Norq From Ork

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.

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. ❤