A Hodgepodge of Thoughts

It's time for Wednesday's Hodgepodge, a prompt based weekly blog challenge, with the prompts provided by Joyce at the blog From This Side of the Pond.

1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

Blogging has taught me that I can ramble on about the most inconsequential things and has reminded me how much I love writing. It's also taught me to take photos of all sorts of weird things that I may not have really stopped and noticed before, as you never know when it will be of good use in a blog post.

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

I'm quite a fan of leftovers but my beloved not so much - he always worries if it's okay to eat something still. It's easier now that we don't eat meat, as I tell him a vegetable dish that's a few days old isn't going to kill him.

This is really embarrassing to admit, but when I was in my twenties my favourite leftovers were pizza, eaten cold the next morning for breakfast, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, again eaten cold the next morning for breakfast - now the thought of it turns my stomach.

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?

I don't think it's so much about having 'me time' as taking time to do things that restore your soul. For some people that may be having time by themselves, taking time to meditate, or even just soaking in a bubble bath. It could be about meeting friends for a coffee or going to the gym - whatever it is that helps you regroup and have the energy to keep doing whatever it is you do. For me it's about spending time with my beloved and taking time to enjoy the little moments in life. 

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

I like to think that my way of helping is listening. I don't think I have many skills that would be helpful to people, but I love being able to support people if things are tough.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

The smell of my childhood would be hay. I loved it when the hay harvest was on and you could smell it in the air, and then we would often play in the barn amongst the stacked hay bales.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I had a fabulous argument with a three year old at work this week. We were talking about what he might want for Christmas and I told him I wanted a unicorn, to which his reply was, they aren't alive (meaning they aren't real). I was horrified (not least because a three year old didn't believe in unicorns) and proceeded to tell him they are very real, and then followed a bit of back and forth with no compromise from either of us. I then asked him if he believed fairies are real? Yes, because the tooth fairy is real (at least he believes in something magical, even though I suspect it's because of the money aspect). I then informed him that the unicorns live with the fairies so if fairies are real, unicorns must be. I'm claiming that as a victory.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and look out for any unicorns needing a home.

Pamela & Ken

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Glamping in Glenshee

At the weekend I ticked another item off my bucket list, and that was glamping (glamorous camping). We stayed at the wonderful Glenshee Ecocamp which is in Perthshire and 94 miles away from us. The drive down is through stunning scenery and even the sky was spectacular.

I love the quirky things we find when we're out and about - this garden is adorable with different Buddha statues throughout. At the top is a platform for sitting out which must be very peaceful.

Another picture of the very rugged scenery of the Cairngorms.

Look at our tent of loveliness! It's beautiful and so my colours. Our tent was at the very edges of the campsite which meant furthest from toilets but it also meant it was the most peaceful spot on the site.

Even Bramble was catered for with a pink food bowl and a giant dog treat - I love it when places we stay do something like this as it's acknowledging how much a part of the family our furbies are.

This puppy dog was staying at the campsite as well and regularly came to visit - she would make me laugh as she would sneak into the tent as if we weren't going to notice her, but then she would pick up the scent of dog food or treats and start investigating.

Bramble meeting one of the permanent residents of the campsite - she was very nervous and Ken had to spend ages encouraging her to get near. The donkey just patiently waited for her to come and say hello.

We went out for tea on the first evening at a pub that was about ten minutes away. We had fish and chips, but not just any battered fish, the batter was made using prosecco! It was scrummy.

On our way home we came across a very Scottish road block - pheasants everywhere. The campsite bordered a huge Scottish estate where they breed pheasants for shooting (murdering) with the season starting on October 1st. It was lovely lying in bed listening to them talk to each other at night.

In our tent was a tiny wood burner which helped to keep us toasty and warm at night - here's Ken doing his man thing with the fire (I tried and was a disaster at firestarting).

Inside the tent was a low table, a bed, and lots of lamps and candles. There was also a kettle if you wanted to put it on the woodburner. This is looking up at the top of the tent from the bed.

At night........

In the morning.......

Apart from the donkeys there were several other residents of the farm including llamas which they do trekking with.

Lots of chickens and in amongst the chickens there was a goat.

This is looking towards our tent across part of the site. There were two of the green wagons plus several pods near the main house for people to stay in. If we were to go in winter I think I'd choose to stay in one of the wagons as they look really cosy and cute.

Me and Bramble relaxing at the tent. There were some really pretty floor cushions that we could use outside - it was so relaxing sitting there, reading and enjoying the view.

As you can see, I dug out my festival wellingtons and they fitted in with the colour scheme of the tent perfectly.

Down the road from the ecocamp was this very cute library in an old phone box. It wasn't the only one we saw in this area and I think it's a great use of them and lovely to have somewhere to recycle books for others to read.

Both the lovely donkeys.

Someone (Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom) commented on my facebook post that our tent looked like a unicorn tent, so what do I do, go out and adopt a unicorn for the tent. Importantly it's a purple horned unicorn.

What better way to enjoy Prosecco than drinking it out of the bottle through a purple straw whilst enjoying the great outdoors.

Sunset on our second evening - we sat outside the tent to eat and it was beautiful.

Another view of the tent of loveliness - you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney. I should add that again I tried to light the fire with no success and then Ken stepped in like a proper bushman and made fire.

Bramble sleeps in her crate at night but in the morning she took great pleasure in getting into bed between the two of us - I personally think it's more about being next to her daddy and pushing me out. This photo of the two of them is so cute (and slightly disturbing).

Really loved this weekend in the tent of loveliness with my wonderful husband and one of our furbies. Have you ever tried glamping, or do you prefer all the comforts of a five star hotel.

The area we explored will be in another post, as there's way to much to put in this one. Until next time, be good, stay safe, and make sure you're kind to yourself this week.

Pamela & Ken

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