Here I am, home alone all this week. My man has gone off to route mark on the London to Paris cycle ride that he's marked for the last few years. I'm hoping the weather's going to be ok, because otherwise the spray paint won't work and then he'll have all sorts of problems.
Meanwhile, I have loads of work to be getting on with, but I'm finding myself in a bit of a slump and am in a 'can't be bothered' kind of mood, which seems to have been surrounding me pretty much all weekend. This is not good news for my latest venture, which has come to a bit of a dead stop right now due to lack of input from me. I keep having second thoughts about why the heck I'm bothering to start such a project and am worried I've taken on too much.
Still, Wimbledon starts today so I'm sure that'll cheer me up and will give me more to procrastinate with over the next two weeks. Funny really because my this week's tweet (I do a stress less simple tweet of the week on a Monday morning and can be found on @dr_vee11) was all about cutting out distractions. Shame I can't take my own advice!
Monday, 25 June 2012
Saturday, 23 June 2012
A phone conversation with my mother
My mother: Hello, so what have you been doing?
Me: We went to pick up Nell's ashes this afternoon.
My mother: What did you do that for?
Me: So that we can scatter them.
My mother: Wouldn't the vet get rid of them for you?
Me: What? Ermmm... why would we want the vet to do that? It's something we want to do.
My mother: Really? Oh. Well that's fine then. I have a lovely picture of her with you and Geoffrey* from when he came to stay. She was a dear dog wasn't she?
Me: Yes, she was.
My mother: Well, I'm going to go now because I'm going to the theatre soon.
Me: Ok, well have a good time.
My mother: Yes, fine. Goodbye.
Me (to a dead phone): Bye.
I'm saying nowt!
*My brother
Me: We went to pick up Nell's ashes this afternoon.
My mother: What did you do that for?
Me: So that we can scatter them.
My mother: Wouldn't the vet get rid of them for you?
Me: What? Ermmm... why would we want the vet to do that? It's something we want to do.
My mother: Really? Oh. Well that's fine then. I have a lovely picture of her with you and Geoffrey* from when he came to stay. She was a dear dog wasn't she?
Me: Yes, she was.
My mother: Well, I'm going to go now because I'm going to the theatre soon.
Me: Ok, well have a good time.
My mother: Yes, fine. Goodbye.
Me (to a dead phone): Bye.
I'm saying nowt!
*My brother
Friday, 22 June 2012
Another busy week goes by
I can hardly believe today is Friday... this week seems to have gone so fast.
Monday was fairly relaxed and then on Tuesday morning I headed for Glasgow. I was due to attend an evening with Jon Kabat-Zinn followed by a day conference with him and others on Wednesday. I was invited to stay with a friend and we'd organised that I would have lunch with her at her flat on Tuesday and get myself settled before going off to meet up with my step-daughter and her son. However, a slip-up on Mountain Man's part and I never made it to see them, which was a bit sad, but I did manage to get myself to Glasgow Uni, the venue for the evening, in good time.
After the evening, which was very good, six of us headed out for a meal at Tchai-Ovna, a brilliant place, which I advise you to visit if you're in Glasgow. They sell over 80 different kinds of tea and we didn't even get to try one! Still a delicious shared platter between us all and our appetites were satisfied. Back to my friend's for the night.
I woke early on Wednesday and was walked to the venue in case I lost my way. I was very grateful as I'm totally direction-dyslexic. The weather was fantastic... warm and sunny and that was at 8 in the morning. I then spent the whole day inside at the conference on what was probably the very best day of the month to be outside and sadly I didn't feel like I got a whole lot from it, however I did get a chance to meet up with a whole load of people and that certainly was good. Then off back to my friend's to collect my car, which I made with only one wrong turn... I was dead proud of myself! And what a beautiful walk it was along the river. Here's a photo... you'd hardly believe this was the centre of Glasgow, would you?
A reasonable drive back to Edinburgh to get ready for work on Thursday, after which a meet up with MM and my friend N for a dinner at the local tapas bar, El Bar, to put a smile on our faces in the dreadful weather that had managed to manifest in Edinburgh for the whole day. Arthur's Seat was completely shrouded in mist and couldn't be seen. We had an amusing conversation about what tourist's to the city might think about the much vaunted dead volcano in the middle of Edinburgh... kind of: 'Volcano? Where? There? But there's nothing there, just a grey blank' sort of conversation.
This morning we had tickets for His Holiness The Dalai Lama's public meeting at Usher Hall. It was a good morning, if somewhat strange in places as we had opera and orchestra at 10 am before HH took to the stage, but I'm so pleased we went. I always find the way HH speaks is truly inspirational and his voice has this resonant depth that's difficult to describe.
From there MM and I went back to the Borders to pick up our Nell's ashes from the vet, which came complete with plastic flowers and a letter of condolence from the crematorium. The box is completely different to what I expected and has a small, gold coloured disk with Nell's name on it, as you can see:
We both felt it was most appropriate to pick this up after being in the presence of the Dalai Lama. The fact that it was pissing down somehow reflected our mood.
However, when I got home I found two lovely things to cheer me up. The first was a copy of The Eildon Tree, which is the Scottish Borders Literary Magazine that decided to publish one of my poems (it felt a bit surreal seeing it in print); and the second was a gift from my friend who has been putting together the catalogue for the David Nash exhibition, which is currently on at Kew Gardens. It's a wonderful publication and I feel so lucky to have been sent a copy.
And now MM has left me for the weekend to go and medic up at the top of Glenogle for the Rob Roy challenge. Rather him than me in this weather. I shall, in the meantime, have a bit of reflective time... no man, no dog, but a lovely David Nash catalogue and an Eildon Tree to peruse, so not all bad by any means.
Monday was fairly relaxed and then on Tuesday morning I headed for Glasgow. I was due to attend an evening with Jon Kabat-Zinn followed by a day conference with him and others on Wednesday. I was invited to stay with a friend and we'd organised that I would have lunch with her at her flat on Tuesday and get myself settled before going off to meet up with my step-daughter and her son. However, a slip-up on Mountain Man's part and I never made it to see them, which was a bit sad, but I did manage to get myself to Glasgow Uni, the venue for the evening, in good time.
After the evening, which was very good, six of us headed out for a meal at Tchai-Ovna, a brilliant place, which I advise you to visit if you're in Glasgow. They sell over 80 different kinds of tea and we didn't even get to try one! Still a delicious shared platter between us all and our appetites were satisfied. Back to my friend's for the night.
I woke early on Wednesday and was walked to the venue in case I lost my way. I was very grateful as I'm totally direction-dyslexic. The weather was fantastic... warm and sunny and that was at 8 in the morning. I then spent the whole day inside at the conference on what was probably the very best day of the month to be outside and sadly I didn't feel like I got a whole lot from it, however I did get a chance to meet up with a whole load of people and that certainly was good. Then off back to my friend's to collect my car, which I made with only one wrong turn... I was dead proud of myself! And what a beautiful walk it was along the river. Here's a photo... you'd hardly believe this was the centre of Glasgow, would you?
A reasonable drive back to Edinburgh to get ready for work on Thursday, after which a meet up with MM and my friend N for a dinner at the local tapas bar, El Bar, to put a smile on our faces in the dreadful weather that had managed to manifest in Edinburgh for the whole day. Arthur's Seat was completely shrouded in mist and couldn't be seen. We had an amusing conversation about what tourist's to the city might think about the much vaunted dead volcano in the middle of Edinburgh... kind of: 'Volcano? Where? There? But there's nothing there, just a grey blank' sort of conversation.
This morning we had tickets for His Holiness The Dalai Lama's public meeting at Usher Hall. It was a good morning, if somewhat strange in places as we had opera and orchestra at 10 am before HH took to the stage, but I'm so pleased we went. I always find the way HH speaks is truly inspirational and his voice has this resonant depth that's difficult to describe.
From there MM and I went back to the Borders to pick up our Nell's ashes from the vet, which came complete with plastic flowers and a letter of condolence from the crematorium. The box is completely different to what I expected and has a small, gold coloured disk with Nell's name on it, as you can see:
We both felt it was most appropriate to pick this up after being in the presence of the Dalai Lama. The fact that it was pissing down somehow reflected our mood.
However, when I got home I found two lovely things to cheer me up. The first was a copy of The Eildon Tree, which is the Scottish Borders Literary Magazine that decided to publish one of my poems (it felt a bit surreal seeing it in print); and the second was a gift from my friend who has been putting together the catalogue for the David Nash exhibition, which is currently on at Kew Gardens. It's a wonderful publication and I feel so lucky to have been sent a copy.
And now MM has left me for the weekend to go and medic up at the top of Glenogle for the Rob Roy challenge. Rather him than me in this weather. I shall, in the meantime, have a bit of reflective time... no man, no dog, but a lovely David Nash catalogue and an Eildon Tree to peruse, so not all bad by any means.
Monday, 18 June 2012
A new occupation beckons
For years now I've been using some lip stuff to make my lips less dry. I don't find Lipsalve or petroleum jelly to be very good for me for some reason. It's called LipVolume and I originally bought it on an EasyJet flight when I'd run out of my old one and thought I'd give it a try. It says on the blurb that it increases lip volume without needles, but I don't know about that, I just like the tingly effect. It's not cheap but lasts for ages and I've never found anything that works as well.
Ever since then I've been ordering it off Ebay because the manufacturers website is a good £7 more expensive than on Ebay, but when my last one took ages to turn up and I was getting a bit frantic and dry-lipped, I phoned the company just to check that I couldn't get it cheaper from them. The woman told me I could buy it in bulk and then I'd get it even cheaper than on Ebay and, she stressed this bit, I could sell it on for what the hell I like. The minimum order was six, so I went for it. She now has me down as a salon!
So people, if you fancy trying some Transformulas LipVolume you know where to come. I'll do you a very good deal.
Ever since then I've been ordering it off Ebay because the manufacturers website is a good £7 more expensive than on Ebay, but when my last one took ages to turn up and I was getting a bit frantic and dry-lipped, I phoned the company just to check that I couldn't get it cheaper from them. The woman told me I could buy it in bulk and then I'd get it even cheaper than on Ebay and, she stressed this bit, I could sell it on for what the hell I like. The minimum order was six, so I went for it. She now has me down as a salon!
So people, if you fancy trying some Transformulas LipVolume you know where to come. I'll do you a very good deal.
Sunday, 17 June 2012
I feel like an adult
A weekend in Edinburgh, which was marred only by the weather. I think 'deluge' is the appropriate word. I got absolutely soaked when out on a shopping mission and immediately put the heating on and watched the tennis from Queen's Club in my pj's while waiting for my trousers to dry on the radiator.
Mountain Man joined Matchgirl on a date with destiny... or rather Chi Running... at Meadowbank where they spent the day freezing their arses off along with 3 other brave souls. They learned loads apparently, all about their bad running habits and are both now in the process of changing their running style. It's actually very good but takes a while to get used to. Matchgirl told us about it and I've been trying out Chi Walking (obviously a grade down from my faster compatriots) for the past month.
The three of us went out to David Bann's for our meal, which was lovely and then back to ours for a bit more wine. I was very encouraged this morning when I had no evidence of hangover in spite of the amount of alcohol consumed... a bonus in my book!
And just as MM and I were about to enjoy a leisurely Sunday he got a call-out from Borders Search and Rescue and so off he went to do his duty. I'm pleased to report that the person they were looking for was found still alive, but poorly, as the elderly guy had been lying out in a field since Friday. He was carted off to hospital and the latest info is that his body temperature is steadily increasing. Unbelievable that he survived given how cold and horrible the last few days have been.
Meanwhile I came home and settled down to watch the tennis final only to have it cut short as David Nalbandian took out his temper on a court official's chair and in so doing injured said official and was immediately disqualified. So in the middle of the second set there was no more tennis. What a disappointing end. I wanted Cilic to win, but not like that. Roll on Wimbledon!
The only other thing I wanted to tell you is this: as you're aware I have been trying contact lenses for the past few months and a few weeks ago I got a call from my provider to say there was some problem with the dailies I'd been using and could I try some others. I made the decision that it might be good to try monthlies instead. I don't know why, but it has kind of made me feel grown-up in contact lens terms. So now I've joined the brigade of adult contact wearers. I just wish I wasn't quite so cack-handed with them as I keep losing them. I found one on the edge of the sink last night when I thought I'd put it in it's place in the cleaning fluid. I might just have to go back to being a child again at this rate!
Mountain Man joined Matchgirl on a date with destiny... or rather Chi Running... at Meadowbank where they spent the day freezing their arses off along with 3 other brave souls. They learned loads apparently, all about their bad running habits and are both now in the process of changing their running style. It's actually very good but takes a while to get used to. Matchgirl told us about it and I've been trying out Chi Walking (obviously a grade down from my faster compatriots) for the past month.
The three of us went out to David Bann's for our meal, which was lovely and then back to ours for a bit more wine. I was very encouraged this morning when I had no evidence of hangover in spite of the amount of alcohol consumed... a bonus in my book!
And just as MM and I were about to enjoy a leisurely Sunday he got a call-out from Borders Search and Rescue and so off he went to do his duty. I'm pleased to report that the person they were looking for was found still alive, but poorly, as the elderly guy had been lying out in a field since Friday. He was carted off to hospital and the latest info is that his body temperature is steadily increasing. Unbelievable that he survived given how cold and horrible the last few days have been.
Meanwhile I came home and settled down to watch the tennis final only to have it cut short as David Nalbandian took out his temper on a court official's chair and in so doing injured said official and was immediately disqualified. So in the middle of the second set there was no more tennis. What a disappointing end. I wanted Cilic to win, but not like that. Roll on Wimbledon!
The only other thing I wanted to tell you is this: as you're aware I have been trying contact lenses for the past few months and a few weeks ago I got a call from my provider to say there was some problem with the dailies I'd been using and could I try some others. I made the decision that it might be good to try monthlies instead. I don't know why, but it has kind of made me feel grown-up in contact lens terms. So now I've joined the brigade of adult contact wearers. I just wish I wasn't quite so cack-handed with them as I keep losing them. I found one on the edge of the sink last night when I thought I'd put it in it's place in the cleaning fluid. I might just have to go back to being a child again at this rate!
Friday, 15 June 2012
And the torch came by
At around 2.15 pm we were aware of people congregating and, even though the Torch Time wasn't supposed to be until 2.50 we decided to go outside and join in the gathering. It was cold out there!
 |
| Me sheltering by the side of the house with our Tibetan flag flying |
 |
| A policeman from the Met having a laugh with the locals |
 |
| Two of many riot vans |
Then the parade began. We had Coca-Cola and Samsung floats go by. I was given a small bottle of coke emblazoned with Olympic rings and others were given frisbees. Samsung weren't giving anything away, but played loud music and tried to rouse the village to do more than look, but sadly even though they tried their best, the good folk of Gordon just took photos and politely smiled.
 |
| The Samsung float coming down the street |
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| Definitely not 16 |
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| And there goes the Olympic Torch with our house in the background |
Anyway, it was over and done with very quickly and we retreated inside to the warmth of the house. It was good that the village was included in all this, but... riot police? a Torch bearer from England? I think that about sums it up!
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Back to Inverness and home again
On Sunday when I had to get up the road to Inverness for Monday and Tuesday teaching, I was very reluctant to go. Partly because of feeling like I wanted to hide my head under the duvet and not face the world and partly because I was watching the men's final of the French Open. However, rain stopped play and I managed to pack my bag and get myself out of the door before the match started again. Sometimes it's good to force oneself to work rather than give in to feeling low and I'm pleased to say that I found the match on Radio 5 Live (until it went off again for the day due to more rain) and also that the enforced concentration on work and others allowed me to stop dwelling on my sadness, at least for a couple of days.
One of the delights of staying in the Inverness area is that the wildlife is just so fab. I'm not suggesting that it isn't in the Borders, but being in a village is very different from living out in the countryside. Where I used to live we had resident pheasants, deer and red squirrels, so it was delightful to once again have my breakfast with a red squirrel enjoying it's early morning feast at the same time.
The teaching went well and the feedback was excellent and then on Tuesday night I headed off down the A9 to Edinburgh as I had my last poetry class of the term yesterday, which I'm so pleased I got to. I can't go next week to the actual last class of term as I shall be in Glasgow for a Mindfulness conference, so it was important to me to make it this week. And then it was home to the Borders, to an ever so quiet house.
No time to dwell though as today is the day the Olympic torch passes our door - literally passes our door - and my dear friend Shirley is coming down to partake of the event with us. The road is going to be closed from 11 until 5, though the torch itself isn't due until this afternoon, so we can't really go anywhere or do anything but stay home and wait until the event itself. I'm quite looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.
One of the delights of staying in the Inverness area is that the wildlife is just so fab. I'm not suggesting that it isn't in the Borders, but being in a village is very different from living out in the countryside. Where I used to live we had resident pheasants, deer and red squirrels, so it was delightful to once again have my breakfast with a red squirrel enjoying it's early morning feast at the same time.
The teaching went well and the feedback was excellent and then on Tuesday night I headed off down the A9 to Edinburgh as I had my last poetry class of the term yesterday, which I'm so pleased I got to. I can't go next week to the actual last class of term as I shall be in Glasgow for a Mindfulness conference, so it was important to me to make it this week. And then it was home to the Borders, to an ever so quiet house.
No time to dwell though as today is the day the Olympic torch passes our door - literally passes our door - and my dear friend Shirley is coming down to partake of the event with us. The road is going to be closed from 11 until 5, though the torch itself isn't due until this afternoon, so we can't really go anywhere or do anything but stay home and wait until the event itself. I'm quite looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.
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