Pottery & Poetry & Life
February 2026
Lydia and I had a good walk this morning, a muddy circuit. She paddled through muddy puddles while I skirted round. Tonight though, her feet and legs are all clean. She cleans herself over the course of the day. I heard that not a lot of dogs do this, but she does.
After getting a haircut I went to visit my friend who lives in a care home. I’d forgotten my glasses but managed to read one story from the magazine I’d taken with me before my eyes became too blurry.
February 2026
A friend introduced me to the idea of using a balm on Lydia’s fur, at the point where her bridle sits on her snout.
The fabric of the bridle is smooth and soft but, even so, I want to be sure it doesn’t rub.
After picking Lydia up from kennels this morning we went straight home as she’d already been out in the field at the kennels.
In the Buddhist class tonight we looked at different aspects of mind ofcwhich there are many, including discrimination and feelings.
We meditated on the object of recognising that feelings just arise in the mind and, as such, we can learn to let them go.
I don’t find this easy, especially not at the moment. While I recognise the principle, putting it into practice is the challenge. I will keep trying.
February 2026
Home today after a short break away.
Lydia is in kennels until tomorrow morning.
So tonight I’ve just been relaxing a bit after a longish drive, and I’ll have an early night.
February 2026
Lovely break for two nights with friends.
Had a walk today after a late start. The weather was unexpectedly dry and mild.
Enjoying company and conversation now in a Lodge which is very comfortable and cozy, complete with log burner. Haven’t felt inclined to go in the hot tub. The fairy lights are lovely.
First published 1st March 2020
Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
Rules, Rhymes, Recovery, Recipe, Random – Glad About Life:
A Woman, a Dog & a Blog – Writing into Life:
First published 21 March 2020
It’s not my real name, but ‘Glad’ is better than sad, and I’ve worked hard in my life to be Glad, not sad.
I’ve recently started decorating my house – our house. This may not seem like an amazing revelation or achievement, but it is for me. I’m 64 years old and have had a long struggle to be able to enjoy doing the everyday things that I can focus on now.
It’s taken about fifty years of unlearning and then re-learning how to be me. Poetry hasn’t been the only vehicle I’ve used for recovery and discovery, but it has been a regular companion along the way.
As a teenager – like many teenagers since and still – I developed a very negative self-image of myself, inside and out.
Out
Out, out into the world
That’s where I wanted to go
What I wanted to do
When I was young
But when I looked in the mirror
All I could see
Was an ugly, unattractive body
Looking back at me
I went on a diet from the age of about 15 that lasted for the next 30 years or so, and affected every aspect of my life (or more accurately non-life that it had become). I didn’t think I had anything to offer as a person, didn’t know how to form relationships, and put all my energy into losing weight. At least if I was thin, that would be something. Except it led to nothing, because it wasn’t solid ground on which to build a life. It was the best I could do at the time, but I did eventually realise, after I’d had a major breakdown in my late thirties, and was trying to get myself going again in my forties, that I needed to eat, to give me energy, to be able to live. I had to finally, eventually, push through that awful sense of self-loathing that I associated with putting on weight in order to emerge as a (literally as well as generally) well-rounded person with an appetite for life.
I still have to work at it, still take anti-depressants, can’t use shop changing rooms or look at myself naked in a mirror, but on the whole this does not affect my ability to enjoy my life – with my partner – and try to make the most of every day.
I can still very easily cut myself off, go into ‘zombie’ mode, more readily associate with entropy than energy, so decorating my house – however long it takes – and writing this blog – wherever it takes me – are positive signs of engagement; action rather than inaction.
I hope my poems and other musings may resonate with anyone who has struggled to find their own identity and path through life. I know now that there are endless possibilities and I hope that the following poem (in six parts) helps to show how important it is for each of us to find our fighting spirit:
Jacket 1
It’s there, on the chair
The red fleece jacket
With hood and drawstring waist
That I don’t want to wear
Don’t want to keep
It’s warm and soft when I put it on
But far too big for me
Drowned in a red sea
Shapeless, I feel
A baggy, saggy, faceless entity
I look at the jacket
On the chair
In limp, loose folds of red, and seams
This isn’t the jacket of my dreams
It’s theirs to wear
Not mine to keep
Their tears to cry
Not mine to weep
It’s there, on the chair
The red fleece jacket
With hood and drawstring waist
That I don’t want to wear
Don’t want to keep
So I’ve put a price on its head
To let it go free
To someone who wants it
But when will that be?
Jacket 2
It’s there, on the chair
The red fleece jacket
With hood and drawstring waist
That I don’t want to wear
Don’t want to keep
It’s warm and soft when I put it on
But far too big for me
Drowned in a red sea
Shapeless, I feel
A baggy, saggy, faceless entity
I look at the jacket
On the chair
In limp, loose folds of red, and seams
This isn’t the jacket of my dreams
It’s not my layer
These aren’t my lies
With drawstring waist
And nylon ties
It’s not my jacket
They’re not my dreams
These aren’t my ties
They’re not my seams
So I leave the jacket
On the chair
To go my way
While they go theirs
Jacket 3
Now it hangs upon the door
That red fleece jacket
That I didn’t want to wear
Didn’t want to keep
It’s warm and soft when I put it on
And not too big for me
Warmed in a red sea
Shapeless no more
No baggy, saggy faceless entity
I look at the jacket
On the door
In limp, loose folds of red, and seams
It’s not the jacket of my dreams
But just a layer to keep me warm
From frozen looks
And glares of scorn
It is my jacket
With hood and waist
To wear a while
From place to place
Jacket 4
What next?
Jacket 5
Jacket in?
Jacket 6
No!
Gladabout.life blog posts from March 2020 to September 2024 are now available as an e-book on Amazon for Kindle:
Rules, Rhymes, Recovery, Recipe, Random: Glad About Life
First published 29th June 2025
Continuing the story of Lydia and Me
As this 28-day cycle of journaling/blogging comes to a close, I reflect on how far I’ve come in being able to make the most of every day as I do, after the journey of mental health breakdown and recovery that I’ve had, for most of my so far 69 years.
I’m now going to have a short break from writing while I put together a two-volume book of the story of Lydia and me so far. While I’m doing this, I will re-post a blog from the past every day.
A full collection of my earlier blogs, from March 2020 to September 2024, is now available on Amazon for Kindle:
Rules, Rhymes, Recovery, Recipe, Random: Glad About Life https://amzn.eu/d/gAIIf8A
‘Rules’ came originally from a set of ‘self-management rules’ that I devised, largely to reflect on some of the very negative experiences I’d had of being managed by others. I later developed these Rules into ‘Poetry Rules’, relating them to poems that I wrote or had previously written.
‘Rhymes’ are my poems, even though not all my poems rhyme. I just like writing them, expressing myself through words in whatever way I choose.
‘Recovery’ pieces reflect on different approaches and factors that influence mental health and wellbeing, including barriers to recovery.
‘Recipe’ is largely focused on one dish, but it’s an important one: Leftovers Soup.
‘Random’ – well, anything that didn’t quite fit in to the other categories but wanted to include anyway.
Step by step, day by day, the story of Lydia and me continues, and I’ll continue to record it at https://gladabout.life/.
Bon voyage!
First published 28th June 2025
Continuing the story of Lydia and Me
I had lunch at the World Peace Café today.
It may not be the only Peace Café in the World, but it is the only one that I know, in this part of the World. And it’s a good one.
The lunch followed a morning of Buddhist meditations and teachings, on how to overcome anger and frustration.
I’ve done a lot of work on my ‘anger issues’ over the last 3 decades but found recently that I needed to do more.
The principle presented in today’s teachings is to practise patient acceptance, with a loving heart.
There are some aspects of my life where I find this easy and joyful, such as the work I’m doing with Lydia. It does require patience, to keep repeating the same training routines and reassurances, and to keep looking for further ways to provide reassurance and help her overcome her fears.
On the other hand, having let go of most of my own anxieties now about being able to keep going on a sustained basis, I no longer feel under any self-induced pressure to achieve ‘outcomes’. We just do what we do, day by day. I love my time with Lydia, and I think Lydia enjoys her time with me too.
I got another ‘wake up’ call from her at 1.30’ish this morning.
This time she did want to go outside, which I presumed was for a toilet need.
Usually, she’ll come back in quite quickly and we settle ourselves down for some more “sleepy time” but this morning I waited a while and then went out to see where she was.
It was a warm and beautiful starry night.
I’m not great on constellations but I did recognise a clear ‘plough’ and a star that shone very brightly, which I thought may have been the North Star.
Thanks to Lydia, I had those few special moments looking up at the stars.
Sitting outside now, as I write, in the sunshine, after a mellow morning followed by a leisurely lunch, I do feel a sense of personal peace that I thought for a long time I would never be able to feel. Yesterday was grief and anger; today is peace.
I’ll still have to keep working at it: meditating; learning; relaxing; growing; writing; loving.
I’m lucky to have a lot of good things in my life and to be able to have days like I’m having today. I do wish that for others too.
My book, Train your dog; train your mind – positive reinforcement for humans and canines – is now available in paperback: https://amzn.eu/d/eQ2sWjU and for Kindle https://amzn.eu/d/99yW3Qk.
I don’t claim to be a dog trainer or a mind trainer – I’m just a woman with a dog who writes a blog, and has written a book, about life, and about being glad.
First published 27th June 2025
Continuing the story of Lydia and Me
Lydia woke me at about 1.30am, with a gentle nudge from her nose.
I thought she must need to go outside for a pee but as I started off downstairs, I realised she wasn’t following me. When I went back into the bedroom she was rolled over, ready for me to tickle her tummy; give her a “rub-a-dub-dub” massage that she’s growing to love. So I did.
Now, I realise I probably shouldn’t be encouraging disturbances to my sleep in this way, but then again she asked so nicely, and I do think we are approaching a breakthrough position with addressing her anxiety. So, I give her plenty of “rub-a-dub-dubs” before reintroducing her to the idea of “sleepy time”.
This afternoon, I had a good play session with my steam cleaner. It’s almost as good fun as a pressure washer and the bathroom is now clean.
After a shower – in my now clean bathroom – and an early change into pj’s, I sat outside for a while, reading.
I finished the autobiography that I’ve been reading for a couple of weeks. It ended with an account of an inquest into the death of a family member. The writer’s loss is immeasurable, as is the courage and humanity shown by him and his family. Re-engaging with life, through grief, isn’t easy, but they are doing it. Every day, they are doing it.
My book, Train your dog; train your mind – positive reinforcement for humans and canines – is now available in paperback: https://amzn.eu/d/eQ2sWjU and for Kindle https://amzn.eu/d/99yW3Qk.
I don’t claim to be a dog trainer or a mind trainer – I’m just a woman with a dog who writes a blog, and has written a book, about life, and about being glad.
First published 26 June 2025
I had a haircut today.
I don’t like a lot of fuss. I just have a wet trim, but it’s a good one.
The hairdresser is tired, almost to the point of tears. She needs a rest, a holiday.
Lydia is enjoying the return of sunshine in our back yard. She’s been an absolute delight to be with today. I’ve given her lots of “rub-a-dub” massages and she’s loving them.
I’ve booked in to a half-day retreat at the Buddhist Centre on Saturday – overcoming anger and frustration. I’ve also booked to go to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield on Sunday where they have a Ceramics Fair. So, a good weekend lined up and an easy day tomorrow.
Oh, sleep it is a gentle thing …
My book, Train your dog; train your mind – positive reinforcement for humans and canines – is now available in paperback: https://amzn.eu/d/eQ2sWjU.
The Kindle version is currently for sale at £3.99 on a Kindle Countdown deal https://amzn.eu/d/99yW3Qk.
Glad About 
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