Through the Stargate to February

We did it, we survived January - the longest, crappiest month of the year! The days are noticeably longer (I mean, still dark before 5pm, but I'm not chasing the sun on the dog walk now) and the weather is ripe for adventure.

This weekend Missy was joined by Maisie and my brother as we explored the Abandoned Fife Earth Project, Scottish Coal ran out of money before completion. If it looks similar to the Crawick Multiverse or Jupiter Artland, well, it should, it's the same artist! It's free to wander about and we clocked up 3 miles in our slow meanderings.

It was very windy (as an abandoned coal mine/quarry should be) so we were quickly chilled to the bone, but otherwise would probably have spent longer there. Missy was tuckered out by the time we got home, which is always nice to see.

I am a month down on my cross stitch journal, and as you can see February is already started. Lessons have been learned, I pivoted too hard on the small stitches, so January almost feels a bit gappy at points. I'm not precious about the segments touching, so the gaps at the edges will get filled in later.

But why is February snow leopard print, not all hearts and cutesy?

It has taken literal years, but I finally got the perfect snow leopard photo at the zoo when we went on Saturday, so of course I had to commemorate it!

I expect February to be a busier month, and we're now in adventure season, so I'll hopefully see you all again soon!

An Unexpectedly Magical Weekend

It's our first proper snow of the winter, which makes everything look more magical, and helps with the Christmas spirit. I'm having an odd year with Christmas. Usually I'm all for it or just a apethetically following along, whereas this year I feel like I'm there, it's Christmas, let's be jolly and oh, uh, yay, I suppose?

This weekend started out the latter. For reasons I won't divulge, my long anticipated, steal the oldest neice and nephew, I'm the best-aunt-ever(tm) weekend was cancelled. Cancelled very last minute, as in, Friday morning last minute.

Thankfully, I had not bought or booked anything, otherwise I would. Have been too cross to be as understanding as I was. But nonetheless, less said the better. 

With my rather unexpectedly free weekend, I decided to shuffle the dog walk with my mum to the Saturday and go along to the Jollyes open day. I had never heard of this pet superstore before and, as the radio promoted that thier chosen charity was the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, I instantly had to find out about it.

It was more a soft launch open weekend rather than any extravagant grand opening. Well, the unicorn was a bit grand, but more on that in a moment. 

We did spin the wheel before entry and won a free toy. Great start! Then we got handed a free dog goodie bag. Even better! And was that birds I hear?!

So, whilst I would put it on par with Pets at Home in terms of ranges and products, the bird section was phenomenally larger (at the expense of the fish section, I suspect, that felt a bit small). So we got to pick out a nice new perch for the boys. As we were discussing what seed offered the best value, the photographer popped over and asked us how our dog was around horses.

Yep. Missy got a photoshoot with a Unicorn. 

OK, so we had to be there to wrangle, but it was absolutely Missys moment to shine. I can't wait to see the official press photos! 

Missy was allowed to pick herself some dead things from the doggy pick'n'mix as a reward for her outstanding behaviour and we picked up a new pink coat for her (first photo). 

Then it was off to my mums for lunch and a walk in the snow around the quarry. 

Today we swithered on ideas. We had a free day, an absolute rarity, so should we invite friends round for bonus free cheese? (The Magic Circle social night was on Thursday. Hubby and I were rewarded a bunch of spare cheese and chocolates as a thank you for staying back to tidy up.) Or should we have an elusive quiet day and spend it on the sofa eating chocolate and watching Christmas movies?

I'll be honest, neither happened. Duvet days are a thing of the past as Missy insists on a solid wall despite the snow (and I was happy to oblige taking her photo on her cute new coat). After a brisk walk to get the cobwebs out, I was in no mood to sit about. Hubby wasn't either, and he beat me to the punch of starting the big pre-Christmas clean and tidy up. After clearing the place too to bottom, I made tiffin and tear and share to go with the ill-gotten camembert. 

Missy was besotted by the cheese, but alas, had to make do with her advent calander instead! 

Unexpected, but not a bad weekend all told.

OK, OK, one more photo of the unicorn! 

Until next week! 

House Guest

I'm starting to think I should open up a kennel and start charging! After having Maisie earlier this year, we have Wee Ben joining us for a stay whilst my sister and her family go on vacation. 

We have previously had Ben over for a long weekend and lessons have been learned all round. This time we put him in the guest room across the hall from us, and also put Missy in there, and he's been sleeping absolutely fine. He's also learned his lesson about food, and whilst still horrendously slow to eat, is finishing his bowl and not playing any daft games about getting different food choices. So it's gone much better already than last time.

We've moved into Autumn and the weather hadn't been great, so we've kept adventuring to a minimum (Ben still dislikes walks, that hasn't changed!). My mums birthday was yesterday, so she came round and we all ate out at the carvery and today was getting the garden put to bed for the year. As I said, no very exciting in terms of adventures! 

I have managed some sewing (amongst the Christmas crafts) - a dressing gown for Wee Ben. Missys was comically large on him, and he could walk right ou the neck, so that wouldnt do. And what better for our little bumpkin but a pumpkin one? Certainly fits the season, and it was nice to get away from the Christmas colours for a moment!

And that's really been us! Just a quick post this week, hopefully I'll have some more exciting tales to tell next week! 

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. 

Snowy Valentines

Its been a funny old week. There's been highs and lows and everything in between. 

After my extravagant attempt last week to cheer everyone up, it was my turn to turn into a flump. I completely lost interest in my crafts, I was losing patience with the home schooling and I felt trapped in a perpetual groundhog day. The snow had returned with a vengeance and I was ready to call it quits.

Hubby, bless him, was very good with me and pandered to my mood, offering nice things to do and organising calls with friends. Owing to the snow, we've been more cooped up than usual, so getting to see some different faces was a nice change. Missy's paw is all better, so she's been enjoying the snow this time round which has been nice to see, although I do wish she would stop eating so much of it!

I was caught out on Chinese New Year, remembering it on Thursday so didn't have time to make anything special for dinner or organise a cute photoshoot with Missy (my niece and nephew always appreciate silly photos of Missy). Determined not to make the same mistake for Valentines, I roped hubby into setting up the photoshoot for Missy. Like a lot of people, we did most of our Valentines celebrations on the Saturday; I'd organised a family call for the afternoon and I spent the late morning going around the zoo with Missy and the hubby. The zoo really has been a life saver in terms of getting out to do something, and the animals did not disappoint us - although the goat was very cheeky sticking his tongue out at us!

Todays been a quiet day getting on with jobs, and my sewing mojo has returned - one day I will finish my Hamilton Spencer jacket, if all the hand stitching doesn't kill me first!

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. 

A Change of Routine

It's been a very strange week. The weather has gone from 25C+ down to 14C, my shifts have changed to 11 hour days and and I'm still trying to get into the swing of things.

On my days off, we've been following lock down etiquette and seeing only one other family household at a time, so its taking us a while to get through them all! The main thing we've been enjoying is being able to go out and take Missy somewhere nice to walk. After months being stuck to the same busy little park, she is keen to get out and stretch her paws and explore again!

Today we revisited Harperrig Reservoir and had a lovely morning enjoying the place to ourselves. Missy hunted voles and rabbits whist we watched birds. Its much cooler today which suits Missy better, she can chase and run and not overheat. After a lovely walk where saw a pair of hares run by and a kestrel pass overhead, we called it quits and decided it was time for a cup of tea.

I've been getting in with a lot of sewing, but thought I'd share this cute upcycle. This collar used to be a lovely pink tartan design, but has now well and truly been too loved. There was huge holes in the fabric showing the webbing underneath so I decided to celebrate the incoming summer with this fun ice cream print! 

That's all for now, the sun is out again and it's time to get back in the garden and repot some plants! 

Everythings Gotten Real

No big surprise as to what I'm referring to, the big bad Covid-19. But let me wind back a week, and I apologise in advance for the rambling nature of this post.

The week started off with Missy playing Goldilocks in the in-laws bed. They had kindly volunteered to look after her whilst we had a sneaky trip off to Disneyland Paris. My sister was due to meet us there and we were all super excited about it. 

Monday was a laugh. Tuesday was hysterical, my husband managed to goad Captain Hook and Mickey mouse into a play fight in Cafe Mickey. Wednesday we joined the dark side and did all the star wars parades and events. Thursday, parades were cancelled and the hand san was replaced with medical grade stuff. Friday Disney announced it was going to close on the Sunday and staff were cleaning tills every five customers, were no longer taking fast passes off guests and we're having them put directly into a bin - in short, things escalated very suddenly.

My boss text me, telling me to work from home Monday. We were all in a fluster, had something happened? BBC news were reporting more of the same stuff, nothing seemed particularly crazy. We were anxious as to whether we'd even get home the air was so charged with unknowns and worries.

We got home absolutely fine. The in laws told us about the panic buying and I spotted a few silly posts on Facebook, but didn't think too much of it. 

Once we were home and actually had to do a shop, I did lose my temper. No rice, no pasta, no noodles, no potatoes, frozen section completely raided, practically no cheese and obviously the cleaning section was non existent. I do one shop a week and, being sensible, had run down the stock in the cupboard and freezer before going away. I actually needed these items. 

It's an eclectic menu this week. 

Nonetheless, we'll be fine. A work colleague messaged me today to explain my bosses cryptic text - everyone is to work from home if possible for the foreseeable, they didn't think I was some plague carrier and were separating me as a precaution, as I had feared.

Got to look on the bright side, all this time stuck at home will give me more time to focus on crafts (as well as cuddle Missy)! I was in a disney mood before the holiday and put together this cute project bag made with an old jumper that had shrunk in the wash on me.

Right, my rambling rant is done. Not sure how things are gonna pan out over the next wee while, my calender has suddenly cleared as all the events I was planning on attending have been cancelled. I'll have to look into some new places to walk Missy, that's one thing I can say that's definitely positive, the weather has started to turn to spring and its actually beginning to warm a little. So expect some new walks and a lot of craft bits! 

Looking for Vampires

So, on last weeks ghost walk, the story of William Henry Millar and his truly bizarre burial was brought to our attention. Buries in a lead lined coffin, in a shaft 40ft deep, was this man who had a huge collection of occult books afraid of grave robbers, of vampires or...was he a vampire himself?

Set in the middle of Craigintinny, near to Portobello, the Craigintinny Marbles, a 30ft tall monument, towers over the little council built bungalows and bowling green that surround it. There were  no information stands nearby, so I was glad I had done my homework before my mother and I went looking for it. Millar had requested to be buried away from the population of Edinburgh and, in the 1860s, this would have been farmland so it would have completely dominated the landscape. Whilst interesting, I was disappointed at the way it has mostly been ignored, like a large inconvenient rock, and built around. I felt it deserved perhaps a small grassy park and some trees, not a high fence and a car park.

Either way, it's an impressive monument, and it's peculiar situation fits the peculiar man it was made for. 

I had suspected it wouldn't be a long visit at the monument so had already organised that there would be a trip to the seaside. Portobello was only 5 minutes away and, despite the chilly day, there were plenty of dogs out walking their humans. I always love the visual juxtaposition of a blue sky and sand with people in wooly hats and thick coats. I don't know why, but it makes me smile.

Despite best attempts, I could not coax my mother into having an ice cream on the promenade and so we headed back to where I had parked the car. I have walked that beach a hundred times and lo and behold, yesterday was the first time I had noticed the absolutly ginormous pottery kiln, neatly tucked away behind some flats. 

Clearly a day for finding odd giant things in bizarre places! We detoured off and had a look at it (I had originally thought it was perhaps an old grain silo from when Portobello had a proper harbour, but the sign corrected us as to the rich history of pottery making in the area. News to me, but fascinating nonetheless.

I've been making Christmas the last few weeks and prepping an army of doggy bows and bandanas for a craft fair I have next weekend. Don't let the photos fool you, there has been so much Christmas fabric that I'm almost bored of the season and it hasn't even begun!

I've been putting together squeaky heart toys too, so will get a more festive photo later. Having lots of little things on the go at once has worked well as I can easily pick them up and put them down again, although I am looking forward to getting my teeth into a bigger project soon! 

Meet Maisie

So, Missy has a new cousin (courtesy of my brother) - a shitzu cross called Maisie. He didnt think about how phonetically similar Maisie was to Missy, but its too late now and we're all having a good laugh about muddling the two up.
And she sure is a sweetie!

We decided to risk it for a biscuit and get the trio together (Missy, Maisy and Wee Ben). Poor Ben wasn't very sure about a puppy in the house and Missy very sensibly watched the chaos from the sofa, she being the only dog who could get onto it! After a while Missy gave into the cuteness and played with the puppy for a little while, but Ben was very much unimpressed and hid in his crate. Maisy is a feisty wee thing and I think she's just about crazy enough to fit in!

Trust me, just look at the weird black thing and once it goes click, you'll get a biscuit...

I was also dog-sitting Ben today so, before losing the light, took him round one of my favourite local walks. Naturally I bumped into every single one of Missys pals, and had to laugh as it was commented yet again that Missy must have shrunk in the wash. I wasn't going to risk letting Ben off the lead, but he did his best to keep up with Missy and has thoroughly exhausted himself.

I trust Missy well enough that she was off the lead on her usual hunt for squirrels and Ben panicked every time we lost sight of her. Despite knowing one another all his life, Ben hasn't had many adventures with Missy, so isn't used to her phantom act. Although Missy did humour him for some of the walk and walked alongside him.

Well, that's all this week, I've been busy with crafts but nothing fitting to the season, so will share later. However, there's some fun plans in store for next week, so expect some fun Halloween photos in my next post!