Nice day. England won the cricket; I cleaned the living room while they did so, so I feel good about that; dogs had a marvellous meet-up with friends as always. So let’s think about a tiny speck that rubs under my psyche all too often. Are other people having a better time than me ? When I’m chatting to people with whom I am friendly (that’s as much as I’m usually willing to say) I hear them talk about times in recent days when they have met up with others I know. Clearly I have no reasonable expectation to be
Tag: Dogs
Well, blogging later in the day isn’t going too well, is it ? I either don’t remember, or am ill-inclined, and it gets forgotten. So here I am, lying in bed on a Saturday morning, and I should use this little window. My standard Saturday morning is a good thing. Despite having a lot of control over my timings in the week, I seem to arrange a lot of tasks that get me going early. Maybe that’s deliberate to make sure I get stuff done, but I do set a lot of alarms to grumble at. Saturday mornings are relaxed,
Actually, that’s a rubbish title, because that is a pointless task whereas my organisation has sort of worked out. Kind of. If you take a big-picture approach. Yesterday should have been the car wash thing but a panicked message at 6:30 before a weaselly phone call at 7 am made it clear the guy was expecting to have my car for an entire day just to give it a wash. Even I have too busy a schedule for that. So all things being equal the car will be seen to tomorrow morning (Thursday). I have been very mature and grown-up
At 1:30, it didn’t look good. Well to me, at least. I opened the door to show my dogs the hooning rain that was pouring in sheets past the threshold but Winston just trotted out into it and looked hopeful. Fortunately, in this country strong weather doesn’t tend to last very long. By 2 pm I was in position and a small but keen group of dogs had formed. We ranged from the giant to the tiny, from my nearly 12 year-old, to an only 15 week-old. A good time was had by all in their own way. Some chased
For the past couple of weeks I have had a little house guest in the shape of my friend’s dog. The dog is small and delicate, unlike my two, but we have worked on her desire to pretend to be a delicate flower and she has shown her true colours. I think she has had a very settled time. She likes me despite the fact that I am horrible to her (verbally, of course, and in the most gentle of tones). I have returned her to my friend who is making excellent strides back towards good health. When I did
Lovely morning walking with friends. Dogs playing nicely and a bonus 11-week-old German Shepherd puppy with fluff you wouldn’t believe. I did come away with a slight nagging thought though. I felt like I was “trying”. What I mean is that I could reflect upon conversations that were too speedy or comments that were too plentiful or stories that were too involved and in each case, I wonder if I was making too much of an effort to be the life and soul. Now I don’t know that anyone else there would have picked up on it, at least consciously,
No, Canadian friends, I don’t mean squirrelly – although now I type that, I realise that I could use that word in the same place. Two nations, separated by a common language indeed. My digestive system has been in a state of flux for some half a day now. No more than a bit of irritation, I’m sure, but enough to be inconvenient and for me to bail on Pilates this morning. I have spent the morning wondering what the cause could be, ranging from bad food to opiate withdrawal. Anyone suggesting it is more likely to be from eating
I’ve battled opportunities for negativity so far today and won…just about. I had a bit of a head on in the early hours as the beers from last night took their effect. I cannot believe I could drink into double figures back in my youth. Now I have a couple of pints and I’m distinctly sluggish in the brain department. I might have wallowed in bed but I had an arrangement to meet my sister for a dog walk which was good for me as motivation to get out into the fresh air. We were fortunate with the weather and
On a Sunday I play with dogs. Lots of dogs. Mostly big, some small, all amazing. It is the closest I come to being happy and for a while I often forget to even be glum. Today was no exception. Lots of lovely dogs came along and they all played (mostly) really well, and we saw nervy dogs gaining confidence, new friends becoming better friends, and old friends thrilled at a chance to see and play with their buddies again. I like to say I “stand in the middle” of the group because I didn’t establish it, and I don’t
This is the only post I will make before the I start using the blog properly on 30 October 2022. That is the official start date. But the start of what ? I feel very concerned about my life. I mean that almost in every sense that I could mean it. I am concerned about my mental health primarily, with a history of low mood and negative thoughts, and that in turn makes me concerned for my life in the most literal sense. Whilst I do not plan to hurt myself, I am aware that the chances that my life