Last few hours of 2025. A day in the Cairngorms, then Loch Morlich, then Glen More cafe. And just back after a torch light parade. Fab way to end a shitty year. Roll on 2026!

Heading north (Aviemore area) for Hogmanay! There will be snow! Motorhome is packed, just bikes to load and the usual last minute “what have we forgotten?” chat. 😊

In an odd limbo. Feel emboldened to write, blog posts, journal entries, novel excerpts. Social media is leaving me cold.

Seems like being bored = social media. And I’m better at constructively using my time when not bored.

Mind you, if we do get snowed in I might have the chance to finish off my little AI coding project, building my own workout tracker. Amazing what you can achieve without knowing any coding.

Heading North in a couple of days for Hogamanay. Staying for a few days, likely through to the weekend.

Snow forecast. My favourite condition for driving a motorhome in!

Boxing Day, waking up in our motorhome after a wonderful day yesterday. Woke at home, watched our son’s excitement grow as he emptied his stocking and unwrapped presents, then off to a family dinner, games, laughter, and love.

Just what I needed. I hope yours was as joyous as mine.

Interesting.

Finally watched F1 movie. As an F1 fan… I loved it.

Just watched The Long Walk. I read the novel many many years ago, but it’s one of those that sticks in your head. A simple, horrifying idea, that delves into dark places. That Richard Bachman is some writer.

The movie, pretty good, just as dark, just as horrifying, but the ending is different!

Alanis Morrisette gig - with Wet Leg and Skunk Anansie as support! - next year in Glasgow. £80+ a ticket. Never seen her live, love the other two bands, but… £80/£90 (w/booking fees etc)… ouch. But last time I did this it was for Prince and I missed the chance to see him live so… fuck it?

Realising that I have two little side projects in the go that are all very similar.

1. Move from Day One to Apple Journal (manually)
2. Move from WordPress to Bear blog (manually)

Both require an evaluation of each item (I am keeping items of value, arching the rest) so, yeah it’s gonna take a while.

Journal started in 2011. Blog started in 1999.

I won’t even mention digital photos (that’s for 2037 at this rate!!)

World Cup draw done. Today F1 qualifying, washing the roof of our motorhome, and hanging out with my boy. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

Long term project to reshape my blog is shaping up. Starting with deleting old broken/pointless posts.

Easiest way I’ve found is to use Word Count. Wordpress Dashboard allows for this, sort smallest to largest and review/delete. A lot of old broken image uploads (1 character) gone in a flash.

Friends to leave Netflix UK at the end of the year. We are mid-way through a re-watch. I’m ok with this, plenty of other TV available, and we should be finished by then anyway.

For me, next up is Pluribus. What are you watching just now?

Got to visit the school my son will start next year. Primary schools have changed a lot since I was in one (yes yes I am very old blah blah). Great open space, and he’ll have a few friends from his nursery there too. Wonderful.

Zwift day. Not doing much, but better than nothing!

Determined NOT to make any fitness based New Year Resolutions… but… really need to shift ‘this’ (he says, jiggling his belly like a bowl full of jelly).

A random day, a quiet morning, a potter round the shops, home to build some toy storage (which so far is mostly filling with cars), and a quiet evening. Making my son laugh by walking “into” poles so much he was cackling! Love a wee fam day with ma wee fam.

Ok, planning is coming together. Moving from WordPress to Bear and culling non-value posts on the way.

26 years of blogging to move, may take a while!

Definitely getting old. Driving to Blairgowrie this morning, mostly in the dark, and definitely noticing the difference with oncoming lights.

Adding Reeder back and on a bit of a blog discovery kick. Anything to try and break the algorithms.

At some point this year will end. Right? Cos I’m about done with 2025 thanks.

Right, time to plunge back into HomeKit automation and find some decent ‘smart plugs’. Currently have a couple of Hue plugs which work fine but are a bit pricey. Need a few more so any recommendations welcomed. Eve and Meross seem like the next best options?

We’ve been trying to… hang on, this isn’t a paid advert or anything! … find decent water bottles for us and our son. We found them!

www.ion8.co.uk

Even better, it’s a Scottish company!

Great value, great products, I really can’t fault them.

FC26 is half price at the moment. £35. Easy purchase as it’s the one game I play consistently and have been through most years of the franchise since about 2015 I think. Before that, Pro Evolution Soccer was my bag but can’t go back now (I tried a couple of years ago, it’s not the same).

Weird sickness bug thing yesterday so had to cancel (for the 4th time!) my tattoo plans today. Oh well, plenty of other things to do today!!

1 year since my Mum passed. Still doesn’t feel real

Ten Pin bowling my my boy this morning! He beat me 89-85! What a great time. Just finishing off lunch then home for a quiet afternoon. What a great Sunday!

Lovely late lunch at Ardnamurchan in Glasgow. Couple of beers and a lot of laughs, celebrating my pal Andi’s birthday (she’s really old now!). Good to get back home for bedtime with my boy though.

Off to Glasgow this afternoon for a friends birthday lunch. A wee solo afternoon out, so this morning I’ll be hanging out with my hooligan… I mean my son (he’s 4, he’s a hooligan!!)

Loving the Ulysses update. Fast becoming a favourite app.

Why yes it IS pizza night!

Son off nursery as he’s been sick (on the mend) and I’m doing my end of week tasks (reports, updates etc).

Hoping to get some time to write (blog or novel) and maybe get my head further into Bear for my blog (from Wordpress). Ohhh and use micro.blog more too! Big thoughts, never enough time.

Nice wee day. Sunshine, a cycle to the park, now home for snacks and chilling.

I should probably check but this does feel like something I do on a fairly regular basis, reconsider what I want my blog to be. The fact I’m posting this thought NOT on my blog is also telling? Posts, Notes, Photos. I think is where I’m headed. Maybe. Tools TBC.

Revisiting micro.blog let’s see what’s changed in the last couple of years.

Revisiting this, possibly good to have a short form ‘place’ that isn’t my blog? Also looking at moving blog to Bear install but that’s a LOT of manual work… but maybe as it looks great!