International Women’s Day – We Can and We Will

The last few weeks have been a busy and sometimes difficult period for our family. Illness and bereavement marked the final months of winter, and it often felt that life was as stormy as the winds that raged outside. As winter trickles a path into spring, snowdrops pepper our garden and early daffodils peek out…

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Goodbye 2021 – The Highs and Lows of Another Year Behind the Blog

At the end of each December, I’ve fallen into the habit of writing a reflective post on the year that’s about to leave us. The format has varied slightly during my time in the blogosphere, but sharing the highs and lows of another twelve months has become a ritual I enjoy. It also eases me…

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Storms, Seasons and Social Media

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. Anne of Green Gables It’s not the first time I’ve used this quote on the blog (and I’m sure it won’t be the last time). Autumn is finally upon us – that season of colour, crunchy leaves and closing nights. This year feels…

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The March Moon, Cold Comfort and Being Astonished by the World

This week, I have found myself reflecting on the changing seasons as winter slowly turns to spring, and then back again, in the game of back and forth that so often characterises March in Caithness. Here and there, primroses peek out in cheerful colours, while on verges, daffodils open up like yellow, honeyed eyes. In…

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Loving Life With Exclamation Marks

Truth: I don’t always feel happy, or even positive. In fact, now and again I get days where I can really feel quite down. On days like those, you won’t find me posting jaunty captions on Instagram, or commenting on other people’s photographs. In my own experience, social media can be a tricky instrument to…

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Building Your Wellbeing Armoury

A couple of years ago, I spent a long period feeling pretty awful. I won’t bore you with the details – if you’re interested, you can read more about that here and here. For about a year, from 2017-2018 I suffered the effects of a sort of ‘mystery illness’ that left me feeling exhausted, in…

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Parkrun, Anxiety and Saturday Morning Rituals

In the Autumn of 2018, I decided to try my first Parkrun. I’ll be honest though: I only planned to go the once. I had an upcoming stint on BBC Radio Scotland to discuss outdoor activities for families and I thought the free, 5km running event happening weekly at our local riverside might make for…

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Lighting Candles and Other Notes on Happiness

Lately I seem to have so much to say that I don’t even know where to start writing it. Over the last year I have absorbed such a lot of information from reading, podcasts and just living that I really want to share. Some of this is on health, some on happiness, some on self-improvement…

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