The moon was amazing when I went to bed last night.
When the alarm went off at 5.30am, I had a red alert for Aurora from the Aurora Watch app.
I ran straight out into the garden, once I was dressed obviously, into the dark. Funny how the morning dark is less scary for me than the night dark. 🤷🏻♀️
Nothing…. These photos make it look a lot lighter than it actually was.
Can you spot the light in the window?! Craig is on his phone in the bedroom… it made me laugh!
No sign of the Northern Lights.
I had the best run this morning!
My breathing wasn’t laboured, my legs weren’t heavy, it was a lovely morning, mild without being too hot and the company was fab as usual.
I feel like this is the fastest i have run but Strava wasn’t for giving me any speed awards 😆, so I can’t have been a PB.
I was buzzing when I finished and headed into a cold shower. It was a really good one.
Work was good again today and really busy. I’m soooo ready for a break though.
This is my welcome when I get home. I just couldn’t get Khaleesi in the shot.
This looks a bit strange as I had to widen the lens to fit all 4 dogs in.
It’s a lovely calm evening so I ate dinner outside. I have a watermelon, red onion in lime and Feta cheese salad with raspberries, blueberries, peppers, cucumber and tomatoes.
It’s really lovely. I love my tubs of salads… turning them upside down to mix them around. I had a few oatcakes too.
This is the time of year that our gorgeous ivy starts to turn red… it’s a beautiful sight to watch. I’ll try to remember to take photos again as it turns. When I was off sick with anxiety and depression in 2018-2020, I would sit and watch the ivy every day. Its colour never ceased to amaze me. I found gratitude in its beauty and started to appreciate nature for all that it was.
The hydrangea are starting to turn as well.
The sky has finally turned blue. It’s been warm but cloudy all day.
Another lovely few days to come for us in Scotland.
Took poor Craig 2 hours to get to Stirling for around a 5 minute appointment.
Her bandage is off and her leg is healing well.
The foot will most likely stay at that angle now.
And now for the hard part. The cone of shame for the next 4-5 days at least, to stop her from licking the wound.
Her face says it all… bless her. I’m saying that a lot these days!
Here she is just out of the vet. The cone doesn’t work well either big ears 😂
She has to wear that for up to 5 days and we can take it off…. If she starts to lick the wound then back on it goes, I’m afraid.
She should start putting the foot down in the next 4-5 days as well, bearing in mind she’s been carrying it for the last 2.5 weeks. It will take some time to realise she can use it. I think she used it for balance there just now.
She also just got stuck in the tree. 🤦🏻♀️😬
I think she’s trying to shake it off.
Look away now all you squeamish… though it’s not bad and hard to see in the sunlight.
The wound is healing really well.
I’m trying to get it from all angles.
She’s actually handling it surprisingly well. She just had a good licking session on the inside of the cone. I hope that helped her.
We had a slight mishap at dinner as she obviously couldn’t eat out her bowl so clever mumma thought she’d feed her inside the cone.
Nope… the food went everywhere inside the cone and I needed to take it off her and wash it all. Problem is when the cone’s off, we have nothing to hold onto, as her collar is looped through the cone.
Like everything it seems hard work at first but we’ll all settle into the new routine, just like we did with the bandage.
It’s gonna be a long night puppa.
In other news I’ve had a better outlook today. Nothing has really changed apart from my response. I’m no longer resentful, angry or sad, I’m grateful for the small things.
What is this trying to teach me?
What can I learn from this?
How can I respond differently in the future.
I’ve felt like a different person today.
Not that nasty, moany git I was yesterday.
It was like the world was ending.
It’s not.
That’s my fight or flight kicking in again, the minute something doesn’t go my way.
I completely forgot it was 1st June yesterday. Obviously we had a lot going on.
I was reminded when I saw this.
And I thought to myself… what a lovely reminder of my friend June, that passed away at the end of April.
Then I clicked it was about the month and not the person…. It was about the person for me. 💜
As is this.
Not every day is easy but you have to see the good in every day.
I feel like I’m suffering from Sunday syndrome today… that’s what I’ve dubbed it.
Sunday’s should be a day of rest but I’m not very good at that.
I took Calaidh for a walk.
A collie-flower 🌸
Spotted this coo keeking over a fence!
The fields are full of long grass and buttercups. 🌼
We met Rachel two doors down and Nacho!
So…. My head has also been catapulted into a…..
“RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!”
WE HAVE RULES THAT WE NEED TO LIVE BY”
mindset…. Which is never good for me as breaking any of the rules completely messes with my head.
I feel angry and frustrated and am soaking up all of Khaleesi’s sadness.
If we miss a Khaleesi tablet by a few minutes, I’m raging and doing some huffy kid style tantrum in my head. The RULE says….
What if the grass is wet when we take her out and we don’t have the boot on her bandage? There’s a RULE about that.
I use the capital letters deliberately as that’s how I hear it.
We have so many doors in our house that the RULE about keeping her still is actually blowing my mind. If she’s in the living room the dogs can push that door open, so that means the dining room door AND the inner hall door need to be shut when she’s in there. (We did also figure last night that the living room is too big a room for her to be sequestered in… she has too many options to lie down, the couch the single seater and two dog beds, every time we went in she was in a different place!)
If she’s in the spare bedroom, it might get too hot as you can’t open a window. 🤯
I want the house to magically tidy itself into spotless and we are just SURROUNDED BY STUFF!!
It’s actually hurting my head so I came to write this.
I’m sitting in the spare room with Khaleesi and Calaidh and if I can tune out her discomfort for a minute, it’s actually quite a calming space.
I lay there for a few hours while Craig was out at work. I enjoyed the time with her and I’m fairly certain she needed the company. I feel like she relaxed while I was there. I know I did.
All of this is in MY head. As usual by the end of the day I can see it all. (It’s 4.30pm now).
I’m not sure where the rest of the day went. I moved things from room to room tidying as I went.
Craig is moving his office space from the dining room upstairs to the aptly named, dogs’ room!
He will be able to work without me wittering away at him. 😂
We had some special family time in the garden with the dogs at 2pm.
Khaleesi was due her next meds so we brought her out for a wee and we got a poo this time too. Good girl.
She’s doing ok.
The bad leg tremors a lot as if it is cold… I’m sure it’s not that. It’s also itchy so that’s bothering her a bit. She has no power in it at all so watching her move around is tough. You can see that she just melts when she’s given lots of attention thought.
She’s going in for the kiss!
I took so many photos it was tough to pick the best of them!
I did like this one!
It’s been overcast and much cooler today. The washing in the line is nearly dry though. Our forecast isn’t great for the week ahead. We were so lucky to have that heat yesterday.
I think she is doing just fine as we adapt to life with her injuries.
What a beautiful day and we got our baby girl home.
This is captioned “where’d ma daddy go?!!”
She was sooooo happy to see us. Broadleys Veterinary Hospital say she’s been the model patient and they’ve all been checking up on her. She takes her meds no problem and hasn’t been such a good girl. Sounds just like her to be honest.
She just makes everyone feel so special when they meet her. 💕
She’s ready for the off with her kinky boot on.
Here they all are when she got home. The Borders all had a good sniff of her. Calaidh sniffed all over the leg.
She should be kept to one room and is only allowed to exercise 3 times a day for 5 minutes. That is going to be so tough. We need to keep her bandage dry and make sure it doesn’t slip down over the splints. We need to make sure it doesn’t chafe her skin too much.
She’s back in on Wednesday for the dressing to be checked and will get further X-rays in 6 weeks.
Unfortunately the Go Fund Me money has not cleared and may not do so until 5th June. We never realised that. They expected it to be settled fully today but we obviously couldn’t. They understood but asked if there was anything we could do to settle it then could we. I paid £500 and we showed them the Go Fund Me page and total. That was a wee bit uncomfortable but there was nothing else we could do. As soon as the money clears we will pay it.
We’ve had lots of cuddles and kisses, she has a few tough months ahead.
It will be 3 months before she is fully healed. We postponed our 4 dogs holiday to Wales in July because we couldn’t afford to pay the balance, with everything else going on, and it will be just as well as Khaleesi still won’t be able to run about by then.
I love this next one… her face when Craig’s still making the scrunched up face look.
He thinks I’m gonna kiss him…. Nope!!
So after all the excitement of going to Stirling to get her, she is literally sleeping in the living room for now.
Taking her 2pm meds like a good girl.
I was awake at 5.15 this morning as “someone’s” alarm went off at that ridiculous time…. I wasn’t due up until 6.45am but of course, that was me tossing and turning, wide awake, thinking of Khaleesi.
Someone has been warned for future alarm events 😂
The run club met at 7am, right outside my house, and we ran 5.36km.
And I LOVED it. I run so much better when I’m not behind everyone, I love that today I was paced out front until the 3k mark. That does NOT mean that I was faster than the others, it means they ran at my pace. I didn’t stop running to catch my breath until 3k in, which is my best yet. I need to work on my head chatter when people are in front of me. I need to stop the negative committee telling me how slow I am.
I love love loved it.
Here are Emma and I rounding the bend. (Should say here that Claire runs on ahead to take photos and then catches up without looking like she had to try!)
Now there’s a guy doing a 24 hour lawnmower push around Beith, to raise money for Cancer Research. We were lucky enough to bump into Grieg of Greig’s Garden’s on his challenge!!
The second time this week asking for donations but if you click on the link to his FB page you’ll be able to donate. He apologised for being sweaty but quickly realised we all were too! The photo shoot will have affected our time as didn’t turn Strava off… check me making excuses for what was, a fantastic time!
I took Calaidh up the hill when I got home but forgot my phone. She looked so cute running through the long grass but we’ll needed to check her for ticks.
So nothing else for it but some sunshine in the garden this afternoon.
It’s a really beautiful day.
We’ve just brought outside for a change of scenery, here she is lying next to me.
Bless her.
And also, my current view!
Here’s the link to Craig’s business FB page with a wee video of her getting him and thanking everyone!
The sky is bright blue and the grass and trees are very green, in their spring like state.
I have Bhruic and Freya. In a vest top and body warmer I’m already overdressed!
I’m not in the best fettle this morning. A bit too hot headed and irritable…. Yes… again…. I managed to turn it around.
When you appreciate the beauty around you, it’s hard to stay grumpy.
Love the high level clouds.
Every time my head slips into a negative, and I caught myself, I would take a deep breath and focus on the walk.
It really works.
The trick is being able to see it.
What’s through this gap, they say?!?
I loved this tree. I walk past it often and yet today it looked really pretty.
Can never get enough of the blue! 💙
Back home for a double pupper swap and off our with Calaidh and Khaleesi.
They had a great run in the field.
Someone’s coming to get me! Calaidh just doesn’t move 😂😂
Looking over to the Isle of Arran.
Pretty clouds.
Another of my often photographed gates.
I had a quick shower…. Went to get some trainer socks out the drawer upstairs, got my phone cable caught between two toes on my right foot and walloped left knee first into my desk!
Felt really dizzy so lay for a few minutes. I have the tiniest of bruises but a bit of a lump! it hurts!!
I drove to Silverburn Shopping Centre to meet my friend Lea today. It’s the first time I have seen her since her lovely mum died.
It was so lovely to spend some time with her and get a good catch up. I was so upset I missed the funeral as I had a stomach bug.
We went to our usual Starbucks haunt then sat outside in the sun for a while.
Back home and straight out into the garden.
It’s just so beautiful today.
The Borders in the shade… Bhru has Thor’s hammer and Calaidh wants it. 😂
Khaleesi is loving the shade too. She must have acclimatised to our Scottish weather, if she thinks this is hot. It’s way cooler than Spain!!
She’s back out into the sun!
So tonight’s group of us are heading to The Realignment Project in Luss, on the Bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
We’ll be doing breath work, yoga, exercise and cold water therapy in Loch Lomond from 7.15 till 9pm.
The girls have gone to this a few times and have always fancied trying it. I was so pleased when Rachel two doors down asked me to go, I booked instantly!
I want to be able to go into the cold water without the faff of a wetsuit. I want to be at peace with it and not feel the freezing cold pain. Rachel says she’s a squealer (😂) and she managed it fine! (She’ll love me for that! 🤦🏻♀️😂) so here’s hoping I’m the same tonight.
Hope you have a great sunshine filled weekend. Hold your loved ones close as you never know when you might not be able to anymore. Lea’s mum was one of the lovely ones.
Oh my word. (Polite terminology for blog purposes….)
I actually want to scream with excitement!!!
What a wonderful night to be alive.
The Aurora Borealis slammed earth last night, I follow several FB pages and Aurora Hunters UK & Iceland said there were 5 enormous solar flares all sandwiched together and expected to be a direct hit on earth. He said direct hits are rare but to have 2 M class flares and 3 X class flares, together in one massive hit, is totally unheard of.
We may never see these stats again at least for the next 7 years.
That is the reason I was not going away this weekend.
I was meant to be at home.
I sat out on a seat in the back of the garden after it got dark. Letting my eyes adjust. There was nothing….. except Craig about to get into bed.
I’m in my Auntie Jac’s Christmas onesie and Ugg boots to keep warm. I do look ridiculous!
Some of the running girls can see the Aurora before I can…. It turns out I’m looking the wrong way. Despite being told to look North, this one was distinctly in the south easterly direction!
It started like this….
To the naked eye it looked like wispy clouds but through the phone camera you could see the start of the colours.
I took a lot of photos but the south easterly view from our garden is all trees covering the sky….. I bravely stepped out the front door in Auntie Jac’s Christmas onesie…. I lost count of the amount of cars that saw me. 🤦🏻♀️😂
Faintly at first, it was like a giant rainbow over our village.
At this time, the colours were only visible through the iPhone camera and not visible to the eye.
I’m up the lane over from our house. I should say… that is not our house but a very photogenic subject!
Our lovely village. the colours start to become visible.
It’s moving all the time. I tried to video it but the light is not the same.
It was just breathtaking. I managed to get Craig out of bed so he could see it. Just as well really as I still don’t like the dark much. 😂
The light was changing all the time.
There came a point where it started to fade ever so slightly and we were both shattered…. We decided to head home.
Also so I could show other passing motorists my onesie 🤦🏻♀️😂
It’s right over the house. Just beautiful.
So yeah… 12.30pm I got to bed and 5.30 I woke up… still so full of excitement from the night before. Run club was on at 6.45am and there were 7 of us this morning!
My throat was sore when I woke up so I found it pretty hard this morning… but I still ran my fastest 5k ever thanks to Claire for coming back for me at one point and Michelle for dragging me over the last 20 steps.
I was not buzzing and loving life by the end but I’m very proud of myself for doing it. We ran 5.47k at a 7.54 pace. By comparison the subsequent dog walks were about 15 km/ hr pace.
It is a beautiful hot day. It’s been 18-19°C here today. My blogger friend the Windsor waffle laughs at the Scottish definition of hot! 😂
Bhru and Calaidh first…. I’m coming for you mumma!!
Then Freya and Khaleesi. It was nice and shaded here.
Spotted my neighbour’s beautiful clematis this morning, so lovely against the blue sky.
Craig was working this morning, popped home then was heading out to meet friends in Glasgow.
So I dropped him at the train station and decided to treat myself to a Mocha Jaks strawberry milkshake!!
Sooooo good! I may have had a salad too but this was the best!
It’s the first time I have solo dined anywhere locally…. I did feel a bit odd… but I’m so glad I went as that was my treat for the day.
Mochas was also surprisingly quiet. They suited me… I sat outside.
Since I got home I’ve been lying out in the garden dozing on and off. I had a blanket over me.
When the sun when in, it got a wee bit cooler. When the sun comes out I deblanket if that’s even a word?!? I know it’s not.
I’ve done another 3 washing loads. All the dog blankets are washed now. My machine has been going all weekend 😂
There’s a good Aurora forecast for tonight but it might be cloudy here so we’ll have to wait and see. They’re predicting 10.30pm through to 2.30am. Remember to look at the sky through your phone camera. Look all round tonight as it might not necessarily be north.
Ahhhh some real heat…. I say that and it’s been at 17-18°C here today and for Scotland that’s a pretty good day.
I’ve been in shorts and vest top all day apart from the dog walks. I’ve been very lucky not to be working.
I had another great, progesterone-induced sleep but woke with a sore throat and the start of a chesty cough. I’ve been so lethargic all day.
It’s definitely been the first day of the year that you could be out in the garden all day without feeling cold… yet I’ve not appreciated it for what it was. Instead I’ve been tired and a bit grumpy.
It was 8am before I started the dog walks this morning. Bhru and Freya first!
The grass has sprouted this week!
Love the colours of the farm.
Look how muddy Bhru got digging for a stone in the burn.
I am not throwing that stone!
This tree has lots of new leaves, there must be a beech hedge growing up the trunk too.
Then back home…. Chattering to Craig only to realise he was on a work call….. 😬😂 I sat outside in the garden for a bit before I took Calaidh and Khaleesi out.
Everything is so green.
Dry stane dyke.
I kept Khaleesi on lead so she didn’t run about too much. It was a slightly longer walk for her.
I got chatting to a lovely lady with a Malinois-cross. She was asking all about Khaleesi. We got chatting through a whole range of subjects! I lovely having random chats with someone I’ve never met. It’s good to connect with people.
My favourite gate!
The rhododendrons are out in full force.
A herd of coos…
A very random shot but I thought I’d try something different!
Calaidh’s laughing at me!
So back home and I sat out in the sun with my sunscreen on…. I was so tired I just sat with my eyes shut for a while. It felt nice.
I had no idea what to do with myself and started getting annoyed.
I guess my issue is that I want to be away and doing something this weekend, but I can’t.
My head actually has temper tantrums because I want to be doing something different. I’m not very good at relaxing and doing nothing.
When I’m in the house I’m surrounded by things that need cleaned and things that need repaired. I don’t want to be stuck inside doing housework on a warm day. I just want to head out and explore.
The thing is we can’t always get to do what we want to do all of the time and I don’t know how to make peace with that…. Instead I fight it and look for places that I could go. Rather than enjoying the moment, I’m searching for ways to make it better.
I decided to bring a camping table out and clear through my jewellery box.
Honestly that was not my best move. It seemed to open up a whole catalogue of negative thoughts as the jewellery reminded me of different times in my life and where had all that time gone?! I’ve 6 watches sitting doing nothing… what a waste of money. I saw the negative in it all….
I didn’t achieve much by doing it, I threw out a small handful of broken things but that was all. I couldn’t bring myself to part with most of it. As expensive as it all was at the time, it’s virtually worthless now. I looked up selling some of it but it seems like you get very little back.
I gave that job up after a few hours and started cleaning out the camping stuff from last weekend. I put the tent up and cleaned the floor. I put some things away in the shed.
Once I started doing something with purpose I felt much better.
I’ve done 6 loads of washing today and it’s almost all dry. I put most of it away.
Finally I was at peace. About time too!
The aurora might be really strong tonight around midnight if anyone’s interested . I read that it might be seen as far south as Spain!
I can’t believe I’ve been such a grump on such a lovely day.
Poor Craig won’t be home from work until about 8. He’s still recovering from his flu. He’ll be wiped out working that late on a Friday.
I’m off for a shower ready to make his dinner with a smile on my face 😬😂
We’re still being blasted by the arctic air so it was frosty overnight again but it’s a beautiful morning. ☀️☀️☀️
I’m sitting outside on a bench in the garden, pretending it’s warmer than it actually is… it’s 11.08am and I’ve already run 3 miles with Run Club, walked Bhru and Freya and then had a big field walk with Calaidh.
I’m contemplating how to top that 😂😂 actually I’m so tired after all that I may just sit here all day with my suntan lotion on!
It’s been pure blue skies with white fluffy clouds and I am determined to live my best life for June who sadly passed away yesterday. I want to make every moment count, even if it is just sitting around relaxing. As long as I’m present in the moment then that’s all that matters.
It’s 7am.
I cannot get over the colour of the sky… 💙
I must take more photos of the trees now than I do of the dogs 😂
Love the early morning sun creating these long shadows… 4 members of run club in action!
Spiers school grounds looking lovely in the early morning sun!
Old Geilsland House.
This morning’s run club, Lynsey, Elly, Rachel two doors down and my bright red face!!
More trees.
All done! I’m definitely the reddest!!!
I love how much we are all smiling.
Back home and straight back out with Bhruic and Freya. Never met a soul…. Just how I like it!
More shadows!
Then back for a half hour with Craig before Calaidh and I headed out with Rachel and Nacho, Jim and Muck!
We walked right up to the top of the old golf course. Views right over to Lochwinnoch and Castle Simple Loch.
The gorse is as yellow as the sky is blue.
Looking over to Beith Parish Church.
The final shadow pic of the day… it’s not even 10am. There could be more….. Jim couldn’t resist! Rachel looks scarily tall!
And yes I actually did put this stick above my head to make it look like antlers… 🤦🏻♀️😂
All the dogs had a blast.
I have to admit after all of that I have had the laziest of days.
I’ve done housework, pottered, hung washing out to dry but I’ve been shattered. I spent a large part of the afternoon on the couch under Craig’s crochet blanket dozing on and off. I’m so tired.
To be fair I have done 22k steps today and most of them all before 10am!!
I am very calm and it feels really good.
On our After Dry January FB group we’ve done tributes for June today. A lovely lady Sally posted this and this says it all.
I have a feeling that yesterday’s Rigatoni with mushroom and lentils had something to do with it but let’s say no more.
In true Julie fashion, I’m all or nothing…..
I started the day with a 3 mile run, at 7am, with Lynsey. No one else from our run club WhatsApp group was available so it was just the two of us. Last night I was determined to run today. I had enough of sitting around like a sloth. 🦥
Check the heart rate….. woomph, right up there.
Lynsey is a runner so I’m so pleased I didn’t hold her back too much. I only stopped to walk twice when I felt a wee bit sick!
It felt really good. We saw no one.
I came home and sat in the garden and thought I might be sick…. But I wasn’t.
Look at the colour of my face while I take Bhruic and Freya up the hill…. It’s still beetroot!
This wee kitten was hiding from us…. Zoom in!
Back down the hill and the sun was starting to warm up…. Nothing like Rome temperatures… but Craig and I sat out in the garden and had coffee. It was really lovely. We sat for a while.
Craig groomed Bhru, who is most likely the culprit of the moulting hair in the house!!
I have never seen anything like it!!! He got loads off her. We did some videos for Scottish Dog Behaviourist as it was so crazy!
Khaleesi had physio at 11.30 so I went with them and took Calaidh.
We walked while they were in physio.
I’ve never been up here before, we had a great view over Burnhouse.
How pretty is this old gate?!
We headed back into Beith and took the two Khal/Cals to Mocha Jacks for lunch.
I had Honey, Avocado and Pesto stack! Again!
Craig had my fried egg.
We then came back and sat in the sun all afternoon. It’s been so lovely.
I am so grateful to feel better again.
I’ve done loads of Rome posts and reels on FB and I am trying to put some on Insta too. My reels used to post from insta directly onto my FB page but not anymore….
We have Elly’s 40th birthday party from 6pm tonight… I’m so glad my 2 days of illness have left me……. with a big spot on my chin just in time.
I have a had a lovely day…. So far…. It’s only 5pm.
It’s been full of a little bit of everything. Exercise, laughter, friendship, sadness, love and of course dog walks and housework.
Before I even start I feet truly blessed to have had such a lovely day…. It’s ok, I hear myself 😂 today has been a normal Saturday but I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it, in the present moment.
It started at 6.20am…. The alarm went off after the perfect sleep. It was the hardest thing ever to get out of bed but I did as I’d arranged to go running with Rachel two doors down, her sister Lynsey and Emma.
We ran from Coldstream Mill.
We run just over 3 miles. I was so chuffed I managed to keep up until the very end when I felt a wee bit sick. 🤢
It’s the calm before the storm.
Spotted these wee lambs, obviously freshly born. 🐑
There’s lots of flood water after yesterday’s rain.
I was very red… but really proud of myself!
I drove Rachel home and we went out to walk Nacho and Calaidh.
Then I was straight back out with Bhruic and Freya!
The daffodils are out in full bloom!
More flooding…
Back home to pick up Khaleesi, it’s her turn!
She is so excited when she’s on a walk!
Love this nature with the man made…
All of this before 10am!!
When I got back home, I tackled the housework. The dogs are on the cusp of moulting session again so there’s a whole lot of hair to be hoovered up. I emptied the hoover 4 times. 🤦🏻♀️😂
It’s been great to get the house all clean…. Woe betide any man or puppy that might mess it up 😆😘
Claire came in for a cuppa over lunch time and it was great to catch up.
I did more cleaning and decided to make some lunch. I had fasted for 21 hours without even realising.
I made Kimchi noodle soup with enoki mushrooms, silken tofu, sesame gochugaru topping and fresh coriander.
It was soooooo good!!
I then sent a voice note to my lovely friend who received the inoperable cancer diagnosis over Christmas. If you remember I’ve never met her but she’s been a friend on FB for over 5 years now. She sent me so many lovely cards, books and gifts when I was off sick and struggling with depression. She showed me a light when all I could see was darkness.
We’ve been messaging with voice notes as it’s easier for her. I told her it was very windy today as Storm Kathleen is blowing across Scotland.
She sent me a message back to say she is very weak now and her voice is failing.
She said that she wished this hadn’t happened to her so she could have met me. She thanked me for being me, for every single thing that I am. She asked me to please believe in myself because she believed in me and, if I value her opinion, then I must know that she’s right. She said I am simply the absolute best of every good thing in this world and she told me that she loved me so much.
Wow. 🥰😢
Even in her darkest moments, she has the strength to brighten other people’s lives.
I can’t tell you what this lady has done for me. She showed me that there was a way out of the depression. She showed her love for a stranger because she saw something in me that may have mirrored her own life. She’s been such an inspiration and I truly hope that I can be the same for someone else some day. I will never forget her message today and I can never repay her, I can only pay it forward.
If that’s not a reason to live life to the full then I don’t know what is.
I have her husband’s phone number now so that I can keep in touch with him.
So yeah I’m gonna end it here tonight, I’m so full of gratitude and love and a few tears but I think that’s perfectly understandable.
It’s my day off today and I have zero plans for the next 3 days… nada, diddly squat, nowt.
That usually just opens up before me like a big hole in the ground but despite saying I’ve been freaking out, I’m actually looking forward to the relaxation. It’s been a busy few weeks.
We had a lovely meal last night at The Ship in Irvine. Our table was booked for 6pm coz that’s how we roll these days. It’s a lovely place.
Craig had Cullen Skink for starter and I had garlic mushrooms. Both were lovely.
Craig had fish and chips and I had vegetable pie…. In keeping with my random not eating meat thing.. it was really good.
Pinch my sundae and I’ll punch you. Not quite sure how I captured this random shot but it’s a good one… the dessert is mine.
This is a Tunnocks Ice Cream Sundae.
Tunnocks are a famous Scottish biscuit/cake brand and I have to say it tasted like a Tunnocks Teacake and a snowball all rolled into one!
It’s 1.30pm and I’ve been for a run with Rachel, walked Bhru by myself and walked Khaleesi and Freya with Claire… had a cuppa, tidied the house, hoovered, cleaned, put away washing, marvelled at the sunshine, put two new washings on and had a shower. Then I sat down in the silence and have almost fallen asleep.
The silence is lovely. I’ve only 3 dogs and they are fast asleep.
Showcasing my crochet here. 😂
Rachel and I headed out at 7.30am. It’s a beautiful morning. Here we are running!!
It’s such a lovely morning.
It’s all about the puddle reflections this morning. It must have rained heavily overnight.
There is a tiny reflection in this puddle!
This huge puddle shows how much it’s rained.
Love seeing the sun like this.
Bhru enjoying some one on one!
I headed back home and picked up Claire, Khaleesi & Freya!
We went into Spiers old school grounds and this huge tree has fallen over. As we walked towards it, it looked like a new, muddy pond… then I realised the tree was down and the water is the root bed filling up after the rain.
Freya having a wee chat with Khaleesi.
Freya getting cuddles from her Auntie Claire.
More reflections on the way back.
Claire came in for a cuppa and got kisses from Khaleesi!
So the weather went from warm in the lovely sunshine to torrential rain pretty quickly.
My in-laws came down this afternoon with our nephew this afternoon… to deliver Easter eggs!! We had a lovely catch up.
We also had a guy come out to fix our French doors at the back of the house. For over an hour we had 4 adults and a teenager AND 5 dogs all in one room…. So the guy had free rein to come in and out the house.!
So yeah that’s my Friday. Been a good day.
Hope you all have a great weekend. No Easter break for me as we work Monday but I’m looking forward to the next 2 days to chill.
Another great day in the life…. Though some random anxiety mid day… 🤷🏻♀️
I slept like a log last night…. Not surprising I guess after 10.7k in a kayak and all that sea air… but I did have my knee up on a big pillow at the physio’s advice. That seems to have made a difference, though tonight will be the real test as I’ve used my knee a lot today.
I went for a walk/jog/run with Rachel two doors down…. And we actually ran for most of the route, it’s so good to be back out there running jogging!
We did Tough Mudder together in 2022 and ran at a really similar pace. We stopped when either of us needed to and we both felt tired at different times. Neither of us actually like running, which is half the battle!
So at 10am today in the freezing cold thick frost, we gingerly set off. Baby jog steps!!
Selfie in motion!
It’s another stunningly beautiful day.
The roads were slippy!
We walked down the two slippy hills just to be on the safe side but did run most of the way.
Don’t think either of us expected that. Just plodding along at the same speed makes all the difference. We both don’t like to hold anyone up if we’re running with someone faster. It makes it less enjoyable.
So it wasn’t much, it ended up being 23 minutes but I think that’s a really good start.
It’s way more than I managed during the Christmas holidays. All in all today, 15,877 steps so far!
When I got in, I was still quite fired up so took Calaidh up the hill…..
Everything is so pretty in the frost.
Then who suddenly appeared?!? Nacho with Rachel!! He’s off to catch Calaidh!
The Garnock valley looks stunning with the the fog over Kilbirnie loch.
I came home and did housework before Criag and I took the dogs over to the field across the road. This is where my anxiety arose…..
I’m overwhelmed walking four dogs… it’s just completely above my pay grade. I imagined sooooo many things going on. I felt really anxious but instead of holding it all in, I did tell Craig. I didn’t want to spoil the walk and I knew I would if I held it all inside.
He wanted to take them down to Irvine beach park but I was worried there would be too many dogs down there.
When we were in the field I was upset by Khaleesi barking so much, which she does as she has fun…. I thought the dogs might get out the field, was worried someone else would come in the field and we shouldn’t be there. You name it… floods of anxiety.
Here’s the Scottish Dog Behaviourist sitting on a tree stump, calling a client who had some questions, while we were in the field.
The dogs had a blast!
I didn’t actually relax until we got home.
I need to do some work on that.
Here’s Leesi in her new coat. Bless her.
We decided to head to Gro Coffee in Irvine as I got vouchers from Craig’s mum and stepdad for my Christmas.
The sun was just starting to set when we arrived….not a breathe.
Love the way these flats are lit up by the sun.
You can’t book in Gro and they said it would be a 45 minute wait…. So I dragged Craig towards the sunset.
Look at the reflections! My friend Helen will be so proud of me for looking at the reflections.
TEN MINUTES later Gro called and we had to rush back!! There’s a bank of cloud running along the base of Arran so I think the actual sunset would have been stunning but we had to head back.
All of these were taken while walking very fast!!
Our food was the usual Gro standard…. Lovely! meat feast pizza, chicken tenders, halloumi fries and skin on fries.
So all in all, minus this afternoon’s anxiety, I’ve had THE best weekend.
It looks like it will be frosty and sunny most of the week. Long may it continue.
It’s 11.07am and I am sitting on the couch with a freshly ground coffee (decaf!) in my lovely new glass that Claire gave me for my birthday.
We had a lovely evening but didn’t get home until 2am. 😳🤦🏻♀️😬 That’s unheard of for me! I managed to stay awake just long enough to drive home.
So in true Julie fashion, I’ll tell you some of the anxieties behind the lovely night.
We haven’t seen Craig’s mum and step dad for far too long so it was lovely to be going up to see them at their house. It’s always so festive!
This is how big the snowman ⛄️ is!
Craig’s mum always wants to see the dogs and I have HUGE anxiety taking them anywhere. So Craig obviously wants to take the dogs and his mum wants them to come. Am I the only one that thinks that’s a crazy idea?!?!
I always see the worst in them. I grew up with the children should be seen and not heard and I guess I think that my dogs should be the same… which they are most certainly not. They are dogs. (Obviously)
I can’t imagine why anyone would want 4 dogs running around their lovely Christmassy home…. As I write that I actually have a wee tear… how awful is that that I am ashamed of them?!? There’s hair and dirty paws…. I mean it was torrential rain for two solid days…. Then there’s the noise… especially when they get very excited. Four dogs are impossible for me to control in my total control world.
Maybe it’s time to let go of some of that control and relax a wee bit (no shit Sherlock!)
The dogs were amazing. Craig was amazing with them, as usual. ♥️
There’s a pattern in my life…. I expect the worst, worry so much in advance and it’s never as bad as I think. I don’t know that I’m worrying. I just chose the path of least resistance. I feel so much better these days but it’s because I’m avoiding certain things that have the potential to make me feel bad again. Wow wore tears. Honestly I can’t recommend journaling enough…. I had no idea what I was going to write when I sat down and all this profound stuff comes tumbling out.
Look at them…. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Craig’s mum had them literally eating right out of her hand. Bless. They followed her around whenever she moved. if you look to the right of her… Princess Cookie the Chihuahua is snuggled on her blanket on the couch! This is the first time Khaleesi has spent any time in anyone’s house. She loved being at her new Gran’s house 🥰
Calaidh and Bhru always love Grans.
We were sure there was someone out there?!?!
Yes the were muddy in the garden but Craig’s mum had a big rug at the back door that caught most of the muddy paws and Doug said any mud hoovers up fine the next day, when it’s dried.
We had a lovely dinner! Silverside roast beef and ALL the trimmings and then some.
Doug & Helen.
Cookie is a little overwhelmed.
She usually follows Calaidh everywhere she goes, but not so much this time. she wasn’t too impressed with Khaleesi joining their gang. She growled at Khaleesi a few times and Leesi got the message and jumped away.. it was quite funny to see. I still managed to get some Cookie cuddles! Tickle my tummy Auntie Julie 😂😂😘
A bit blurry but Calaidh sporting my Christmas cracker hat!!
Bless her.
I then had the anxiety of a foggy drive home in Craig’s mahoosive car at 2am. I used to take stuff like that in my stride. Not so much now. I was so relieved to get home…. Incident free obviously!
So…. This.
I think today is going to be all about the cosy blanket. I’m curled up on the couch with Calaidh at my feet. Bhru and Leesi are over on the other couch and Freya is lying on the floor. I’m so, so proud of them. And me… I’m pretty proud of me for figuring it all out.
Also I should say I hit my 1,800 days alcohol free on Thursday… kept forgetting to write about it.
For anyone who knows me, you will understand the true enormity of this. I loved a good drink… my life revolved around it. I need it to make me tick, I’d got into such a rut at work and I guess in life full stop. It was my one release. A chance to forget how dreadfully unhappy I was trying to please everyone except myself. As time went on it stopped numbing the pain and only added to the pain. The shame, regret, hangovers, blackouts.
Drinking is not for me.
It means I get to sit with the awkward, raw and uncomfortable emotions that I feel at times….. 😳😬
I felt so grateful when I woke. I still have stomach cramp but I slept right through. The best sleep ever…..
It’s still torrential rain. Absolutely stotting down and meeting itself on the way back up. It’s bouncing!
I changed the bed, sorted through all the Christmas presents that I’ve bought so far and tidied the bedroom. I was on a roll.
I decided I better start the dog walks while I was on a roll…. Oh my word it was sooooo wet!!
I was soaking wet after the first walk so I just kept going. It’s so different from last weeks walks…. Despite the torrential train, I was actually enjoying the walks.
I had to have a shower when I got back in…. I was soaked through to the skin.
I did a quick dog goony photo shoot first!
Khaleesi asking, does my bum look big in this 😂😂😂
So we’re up at the in-laws now for the evening. Not seen them in ages. Craig and Doug are watching the Rangers game.
Up at 6.30 to head over to Largs for my eye test at 8.30am. I booked the early morning one so that I could make the most of my day.
It was much more windy and choppy than I expected. It was also freezing!! The sunrise was lovely though.
Marvelled at how close these churches are.
My eye test at Specsavers went well. My prescription has only changed by one point so I don’t need to change my glasses just yet. I did go for a cheap pair of reading glasses, in the new prescription, for more intense reading, but my varifocals will do me just fine just now.
They did find a new freckle at the back of my right eye.
Who knew that was a thing?
They sent me back for a second “back of the eye” photo, so they could catch it specifically. The guy got a great capture of it.
I need to go back in 3 months for the same again so they can monitor the size of it. Any growth is bad.
I got out at 9.20am and found that hardly any of the shops were open.
I went into Costa Coffee and had a peppermint tea (who actually does that?!?) to heat up and use the loo…. Not necessarily in that order!!
I then had a wander around the charity shops. I found River Island jeans and a Fat Face top for £11 in total in the British Heart Foundation Charity shop.
I commented that they have some really lovely things in the Largs BHF shop… the lady told me they only put out the best of everything and try to display the brands as much as possible, in that particular store. I was really impressed with everything they had today.
I took more photos as I headed back to the car.
Next stop, Tesco, for a food shopping and came home and put it all away. Played with the dogs out the back, loaded the dishwasher, put away dry washing and put on a new load.
Then I took the two Cal’s…. Calaidh and Khaleesi out for a walk. It was beautiful but cold!
Khaleesi has lots of fun off the lead. I don’t keep her off for long.
You need to be standing steady when you shout come….. when she comes, she comes…. Wallop!!!!!
Craig was home by the time I got back. He still had work to do, so I set off out with a Freya and Bhru.
It’s already getting dark.
The same road on two separate dog walks.
The same tree at 3 separate times today.
The moon is massive.
It’s been a lovely day. I also fasted for just over 22 hours today which was a lot but I needed a wee fat burn after all the junk I’ve been eating since the weather turned colder.
Oh I also made more soup today which is really good again, great to break a fast with.
So yeah, a productive day off work!
Lovely to see sunrise and sunset. It’s the best part of this time of the year.
I slept like a log last night…. All that decaf coffee and good chat must have done me the power of good!
I felt much better when I woke up this morning. Like a weight had been lifted.
It was a lovely drive to work… dry for the first time in days… I barely had the wipers on.
The rain started pretty soon after I got into the office.
So I was a lot better today but still shoot into orbit when something (that is my job…) is added to my list.
On the plus side I did come up with a couple of processes to try to limit the ad hoc requests. My memory isn’t what it used to be, I am forgetting things so it needs to be written down and tracked somehow. maybe then I can put some control into the ad-hoc….
I took a photo of Gran’s Christmas cactus this morning…. It’s in full bloom a good few weeks early. 😂
It’s really pretty. Mum and dad say their cutting is pink but mine is very pale pink.
I also thought it would make you smile to see the dogs in their room last night. Not sure if I said but Khaleesi has been sleeping in with the three pup-sketeers now for well over a week now.
For some reason I feel the need to wrap her up….. I scoff at my mother in law for molly-coddling her Chihuahua…. And here I am….
She’s from Spain, she needs to be warm!!
Freya took a leaf to bed with her last night. Anyone who knows Freya will know that she always has to pick something up in her mouth before she does anything exciting 🤦🏻♀️😂
Calaidh seems to be under her blanket rather than on it…
And Bhru just lies on a big pillow as she prefers to stretch out.
She looks at me with a withering look…. More photos?!?!
So yeah… a bit better day today. Need to work on it again tomorrow. At least I had less people to apologise to today so something was better.
This. Is. Me. Full. Stop.
I couldn’t have written that better myself. I can’t focus with any noise in the background, whatsoever. I hate any clothes being too tight, jaggy or itchy, I detest strong perfume or any loud, noisy-for-noisy-sake “music”… I can’t even call it music. I don’t work well under pressure as my mind panics and that’s when I snap. I need to be prepared as anything dropped in my lap becomes like s ticking time bomb that detonates within seconds!
And relax….. off to crochet tonight where I may even crochet the odd granny square!
What a downpour of a day. It was such a scary drive into work again today. I seem to be a big girls blouse in that torrential rain these days but thank goodness I’m driving Bertie the Beetle now.
It was a mean and moody Monday.
We’ve been trying to get prescriptions for Khaleesi’s pain meds from our Vet and they called me at work today to say they had to get clear kidney function tests before they would give us a prescription. £164 they said.
They had to be done today or tomorrow so I came home from work, let the dogs out, fed them, made sure Khaleesi had pee’d and poo’d, ate some lasagne and back out to the vet without remembering to go to the toilet myself. 🤦🏻♀️😂
She was such a good girl at the vet.
They told me they would take her through the back for the tests and could be up to 25 minutes. They would need to shave her and maybe in a couple of places, in order to get the bloods…
5 minutes later she’s back out. A very good girl, all done and no shaved bits at all. We sat to wait on results.
She got a bit bored waiting on results….
By the way, the white paint on her tail is from the sunroom… 😂😂
45 minutes later and TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN POUNDS and FIFTY PENCE down.
How can that even be possible? I’d joked with Craig’s that 5 mins of blood tests vs the forecasted 25 must be cheaper…. Yeah right.
I actually sound really down in my wiring today and I’m not really, least I don’t mean to be.
I feel a bit flat today and it just felt a bit unfair having to pay so much money to be told your dog is fit enough to have the meds that she needs to reduce her pain. As I write that, I guess you wouldn’t want anyone to prescribe something that would hurt your dog.
The meds are SO much cheaper on line than they are from the vet….. so much cheaper…. but you need to pay £30 for a prescription to get them cheaper on line. That prescription will only last 6 months.
Awwwwww have had the wee best day to myself….. I t’s 4.51pm and just getting dark.
It’s a lovely sky.
It’s been nice all day today. Calm and quiet after all the wind and rain we’ve been having. It’s cold but not freezing.
I woke at 4am with a really sore knee. I took ibuprofen and paracetmol and went back to sleep, until 7.15am! A long lie!
I made a pot of soup, in the slow cooker, before 8.30am… Ellison’s lentil soup again!
I headed straight to the Post Office to get some change for Sunday’s Macmillan Afternoon Tea in the Village Hall. Then onto Lidl for a “cheap” weekly shop…. It was still over £100!
I came back and unpacked the shopping, stirred the soup and headed off out with Bhruic and Freya.
Checking up on mumma! They look like a two headed dog.
The trees are a lovely colour.
One of the really old gates has disappeared…. That’s so sad!
It looked a bit like this one. I hope they didn’t bin it. To be fair, they are so old they’re not much use these days but they are relics.
Back to drop Bhru & Freya off and pick up the two Cal’s…. Calaidh and Khaleesi.
I let Khaleesi off the lead for the first time and she had a great run around. I have to limit it so she doesn’t run too far in her sore paws.
She followed Calaidh around and it was so lovely to watch.
Safe to say someone had a lot of fun this morning. She’s out for the count now.
Back on lead to calm down a wee bit.
There’s a lovely warmth to the sun when it comes out.
When I got home Khaleesi jumped up into the centre of the wee couch. I shouted the other 3 and suddenly got this amazing photo, without even really trying. It’s nice to have a lovely one of the 4 of them.
I did a poo pick in the garden 🤮… then spent the afternoon doing a washing, emptying and filling the dishwasher, cleaning the cutlery drawer, collecting things for charity, cleaning ALL the windows and generally pottering.
I have honestly had the loveliest day. Apart from a fasting panic yesterday, I’ve felt really good these last few days.
I’ve been in control, clear headed, ticking things off lists,. I feel content with my life. I’m trying to appreciate every moment, the days seem longer than usual, I’m getting more done.
The Rambling Sloth 🦥 