Day 1645 a 10km run before 8am!

Wow I was on a roll this morning!

I woke at 4.30am.

I changed the bed last night and it was soooo lovely. I was in bed for just after 8.30pm! It’s funny when we’re kids we spend all our lives trying to stay up late, now I find that bed can be the best bit.

I managed to doze on and off until 6am when I jumped out of bed and got into my running gear, to take the dogs for a walk, before I met the running girls. There had been a hint of the run going a bit further than usual so I didn’t want the dogs to miss out.

It was very dark, but I had the three pupsketeers and my headtorch on.

When it came to it. I didn’t feel safe walking on the backroads so we walked the streets…. If you’ve been in our wee village you will know that takes all of 5 minutes!

So we headed out the main road which felt safer.

I love this photo I took of my friend’s house. She has Halloween decs up and the clouds looked amazing against the super moon.

Her spider webs are glistening in the light.

We carried on in the dark.

Everything looked so atmospheric with the way the moon shone on the clouds.

I love our wee cottage.

So 4 of us set off at 6.45am. It felt really good to start. I was buzzing to be back out running.

I love that we catch up on all the news while we run. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re running for that distance.

When we were round about the 5k mark, Rachel suggested that we run a bit further so Lynsey, Rachel and I headed up the hill….

First a quick team 5k pic!

Then we’re off….

I found it hard going . I had to walk for a few minutes at times, just to get my breath back.

By the time we got back into the village we were close to 9kms and we ALL knew we had to run up the hill to the and hit the 10k!!

We did it!

It’s says it’s my third fastest 10k and to be fair it is only my third 10k….. 🫣😆 so it was my slowest but I need to stop looking at the times.

If you’d told me I’d have run 3 x 10k this year I’d never have believed you. Rachel and I were going to run “round the block” once a week, which is less that 3k…. I felt like that would be a struggle.

Look at us now.

I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. What I’ve achieved….. and I can’t thank all of the girls enough, for being there to help me do it.

Sooooo… back in to the house to hang up the washing I’d put on before I went out 😆 I hear myself…. Who actually am I these days?!?!

Then after my shower it was down to the little gift shop for the morning.

The shop looks amazing!!!

The Christmas stuff is beautiful again this year. It was so busy this morning. Christmas things are flying it the door already. It was so lovely to get a catch up though not much time to chat!

It’s been a beautiful afternoon. There’s been a warmth to the sun.

I started putting clothes up for sale on Vinted as it was nice to take photos in the sun.

I lost my spark after about 3.30pm. I’m shattered now and it’s no wonder.

Craig and Khaleesi are still down south and the house is a dog short! I’m in my comfies and I’m going to light the candles and settle down for the evening.

And relax…. my friend Ruth sent me this… we should all look for glimmers.

I’ve had so many glimmers today.

Have a lovely Saturday and please be careful in tomorrow’s storm if you’re in the UK. It’s not looking great.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1613 an amazing 5.4km run before 6.30am 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

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.

Hope you’ve had nice weather wherever you are.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1610 National Sober Day and the Gateside Flower Show!

I slept right through to the alarm at 6.30am, just the best….. and ran 6.5Kms before 7.30am.

I did stop my watch when I thought we were finished…. But no…. Back to it.

I ran with the same girls that ran the 10k back in August… it was much better weather today!

I loved running this morning. I felt good and comfortable most of the run. that’s two in a row that have gone really well.

I’m so pleased that I’ve got in to regular running and hope it doesn’t get too difficult as the winter sets in.

I was back in the shop this morning which was lovely.

I played with the dogs for a bit when I got back…

We have to keep a hold on Khaleesi so she can’t run after the ball. 😆 just lemme go, she says!!

We just have to keep an eye on her all the time…

Who knew the top of my head had gone so grey…..

The Gateside Horticultural Society had their flower show today.

Here are some of the stunning exhibits.

I think portrait mode on my new phone can be a bit blurry at times….

This next one won best in show!

This was the display that we were all routing for! Nancy did the beautiful flower arrangement and Holly did the chocolate mint dessert (WHICH IS NOW IN MY HOUSE FOR LATER!!!!) and Aimee made the LOVELY crochet bookmark. They won third prize!

I can’t rave about the mint chocolate mousse enough 😆

These leeks were massive!

These photos don’t do the scale any justice. All of the veg is huge 😆

Now this is a whole lot of kale!! 🥬

The kids did these flower displays.

We ended up in the pub for a couple. I’ve enjoyed seeing our neighbours as we haven’t caught up in a while.

In the list of national days, today is National Sober Day!

I’m so proud to be on day 2,081 of my sober journey. That will be SIX years come January. It’s just a way of life now. One that I am so very proud of. I never would have wanted to stand out from the crowd, to be different, to be socially awkward and yet here I am… 😬 it’s what keeps me sane these days… literally.

Have a great Saturday night!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1605 a Monday with a run, work and a dog walk!

That’s my day in the title… you don’t need to read on 😆

Claire asked if anyone was available for a run this morning so I said yes before I could think about it too much. 😆

A wee 4.3kms at 6am.

It was quite dark, so we had head torches on and Claire was in her high vis, and I was just clashing with her 😆

It was a good run. I found it hard and it was a bit faster for me but I really enjoyed the chat and really enjoyed the thought of it all, once it was over 😆

Cold shower and off to work and we had a super busy day. I didn’t sit down at my desk until 9.45am. Least the day passed quickly.

It’s been a really dull and cold day today and it started to rain at 4pm when I finished work.

I had dinner then took the dogs out and got soaked!! I wore the wrong clothes again…. The high vis jacket isn’t waterproof unfortunately!

Nice look eh?!?

Poor Leesi still not getting out for a walk with her bad paw…. The other 3 are wetter than me, hence the dog goonies!

So I have put my jammies on and I have got th lamps on and I’m going to sit and relax and watch more Celebrity Race Across the World. It’s quite addictive and I have HUGE travelling envy!!

I’m feeling calm just now. I’m excited for our holiday in 16 days!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1576 to do list on hold… summer snuck up and surprised us today!

It’s summer in Ayrshire today.

Honestly it is just soooooo beautiful. There is no wind, only blue sky and sunshine. Such a welcome change from the winter of yesterday!!

Ahhhhh…. I’m sitting outside having just had dinner and it’s still hot.

My to do list went out the window as a result.

In Scotland, when the sun shines, we rush outside and everything else just has to wait. We never know when we might see the sunshine again.

I’m being dramatic but it’s absolutely true!

My to do list was completely housework related.

I have still been very productive though.

First of all I cleaned all the white upvc about the French doors in the spare bedroom. They look. amazing, that cleaner really brings out the white in them again.

I then jumped in the shower to scrub all the paint off…. I just found some on my toenail 😆

Gayle came to pick me up and we went to Mocha Jak’s for brunch.

It is a scorcher. We are both dressed in blue jeans, black T-shirts and have our hair tied back. Twinning!

We had a lemon meringue blonde and a double caramel brownie to share. Sooo good.

We are headed to Gayle’s wholesale supplier for some tissue paper.

I’m like a kid in a sweetie shop as I’ve never been to this wholesaler before.

We head back down the road via B&Q as Craig has made me stop for decking screws… which he hasn’t used today, I may add…

It was so lovely to get out and have a good natter!

She dropped me…. And the decking screws off before 1pm!

Craig had already got his new cold dip barrel all set up. He is very lucky to have friends that able to get one for him.

It’s on decking board that he got from another friend.

It has a step to get in but not one to get out. I can’t use it until then. 😆

We also have some more artificial grass that was going spare. It’s second hand, like our other grass, but that’s ok.

We had woodchip/bark down the back of our garden, which used to look lovely.

We had no idea we were just creating mud in the long run. It mulches together and becomes mud, which weeds thrive on.

Did you spot the guy in the orange T-shirt… please with is efforts but sporting a long hairdo?!!

So now we have a patchwork quilt of artificial grass but it’s much safer for the dogs.

None of our grass is the same colour but that is ok. It is also very, very heavy!!

We’ve very kindly been given it all…. For nothing… over the years. We have been so lucky!

Here is Mr proud of his days work.

And quite rightly so… Khaleesi is loving in too

The sun is shining and I’m matching the hydrangeas!

We are knackered but it has been a really good day and we’ve got so much done.

We’ve ended the day in with Claire and Graeme at their fire pit! A lovely end to a lovely day.

The housework will have to wait until tomorrow!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1574 pouring rain, lots of thoughts and Curiosity coffee’s first birthday!

I couldn’t wake up this morning, I felt dead to the world.

I coughed a fair bit through the night, unfortunately once was right in Craig’s face! 🫣

I’ve just got a dry and scratchy throat. I don’t feel ill. I just don’t feel great.

I read my book and finished it before I got up. It was a good one, thanks Evelyn for lending me it.

I got dressed to head out with the dogs and the heavens opened…. Again!!!

We got soaked but the dogs don’t care.

The sky looks so mean and moody.

The rain does start to clear. The weather’s a bit like April just now.

I spotted 3 deer in the field next to us… calmly called the dogs and pretended it was just time to head home… little did they know!! This is not the best photo! Two of them ran off.

Then the last one stared at me for ages!

The others were long gone!

This photo doesn’t do it justice, the sky was dark navy blue….

The sun felt hot when it came through.

And we are back home soaked…. Thought this angle of the garden looked lovely!

Poor Khaleesi still can’t get walked at the moment.

So, I didn’t feel great when I got home…. My head was starting to make the same noise it did when I was off on holiday with nothing to do.

I decided to put a stop to it.

I sat and wrote down how I was feeling.

Physically….. tired, weak, headache, dry and scratchy throat, jaw tight, teeth sore, tense, anxious, breathless, if I shut my eyes I could sleep.

But….. I have a day off.

How lucky am I to have a day off when I feel like this?!? Very!!

Then why do I feel so bad? Why is my head trying to fight it?

I have a huge list of things I think I should be doing. I need to sort my road tax, my car insurance, home insurance, food shopping, poo pick, paint the spare room, clean and tidy the whole house…..

It feels good to write it down.

Why does that give me physical pain?

Because it feels like a chore and I don’t want to do any of it.

What do I want to do instead?

Be out somewhere exploring in the sunshine.

I’ve looked for mini breaks and can’t nail one down. I think I’m scared that I feel nervous again…. Like I did when I was travelling to Rome. I can’t find a flight that is the right price, the right time, to the right place.

I yawn……. Big time. In kinesiology that is a sign of energy moving, of stress being released… for me, anyway.

All I want to do is rest…… the weather hasn’t been what we expect for our summer so maybe it’s ok that I just want to rest and relax. I’ve been like that for much of July and August.

So…. From that point on I feel a lot better. I sat with it, I wrote it out, I felt it.

I know it’s all a bit crazy but that is what goes on in my head at times.

I sat and picked up the home and car insurance… and tried to tax the car. I looked for mini breaks and narrowed it down. Potentially Milan at the end of October.

I had a productive few hours and it felt good.

I jumped in the shower and even washed my hair. On a day off…. Check me.

I headed down to Curiosity coffee shop in Beith as it celebrates its first birthday today!!

Here are the girls with their celebratory Prosecco while I ate my mint aero brownie and drank my mint, oat milk, decaf latte!

I had such a lovely time chatting. It’s just food for the soul…. I love chatting!

I ended up staying for ANOTHER coffee and cake…. How shocking is that?!?

One wasn’t enough but two was definitely too much 😆😘

It was lovely though.

I then went for the food shopping!

A few chores done and it didn’t feel bad doing it.

Craig and I then nipped into the pub next door for one.

I’ve actually had a really good day.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1568 I just ran 10.33kms 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

At 8.15am I finished my first 10k run…. ever.

Wow.

I am shattered but I’m so chuffed that I’ve actually done it. Thanks to Gillian who agreed to do it with me and run at my pace. when you read on you’ll realise she didn’t really agree to anything up front! She’s a good runner and I just kept on going 😆😘

I didn’t have the best sleep so when I got up at 6.20am, I didn’t feel like running at all.

That’s the best part about running with other people, you don’t want to let them down. I knew Gillian was meeting me at 6.45am so I got ready and headed outside. It’s a beautiful morning.

After last nights heavy rain, everything seemed fresh. You can see the dew glistening on the leaves.

The sun is so low in the sky and looks much bigger than the photo shows, in real life.

I take a few photos as we run.

I found the first part really tough, my breathing was laboured and my legs felt heavy. As we turned the corner onto this road I started to relax a bit. I knew I wanted to do more than the 8k we ran a couple of weeks back. I hadn’t told anyone as didn’t want to commit and as I started off feeling rough, I didn’t think it might be possible.

But we kept going.

Gillian is a fast runner and while I hate holding anyone back it’s great that she could run at my pace. It certainly won’t have been her fastest run. So while so many of the photos show her in front of me, we did run together.

I always want to take photos of this tree on the way to work in the morning but there’s nowhere to stop the car.

I see this in all seasons, with sunrise behind it and it always makes me smile.

Sorry for all 3 😆 I’m not sure which is my favourite.

This one’s a bit blurry 😆 I am running my third kilometre at the time!

Then we come to THE HILL…. That’s the only downside to this run.

Gillian is a hill machine and I tell her to go and she goes!!

I took a selfie to show me still smiling AND I didn’t stop on the hill at all, unlike two weeks ago, where I walked the worst of it.

I kept going.

I only stopped for a few seconds at the top and got my breath back as we ran.

I knew I wanted to keep going.

The light was lovely again as we headed into Spiers Old School Grounds.

Just glorious… it’s still before 8am though.

And still we go…. Down to the Beith bypass and up through the housing estate.

And back along towards Gateside.

We have to do a wee round robin towards the end to get Gillian over the 6 mile mark… it feels never ending but we do it!

What an achievement. I first started running with Claire, couch to 5k back when I was off sick…. I found it so hard. I remember the second or third run being awful and look at me today. I’m not the fastest but I’ve been steady with the training and I try not to miss a week.

So proud.

I then went to Tesco for a mini shopping and have also walked the dogs this morning too.

We met this big guy!

They had a great run.

I love that they all watch for me. To make sure I’m still walking… only just 😂

This cow knew I was talking to it!

So all showered and ready to head to my brothers in South Queensferry for a family get together.

We’ve sat outside all afternoon and had a lovely buffet and I’ve had lots of lovely alcohol free!

It’s been lovely to all get together.

Have a lovely rest of Saturday.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1557 a bird woke us up this morning!

It’s a beautiful day and we’re we’re woken by a bird chirping away outside the window.

It did not give up until him we were both awake. 😆

It was 6.30am.

I got up and dressed and took the dogs straight out.

Look at that sky?! 💙💙💙

I am definitely a sunshine girl…. What a difference to my mood when the sun shines. There is a spring in my step and a hope that everything will be ok. The sunlight creates a calm in my head.

And then there are thistles. 💜💙💜

The dogs are used to me taking photos all the way round.

I had an appointment at the Optician in Largs for 9.50am.

Back in November they found a freckle at the back of my eye. They need to monitor the size of it. They told me to get in touch around February/March time if I hadn’t heard from them.

🫣

July.

Hi… can you check the size of my freckle?!

I parked a bit further out so I could walk on the coastal path.

Wow.

This just take my breath away. The colours are just beautiful.

No matter what else is going on in my head. This makes it all ok.

There’s not a breath. I wished Lindsay and Euan had the day off work and we could go out kayaking with them! 🛶🛶🛶

My heart shaped stone is still in the same place!

I’ve never take a photo of this fountain before. It’s a shame it’s not working.

The Largs to Cumbrae ferry is a lovely contrast to the blue.

Then the yellow bench!

Ahhh I could lose myself in the calm here. Largs is surprisingly quiet at 9.30am.

The ripples from the ferry… hardly create any movement.

Loading before heading off again.

Standing here when my lovely friend Isy, sent me this.

Start loving yourself…… I feel I still need to work at this. I love myself when I’m doing something that I’m passionate about. I don’t love myself when my head screams at me and I can’t hear what it says.

Do more of what you love…. Is what I get from that.

Exactly.

I had a quick wander round the charity shop before heading into SpecSavers.

My eye freckle is exactly the same size so nothing to worry about and back to the normal 2 year checkup.

I’ve booked to go back Friday morning for a contact legs trial…. Be interesting to see if they work for me. They would help with water sports… she says… like she does water sports every day…. 😆

By the time I’m out, the tide has come I. A good bit.

So have some clouds.

Reflections for my friend Helen.

The old bridge.

The two Cumbrae ferries passing

Smack bang under the mama cloud. I do think these clouds were like dad, mum and baby clouds 😆 getting confused with the 3 bears.

It’s just calm, it’s beautiful.

The island of Cumbrae in the foreground and Goat Fell on Arran in the background.

Heading back up this lovely road to the car.

I had to rush back as the locksmith was coming back to measure something, and Craig had enquiry calls to make.

Shame as I could have found a bench and sat there all day.

I’ve done some weeding, and filled in a path that I’d dug a few weeks back…. We’re trying to level off the back half of the garden for some artificial grass.

Check this one out… Khaleesi conked out right next to where I was digging!

Then it got pretty hot…. I may have sat down for a while. I’m trying to link my Instagram with my Rambling Sloth FB page…. It has taken me a long time to investigate but it still not happening! Everything I read… does not work for me. 🤦🏻‍♀️ it’s not the end of the world but I out lots of reels on The Rambling Sloth insta and I’d like them to post over to The Rambling Sloth FB but they got to my personal page just now. I figured the personal page is better than nothing….

I did some pupper photo shooting.

Trying to get them all moving towards me at once!

Bhru in her usual ladylike stance 😆😆

Couldn’t resist this…

Gorgeous girl.

So we’re off to our neighbours, Holly and Kenny for dinner tonight. Really looking forward to Holly’s cooking!

It’s still hot, I’m just going to jump in the shower as soon as Craig gets out of it!

Stay safe everyone 💙💜💙

Day 1554 happy birthday to Craig! 🎂🥳🎉🎁

Today is Mr A’s 49th birthday…. He is still not 50…. Another whole year before he’s finally in his 50’s. He’s 3 years younger than me and let me tell you, this has been a long 3 years. 😆

I woke at 4.33am and did a birthday post on Scottish Dog Behaviourist for him…. Then did the dutiful wife birthday post… then fell asleep until 7am when the alarm went off for our run this morning.

I didn’t commit as I didn’t want to be out on his birthday but he was still fast asleep. 🫣 I escaped!!

Emma, Gillian and Rachel ran this morning and we went a different way!

There were a lot of hills. The pic above is taken of us at the top trying to catch our breath.

This is me running up it with Gillian in front. She runs like the wind!

It was a tough one but my head was in a good place.

We ran 8.03k!!!! Never forgetting the .03k.

I feel bad as Rachel wanted to do more but I was knackered. We only needed another 2k to hit 10!!! Obviously….. 🙄

Here we are at the end.

Here I am…. catching my breath!

I did it!

It felt amazing.

For the first time I went under a freezing cold shower and managed some Wim Hof breathing and actually managed to stay under it for a good wee while. I was pretty chuffed with that too…. Anyway enough about me…. 🙄

The birthday boy finally got out of bed and we were all ready for him.

Only the Borders didn’t really get the “pose” memo… they seemed to just sit on Calaidh.

All set for pressies!

Some lovely Old Pultney whisky from my mum and dad. This was the whisky we had at our wedding.

Calaidh loved the jammie snowballs.

Khaleesi ready with her pressies…

All done!

New shorts and T-shirt on.

We had the breakfast of champions…. Wait for it…. Waffles with bacon 🥓 and maple syrup 🍁 with Forum vanilla ice cream!!

Craig said it was the food combination that’s been missing all his life!

We’ve had a lovely lazy morning (obvs after the 8.03k run!) and also had more cake. Bhru is asking him if it’s for her?

It’s from the Curiosity coffee shop… lemon and pistachio blondie and carrot cake.

So the birthday boy is currently asleep on a deckchair in the garden. It’s not hot but it’s WAY nicer than the forecast. It’s meant to rain all day today.

So it’s now 2.30pm and he’s asleep on the couch. I’ve been out and walked the dogs and have come back. This turning 49 seems to be hard work.

As long as he’s having the best day. Which he says he has.

We’re now watching the Rangers-Manchester United friendly on TV, waiting on an early takeaway to be delivered.

We did get a lovely pic together last night after the pub.

Happy birthday Craigie!!

Hope you’re all having a great weekend.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1546 alarm at 4.30am for a wild sea swim

The alarm went off and I had to think what day it was?!? It’s Friday, why is there an alarm….. oh wow it’s 4.30 and I’m swimming with Elly this morning.

I actually felt great and got out of bed no bother.

Sometimes you lie awake waiting for the alarm…. Not last night! It’s such a great feeling.

So out of bed, swimsuit and wetsuit on to the waist and I walked up to meet Elly. She was coming to pick me up but I was ready a bit early and I thought we’d wake less people if I walked to her house… I’m very considerate that way… sometimes too much!

The road was so quiet apart from seeing Lynsey who was off to run a 10k. She’s a machine!

We drove to Irvine beach where the tide was still really high.

The sunrise clouds were so pretty.

You can see the Isle of Arran so clearly as the sunrise hits Goat Fell.

The colours are lovely.

It’s calm, there no breeze and although it’s not warm, it’s. It that cold either. Ailsa Craig there off to the left.

Here we are, 5am!

We’re on our way in….. the water is cold this morning.

I love that the water is so clear. You know what you get on Irvine Beach as it’s so flat for miles out.

It’s just so atmospheric.

Elly is going for the no hands approach for as long as possible.

Check out my FB live from in the sea!

I snapshot this photo from it… it’s the best of a bad bunch 😆

There’s a fair swell in the sea despite it feeling calm.

The clouds are dark blue.

I took a million photos to try and catch these birds which were low flying over the water.

The birds are still here if you can see them?

Birds still going strong!

It’s a shame they didn’t fly in the blue sky space between the land and the clouds.

We’re on our way back out after 20 minutes.

The tide’s on its way out but there are still waves coming in too.

So dark and moody….

There’s hardly anyone on the beach. One girl away for a walk and one guy with a dog. I love this time of day… but you know that by now….it’s not yet 6am….

You can almost make out the cloud inversion in the distance.

The tides gone out a fair bit already.

Can’t get enough photos of Arran.

I think the weather looks better over there!

Last few….

I can’t get enough of this view!

Pano!!

Really enjoyed it and Elly is such lovely, calming company.

Back home and had a warm shower, then off out with hoddit, doddit and ploddit.

It’s 8.30am and the clouds are still lovely.

The sun is trying to burn through.

Very pretty roadside weeds today.

I met a guy that I used to see all the time on dog walks. He had 2 border collie type dogs…. Then he only had one and recently I’ve driven past him and he was walking alone 😢

I stopped to talk to him and said how sorry I was to see him on his own. I asked what had happened, sadly just old age… and I introduced him to our 3 and he never got much of a chance to say hello in the past. We chatted for a good wee while… he introduced himself. I felt really sad for him but I hope I cheered him up by speaking to him about his lovely girl.

Then I spotted these beauties. There are for my friend Anne! 💜💜💜 she sends me pics when she finds them too. To be fair I think we send the same thistles to each other as these are very close to her house!!

Back home and washings on and out to dry and more weeding…. Before….

After…..

Before….

After….

I sat down just after 1pm and started this… it’s 2.36 already… and I wonder where my day goes eh?!?

I’m sitting outside in the sun. Shorts and vest top on. It’s a high of 19°C today. Got to catch it while we can.

Thanks to Elly for a special morning.

Meeting Gayle tonight so might head to Largs… it’s been a while!

Hope you all have a lovely Friday and rest of weekend!

Stay safe everyone 💜💜💜

Day 1520 Hapoy Father’s Day – a quiet, lazy Sunday just me and the puppers

Another lovely day in the quiet life.

I finished Bridgerton last night and headed through to be about 9ish. It was still very light outside.

Woke at 5.36am and remembered it was Father’s Day so I did a Scottish Dog Behaviourist FB post for all the dog dads out there and most of all, our very own dog dad.

He’s on his way home from Berlin, flying about 5ish tonight. I can only imagine the mayhem in this house when he walks back through the door, the dogs will be SO excited to see him!!! I might try and video it for his page.

So we’ve had a lovely, lazy day today… peppered with the remaining tidying and cleaning that needs doing.

It’s 3.40pm at time of writing and it’s rained all day. It’s not heavy, it’s just relentless!

We got wet on the dog walk at 8am but never saw another soul.

When we first moved in to the village, this little patch of land had tiny tulips and daffodils and it was always really pretty and I stopped to admire it.

It’s totally different now they the owner of the house died, but I thought it looked so lovely this morning, full of wildflowers. (I can hear Craig shouting WEEDS but I don’t care. I loved it. 😆)

I know I’ve done this before but this gives you an idea of how many times they swap around. It always makes me smile.

When I came home I started work on tidying and cleaning the last of the things I hadn’t done Friday and Saturday.

The house feels so good, I’m so glad I took all that time to do it.

It still needs painted but I know how much cleaner it is now.

Of course today it’s wet and we have muddy paws back on the clean floors but that’s ok…. We do have to live here.

Thankfully Craig is only bringing back one small hand luggage rucksack so there won’t be a mountain of washing.

I’ve been meaning to work on a Mel Robbins “Make it Happen” training course for months now. I sat down at my desk in the bedroom and watched training #1.

I feel really stuck just now, I know I want to move forward but I don’t quite now how, or what with. This gave me a chance to rate all aspects of my life like a fuel tank… from empty and depleted to full of fuel and highly motivated.

I was very pleased to see that I wasn’t at empty in all aspects of life. If I’d done this pre 2018, before I went off sick, I’d have been empty for everything.

She likens it to a row of dominoes but you are the domino sitting out in the front, stagnant and too far away from the rest of the dominoes, to make any difference. The desire is there to move forward but you need a push.

Training #2 will show us how to get moving. I haven’t done that yet as they were released a week apart, so I will hold onto that one for a bit.

I think it’s good to reflect on how you feel about life. It’s worth doing just for that. You have to print out a workbook and fill it in. It took me just over an hour but I enjoyed it.

I’ve realised that I take on a lot of other people’s energies and I needed time to reset and refocus.

I have been in absolute silence for the weekend, apart from Bridgerton on the TV both nights. When Craig is here, he always has podcasts playing or the TV on, we just have different ways of relaxing.

I worry about things that I cannot change.

I worry about money.

I worry about things that are not mine to worry about.

It’s been nice to spend a weekend detached from that.

I’ve missed him being here…. Today has seemed like a long day without him being around.

I’ve also done a bit of work on manifesting financial freedom. I’ve said often that I walked away from a senior management job and am lucky enough to still live in the same house without having to sell up as a result. I am going to focus on the positives and realise that money comes from so many other places than just where we think it comes from. We’ve had a lot of expense of late and that takes its toll. It you continue to focus on lack then you will experience more lack. I am going to focus on abundance and be grateful for all that I have.

All these words sound great, I need to put them into practice.

I feel like I’ve been on a health and wellness weekend just with some dog walks thrown in!! 😂😂

Oh I did phone the emergency vet at 5.45am….. I’ve been worried that Khaleesi hasn’t been drinking water since he’s been away.

Every time I try and give her some she turns away. I figured she hadn’t really drunk anything in the whole time that I was solely I charge and I panicked. That’s what woke me.

The vet was lovely and said “we loved Khaleesi” as soon as she realised who I was.

She said to add some water in with her dinner, which I’d actually done last night. She said that dogs in cones, often protest in one way or another. The fact that’s she eating and going to the toilet normally, means all is ok.

We should keep an eye on it and make sure there’s no listlessness or runs.

There’s a lovely sentence to end the blog with… 😂

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend.

Happy Father’s Day to my lovely Dad.

Looking forward to seeing Mum and Dad for a trip to Dumfries House next weekend!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1504 Khaleesi out of surgery by 4pm and a day by the sea for me 🌊🏖️

It was very strange waking up with only 3 dogs this morning. We’ve been fixated on Khaleesi for the last week and now she’s not even here.

My alarm went off at……. Wait for it… 4.30AM!!! Elly had asked if I wanted to wetsuit swim this morning but she had to be back by 6.45am.

As hard as it is to get out of bed, it’s so worth it. As you know I love being out and about when everyone else is asleep!

Pic taken at 5.30am. It’s 9.5°C.

Wetsuits bottom half, still to get ready to go in. Lovely sunrise glow!

The tide was coming in, and almost at high tide but it was a bit windier than it usually is, when I go in the sea.

We didn’t swim but we stayed under the water and bobbed about in the waves.

It’s the most present I’ve ever been in the sea. I didn’t take a million photos, I just enjoyed the moment.

It felt like we were in for ages… and here I go sharing the million photos I “didn’t” take 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

It clouded over a fair bit, which surprised me as I knew the forecast was going to be good todays

I didn’t find it particularly cold today but it took me ages to heat up, even after a hot shower.

We had great chats this morning, nothing beats a good deep and meaningful conversation! Thanks to Elly for asking me to go.

We decided to take the 3 Borders for a family dog after my shower. .

This is what happens when I say ….. WHO…. WANTS…. TO GO…. FOR… A….. WALK…. Exactly with that intonation 😂

Look at this gate, it’s disappearing after years of no use!

This is what happens when Craig says… GO!

It’s a lovely morning and I’m a bit overdressed as I’m still a bit cold from the swim.

When we came home it clouded over so I hung out the washing and hoovered the whole house. It’s like deja vu from last weekend…. The house is soooo hairy. I want it to be nice for Khaleesi coming home. 😆

Craig had a job in West Kilbride today at 1pm so I decided to go with him and spend some time on the beach. It seems really hot until I get there and there’s actually a really cool breeze.

It’s still beautiful and exactly what I need to take my mind of Khaleesi. That’s not entirely true either, that was the plan but actually I think of her more when I’m alone, it’s the not knowing that’s the worst part. Is she still in surgery, out already or still to go in?! We had no idea.

I sat here for a few minutes. A lovely view over to Arran.

Craig dropped me near the Waterside restaurant and I walked up the coast as far as Portencross.

Sat here for a few minutes too. I have 3 hours to kill.

The tide is out so the beach is full sized.

My photos pretty much all have Arran as the backdrop 😂.

I loved the wee cottage off to the right hand side of the burn. It’s literally on the beach but private enough that it seems secluded too.

I found a sheltered spot behind the Seamill Hydro. The wall to the right of me, sheltered the breeze. I lay down here for a while and rested my eyes. The sun felt very hot.

The beach is just massive when the tide is so far out. I set off again.

I tried to take some arty upside down shots of all the lugworm piles (it disgusts me that they seem to be called that…. ) but I can’t seem to hold the camera straight when I’m hanging upside down… picture the scene?!?

Should say this is Portencross beach now.

I’m getting straighter 😂

There are more waves here. They’re still tiny though.

I love the colour of the sand.

I almost have the whole beach to myself. I wish I had brought some of the dogs. If the tide is in, the beach is tiny and I always feel a bit overwhelmed with 3 dogs on a beach filled with other dogs.

It’s really windy but I love the peace.

The lovely irises growing in the boggy ground.

I’m finally on my favourite rocks at Portencross.

Portencross Castle with the Scottish flag flying.

Love the rocks.

Always think of Claire when I see this lovely blue boat as she took some lovely photos of it.

I’m heading back along the road to meet Craig when he’s finished.

Sooooo green!

I love this house.

How pretty is this?!

And just like that my knight in shining armour appears.

We head home via Lidl. We’re on a budget and it’s great to see how many bargains you can get in Lidl. I got sensitive toothpaste for 69p!!!

That reminds me I actually had the dentist in between shower and dog walk! Just check up and scale and clean. £15.85 and done in 10 minutes.

We got the call when we were in the supermarket with no signal and Craig had to run out to call them back.

Her operation had just finished and it was a success. Her ankle bone has been fused and her foot had been straightened. It all went as planned.

Such a relief. Craig is blinking back the tears all through the crisps aisle… I’m relieved but I knew it would be ok.

We have to call at 9am to find out how she was overnight and they’ll tell us when we can pick her up.

It will be so good to have her home again. It feels really strange without her. Bless.

Thanks again to everyone for your support!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1490 a lovely coffee with Lea, time in the sun and The Realignment Project in Luss.

Up at 6am this morning and out with the dogs.

It’s a beautiful day.

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.

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

Day 1485 I “dot de told” but had a good day anyway!

I woke up at 5am and felt like I was swallowing glass…. My throat was all scratchy and sore.

I got up and had a big drink of water and it seemed to help as I fell asleep until 8.30am, unheard of for me!

I stayed up for the Aurora again last night so I was shattered. I ended up joining Claire, next door in her back garden and we lay on the seats at her fire pit, holding phones up to the sky. Nothing was happening. I can’t remember when we came in… I think just before midnight.

Still got some moody shots… love that I’ve caught out 14 year old neighbours purple lights in her bedroom!!

The sky was much brighter than it had been the day before.

I triggered our security light down the back coming back in from Claire’s…. Blinded me!!

Just nothing happening in the sky.

My friend Michelle did get some Aurora shots from about half a mile away… I was in bed by then and couldn’t muster up the strength to head back out.

So back to this morning, I lay in bed for a bit, reading some positive quotes to lift my spirits.

Once I got moving I decided to head to Home Bargains and Aldi for a cheap toiletries, house cleaning stuff and food shop. All done by 10.30am. We’ve had no tin foil, extra virgin olive oil, bin bags or Fairy Liquid for a good few days…. I never run out of things like that…. This time I ran out of everything!

I feel really lethargic. Everything is an effort but I hoovered the house as it needed doing.

The 4 x moulting dogs have taken their toll! I’ve been picking it up on the daily, but nothing beats hoovering it up. Incidentally we have the Shark Anti hair wrap hoover…

Which does not do what it says on the tin…. No wonder it struggles to pick up at times.

It felt good to get it done even if I needed a wee sit down after each room!

I’m not really sure where the afternoon disappeared to.

It got really sticky and hot so I sat in the sun. Craig pressure washed the back artificial grass and decking and it looks lovely.

We just need to deal with my meadow garden (far left) which turned into a horrific weed-fest when I planted my meadow flowers… I may never hear the end of that!

Incidentally we have artificial grass because of the dogs. We lived one summer with three dogs and this is what it looked like.

After one winter…

Every time the dogs came in they were filthy. The artificial grass has been a godsend.

So we have to pressure wash it from time to time to freshen it up. “We”….. 😂

The bit Craig has just washed is away down behind the big black shed. We have a huge, beautiful garden but it’s a lot of work to stay on top of all the weeds, washing grass and staining all the decking and fencing.

We had a thunderstorm around 4pm… it got quite loud and heavy rain so I went for a shower. The heavens opened and Craig said the main road was running like a river.

The skies cleared and it’s been sunny again ever since. We’re sitting outside enjoying the birdsong.

My second favourite bush has started to flower.

I just love these colours.

The forest flame have both been reduced to a white hot heat now… see what I did there?! 😂

So not much else to report…oh I did made another Planthood dinner.

Craig had some too. It was a really good one… and I have some left over for lunch tomorrow.

So I’m just sitting here having some quality cuddle time with Freya. Pup #3.

Bless her wee socks. It’s lovely in the early evening sun.

So… remember that we can take whatever this week throws at us. We can choose how we respond to situations outwith our control.

I will try to remind myself of this 🤦🏻‍♀️😂🫶🏼

There’s a good chance of Aurora again tonight but the experts are saying that it won’t be the same as Friday night. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They say we can expect to see it again maybe in the next 23 years.

I’m undecided as to whether I’ll stay up or not. It’s hard to decide to miss out just in case “they” are wrong! One final pic as a reminder of how special Friday night was.

Stay safe everyone 🩷💜🩵

Day 1484 amazing Aurora last night in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ♥️🩷💜🩵

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.

Happy Aurora hunting if that’s your thing!

Stay safe everyone 🩵💜🩷

Day 1483 the hottest day of the year so far! ☀️☀️☀️

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 😬😂

Have a great Friday night!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1478 kayaking around Tayvallich with Lindsay!

We had a lovely meal last night in the Tayvallich Inn.

I went to order the only veggie option on the menu, when the waiter asked if I was vegetarian….. I went bright red and said eh yes kind of…. When he produced a whole other menu.

The food was amazing. I highly recommend it!!

I had fiery cauliflower bites to start.

Followed by Tagliatelle Napoli.

And finally Salted Caramel Brownie and the most amazing ice cream…. It is under there, honestly!

We went for a walk after dinner and heard the bagpipes playing, carried over the water. It was so lovely, so surreal.

I love the lights in the houses as it gets dark. There’s not a breath over the water.

Reflections!

I stood here and listened as the piper played. I’ll share a reel later. It was just so lovely. There was a ceilidh on in the village hall so I think this piper was rehearsing before he went into the hall.

It was a lovely walk as it got dark.

I had the best sleep in my tent. I went in to bed about 10.30 and woke at 4.30. I seemed to fall back a sleep until 6am when Bhruic literally tried to get into my closed tent… she tried to get through the outer door then found she could get under it to the inner door then just kept on trying to get in. There’s no punctuation in that sentence 😂😂 I shouted Crai, who was just outside and he opened up the tent so she could jump all over me!!!

Craig and Bhru had tested out his new sleeping area in the back of his car. I believe it went well! He is loaded with the cold though and trying to make the best of it.

Lindsay and I went off out for a run at 6.15am… we ran from our campsite in Tayvallich (which I’ve only just realised, had two ll’s and not one. 😂) to Carsaig beach and back. It wasn’t a long run but about 3.5k.

This beach was beautiful but it would have been even better in the sunshine. The sand is white and the water would have been turquoise in the sun. 🩵

It’s still a lovely day. There’s no sun and it’s misty but it was so mild and atmospheric.

My legs were heavy this morning but I’m still so pleased we did that.

We went back to the campsite for a coffee then got into our kayaking gear… which means I borrowed all of Lindsay’s.

Euan and Lindsay are so good to us. They let us use all of their kit and give us free tuition too! They could charge a fortune!!

Check Bhru in her wee life vest.

And we are off.

Sadly Bhru wasn’t a massive fan… she did really well but it wasn’t her favourite pastime.

She wanted to see if she would walk on water.

I pulled alongside Craig so she could see me…

That made her so happy that she climbed out Craig’s canoe and had all 4 paws on my kayak!!! There are no photos as safety mode kicked in and she was swiftly removed back into the safety of her canoe!

Craig decided that it was all a bit too much for her so he’d head back in and let her play in the water and practice getting her in and out the canoe. Euan stayed with Craig.

Lindsay and I decided we’d head on her planned trip for the day… she sent me her Strava route. We paddled 10kms.

I love love love love loved it.

I am so proud that I can keep up with her… actually she will paddle at my pace obviously… but I love the peaceful calm of being out on the water.

It was so misty and grey that my photos aren’t great but it was the most beautiful scenery… the water was very dark green along the coast line.

The rock faces plunged vertically into the water in places.

The trees are all different colours as they start to bud at different times. The dark sea is teeming with baby jellyfish. It’s flat calm, mill pond like in places.

There are small waves and splashes in others.

There are geese nesting on the back of small islands for shelter. There were seals lying basking on the rocks in calm inlets, while the geese watched on.

In all the hustle and bustle of life. This beautiful place has just stopped. There was no bluster, no noise apart from birds, no stress, no people…. Just the two of us chattering away as we paddled and explored.

I loved it.

If I’m really honest the amount of effort involved in prep and cleaning up would put me off if we didn’t have such great friends to do it with. There is a lot of work involved to do this safely.

Thank you so much Lindsay for the planning and the time you take with me when we’re out. Thanks to Euan too for allowing us to use all of your boats… and especially the new paddle! Which floats apparently… thankfully…

I’ve always wanted to sea kayak.

While we were doing all of this, poor Craig was feeling really rotten as the cold he tried to fight through, really took hold. He had no energy at all.

As Lindsay and I headed back into Tayvallich for lunch we decided to call it a day on the paddling, as I felt I should stay with Craig. We had a picnic lunch by the sea but ultimately decided we should head home.

Euan tied all the boats together and brought them over to a cleaner part of the beach… as you do Mr I can paddle 4 boats!!

Poor sick boy is on the couch in a duvet while I’m hiding in the dining room having made dinner and writing this.

I am now officially shattered.

A lovely night away and the best day.

Stay safe everyone 🩵🩵🩵

Day 1477 crazy running morning and road trip to Tayvalich for camping! 🏕️

Run, Forrest, Run!!

Wow what an amazing start to the day.

The Gateside Run Club met at 7am this morning and there were 6 of us this time.

We ran nearly 5k and only stopped to cross roads. It’s the fastest I think we have run with least stopping. It felt great. Claire came today and was resident photographer!

She got some great action shots!

Lynsey, Emma and I with Elly and Michelle

My sports bra is literally singing by a thread and I’ve not bought a new one yet so need to prioritise that. It’s done some hard work over the years… I’m ashamed to say I only have one!!

It’s hard but I love it, it really gets me going. So much so that…. For the first time in ages, I actually took all 3 borders out at once…. AND ended up running!!

I ran into Lynsey who had carried on and was doing a 10k… so I ran back with her.

I was literally buzzing after it…. And beetroot!

I then got Khaleesi and headed off with her. We ran for a few minutes until I realised that it would do me good to walk to cool down and her poor legs probably didn’t need to be running too much.

All of this before 9am!!

I haven’t quite figured out how to read my run distance yet, they are stored on the Apple Watch ⌚️ but seem to have disappeared for now…. 😂 check the watch novice.

I’ve spent the last two hours, packing and getting ready for our overnight to Tayvalich.

This is where we will go today.

We’ll be leaving before 12… let’s see if that happens?! 😂😘

It almost did… 12.30… that’s not bad for us.

We had a great drive up. this is going to be a blog in pictures as I don’t have time to write as we have no signal so I’m pinching WiFi!!

Having the best time.

More words when I have a signal 😂😘

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1476 a funeral, the spider, the car, the housework and the lunch

I woke before 6am.

It was calm and sunny outside.

I mentioned recently that a guy I used to work with had died, well, this morning I watched his funeral. I love that I was able to do that when I couldn’t get time off work to be there.

I laughed and I cried but most of all I remember Des coming into my office and smiling and calling me Jules as he always did. Des was larger than life, everyone knew he was around when he walked in the office. He adored his daughters and granddaughter and showed me photos of them all the time. It was a lovely service for a lovely man.

We got up after 7am and had coffee outside. It was already clouding over.

We had to take Bertie Beetle down to the garage before 9am.

I got a towel for my shower and a MASSIVE spider crawled out!!! It was ENORMOUS. The capital letters don’t do it justice.

I SCREAMED at the top of my lungs and ran through the house.

It was GIGANTIC!!!

My Apple Watch chose that moment to vibrate and deliver a message.

I started jumping around trying to shake it off my wrist.

Comical upon reflection but honestly I’m still shivering and trying to shake it off.

Funny how those tiny creatures do that to us…. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

We dropped the car off and walked the 3 dogs back up the road. It’s a good hour and 10 minute walk, too long a walk for Khaleesi on her sore legs.

How lovely is this wall that we passed? The tiny flowers are so pretty.

I did stop to think when we got here… I’m conscious I get bored with the same walks all the time but we really are so lucky to live here.

The smell of the wild garlic is everywhere.

When I got home I really angrily started on the housework. It really needs doing but I really don’t enjoy doing it.

I know….. who does, but sometimes I approach it from a place of enjoyment. Today it just felt like hard work.

There is dog hair EVERYWHERE…. I’m shouting a lot today with my capitals 🤦🏻‍♀️😂. I also get frustrated about things being out of the place and I feel like I’m moving stuff around the house. I’m aware it made me angry today and I stomped about the house like a spoiled child. I was in such a huff that I had to do it.

So….. I dragged Craig out to Mocha Jaks for lunch. He’s got the start of a cold so is currently passed out on the couch as I write this.

He had a chicken and bacon club toastie and I had veggie haggis with cheese and siracha.

I’d fasted for 18 hours and 45 minutes so I really enjoyed my meal.

I had an oat milk latte and a Biscoff Rocky Road.

We popped past our friend Euan and had a peppermint tea and a chat before Craig ran me to the garage…… my car was parked away in this wee corner!

Turns out it has a dry bush.

It now has a wet bush.

Good to know. 😂

More importantly, the wetting of the bush didn’t cost me anything 😂

On the way back, I went to the Co-op to get some food for the weekend…. We’re heading away tomorrow for an overnight in Tayvalich with Lindsay and Euan.

I had a bath to relax when I got home. It’s only 6.20pm now and I could quite easily sleep already!

Have the best weekend!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1473 a day of reflection ♥️

I did not get up for a run this morning. It’s dark and pouring with rain, I turned over and tried to ignore the fact I was awake in plenty time to go for a run, slightly beating myself up a bit…. Obviously!

I know fine well if I’d been meeting someone, I’d have gone out in a heartbeat, regardless of the rain, but it wasn’t happening this morning.

I’ve cleaned the bathroom instead.

I let the dogs out. The garden looks really fresh and green because everything is so wet. Things are starting to grown now. It looks really vibrant.

I’ve checked ahead in the forecast, as I do and it looks like we will finally start to see some warmth in the air this week sometime!

So if like me, you are heading out to work this morning in a bit of a funk… my friend Isy comes up trumps again with this…

I’m wrapped up now. Off to work.

Fast forward to tonight….

So, I’ve had an ok-ish day.

My head has been wrapped up in cotton wool and I’ve struggled to think straight. I’ve actually hit my temples a few times in an attempt to clear my head. Gently of course 😆

I’ve been irritable too.

Then I saw this and it does really help.

Just to breathe.

I didn’t get lunch until 2.15pm.

Holly next door had handed me in lentil soup and mac n’cheese last night, for my lunch today. How lovely is that?! So kind of her.

I heated it up then didn’t get to it for another 45 minutes… it was still amazing.

This…. ♥️

I’ve not been able to do it all day, but I have really tried. I feel like I’ve been arguing with my ego. It wants to be annoyed and angry at everything. There is absolutely no need to be angry.

I’m just tired and a bit flat. That is normal life. We can’t all be like Heidi the mountain goat, running about the world taking photos every day!!

Half the battle is knowing how you react in these situations and trying to correct it.

I felt much better by the time I got home and I made myself dinner.

Oh wow…..

These were just amazing. One of the nicest things I’ve eaten in ages. I’ve left a portion for Craig to heat up after work tonight.

I was then determined to get my exercise in, so took Calaidh for a walk up the hill.

She’s a happy girl. she’s a tiny black dot in this pic!

The bushes are starting to flower.

The trees are all budding now too.

There’s so much in life to be grateful for, even when you can’t see it sometimes.

Ooooh that little bit of wisdom brought a wee tear there.

I love it when the blog hits the nail on the head for me.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️