Another's Odd Week

I've been on leave again this week and, whilst the weather hasn't been as nice, it's been a busy little week all the same. We've made an effort to get out walking in some more interesting places and I've made a dent on my sewing and other crafts.

The #mindfulmarch photo challenge has been ticking away in the background and, 4 weeks in, I'm pleased I've managed to post each day. "Motivation" was probably my fav to set up, mostly because I think wristwarmers for dogs should be a thing, even if Missy isn't so sure!

We did a new walk this week, starting at the Falkirk Wheel and walking to the Kelpies and back again. Missy absolutely made some toddlers day at the Kelpies as, during her obligatory photo with the horses, I could hear delighted cries of "look at the doggy! It's having its picture taken!"

Whilst I'm pleased we did the 8 mile walk, I wouldn't particularly recommend it; unless back-of-industrial estate canal is your kind of walk. We had a weird one where we were stopped by a lady who's 7 month old Westie had been allowed off lead and wouldn't return to her. She'd been trying to catch him for an hour and was absolutely wind bunt and frozen to the bone. Hubby and I were more than happy to help, but I was honestly shocked tmby the number of folk who completely ignored her pleas for help. We did manage to corral the pup and, 30 minutes later, he was caught and back on the lead (I suspect permanently). 

Our other big walk was another 8 miles, doing a repeat of the Bo'ness to Blackness walk. We met with our friend who lives in Bo'ness and gave a puppy play date a go. Lily, like Missy, is an ex-rescue who likes other dogs but is totally over this bouncing on each other thing. She seemed delighted to meet another dog who was passively interested in her and they took turns to casually sniff the other before going on thier adventure.

Rescued from the roadside in Serbia, Lily is definitely part terrier and she was content to sniff everything and everyone. Both dogs trotted alongside each other for the bulk of the walk and seemed rather pleased about the arrangement, so I imagine more play dates will occur in the future. 

Pleased to report that both dogs are totally tuckered out in thier respective homes!

Sewing wise I've done rather well in squaring off odds and ends with projects and getting things tidied away. I'm particularly pleased with this baby quilt and matching tote I made for a friend who's expecting. There will be a matching cross stitch, but I have a few months still before that needs finishing!

Gender is unknown and being kept a surprise, so I kept it neutral with nice greys and a lovely mint green. I find Dumbo to be a neutral character too, so either way the baby should get some use out of the quilt.

Hope your all doing well and staying safe, till next week. 

Spring is in the Air

Its been a strange week for me - I had to use up some annual leave or I'd have lost the days. Ordinarily that would have meant a wee trip up north to see the in-laws, or south to see my sister, or a staycation somewhere random and dog friendly but in these times of covid, that's meant more free time in the same 4 walls of the house.

To add salt to the wound, these two weeks (I also have next week off) were meant to have been reserved for a holiday in Florida. Thank goodness we had the sense to not book anything last year, but regardless, I have found myself a few times lamenting over foreign holidays past and where we may go in the future (I think Japan may be revisited as our next big foreign break, they seem to have everything in order and I only had time to do one of the two Disney parks when we went last time, although we did sit down and have a serious chat and, realistically, I think it will be 2023 before we go abroad again).

So, what have I been doing? Mostly the garden. There is now a new baby hedge in the front garden (hedge I say, its mostly a small wall of sticks) and the planters have been topped up with fresh compost and the seeds planted in the greenhouse. The waiting game has begun. Hubby was laughing when I dug out the spare calendar (they're like buses, some years no one buys you one, and then others you get three of them) and marked on it what seeds were to be planted each month, what would be ready to pick each month and a sketch of the planter rotation, but I think he's secretly impressed at the pedantic organisation.

Theres been lots of local walks, kite flying on the beach and, with the meeting up restrictions moving to 4 people in a group, we've got out to see some friends on dog walks. I managed to catch up with my brother at Almondell Country Park today and Missy and Maisie had a great time together. Missy can often take or leave the company of other dogs (she's clearly the cool aloof loner type), but Maisie is very sociable (I like to think of her as an overexcited cheerleader with an underbite) and this lockdown has been hard on her.

Not that she would pose for me in the daffodils! One day I will get a nice photo of them together.

With the warmer weather, spring has definitely been in the air and its got me out of my crafts rut and I made a new garland for the window - the rabbits I cut from felt myself, but the little flowers are ancient and have been kicking about the bottom of a drawer for ages now. Does it count as spring cleaning when its turned into spring crafts?

An Unusual Mother's Day

I've been doing well with the #mindfulmarch photo challenge (see @missys_grand_adventures on insta for this weeks photos) and I am very pleased to say that, finally, I'm about to go on annual leave (use it or lose it, so I have 2 glorious weeks with nothing but dog walks and the garden being started for the year booked).

The thought of getting away from my laptop and the never ceasing pull of the day job has made a long week bearable. Nothing in particular, just a long week. As a colleague said to me who has next week off - "don't know why as every day is like the other, but it feels like this time off is a week late!" 

Whilst not the official anniversary of lockdown starting in the UK (owing to the moving dates of Easter) mothers day last year was the day before lockdown was announced, so that hit home for me. We were practicing social distancing at that point, and as a result, I've realised I haven't hugged my mother in more than a year. Apart from when I briefly merged bubbles when my sister visited in August (and honestly, I'm not sure which of us needed that hug more) the only human I've had contact with is my husband, for more than a year. I think that bummed me out more than I realised. 

But we still managed something akin to mothers day and went for a walk. I brought cake, pre-tubbed to minimise contact, packed enough umbrellas to shelter the roman legion and then, as we drove to the designated meeting point, the three day rain storm that had been battering most of Scotland, lifted for us. 

Not necessarily warm by any stretch, but dry. Its amazing how much that can salvage a walk. No one cares about muddy puddles when your head is dry.

A good wee top up in the cup of life.

And talking of mothers, a very good friend of mine recently announced they were going to become a mother later this year. Baby isn't due till August, but I've already gotten carried away and put together a quilt and picked out a matching embroidery which I've yet to start.

Gender is being kept a surprise, so I got to play with a gender neutral palette, what do you all think? 

So, to all the mothers, the would be mothers and pawrents of furbabies, I hope this weekend has found you well and given you some hope for when our families can see one another in the future, and the long awaited hugs we are to recieve. 

Mindful March

It's been a week. It's the kind of week where you stumble off the hurdle and spend the rest of it flailing to the finish line which you're positive someone has to have moved by at least an extra 2 days.

It started well enough, this month launched the the #mindfulmarch photo contest with Dog Furiendly, which I've been looking forward to for a while now. I've got a list of nice quotes and so far I've managed a new photo for every day. Some of the challenges are quite easy - jump for joy, something green, but others I've had to think a little outside the box on (such as Love, above). 

This is actually my third attempt at today's blog. Whilst I won't shy away from a bad week on here, I've seemed it too negative. So just know it sucked. Nothing actually bad, just lots of stress and the people about us viewing everything as not just a grey cloud, but surely a tsunami.

Everyone has struggled this week. I urge you to reach out and check in on someone who's been quiet. You might not be ae to help, but reminding them you are thinking of them will do far more good than you can imagine.

So. The highlights of my week in lockdown. 

Finished Neil Gaimans Neverwhere. I struggled with the book, so listened to him reading it and found it far more enjoyable. 

Managed all 7 photos this week for the mindful March challenge. 

Finished this epic papercraft that has been sitting in my loft for nearly a decade:

Planted my first crop for the year: potatoes

Finished season 3 of Star Wars Rebels. 

And lastly watched Raya and the last dragon and now need to make Missy a dragon costume. I'm sure if she could speak she would be overwhelmingly optimistic. 

Who am I kidding, she's probably more a Kermit:

I urge you all to take a moment and think of an achievement from the week. Then reach out and say hi to someone. Check in on those who are too busy trying to look happy and put together to check in on themselves.

I'll leave you on some words I found whilst doing my homework on mindful march:

“There are a thousand reasons to live this life, every one of them sufficient” ― Marilynne Robinson