A few years back, a friend of mine bought me a t-shirt that said ‘my therapist eats hay’. It made me laugh at the time. There are time I wear it, that the message hits a bit harder.

Today I put it on and headed to the yard to see my ‘hay therapist’. The past few weeks have been a lot, I needed his ears and to spend as much time as I could outdoors and be productive.

Luckily I had three horses to muck out and Buddy to poo pick. So that meant a lot of poo to shovel. It’s funny how calming I find it.

Once Maid Duty was done, I took Buddy out for a chat. He’s a great listener and his fee at the moment is some recovery mash. A pretty good deal huh?!

Not sure we reached any conclusions. Helped me though and that’s what matters. It’s amazing how much just being heard can help sometimes…

Bert and I headed out to beat the heat this morning. I took him to the woodland near the primary school I went to. That was a very long time ago. It didn’t seem to have changed much though from what I could see.

I love woodlands. I found a fallen tree to sit on and watched the sunlight stream through the leaves. Bert found the only bit of water around. Now we’re back home, he’s going to need a shower! He’s covered in mud and grass. He had a blast at Grandad’s!

I’m looking forward to my own bed, seeing Buddy and trying not to worry about my Dad. He’s in good spirits, but still has a way to go on his recovery. At least he has a recovery to make. Sounds like he was a very lucky man indeed!

My Dad asked if I could get the battery in his watch replaced as it had stopped working. So I headed to the local supermarket where they had a key cutting kiosk to get it sorted. While I was there, I got Bert a new dog tag.

His old one kept falling off and was rather small. So I went for a bigger version. One where you don’t need a microscope to read the telephone number!

I’m not sure how impressed he was with the bone shape, but he was very impressed with the treats he got from the supermarket. He carried one of his bones round most of the afternoon. Each to their own…

Look who’s home! Exactly two weeks after I found him mid-heart attack, my Dad has been discharged. It’s been a very stressful, worrying and draining time indeed.

He’s very tired but seems to be in good spirits.

Bert was very pleased to see his Grandad home. Till he realised that it meant he could no longer sit on Grandad’s chair. So we cleared Nanna’s chair and he’s allowed to sit there. The first to sit in that chair since my Mum. I like to think she would approve. She was an animal person after all.

Thank you to everyone who’s messaged, checked in and put an arm around me once more. It means a lot.

The Baby Sprocker excelled himself today. Somehow he managed to squeeze himself and his rather large bone down the side of my chair.

He was very happy sleeping there. I can’t see how it would be comfortable, but he clearly did!

He usually curls up under my desk and sits on my feet while I’m working. This was a new one.

I didn’t mind. Well till he hit my ankle with said large bone. Bone on bone is really painful. His little snores made me smile though.

I bought Buddy a new stable guard yesterday. A new stable deserves a new one. That and I could actually get the old one off!

I managed to get one of the hooks off, but the other one wasn’t budging. Luckily, one of the other liveries had one going spare so I was able to put it up.

Of course me being me, I picked a rather humid day to do it. Honestly the sweat was running down my nose. There was a bit of huffing and puffing as Buddy’s new stable door is narrower than his old one. Got there in the end.

I left him with his lick block while I went to poo pick his field. In fact, there was very little poo in his field as it was all in his field ‘day stable’. That is a big hit I can tell you! Actually makes the job easier for me too.

In fact, him moving to a bigger stable has actually resulted in a less messy stable. Work that one out?! I had wondered if he would be even more messy. Go figure!

He made me laugh when I got back. He’d clearly licked the lick block out of his stable. And was pushing the limits of his restraint. Cause it’s not like he hasn’t limboed under his old one before.

Thankfully my efforts were enough to keep him where he should be…

When I got back from walking Bert this morning, I noticed one of my shoes needed repairing. Yet another sole was coming off. Seriously? Do I walk oddly or do they just not use good enough glue? I’ve had several pairs now where they’ve come apart. Rather disappointing.

Still an easy fix. Managed to glue it back on and left it to dry. I haven’t tested them yet, but fingers crossed. It’s annoying as there is still a lot of life left in them.

I do struggle sometimes with this ‘disposable’ world we live in. All while being told to ‘save the plant’. It’s a weird juxtaposition when you think about it.

Maybe I’m getting old, but I really do feel like things used to be more robust and last longer. Anyone else? Or is that just me?

Anyway, I’ve done my little bit. Let’s hope it works. A sole repair might help my soul. See what I did there…

I popped into B&M today for some plastic drawers. As you do. I came out with some little plastic plants for my lorry. As you do…

Honestly, it’s damn near impossible to come out with just one thing. I also got a bath mat for the lorry shower. Not that I’ve actually used it yet.

I know it might sound silly, but I saw these and thought they’d add those little touches to my lorry. Besides, they were in the sale. There were six left on the shelf. Another woman and I were both eyeing them up and laughing about how cute they were. We ended up taking three each.

I think they look really good and that’s what matters. My lorry is a little bit of a home away from home. Now it feels even more homely.

I went to a wedding reception this evening. I was in two minds as it’s been quite the week. I wasn’t sure if I was in the right frame of mind to socialise. I was wrong. I had a really lovely evening with some really lovely people.

They had a pizza trailer, ice creams and sweet treats. They also had a bathroom basket, which was a new one on me! It had lots of bits in it from safety pins and a sewing kit, to plasters and deodorant. A bit like my ‘event box’.

It was an eclectic mix indeed. As was the music the DJ played. Didn’t stop me hitting the dance floor. Not literally thankfully…

This is definitely not what you want to see on a Friday evening on the M25. Yes, I’m back home again. Interesting journey. Delays everywhere so I came back a different route. Even thought I know the route, it did feel like it took forever…

Honestly I feel a bit like a boomerang at the moment. My Dad is still in hospital and looks like it’ll be next week when he’s discharged, so I came home to wait it out. It’s frustrating for us both. More delays there too.

So where are the positives I’m sure you’re wondering. Well my Dad is still with us and being looked after. Better to find out what’s going on with him rather than discharge him. He’d have boomeranged too.

Even thought my journey took over 4 hours to get home, I have a comfortable car with air conditioning. I don’t miss the Comedy Car in the hot weather.

Bert is an awesome passenger. I barely know he’s there! He curls up in the back and sleeps most of the journey.

I put some music on and sang my heart out to make the journey go faster. Maybe that’s why I forget Bert is there? He’s got his paws over his ears…