pressies that he couldn’t sleep anyway. 🤣🤣🤣 so we got up and sat outside in the shade for coffee and pressies!

I should say here that Craig is the master of gift giving…. No birthday is too small to have a small fortune spent on it. So his birthdays are a source of stress for me as I can never match his generosity. I have tried in the past but always fail so I’ve decided to keep doing it my way. He still got a tonne of stuff!

We lazed about this morning… well I did while Craig fitted his new Front Runner awning to his roof rack. Not a birthday gift but I bought him the bottle opener, the under awning lights and the GoPro mount for the roof rack so his new overlanding car is taking shape.

We went to Auchengree Farm Shop for brunch.

It was too hot to eat outside today. For those of you who know me well you will see I’m a changed woman… I’d have been beside myself to get outside in the past! how times have changed. Maybe it’s because o don’t work 100 hours a week now (slight exaggeration!) and I know that if I miss nice weather I will catch it some other time?!

So for lunch Craig had a Club Sandwich and I had Chicken, Mango and Halloumi salad. I love love love halloumi!!

We bought some lovely BBQ meat for tonight. Now it’s not cheap… but it looks very good quality. Not a hint of fat to be found on the chicken skewers.

It’s been the loveliest of lazy days. The dogs are so much more relaxed being home. It’s nice to see them back to their old selves but sad that being away seems to bother them so much. We have to think up some strategy as we can’t not ever go away again.

We’ve had lovely drinks with neighbours and it genuinely feels like we’re abroad on holiday. It’s still hot and it’s 7.30pm. Wonder how long it will be before we have aircon in our houses in Scotland?!?!

Stay safe everyone 🌞🌞🌞

We had a lovely sunset last night… made all the more special by the receding cloud.

It was calm and peaceful as there’s not a a breath of wind…. Barely a sound apart from the neighbours smooth rock which played from early afternoon to the back of 10pm. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🥴😬😆

The mountains are even more spectacular which you can appreciate their true height. This Camping and Caravanning Club campsite is surrounded by mountains like a giant walled garden. It’s breathtaking…. And today it is very, very hot!!

It just goes to show that the cloudier weather we have had is so much better for the dogs.

Thankfully we have a bush (stop it!) right at our pitch so they are able to shelter in the shade. They have a basin of water to drink or sit in!!

I scoffed at my poor sister in law once for buying a cooling mat for her dogs and yet here I am the proud owner of 3 of them. You may notice from the above pic that neither of the dogs chooses to lie on one of them. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😆 I… on the other hand have used them for my feet….. they are really cooling!!

This is my view just now. I’m crocheting and writing as the day goes on.

Sadly Bhruic has her usual camping affliction… the runs…. And this morning has been sick too. Craig was up 3 times in the night with her and Freya and I only heard her once. They are so used the run of a long garden that I wonder if it’s the being tethered on a campsite that stresses them out?

We took the dogs for a lovely walk up to another viewpoint this morning.

So it would appear our neighbours are listen to the radio station”Mellow Magic”… “timeless, relaxing classics” …. now there’s nothing offensive about it at all but we do not want to listen to it. I am on holiday and want to listen to a whole lot of nothing. It started at 12.10pm and if yesterday is anything to go by it’s gonna be on until after 10pm. I may have to go for another walk!!

So in the space of time between writing this above and now, we are now home. The dogs were very hot and miserable being tied up so we packed up in the heat of the day and headed down the road. Both drivers and passenger windows right down and the blower on full. Even then the van said 30C inside. Super toasty.

I have spent the last 3 days grumbling about it not being sunny…. Sun comes out and we have to go home. I’m not gonna lie, there was a spoiled child having a hissy fit tantrum inside of me as we packed up.

But…. (Never start a sentence with but…..) we have had a lovely time. It was lovely to catch up with Stuart and Lee, lovely to spend the day together in Glencoe and then have our BBQ. Things don’t always go as we plan but that doesn’t mean it’s all ruined. I’ve been cross with the dogs, why is life always so difficult because we have dogs I can’t change that so really there is no point being angry about it. They are much happier now that they are home.

My co-pilot took some pics on the drive home. Apart from the intense heat, it was a truly stunning drive, through Glencoe itself, across Rannoch Moor, down through Tyndrum to Crianlarich and down the side of Loch Lomond.

So all home and present and correct. Until the next time!

Stay safe everyone 🌞⛰🌞