Alternative Christmas Gift Guide - Part 2

We made an early start on the Christmas gift guide this year, with some ideas which will help benefit our climate. If you missed it you can catch up here. That post was inspired by my sixteen year old daughter, Miss. D, who was concerned about the destruction of the rainforest and now wants to gift everyone a tree planted in the rainforest. Her idea made me wonder what else could be gifted to people, which ultimately would benefit our planet. However, there are other gifts you can give to the folk who have it all, which benefit communities.

Gifts which benefit communities are a great idea for those hard to buy for people. As you can often match them up to interests or professions. As a family, we have used these in the past and I would highly recommend them.

Forget Me Not

OK, the title may be a little misleading, so if you're expecting to read a piece on horticulture and the delicate, but beautiful, little blue flower, Forget Me Not, or to use it's Latin name (I've done my homework here) myosotis sylvatica, you will likely be somewhat disappointed. However, I do aim to please, so let me share with you some fun facts which I have gleaned from my flora and fauna research (the rest of you, bear with me here and/ or prepared to be blown away by my channelling of my inner Charlie Dimmock - minus the bust, she has far more 'bustage' going on than myself).

Now, back to the humble Forget Me Not. Not only is it pretty, but my reading has shown that it flowers in spring, will pretty much grow anywhere, in any kind of soil and it doesn't care if it's in full or partial sun, and the best part, it doesn't need pruning! I'm thinking this could be a plant for me, because I am not known for my gardening expertise, so the easier and less fussy the plant the better! And, it's the state flower of Alaska,  I bet you didn't know that; unless you're Alaskan, or know all your US state flowers, or you're just one of those really clever people.

An Alarming Incident!

It's half term and I have to say, it's started off with a wee bit more excitement than I had anticipated. More's the point, it has started with excitement, which, quite frankly, I could have done without. Let me start at the beginning though, because some excitement was expected.

On Friday, I waved goodbye to my eldest daughter. Actually, I didn't, the coaches that were taking herself and her cohorts to Paris hadn't arrived on time (for a change) and so, parents were politely asked to leave so that the teachers and school buses could access the car park. Anyway, back to the story, Miss. D was off to Paris for a French trip. One day in Paris and one day in Disneyland Paris. Jealous? Yes, me too! Back home Monday afternoon. I know she wasn't gone long, but Miss. L and I missed her and were really looking forward to her arriving home.

Something for Tomorrow

As you all know, I have become just a wee bit passionate about all things Mental Health. I make no apologies, whatsoever. Let's face it, whether your mental health is good, or bad, we all have it and we need to take care of it, by looking after ourselves and those around us. Yep, that's right, we have a responsibility to look after those around us too. The problem is, we all lead such busy lives that we neglect to care for ourselves sometimes, let alone those around us.

Stop Before You Knock

Please, please people, would you stop and think before you act. Would you stop and think, is this really a major issue, that I need to address, or could I just deal with it in a quieter way. And, if you do decide to make a big deal of something, would you please at least stop and listen.

This afternoon, Miss. L took the dog out for me. She's been doing so for the past couple of months. She's being doing so, because my anxiety won't let me get to the top of the road before it kicks in and sends me racing back to the safety of my home. I cannot walk the dog.

Why I Love Twitter!

Before I entered the weird and wonderful world of blogging, I was a lover of Facebook. I liked it, it was easy to use, easy to connect with people and well, no character limitations on status updates. However, I have changed my mind.

For me, Twitter is the primary social media channel for blogging. With my personal Twitter account I found the character limitation a real bore, but with the blog account, no issue whatsoever, or perhaps I have just got used to it. Who knows? I haven't done a huge amount to grow my following on social media yet, but even so, I find Twitter much easier to grow than Facebook.

My main reason for loving Twitter so much though, is the fabulous sense of community. Unlike Facebook, people actually interact with one another regularly. OK, it's possible it's mainly us bloggers, holed up in our homes neglecting our blogs and having a good old natter instead. I put my hand up to that one. And yes, we are the ones who leave the room for a couple of minutes and come back to find the best part of 100 notifications. We clearly chat too much!

I'm not complaining though. Not at all, it's what I love, and if I'm honest, over the past few weeks it's what has kept me going. Having that sense of community. Knowing that there are people online at almost every hour of the day, has been a lifeline.

It's a place where I finally feel like I belong and people genuinely understand. OK it's possible they don't understand my crazy, sometimes random sense of humour, but they certainly understand the struggles I face with my mental health and the support I have received has been very much appreciated. They seem to understand the best way to deal with me is by using humour. No matter how low I may be feeling, after a couple of gif's I've forgotten about being sad. I've forgotten about feeling lonely and I'm chatting away to a bunch of crazy ladies (and the odd gent) as though we're all sat in the same room drinking tea and eating cake.

Sometimes, I think it's a real shame that we are scattered far and wide, but it may be a blessing; I know there are one or two bloggers whom, if we lived in close proximity, I for one would never get any work done and far too much cake would be consumed.

So, what then is the point of this slightly random and disjointed post? Well, it is essentially a great big thank you and a virtual hug to my fellow bloggers on Twitter. Thank you for being there, thank you for being crazy daisies, thank you for making me laugh and for laughing at me. You're all fabulous!