Day 1408 a lovely Sunday still high on the dolphin buzz 🐬🐬🐬🐬

The dolphins are my top emoji. Figures.

I’m still buzzing from yesterday. My dolphin reel on FB has had 1.6k views which is a loads more than any other reel I have done.

It still only has 29 likes though but we can’t have everything 😂😂😂

I have literally just seen a FB post that said travel now, don’t put it off, don’t use money as the excuse as you will always find a way, life is short…..

I laughed as Craig walked in the living room and he asked what was funny….. I’m seeing this everywhere…. I thought I’d saved it…. It’s not there now. I can’t find it anywhere.

How strange.

So I’ve had a lovely day today.

I slept like a log and stayed in bed for a while. I spent an hour and a half clearing out photos on my phone. I went from 61.940 photos to 60,192 and videos from 1580 to 1509… I have a ways to go! 😂😂😂

I spent a bit of time on my Clever Fox self care journal. I’ve not been able to look at it while I felt low.

So back at it today and looking forward to reviewing my day.

I am so grateful that I got to see the dolphins yesterday. It was such a special trip.

It’s really lifted my mood and given me purpose again.

I’ve written a list of all the trips and events that I have booked or planned this year. Instead of thinking I have so few holidays to take,

I’ve added all of my Friday days off onto my holidays and in 2024 I have 73 days holiday. Now how amazing is that?!?!?

We had a trip out to B&Q today and I was treated to a vegan KFC 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 we just wanted a quick fix but I couldn’t order the chicken. The meal wasn’t the best but it also wasn’t the worst. You shouldn’t really expect a company that specialises in chicken to have mastered the art of veggie or vegan food. Not sure what’s going on there but I’m still not wanting meat.

We actually went out into the garden for a bit…. I swept the decking which was so badly needing done. I should have taken a before…

We sat out on the deck for a bit and I listened to the sound of the birds. It’s was so still and quiet and the birdsong was lovely.

I am calm.

It’s so lovely to be calm after the last few weeks of anxiety.

My trip yesterday was the perfect medicine.

I may just leave you with some dolphins… be rude not to. 😂

There are still another 900 off to go but yesterday’s were definitely the best.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1334 we woke up to SNOW!!

I got up to the loo at 6.30am and Craig said to look out the window! What a shock to see a huge blanket of snow.

Obviously this photo wasn’t at 6.30am…. More like 7.30 by the time we got up.

She who usually has one eye constantly fixated on the weather forecast…. Did not see this coming! There were a few tiny flakes when we were out the back with the dogs last night. I didn’t even bat an eyelid…

It’s so pretty.

We had to make a plan to try to capture Khaleesi’s first snow 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂

Craig went out round the pub so he could come into the back garden with fresh snow so I could let her out the back door.

She was not impressed to start off with… she ran out… seemed confused, tried to see if she could eat it…. And ran back in!! Poor Craig’s half way down the garden waiting for her 😂 I got her back outside and she finally clocked Craig and went bounding towards him! She’s always so excited to see him. there are no decent photos arms it was all video.

I’m all sent for my walk to the little gift shop.

It’s a beautiful morning… a cold walk but got some lovely shots. I’m like a kid in a sweetie shop, walking and taking photos.

This is the A737 and one of the busiest junctions, the Gateside – Beith cross. it’s usually heaving.

Another good morning at the shop and all too soon it’s time to walk back home.

It’s such a lovely day… there’s a real cold air hanging over the snow.

I played with the dogs for a bit. Craig’s only just left for the weekend so they’ve been out all morning. They’re still so excited.

It’s hard work all this snow play!

I had to clean all the snow off the car and headed over the Largs to pick up my new reading glasses. I’ve never seen the tide so night and there’s no snow in Largs given that it’s obviously at sea level.

There’s a nice sunset too.

I treated myself to lemon sole and chips from the Fish Works again.

I ate one half in the car!

I ate the other half at home!! Khaleesi is beside me. 😂

So I’m all wrapped up cosy.

I had to get wood in from the wood store but both fires are going strong and I have an electric fire in the living room and one outside then bathroom. Our friends Lindsay and Euan dropped a heater off today and Gayle was going to lend me one from the shop.

It’s amazing how our body’s adjust to the temperature. What shocked me to the core on Thursday is now becoming the new norm. I’m sure we didn’t have central heating when we were kids… I’ve survived it before and will again. Called three guys but have no one booked yet. One was only oil heating and sadly he’s the one that answered!!

Anyhoo. Happy Saturday night!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️ and warm… stay warm!

Day 1289 still bunged up 😷 🤧🤒 on World Menopause Day 2023

Jeez… I’m starting every blog with that these days.

My miracle Rocket Fuel doesn’t seem to be half as effective today.

I was in bed for 8pm last night… up at 10.22pm, then 12.26am then 1.58am. I couldn’t breathe and my sinuses are booming. I’m taking paracetamol today too.

I feel really dizzy and lightheaded as my ears really badly need to pop.

So once again I’ve got plenty work done but today has definitely been way more of a slog. I’ve got a head full of cotton wool, my muscles ache and I feel really stiff. Shoot me now!

So today is World Menopause Day 2023.

Menopause wise things are going ok. I’m still perimenopausal and have another 12 months to wait to see if I’m menopausal.

I’ve been on HRT for a year now. No follow up with the doctor, kind of feel they just leave you to get on with it. I definitely think I’m better for it though. I would recommend it to anyone, I’m definitely more in control of my emotions than I was. I know I still have bad days, but I don’t know that they are any worse than many other people.

Does seem a bit unfair that I feel so stiff at times when I’m on HRT but hey, it is what it is.

World Menopause Day is to raise awareness but once again it’s not really had on any impact in n my day today.

The ivy had almost gone due to the wind that’s picking up outside just now. There’s a storm due tonight but it’s not as windy as I expected it to be.

Wait until you see the size of the leaves.

Such beautiful colours.

It’s so sad to see how quickly it goes. That will be it until next year now.

Time flies so quickly. I can’t believe it’s mid October 2023 already. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Anyhoo, I’m off to feel sorry for myself and have another early night.

Stay safe everyone 🤒🤧😷

Day 1288 loaded with the cold but still functioning 😂

Jeezo man. Amazing how fast this came on. I was up at 1.30am and couldn’t breathe through my nose at all. My sinuses are solid.

That’s nothing to our new Rocket Fuel!

Oh my actual word. The first time I tried this I managed one drop on my tongue and it blew my head off.

At 1.30am I took 7 drops and all of a sudden I could breathe. What a relief. It’s great stuff. It would clear a blocked sink given half a chance. 😂

I took it again when I got up at 6.15am. It blasted my sinuses.

It was the first morning I’ve had to scrape the car too. It was a pretty heavy frost. Also a beautiful morning!

I forgot how long it took for a Beetle to clear it’s windscreen. The windscreen blower is no more than a puff. I scraped it clear and had to sit to wait for the demist.

I had to stop at the side of the road as the sky was stunning. This isn’t the best photo but it gives you the idea.

It was such a lovely drive to work. The sky was so red most of the way. By the time I got to Tartan, it was pink and purple. Boyed up by Rocket Fuel I had a good morning.

I didn’t take the Rocket Fuel to work with me though. By lunch I was all bunged up again so I ordered some comfort food for lunch instead of my salad. I had a cheese and ham panini and it was soooo good. (I did eat my salad for dinner so I didn’t waste it…. Almost saint-like!)

One minute I want to curl up in a ball and the next minute I’m getting loads done.

I ended up late getting away again as 3 customers phoned in a row, after 4pm! AND I had to go for diesel after work… isn’t that just the worst when you want to get home?!?

I got 514.2miles out of a £77 tank fill which is 15p a mile…. It also limits trips to the fuel station, which is a very good thing!!

This time I put in £78 to fill the tank. The van would have been over £120. It still makes me very happy. I love having this car! I can drive into supermarket car parks and do all sorts without not dreading the driving. I will live with the pathetic windscreen blower 😂

So comfies on and missing Kinisi-flo tonight. If I bend down my nose runs. 🤧😆

Stay safe everyone 🤧🤧🤧

Day 1287 I dot the told! 🤧😷

I woke up with the cold this morning. Actually that’s not entirely true as I woke up at 12.30 and about 5ish with the cold.

I was about to say I felt totally fine yesterday but then remembered that technically that wasn’t true. Least said about that the better. The minute I jumped in the shower yesterday, I felt better.

I had such a lovely drive over to Edinburgh. What a difference a Bertie Beetle makes. I’ve been meaning to talk about that for a while… Craig must be sick of me saying it. 😂 I LOVE driving again. I’m able to pull away from junctions without being terrified. I’m able to skip out in front of people rather than waiting for a completely clear road. I was driving at 70 miles an hour the whole way to Edinburgh and it felt like a dawdle. I am brave enough to move lanes again. Despite how awful I felt yesterday morning I had a really lovely drive over. I did have the car at 26°C to keep me cosy. maybe that was a sign?!?

We had a lovely family get together. I still seem to struggle with small talk. I know that I used to drink to cover that but not any more. I overthink things and can’t always think what to say. I hear myself and think “urgh why on earth did I say that?”. I cringe at some of the words that come out of my mouth…. Yet I LOVE the real deep and meaningful meaty conversations.

My mum’s cousin Pam and her husband were over from Colorado… we all met in Duddingston, Edinburgh at mum’s cousin Joyce’s…. There’s a mouthful and a half.

Here we all are yesterday.

My brother set up this great timer photo and I seemed to pick the forefront and massive spot!!

So back to today…. I went into work early as we are skeleton Tartan this week, and I wanted to let the guys know what they were working on…. As the day went on I just got more and more blocked up. I had chills shivering through me. I had the heating up on full in the portacabin!

Quite early on in the day I realised I had to stay until 5pm to receive a rental van back. The thought of it was awful…. The day dragged on and I felt so knackered. Actually I just focused on what needed doing and actually had a really good afternoon. The time passed quickly and I got lots done. I didn’t even feel like I’d stayed late. I have literally talked to myself all day and it’s worked. There have been no tears.

I have this lovely gift, from Evelyn, hanging from my rear view mirror.

Stay true to yourself ♥️

Oh and a little bit of mint choc chip ice cream makes you feel a bit better too.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1285 a lovely lunch out at Mocha Jak’s ☕️🍜🧁

Ooooh I am not in the best fettle today… I slept much better than last night but did feel a fair bit of pain in my knees, the tablets didn’t seem to do much to ease it. Got up the loo at 12.30am and took some more.

Got a woof woof woof at 7.22am so that we me awake. I decided to up and out with the dogs as soon as I could both to “get it over with” and to get me moving. I could so easily flop into a couch and not move this morning.

Turns out it will be at least another year before I can say I’m menopausal. That wonderful time of the month has returned so there’s the reason for my lower mood.

Everything I look at seems broken, messy, needs fixing, needs sold or given to charity and I can’t be bothered doing any of it. I feel overwhelmed with stuff and I just keep moving it from room to room…. We’ve been here a few times before haven’t we?!

I’m very irritable, so Craig is lucky he’s out the way on his training course!

I want to do everything today but my head wants me to give in and do nothing. Like later yesterday, every foot forward is a chore. Everything I think of doing is an irritant.

So back to the dog walks. Bhru and Freya first and lots of photos of the lovely but freezing morning!

FROST!!!!!!!!

I did forget to say that I needed my fingerless gloves on Thursday and the car beeped to say it was less than 4°C…. This is the first frost I’ve seen this year.

Thought this was really pretty…. Not often you see flowers at this time of year.

Rainbow at the end of the road!

Then turn into the lovely sun. It’s really cold and I know the rain is coming.

So no pictures of the dogs but hey, you’ve seen enough….. I have Calaidh now and the rainbow’s still there. We head up the hill so I can let her off the lead.

At the end of the rainbow!

It’s raining now but the sky is really dramatic.

So dark one way and so blue, the other.

Always loved these trees on the hill. The two tallest ones from the left were named by own dog walking group, Treesa and Twiggy but Oakley is now just a stump… the 3 trees to the right look just as dramatic on the skyline…. Looks like Twiggy is dead now too. I’ve watched Oakley die and be cut down since we lived here.

Stunning clouds.

So I’m back home with the wood burning stove on and I’m sat in a grump. The ivy is looking absolutely stunning in the now, bright blue sky. I had loads I wanted to do this morning but have sat and wallowed instead.

Some folk heading out to Turkey this morning, some out on the Waverley for her last sailings of the season and I’m sitting trying to make myself feel bad. I want all of that…. And yet rarely compare myself to anyone any more.

I’m giving in to my head. As I write that, the realisation dawns. Today is what I choose to make it. I have a lovely lunch planned with Evelyn after meeting her new puppy Betty! That will be lovely.

When it’s hard, you need to choose to give in and accept it or fight it and be proud of what you achieve. I’ve had enough wallowing…. Upstairs to hoover the bedrooms and the stairs, shower, changed and out for lunch. Just do it!!!

I did…

It’s 17.35 and I’ve had a lovely rest of day. I headed round to Evelyn’s to see her little Working Cocker puppy Betty. She is sooooo tiny!

What a little beauty!!

She’s in her crate as we are about to leave and it shows just how teeny tiny she is…

She’s such a good girl though and has some speed when she runs already.

We headed to Mocha JaK’s and had a lovely lunch. I had chicken and rice soup and a cheese and pickle toastie…. It was SO tasty!

We then had a wander around the Geilsland Craft Fayre….. and stopped for another coffee and Biscoff Rocky Road between us. That was even better!!

We had a great chat and she cheered my mardy face up.

I came home and finished off some cleaning before I sat down with come cheese and biscuits for dinner.

The day has turned right around. I feel brighter, my joints and muscles are less painful and I’m more relaxed. I feel calm. The drama has gone.

And relax. Just me and the 3 amigos tonight.

Candles on. It’s pretty.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️