Wee Murphy

Little Murphy, looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.  You'd never know that less than an hour before he'd been threatening to throw me down Blackford Hill.  What a lovely day though.

This is my first Blip entry in a long while.  I used to be an on-off Blipper at the best of times, and then I suspended my account early last year when life just went a bit rubbish.  Long story short, dad died and then other half unexpectedly ended things.  Nothing that hasn't happened to millions of others but, as those millions of others know, it makes you feel rubbish, and I wasn't really in a place for recording my daily thoughts, and also needed to avoid going back through old Blips dwelling on the past.

BUT I never really vanished from Blip as I became quite a lurker and there are certain folk I've continued to follow, and then there are others who I have started following more recently.  I decided it was finally time to resurrect my account and see how Blipping goes from now on.

The last year has not been the easiest and, in some ways, it feels like I've just been in limbo, waiting to stop feeling crappy so I can get on with things.  Maybe getting back to Blipping will help with the getting on?  However, the last year has also had some really positive things in it, and maybe the first Blip of a new era should reflect on some of those?

Moving out of the place I shared with my ex was upsetting and stressful, but it brought me to share a beautiful flat with a lovely flatmate.  I'm far to old to be flat sharing, but I love our little haven with its views of Arthur's Seat, and I love wee Emma who couldn't be more different from me, but with whom I seem to have clicked.  Not only that, but we have a frequent house guest in the shape of little Mina, who will probably feature in my next Blip.

Ponies!  Post break up, people told me I needed a hobby to get my mojo back and make new friends.  I'm "not a joiner," I'm not sporty and I'm not musical.  I spent ages looking at meetup.com and things like that and, while there were lots of great sounding possibilities, I knew that I was never going to make myself go to any of them.  Then in March last year, I decided to go for a riding lesson.  I used to ride when I was wee - never very well - and I still liked horses from afar.  So I took myself along to Lasswade Riding School.  I'm hooked.  Most of my money seems to go on riding lessons and hacks nowadays, and I'm now also a member of Blackford Glen Western Riders Club (which is how I know Murph up there).  And, socially awkward introvert that I am, in recent months I've even found myself some human friends to go riding, horse worshipping and drinking with.

And I went on an amazing holiday last November/December.  I've always said that I didn't have a "bucket list" but if I did, New Orleans was on it.  My friend, Siobhan, and I had planned to go about six years ago but various life things happened and we didn't.  But then we resurrected our plan, and got ourselves there.  It was everything I wanted it to be and more. We also hired a car and drove round rural Louisiana and Mississippi, and then I went to New York for a few days to visit my brother and his gf before coming home.  My only regret is that I wasn't Blipping at the time.  Maybe at some point I'll go back and back-blip some of my pics from then.  Honestly, it was the holiday of a lifetime.

I'm going to stop this here, but I'm quite excited about Blipping more in days to come.