Thursday, September 6, 2018

One advantage to writing these first thing in the morning is that it orients me as to the day of the week! We are in Inveraray, Scotland at the Loch Fyne. It is a gorgeous morning so far and I am in the lounge drinking coffee looking out at the lake. I slept longer last night so feel a bit better this morning from that standpoint.

Yesterday we walked around a little village (Luss), took a cruise on Loch Lomond and toured the Duke of Argyle's Castle. Today we visit areas where Robert Burns lived and stay our last night in Scotland at what is described as a quaint hotel. I'm not sure what quaint means - our tour guide said it will be a very local hotel. I actually like that but maybe some don't? Tomorrow we take a ferry to Northern Ireland.

It still is a bit of a challenge getting coffee and not food at first. Because I wanted my coffee but not to eat, I am having it in the lounge. It isn't out to help yourself as it is in the US, so someone had to serve me. They all seem to make it one small pot at a time.

Have a thriving Thursday!

Pictures from yesterday: The first two are from the lake cruise and the last is the view from our room.

Loving the travel, granddaughter, and skinny photos ! Still catching up on posts during last four days of RV ing. The weather was once again in the 90's and humid, and we were grateful for our AC. The double refrigerator /freezer stopped working and we'd had wine, water and Bai in the cooler, so we lost the food. We have a prescheduled service visit to the dealer next week, to address any items we identified during the "shakedown trips".

We decided to take the canoe out early yesterday, when it was fairly windy. I detest life preservers, and rarely wore one kayaking. The baby whitecaps gently breaking over the bow were at the bottom of my threshold for donning one, so when DC insisted I wore mine, it made sense, but I chaffed at being told what to do. The picture on Facebook shows my right shoulder muscles, and the vest flapped open in the wind, to allow some tanning. Living with a Vietnam Vet with PTSD issues.... part way through dinner, he broke down and shared a brisk river crossing where there wasn't enough rope to tie everyone off, the higher ranking men getting rope until it ran out. They lost seven men that day, and it haunts DC to this day. I almost railed against his vest directive and am grateful for the insight he shared.

Consider the motivation is my thought for the day.

Wow - no wonder DC has PTSD. So many vets, especially those from Vietnam, have those terrible memories to cope with.

I'm glad you have been doing shakedowns in the RV. You wouldn't want to be in the middle of nowhere without refrigerated food. I would truly love to do some traveling on an RV like yours someday.

Weight: 139.2
Macros: Cals - 1,485, Carbs - 149, Fats - 57, Protein - 93, Fiber - 38
Sleep hours: 7.5
Vegetable/Fruit Servings: 8
Exercise: Walking 1 hour, mowing 2.5 hours
Meditation: Yes

Liz, looks like your trip is going well! I'm very happy for you. And DianeO, what a horrible situation DC survived!

Quick post today -- yesterday I did a lot of walking and mowed a lot. I'm now waiting for the rain to start; it's supposed to be a soggy next few days.

Today is yoga, a yoga group tea, hair cut/color, lots of errands, some reading and housecleaning.

Today's theme: I'm so, so fortunate!

142.4

I'm here! You are so right- motivation is everything! Still trying deal with the lopsided ratio of time:tasks, emotional energy:situations, relationship:(again,) time+tasks ....available strength and endurance:all of it.

My first piece is out of the kiln--a simple tile design. Lyle is turning into a puzzle of issues- interesting experimenting and discovery-some of which I have solved, others still in process. I forage on. What I would love to do at this point is smash his squishy, soft self to perdition, take what I have learned from the experience and re-form a new and improved Lyle. Time constraints prohibit--Good thing my motivation is the joy and experience of working in clay- not perfection in a finished piece. Never the less, Lyle may come trough anyways.

Smiles and hugs to all.

Greetings Galaxy Explorers

Forgot to weigh today and now I can't because I am full of coffee. Ok, I just realized how lame that sounds so I am 149.5 allowing for coffee. So there.

Seems everyone is off doing fun thing and we are dozing on a cloudy day. Its DH 64th birthday so he gets to doze if he chooses. He will have lunch with the guys and I will plan a nice dinner. I did go to the fancy cupcake store and got two as his birthday cake. I refuse to have a whole one around the house. These are gourmet cupcakes and are normal sized. Coconut.

Liz, who knew there was a Duke of Argyle? Looks like you are both having a great time. I recall France being much more civilized about coffee! Cafe au lait with two little pots. Have you purchased a wool sweater yet?

DianeO - heartbreaking about DC PTSD story. Glad he could share it with you and understand about the life jackets. Around here it seems most every year someone drowns in relatively safe waters. So be safe indeed.

Yes Ann, we are indeed fortunate and should remember it. I feel fortunate to live in a beautiful and somewhat remote place where we are insulated from a lot of issues of modern life - like traffic.

Must do grocery shopping and a studio visit today. I started to clean out my studio but got side tracked.

Bonnie140, push ahead with Lyle and don't worry about imperfections. Then make some more stuff. The fun thing about clay is that its cheap so you can do over all you want. Yesterday I was rushing to get stuff glazed so it could be loaded but realized it is never good to rush glazing - it always shows.

Take care all and stay cool and dry. Diane S

I have 2 Irish knit sweaters at home from previous Ireland trips, so I don't think I'll get another. I'd like a scarf or maybe a tartan wrap. My brother just reminded me that some of my ancestors were Shaw's. Here is the ancient Shaw tartan which I kind of like (the blue and green are definitely my colors):

Yeah thats a cool tartan. I would get some if I were you. My ancestry is swiss. No tartans. Only cheese, chocolate and pocket knives. ds

Cheese and Chocolate: Basic food groups!

Weight 168.2 argh.

What a beautiful day! The crispness/clearness of the air and the color of the lake (bright navy blue) when the wind blows from the north makes it my favorite wind direction, if one can have such a thing.

My dad's procedure at Mayo went well, but he's feeling crappy today as you would if you had your bladder wall scraped down. He's such a good sport about all of it, though.

I managed to drag myself thriugh a treadmill workout, drag being the operative word. It's weird how some days my energy is bouncing and other days I feel like I have cement blocks tied to my feet. I wonder what makes it fluctuate like that? It can't just be motivation can it?

Otherwise, took Ferg for his 8th of 9 laser treatment. He seems to be limping less, but that could be simply because he hasn't been to the beach in several days. He's got an appointment in a few weeks for teeth cleaning (hopefully it helps his dreadful dog breath) and they will do an xray of his leg while he's out then. I'm hoping it's just that he's 11 next week and not anything more serious.

Take care all!