I’m bored of this bug now, so I decided that I’d felt sorry for myself long enough. It was time to get back to some semblance of normality. So in typical Pip fashion I overdid it.

I took Bert out for a longer walk, I mucked Buddy out and cleared a week’s worth of poo from his field. I got rather cold doing the latter, so headed home for a rest. Which of course, I didn’t.

I also reminded myself why going food shopping on a Saturday afternoon was a really bad idea. There seemed to be a lot of people wandering around aimlessly. Admittedly I was one of them at some points.

I rewarded myself with a Belgium bun. And not just for surviving Lidl.

Bert is rather unimpressed with the weather. He’s spent a lot of today asking to go out. Even though I’ve explained that it’s raining and rather windy.

He’s then torn around the garden like a loon. And begged to come back in. I felt like a bit of a doorman!

This evening he made me laugh by sulking by the door. Don’t be fooled, he’d been out and done his ablutions. He asked to go out again and again, just to bounce around then come back in.

The kittens weren’t impressed either. They’ve both come in like drowned rats. They’re sulking too. I bet Buddy is happy to be tucked up in his stable.

I know I am very grateful that I got the roof sorted out. This is the kind of weather that would have resulted in an indoor water feature. So glad I don’t have to worry about that anymore. It’s funny as I didn’t realise how much it has worried me till it was done…

I woke up feeling a bit better today so thought I’d venture out with Bert. I figured the fresh air would help. Bert was very happy to be out.

I was right and wrong. Apart from walking at sloth speed rather than Bert speed, it felt good to be out of the house. Till I got about halfway round. Then I started feeling rather wobbly again. Luckily the sun was shining so I made my way home at an even slower pace. What’s slower than a sloth?!

Whatever this bug is, it’s really floored me. More rest for me… Maybe the walk was a step too far. It was worth it to see my Baby Sprocker so happy.

Another day of feeling pants for me. I woke up to a message to say that Buddy had been mucked out for me. Honestly, I cried I was so grateful. Such a kind gesture.

I fumbled my way through the day. Trying desperately to focus with a head full of cotton wool. I gave up and returned to more medicinal Disney. This time an educational show about the Tudors.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Tudors. Particularly Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. So imagine my surprise when a few years ago, I discovered I had a familial connection to them. I have a friend who’s investigated my family tree.

My 17 times grand father was Edward Stafford (3rd Duke of Buckingham) who was a member of Henry’s privy council. Unfortunately he was executed for treason when he fell foul of Cardinal Wolsey.

My 14 times grand father was Thomas Howard (4th Duke of Norfolk) who nearly married Mary Queen of Scots. Yup, you guessed it. He lost his head for treason too. This time against Elizabeth.

I wonder if that’s why I find their history so fascinating. As fuzzy as my head is right now, I’m grateful I’m not at risk of losing mine…

I’ve felt like I’ve been fighting off some sort of bug for a few days now. Yesterday I felt rather fuzzy. Today I admitted defeat and crawled to the sofa for an afternoon of medicinal Disney.

I knew I wasn’t right after walking Bert yesterday. Usually that invigorates me. Not yesterday. Then mucking out was a struggle. So early night for me.

Today I woke up feeling worse. I took Bert out and it made me feel even worse. My head was like cotton wool, my sinuses painful and my chest tight. Delightful!

Bert was attentive. Well when he wasn’t asleep. If snoring was medicinal, I’d be healed by now. He’s not a huge fan of sneezing. Every time I did, he jumped a mile.

Disney helped. I watched Wish for the first time. It made me cry. Another clear sign I am under the weather. I guess it was bound to happen. Things have been a bit full on later.

Normal service will be resumed soon…

Buddy had his sheath cleaning today. He got a gold star for standing still. The garlic lickblock might have had something to do with that! I swear his eyes roll back in his head he’s enjoying it so much.

He has the loudest lick you can imagine. It’s rather off putting how much he slurps at it. He occasionally paused, tongue out and slurps more. Funny boy.

He was happy to have something else out as well. Sadly we were talking so much, he didn’t get his sticker for being a good boy.

He’s clearly traumatised by the whole experience. I forgot to take a photo, but luckily I got sent this one and one of his doing his best ‘give me treats’ face too.

It was the last Carleton show of the year, so I popped over to help. I was going to take Buddy to jump, but I’m a month out from Conference and feeling a bit low on reserves. I thought I’d cut myself some slack and give us both an easy run up.

I was absolutely fine with this decision till the jumping started. Then I looked at the course and wish I’d brought him. It was his kind of course. Sometimes I know I have to be sensible and driving myself into the ground helps no-one. Especially me.

That’s not to say I didn’t do stuff today. I got drenched and rather cold helping out. I still managed to do a lot of running about. We had a weight bridge there so I helped write down the figures. Yes I also jumped on, well it would have been rude not to as it was there.

It was fascinating seeing the difference between the horses. Like us, they come in different shapes and sizes. Some much larger than others! The heaviest horse was nearly 13 times me!!

I burned a few calories and after the weight bridge said I’ve lost a bit of weight, I thought I’d treat myself to one of my favourite types of chocolate. Quite apt really (I’ll let you insert your own jokes there). It’s been another great season for our riding club. Here’s to Winter training and a bit of downtime for us both.

I headed to Sea Palling today to meet up with one of my camp instructors and a few fellow campers. The plan had been to go for a dip in the sea. Mother Nature put pay to that was it was a bit rough.

So we had to have coffee and cake instead. Well I had a cheese scone, but you get my drift.

It was lovely meeting up without the eau de horse. We chatted nonstop. And not just about horses either. Which makes a refreshing change.

As I was at the beach, I had to go and see the actual sea and say hello. The sea breeze was fierce! It fair stopped me in my tracks. You might be able to tell from my hair. It was a bit wild! So it was more of a hi from a distance. The thought was there…

Buddy got a shock today when I arrived early at the yard and brought him in. This usually means we’re off on an adventure. So imagine his surprise when I tacked him up and took him out for a ride in the rain instead. Cause he was so dry in his field!

We were both rather wet when we got back. Unlike wet dog, wet horse is an OK smell. I also got to experience wet dog too. Well I was already wet, so made sense to take Bert out too.

Thankfully he’d dried out by the time his friend Jeff arrived. They had a lot fun together. Bit too much as Bert fell behind the sofa in his enthusiasm. He tried his best to style it out.

Now Jeff is considerably smaller than Bert, but still puts him in his place when Bert gets a bit OTT. Which is a lot. The occupational hazard to being as Sprocker eh?

Jeff is a little dog with a big personality. And a cracking name…

The clouds looks so pretty this evening. Like cotton candy or cottage cheese. I’m sure there’s a technical name for them, but I only know a few cloud formations and this isn’t one of them.

I noticed them as I was getting my third load of washing off the line. It’s the middle of October and still warm enough to line dry stuff. I took the opportunity to wash the sofa throws, blankets and bedding.

All in all it’s been a rather productive day.