Work Rest and Play : March 6th 23

Bye, Bye Edinburgh. Ramsay Garden, Seen From the Bus on Princes Street © Julia Laing 2023

Missed a week because I decided to take some time out to explore instead. Exploring sounds a bit grand. In reality, it was jumping on a stagecoach bus and heading west for a couple of days in Glasgow, catching up with an old pal, followed later in the week with a trip to Oban with Robb. He drove, so I got to relax and take in all the bonny Scottish scenery. The weather gods were benevolent, so we were able to soak up some rays as we sat outside the cafe, breathing in the sea air, warming our hands with coffee cups, and feasting on traybake. The Oban Chocolate Company has the most indulgent chocolate and peanut butter slice I’ve ever tasted…and I’ve tried quite a few, FYI.

We drove home via Glencoe and saw the mountain peaks without their customary veil of grey mist and cloud for the first time; a view that’s graced many a shortbread tin over the years, and for good reason - it looked spectacular - the sun blazing, and just the tiniest frosting of snow at the top.

Got home last Sunday. Found the house unusually tidy and was thankful I’d made the effort to clean and tidy up before we left. Admittedly, mainly for the benefit of my sister, who was cat-sitting. Grateful too, that she agreed to be there, and stop me worrying about being away from home. I loved being away but I also love how spending time in other places affects how you feel about home when you return. Instead of feeling stuck in the same four walls you begin to notice and appreciate all the little things that make home special.

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This week couldn’t have been more different. Cooped up again, staring at a screen most days. The fees on my website are going up in April so it makes sense to get the best out of it and update the theme to a newer version, which has many improved features. Trouble is, I never just sit down to work for an hour or two, instead, I power on for hours mindlessly making a million and one adjustments to the settings, changing the colours and the fonts, and then changing them back again five minutes later; getting stuck and ending up down rabbit holes of Youtube tutorials, only to end up in a trance-like state. I make lists, pages long, of things needing to be done, work my way through them, forgetting to move, forgetting to eat, all the while thinking I’ll just carry on until it’s finished. (don’t try this at home, people.) The reality of websites is they are never finished, by their nature they will always be a work in progress.

The upshot is, after a few very late nights I eventually managed to update the theme…although no one will probably notice…urrg. I also used Canva to make a pretty new header image, which gives a flavour of some of my work. That was more like fun!

Please, a favour, if you visit my updated website could you let me know if you see any typos or anything weird. I’d be oh so grateful!

Hoping for more balance this week. Less screen time, more art, more movement, more rest. Plus, The 100 Days Project Scotland has an exhibition in Edinburgh I want to see. That’s about it. Hope you have a good week. Freezing temperatures are forecast so make sure and get your thermals on!