Day 1506 a lazy day with Khaleesi and housework 🐕🧹

I completely forgot it was 1st June yesterday. Obviously we had a lot going on.

I was reminded when I saw this.

And I thought to myself… what a lovely reminder of my friend June, that passed away at the end of April.

Then I clicked it was about the month and not the person…. It was about the person for me. 💜

As is this.

Not every day is easy but you have to see the good in every day.

I feel like I’m suffering from Sunday syndrome today… that’s what I’ve dubbed it.

Sunday’s should be a day of rest but I’m not very good at that.

I took Calaidh for a walk.

A collie-flower 🌸

Spotted this coo keeking over a fence!

The fields are full of long grass and buttercups. 🌼

We met Rachel two doors down and Nacho!

So…. My head has also been catapulted into a…..

“RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!”

WE HAVE RULES THAT WE NEED TO LIVE BY”

mindset…. Which is never good for me as breaking any of the rules completely messes with my head.

I feel angry and frustrated and am soaking up all of Khaleesi’s sadness.

If we miss a Khaleesi tablet by a few minutes, I’m raging and doing some huffy kid style tantrum in my head. The RULE says….

What if the grass is wet when we take her out and we don’t have the boot on her bandage? There’s a RULE about that.

I use the capital letters deliberately as that’s how I hear it.

We have so many doors in our house that the RULE about keeping her still is actually blowing my mind. If she’s in the living room the dogs can push that door open, so that means the dining room door AND the inner hall door need to be shut when she’s in there. (We did also figure last night that the living room is too big a room for her to be sequestered in… she has too many options to lie down, the couch the single seater and two dog beds, every time we went in she was in a different place!)

If she’s in the spare bedroom, it might get too hot as you can’t open a window. 🤯

I want the house to magically tidy itself into spotless and we are just SURROUNDED BY STUFF!!

It’s actually hurting my head so I came to write this.

I’m sitting in the spare room with Khaleesi and Calaidh and if I can tune out her discomfort for a minute, it’s actually quite a calming space.

I lay there for a few hours while Craig was out at work. I enjoyed the time with her and I’m fairly certain she needed the company. I feel like she relaxed while I was there. I know I did.

All of this is in MY head. As usual by the end of the day I can see it all. (It’s 4.30pm now).

I’m not sure where the rest of the day went. I moved things from room to room tidying as I went.

Craig is moving his office space from the dining room upstairs to the aptly named, dogs’ room!

He will be able to work without me wittering away at him. 😂

We had some special family time in the garden with the dogs at 2pm.

Khaleesi was due her next meds so we brought her out for a wee and we got a poo this time too. Good girl.

She’s doing ok.

The bad leg tremors a lot as if it is cold… I’m sure it’s not that. It’s also itchy so that’s bothering her a bit. She has no power in it at all so watching her move around is tough. You can see that she just melts when she’s given lots of attention thought.

She’s going in for the kiss!

I took so many photos it was tough to pick the best of them!

I did like this one!

It’s been overcast and much cooler today. The washing in the line is nearly dry though. Our forecast isn’t great for the week ahead. We were so lucky to have that heat yesterday.

I think she is doing just fine as we adapt to life with her injuries.

We are doing just fine too.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1397 Happy Valentines Day 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The boy done well…. As the saying goes. 🫶🏼♥️🌹

I was a very lucky girl and I got 12 red roses delivered to work.

My card from Criag made me laugh too.

He also had a veggie Carbonara waiting for me when I came home.

It was really tasty!

I’ve been eating vegan and veggie for the last few weeks, as much as possible, so it really touched me that he took that into account.

I was rushing home for a Kinesiology appointment tonight… I needed something to calm the chaos in my head, also lovely to get dinner in time to head up to the laptop.

And it does exactly that….. I’ve been fighting my reality for the last few weeks but she told me that lots of people are feeling the same this year. So many of us are experiencing huge pressure make changes. It was nice to hear that I am not the only one.

We worked on bringing me back to my community, everyone and every group of people involved in my life. I’ve been repelling everything and fighting it, all in my head. It all sounds mumbo jumbo but I LOVE Health Kinesiology.

It has given me a peace and calm that is priceless after the chaos of the last few weeks.

Long may that continue.

The Scottish Dog Behaviourist also wished everyone a happy Valentines day today. What a lovely photo!

So yeah… I hope this is the calm after the storm and I know that I control that. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next week brings.

Meanwhile, comfies on, 4 puppers asleep beside me, Manifest on the TV.

And a whole lot of calm.

Oh and roses, there are lovely roses.

Didn’t he do well?!

Stay safe everyone 🌹🌹🌹

Day 1359 sleep, jog, dog walk, housework, dinner out!

Another great day in the life…. Though some random anxiety mid day… 🤷🏻‍♀️

I slept like a log last night…. Not surprising I guess after 10.7k in a kayak and all that sea air… but I did have my knee up on a big pillow at the physio’s advice. That seems to have made a difference, though tonight will be the real test as I’ve used my knee a lot today.

I went for a walk/jog/run with Rachel two doors down…. And we actually ran for most of the route, it’s so good to be back out there ~~running~~ jogging!

We did Tough Mudder together in 2022 and ran at a really similar pace. We stopped when either of us needed to and we both felt tired at different times. Neither of us actually like running, which is half the battle!

So at 10am today in the freezing cold thick frost, we gingerly set off. Baby jog steps!!

Selfie in motion!

It’s another stunningly beautiful day.

The roads were slippy!

We walked down the two slippy hills just to be on the safe side but did run most of the way.

Don’t think either of us expected that. Just plodding along at the same speed makes all the difference. We both don’t like to hold anyone up if we’re running with someone faster. It makes it less enjoyable.

So it wasn’t much, it ended up being 23 minutes but I think that’s a really good start.

It’s way more than I managed during the Christmas holidays. All in all today, 15,877 steps so far!

When I got in, I was still quite fired up so took Calaidh up the hill…..

Everything is so pretty in the frost.

Then who suddenly appeared?!? Nacho with Rachel!! He’s off to catch Calaidh!

The Garnock valley looks stunning with the the fog over Kilbirnie loch.

I came home and did housework before Criag and I took the dogs over to the field across the road. This is where my anxiety arose…..

I’m overwhelmed walking four dogs… it’s just completely above my pay grade. I imagined sooooo many things going on. I felt really anxious but instead of holding it all in, I did tell Craig. I didn’t want to spoil the walk and I knew I would if I held it all inside.

He wanted to take them down to Irvine beach park but I was worried there would be too many dogs down there.

When we were in the field I was upset by Khaleesi barking so much, which she does as she has fun…. I thought the dogs might get out the field, was worried someone else would come in the field and we shouldn’t be there. You name it… floods of anxiety.

Here’s the Scottish Dog Behaviourist sitting on a tree stump, calling a client who had some questions, while we were in the field.

The dogs had a blast!

I didn’t actually relax until we got home.

I need to do some work on that.

Here’s Leesi in her new coat. Bless her.

We decided to head to Gro Coffee in Irvine as I got vouchers from Craig’s mum and stepdad for my Christmas.

The sun was just starting to set when we arrived….not a breathe.

Love the way these flats are lit up by the sun.

You can’t book in Gro and they said it would be a 45 minute wait…. So I dragged Craig towards the sunset.

Look at the reflections! My friend Helen will be so proud of me for looking at the reflections.

TEN MINUTES later Gro called and we had to rush back!! There’s a bank of cloud running along the base of Arran so I think the actual sunset would have been stunning but we had to head back.

All of these were taken while walking very fast!!

Our food was the usual Gro standard…. Lovely! meat feast pizza, chicken tenders, halloumi fries and skin on fries.

So all in all, minus this afternoon’s anxiety, I’ve had THE best weekend.

It looks like it will be frosty and sunny most of the week. Long may it continue.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1239 another day in the life still feeling positive!

Would you believe I don’t have much to say today?!?!

Check me.

I slept all night again…. I had another fab sleep. I start progesterone again tomorrow night. Goodness only knows how much I will sleep when I’m back on that… maybe all day. 😆

It was another good day at work. A bit quieter today, a bit less manic for once. Maybe I was a bit less manic. I felt really in control, really clear headed. I felt like the voice of reason today.

Unheard of.

So I’m not gonna write a lot tonight.

I’m going to share a video clip that Craig posted today as I am SOOOOOO proud of him. I think this is super professional and I didn’t even realise it was his voice straight away. I’m so proud of the amount of work he’s doing to build his business.

Scottish Dog Behaviourist – Puppies

Hope you enjoy it. Our little Runtie Pup Freya was too cute!

We have a busy day tomorrow. We’re working all day and have Megan and Stewart’s wedding at night. I have to “fly” home from work to get ready and head out to Dalduff Farm in near Maybole which is a fair drive.

I’m fairly certain what I’m wearing but I’ve not looked it out yet. Really should do that tonight!!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1236 an unexpectedly warm day spent working in the garden & International Dog Day (who knew?!)

Another great sleep but awake at 5am… on a Saturday dammit. I tried to go back to sleep for 2 hours but it wasn’t happening! I finally got up at 7am.

We sat and had a coffee then I got ready to take the dogs out.

It’s actually a lovely morning. It’s warm and sunny… I didn’t realise.

These cows were watching us! 🐮🐮🐮

Lovely blue sky 💙

Big shadows this morning!

The cow guy was making some noise as we walked towards it! went silent for the photo!

Scary moo coo.

So when I got back I got straight into the gardening. I didn’t plan to do any, and the forecast was for rain all day. Thought I may as well be outside since it was warm and dry.

It was proper back breaking stuff. Trying to take as many roots out of the ground as I could. I even moved some plants around, which I may regret, but, the garden at the bottom was very congested. If the moved plants take up the top then great but if not, you couldn’t see them anyway.

When we first moved in here, the back of the garden was fully overgrown. We paid to have it cleared and then put bark down.

Big mistake.

That’s not fair actually, it served its purpose at the time but bark eventually mulches down and becomes mud. We’ve added layer upon layer of bark in order to dry up the mud, but it keeps mulching down.

We have decided to do away with the bark but it’s slow progress. Hoping for as much free artificial grass as we can get.

I found a path that we covered up and have been digging that back out.

It’s slow progress as I get sore hands and arms…. And I do get bored with it!

I’ve been thinking for a good few weeks that I must get back to exercise. I feel guilty for not doing any and I have sag where I haven’t sagged for years.

I need to remember that the dog walk and a full workout in the garden count too! It was a hard slog.

I had a shower and washed mud out my hair and came back out to sit and let my hair dry.

I am shattered. I am silent. I’m not gonna give you the chat of your life tonight. (Think Craig has sussed this already)

I am beyond calm.

I am thinking of nothing. Maybe a nap would have been a good idea.

This is not the best photo but it shows where I was working today.

Happy International Dog Day from our gang and the Scottish Dog Behaviourist.

Have a lovely Saturday night.

Stay safe everyone 🐶🐶🐶

Day 1156 dog jog, work and crochet, almost all in the sunshine! ☀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

It’s been another lovely day after yesterday’s clouds. We didn’t see the sun until about 3.30pm yesterday. When it came out, it was HOT!

Sorry for such a quick blog yesterday, I just ran out of day! I literally never stopped from 5.30am until about 10pm. I was so full of “birthday tea” when I went to bed, that I ended up waking at 4am. My mind started racing, the birds were twittering away and I couldn’t get back to sleep.

I got up and did everything backwards this morning!! I made my lunch, had a shower and then headed out for dog jog?!?! Go figure…. A run after my shower?! 😂 not my smartest move but hey… I’m tired.

Mid jog, I stopped to show you how tall the cow parsley is growing!! Absolutely nothing to do with taking a breather….. 🙊

They had a good run around in the field this morning too.

There’s also lots of these lovely yellow iris’ along the side of the field, so pretty. There’s a lot of them in the wild just now.

I loved this Hawthorne tinged pink!

I can’t tell you how guilty I feel when I head to work and leave these 3 wee faces. They’re used to Craig being here on and off through the day. They get under your feet as you leave, as if to the and trip you up!

Please don’t go mum!!

So the Scottish Dog Behaviourist is actually home tomorrow, finally! It feels like he’s been away for weeks! He’s had a great time, done loads of training and learned loads but think he’s ready to get back to our 3 amigos. He’ll certainly miss the 5 dogs he’s leaving in Spain too.

He’ll be home tomorrow morning just as I get to work, so our lovely friend Lindsay will pick him up and bring him home.

So I’m off to crochet tonight in the pub…. Alcohol free gin and tonic for me! We’ve not met up in ages so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. It is just the other side of the fence from where I’m sitting just now so not too much of an effort. Guess I should actually take my crochet this week and get back into it, or that blanket will never finish itself!

Current view through my crossed legs!!!

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 1149 a cold start but a scorcher with a little home made drama in the middle!

Up at 5.45am to take the Scottish Dog Behaviourist to Glasgow Airport.

It was a cool and cloudy start to the day. I set off in my shorts…. Found a random place to throw him out of the van at the airport as the costs to drop off are ridiculous. 😂 I headed straight to work and was still there 10 minutes before 8am. Felt like I’d been driving for days!

Busy morning and the sun came out around 11ish. Until then I was wrapped up in my big fleece!

So at lunch time Ellison sets up the seats outside and I start tracking Craig’s flight. I’ve checked in on it a few times through the morning and can see him starting to descend. It’s quite addictive… ok if you like that sort of thing!

I see him get as low as 737ft and 187 knots

I wonder out loud what happens to a plane that disappears from radar on this app, when all of a sudden it starts to climb and very fast.

The plane takes off again and heads out to size gaining in height and speed. It disappears off my screen as it’s moving so fast again…. A tiny part of me assumes the worst until I realise it’s still in the sky…. Visible when I zoom back out again!

I start to feel a bit squeamish and can’t eat my lunch. I go put in in the fridge.

It climbs back to 5,479 and stays there while doing a full loop back to get it back on track.

It’s fascinating to see how it just picks up exactly the same approach…. What else would you expect but you don’t think of that.

I watch him come back down to 100ft and the height goes haywire, he rises, he falls, he rises again, it gets stuck for a while at 87ft and it takes far to long to look like he has actually landed. There is a chance the height measurement could be 87ft off the ground but my head tells my otherwise.

I’m shaking, I have pins and needles all over, I feel sick and even have dry retch behind a van.

By the time he texts I am so relieved… he says there was a plane on the runway. 😱 he’s neither up nor down but lands to a million WhatsApp’s from me! In my ridiculous panic I did have a wry smile that he would switch his phone on in the plane and it would ting ting ting ting ting for ages! Oops….

So I’ve learned today that I might love my husband a bit more than I even realised…. I’ve told him that already. 😂😂

He took these lovely shots for me during his aborted landing!

An obvious sign be wasn’t that bothered!

So I’ve been sat in the garden with the 3 pup amigos since I finished work. Holly next door is looking after them during the day while I’m at work. So lovely of her. We couldn’t do this without her.

Crochet was cancelled tonight so Claire has just been in to the garden for a chat. I could SO get used to this weather!!! It’s much hotter today than it was even yesterday. Way more to come tomorrow.

Craig is settling in well in his Spanish home for the next week. He’s introduced me to his 5 new dogs and training starts tomorrow. I’m so proud of everything he’s achieved to get to where he is this year. Follow updates from him on Scottish Dog Behaviourist.

So I’m hoping for way less drama from tomorrow!!

This might just be the summer that we’ve all been waiting for. We need to enjoy it when we can in Scotland as it could all be over in a heartbeat!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✈️🇪🇸

Day 1148 another beautiful sunny and hot day! ☀️☀️☀️

I didn’t have a great sleep last night as someone was snoring SO loudly…. Strangely that same someone said that I was snoring too and that can’t possibly be right. My blog… I don’t snore. There must have been something on the air last night if we were both at it.

Our bedroom is hot in this heat!

I woke up at 6.10am from a groggy sleep and felt really grumpy…. Then remembered it was going to be a beautiful day today and my mood changed instantly.

Just shows you how easy it is to do and how we should try to do that even when the sun isn’t shining.

I came out into the garden first thing again and did some exercises.

I took some photos…. Of course I did.

I love the early morning glow of the sun.

So tonight is my last night with the Scottish Dog Behaviourist for 8 nights!!! That’s EIGHT whole NIGHTS….

Craig’s got an excellent opportunity to go and look after, and do some light training with, Jo Rosie Haffendon’s (of the School of Canine Science) dogs, from tomorrow while she’s over in the UK doing some filming work.

The bonus for him is that it’s in Spain!!

You might find me under a pile of work and dogs holding the fort. Gutted I can’t be there too. I’m the sun worshipper and he’s the one that likes the shade!

It’s a great opportunity for some advertising for his new business as Jo-Rosie has 39K followers on FB!

I’m very lucky that I’ve been given some sunshine here too. It really has been a long time coming for us this year.

I spoke to several suppliers down south today who said it was cloudy and cold. That doesn’t happen every often. I was in my shorts today.

Craig’s made a lovely smashed burger for dinner for us tonight and we’re sitting in the garden enjoying the sun.

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️