A Coco Comatose at Laurieston Castle

So, before I start my weekly rambles, before you guess this weeks letter for #leadthewayatoz, just stop the bus. Go check out this:

Roxy has made a wool that is legit inspired by Missy. She hand dyed and hand spun actual wool in tribute to Missy. This must be a first in the canine world and, having been privvy to the month's of experiments behind the scenes on this (including but not restricted to a very odd call asking exactly what shade of tan she was (unwanted answer, it changes depending on the season and light)) I am awed at the effort that has gone into this. I'm almost intimidated by the task of what to make with it... 

And now back to regular programming!

This was a week of two halves. I won't lie, I've been rather blue this week. Plans for Perth visits have been cancelled. Plans for my sister to visit have been cancelled. And, after a brief high looking at places to stay for our upcoming annual leave, hubby and I decided it was probably best we shelve it for now and cancel any hopes of going away. Whilst the joy of an 8 hour day will never wear off after 11 hour shifts, I legit missed seeing and being about folk (safely, of course) this week too.

Roxy, also blue at her cancelled trip, suggested and organised an island play date on Animal Crossing with my avatar popping over and the kids showing me about. We had a call on loud speaker and hearing them babble away happily really cheered me up.

My virtual call that was meant to replace this months Perth visit didn't cheer me up as much as I'd hoped. My Inverness freind is struggling - she hasn't seen her mum since last Christmas, and with the new restrictions her trip has been cancelled again. Her brother is shielding, so she can't and won't take chances. The distance between us has honestly never felt greater. 

I woke up bummed out. Hubby is working all weekend, and wasn't really in the mood for coming up with something clever for this week and at first the #leadthewayatoz letter of J just annoyed me. Jupiter Artland was fully booked. A Jet from the Museum of Flight would be pimp, but it was frozen this morning, who wants to take turns going in and out of hangers in weather like this? And I would need someone to come with there. 

I googled for some ideas and struck upon it. Japanese Garden, who knew we had one in Edinburgh and, better yet, it allowed dogs! 

I messaged my friend on the off chance she was free and, hooray, the day was afoot. The drive was easy enough, parking a bit tight as the day was now glorious and it was clearly a popular spot. The Kyoto Garden of Friendship is just one part of the grounds and we had a leisurely stroll about them. Missy was in the mood to pose for me and we quickly got some nice photos for the competition. 

There's a Mimis Bakery on site too, and after a oreo slice and a hot chocolate in the nice sunny courtyard I was ready to fall asleep. We walked off our respective chocolate comatoses with another lap of the castle! 

Whilst my friend thinks I'm mad for the length I was prepared to go to for the competition, I think it shows that it's doing what it set out to do; whilst it certainly reinvigorates old walks, it's also to encourage people to go and find new places to enjoy. 

In sewing news, it's my neices birthday and I thought these dungaree dress inspired culottes were exactly what she needed. Apparently there is a little confusion as to what they are exactly, but when it sinks in that it's a dress she can run about and climb trees in, I'm sure it'll become a firm favourite! 

Feeling more upbeat for the week ahead! 

Vikings and Saxons

This weekend felt almost like a return to normal, which I've really needed. 

Restrictions are ramping up again and I feel like every tiny piece of freedom I have earned through good behaviour has been taken away from me because there are those who wont behave. So I was pleasantly surprised that the tourist board gave Duncarron Medieval Fort the go ahead to continue with their Vikings and Saxons event. The main rule (in addition to the 2m) was for everyone, Vikings included to wear masks.

The weather was that perfect mix of sunny but not particularly hot, which is what Missys like best. We arrived for the event starting and watched the Vikings parade into the village before browsing the stalls. Missy in was in full tart mode and was cuddling up to everyone who would look at her and was clearly loving the attention. After some axe throwing (which hubby was far better at than me), we were shown lots of weaponry and then watched some Viking fighting.

What was particularly nice was that as it was a re-enactment event for re-enactors, which meant that a lot of the stalls were selling supplies. Hubby got a very nice magicians hat that I plan to draft a pattern from, and I managed to get some really nice fabric. I'm justifying breaking my fabric buy ban with the fact that I have earmarked projects for it all!

Talking of projects, hubby convinced me to make a bag for one of his solitaire games: Castellion. Basically he needed a tile bag, but one wasn't going to fit in the box. The solution was obvious, make the box fit in the bag! 

The Natural Nemorivagant

If you haven't guessed, this weeks letter is N. 
Nemorivagant is a rarely used word to describe someone who enjoys walking in woodland, and its a word that perfectly summarises Missy. So sit back and enjoy seeing her enjoy her favourite place in Nature, the woods.

Its been a busy week; the hubby took his brother to Alton Towers for a few days, so my first week working from home was really an alone experience. Missy kept me company, dozing away on the spare bed whilst I battled against IT and all the teething problems long term home working causes. I ordered a new monitor and keyboard through work and took Missy on a walk around Eliburn Park so that I could pick them up (which was handy) and then I lost hours due to IT just settling in.
But I got there. I had to borrow a chair from the office (I spent longer having to read the 8 page health and safety guide, watch the demo video and then provide contact details than I actually spent in the office) as I'm too old these days to hunch over a desk for hours. My sewing space has been completely dismantled and dispersed about the house, so every project seems to take twice as long, but my intention is that as I make a new space, I'll have it organised perfectly. I just need to persevere a little longer!

Sewing has gone well - I have completed two Christmas projects and finished my nieces birthday gift over the last two/three weeks. I have plans for another three Christmas makes, possibly four, depending on time. I cant share any of them just now as I don't want to spoil any surprises!

Hubby and BIL both survived Alton Towers in one piece and I think they've managed to get away with one of the last holidays again with the new restrictions coming in.
I'm not gonna lie, its wearing me down. But then I look at Missy and realise that perhaps I should think more dog, she's happy. She gets to go on nice walks and enjoy nature. She is surrounded in love and attention within the four walls we live in, more would be nice, but she's happy to just have us. And she lives in the forever now.
I suppose what I'm trying to say if focus on the little things that make you happy as we weather the big problems. And here's a picture of Missy being cute if you need help on a little happy thought.

R for aRt

We finally got a sunny day at Jupiter Artland! 

We've been using our passes a fair bit for Jupiter Artland as, once we saw the whole place and got the layout down, its provided us with an interesting place for a dog walk. Because whilst Missy likes forest, it's nice to go somewhere different once in a while!

This week our letter for the #leadthewayatoz was R, and it really added a fun element to the walk about Jupiter Artland as we looked for obvious R words, and tried to find unusual ones too. The above photo captures many rhomboids, which was my hubbies find, and he's still very smug about it! 

With the nicer weather, it was much busier today, but once we were past the cells there wasn't much human traffic and we had free reign to continue our R quest.

In other news, I've officially finished in the labs and go back to my normal role tomorrow - the thought of an 8 hour day seems delightful after months of 11 hour slogs. I've really missed those few hours in the evening where I could fit in some sewing, or play a game, and I'm looking forward to getting that time back. Hopefully I'll be more productive! 

Speaking of productive, that's my first Christmas present out the way. This fabulous Mickey Mouse quilt for my older sister who is Disney mad but wants to look more put together and mature. 

Basically she was singing the praises of the quilts I had made my eldest neice and nephew, so I felt it was a safe bet to make one for her. Her bed is a super king, so this is officially the largest quilt I've made at a whopping 90 inches square. The hand stitching on the border was enough to drive me demented, but it's worth it for the overall look. 

Now onto the next Xmas pressie! 

A Unique Getaway

In these unusual times, the idea of a holiday is a bit too good to be true. We were fast approaching our birthday week time off and decided to see what was doable as a holiday bearing in mind I didn't want to be anywhere close to crowded, Missy would be coming and both hubby and I really needed a recharge, so no long distance driving.

We decided on Perth. Its only an hour away should the worst happen (ie a lockdown) and has lots of options for walks and things to do. We found a beautiful little shepherds hut at Greenhill Farm Glamping and decided to wing it. 

Storm Francis had other thoughts. Our plans of a stroll around the Falkland Estate was cut short (although we managed to find shelter under the canapy at the Pillars of Hercules cafe and warm up with some soup). Being based in Dunning, we tried there to kill some time to find out the only cafe didn't allow dogs and the pub didn't open till 5.30pm. So we just went for the Shepherds Hut and hoped they wouldn't mind us being 10 minutes early.

Once the stove was lit and we had begun to dry out we saw the humour of the day and our good moods and optimism returned. We returned to Dunning for our dinner and found another log fire - this we could get used to!

Our second day was dedicated to Perth itself. With Perth being the main place I meet my friends these days, hubby was insistent we go to the Brew and Chew at the least, and that he also wanted to see where we typically walked Missy. We walked South Inch and then found an adorable cafe called Milas Bakery and stopped for breakfast. Then we went to our intended destination of Branklyn Gardens. The weather was drizzly, but dry enough it was pleasant to walk, so we wondered about the plants and flowers before stopping for some tea in thier tearoom.

The staff were fantastic. It was very quiet and we were the only people out in the courtyard under the canopy and they were keen to chat. They insisted on saying hello to Missy and, after we discussed her unknown heritage, made light talk of the world with them and discussed the building and gardens. 

By then it was time for more tea. We had a wander about the high Street which was pretty quiet and stopped in at the Brew and Chew, as requested. Missy was recognised and fawned over and then we went for a walk around North Inch and found the Black Watch Museum. Dogs are permitted on the grounds, but not inside, so we enjoyed the buildings exterior before calling it a day.

Our final day ticked off the last bit of the truly Scottish summer weather we had yet to encounter: fog. We had booked in Arbroath for the final day to meet up with the in laws who we haven't seen since March, way back before lockdown and when Covid was just begining to be a thing.

Remember those times? It's beginning to feel like a lifetime ago. 

Arbroath is always lovely. It's a quaint fishing/tourist town which offers a rocky beach and more ice cream parlours and fish restaurants than you can shake a stick at. We had a lovely time. It was great to catch up and watch Missy play with Ruby. Despite her years, Missy is still a touch faster, mostly due to her better cornering, but I don't think it will be long before Ruby figures her feet out and overtakes. 

There was beachcombing and a lovely fish restaurant before we went for another walk and had an ice cream on the shore. I'm not sure I really could have asked for a nicer finish to the holiday. 

For my mother in law, I made this adorable tea cosie. Everyone is stitching and embroidering these days, so I was goaded into picking up the needle again by my friends. I used to cross stitch prolifically as a teen. Then I discovered knitting where I could make toys and things to wear. Then I discovered sewing, where I could make anything I wanted.

Either way, it was nice to revisit the hobby, and have something I could quietly work on whilst listening to a book, and I was pleased with the outcome - not bad after a 15 year hiatus!

And lastly, for those wondering, today's letter for the #leadthewayatoz was U. Ironically, it's the perfect letter for our holiday - unique in many ways, whilst hiding under our umbrellas! 

Battering Rams at Duncarron

This week is sponsored by the letter B, for Battering Ram.

My birthday is the start of the long haul birthday run, and this weekend has been a busy start to the celebrations! After a very quiet day Friday (my actual birthday) I had a social distanced visit from a friend who I haven't seen since my visit to Liverpool in February. As always it was like we'd only seen each other yesterday and the evening passed far too quickly.

Saturday was a trip to Perth (now my friend has figured out how easy the train from Inverness is to get there, I imagine Perth will become a regular feature for the blog!) and we repeated the unbeatable pairing of first Brewdog and then Brew and Chew. We walked South Inch a few times and then it was back home for games night with some of my hubbies work colleagues who are moving into the friends bracket of our lives. I got the new Villainous Marvel expansion and it was brilliant (more so because I won!).

I had spotted Duncarron Medieval Village being advertised on a dog friendly page on Facebook, and instantly book marked it. How did I not know this place existed, let alone that they allowed dogs? My family get together day was sussed now I had a venue all the of the fur neices and nephews would be welcome, and those without fur would enjoy too. The price of entry is currently reduced to £5 an adult owing to Covid not allowing all the usual things to be happening, and I can honestly say that we got our monies worth.

Visually, the village is stunning. Even in the rain it was great to wonder about. There was plenty of photo ops for the humans and loads of space for the dogs. We had the full complement of the Scottish clan: brother with Maisie, big sister with all the family including Wee Ben and my mum. Big sister was late as always, so we had had our picnic and were enjoying a weapons display when they arrived.

The weather had begun to improve by this point, which was a blessing. We swapped over and had another walk about before showing them all the fun things we had discovered. Then we walked around Carron reservoir to let the dogs run off lead for a bit. A more eclectic pack you will not meet. Wee Ben never leaves sight. Missy roams off seeking prey and Maisie bulldozes in circles between the dogs and humans and the next muddy puddle she can find!

Half the party came back for cake and the other half had to get sorted for school. I've been practicing madeleines with ever growing success and they were the perfect choice in our current world - no blowing out candles, no touching the cake when slicing it - simply scattered out for people to take what they wanted, and touch only what they were going to eat. 

A very nice finish to the weekend! 

H is for High Jump

To explain the odd title, Dog Furiendly have launched thier Lead the Way from A to Z virtual walk event. It's free to do, there's a chance to win some prizes and really, I encourage everyone to join in and meet some new virtual dog buddies. 

As an official Explorer, Missy will be doing a takeover in November and announcing one of the letters herself! I don't know what letter it is yet, but I'm going to have to be creative when I get there!

With yesterday being a work day, I couldn't really get out and do the shot I wanted, so I'm a day late to the party (although the letter does run all week, I had just wanted to join in straight off the bat). So today I thought I'd stay local and check out the skatepark again now that they've finished painting it. 

In the end, we managed, despite the Horrid weather, to do a High jump, run down some Hills and gaze at the Heavens. I'm looking forward to revisiting the skatepark in better weather (and with a stooge to help direct Missy for some more dynamic shots) the new arts pretty cool and super vibrant, so I can see some pretty awesome future photo shoots! 

In sewing news I seriously impressed myself by sewing this wonderful coat in under 2 days:

(As always, more photos on my sewing insta @missdaisysewing)

I was a sewing demon this 4 off. I drafted the pattern, cut the fabric and then assembled it in record time. I love the cut. I love the fit. And most of all, that koi fabric. My sister found it and brought it up with her on her visit and I was just inspired. It's been a while since I've been so driven to make something and I am so pleased with the outcome. 

That's enough gushing, moving on!

It's been a good week. I got the right balance of me time to focus on hobbies, soak in the bath with a good book and sleep with getting out and about time. Missy and I managed an off-the-cuff meet up at the Kelpies with my older sister and, as you an see, the weather was glorious. 

Even Wee Ben, who dislikes water more than Missy, got in on the action. A nice way to end my 4 off and put me in the right mood for getting back to work the next day.