Day 1517 up at 3.30am this morning and still going strong!!

Khaleesi and I did not have the best night… she was very restless, bless her (there I go again!).

I went to bed around 8.30 and never heard Craig or the 3 Borders go to bed, but at some point, it was just getting dark, Khal stood up and shook herself and I sat bolt upright in bed, still in a progesterone induced sleep. I got such a fright. She was standing over me!

I dozed off and heard Craig get up to the loo at the back of 2…. And Khaleesi then woke me me about 3am.

The alarm went off at 3.30am. 🤯😳

It’s 6.12pm and I am still awake. 😂

We left the house at 4am… here’s the boy.

All ready to join the Tartan Army in Munich for Euro 2024.

I drove Craig and Jim over to Edinburgh Airport for 5am. We all yawned the whole way over.

My trusty co-pilot caught some photos of the sunrise as we drove…. I have him well trained.

The photos don’t do it justice. It’s been a while since I’ve seen sunrise as it’s so early.

Love how the light reflects on the bonnet of the car.

Didn’t he do well with this one!

Shame the window is dirty as this would have been a great shot.

He hit this one bang on!

The roads are so empty, I love this time of day. Not after a bad nights sleep, mind you…

Blinded!

I couldn’t tell you the last time I drove through Edinburgh drop off. It cost mere £5 for the 10 minute privilege. Airports must make a fortune for drop offs.

I made them pose for airport photos when I dropped them off 😂

Edinburgh Airport was heaving… there were kilts and football tops everywhere. It was amazing to see just how many there were.

They are flying to Copenhagen then on to Berlin and at time of writing, they are still on the train to Munich. A long day. Craig said the Copenhagen flight was full of Scotland fans.

The drive back home was hard as I was on my own and super tired. When I got home I lay down with Khaleesi. I took her cone off and she cuddled in with her paws on my legs.

I could have slept for Scotland. I had the fear that I wouldn’t be able to stay awake for the rest of the day.

When I got back up at 7am, my black Tartan hoodie was COVERED in Khaleesi hairs…. Oops!

She loves having time without the cone. we sat outside in the fresh air. It’s cold again today.

So I have to say that I have managed the day just fine.

I gave up fasting at 11am as I needed some fuel.

It’s been a really busy day and I’m so chuffed with the work I got done. It felt like a really satisfying week this week.

My lovely in-laws pupper-sat today (I know that’s not even English!!)

They sat with K, walked the Borders and I had cuddles with Cookie the Chihuahua when I got home.

So very lovely of them to do that today and took a weight off my mind knowing they were here.

A happy smile.

So I’m home, waiting for the milkman to appear for money in half an hour then the jammies are going on.

The heating is on, it’s pouring outside, I’m tempted to light candles. All 4 dogs are asleep with me in the living room.

I do love my husband but I am looking forward to a weekend of nothing. Just dogs walks and housework and a whole lot of silence. I never thought I’d like silence so much.

My friend Anne just sent this. The perfect end to my blog and my plan for the weekend ahead. ♥️

Stay safe everyone 💤💤💤

Day 1505 a scorcher for Khaleesi coming home!

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!

Thank you for being a friend!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and huge congratulations to my lovely friends Julie & Keith who get married today, down in London. 👰🏼‍♀️🤵🏻💍💒

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 1447 a testing Thursday!

It was a beautiful morning.

The sun was shining… a reminder that good weather always follows the rain. All of this is going through my head as I drive to work. It makes me smile. I wonder who I am on days like this. I should say it’s 3°C so will bitterly cold.

I drove to work this morning in a great mood. I was listening to my Happy playlist on Spotify. Mel Robbins suggested we make a playlist and we should use it to make us feel happy. Chesney Hawkes “I am the one and only” is my got to since I passed my driving test! That was a while ago… 😂😂.

I rarely listen to music. What I’m about to say here will make me sound crazy…. But it makes me “feel” too much.

I always seem to well up with emotion at the memories that certain songs stir. I can’t listen to a song without remembering where I was, or who I was with or what stage in my life it reminds me of. I find myself avoiding music and listening to podcasts. It’s safer.😂

I had a great wee sing this morning but it won’t happen often.

No one opened the gate for me today either but that was ok! I did it myself 😂

I got really anxious about something first thing and let it affect the rest of my day.

Then I upset a lady on a horse tonight, who said I was driving too fast…. I stopped dead as soon as I saw her even although she was on the other side of the road. She was really angry.

You know me. I apologised at the time. I drove off…. I felt awful. Then I was angry. Then I felt awful again. She who doesn’t like to upset anyone got a right dressing down. I guess it worked, as I will think of horses on every road I ever drive on from now on. Just another thing to add to the list of things to worry about.

I’m ok though, I’m actually good, just quiet and I’m now sitting outside in the garden… thinking… it’s cold but I’m enjoying the fresh air. I’ve swept up some leaves and I have the 4 dogs sitting out with me. It feels good to decompress.

My favourite bush is coming into bloom.

It would appear I’ve not been “on” HRT for much of this week. Every time I go to replace my patch, the one I want to remove, is not there. You’d think I’d realise at some point? Nope.. oblivious. Those wee patches must disappear into thin air. I never find them!

Despite all the negativity in my day, I had another great kinesiology session last night and felt very calm afterwards, I slept like a log.

The synchronicity….. I get an email from tut.com this morning which is exactly what Kinesiology was all about. ♥️

Tomorrow is rail trip day as I’m off to Pitlochry to meet Mum and Dad who are on holiday up there. The forecast is SNOW!!!

Least I’m not driving and it might make for some pretty pictures…. If it actually happens!

Have a great Thursday night.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1342 reflections on my anxieties but we had a lovely evening 🎄🥰

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….. 😳😬

But most of all I get to be free.

Stay safe everyone 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Day 1308 a very dark and rainy afternoon!

It was SO dark this afternoon… torrential rain when I left work. I really had to concentrate on driving home. There was flooding everywhere.

The photo doesn’t do it justice… it looks brighter than it actually was. It was so gloomy!

On the plus side there was a lot of cake today. I fasted for 20 hours and then had a lovely lentil soup for lunch followed by CAKE. I’d taken the remnants of the Macmillan Tea into work. Then ate too much of it. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 I binned what was left as it was starting to turn and I’d have still kept eating it. 😂

Poor Khaleesi and Bhru were very unhappy with last nights fireworks… I know friends’ dogs were the same.

They were panting for hours. It’s so sad to watch. We wrapped Khaleesi in a blanket to try to calm her down. Bhru just hid down beside a seat.

I’m also GUTTED to see how beautiful the Aurora was at Kilbirnie Loch last night…. This is where I went and got spooked and couldn’t stay. This photo was taken by FrankBoyd Photography . He got such an amazing shot. I’m so impressed. It’s exactly what I wanted to see!!

Well done to Frank for capturing it so well. Please take a look at his photos on FB.

So yeah, not much else to report. I’ve had dinner and back on to fasting already. It’s the only way I can stop myself eating. 😂

My head is still pretty good just now. Fairly organised at work…. Trying not to overreact when things don’t go the way that I hoped. I am pretty calm.

Long may that continue.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1277 jeez I have a LOT of dogs 🐶🐶🐶🐶😂

Back to reality, auld claes and porridge as my Grandad would say!

We finally got home about 3.30am I think, forgot to check exactly as all FOUR dogs were hiding in my newly painted living room, to surprise me!!!

First of all wow to the living room, huge well done to Craig for keeping that a secret while I was away. It’s still white but it’s too much of a feature room to have any other colour. It looks so fresh!!

One by one by one by one they came bounding out of the living room door and bombarded me with licks and cuddles!! Did I mention there were FOUR?!?!

They were SO excited!!! I had to fight my way through to get to Craig!

Also just noticed this morning how much the ivy has changed in the space of a week!

Also it’s a lot sunnier today than the day time I took a photo!

One day I will manage to take the same photo twice 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

So last night’s trip went really well. We sat out in the sun until 6pm…. It had actually started to get quite chilly which I suppose is a fitting end to a holiday.

I really struggle to leave somewhere when I know I will never be back there and it was so lovely! The pool looked so pretty.

The bus arrived a full half hour before it was due. We left bang on time! The drivers are foot to the floor the whole way. They seem to flash their headlights a lot to let a car in front of them know they intend to pass…. We drove sooooo fast, there were a good few hair raising moments and we were FIRST in the queue for the Jet2 flight for Glasgow. That never happens…. Well it just did but you know what I mean.

Security is pretty high in Turkey. You put all your bags through a scanner before you check in and hand your bag to the ground staff…. You are also body searched as everyone beeps through the scanner. Next is a queue for passport control. Once through that it’s Duty Free. Bodrum was the most expensive duty free I have ever seen….. Gayle was looking for Turkish delight for her daughter…. The only Turkish delight we saw was €49.60 for 4 boxes stuck together…. Special price?!?!?!?! Nearly £50 for 4 normal sized boxes of Turkish delight?!?!? Then I saw Toffifee for €5.50 a box, we can get that for £1 here!

The whiskies were astronomical. Nothing worth bringing home for Craig.

Gone are the days of cheap duty free. So I brought nothing back for anyone unfortunately.

We then went to the gate and I got bag & body searched again and swabbed for drugs never had that done before.

The plane comes in on perfect tie and we board in perfect time…. And the next news ever…. We have 3 seats to ourselves!!! Bliss.

We flew over Sofia in Bulgaria, Serbia, Budapest in Hungary. Vienna in Austria, Prague in Czech Republic, Germany, Amsterdam, over to Newcastle where we started our descent… then down over Lanark and up to Kirkintilloch before we landed in Glasgow. The pilot was very informative!!

He said the words “battling headwinds all the way”….😱 I never, ever need to know that. In all honestly, the flight was great, despite the space, I couldn’t get comfy AT ALL yet I’m certain I slept most of the way. We cannot fault Jet2 at all. The flights were bang on both legs.

Glasgow Airport had other ideas.

Upon landing, Jet2 text to warn of delays at baggage reclaim. There were several flights landing at once. We all merged into passport control at the same time. We had a fair queue there. Jet2 staff met us in baggage reclaim and apologised and kept us fully up to date. Can’t say they didn’t try to make up for it.

Gayle’s son Robbie, picked us up and took us straight home. He didn’t leave the house until we saw the first of the bags come through. It was perfect timing apart from the delay.

So yeah, back to the FOUR dogs… they were still here this morning too. 🐶🐶🐶🐶😂

I didn’t sleep in too late and I’ve been unpacking and cleaning all morning. I was on a roll.

We decided to head out to Gro Coffee in Irvine for a late lunch…. We took Khaleesi.

Look at the lovely autumnal display at the fireplace. So pretty.

We sat in the outdoor area which is filled in at the sides when the weather cools down, with lovely, warm heaters and blankets.

I had the breakfast taco and Craig had spicy buttermilk chicken pieces…. Turns out they were VERY spicy.

Khaleesi was great and was fascinated by 3 birds that were wandering around!

We may have brought some cakes home!!

I now feel tired…. And sick 😂 we never had anything like this sweet in Turkey. My gums are recoiling from my teeth after eating that 😂

So yeah, no more sunshine, plenty of grey sky and rain and a horrific forecast for tomorrow.

It’s always sad when a holiday is over but I have some amazing photos and some lovely memories of my trip with Gayle.

A quiet night in tonight before I crash out. I can feel my eyes drooping already.

And still a lot of dogs. 🐶🐶🐶🐶

Stay safe everyone 🐶🐶🐶🐶

Day 1252 a fairly normal day!

It’s 7.07pm and I’m sitting in front of the tv bonding with Khaleesi.

Bless her wee cotton socks. She’s such a sweetie!

I had another great sleep last night, we went up around 8.30pm. Back to early nights. I know I would have more energy if I did some more exercise but I can’t quite bring myself to do it.

I got up at 5.30 as Khaleesi wanted downstairs to see Craig. I got the dog food out the fridge and defrosted it in the sink as I had my shower… served it all up ready for the OG3 to come running down the stairs.

I fed Khaleesi.

I had 5 bags to take to the Cancer Research shop after work and Craig and I loaded them in to the back of the car.

By the time I headed back into the kitchen, all 3 bowls had been decimated!

I love how confused I was by that.

Really confused and couldn’t understand it until Khaleesi puppy nudged my leg!

Counter surfing is not something we’ve had to deal with much is as our 3 don’t have long legs…. 😂 lesson learned Mrs Four Breakfasts won’t get that chance again. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂🫶🏼

My drive to work was lovely…. Not having to watch for any potholes in the road is quite relaxing.

Last night I’d gone through all the Bertie paperwork and found that all the recent service and MOT was missing. I emailed the garage.

Pretty much first thing this morning they sent up all the paperwork and proved the car had been MOT’d and is due at the end of August 2024. Result. I’m really pleased as I was staring to think they had made it up…. Oh me of little faith.

I also had to use the wipers for the first time today and they were dragging really badly across the windscreen. So I messaged and asked for a new set to be sent up.

Boom they are sending them up!

The not such great news centres around the insurance. The no claims bonus.

Abbie’s insurance will only prove 3 years no claims. They say that when I took out the policy, they mirrored my no claims bonus that I had with my old Beetle. I bought the van in June 2020 with my redundancy and didn’t sell the old Beetle until October 2020.

I very vaguely remember this. At no point in time, in the discussion, did they warn me that I’d lose 23 years of no claims.

Currently I have lost 23 years of no claims.

I have to say that I don’t feel anywhere near as bad as I would have in the past.

I am irritated by the injustice of it. I still have a couple of avenues to follow up but it really isn’t the end of the world. It’s only a little infuriating. Jeez, what has happened to me?! I love it.

I feel calm about working every angle to resolve it. I don’t feel panicked about it. If the worst comes to the worst, I have to pay more money for my insurance. That’s not good, but it is ok, if that’s what need to happen.

I went home via Cancer Research and dropped off the 5 bags. I used to be sooooo anxious about doing that. Today… drive there… park… take them in… wee chat… back out… drive away. Easy.

I’ve folded away washing, done a poo pick, tidied the kitchen, filled the bins, put the blue cardboard bin out and cuddled with Leesi puppy since I got home.

As I cuddle her the other come up to sniff and say hello. I’m so proud of the way Craig managed their introduction. He’s done a great job.

The sky is lovely tonight.

That’s taken me 45 minutes to write and she’s still here.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1242 1st September 2023 and it’s all go in a life changing kind of way today!

Some days just sail on by and some days make their mark with some real life changing decisions.

Today is one of those days. 1st September 2023 (can’t actually believe it’s September).

So Abbie the Campervan is sold. There were tears this morning as I realised I can’t get to work on Monday as Craig is away so figured I’d have to hire a car for a week.

My anxiety was on overdrive as Craig was helping me look for a car and all I heard was “what do you want what do you want what do you want what do you want it depends what you want!” That is certainly not what he really said. My head is screaming I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT!!!!

I had my heart set on a Caddy so that I could make it into a Campervan and “keep my camping oar in” as it were.

Craig told me last week that wasn’t the best idea but I was adamant. It’s only since last night that I clicked that a car was really what I needed, but what kind?!?

Decisions, decisions. When you suffer from anxiety these are not exciting times, not fun decisions to be making. Your head doesn’t think straight it makes lots of noise and panic and doomsday scenarios. Really it just needs to calm the f down and start thinking straight.

I love that in the midst of all this drama I actually found the perfect car before 8.30am. The garage called at 8.40. They will deliver. One years’ warranty.

Meet Bertie the Beetle!

I’m not sure that I ever was a namer of cars and yet here I am, naming another car. 🙋🏻‍♀️

I had a VW Beetle before I got Abbie the Campervan so I know it’s a great drive. Although she’s called Bertie, I’m not sure my car will ever be a boy 🤦🏻‍♀️ 😂😂 anything goes these days!

Here’s my old one.

So in other HUGE news …..

You may need to sit down……

As if we don’t have enough dogs already… we are getting another dog.

There. I said it. It’s out there.

This is Khaleesi….. and Craig first met her when he was out in Spain to look after her and 4 other dogs.

She was a rescue and was badly injured and walks with a limp. Jo, her owner, took her on and loved her back to health. Jo is moving back to the UK and her lifestyle does not suit Khaleesi’s injuries so she is heartbroken at having to re home her.

Craig messaged me about a month ago when Jo asked someone to take her.

I agreed that he could message her, as a back up, as he loved her so much. I didn’t think for one minute that Jo would want her to leave Spain.

Within an hour of his initial message to me… Khaleesi was coming to Scotland!!! 😳

Craig is so excited about having her. I knew he thought she was very special. She can’t get a lot of exercise due to her injuries the poor wee soul. I can’t wait to meet her and have lots of cuddles.

I told Craig I will still have to be able to get out and do my travels and he’s said that was ok.

Deal.

She left Spain this morning with Tito The Transpawter…. About exactly the same time I put down a deposit on Bertie. It’s all happening.

And the days does not end there my lovelies…. 😂

I took Bhru and Freya for a walk and then had a photoshoot with the 3 OG puppers.

Craig has pressure washed all of the grass and decking ready for Khaleesi’s arrival. It’s looking amazing.

We just need to stain the decking but it didn’t dry enough today.

It’s not even 11am by this time.

I went out for lunch with Crochet Hooker Evelyn as a 50th birthday treat!! Still milking that 2 months before my 51st 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Had a lovely lunch at Mocha JaK’s and great chats. Forgot to take a pic but did take my lunch. Avocado Stack. Yum. Thanks Evelyn!

She dropped me at The little gift shop as I was going to treat myself to a new bag for my holidays. I had a great chat with Gayle AND…… started my Christmas shopping!!!!!!!

Me.

Christmas shopping in September?!?!

Who even am I anymore?!?

She who scoffs at anyone who buys a Christmas gift before November!!

I walked back up the road and the only negative of the day is that my bunion is gowping.

Awfy sore body part. 😪

So, I’m walking home and Craig’s car drives past me…. With a canoe on his roof.

As you do.

😵‍💫

To be fair he had been out canoeing with our friend Euan… I just did not expect him to come home with one. 🛶

What’s this mum?!?!

Nothing surprises me anymore! 😬

Except that then I found out that I’ve won a Body Shop advent calendar as my friend Gemma ran a prize draw on her a Body Shop page.

What a day!!!!

I don’t think I can even keep up with my life just now.

Abbie the Campervan is parked up until maybe the end of September before she can be collected. By tonight I will have enough money for my new car…. All from a lovely lady who hasn’t even seen the van yet. I was terrified that I couldn’t sell the van and I found someone just like me, to buy her.

This has taken me way too long to write so I’m going to relax after all this excitement.

Have a great weekend!

Phew!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1237 another day gardening and booked next years’ summer holiday!

I slept like a log last night. Isn’t it amazing that I can say that almost every other day. I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie at about 9pm and slept for over an hour.

Then I couldn’t wake up this morning. Actually stayed in bed until after 8am this morning. Check me!

We decided on another day in the garden. We started off talking about next years’ holidays….. decisions, decisions. We both agreed we would love to go back to Iceland 🇮🇸 again. So much still to see and do. I also have a list, the length of my arm, of places that I would like to go and see. We mulled that over, over coffee, sitting in the garden.

It’s another nice day, cooler and cloudier but still nice.

Back to the gardening it is!

All of these are the before….. then after.

Then just some after shots that I didn’t take before!

The ground still looks covered in weeds but it’s amazing compared to what it was before. We also had to shore up the giant hydrangea as it’s been falling down with its own weight.

Also my new favourite path taking shape. Still a long way to go with that.

We haven’t spent any real time in the garden this year. I’ve never felt any desire to do gardening for a few years now. I always wanted to be away in the van. It’s been really nice to tidy it all up these last few days. We’re now sitting outside with a fire pit.

I thought the forecast was meant to be lovely but it’s cloudy and cooler now. The fire is toasty!

I did stop for another healthy salad lunch today.

I’m still loving my mixed salads in the big tub. Today was applewood smoked cheese with wafer thin chicken, olives and feta, sun-dried tomatoes and a cheese filled pepper.

Super tasty!

As we sit by the fire-pit, I got back onto the subject of holidays.

I’ve been using the love holidays app recently and went to look at Croatia. It’s one of the warmer places I fancied due to the Game of Thrones filming locations.

We know that Dubrovnik is one of, if not the most, visited cities, in the world. I found a beautiful 3 star hotel, 40 minutes from Dubrovnik and 15 minutes from the airport, in the town of Cavtat.

I found a great deal, the first place I looked and such a stunning location. We’ve booked a week at the end of September 2024!!!

The holiday was only £615 each for bed and breakfast for 7 nights. I thought that was really good. Weather wise we should be past the worst of the heat and we’re away from the crowds too.

Photos are obviously courtesy of love holidays and I have not just jetted out there to take some photos!! I didn’t look at anything else as this just felt perfect. It has 4.5 stars on trip advisor.

The good thing about booking so far in advance is that you get pay it up. This works out at just over £100 a month which is easily doable. Something to really look forward to!!

So I’ve had another great day. I’m calm. I’m happy. I’m excited as I now have two foreign holidays and a wee trip to Devon to look forward to.

I’ve not had much interest in the van but I think the market is slow. I’m not in any rush to sell, so I won’t just give it away, but I am super excited about travelling abroad now and doing something different. I’ve also looked at going back to Edinburgh to meet Mum again and maybe visit Edinburgh Castle. I no longer want to be stuck in a field looking at the rest of a campsite.

Funny how your priorities change. A few people can’t believe I’m selling her, I know this feels right. Camping brought me a whole load of stress, where to book, when to go, what’s the weather looking like, was it dog friendly etc etc. now I can just pack a bag and head off somewhere!! Sounds like a plan!!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1144 another sunny day back at The little gift shop 🎁🎁

Out for the count all night last night again. Have slept so well after all the exercise and chatter this week. 😆

It’s 6pm and I am shattered tonight. I feel like I have hit a wall!!

I’m sitting in the garden, in the sun. Dinner is on but poor Craig is still at work!

I started the day with a dog jog, first time in, what feels like, ages.

It wasn’t as sunny as I expected, but it was warm.

This field has been freshly cut.

The hawthorne bushes are in full bloom. It’s a lovely time of year.

The cow parsley is also in full bloom at the sides of the road, replacing the daffodils.

There was something seriously interesting to sniff here.

The dogs love a munch of the grass at the side of the road. The Scottish Dog Behaviourist did a post about that today.

Please give him a follow for lots of hints and tips on his FB page. He’s up at 481 followers and I’d love to get him over 500!

Scottish Dog Behaviourist

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, doesn’t have to be Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

So there were lots of new deliveries in the shop today. I’m always excited to see what’s new in.

For the first time in ages, I treated myself to a wee bracelet. I think I’ve done pretty well working there and not buying anything!

Surprisingly, contrary to popular belief, I am still able to chat plenty, it would appear and had a great catch up with Gayle. Who’d a thunk it?!?!? 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

So I’ve just had dinner and I’m sitting outside with a 0% Birra Moretti.

The sun is hot but the breeze is cold. The forecast for next week is amazing!! Us Scots should get enforced holidays when the temperature gets over 20°C as it happens so rarely.

I forgot to take a photo of the lovely roses Craig picked up last week.

They look lovely on the new dining room table…. New to us that is.

Hope you all enjoy some decent weather this weekend.

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

Day 1127 out of the office is on!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✈️🇮🇸

Wide awake at 3.30am this morning thinking about everything I needed to do on my last day. Jeez I’m only off for two whole days which was probably why it was so easy. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Had a relatively calm day and got through everything I needed to.

The sun shone today and we sat out at lunchtime. It was so nice to feel the warmth of the sun! The temperatures are picking up here but Iceland will be a few degrees cooler. Obviously. 🥶

In less than 12 hours we’ll be flying from Edinburgh to Keflavik Airport in Iceland.

It doesn’t look very far does it?!

So super early start for us! Trying not to wake the neighbours. 😆

It’s been so long since we flew anywhere and my new found indecisiveness is convinced I’m taking all the wrong clothes 🤦🏻‍♀️😆 I packed a last minute pair of shorts and flip flops in case the sun shines in some freak weather event!!! Gotta have that optimism.

I dropped Abbie the Campervan off to the garage for her holidays…. MOT and full service along with a knock at the O/S front 🤦🏻‍♀️😬🤷🏻‍♀️😂

So despite all the excitement, I do feel a bit flat tonight as I had the call with the Doctor today finally.

The call comes through in the middle of your working day and I felt very much like I’d been thrown into a discussion that I hadn’t had time to think about.

In the past, you would sit in the surgery and rehearse your “lines”. The call is great and it saves you going to the surgery but the two hour window makes it difficult to stay prepared.

I told her how I’d been feeling and how the anxiety was taking over again. I explained the fear that seemed so overwhelming at times. And of course in true me fashion I ended up crying on the phone…

The purpose of the call, for me, was to ask for Testosterone which is the next step in the HRT cycle.

Did that word even register in my thought process once during the call?!?! Nope. Zero. Nada.

She has re-prescribed antidepressants.

I have to say I am completely torn between being devastated and slightly relieved as there may be some light at the end of the tunnel of fear that’s been building up.

I can’t tell you how hard this is for me I write.

It feels so awkward and vulnerable.

I’m cringing at the very thought of posting this yet I always said I’d be honest. If I can help one other person see how difficult life can feel for someone who looks like they should have it all together, then it’s worth it. (how do I think that is actually one sentence?!)

It feels like s step back to me. Like I’m admitting defeat. Like I’ve given in.

Yet I am so tired fighting these feelings AND I wouldn’t say any of that to a friend who was considering taking them.

When I should be super excited about a holiday I’m worried that I ruin it by being a jerk when we’re away. There’s a very fine line between happy and excited me and jerk me. (Forgive the shocking English… 🤦🏻‍♀️😂)

So… to take or not to take. That is the question.

I haven’t yet.

I am sure I probably will but I could do without that life changing decision tonight. I have a holiday to sleep for!!

Calaidh is not letting us leave without her.

So, I’m not sure what will happen with the blog for the next few days. I may or may not be able to post but rest assured there will be a million photos being taken while I try my best not to be a jerk!

Here’s Bhruic and Freya guarding the bags now 😂

I’m off to post this before I chicken out but I must admit I do feel better for typing it.

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✈️🇮🇸