Contrasts

What a week of contrast’s.

Friday evening and Saturday morning were spent frantically getting my peat’s in. With the help of Kyle & DS & his tractor we brought 6 loads of peat’s in of the moor. I had done it successfully stacked and dried my peat’s and got them in before the bad weather starts. We have enough peat’s now to keep our stove burning throughout the winter as well as being physically stronger I feel emotionally very good, there is a lot of anxiety getting your peat’s in and I didn’t want to look like the stupid incomer who hadn’t a clue what she was doing. Saturday night we had our first gale in months it was such a shock and it’s rained on and off all week so I got the peat’s in just in time.

Sunday we added a goat to our menagerie. She is called Heidi and is already pregnant, by yesterday my son Finn reported that she has already turned a big patch of weeds into a football pitch, I think the goat is going to be one of his favourites. Finn has also decided to stay with us, this was an amazing feeling for me having Finn back and our family feels whole again. I do feel sadness for Chris and Helen who he has lived with for the last year, they have done a fantastic job with him, and Finn has really got a strong bond now with his dad which wont be broken now.
Tuesday at 5.30am I set off for the mainland caught the ferry and headed for Dundee.

We have exchanged our family car for a big red van-with 6 seats so we can pick up more things off the mainland which we need at home, later on we hope to use it to take our produce to markets. After picking the van up I headed to Glasgow, Wednesday was spent in an orgy of shopping in IKEA etc, but it seemed more a chore than an enjoyable experience.

Arrived in the evening to Motherwell, ready to start training Thursday morning for LAMH a local mental health organisation that is embracing recovery and doing some really good work.
Went out to the van to bring some gear for training to find it had been broken into , & my precious I-pod and satellite navigator had been stolen from a locked glove compartment. Everywhere was strewn with glass, this was 5 minutes before I was due to start training. Take me back to Lewis!!

Any way the group were great as I had to make several phone calls to get things sorted. I love working with support workers because they don’t have any difficulty with the concept or ideas of recovery , are not phased by it’s simplicity and are eager to go back and put the ideas in practice. There is no need to deal with “professional sensitivities” and they understand implicity the need to be human beings first.

Tonight I drive up to Ullapool to catch the 10 o’clock ferry the last late ferry of the year.

Tomorrow will be full of football matchs and chores, hopefully Sunday will be a rest day before I set out for southhampton on monday.