I'm a lucky girl, I got a lovely Christmas pressie off my Lovely Hubby ....
.... a trio of Flying Pugs!!
We also got a wonderful house warming present off Mum .....
... lots of homemade Costa coffees to go with our homemade cakes.
I should feel so good, so blessed, I should ... but at the moment I am in a black hole. Hence the sporadic Blogging. If I have nothing nice to say I say nothing, usually I just keep quiet but in this 'picture perfect' 'everything's hunky dory' world of Blogging I think sometimes a little bit of honesty is good for the soul.
Back tomorrow when hopefully some of this black cloud above my head will have drifted away and joined all the others that have been deluging us with rain over the Christmas period, I've too much to do to feel this down.
Pugs might fly :-(
Sue xx
Sue, you might not even know what is making you blue, but you have had a lot on your plate recently, and Christmas doesn't help. I find whilst I enjoy Christmas with my kids, I can't help but think about my dear late parents and wish I was 8 again, without any adult responibilities and cares. Don't be too hard on yourself - you are entitled NOT to be on top of the world at all times - take a time for yourself to just be.
ReplyDelete(((hugs))) Sue. I think it's entirely normal when you've been working hard towards something and it finally happens. I found myself under a cloud when I moved house too, I'm only just coming out. Give yourself plenty of time. I agree honesty in blogs is the way to be. Real life isn't roses round the cottage door.
ReplyDeleteWe'll wait for you
Ali xxx
PS love the flying pugs!!
I hope you feel a bit brighter soon. So many people are struggling at the moment. I think it's a combination of short days, lousy weather, winter bugs, Christmas (which is hard for some folks). and having been busy busy throughout December, and you've been busier than most.
ReplyDeleteLove your flying pugs - how sweet and thoughtful. Please don't feel guilty if you're not all cheery and bright every day in your blog. I also think a bit of honesty is good and actually helps those out there feeling the same way xx
I don't think anyone gets through life without some down days it's all part and parcel of living! I am not sure it's healthy to only post the good things if it gives the impression that we are living wonderful lives. A bit of honesty is good for the soul both of the writer and the reader. Having said that I hope you will soon be back on top of the world - it's probably a bit of an anticlimax now that you've finally got where you want to be!! Hope you have a restful and peaceful New Year with moments of happiness thrown in!
ReplyDeleteSending you hugs. I know what it's like to feel your in a black hole and to feel guilty that you should be happy. Yesterday I did a totally diffrent blog post it was a letter from the heart to someone close to me but in the end I deleted it as didn't feel putting it in my blog was the right place.
ReplyDeleteLove the pugs. X
ReplyDeleteSending you huggy vibes....the adrenalin has probably dropped after the intensity of preparing your new home and packing away the old. It is a dreary time of year weatherise and difficult to do much that is constructive garden wise...and I don't know about you but the garden is my solace when the blues hit. Hang in there and know that your bloggy friends appreciate you whether you are bouncy OR 'blue'. Snuggle down with that lovely man of yours and those cuddly dogs and know that you are loved :)
ReplyDeleteDear Sue, don't, for one minute, underestimate the trauma that is moving/buying a house. However much it is exactly what we hoped for/to do, it's still a massive undertaking, full of anxieties. We acquired new neighbours 3 months ago. I was only thinking when I saw them yesterday, the Mr looks 10 years younger than he did when he arrived. I guess he must have been at the end of his tether by moving day and it's taken him these past 3 months to recover. Be kind to yourself m'dear, this too shall pass....
ReplyDeleteSue, it's well known that moving house is one of the most stressful things in life, even when you're moving to the most wonderful place that will be your forever home. I should know, we've done it twice in the past 3 years - the first to a temporary place just to get down here in Somerset where we wanted to be, the second to what, if not our forever home, will certainly be our lovely home for the foreseeable future. You're so pumped up with everything to do for weeks and weeks in the run up to the move, then once you're in and have done the immediate necessary settling in things, there comes a big exhausting anti-climax. And you don't even necessarily realise how flat you've become until it's been going on a while. And then there's the 'S.A.D' time of year, plus the howling gales we've had recently (and which we'll be having for the next month, so the weathermen say, just to piss us off even more!), to bring you (and me) down even more. It will pass, Sue. The shortest day has already gone, it's nearly the new year, and then very soon we will start to see the tips of bulbs pushing through the earth to remind us that it's nearly Spring. OK, so officially the winter solstice was the first day of winter, but I prefer to think of it as Spring being on it's way - a positive twist on it. Don't suffer in silence, Sue, tell us if you're feeling down, you know we'll empathise and try and give you a boost.
ReplyDeleteSooze xxx
I hope you find your way out of it soon. xx
ReplyDeleteEveryone here has already given good advice. I would only add this. Take your time in coming back to blogging. Your true followers will not mind waiting a little. Have a brake and ajust to your new life in your new home. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteJust be kind to yourself Sue. I'm going to mention the lows in my New Year's post. It's good to be honest & surely we can here on our Blogs which can sometime look so perfect.
ReplyDeleteMoving house is exhausting and you have all the excitement of your forever home and all you want to achieve. It's overwhelming & you need time to adjust.
Take care dear friend x
As someone who has suffered with depression on and off since 1981, I've found that the very, very worst week is the week between Christmas and New Year. I've found this year because it's my first year blogging, that writing everyday has actually helped me get through without falling into a black hole.
ReplyDeleteMoving house in winter is the worst time even if you have looked forward to it for years. We've moved house so many times before coming here and winter moves always seemed very depressing, shut in a new home in a new place waiting for better weather.
You WILL be fine. Spring WILL come. You WILL get your mojo back. I'm sending positive vibes from the other side of the country to you right now.
real life is about the good times and the bad times, and even those times when the days just pass you by in a blur and leave you feeling flat and unproductive. We all have them so don't feel bad about feeling that way. After everything you have been rushing about doing lately with the move, then straight into Christmas it's no wonder you are feeling in a hole and flat.
ReplyDeleteBe kind to yourself and don't worry about your bloggy friends - we will still be here when you feel like writing xx
Love the flying pugs :)
I admire your honesty Sue. Hope that cloud shifts for you soon. Go gently, Claire xo
ReplyDeleteYou must be shattered after moving and all that travelling back and forth. It's the darkest time of year and even good, positive, exciting things, like your move, can leave you in a heap, afterwards. Sounds like a few days of cosyness round the fire, sipping that coffee is called for! xx
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, none of us have to keep up a veneer. Moan or rage if you want.xxxx If life pisses me off, and it does, I usually end up writing about food - I love to read what ever you write xx
ReplyDeleteSending Hugs ... we all have down days .. and weeks. This too will pass ... x
ReplyDeleteIt's all been said by your bloggy friends. So I will just send you positive thoughts from one smallholder to another.
ReplyDeleteGillx
I can't really say anything new, except that we all get these Black Dog Days and they do pass. I think you have been gearing yourself up to the move for so long, and now it has happened it almost seems like an anti-climax. I am sure you will soon find a fresh goal and be back to your old self. At least you are able to share it on your blog, and I hope that all the kindness sent to you by your blogging friends helps to cheer you up.
ReplyDeleteI can only add, where on earth did your husband find flying pugs? A gift of sheer genious!
He got them from notonthehighstreet.com, they're in the sale at the moment , don't tell him, he'll sulk :-)
DeleteDear Sue, so sorry you're feeling down. Is it just post Xmas blues do you think or something that's been hanging around for a while? I can get 'down' periods (not just days but weeks sometimes) and always get a real black cloud hanging over me this time of year. Counting my blessings doesn't seem to help me either when I'm wallowing in a deep pit. I do hope you start picking up soon. Love the flying pugs, by the way.
ReplyDeleteNot just you hun. Take it one day at a time.... And hope you feel better soon x
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone here, you have had an awful lot going on the last few months, you have been so busy working on your new home sometimes things take there toll. Take a good rest, you have earned it. Sending you huge virtual hugs xx
ReplyDeleteSue i empathse completely after we moved to our dream home last year i too went down with the blues I think all the stress affects us more than we let on/care to think I really believe the weather at this time plays its part! hope you feel better soon, and remember the dream is what you are still working towards it doesn't come overnight .../..I think thats what I expected and why I was sooo disappointed
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your honesty. Be gentle with yourself; you have had a stressy time. Clouds will pass.
ReplyDeleteL.x.
There is no better blogger than an honest blogger Sue. Why douse things in glitter and sparkle if that's not the way you're feeling right now? I hope you're feeling a little more positive soon and I shall look forward to reading your blog in 2014. Happy New Year to your and your lovely man, from me and mine xxx
ReplyDeleteWe all have off days, sometimes for no apparent reason, but the good days come round again.
ReplyDeletePositive vibes and virtual hugs winging their way to you........be kind to yourself, put your feet up and REST or cook something unusual or eat a whole jar of pickled onions or something.......a change is as good as a rest don't they say?
ReplyDelete"014 is already gonna be a good year for you both. xxx
Hey Sue, sorry to hear you are feeling so low, hope you are better soon
ReplyDeletexx
I think it's the time of year, you know. Looking back and looking forward at the same time often leave me feeling a bit grumpy too, or a bit lost. I hope you feel much better soon Sue, best wishes.
ReplyDeleteI hate the time leading up to Christmas, I love a new year new start. All the best to you. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteComeon blog!
ReplyDeleteHaha ... you think I'd actually stop, if I find a little window of time I'll be here you know that. Love your sympathy, I can see why now that you're a Samaritan!! ;-)
DeleteSue I have a touch of that at the moment too, and I can't pin it on any one thing. Me thinks it has been all the dreary rain here, where it is mid summer as I feel better with the sun shining today. Happy New Year, thanks for sharing all of your adventures in 2013, you are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteJulie Q
Just sending hugs specially for the down days....
ReplyDeleteKJ x
I have lurked on your lovely blog but never commented ... until now, when I just want you to know that I (and it looks like so many other commenters here):
ReplyDeletea) Have BEEN THERE. In fact, I am there every single winter, just after Christmas/New Year's. It's tough.
b) Have especially been there after stressful times/times of change. Change is so often good, but I never get through it (even when very excited about it) without a big of the Black Dog (saw, and loved, that at least one other writer knows about and uses this description--it is so perfect!).
c) Am so glad that you said something. It's good to hear that you're loved, and you need to hear it when you're down. And it's good for us (me) to hear that others struggle with that down-ness, and with the guilt and worry that comes with it.
d) Am sending you my best thoughts and prayers for blessing and healing. Like so many others have said, be good to yourself and know that this too shall pass. That is perhaps the best advice I ever received, and it helps me get through the bad times.
Thank you so much for your blog, and for your honesty and grace. -- Kristin (Oregon State, US)
d)
Hi Sue, like everyone else I am with you on this. In fact, I am only just now coming out of a week long "funk". You know what, we have 2 weeks off for Christmas and I spent one week feeling sorry for myself. Admittedly the menopause never did anyone any favour either. But I think what I don't like about Christmas is the feeling of being told what I "should" being doing (i.e. partying, etc.). All those dreadful TV ads with perfect people, doing perfect shopping before hosting perfect parties. I HATE it. I would much prefer a non-commercial, slow paced get together with just the people I love. My ex was the original party animal and I am SO glad I am not being yelled at for being a miserable cow for NOT wanting to party all night with his drunken, loud-mouthed friends. And you know what, since the divorce I don't have to and it is great. Funnily enough, I was only recently thinking that while the "perfect" blogs can be inspiring ("oh I just knocked together this gazebo out of 2 matchboxes and a toilet roll"), I much prefer the "honest, wars-and-all" blogs ("yay, I just got 2 tins of baked beans for 10p). So take care of yourself. We all have our down times - but they just make the good times better. Oh, and for me getting outside ALWAYS helps (I know you do this anyway), even if I don't believe it. I actually went out and bought some "shoe studs" today - like spikes for your boots, as it is so icy and treacherous here but I want to get out and walk at least an hour a day for the remaining week I have off (the neighbours will think I am nuts)!! But good, I like being mad. All the best to you from Anna in the French Alps
ReplyDeleteWow, who is a popular blogger? Hope all the numerous and inspiring comments above make you feel better. I truly think that a lot of people get into a bit on a funk after Christmas and New Year because there are all these expectations that things will go to plan or there are comparisons made against the "media version" of how it should be. Im sitting at my office desk today trying to work out what we as a family should do tonight, being New Years Eve and having read your post and the comments, thinking why am i doing that. No one has expressed a desire to do anything so it cant be that important. Is planning something now really what we want to do. I bet we have dinner, what some TV and go to bed early. PS. Love your flying pugs - never heard of such a thing.
ReplyDeleteTake all the time you need Sue.....we'll still be here. x
ReplyDeleteSue, so sorry you are feeling down. It's something I struggle with too. I do hope it passes very soon. I have never liked New Year very much, I feel anxious about what may lie ahead some of the time, and particularly at the moment. It's hard, when everyone is being so relentlessly cheerful! I find it helpful to know that I'm not alone, and I hope you do too. Despite the way you are feeling right now, I do think you'll have a great year in your new home and new life. And I am wishing much happiness for both of you. Hugs, CJ xx
ReplyDeleteHi sue..your not alone you know..we all love you..your honesty is the shining star we look to...cheer up look at the spellcasters that have spammed you..lol..had to chuckle hope they make you smile my lovely..
ReplyDeletelove
sara,fern,irs
Thanks Sara, bloody Spammers picking on someone when they're down, they've picked on the wrong one with me though ;-)
DeleteAll the very best for the New Year to you and all your lovely family. Daisy and Poppy have survived the move and are doing brilliantly well, they send chuckles and coos to the girls :-)
Sending hugs hun. Loving the flying pugs, how cute.
ReplyDeleteX x
Love reading the blog following what happens,don't be too hard on yourself. It's been a stressful time-even if you didn't feel it was x
ReplyDeleteI'm sending you a huge hug! My late dad used to call times like these 'a period of adjustment' when you just have to let things all settle into place like pieces in a jigsaw and they will; so put the kettle on, feet up for a little while and have a bit of me time. Get your binoculars out and have a look around you from your armchair, life is beautiful. Keep smiling.
ReplyDeletePats. XX.
Sorry to hear you're feeling like that. I do think quite a lot of it is the same kind of thing that happens when you take time of work to go on holidays and promptly get a cold. You've moved now, the initial we're-in-and-more-or-less-settled period is over and your mind and body has a chance to relax, take a step back and go "woah, what the hell just happened - okay, now pay ME some attention". If you know what I mean. Worst time of the year for it, too, but hopefully you'll soon have a chance to regroup and will be so delighted to be planning next year's garden ('cos what a garden that's going to be, eh?) that the black cloud will be gone before you know it. Do make sure to allow yourself time to work through whatever it is anyway. And all the very best for a wonderful 2014.
ReplyDeleteI read on another blog that you can use the Keurig coffee pods twice. You could try that with the Tassimo.
ReplyDeleteSorry, to hear you're feeling a bit low. We all do sometimes and need to take a break and take stock. I hope the fog lifts soon and you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteJust adding my support to all the others (late as usual, but what else would you expect!!) We all have rough times, I am sure that it definitely has something to do with the HUGE step you have just taken. When we started travelling I just kept thinking "is this it?" when everyone else would have changed places with me in a flash. I was not in a black hole but knew I should be feeling different to what I was. It took a good few weeks of adjustment and I guess finding my own level. After a short break back in the UK after 5 months or so we went back out into France, and I have loved the lifestyle ever since, but I do actually look at things in a slightly different way now. Stay with it, enjoy your coffee machine, LH and the Pugs, both real and 'flying'. We are all always here for support when you need us. X
For three years we planned and plotted. Our goal was to buy a narrowboat to live aboard where we would take early retirement and live frugally. to cut a very long story short we got there with much hard work and down sizing. We moved aboard in November and should have been so happy instead I had the most dreadful blues. Please take heart it did pass, a period of adjustment has to take place and you will get there and know that your move was the right choice just as it was for us. Love and smiles
ReplyDeleteBless you my lovely, it'll all become clear. You've achieved so much, and quite honestly sometimes I think Christmas should be banned!
ReplyDeleteHave a very Happy New Year Sue n LH .
Bless you both. Xx
You have had such a build up over the last few months, to this stage in your life. You're there now so just try to relax and maybe the cloud will go. I've got a cloud over me just now as husband is so miserable and struggling with his business, and hardly talks when he gets home and sits watching sci fi or horror films. I never get the chance to watch anything I want. It's hard to bear and I can't really tell anyone so it hangs over me. I'm quite an optimist though and think I have my health. I have a young friend who is very ill so I try to get it all in perspective.
ReplyDeleteAnd that really is the answer isn't it, getting it into perspective. I'm on my way back from the darkness :-)
DeleteThank you to each and every one of you that has taken the time to leave me a comment or drop me an email (except the titheads who offered to 'spellcast' for me). It really means a lot - THANK YOU.
ReplyDeleteSue xx
Hope your Black cloud turns into sunshine soon
ReplyDelete