We’re still in Windermere and it has been an utterly beautiful and blue day. It definitely wasn’t forecast or expected it was absolutely appreciated!

As we only have a couple of days down here, we wanted to do some really nice things, without doing too much. So I booked us a guided boat tour around Coniston and it was just perfect. The guide was humorous and informative, the water was splashy in all the right places and the sun was high. Glorious.

After the tour, we decided it would be a shame to waste not only the weather but the perfect setting for a walking adventure. We put our best feet forward and explored the wooded area at the shore of the lake before heading down the marked paths, passing many a fellow walker along the way.

Whether or not these good folk were also walking for charity we will never know but we shared moments of cooing over animals and smiles, which is always a joy.

We saw lambs, sheep, geese, ducks, a heron, more lambs, chickens and what we think was a pheasant. I mean, we definitely know what a pheasant looks like but this fellow was a little way off and we heard him before we saw him. We can’t be sure, for sure, but if I were a betting person, I’d wager a fiver at least!

After we stretched our legs, we realised we needed lunch and to stop off at another of utterly stunning villages of the Lake District. The architecture is just wonderful down here. House after house of unique beauty, all using a lot of the same materials, each one more striking than the next.

The house I grew up in is called Ambleside, after a holiday my folks went on a fair time ago. So it felt like a great chance to see somewhere that they had seen in another lifetime.

And, as chance would have it, Ambleside lies essentially halfway between Windermere and Coniston. Who’s have thunk it? It’s almost like I planned it!

We had a lovely wander, a gorgeous fish and chips lunch before heading back, physically and emotionally warmed, back to our hotel to rest our weary bones. Our step target well surpassed today, very happily so.

We had a giggly dinner before settling down for the night to recover and recharge for one more little expedition in the morning.

It hasn’t been a long visit but it has been great. We have laughed and walked our socks off. I am so grateful to my Daft Family Household. Not only for who they are as individuals but of who we are as a team and what we can achieve. I wouldn’t be able to do all this walking and fundraising without them and their support.

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Greetings from Windermere! The Daft Family Household are on tour! As it is Easter weekend, Daddy Daftie has no work, Wee Daftie has no school and I’m still not quite back to work yet so we’re having a mini break away.

I could have spent hours down by the water taking pictures, writing, reading, or just staring. It is utterly gorgeous.

We left our house this morning after breakfast and Daddy Daftie drove us down in a mere three and a bit hours. The drive was uneventful, filled with me singing along to the radio and interspersed shouts of “Sheep!” as we sped along.

We found our accommodation easily enough but it was too early to check-in when we arrived. Luckily we found some parking, some lunch and a lovely playground near the shores of the lake.

Wee Daftie had a great time at the park, making friends as she went. I love how easily kids make friends. It is so beautiful and as simple as “Want to play?” And then off they go, running about and pushing each other on swings.

My girl is incredibly social though so it never surprises me how well she manages to rub along with others; children, adults, dogs, squirrels, geese, whoever.

Down by the shore, we explored, we threw stones, we dabbled in the water, we almost fell in. It was fab. Considering we had a three hour drive down, we absolutely smashed our step target for the day as we trekked back to our accommodation to unpack a bit and recharge a lot.

We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow and I think we’re all excited and grateful. We had such fun today and I can only hope for more of the same tomorrow as we step off on more adventures.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true

This will be short and sweet today, I think so anyway.

We are off for a weekend away tomorrow so I have a couple of last minute things to organise before an early-ish night to rest before our drive.

This morning we were all off work and school so Daddy Daftie and Wee Daftie had some breakfast so I could head out for a run. We had thought about doing a scoot and run with me and my girl but the weather wasn’t great for scooting so we figured we’d run/scoot together another day when we’d both enjoy it more.

A swift (only joking. I run slow) 45 minutes later of a walk-run-walk, I was home and ready to hang out with my favs.

We recently painted our bedroom and are on the hunt for curtains that don’t clash horribly like our current ones do.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a mismatched colour scheme as much as the next person but I also want to feel peace and calm in my bedroom and our current ones provide none of that.

We headed after breakfast for a wander and curtain mission. And we were mildly successful.

We came home with some artwork for the big room, placemats and coasters for the table, salt and pepper shakers, wool and needles for my next project, a pink sparkly rubber ducky for Wee Daftie and no curtains!

At least we had a good time!

We got home and packed for our trip before I left Wee Daftie and Daddy at home to go and see my two work besties.

I am very lucky that I like the team I work with but these two are my very favourites. They have been so supportive and just great friends these past few months. I saw them around Christmas last year so it was good to have a proper catch-up and gossip about things.

One of them and I started on the exact same day, in the same role. We used to show up together and leave together as our hours were the same. One of the kids we work with stopped us one day and say, “Are you two sisters?!”

Now, I don’t believe we look alike – but to be fair I don’t think I look too much like my biological sisters – but our friendship is very important to me and I definitely see her as family.

Some families you are born into and others you make. I am so thankful for all my family and would choose them all again, every single time.

I am very much looking forward to a few days away. And we will be walking while we’re there. It would be rude not to.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Today was the shortest of all our walks, so far, thanks to needing to do some household tasks (Choresday Thoresday strikes again!) and the very changeable weather today.

And the walk that we did go on didn’t exactly go to plan but we did it and every day can’t be a 12,000’er so I think we’re still doing great.

Every Easter for the past couple of years, Granton Parish Church has had a basic wooden cross in its garden with a basket of ribbons beside it. The idea being to take a moment, say a prayer and tie a ribbon around the tree. We’ve done it most years that I can remember. It’s always been something we’ve done at Easter and that Wee Daftie enjoys.

Seeing as tomorrow is Good Friday, I figured today would be a good day to head to the church and have moment of calm and reflection.

So after a morning of craft and a homemade pizza lunch, we wrapped up a bit and headed out.

To our dismay, the cross isn’t there this year!  While momentarily disappointed, we rallied and took a longer walk home, trying to avoid the winds and rain. We weren’t that successful as we both arrived home soggy but we did enjoy our walk, even if it wasn’t exactly as planned.

I come from a very strong family of faith and I am grateful for that. It has been a blessing, no pun intended, to know that there have been pockets of people praying for and caring for us from afar. It doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t make it easier but it has definitely helped feeling so surrounded.

I also think it has made being separated from my family through all this a bit easier knowing that they have been surrounded and supported too. I talk about Daddy Daftie and I losing a daughter but Wee Daftie lost a little sister, my sisters lost a niece and my parents lots a granddaughter.

One of my favourite things gifted to us was a prayer shawl. My Biggest Sister’s church have a beautiful group of women who knit blankets and shawls as means of comfort for people going through a time when they need something extra. And then they pray over them.

Biggest Sis mentioned in a different prayer meeting what had happened and these lovely humans decided that we should receive one. It is beautiful. It’s such a simple thing but having this connection to not only a caring group of women I may never meet but also to Saoirse is so special to me.

I wore it for Saoirse’s service and I sleep with it under my pillow.

It’s amazing how a piece of fabric can mean so much but it does and I’m grateful for it and what it stands for.

The rest of our day was significantly drier and filled with finishing off our bug hotel.

Since we moved in December 2023 and acquired a garden, we have been slowly on a mission to fill it with things. From the BBQ and garden furniture last summer to the plants and veggies we’re attempting this year, a bug hotel seemed like a braw addition! Just need the glue and paint to dry and we can let it take its place outside.

Today didn’t fully go to plan but neither does life sometimes. So who knows what tomorrow will bring!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Once again the weather was conspiring against us, I reckon. We had hopes of a walk in the morning before Wee Daftie’s bestie came over for the afternoon. But the dreich day didn’t make for fun wet waking, just wet wet walking.

We did make a stop off at a shop this morning for some essentials (bananas, cheese and passata) but that didn’t do much for our daily target.

And if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it to the very best of my ability. Meagre though they may be!

Wee Daftie and her pals are all at a lovely age where they don’t really need me to support their play anymore. So I can potter, prep, plot, plan, knit safe in the knowledge that they are fine, causing minimal chaos and will call me if/when they need me.

Delightful.

So to make up for a lack of movement from yours truly, guess who was off for an evening jaunt?

I love Edinburgh in the evening.

It is such a well lit city. They just do lights very well. And I definitely feel safe being out and about. I did tell Daddy Daftie what my route was going to be, well lit and very public, but I didn’t have a moment when I didn’t comfortable or safe.

In my running routines, Wednesday is a running day. But I really didn’t know if I was going to get my legs moving more than a stroll (for Simba) this evening.

What is it they say? Plan for the worst, pray for the best. So, with that vaguely in mind, I dressed in my running gear and heading out into the sog.

I started walking to my running playlist, as I usually do, and I reached the part of the road that I run on when I’m out with Wee Daftie. So the lovely, bright, flat road that leads to Wardie Bay. Perfect for scooting, apparently. Not that my non scooting toes would know.

And I did it. I ran. In the rain. And it was good. I did a decent 15 mins, probably faster than I have done recently, and then took the long, still well lit, walk home. And that was good.

Step target well and truly hit today again and I managed to get a good chunk of my current knitting project done.

The forecast for tomorrow isn’t amazing so it’ll probably be some indoor walking for the Daft Gals but it will be great, whatever we end up doing, because we are walking for a great cause.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true

Another quite nondescript and quiet kind of a day today. When you’re actively trying to walk 10,000 or thereabouts a day for charity, I think you need to accept that some days will be epic and adventurous. Others, on the other hand, will a case of  needing to pick up some pasta and an emergency courgette so you walk to the shop furtherest away.

Today was neither of those things but it was still a success, I’d say.

Wee Daftie had a friend come to visit today, which was lovely. It is always a pleasure when Wee Daftie has a friend over. 8 is such a great age. There is still so much joy and wonder, curiosity and play. The accidentally overheard conversations are pure and hilarious. I promise I never eavesdrop but sometimes you can’t help what you hear over lunch!

The Botanic Gardens have an Easter trail running at the moment and the girls decided that they would like to do that today. I had assumed that they would play in the house while I frustrated myself with crochet but who I am to say no to a walk. Especially in one of my favourite places in Edinburgh.

The trail had a workbook to go through and a small Easter treat at the end. We walked to the Botanics, picnic packed, got our trail maps and began to explore.

They did a great job of following the pawprints, finding the hidden clocks and clues, before making their way to Inverleith House for a warm welcome and an Easter cupcake.

We dropped Wee Daftie’s friend home after some lunch and play so by the time we got home our step target was thoroughly reached. Happy days.

That just left us with an afternoon for playing salon, some reading, knitting, video games and dinner. I do love it when a plan comes together but I’m also very fond of the plan changing and becoming something equally as lovely.

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Here ends two full weeks of walking with purpose for Simba. And what a couple of weeks it has been! We have walked, scooted, run, danced, chatted, laughed and occasionally cried our steps away and it has been a delight.

So here is to another two (and a bit) weeks of adventures ahead!

We had to rearrange our day a bit today as Wee Daftie had plans to see a friend that sadly fell through. She was disappointed, of course, but rallied and bundled up to enjoy some wet walking.

I used to run a cafe on the Royal Mile. I have this very clear memory of a wonderful American woman making conversation about her travels. When talking about Edinburgh she said, “I have been to many great, famous and beautiful cities but Edinburgh is the only that still looks gorgeous in the rain.”

I mean, it is Scotland so it does rain a fair bit. I definitely agree with her though. Being Irish and living here, it would seem silly to complain about the rain. And for Wee Daftie and I, a soggy walk usually means a puddly walk!

We took ourselves and her umbrella down past the ducks that reside along Granton Waterfront. It’s not a huge pond but it’s always been a favoured place to visit and it also looks lovely in the rain.

We had a grand time and it gave our step count a really good start…but not enough for my liking.

Seeing as Daddy Daftie is working locally this week, means he is home in the evenings and I don’t have to be. Which, on this particular evening, meant I could head out and do my Monday run.

In the rain.

Don’t start. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

“Am I mad?” Says I.

“Yes,” says he.

“No. For heading out now, I mean,” says I.

“Yes,” says he, again, “Of course you are but I know you’ll do it and it will make you happy. So go be mad.”

I tell Wee Daftie that when I promise something, it will happen because I don’t make promises I won’t keep.

I promised myself when I left and abusive relationship in my 20s that I wouldn’t let anyone try to dim my light ever again. And I haven’t.

I promised myself when I left the worst job I’ve had that I would stand up for myself and not get steamrolled in a work situation again. And I have.

I promised Wee Daftie that I would always try my very best to do right by her. And I really do.

I promised my Mam when I was 25 that I wouldn’t get my lip pierced. It’s been 16 years and still no lip ring!

And most recently, I made a promise to myself to keep up the running routine as I owe it to myself. Which is how I ended up running in the rain.

I’m part of an online baby loss support group (which has been incredibly supportive and helpful), and I was trying to find a good way to describe what living with loss looks like for me.

It’s like running through rivers. Some days it feels hard and slow because the water is deep and drags you down. Other days it is so much easier as the water is shallow and calm and you barely notice it. Either way, you’re always still at least a little bit wet. It’s always there.

The run itself was pretty uneventful, aside from forgetting to double knot my hoodie around my waist and it fell in a muddy puddle. If you take nothing else away today, please learn my lesson with me! I did also notice that the other folk out this evening were either begrudging dog walkers or runners prepping for the Edinburgh Marathon Festival that is happening soon. And I am neither of these. But that’s okay. I’m proud of myself for keeping my promise.

I run for me. I don’t run for medals or even personal bests. I simply put one foot in front of the other, taking it step by step and day by day. 

All of which is adding to our fundraising and that is a great thing.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true

After yesterday’s epic adventure along the Water of Leith, I was quite the tired human when I woke up. Almost felt like I had walked a half-marathon or something.

Still, we had some walking to do so I pulled out the “I need to get something so I’ll walk to get it” trick. And I brought Wee Daftie along with me.

The morning was lovely for a stroll and I wasn’t in a hurry anywhere so we headed over to Craigleith for a mooch and hunt for a metal jug. We recently acquired a candle making kit and one of the recommended tools was a metal jug for melting and pouring the wax. I figured there were plenty of places for us to search for something useful. And also plenty of shops to have a wee nosy through.

We found what we needed quite swiftly (thank you TKMaxx) but that didn’t stop us from window shopping before heading home for lunch.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, after we returned home with our step target hit. We built some Lego, Daddy Daftie and Wee Daftie played some Minecraft and I knitted some things.

I also got incredibly frustrated trying to teach myself to crochet but my brain was having none of it! I think that particular project may need to wait for another day. So I’ve started making some tiny blankets and teddies for Simba’s baby boxes. Much better idea as I actually know how to do that!

Not a terribly eventual day, but actually, sometimes that is a very good thing.

We have a few things planned this week – candle making for one – but the weather forecast as it stands doesn’t look amazing so we may need to get creative with some of our walking and other times just get wet!

Either way, looking forward to starting another week of Strolling with Simba.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a mega walk planned for today and to say that not only was it in fact very long but that we absolutely smashed it would be an understatement.

It is also the reason why today’s entry is going to be quite short!

We started at the Leith end at 10am and reached Balerno about 5 hours later, with one stop for lunch and two moments of getting turned around a bit. It was just lovely.

We, Auntie Numbnuts and I, have walked the length of the Water twice previously and today was probably the best weather we had for it. Definitely an improvement from when we did it in January 2021 in the ice and did more skidding than walking.

I was excited to see Auntie Numbnuts today for two reasons. One being the fact that she has been a wonderful friend to me over these past 20 years of knowing each other and two she was the recipient of my secret knitting project!

It was only really a secret from her as Wee Daftie and Daddy Daftie knew and my family WhatsApp group chat was full of updates. So maybe surprise project is more apt.

Anyway. As a thank you to her, part of my chosen family, I made her one of the things she loves most in this life. Dave Grohl.

I customised a pattern I found online (the Happy Hippy shelf sitter by Cosypots on Etsy) so that I could create this glorious creation. As I have mentioned, I love making dolls and toys but the best part is always giving them away.

I gave her Dave at the very beginning of our walk so that she would have to carry him along the way. Which she was more than happy to do as she said herself, “You made me Dave Grohl!”

We had a really great walk, not a stroll this time, for Simba and we are both now sore, tired and feeling very accomplished. It has been a very good day.

It will be a much more relaxed day tomorrow. Wee Daftie and I need to pick up some more crafting supplies for our next project.

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting us. It really helped us both to power on and power through this epic walk.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true

We have had a very busy week this week. And it’s all been pretty, or incredibly, enjoyable. We’ve had lots of sun, we’ve had picnics and garden dinners. We’ve seen friends both on purpose and accidentally and we have managed an average of 10,332 steps a day. (I did the maths)

So it was hardly surprising that when we woke up this morning, the Daft girls weren’t feeling as full of beans as usual.

And that is okay.

We decided that as I needed to run today, we would do another scoot/run in the morning which should smash our step target and then that will leave us to whatever means of relaxing in the afternoon.

We headed down to Lower Granton Road again as it’s lovely and smooth for scooting, it’s beside the sea so it often has a wee breeze coming in off the waves and it’s far enough away that we can get decent milage, without accidentally ending up in Portobello.

Steps done in time for breakfast and a day of not doing much else. Aside from waiting for Daddy Daftie to get home from work.

Speaking of Daddy Daftie, let’s talk a bit about him today, shall we?

I have heard awful stories about how loss and trauma can really rip some relationships to shreds. We’ve been through our fair share of trials from the very surprise discovery of Wee Daftie in the first place (she hid herself for 24 weeks and 5 days before we found her on a scan) to facing hardships during Covid lockdowns to having the longest house move in December 2023. Nothing that a smile and some clever planning couldn’t surmount.

Losing Saoirse was a whole other thing.

And I know I couldn’t have done any of it without his support and love. I’ve never doubted or worried about our bond but this whole event in our lives has totally affirmed (reaffirmed?) that he is my person and I am beyond grateful.

There was not one moment when it clicked just how great he is and how much he does for me. There have been countless in these past months. Leaving his hoodie with me in the hospital so that Saoirse and I would have a piece of him while he cared for Wee Daftie. Making the phone calls I struggled with when I was more tears than person. Letting us celebrate his birthday even though it was the last thing he wanted to do – it happened to be the same day we had an appointment to arrange Saoirse’s service. Making sure I ate. Taking the lead in conversations I couldn’t face. Crying openly as a family. Crying together as parents of two children who won’t grow up together. Being open about how hard and hurt and sad and lonely and desperate this kind of loss can leave you.

Making me laugh and smile when I didn’t think I could. Ensuring that I ate. Going on a date (genuinely only our second evening date since becoming parents 8 and a bit years ago) and being in town on a Saturday night together. His unwarranted and unwavering faith in me and my notions.

All of this is hard but it would be so much worse without him.

I have permission to embarrass him like this, by the way. As I always say, I would never say anything about him behind his back that I wouldn’t say to his face!

I have a huge walk planned with my very dear and oldest, in every sense of the word, friend tomorrow. The other two members of the Daft Family Household will have some special time together. I have no idea what they have planned but I know they’ll have a great time while I crank up our step count even more!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true