Onion bagels: the sequel

Today I lasted until 11.56 before I ate my bagels... I am woman hear me roar! Or burp contentedly... one of the two.

I'm currently on a bagel loop, which may need some explanation... I am quite a fussy eater for a variety of reasons and if I taste something nice I will often want that - and only that - for days, sometimes even weeks. It's a little tiring for my gastronomically creative partner. Tonight we have dinner guests and I will be sat there thinking but why aren't onion bagels with soft cheese good enough for a dinner party?

I've been looking for jobs in Cornwall. I do this periodically with places I want to live... Cornwall, Scotland, San Francisco... but then I remind myself that I've no need to look for work because soon I will be a famous writer and that will surely pay the bills and provide for children, pets and bagels - onion or no...

No onion bagels

I lasted until 11:10 before I ate my lunch... I say again, no willpower...

Onion bagels

I had a great night’s sleep last night. Well, I was so exhausted it wasn’t surprising. I was in bed by 8, read a bit more Harry Potter, asleep by 9. Pluto made us laugh by also being completed knackered, he actually put himself to bed! That’s what happens when you become fixated on what you can’t have and wear yourself out running up and down stairs and whining! Because we’ve made the decision to not go away without him unless there is absolutely no alternative – and we do seem to go away a lot – our next trip to Brighton will be just for the day or if we need to stay, for the sake of the sanity of our best man’s cats, we may have to stay elsewhere… shame really because he has a lovely house and the bed is very comfortable!

Not sure how I’m going to make it to lunchtime, I’ve made a gorgeous lunch (onion bagels, cheese and organic ham) and am now trying to resist the urge to start on it two hours early… no willpower that’s my trouble. I had a decent breakfast as well (three weetabix with dried fruit in case you’re interested… probably not…)

Busy week ahead: we need to get the invites off to the printers, we’re having friends over for dinner on Tuesday and then we’re going for dinner with some other friends at the end of the week. I’d also like to see Harry Potter this Wednesday – I can’t believe I haven’t seen it yet! I also need to fit in a reflexology appointment... s’all go…

Least I’m not starting the week tired. But I may have another coffee just to keep the momentum going…

Captain Chaos

It was chaos...

We went down to stay with our best man in Brighton this weekend, and although he has cats we figured the animals would all settle down and if they didn't like each other, stay out of each other's way. Unfortunately it didn't quite work like that! In the end, they all had to be kept apart - Pluto wanted to play, Abby wanted a punch up, Oscar wanted a valium and the other cat, Tim I think, just wanted to be left alone and didn't know what all the fuss was about! Pluto was desperate to get to know these strange creatures and became fixated on trying to be wherever they were... I think it's fair to say, everyone is pretty exhausted. Especially as he slept with us and kept us up all night whining because we wouldn't let him sleep with them (he hasn't quite figured out that the cats hate him. He just thinks there's just been a terrible misunderstanding and if he was allowed to jump on them and chase them, it would all get sorted...)

The neighbours in the posh square where our friend lives must have wondered what the hell was going on next door: Pluto barking, the cats meowing and us shouting at the various animls to pack it in...

Despite this, we had a great time. The house is lovely and we got very drunk last night - which meant we all suffered terribly this morning.

We had a lovely walk along the beach, popped in to see the grandparents again and then made our way home. No problems with traffic thankfully and after a quick pizza I am going to fall into bed.

Oh I do like to be beside the sea!

Of to the seaside to see grandparents, our best man and the sea! Hopefully the weather in Brighton is as sunny as it is here in London... especially as we want to take Pluto on lots of beach walks... enjoy your weekend!

Onions, getting married and suburbia

I’ll be glad of a lie-in tomorrow. This week has been a nightmare trying to get out of bed in the morning. Even my shower and a cup of strong coffee hasn’t helped. Really I just want to be at home with Harry Potter – the book not the boy wizard. Although that said there is stuff we need fixed around the house so it would be quite handy if he did pop round. He could also make our onions grow bigger and mow our lawn with a flick of his wand…

We received our provisional booking from the Cornwall registry office yesterday. It was lovely to see our names on the booking form and made me wish we didn’t have over a year to wait to get hitched. Mind you, with how much all this is costing we need at least that long to save some money. Romance may be free but ceremonies, rings and big hats cost… not that either of us are wearing a big hat. Although perhaps there is a place for my ‘special’ hat?! I’m sure it would only confirm what my partner has suspected for a while, I may not have got the job as the village idiot but I was on the short list…

Talking of coffee (although to be fair, we’d moved on…) I need another cup. I feel it’s going to be a long day and tonight we have to move boxes for a friend. We need to go all the way to Surbiton. Surbiton! Do they let working class people into Surbiton?!

Roger, over and out...

Morning chums, I came home to lots of exciting things yesterday. Including the two tops I ordered from American Eagle; a Lacoste watch I ordered for my partner (I wanted to get her something nice for our engagement and she mentioned that she’d quite like a watch ages ago. It’s amazing what I file in this cluttered mind of mine); and (yes there’s more!) walkie talkies!

I don’t think I’m over egging the pudding to say that a childhood dream came true yesterday: to own my very own pair of proper walkie talkies. I mean sure, I had an Action Man set but then, who didn’t?! And they barely worked either side of a door. These work over a 3 mile radius and I was so excited that I needed a wee. I don’t know what it is about walkie talkies, I mean, it’s not like I haven’t got a very efficient mobile phone. God knows, anyone that’s every seen me shouting for the Steelers will know I can probably yell loud enough to cover 3 miles. But when I saw them advertised, all that excitement of being 12 again came flooding back and I knew I had to have them. I have no idea of when or even why we might need to use them, but at least I know that when the time comes to communicate with someone over a three mile radius without the aid of a mobile phone, I’m ready for the job…

Rubber up

The government are changing our national symbol to a condom because it reflects the current political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks and gives you a sense of security while you’re actually being screwed.

Cornish dream

Back in the office, too much work to do and everything seems unorganised but there you go…

We had a magical weekend. Despite the bronchitis we did go to Cornwall. Our new tent is totally awesome! It’s absolutely massive, not that difficult to put up and really comfortable. When there was a little rain we sat inside with the porch open still able to watch the world go by and I can walk about in it without having to crouch and hurt my knees! I’m still on a mission to find a comfortable way to sleep whilst camping (2nd airbed with a slow puncture!) but we’ll get there, everything else was great anyway.

The Dulwich Ukulele Club (DUC) were tremendous... My soon to be brother-in-law is in the band and had got us two free tickets for the festival, so we were DUC groupies for the weekend and a lot of fun it was too... Their second gig especially, really got everyone going and people were dancing and having a whale of a time. In my opinion they are simply one of the best bands to see live; funny, musically very good, and incredibly original.

The festival was lovely, really gentle. I didn’t actually do much other than whoop and holler for the band at their gigs – I was trying to rest as much as possible. But there felt no need to rush, or see everything or even do anything. We had nice food, some beer, sat round the fire at night, laughed a lot and just enjoyed the atmosphere and the people. It was nice to see lots of kids running around, having a great time; perfectly safe and a just a little wild… like children should be! If you fancy a really eclectic festival Port Eliot is a fantastic choice. Not sure it’s happening next year, but we would definitely go again.

It had taken us 9 hours to get to Cornwall because the M4 had come to a virtual standstill. Newbury had suffered devastating flooding, roads had been washed out - basically it was pretty awful. Coming out of London the visibility had been down to one or two metres at times. I was genuinely scared and considered stopping the car and pulling over. I didn’t know how we were going to get to Cornwall that’s for sure. But we did, eventually. It did rain, but it was light rain that lasted only a short time. It seemed unreal that the rest of the country was suffering so much.

On the Sunday we had already decided to go a visit a wedding venue in Tintagel. It had been three years since I’d visited ‘Tagel and it was great to see it again in the hot Cornish sun. We checked out the venue, but decided for a variety of reasons that it wasn’t for us. We grabbed some fresh pasties and scones and hit the road, deciding to head down to St Ives where there was a hotel we were really quite interested in. We had originally thought we wouldn’t be able to go and visit this one; it was too far south and we had to head back to London. We were also mindful that flooding and rain may still be a problem and so we didn’t want to leave it too late before we headed home. But St Ives is only about an hour and half from Tintagel and to go home and then have to make another trip back to Cornwall so soon just seemed overwhelming.

St Ives is beautiful and I just had a funny feeling that this hotel was going to be the one for us. The wedding co-ordinator was off-duty but was happy to show us around. Her attitude (and that of her colleague whom we had spoken to on the phone) was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and the view of the golden sands and turquoise sea from the ceremony and reception rooms was stunning. The hotel has its own sub-tropical gardens, a private pool and direct access to the beach. We waited until we got back to the car before agreeing that we had found our venue! We’ve since booked the registrar (also super lovely) and the hotel and are having our invitations designed…

It’s such a relief to have the venue sorted. It felt that nothing could progress – and I suppose nothing could progress – before that was done. So on the 30 August next year I will be marrying my beloved surrounded by all the people I love. What a lovely thought!

The journey home did take forever, but we got home just after 11pm, safe and sound and to a very happy hound who had been staying with a friend all weekend.

Monday we did some wedding stuff but otherwise I stayed in bed reading the new Harry Potter. Bliss…

Wheezer

Well, we're off in about an hour and a half. We seem to have pretty much the same amount of gear going to Cornwall for three days as we did going to Scotland for two weeks... to be fair, we are taking some equipment down for my brother-in-law's band, but even so...

People will look at us and think, now those people know how to camp! With our folding chairs and table, bar-b-q, fancy tent, solar powered lamps, air bed, duvet (I can't do sleeping bags, how can a bag that you sleep in be so complicated?!); we'll be toasting the stars with a bottle of pink fizz we bought especially, and eating fine food...

My asthma was - in the words of our young people - well dodgy last night. I had to get an extra pillow and take extra Ventolin. I must say it was a bit worrying the day before we were due to set off. My problem (and it's a bit of a paradox) it that I bounce like a rubber ball. If I'm ill I tend to get ill very quickly, but I also normally get better super quick. I just seem to be generally quite a healthy person and everything kicks in and within a short space of time of getting the right medication or resting, I start to show real improvement. Of course, it sometimes means you do too much too soon but as I loathe being ill I can't complain. The upshot is that I need to remember that I'm still ill and take it very easy...

So no blogging over the weekend. I'm hoping we miss the rain just long enough to put up our tent and that the good weather forces its way through... hope you get some sunshine wherever you are too!

(PS. I have a feeling we'll be taking the opportunity of being in Cornwall to visit some wedding venues!)

Diaries of a house wife

I’m feeling better. Isn’t it remarkable how quickly the old fashioned things work: rest, plenty of juice and water, Murder, She Wrote… OK so there’s less medical evidence for the last one but I swear by it…

Today I’m going to try and do some housework. I made a start on being a good housewife yesterday by making apple muffins for my beloved’s breakfast this morning and then puff pastries with squash, organic bacon, sage, salt and pepper with rice and vegetables. Very delicious and I was immensely pleased with myself. But today there’s tidying and laundry to do and despite having a large kitchen the washing up is threatening to spill out into the hall...

Tomorrow it’s off to Cornwall. There’s been severe weather warnings issued across the country, which is a little worrying. Hopefully it misses us but better pack the wet weather gear!

Wedding plans

Planning for a wedding is the first test of your future married life. It's deliciously exciting but hair pullingly frustrating at the same time. And it's remarkably easy to start snapping at each other as if it's our fault that places are booked or too expensive.

We've got a gorgeous hotel in Cornwall on the short list (the farm that we like never got back to us... bit rude but there you go...). Of course, it's more expensive but it looks fabulous and is right on the beach. There are lots of B & B's, campsites and even a youth hostel nearby for those on a budget but we've decided to do a bit more research before we take the plunge and visit. (Although they take dogs which made me very happy and instantly biased me against other choices that weren't dog friendly.)

So when and where we're getting married is still up for debate, but in the meantime I'm off to make the missus a cup of tea and tell her I love her...

How odd?!

Someone put "the shirehorses bastards" into Google and they found my blog... how strange? (Not to mention strange that they were looking for that in the first instance.)

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about shirehorses and bastards, but not at the same time... 'aint Google grand!

Smashing blackcurranty bit

Apart from discovering blackcurrant jaffa cakes, things have been a little slow... I'm off work AGAIN! The cold that was aggravating my asthma turned into a bronchial infection over the weekend. I went into work on Monday and my boss sent me straight home again. I have a very impressive cough which is less impressive at 3 in the morning... so I'm off till Tuesday next week (I had Monday booked off on annual leave).

Now I'm concentrating on getting well so I can go to Cornwall this weekend. I really, really, really want to go and we have our fab new tent to road test.

Despite all this, we managed to have a nice weekend (spent a fortune at, among other places, Millet's*) and went for a drink with friends but everything was very gentle and slow, with lots of lying on the sofa and doing nothing.

After going to the doc's this morning - I got my favourite doctor which was nice - I went for a quick haircut. I can't be doing with big hair when I'm under the weather.

Anyway, I shall end this frankly not very interesting entry by explaining why I have put an asterix by Millets. Millets Lewisham rocks. I get all my outdoor gear from them and have spent a fortune over the years. The service is great, not a bad range for a smallish store and competitive pricing. But really, it's the first one, the service, that's so excellent. I wrote previously to their HQ about the Lewisham manager saying what a star he was and they printed it in the staff magazine! Well on Saturday the store was full of youngsters (sorry to be stereotypical) and it was really busy so I was a little unconvinced that we would get to talk to someone at length about tents. How wrong I was. Everyone went out of their way to show us tents, give us information and answer our queries. So if you need any outdoor stuff, Lewisham Millets is the way forward...

Ok that's it. I need a lie down and a jaffa cake... later...

My hat

The missus just made pancakes with fresh (British) strawberries and bananas with maple syrup. Yum... two cups of coffee and some freshly squeezed orange juice later, I'm ready for my day. Which includes, as loyal readers will know, a trip to homobase for window boxes and now, buying a £150 tent for our trip next weekend and all subsequent camping thereafter. It's not that we're being flash - our current tent is fine - but I need one I can stand up in. You try (on dodgy knees) crouching, getting dressed and keeping your balance...

Our trip to the literary festival in Cornwall next weekend will see the re-emergence of my hat. I'm surprised I haven't blogged about my hat previously. It's very special. And indeed, I look very special when I wear it. I bought it at the Outsider festival, it's a hat with a brim and is completely and utterly waterproof. I wore it and didn't even realise it was raining after a while except of course that I was sinking into the mud and the rest of me was drenched through to bone... apart from that though...

When I first tried it on my partner laughed and I got a bit cross but the woman selling the hat lent me her compact mirror and frankly, I thought I looked OK, quite dashing in an outdoorsy sort of way. So I bought it, and it became my very loyal companion. You can stuff it in your pocket, scrunch it into your bag or indeed, wear it on your head. It's fantastic and was what stood between me and influenza. So I will be taking my hat to Cornwall. It's not that I want it to rain - I just want to be prepared. People may laugh at me but I will be forever dry and just that bit warmer... whose your hat daddy?!

Pay day!

I’m a bad girl. I’ve just ordered two tops from American Eagle… pay day anyone?! I have just paid all my bills so I felt I needed a little sugar.

I need to take the hound out for his morning constitutional because he’s looking at me like he’s been abused… oh sure you feed me premium dog food, you love me and spend time playing and stroking me, you walk me twice a day and you think it’s funny when I do sideway’s rolls (don’t ask, but it’s like a crocodile doing a death roll) and I have access to a lovely garden but you haven’t walked me his morning and frankly lady, that’s what counts… I’m such a bad mother…

I’m a little ashamed of our window boxes. There, I said it. Tomorrow we’re off to Homobase to get new boxes and some flowers and plants. Our pansies have wilted and the lemon conifers look like they’ve been through a very rough detox. In short, our boxes are not up to our usual high standard. And as I sit here typing away I think it’s time to bring them into the back garden where they can be revived and supported through plant group therapy…

Anyway, I’m supposed to be doing some work not documenting the chaos in my personal life. Although I suppose if all that’s wrong is the dog hasn’t been walked and the lemon conifers need a water, I’m doing OK…

:0)

Things that made me smile today...

• Knowing I could have a lie-in tomorrow
• Tomorrow is pay day (I'm rich, rich I tell ya'...)
• The Bravery's Honest Mistake which always makes me think of our holiday in San Francisco
• I have a reflexology appointment later
• We’re having tacos tonight
• I’m picking up my holiday photos today
• Traffic was ok
• Plans for the weekend
• I have a tuna and onion sandwich for lunch… surely one of the greatest sandwich combos ever...
  

Things that made me smile on my way to work

• My cup of coffee
• Listening to Capercaillie and thinking about my holiday in Scotland
• Feeling better than I have for several days (knees ok, asthma ok)
• Letting some cyclists cross after several cars had ignored them and both of them smiling at me, and one actually giving me a thumbs up!
• A small Suzuki jeep on Battersea bridge with a driver and passenger in the front and possibly the largest Great Dane I have ever seen taking up the entire back seat. He was leaning his massive head between his two owners, grinning at the adventure of it all and occasionally licking the passenger's ear
• Getting stuck in traffic but still getting to work early

Making lists

I’m off work sick. My asthma is being a bit of an arse. Has been since the weekend and consequently everything is so much harder because my breathing is so much more laboured. So for once I took my partner’s advice (I take her advice on most things because she is the most wonderful and clever woman I’ve ever met but I tend to stubbornly ignore her on matters of my own health and rush into work sometimes making the problem worse). So when she said, ‘you’re not well enough to go into work’ I think she was quite surprised when I replied, ‘no, I think you’re right’. Of course, just because you’re body needs a rest, doesn’t mean your mind can take a three-day sleep. So I’ve been doing lots of organising and list making and have ordered some stuff for the house. And with all this talk of weddings is much more general talk of the future; are we staying in London, when are we starting a family etc. Consequently I feel like I’ve been quite busy even if it has been from a sitting position!

I’m reading Anne Enright’s Making Babies, Stumbling into Motherhood, which is hilarious. I normally eschew self-help guides and ‘everything you need to know about (in this case) babies’ tomes that often give conflicting and muddled advice and which end up scaring rather than helping you. But this book is the exception, it doesn’t try to teach you anything, it just explores her own journey and almost with out trying is full of common sense. Even if you don’t intend to have a baby, it’s a really funny book…

We still haven’t heard back from the farm where we want the wedding to take place and probably won’t till the end of the week. It’s driving me nuts. I just want to know whether it’s going to be there or whether it’s back to the drawing board. And booking a registrar generally seems quite complicated or have I not read the instructions properly?! Anyway, I swing (often within a very short space of time) between ‘organising a wedding doesn’t need to be stressful and complicated, people just make it stressful and complicated’ and ‘CRAP, WHAT IF I FORGET SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND THE WOMAN I LOVE DISCOVERS I’M REALLY AN IDIOT?!’ There are a gazillion book on weddings but I figure if we just stay calm and make lists, we’ll get there in the end. After all stupid people get married (and for that matter, have babies) all the time and me and the missus are really quite smart…

Anyway, I have some laying on the sofa to do. And maybe I’ll order a new shower curtain… the internet is a wonderful thing…

All growed up...

We’ve just opened a joint account and a savings account… how mature are we! Apart from that and interviewing a new cleaner (dishevelment is beginning to be the rule rather than the exception in this house…) we’ve done very little else and in fact if it were not for the interview, I would still be in PJs.

We’re off to a friend’s wedding party tonight but won’t be able to stay long. There is a reason for my inactivity – my knees are really bad as mentioned in a previous blog. I should be resting all weekend. But we didn’t get to go to their wedding (it was overseas) and we are very fond of them so it will be nice to go and have a celebratory drink. Although – grrrr – their wedding present hasn’t turned up yet.

So I need to eat, iron a pair of trousers and get ready. The sudden rush of activity is a little disconcerting but I'm sure I'll bear up under the strain of it all...

:0)

Sucky 0: Hope 1

We thought it was terminal. Me, my partner, and especially my mum. We thought yesterday’s hospital appointment was to say that the cancer was terminal. We didn’t say anything out loud but that’s what we were all thinking. I didn’t realise really until yesterday how tightly I was wound. My head ached and my stomach was queasy. When I walked into the hospital I was astonished at how angry I was. I also felt I couldn’t bear to be near my mum. I was, for the most part, monosyllabic. But it’s not. It’s not terminal cancer. In fact three chemo sessions in, the lump on her chest has virtually disappeared and the skin is a much healthier colour.

It’s not terminal.

She has cancer in the sternum and shoulder and under her arm, it’s in the bone and she’s on liquid morphine to help with the pain (she had no pain with breast cancer), but there’s hope – in three short weeks there are already changes for the good. She will have herceptin for the rest of her life, and a infusion every three weeks of bone strengthening treatment also for the rest of her life. (Although she is now on a trial for a new type of bone strengthener which you can self-inject, but she still has to go into hospital for the herceptin so as she says, she’s not really bothered.)

She has 15 weeks left of chemo – once a week, and so far, touch wood, she’s tolerating the treatment despite the very high doses.

We went grocery shopping afterwards and it was all very normal. Not having a car and with the pain in her chest, it’s become difficult for her to lift heavy stuff, so the trolley soon got filled as she did a big shop knowing I would carry her bags up the stairs! She bought my partner and I two bottles of wine and box of chocolates to congratulate us on our engagement (she already sent us a card) so it’s safe to say she’s pleased.

My partner and I went for dinner with her parent’s, brother and cousin that night and it was a really nice evening. They were also really delighted for us and there was much wedding talk!

And all the time I was thinking, it’s not terminal...

Less sucky still...

Well it’s been a better day, although my knees are bad. Worse than usual I mean. I’m reduced to hobbling around. I badly need to rest up this weekend because clearly I overdid it on holiday. From a work point of view… I’ve done some! Actually I’ve done quite a lot today which is pleasing.

Some potential bad news. We thought we had found a venue for the wedding and finally I got to speak to the people today but there is another couple booked in for the weekend we want and in fact the venue is booked up from May to September next year! However, the couple haven’t paid their deposit and if they don’t by the end of the week the booking will fall through. Which seems sad for them but potentially fotuitous for us! Also, the venue isn’t yet licensed for civil partnerships but, by coincidence, they are meeting with the registrar next week to discuss getting said license. So until I can speak to them again next Friday it’s all up in the air. That said (she says determined to stay positive) if there are set-backs – and I’m sure there will be – better to happen now rather than much further down the line!

Anyway, I have things to do before I hobble back to the car for my long commute home. Tomorrow we have another hospital appointment for mum which I’m not looking forward to, but onwards and upwards… even if it is with a limp…

Work sucks slightly less... but is still generally quite sucky

I’m slightly less grumpy today which is a miracle really seeing as my commute took almost 3 hours! There was a suspicious package left at Hammersmith tube and they essentially closed Hammersmith whilst they did a controlled explosion. The traffic had nowhere to go (it couldn’t go through or round because of the cordon) and was backed up to Clapham Common.

We live in very crazy times and sadly, they keep getting crazier…

I spent the journey listening to Erasure and singing very loudly to myself which I think helped keep everything in perspective. Although I now want them to sing at the wedding but don’t think I have several thousand pounds in loose change hidden under the sofa cushions. Free accommodation and a good nosh just might not be enough to persuade them…

Anyway, I slept well last night (lavender oil – knocks me right out except that I had strange dreams about weddings, David Beckham, tractors and plastic photo frames). We also now have a dedicated wedding email and blog. Friends of ours who were getting married in India last year had a website and Phil had a blog for his nuptials. It’s a very efficient way of getting info to the right people. Although you don’t want too much information on there, just in case a lot of nut jobs turn up for a free party…

I’ve made a good start on the huge tower of work growing precariously and persistently from my in-tray rather like mushrooms on a damp wall. Still much to do, but this will be a short entry whilst I have a coffee and recharge. Sadly though I have already had a jam doughnut which proves once and for all what a weak willed individual I am when it comes to doughnuts and Danish pastries generally :0(

Work sucks

I bought a bottle of Robbie Burns special edition ale for my CEO (he’s one of his hero’s), it really wasn’t expensive (I bought it in Tesco’s!) but knew he’d really like it. It travelled in Peggy’s boot all over Scotland and back down to SE26 without a scratch. This morning on King St. W6 it somersaulted out of my bag and smashed on the pavement. The traffic was hideous and despite leaving earlier I got in later. My desk was full of crap my inbox full of more crap. Irritating colleague who has left has been replaced by another irritating colleague and really, I wish I was ANYWHERE other than work!

I know I am suffering post-vacation blues and people will be nodding wisely when they read this and metaphorically patting me on the shoulder as if to say, don’t worry love, it will pass. But fuck it, I’m grumpy. I want to be on holiday or if not on holiday in a more fulfilling job. I don’t want lots of pointless emails and crap on my desk. I just don’t.

I’ve just got engaged, surely there should be weeks more of celebrations? A Mardi Gras if you will, with beads and bourbon and music and dancing? I want to do wedding planning not inspection planning. (We have a government inspection in November of this year and actually that’s part of the problem. I swore I wouldn’t leave before the inspection because it would really leave my organisation in the poo and frankly, I think loyalty should count for something. So I guess I feel a bit trapped. Even if a great job came up before November, I’m just not sure I could leave without feeling like a complete cow.)

That’s the great thing about blogs… from cloud 9 to shit creek in one entry, lol!

Travel notes: the final chapter

Our final stop was in Yorkshire to visit my partner’s goddaughter. We crossed the Dales and for a while were transported back to the sort of countryside we had left behind in the Highlands. We had a fantastic final ‘holiday’ night with a lovely meal, beer and whiskey and lots and lots of wedding talk! (There is so much to organise!)

We stuck to the motorway on the way home and it took most of the day to get to Pluto’s boarding mum – who only lives 10 minutes away from us. He was so delighted to see us and happy to get home and root through suitcases and unfamiliar bags (anything for me?!). I couldn't stop hugging him - we missed him so much!

Since we’ve got back we’ve done lots of wedding planning and picked up a smaller engagement ring (it just looks so dam preddy on my finger…) We’ve also done 84 loads of laundry (I’m exaggerating but only slightly), eaten sausages from Edinburgh and enjoyed using our own bathroom again. We answered congratulations emails, texts and phone calls and popped in to see my mother and show off the ring (and take her some presents).

This was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had - Scotland rocks. But I guess any holiday is pretty special if someone you love asks you to marry them on a gorgeous beach on the longest day of the year ;0)

Travel notes: 2365 miles in 2 weeks

Our plan was to head to Kingussie the next day where there were two things we particularly wanted to do – other than finding somewhere to sleep! – visit the Highland Folk museum and go to a working dog display. Dr. Isabel Grant – since deceased – was one of those pioneering women that created her own path in life and her legacy was to preserve a way of life that has since all but disappeared. She observed that we went to great efforts to save and preserve treasures and rarities but we didn’t save every day things for that reason – they were every day and perceived to hold no great value. Witnessing great changes in her own life time she set out to build a museum that valued and stored the things that ordinary Highland folk used. (She also wrote several books; one of which I now want to read.)

The first museum was on Iona funnily enough but now has a permanent home in Kingussie (there is also another site a couple of miles away but we didn’t get to see it.) Everything from kitchen utensils, farming implements, packaging, clothes, art and pottery have been preserved and what with the accompanying text and pictures it makes for a fascinating glimpse into the past. There is also a cottage in the grounds so you can go in and experience how small and dark and cramped living conditions actually were.

This year is the year of Highland Culture so entry to the museum was free – a small but welcome bonus.

I was very excited about the sheepdog display and I have to say it was one of the highlights of the trip! The person that runs it is himself a champion shepherd who trains his own and other dogs – some of whom are also champions. He used 12 dogs and demonstrated herding geese, sheep, sheep shearing and hand feeding lambs. We also got to play with several month old puppies and hold several week old puppies as well. It was fantastic! The relationship between him and his dogs was incredible. He spoke in Gaelic to them and I was transfixed from beginning to end. I fed several lambs and my partner even did a bit of shearing!

We had found somewhere to stay; another hostel – again nicer than some B&B’s and hotels we had stayed in. Private room (we don’t do shared rooms!) and en-suite. The only problem with hostels is that they are all single beds (understandably) and not always easy to move together!

That night we headed to the Tipsy Laird which I have to say doesn’t look all that from the outside. (Proving again that looks can be deceiving.) Inside was a fantastic restaurant where we tried venison steak and pork with apple and mustard fritters. Service was a little hit and miss but we enjoyed the food very much.

The next day we were heading to Edinburgh and decided to go on walk around Loch an Eilein before we left. I had visited the Loch five years ago on a much needed long weekend when I decided to take off on my own; book a train ticket, book a hotel somewhere I had never been before and hope for the best. The fact that I could go back all these years later and share it with my partner was very special. Despite it being only 8.45am and having no breakfast inside of us, we decided to tackle the 3.5 mile walk around the Loch, breathing in the clean sweet air and watching woodpeckers.

We stopped in Aviemore again to fill up with petrol – for the car and for us – before the long journey to the capital. We ate in the Mountain View café, I have to mention it because it was possibly one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten (not counting what we cook at home because I’m v. v. good at home-cooked breakfasts!) My partner had the veggie breakfast and if the noises were anything to go by, it was also one of the best breakfasts she had ever had as well! Of course the stunning view over the Cairngorms didn’t hurt and the long walk had sharpened our appetites! Good service, great food and not bad value although you will pay a bit extra than your run-of-mill caf’ but you do get free coffee (or tea) refills.

In Edinburgh we were staying in a wooden wigwam! 4 miles outside the city in Mortonhall was an amazing holiday park – again clean and very well run (I can’t tell you how lucky we had been with accommodation, I’ve known people go on holiday and spend four or five times what we did and not be as impressed.) The wigwam comes with a kettle and a fridge and even a small heater! It’s well lit, insulated and private. Perfect if (a) you don’t like camping or (b) you do like camping but the weather is too unpredictable! That night we ate a lovely meal outside (with citronella coils smouldering away to keep the bloody midges at arms length), drank champagne and slightly less romantically, did some much needed laundry!

Our final day in Edinburgh was relaxed and involved sitting in cafes drinking chilled beer, buying sausages, getting last minute presents, walking in the park and holding hands. We popped into St. Giles Cathedral (not strictly a cathedral for some reason or another) and although the famed stained glass was impressive it didn’t hold much appeal – neither of us being religious. We were bussing it so we went to another pub for dinner and a pint or two. It was the Jekyll and Hyde (can’t remember what street) – go for the unusual décor and the friendly service. The food is very standard but the beer was nice!

It took ages packing up the car the next day although we might have just been reluctant to admit our holiday was nearing an end. One final stop in England and then back to pick up our beloved Pluto who had had his own holiday, whilst we had ours. At least the sun was shining as we headed south...