Day 1340 a very busy Friday! 🎁🎁🎁

It’s 17.35 and I am actually too knackered to even write a blog tonight. 🫶🏼😂

I was so restless all night and woke to really bad stomach cramp and eventually had to take paracetamol and ibuprofen, this morning.

Another year until I can say I’m menopausal. 🙌🏼

I felt washed out, drained…. I tried to have a mindful shower. I opened new shampoo and conditioner and the smell was just beautiful. I massaged the shampoo into my wet hair and rather than focussed on my whirring mind, I kept bringing it back to appreciating the experience of the shower… the warmth of the water… the smell new Body Shop Satsuma shower gel which came in box 8 of my advent calendar…. Taking my time rather than rushing. The only downside is that my lovely friend Anne McNerlin introduced me to the idea of the mindful shower… I think of her EVERY time I try to have mindful shower. 😂😂 It makes me giggle as I try to be mindful…. Thinking stop thinking of Anne… stop thinking of Anne 😂😂😘 it is nice to just take some time to breathe and not over dramatise the cramp by feeling all sorry for myself.

I had a Christmas toes nail appointment at 9am and they are lovely red sparkles…. Not subjecting you to pics…. To be fair no-one else will see them. Gone are the days my Christmas toes would be out in a pair of high heeled sandals. 😉 good luck finding them under the socks and Uggs 😂

Then off to a very busy day in the little gift shop.

As soon as I’m there I forget all about how rotten I feel and the day flies by. Gayle gets us lovely corned beef salad rolls for lunch and we had a super busy day. There are just so many lovely people coming into that shop. I love the atmosphere, especially at such a busy time.

So I’m home… in comfies and honestly don’t want to move for the rest of the night.

Our beautiful tree is right next me. I must look at it more and enjoy it. It’s so pretty against the old stone wall. I think it’s the best tree we’ve ever had. The Gateside Plant Centre posted that they’ve almost sold out of their Christmas trees this year… that’s amazing as it’s only the 8th. They’ve done so well. I’m sure it was a week later last year. Their trees are the best real trees I’ve ever seen.

Craig’s made a lovely roast chicken dinner.

And relax.

Note to self…. Still managed to write a blog 😂

Stay safe everyone 🎄🎄🎄

Day 1333 the first day of advent 2023!

It was a cold start to the day…..

We have no heating so I downloaded a thermometer on my phone to see what temperature it was outside…. Yup… I did think it would give me the indoor temperature 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂 bless.

The actual thermostat for the heating was 12°C when I checked it… that’s pretty cold in a pair of jammies!

Craig’s tried everything and it’s still not working.

How funny is this….

Freya must have been lying on the grass heating up the frost for a while 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂 so cute!

Got another pic of all the girls before I headed out. It’s super cold this morning.

So thankfully I’m at the little gift shop from 9.30 until 8pm…. There is heating!!

It’s Beith’s Christmas lights switch on tonight so the shop is staying open for it.

We’ve had a great day but I’m so tired I could cry…. It’s absolutely flown in. We’ve had great chat, seen so many lovely customers and Gayle got 1st prize in the best Beith Christmas window!!!!

Hard to get a photo without the dentist in the background 😂

She had these giant gonks up for raffle just now. You can’t imagine how big they are until you are next to them.

Some lovely, lovely stuff!

We went to Curiosity coffee shop for a hot chocolate and cake at 5pm. Curiosity’s Christmas trees are lovely too. it’s such a lovely space and Lesley is full of the chat!!

We enjoyed it back at the shop!

I had sticky toffee cake!

So a great day but super tired now. Heating’s still not fixed but it feels less of a shock to the system tonight…. She says, yet to get undressed for bed 😂 it won’t be long though.

Stay safe everyone 🎄🎅🏼🧑🏼‍🎄

Day 1327 a lovely sunny Saturday with another trip to Largs !

What a beautiful day!

It was such a heavy frost this morning…. -4°C when I left for the little gift shop. It was so cold but a beautiful, clear sky day.

I actually had a lie in until 8am. Can’t remember the last time I managed that. Turns out Craig was up with Calaidh at 2.30am….

I heard nothing!

She was barking and he shouted at her a couple of times to go back to bed , WHILE LYING RIGHT BESIDE ME….. nothing. That amazes me.

This was the view out the window when I woke up. Ignore the scabby sky dish!

Khaleesi enjoyed her first hard frost…. Think she’s jumping up thinking jeezo this is baltic!!

The little gift shop was really busy and I came back up the road for a bowl of soup in front of the wood burning stove… all sounds super cosy as lovely doesn’t it! 😂 there’s 4 excited dogs bounding around in the midst of all that!

When Craig came home from work, we headed back to Largs for fish and chips The Fish Works in Largs. Yes I had just eaten but I wasn’t missing this for anything.

When Craig asks me what I want to do… I ALWAYS suggest this… but he drives every day with work so doesn’t want to go back out. I’m so chuffed he wanted to go today and we had a lovely fish and chips!!

Largs is so different from yesterday…. So still and calm.

There are no photos of the restaurant, or their food…. We ate outside and you have to be very careful with the seagulls!!

The fish and chips really are exceptional. I had lemon sole and Craig had battered king prawns 🍤 (who knew there was a prawn emoji?!?)

It’s not like a standard chippy and nothing is greasy. I can’t recommend it enough!

We went for a wee walk after the food. So I could take some photos… obviously!

I should say it’s only 3.30pm!

It was just beautiful!

Speaking of beautiful…. The Aurora is just kicking off in the UK tonight…. How much do I actually want to see it though, I can’t bring myself to get wrapped back up and get out there. I want it to come to my back garden to save me the bother! Still way too much light pollution for that….

On the way back from Largs I got my trusty Co-pilot to take photos of the moon as it was massive and so low in the sky.

I commented that it looked like we were on Tattooine. (Star Wars!)

He was awfy proud of me!! Star Wars wife!

You can just about see it above the trees on this photo. I’d have obviously got a better shot than this but I take that I can get 😂😂😂😘

We went into the pub for a couple when we got home. I had 0% Whitley Neil raspberry “gin”. Very nice.

This was the moon when I walked the 10 steps back to the house. You can see the frost on the roof too.

Have a lovely Saturday evening!

I’m kayaking with Lindsay in the morning and I am beyond excited. I have ALWAYS wanted to learn to kayak. 🛶 I’m hoping this will open up a whole new world on the water.

Stay safe everyone 🛶🌅🛶

Day 1313 Remembrance Day 2023 🌺

I went to visit Beith’s remembrance memorial this morning. I took my breath away.

A lovely lady in Beith made all of these. I can’t tell you how lovely it is to spend some time among them and I probably thought more of Remembrance Day than I ever have. It made everything seem so much more real.

I think this one is my favourite out of them all.

Sadly one of them is no longer there. Either stolen by people or I prefer to think, foxes.

It’s a super frosty and cold morning but as the sun rises, it’s calm and there’s a warmth in the sun. It’s a very poignant tribute.

Beith Auld Kirk as a beautiful building in its own right.

I had already been out with the 3 OG puppers as soon as it got light this morning.

It’s still quite icy at this time of the morning, I don’t know if you can see it in the photo. The sky was stunning and full of promise for a sunny day.

I went to the little gift shop today to help Gayle plan for some of the Christmas events she’s doing this year. She’s changed the shop since last week!

It just smells so lovely.

By the time I got home it was about 1.30 and I’d planned loads of housework.

The sun is so lovely I felt like I should do something outside and yet i don’t want to shut the dogs back in again…. So I’m outside and lit my very own fire pit… I’m sitting here by myself… if you are ever by yourself with 4 dog….. and I’m enjoying the sunshine with the extra heat of a wee bonfire. It’s just bliss.

It was a wee bit smokey to start with but only because the stuff in the bottom is still wet…. Note from Craig for future reference.

Oh I must see if I can link the Scottish Dog Behaviourist YouTube page as he’s posted a video of Khaleesi on a lovely walk the other day. It’s so cute. He’s so good at creating video content. I could watch this for days… here goes. Khaleesi at Loch Shore.

Fingers crossed that works!

I’m just sitting here listening to old tunes on Spotify, adding wood to the fire as we go.

Had a lovely chat with my mother in law there and now Craig’s home!

Happy Saturday night y’all.

Stay safe everyone 🔥🔥🔥

Day 1306 the little gift shop, housework & a bonfire 🔥

I woke at 5.53 with a sore knee… actually it was a Calaidh bark that woke me and sore knee kicked back in again. Still not bought Tumeric or Collagen which I’ve been meaning to do. Should add that to my to do list and then it might get done. 😂

I got up to the loo and just never went back to bed. I tidied the kitchen, put another washing on and then headed out with Calaidh, Bhruic & Freya.

It’s a lovely calm morning and the three degrees are all very well behaved.

Gayle had messaged me last night to see if I could pop down to the little gift shop as she’d been doing her Christmas displays and she needed a bit of extra help clearing up….. was I free?!?! I’d move heaven and earth to be free!! (I only moved housework so it wasn’t that dramatic!!)

The shop is such a magical place to be. I love it!! It was great to catch up with Gayle and see some lovely customers that I haven’t seen in ages! I took some photos… of course I did!

I had such a lovely morning! Coffee and chocolate too…. What’s not to love.

So back home for soup and then I got on with the housework. More things pulled together for charity… you’d think there’d be nothing left by now but I’m being so ruthless. I am literally walking past ornaments and thinking that I don’t need that anymore and someone else could have some joy from it…. I did all the hoovering another load of washing and cleaned the dogs room.

By that time Craig had a fire going in the fire pit outside. It’s a lovely peaceful evening. It’s cold but not next to the fire.

We sat out for about an hour. I love being outside. It’s been too long since we did that.

Back in for dinner and look at Khaleesi sleeping on the couch.

Bless her.

Have a lovely Saturday night!

If you’re near Gateside we have a Macmillan Afternoon Tea in the village hall from 2-4pm tomorrow. Please come along!

Stay safe everyone 🔥🔥🔥

Day 1228 a lovely little gift shop kind of day 🎁

Wide awake at 5am which is fine because I was in bed at 8.15pm!!

I was shattered yesterday.

I read for a bit then was off to sleep before 9pm. Apparently I missed a beautiful sunset!

Up and out with the dogs before 7am for a bit of a dog jog though way more walking than jogging.

It was lovely and sunny to the north and east.

And really dark and cloudy to the south. This photo doesn’t do it justice.

This seagull was the goalie the whole time we walked passed.

The sun looked amazing in the clouds.

I was helping out in The little gift shop today and, as usual, it was so lovely. It’s lovely to catch up with so many people that I’ve not seen in ages. I get so much out of helping people choose gifts when they have no idea what to get.

One lady said I was very good at what I did and it was a real talent. Kindness costs nothing and the shop is all about kindness, every step of the way. ♥️ Her words will stay with me.

I love this next one….

I’ve felt good again today. Calm and in control.

For dragonflies ready 2 Blue Merle Border Collies!! Craig is away camping this weekend with Calaidh…. Leaving me with these two beauties 💕

I’ve just looked at the weather forecast and we have strong winds and torrential rain overnight so I hope the campers are ok.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Was about to end with my usual “stay safe everyone” when I remembered that COVID really seems to be kicking back in at the moment, I know 6 people who have got it and it seems like they feel pretty rotten. I got a text about my 4th vaccination and my flu jab and I decided I wasn’t going to get it this time. I kinda feel enough is enough. I never wanted it in the first place but got it and I just don’t know what to do. Now that people are sick again I’m undecided. Will take any advice anyone has. I’m easily persuaded!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1214 a lovely day at the little gift shop 🎁🎁

I had THE best sleep. Out for the count all night, it’s such an amazing feeling… I woke up to a woo woo woo woo from the back garden at 7am. Craig was up early and I never even heard him. (Should clarify, it wasn’t him woo woo woo-ing…. Obviously! 🐶🐶🐶)

I didn’t feel great when I woke up…. Really groggy and little bit sad. I cuddled Craig on the couch and had a wee tear without him even noticing. (Love that he reads this to find out… 🤦🏻‍♀️😬) I mentally gave myself a shake and got my running gear on to take the dogs out for dog jog. It’s the LAST thing I wanted to do. Every part of me wanted Craig to say he’d take them.

I opened the front door, walked out and started to run straight away.

I never do that.

I ran and ran and ran.

It felt good.

It’s comical when one of them catches scent of something and almost pulls me off my feet as they stop dead to catch up on their pee-mail.

It was a beautiful morning… lovely blue sky.

I felt so much better for it. Straight in the shower and back into my little gift shop clothes! Funny how I have clothes I haven’t worn since I haven’t been in the shop. 😂

I’ve had a lovely wee day chatting with Gayle and seeing lots of lovely customers again. I’ve missed that lovely energy. We had a busy day and it passed really quickly. The shop is looking amazing with lots of new stock!

There’s a new vintage coffee shop opening in Beith next week and the owner came in and brought Gayle and I a lovely latte. ☕️☕️

What a great idea to get local businesses on board. The coffee shop is called Curiosity. She’s planning to open on Thursday.

The coffee was lovely but full caffeine… obviously!! I was buzzing afterwards!!! 🫣

Despite having such a lovely day, I still don’t feel right. I am tired and just a bit antsy and unsettled. I felt really nervous and stomach churning before I got home… could just be the caffeine maybe but a lot of people I speak to this week have said similar, that they just don’t feel quite right. Someone said there were two full moons this month. Ahhhhhh… nope no idea what that means but it sounds a good enough reason for me.

When I don’t feel 100%, I always want to have a reason, I want to know why I feel out of sorts….

I’m home now, in our newly organised sunroom, with the wood burning stove on and the door open.

I have my feet up and Craig’s just made dinner. We had lots of meat that was about to go off so we had a plate of different meats… protein dinner, a bit like a BBQ! It was really nice and actually I would have just had cheese and biscuits if it was left to me in my lazy state of mind.

Hope you all have a great Friday night and a lovely weekend!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1172 a lovely day at The little gift shop and home to pack!

I’ve just sat down for a wee rest and it’s 8pm. I’m shattered. I’ve been on my feet since 6am!

I took the dogs out first thing for a jog that ended up just being a walk. It was really light rain. It’s actually rained on and off all day, so different from the scorching sun of yesterday. I just didn’t have the energy to jog! I’ve been tired this week!

Look how tall this grass is behind me in the field!! It really is just actual grass… how is that possible?!?!

When did grass get so high?!

I also spotted my first real thistles this morning. I’m hoping they will be pretty special up in the Highlands!

These ones are just at the side of the road or just inside the field. Not the best photos but still beautiful!

Then we met these guys!

Thought this next one looks a bit intimidating.

The little gift shop was lovely today. Gayle has done a complete reshuffle and got lots of lovely new stock in. In-keeping with the thistle theme, Lindsay did a beautiful window.

We were really busy!

As soon as I got home I’ve been running round trying to get everything together and packing the van. I’ve got the fridge full and lots of stuff into the dining room ready to go in at the last minute. Still loads to do and there’s always something we forget.

The forecast is all over the place so we have to cover all seasons!

So as usual can’t guarantee signal to be able to blog so will see how it goes. I’m hoping to be in the sea a lot. The campsite we are staying on has free use of paddle boards and kayaks. I have one of Claire’s books with me and I’m taking some crochet. Hoping to just chill and relax.

HOLIDAYS!!!

Stay safe everyone 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

Day 1166 hay fever slapped me in the face today and another trip to Largs!!

I say that hay fever slapped me in the face but I actually feel like I went looking for it!

I haven’t really suffered much since my late 20’s…. So today I thought it would be a good idea to walk the dogs into a beautiful field…

Looks so pretty. The reality though is that I have sneezed since I left that field. I’ve obviously stirred up the most incredible pollen….

Poor Calaidh is scared of a sneeze. As you do the big inhale she comes running for cuddles and when you actually sneeze… she tried to head for the hills, with her tail between her legs!! Not so easy when she is attached to a lead through all of this.

The whole way home, come running for cuddles, nope I’m off, come running for cuddles, nope I’m off……. 😂 it was actually quite comical if the sneezing and dog antics weren’t so difficult to handle. I sneezed the WHOLE way home. She hasn’t spoken to me since 😂😘 anyway, I did get some pretty photos.

I saw my first real thistle this morning.

And Bhru spotted some cows down in the burn.

There’s hardly any water. We are desperate for rain. It’s not so sunny today but still warm.

The little gift shop was really busy today and it started to rain for a short time. It was always forecast and it’s super cloudy but muggy.

Gayle and I had decided to go back out to Largs today to visit the charity shops. There’s a new one opened right at the ferry terminal. I picked Gayle up at 3 and we headed over.

I did really well and got 2 wedding outfits, yes, second hand and I will probably sell them on or donate them back to charity after our 3 weddings are over this year. I am not a fancy dressed person these days but I’ve enjoyed trying on dresses!

Love this next photo. The clouds are so atmospheric and I just spotted the wee seagulls… posing for the shot!!

Look how dry the grass is. At least it should get some water soon with the rain that’s coming.

We had a lovely wee shopping trip and back home just before 6!

Craig has the boys in for the Scotland v Norway game and Jim brought chilli with him so I just had a lovely feed and I’m sitting in the garden writing this! Barry two doors down is getting the goals about 20 seconds before our house. I hear him screaming and then our living room erupts!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I think Scotland might be winning?!? Unless they are suddenly screaming for Norway?! 😂

Hope you all have a lovely Saturday night.

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Day 1158 start and end the day with gratitude! 💙💜♥️

I’m starting the day with gratitude today. It’s another beautiful morning though there is a cool breeze. I’m sitting outside in the garden with jammies on, having my first decaf coffee of the day.

I’m drinking out my lovely Slothy Julie mug and feeling grateful for all the lovely gifts I got for my 50th birthday, this being one from the lovely crochet hookers!

It’s just beautiful out here (could lose the breeze but let’s stick to the gratitude!)

There are no dogs at my feet…. There is no one in our house but me. The Scottish Dog Behaviourist is off out walking them this morning. I have really enjoyed our dog jogs but I am equally happy for the morning off to just sit here and just be.

I shared something on my FB page this morning which really struck a chord with me. (give Charlotte Freeman – Momentary Happiness a follow!)

I was the Queen of people pleasers! I went out of my way to make “YOU” happy…. Whoever you were, regardless of how you treated me, if I could make you happier then somehow my life would be at peace. Oh how wrong could I have been. This is what finally broke me…. Tying myself up in knots to please everyone else buy myself.

My head literally screams at me now when I agree to something I don’t want to do. It creates a whirlwind of emotion and angst (oooh what a word before 8am!) I don’t get a minutes peace from it until I say NO.

I do think that it could be perceived as selfish these days, and I get that, but I have to work very hard at preserving my mental health. I have learned over these last 4 and a half years, that I need to listen to myself now. I need to put myself first and do what is best for me.

As awful as that might sound to the person still stuck in the people pleasing loop…. I can honestly say this is one of the things I am most proud of.

Despite everything I have been through, I’m so grateful that I have been given time to learn this lesson. They say that true learning comes from adversity.

So back to today… it’s been beautifully sunny today though it was forecast to be cloudy. Sat here in the back garden at 6pm and it’s windy so cooler than it should be.

The little gift shop was lovely as usual. Always get to chat to so many lovely people. I was lucky enough to get a buttered cinnamon scone from Lindsay that works there through the week and Norma, who works in Harmony next door for me a packet of crisps!! So kind of them both. I had my usual salad for lunch. I’ve been living on salad this week. It’s been great! Long may it continue.

It’s nice to be sitting back outside where I started the day, although this time surrounded by Border Collies 🐶🐶🐶

The dogs have all just made a bee-line for the front door which means that the Scottish Dog Behaviourist just got home from his first day back at work!

I’m gonna sit just right here for a while.

Stay safe everyone ☀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

Day 1151 another scorcher today! ☀️☀️☀️

It’s 20°C and I’m writing this at 6.40pm in Scotland.

This is pretty much summer for us.

It’s so warm, the sky is blue and there’s not a cloud to be seen. Everything is in full bloom. It’s so green against the blue.

The puppers have been well looked after by Holly again today. When I got home they were wet, having been soaked with the hose this afternoon to cool down. They love that!

The day started with dog jog and run in a field. They ran in the field, I walked!!

They found a ball!

The field has just been cut and is so yellow looking, desperate for rain!

When we got back I sat out in the garden with a peppermint tea. That doesn’t break your fast and it’s so refreshing. Another photoshoot!

There’s loads of new stuff in the little gift shop again! Father’s Day is 18th June.

Had my usual “set the world to rights” chat with Gayle today too!! It’s always great to catch up.

I’ve been really good on the fasting this week. Don’t know if it’s because it’s sunny, or that Craig’s away, but I’ve been craving salad. I had a huge bowl for lunch and had more for dinner.

Literally a large plastic bowl… classy but honestly lovely. I’ve not craved carbohydrates or stodgy food at all. I feel the difference already.

Then took these really impromptu photos of the dogs and they are the best I’ve got in ages. There were mini sausages involved. 😂😂

Claire then waved a chocolate Cornetto at me over the fence so I went into her garden for that!! The perfect end to a lovely meal.

So that’s all from me! The Scottish Dog Behaviourist is getting on great in Spain. Click that link if your interested in any of his posts. The dogs he’s looking after are impeccably trained and he’s continuing the training while there owner is away. It’s amazing to see him out there doing all that. I’m incredibly proud of him!

Have a great weekend!

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 1102 a wee quickie 😂

It’s 6.50pm already and I have no idea where the day has gone.

My phone is out of data, which never happens. I’m catching up on so many messages from today 😂 I need to sort out a new contract…. it’s fine at Tartan and home as I have wifi but nothing today at all!!

Had another great sleep and a fab day at The little gift shop.

Stop the bus. (Bad joke from my past life…) I actually did the window in the shop today.

I say that and as I look a this photo, I see everything that Gayle did to it, or recommended….. so actually Gayle designed the window and I put it where she suggested!!! 😆 I still really enjoyed it.

So not much else from me. I’m tired tonight.

In comfies on the couch in the new living room. And relax!

Happy Friday night to you all!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️