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@norqfromork
Make Your Own Sunshine
One of my favourite places to be is right in front of this window. ✨ My view from the den I love my wee den and often mix up what’s on my windowsill to reflect different seasons and mood. The mermaid is always there and my journals, so is the pussy willow which seems to survive all year round 🧐 but the nik naks often change. The flowering cactus was grown from a cutting by my mum last year.…
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Winter Tales
A year ago COVID-19 was only just beginning to come onto the radar in U.K. we were planning an imminent trip to Lanzarote with the Mothership and Father Bear and our biggest concern was packing enough sun lotion. Continue reading
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Bye Bye 2020
Readers, the year swallowed me whole. If you’ve been wondering where I disappeared to, it was clearly no where because absolutely nothing is allowed. But after a good start and a determination to stay positive and robust I got knocked down by one too many curve balls and too a break from writing. My apologies to the loyal followers of this blog. I will definitely continue to write I just need…
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My Week In Pictures
My Week In Pictures
My favourite way to activate the week is and early Monday morning swim in the sea at one of my favourite spots. This week was no different and I made my usual jaunt down to Stromness to join my friend Anna in the water. Chatting, avoiding jellyfish and catching the awesome morning light is a great way to wake up.
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My Pandemic In Pictures - Becoming a Swimsuit Model. EEK!
My Pandemic In Pictures – Becoming a Swimsuit Model. EEK!
And all of a sudden it was September. How did that happen? In the strangest time of my life it feels like it’s gone on forever whilst simultaneously feeling like it’s flying by. Personally, I’m in such a season of transition in all aspects of my life and I’m leaning into that and enjoying the process enormously. One of these transitions is embracing and accepting myself warts and all. I was…
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My Pandemic In Pictures - Recalibrating
My Pandemic In Pictures – Recalibrating
Back in March when lockdown began I remember thinking I mightbe able to do a book launch in June when things have returned to normal. Now we are in the last week of August I can’t believe how stupid I was. Life has changed so much and it’s been an enormous season of change and regeneration for me. My brain has been as busy as my body and caring for mum has been more and more demanding emotionally…
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Is it the new normal yet? Or are we still in the old normal which it turns out was never really that normal at all, or was it? I can’t remember.
Are we still in unprecedented times? Or are the times now precedented because they’ve been unprecedented for so long we’ve now crossed over?
Either way, I came across this on the internet the other day which really made me laugh. Of course, you can’t see me laughing because I’m now going around dressed like a bandit as we are all masked in shops. We now have shoppers looking like they are about to rob the place and shop workers wearing shields like riot police. It’s all very peculiar, I can see why we need to do it, it’s just I feel like I’m part of a Netflix movie that I’m not being paid to star in. And for those complaining they can’t breathe in their mask, just be thankful you’re not a surgeon who wears one all day every day, and hope you never need an operation where the hospital staff decide to abandon you mid-operation so they can go and have a break from their mask.
I haven’t written a post for a while because I’ve been incredibly busy having finally finished and launched my book. The response to it was completely overwhelming and I’ve had some great reviews.
The average self-published book sells 250 in its lifetime and I’ve exceeded 500 in three weeks. This is humbling, exciting, overwhelming and every other ing you can think of.
It made it to the dizzy heights of the top 10,000 in UK I’m told. I’ve done virtual book launches and signed and posted books and remained so thankful for the opportunity to fulfill a life long dream. As I drive through Stromness recently I saw my book in a shop window so stopped the car right outside the shop, hopped out, and took a photo. My book, in a book shop window. Who’d have thought it?
I also became a cover girl 😉
It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind and sometimes I’ve not known which way to turn, but after such lovely reviews, I’ve no regrets. Orkney Beef is in the process of building me a writing den, although I prefer to call it a Bat Girl cave. It looks a bit like a sauna at the minute but that will change when it gets a coat of paint. We are replacing the boiler too, which lives in the den, so a few jobs to complete before its finished but at least we are well on the way. Thank you to Orkney Beef for all his hard work in building something he soon won’t be allowed in. 😉
Orkney Beef in the den he built.
When I posted the 100 or so signed books out to the eager readers I was told that the post office is currently dealing with volumes akin to Christmas. As people are not allowed to go places and take things I guess they are posting instead or ordering online. So I was grateful to both Kirkwall and Dounby post office for their hard work in getting my books out recently and super impressed that this fabulous envelope made it to me!
Well done postie!
What fantastic artwork from a very talented artist and friend. Thank you.
As a mark of thanks to the postie, we have finally put the house name (Beulah) up on the shed so mail can officially find us. Celebrating 7 years in this house it was the least we could do. After all, these are unprecedented, precedented times or something.
Have a great week everyone, and if you haven’t already, you can buy my book from the link below or contact me at [email protected] to purchase direct.
Salt On My Skin
Living In (Un)Precedented Times Is it the new normal yet? Or are we still in the old normal which it turns out was never really that normal at all, or was it?
MY BOOK IS OUT!
MY BOOK IS OUT!
Dear lovely readers and subscribers
I am delighted and somewhat emotional to be able to tell you that my book Salt On My Skin is now available to purchase from Amazon from the links at the bottom of the page.
This book is the fulfillment of a lifelong desire to publish and I hope it’s the beginning of many more.
Below are some quotes from people who were kind enough to read it before it went to…
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My Week in Pictures - Treasure Hunting
My Week in Pictures – Treasure Hunting
Sometimes it can be difficult to write sensitively when there is so much global difficulty going on. I really don’t know what the answer is. In my corner of the internet I’ve always written about the minutiae of my day, shared stories of my life in Orkney and the ups and downs of life. Due to recent events, everyone is clamouring for a voice and I’m still in a place of learning. I could agonise…
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My Positives in Pictures - Looking Back
My Positives in Pictures – Looking Back
Can someone tell me how you stay positive in a pandemic when Orkney throws you this massive curveball in May?
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My Week In Positives - Happy 100th Birthday!
My Week In Positives – Happy 100th Birthday!
If the sight of an elderly man walking around the garden with his zimmer frame raising money for the NHS doesn’t warm the cockles of your heart then I’m sorry but nothing will. This week Captain Tom Moore celebrated his 100th birthday and seeing him enjoy the spitfire flypast and all the messages sent to him from around the world was an absolute joy. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing him on TV…
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My Positives in Pictures
My Positives in Pictures (I also did Joe Wicks one day and woke up the following day feeling like a blow torch had been taken to my legs)
It’s been a week of wonderful weather, providing my first quarantine positive to be the fact I’m definitely getting fitter. As someone who resented walking from the house to the car six weeks ago (I’d rather be swimming!) I’m now clocking up several miles a day now and feeling the benefit of it. Dare I say even enjoying it! (I also did Joe Wicks one day and woke up the following day feeling like…
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After another Groundhog Week in quarantine, here’s my round-up of positives from what otherwise is a horror show.
If dogs could speak (I secretly believe they can) they would tell you that their quality of life has gone through the ceiling. I read of a dog breaking his tail he wagged it so much with happiness that it had so many humans at home, and ours is not far behind. She’s gone from having us both working full time and looking at us longingly in the morning as we head to see if we’ll take her with us, to 24/7 attention and a record-breaking number of walks and distance. She’s walked so far and so often she’s occasionally showing signs of being tired. And because she’s walking so much she’s getting extra food. It’s official, dogs love Coronavirus even if the rest of us hate it.
Hope the dog
No matter what’s going on, the world keeps turning and the seasons will continue to change. This serves as a comfort and reminder to me that everything is temporary and This Too Shall Pass. The daffodils are in full flourish and other spring flowers are beginning to peep through and brave the last flurry of cold. It’s warmed up a bit now but at the beginning of the week I was ready to leave Orkney I was so cold!. I picked daffodils in my garden wearing a fur coat like a mad lady.
Orkney Beef is shielded which means he has an enormous amount of time on his hands. he put them to good use this week giving the garage the mother of all tidies. Having hoarded, salvaged stored saved old bits of wood from here and there since forever in case it came in useful he decided that day was never going to arrive. So took it all down the garden and burned it. Because I’m such a fire phobe and am always barking orders that he has the hose pipe ready etc (I such the fun out of everything) he dutifully did as I requested and dragged the bath-tub down too. I’ve been using this to sit in to keep me acclimatised as I’m not sea swimming (more mad lady stuff, there’s a theme here) Then suggested I hop in. So readers, I did!
Even though I can’t swim in it just now, my love for the sea remains. The sound of it calms me and soothes a troubled soul in those moments of rising fear. On my daily walks, I am gaining such a deep appreciation for not only the sounds of the waves but also the sight of nature in all its glory. I begining to recognise bird sounds that I’ve never know before and the beautiful sound of their wings flapping as they fly close to me. Press play with your sound on, and please forgive the dog whining in the background because I hadn’t thrown the stone for her to chase for the millionth time.
Change isn’t easy, it’s uncomfortable and there are many painful adjustments. I miss hugging my mum, and being able to do more physically in the house for them and this is a hugely painful part of the process for me. But I’m ever thankful for what I can do. I’ve reduced overwhelm by disabling my Facebook account keeping only my business page going and that’s really helped me. I was finding there was a lot of negativity on there, people saying things behind a screen that they would never say to your face. We’re all a lot braver at a computer, so deactivating my account was a very positive decision for me. Friends can still see what I’m up to on here, or my business page, Instagram or even the good old phone. There’s lots of ways to keep in touch, and on that note I’m off to do a zoom quiz with my family and friends, written by Miss Lashes. ❤
My Positives In Pictures – Embracing Change After another Groundhog Week in quarantine, here's my round-up of positives from what otherwise is a horror show.
My Positives In Pictures
We are living in unprecedented times. How do I know this? because every five seconds someone on the tv says the word ‘unprecedented’ and although I fully grasp the severity of the situation, if I hear ‘unprecedented’ one more time I’m going to cry into my Thesaurus.
Quarantine is tough on everybody and we are all sick and tired of being part of a major historical event. Orkney Beef is in the…
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My Year In Pictures - Riding The Waves
My Year In Pictures – Riding The Waves
At the end of a rollercoaster of a year, I always enjoy looking back before looking forwards. There would be no prizes for guessing what the highlight of my 2019 has been as wild swimming started as a one-off and quickly became a life-changing habit. I’ve swum in all sorts of places with an enormous number of new people and loved every minute of it. So much so that I’m writing a book about…
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My Week In Pictures -Ups and Downs
My Week In Pictures -Ups and Downs
It’s been a super busy week filled with lots of ups and downs. Life is like that some times. Miss Lashes was traveling up on a train and unfortunately, someone decided to end their life in front of the train causing enormous distress to my daughter. Our hearts go out to all people in such desperate need especially at what can be such a stressful time for many. We are also thinking of the many…
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My Week In Pictures - 350 In Dog Years!
My Week In Pictures – 350 In Dog Years!
After banging on about turning 50 for the last year you’ll be jolly pleased to know that I will bang on no more as it’s finally happened! My banging on about wild swimming, however, will not cease, and I’m not sorry.
I managed to milk every ounce out of birthday celebrations and feel thoroughly loved by everyone who gave such thoughtful gifts and cards. It goes without saying that there was very…
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