Day 14

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Writing 2026

Waking to snow, I had a lie in until around 10.30 by which time the snow had started to melt so I was able to drive out to a quiet spot with Lydia.

We had a short walk as it was still cold and I was tired. On the way back I stopped at a garden centre to buy some plants and liners for the hanging basket and trough at the front of the house. I’ll plant them up another day. This is one of the few remaining things I need to do before the house goes up for sale. The front door needs a patch-up of paint but I’ll wait till its warmer to do that.

This afternoon, after a rest followed by prayers and meditation, I’ve changed the bed sheets, tidied the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher.

It’s amazing what a difference it makes having clean bed sheets and the kitchen was an easy tidy today.

Day 13

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Writing 2026

When I first moved from Leeds to South Milford in 2019 I didn’t find it easy to walk from home to South Milford Station. And back. Now, I do.

I attribute this to the daily walks I have with Lydia. We don’t do much in the way of gradients, but what we do, we do every day. And it seems to work. Now, I find it a very easy walk to South Milford Station and back, made much easier I think by the very lovely evening I’ve enjoyed with a friend in Leeds.

Then again, I couldn’t have had that evening without the train service that took me there and back again. Pretty amazing, and then some.

Day 12

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Writing 2026

My afternoon at the Buddhist Centre left me slightly damp – It was raining and I was working outside, doing my usual Friday afternoon job of sweeping up leaves around the accommodation blocks. I do, however, feel invigorated by the fresh air and exercise and most of all by a chance meeting with the Spiritual Director of the Centre, Gen-la Kelsang Kunsang. Her warmth, words of encouragement and kind hugs meant more than I can say.

I was also offered some biscuits with the cup of tea I sat down to when the job was done. The offer – and provision – of these by the Reception Manager at the Centre were much appreciated.

Home to a cup of cocoa and a hot shower, I can now rest. Though still struggling with some aspects of my mental health, I know how fortunate I am to have my physical health, and try not to take it for granted. I also know how lucky I am to be able to put meditation techniques into practise and benefit from the teachings of Buddha, as well as taking my daily dose of anti-depressant medication.

Lydia is having a bit of fresh air outside at the moment, having been in the house all afternoon.

Our walk this morning using the new bridle was easy. This may be a one-off but I’ll take it for now. She doesn’t seem in any way as averse to it as the previous one, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ve finally got a workable solution.

Day 11

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Writing 2026

Last night I went to bed around 6pm. I slept most of the time until around 8am, apart from getting up once to get a drink of water and another time to let Lydia out for a ‘peepie’. I do feel better for having had a good rest.

This morning, after meditating and reciting the Liberating Prayer*, I took Lydia out using the new K9 bridle I’ve bought for her. We did OK with it, and though she did try to take it off a couple of times, she wasn’t able to. So we had quite a good walk.

I used the carpet cleaner to clean the carpet in the bedroom we’ve been sorting and, with the addition of a couple of mats, it’s now done.

I went to a yoga class at 5pm and bought fish and chips for me and Trev on the way home.

Lydia enjoyed her tea as well – cooked chicken, some dried food and a raw chicken wing. I also gave her a dental stick.

After she’d finished that she started licking Trev’s feet for some reason. Rather her than me!!!

*Composed by the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Rinpoche and recited at Kadampa Meditation centres throughout the world.

Day 10

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Writing 2026

My car slid on ice this morning when I was driving back from walking Lydia, after taking her to the groomers.

Vicky, as always, did an amazing job in keeping Lydia trimmed and clipped, and Lydia enjoyed the extra treats.

The K9 bridle that I’d ordered for her arrived and I tried it on (her, not me!). She seemed not too unhappy but that’s in the house – we’ll see how we fare when her sniffing instincts come into full play tomorrow on our walk.

Tired today, I’ve rested a lot, getting up to eat some birthday cake that my friend kindly bought for me – complete with candles. I blew them out and made my wish.

I drank the rest of the birthday fizz that another friend had given me, also trying out some sour cherry gin. I discovered that it pairs very well with chocolate, and not on a small-plate basis!

It’s still cold outside but the house has warmed up again. It’s amazing what a difference central heating makes; so glad we had our gas fire to fall back on though.

Day 9

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Writing 2026

On this, the morning of my 70th birthday, I woke with words in my head from the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Rinpoche:

“The things that I normally see in dreams do not exist.

This proves that the things I normally see while awake do not exist.

Since both of these are equally mistaken appearance.”*

I received these as a great gift of faith and one that I am so thankful for.

I’ve had other wonderful gifts, cards, messages and experiences during the day.

My walk with Lydia was not uneventful leading me to try an alternative to the Halti collar I’ve been hoping she’ll get used to over the last few weeks. Her determination to find a way of removing the collar – and success in being able to do so – is worrying because I’m concerned she’ll injure herself in the process. So I’ve ordered a K9 Bridle which uses a slightly different approach, in line with a figure of eight.

After visiting friends this afternoon, I’ve had a rest and am now ready to go out in about 15 minutes, picking up another friend who is taking me out for dinner.

The boiler is mended so I’ve had a shower, put on some make-up and washed my hair, not necessarily in that order!

All in all, a pretty good day and a birthday to remember.

*The New Eight Steps to Happiness – The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness, published by Tharpa Publications

Day 8

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Writing 2026

With the central heating boiler still not fixed, and having slept fully clothed – including two pairs of socks – I decided to bring my dog walking boots in from the car this morning, before putting them on.

We do have a functioning gas fire so I warmed my boots, and my gloves, in front of that for a while.

It did the trick as my feet were toastie during the walk and only the ends of my little fingers were cold.

Lydia doesn’t seem to feel the cold through her paws or, if she does, she doesn’t let it bother her.

She only tried twice to get out of her new collar this morning and we had a good walk through the woods.

Struggling with some negative thoughts at the moment, I came across a suggestion in one of my social media feeds to thank the thought before letting it go.

I’m trying this, as well as referring to the guidance that came from the New Year’s Eve teaching at Manjushri Centre, choosing to go in the direction of positive; also choosing to meditate as a way of helping my mind to do this. Meditation helps me to find a better place, within.

Day 7

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Writing 2026

It was frosty this morning when Lydia and I went for our walk.

I stopped my hands from being too cold by wearing a pair of soft thermal gloves under a pair of fingerless ones.

Lydia tried a couple of times to get out of her Halti collar but I persisted with a firm “No!” each time, followed by a reinforcement of the “heel” command.

As we crossed back over the field she was walking easily to heel so we seem to be making some progress.

This afternoon, Trev and I did some more work on the house. We cleared out a bedroom, patched up some of the paintwork and got a few things ready to take to the tip. We’re close now to the house being ready to put on the market – a bit more cleaning and tidying over the next few days should see us through.

Day 6

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Writing 2026

Lydia and I had a quiet walk this morning.

After we had both breakfasted, I set about cleaning the bathroom. The steam cleaner helps a lot, and I made a concerted effort to do a good job.

It did look a lot better when I’d finished.

Being cold outside today, it’s been good to stay in the house, although the boiler seems to have packed up, and I’m definitely not going to opt for a cold shower!

Day 5

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Writing 2026

I picked Lydia up from the kennels where she’s boarded over the last couple of nights, taking her for a short walk before heading for home and breakfast.

After a rest I headed off to the Madhyamaka Buddhist Centre – that I’ve decided now to call ‘Magic Maka’ Buddhist Centre, as much as anything by virtue of it being there. That in itself is quite a remarkable piece of magic as far I’m concerned.

I did my usual job of sweeping up around the accommodation blocks. It was a bit chilly but I had plenty of layers on and quickly warmed up. The sun came out for a while and I steadily worked away until the job was done. After a mug of decaff tea I drove home.

More resting tonight, a bit of telly, some more of the corn chowder that Trev made for tea yesterday, and an early night are in order. I am keeping in mind the message from the teaching on New Year’s Eve. A calm and peaceful mind is what I am working to develop. I will develop a calm and peaceful mind.