The highs and lows of my November holiday!

The lyrics 'What a difference a day makes' are as true today as when they were written in 1934. My yesterday was indeed blue :( nothing felt right and I had nothing to do. Today, I have such a lot to do and yesterday, is thankfully, is history.

Here is my holiday A-Z...

A is for apple tv, airplay & Angelina Jolie, who is stunningly beautiful in 'The Tourist'
B is for feeling blue, brilliant Blue Planet series( yeah!) and buying my first purchase on my tv.. drum roll, a big moment!
C is for going to Cribbs, coffee, feeling crazy, chilling out & climbing mountains...
D is for missing dad on what would have been his 88th birthday :(
E is for my expectations, which need resetting & enjoying time with my wonderful mum
F is for feeling the fear, tasty fillet steak & the tiny field mouse I rescued from scary, horrid cat - HA!
G is for giving & getting the balance back...
H is for being horizontal :)
I is for indulging myself with half a box of orange matchmakers..
J is for jumping for joy when I got out of bed this morning and realised yesterday was history!
K is for... just being Komplicated
L is for wonderful lickle sister's birthday, Lisa's birthday meal at Brasserie Blanc and lemon drizzle cake
M is for MRI scan, which ranks in the top 3 worst things to happen to me this year & I never wish to have one again, EVER!
N is for no regrets & 'Not Another Bill' (fab idea!)
O is for OH x 3!
P is for Pudsey bear, photographs, of trees, trees and me :)
Q is for skipping the Q in B&Q...
R is for remembering to breathe, my Radley board & buying twinkling reindeer lights for my tree to cheer me up
S is for stuffin' things, sherry, speaking to my lickle bruv, scary dreaming & Skyfall; one of the best Bond films ever!
T is for tears, tidying up my airing cupboard (GOD, do I really have so little to do?!)
U is for underwear :()
V is for vacancy, vin & VIN!
W is for a lovely walk at Westonbirt
X is for bloody X-ray!!
Y is for surprisingly yummy broccoli soup, which I found in my freezer
Z is for ZIPPO!

Trees, trees, trees & me...

Blue sky is good for the soul, particularly my soul!

Plenty of autumn colours still makes this the best walk for me.

Dazzling sunshine piercing the haze it a welcome change from the drippy, dull, mist that was Friday's walk.

I love these massive trunks which stretch up into the blue sky. I am left imagining what kind of life they've seen over the years of growing to be this tall.

Ha ha, I was so busy taking pics of me that of course, I didn't spot the guy cycling up the hill behind me. Imagine my surprise as I spun around just in time to see him wizz straight past me! 'Ooops sorry' seemed to amuse him as he wobbled slightly, straightened up and kept on riding by.. :) I know I'm a muppet!!

I never imagined when I bought my San Fran sweatshirt from California a few years ago, that it would be such a great walking companion. I need my hood up to keep my ears warm and stop those drippy trees chilling me out! I'm currently listening to a new audio book, 'The Sentinel' by Mark Oldfield. It's 21 hours long and is the first of a Trilogy, 'Vengeance of Memory', so there's plenty more walking hours to enjoy with this crime author - hurrah!

Westonbirt walking & bean, green soup!

Me & Mum had a lovely few hours walking at Westonbirt. It wasn't what you might call sunny but it was dry & reasonably warm so we were quite happy. Many of the trees had already shed their autumn coats but we did find a few gems left in Westonbirt woods.

It's always great to go and have a walk in the countryside, particularly when there's a coffee bar, come restaurant close by. Westonbirt treated us to hot, homemade soup. Mum's choice, 'pea broad bean and mint' was a particularly dark shade of green. Mine was 'curried parsnip', which was very tasty too! The taste was enhanced by a delicious scone, which is the first for over 2 months!

Autumn DAM BUSTING & Wonder Walks!

Autumn is a glorious season. I am really enjoying my new walking regime (as instructed by my PT!). The leafy lanes are easy to walk, the trees are putting on their best show and I'm listening to one of my audio books, what could be better?! The leaves have changed colour within the last couple of weeks from summer apple green to a stunning display of amber and gold.

Here's my walk two weeks ago...

I love this moss covered wall and it certainly must have a wonderful and unique story to tell. Just imagine, years of passers by, snatches of conversation, people on horseback, bikes, cars, woodland animals, insects in the undergrowth, fairies.. !! Layer upon layer of amazing little stories to fill chapters in the book of this wonderwall..

And here it is now..  I think it's the best time of the year to walk because the air is crisp and my ears are  warm and toasty :)

Today I talked myself to walk into Minch and back, which took me just under an hour. I've wanted to walk this route for such a long time but never got up the enthusiasm to actually do it. I thought of all my inspirational friends who are walkers and I listened to 'Sins of the Father', an eagerly awaited sequel to 'Only Time Will Tell' by Jeffrey Archer. I felt such a great sense of achievement when I stepped back through my front door. A feeling which was much needed, having spent most of the weekend doing very little, apart from tiding and feeling out of sorts with the world and his wife.

It's a rare thing for me not to have plans but with shoulder and neck aches, lack of sleep and a general feeling of, what would I call it, novemberness.. I wasn't great company for me this weekend. The blocks of my life just weren't falling into place, I was overwhelmed by decision making which drives me bonkers at times, and being cranky has never really suited me. Don't you find that it's so much harder to be distracted from the negative things when there's just you in your head? Let's face it, we all have days when we just can't make up our minds what to do and mope about like a wet weekend. Those are few and far between for me but when they happen (I can even see them coming!) there's only me to give me a good talking to.

Fortunes can turn on a sixpence and that dam of 'Pollyanna gladness', built over years of positive thinking, can threaten to burst on a day when there are one too many cracks creeping in. Thankfully, there are ways to turn the sixpence and in the absence of family, friends make the best glue and one phone call can make me feel better. I guess I'm used to making others smile and when I need someone to do that for me, I'm not going to admit it. Feeling what people call 'under the weather' is such a distraction for me and has thrown me off course this weekend. I have been so focussed on being fitter, being smarter about my choices, slimming and doing well which has been brilliant roller coaster to be on. But when I'm out of sorts, not even the things I enjoy can put a smile on my face. It's like trying too hard, I know it won't really work so I have to wait.. wait for the 10% flip. The only thing I know for certain is that the feeling will pass and everything will easily, as if this never happened, get back to normal again.

I've never really got much joy out of tidying, sorting and hoovering, (it's a family trait!) so being out walking, even though it was a tad murky and very quiet, was quite thought provoking and least of all, enabled me to work up an appetite for my lovely home cooking - yet again!

And I'm fine now :) just like an ill wind that turns direction, today the sun is shining and all is good in my world again.. HU-blooming-RAH! X