What a strange year! 🙂 Aside from a few weeks of freedom in the height of summer, Phil and I have spent the last thirteen months shielding from the coronavirus. Staying in to stay safe. Between March and July, and between September and March, our home and village have been our whole world. No catch-ups … More A Winter of Shielding
For the past six months I’ve been living with the dark clouds of depression. Crying, sad, melancholy depression. Angry, irritable, short-tempered depression. Pessimistic, hopeless, giving-up depression. Trying to stay afloat during a pandemic, has been a battle unlike anything I’ve faced before. The storm clouds rolled in last September (read the blog). With coronavirus case … More Living With Depression
For the past year, whenever I’ve felt down or frustrated or sad about the strangeness of our current lives, I’ve dreamed of a successful vaccine. A possible saviour from this nightmare. An end to all this madness. As one of the ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’, it feels like all of my hopes for a future without … More The Lifeboats
For the past eight years, I’ve been slightly fearful of snow. Whereas once it represented adventure and excitement and fun, since developing Pulmonary Hypertension, it makes me feel trapped and isolated and in danger. The cold air further restricts my airways and lungs, making me breathless after just a step or two. My rural village … More The First Snow
It was dawn on Christmas day. The puddles had turned to ice, the muddy swamps were frozen solid, and the grass was covered in a pretty layer of white frost. But instead of being tucked up in a warm bed, we were wrapped in extra layers, sitting atop our local hillfort, waiting for the sun … More A Different Christmas
Phil and I have been dreaming of getting a second furry family member for years. Lottie the wonder dog had transformed our lives, and so the thought of double the love and the fun and the snuggles was hard to resist. But the logistics of hospital appointments and visiting folks and holidays with two seemed … More A New Puppy
It was the final day of the hardest week of my life. And I was exhausted. My heart was a-twitching, my lungs a-panting, and I felt sick. After seven days of pushing myself to the extreme, my body was screaming for rest. But I barely noticed. 🙂 Instead, I had the biggest smile on my … More The Longest Walk
For the past seven weeks, I’ve been living in a storm. A lone tree flailing around during a dark monsoon. As Autumn has pummeled the world outside my window, with its battering winds and drowning rain and overcast skies… my own inner gale has mirrored it exactly and pummeled me. At times it has been … More A Perfect Storm
It was late afternoon. In the middle of the Firth of Clyde. Phil was swimming in the sea, Lottie was sniffing the seaweed, and I was peering through the binoculars trying to spy on bobbing boats. The sun was shining, the waves were lapping, and there wasn’t a soul to be seen… just us, and … More A Memorable Arran Adventure
On the morning of the appointment, I still hadn’t made up my mind whether I was going to attend or not. I’d spent the evening yoyo-ing from one decision to the next. I should go, I shouldn’t, I should go, I shouldn’t. I debated it in my head whilst watching TV, I debated it in … More To Go Or Not To Go
