It’s starting to look a lot more Christmassy Chez Pip. Spent this morning putting my tree up and got my wreath from the super talented Helen Evans.

So far Hugo and Dodo are as nonplussed with Christmas as Nero and I are. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

It’s up! Let’s see how long this lasts with Chaos and Carnage (aka Hugo and Dodo).

So far they’ve been under it, tried to eat it and played with a few baubles.

Starting to feel a little more Christmassy now. The power of tinsel!!

I got my uniform yesterday, so today was the first time I got to wear it. Got my name badge too. Yes I choose a horse.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I was woken up by my alarm rather than the first train. It’s blissful. I’m back to hardly noticing the trains going past. Looking forward to many, many good sleeps.

Today the whistle boards came down. It’s finally happened! I can’t quite believe it. After so many months of intrusion, it’s wonderful to barely notice the trains going past again.

Got home to find this on my doorstep from one of my neighbours to say thank you. How lovely is that?!

Today Buddy and I put on our dancing shoes for a dressage lesson. Buddy can be a bit more ValegNO than Valegro. And I’m not exactly Charlotte Dujardin.

It’s been a while since we had a lesson and this was with a new instructor. I was feeling a little intimidated to start off with. She spotted that I don’t believe in my abilities in dressage. She said I’m better than I think I am.

I find dressage every intimidating. Give me a big fence any day.

She gave me lots of brilliant tips and by the end of the lesson, we were close to dancing. I felt like we were totally together.

Today I got to do something new. I got to rumble. That’s the technical term for tidying up an aisle, taking away any empty boxes and making sure the stock is pulled to the front of the shelves.

I did my longest shift so far – 9.15 hours. It flew by as I was busy the whole time.

Got home to find Dodo had dug up one of my plants. Hugo wasn’t totally innocent as I found one of my gloves under the coffee table. Makes you wonder what they’ve been doing while I was at work…

You’ve heard of the film Gorillas in the Mist, well today it was Buddy in the Murky Mist! We missed the sunshine and got freezing fog instead.

It was beyond cold! By the time we got back, I couldn’t feel my hands or feet. Need to do some research on good thermal gloves and socks. Any suggestions?!

I’m still cold now!! 🥶

Today my heart sank a little bit when I saw a huge trolley worth of stuff heading my way. But I’d misjudged it as it was for the food bank. Over £90 worth heading their way.

The couple buying it said they do it each month to give back to those less fortunate than them.

Warmed my heart indeed. What a wonderful thing to do. I’ve always tried to give what I can to those who need it as well. You always reap what you sow.

What a brilliant day. First outing post lockdown 2.0. And a new venue too. We headed off to Heckingham Hall for a lesson with Portia Howard.

Wasn’t sure what to expect if I’m honest. My expectations were pretty low as it was our first outing in a while. And when Buddy came off the lorry and pulled himself up to his full 18HH, I feared it would be a challenging lesson.

How wrong I was. He quickly settled and jumped everything – first time, every time. Including the water tray. Learnt lots in a short space of time.

It felt really good to be out and about again.

This is the face of a very happy boy after he gave himself a mud pack when we got back.

So it appears my sewing skills weren’t that good as Buddy managed to pull one of the clips off his rug that I put back on. So I used thicker thread this time.

As you can see the cars are traumatised at the muddy, smell rug being in the house. I honestly don’t know why I buy them expensive beds.